Big Goodbye

Goodbye to the Age of Steam is Big Big Train's first album, originally released in 1994. The album has been unavailable for many years and is reissued on 18th April 2011. To ensure the best possible audio quality, "Goodbye…" has been re-mixed by Rob Aubrey from the original master-tapes. The reissue includes new artwork and a 12-page booklet with lyrics and sleeve-notes. The reissue also features three bonus tracks; an extended version of 'Losing Your Way', a previously unreleased track called 'Far Distant Thing' (taken from a 1993 radio session), and 'Expecting Dragons', a recording by the current BBT line-up which re-works some of the musical themes from Goodbye to the Age of Steam.

As diverse and vibrant as the Swedish jazz scene may be, it’s not possible to avoid market trends even here. There are only two professional, continuously working big bands in the country - the Norrbotten and the Bohuslän Big Bands. The latter originated during the Fifties from a military band whose tradition dates back to the early 19th century. The Bohuslän region and the city of Vara support the orchestra, which allows the group to develop its diverse activities, ranging from performances at Swedish schools to regular appearances at the big international festivals with about 100 annual concerts worldwide.
Since 2007 Nils Landgren has been the artistic director of the Bohuslän Big Band, a role for which he is perfect in many ways…

Carla Bley - Big Band Theory (1993) {Watt–ECM 519 966-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 308 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1993 Watt Works / ECM Records | WATT/25 / 519 966-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Jazz / Experimental Big Band

In the footsteps of her last (very) big band effort—which, despite its competence isn’t my favorite—Carla Bley returns with a masterstroke of the genre. It’s all here: catchy titles, musicians who share a profound cohesion, and tunes to unpack with joy. “On the Stage in Cages” sets the tone by jumping into the woodwork and rearranging every whorl with confidence. Bley’s band, holding firm at 18 members, swings with renewed purpose, as if waking up from the slumber of hiatus in a sublime return to form.

Big Big Train’s Summer Shall Not Fade - Live At Loreley is a blu-ray and double CD set of the band’s legendary performance at the Night Of The Prog festival on 13th July 2018 at Loreley in Germany.
The thirteen song set runs to over two hours. It includes classic material from English Electric, Folklore and Grimspound studio albums, and fan favourite deep cuts Kingmaker and Summer’s Lease. The performance features the full Big Big Train live band, including the late David Longdon, plus a five-piece brass section and is made even more remarkable by the fact that it was only the band’s eighth live show in this incarnation.

Archie Shepp Attica Blues Big Band - Live At The Palais Des Glaces (1979) {2CD Set Blue Marge 1001 rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 636 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 227 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 2004 Terrones / Blue Marge | 1001
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Fusion / Hard Bop / Jazz-Funk / Saxophone

From the outset, Archie Shepp's terminally misunderstood Attica Blues on Impulse during the 1970s was an attempt by the saxophonist and composer to bring together the various kinds of African American musics under one heading and have them all express the conscience of the day. His ensemble featured singers, string players, horns, drums, guitars, etc. The sounds were a Gordian knot of jazz, free music, R&B, soul, groove, and even funk. In 1979 Shepp was given the opportunity to realize the project with an ensemble of his choosing at the Palais des Glaces in Paris (New York was already courting Wimpton Marsalis). Shepp chose 30 musicians and director/conductor Ray Copeland. Among the throng were saxophonists Marion Brown, John Purcell, Patience Higgins, and John Ware.