Into The Silent Land

“Give me the reasons to go on. Soften the sorrow that shatters and bends, and mend broken dreams.” Singer/songwriter Mark Heard wrote those words in “House of Broken Dreams” on his Dry Bones Dance LP in 1990. There was a prophesy buried within the lines, whether he knew it or not. Heard passed away two years later, in August of 1992, but his words have echoed on in the hearts of all who knew them. And now, with Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard, many more hearts can join the chorus while marking the 25th anniversary of his passing. Available June 2 on Storm Weathered Records with a limited edition vinyl to follow, Treasure of the Broken Land is distributed via Redeye Worldwide.

“Another year, another Nightwishcore release,” one is tempted to think at the sight of Lost in Grey…

Bester Quartet - The Golden Land (2013) {Tzadik TZ 8178}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 295 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 121 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 124 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Tzadik | TZ 8178 | Tzadik Radical Jewish Culture Series
Jazz / International Jazz / Klezmer / Ethnic

A mainstay of the Radical Jewish series since their first release in 2000, Jaroslaw Bester is one of the most consistently creative and imaginative musicians in the New Jewish Renaissance. Here he approaches the classic compositions of Cracow-born Mordechaj Gebirtig, the preeminent Yiddish folk artist and one of the most influential poets and songwriters of his time. Bester’s arrangements are lush and filled with emotion, setting the tone of Gebirtig’s lyrical melodies into a modern and powerful new context.

It's not often that an artist gets to do a Bowie by consciously carving their personal epitaph into the grooves of their final LP. The Highest in the Land is that rarity of an album, and it could not have been made by a more brilliantly poetic and fearlessly sarcastic writer than Pat Fish, also known as The Jazz Butcher.

The set is built around the A and B sides of singles, with album cuts salted in between. This is effective in charting the band's progression from melodic popsters to hard rockers and back to the pop-inflected music that closed out their career. The highlights are scattered throughout – "American Woman," of course; "Rain Dance," with its unnerving echoes of American massacres, the funky, improvised live "Truckin' Off Across the Sky," even the goofy "Clap for the Wolfman," which came when the Guess Who were all but finished. The Ultimate Collection works well as an introduction to the Guess Who, but will not gratify anyone with more than a basic need to know. On a sonic level, the set sounds good, however.

Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land (1964) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD UCCQ-5106 rel 2015} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 281 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 168 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1964, 2015 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | UCCQ-5106
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. A brilliant album that proves that even at the height of his success, Lee Morgan was one of the freest thinkers on Blue Note – always coming up with fresh ideas that continued to grow his talents! The first cut on the album is keep roof of that fact – the title track "Search For The New Land" – a beautiful 16 minute exploration of modal jazz themes, with an unusual stop/start device as a means of ushering solos by different bandmates – including Wayne Shorter on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, and Herbie Hancock on piano!