Japan Jazz Best Collection

Shelly Manne & His Men - Boss Sounds! (1966) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27142}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 290 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 102 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1966, 2012 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan / WEA | WPCR-27142 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Although drummer Shelly Manne was closely associated with the Contemporary label for many years, he also recorded for other companies after Contemporary slowed down operations. This particular Koch CD reissues a set that was cut for Atlantic. The 1966 version of Shelly Manne's Men (altoist Frank Strozier, trumpeter Conte Candoli, pianist Russ Freeman, and bassist Monty Budwig) played in a similar style to his 1950s groups. Only Strozier hints (and only slightly in spots) at the avant-garde explorations then going on elsewhere. The quintet performs three group originals, an obscurity, "The Breeze and I," and "Margie" (which was arranged by Jimmy Rowles). Fine hard bop music.

Robin Kenyatta - Until (1968) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27317}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 226 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 126 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 2013 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino / Vortex | WPCR-27317 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Features 24bit digital remastering. Comes with a description. One of the earliest albums as a leader from reedman Robin Kenyatta – and a set that's also one of his most compelling too! There's a definitely freer sound here than on some of Robin's smoother sets from the 70s – a vibe that's somewhere near the space of Impulse Records in the post-Coltrane years, and which is right at home on Atlantic's Vortex label subsidiary.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata (1971) {2014 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27919}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 244 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1971, 2014 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan / WEA | WPCR-27919 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Reeds

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A totally amazing album – and one of the clearest examples of Roland Kirk's genius approach to reeds! The set's essentially solo, and features Kirk playing without any tape tricks or overdubbing – but still at a level that has multiple saxophones layered on top of one another – thanks to his creative approach to playing more than one instrument at once, and groundbreaking use of circular breathing! The record has these fantastic throbbing pulsating reed lines –with one horn blowing rhythm, and one playing an adventurous solo – and both being blown live a the same time, in a style that's still very soulful and swinging overall – and amazingly done without any sense of overindulgence.

The Modern Jazz Quartet - No Sun In Venice (1957) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27352}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 225 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 120 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1957, 2013 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27352 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream / Bop

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice (originally titled The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays One Never Knows: Original Film Score for "No Sun in Venice") is a soundtrack album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in 1957 for Roger Vadim's No Sun in Venice and released on the Atlantic label. This recording has six John Lewis compositions that were used in the French film No Sun in Venice. The music is quite complex and disciplined, making this set of lesser interest to fans who prefer to hear Milt Jackson playing bebop-oriented blues. However the versatile group was perfect for this type of music and these thought-provoking performances reward repeated listenings.

The Modern Jazz Quartet - The Modern Jazz Quartet (1957) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27103}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 271 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 97 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 8 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1957, 2012 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27103 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. One of the first Modern Jazz Quartet albums on Atlantic – a 1957 set that finds the crew in one of their freshest periods – laying down their soon-to-be trademark style in a fashion that warrants the self-titled tag! The set kicks off with a stellar medley of standards, all given the tight MJQ touch! The crew strolls through "They Say It's Wonderful", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "Body And Soul" and more in that 10 minute stretch. Other album highlights include the drum-heavy "La Ronde", a sweet reading of "Night In Tunisia", "Baden Baden", "Bag's Groove" and "Yesterdays".

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Third Stream Music (1960) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27307}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 210 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 117 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1960, 2013 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan / WEA | WPCR-27307 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A seminal album that defined the fresh sound of a whole new generation in jazz – that "third stream" movement that was different from the cool jazz of the west coast, and the fire of New York! The style here follows that same mix of jazz and higher-concept elements you'd hear on other Modern Jazz Quartet albums for Atlantic – but the music is expanded here with some great help from outside parties too.

Herbie Mann - The Beat Goes On (1967) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27462}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 203 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 74 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1967, 2013 Atlantic / Rhino / WEA / Warner Japan | WPCR-27462 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Flute

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The beat goes on, and Herbie Mann gets plenty darn groovy – serving up these short, soulful tunes that really pack a sweet little punch – thanks in part to some excellent work on vibes by the young Roy Ayers! Ayers' rings out next to Herbie's flute in a very cool way – almost Latin, but a bit groovier overall, with some echoes of bossa and 60s soundtrack jazz – all mixed with deeper soul currents that are very much in the best 60s jazz spirit of Atlantic Records! Jimmy Wisner handles the arrangements, and also plays some mean piano. Titles include Dave Pike's "Dream Garden", which was arranged by Pike himself – plus Herbie Mann's "West African High Life", and Herbie Hancock's "Hey Ho" – as well as the cuts "No Matter What Shape", "More Rice Than Peas, Please", "Soul Montuno", and "The Beat Goes On".

Rufus Harley - A Tribute To Courage (1967) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27046}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 257 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 22 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1967, 2012 Warner Japan / Atlantic / Rhino | WPCR-27046 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Hard Bop / Bagpipes

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Brilliant work by one of the most unusual jazz talents of the 60s! Rufus Harley's best known for his use of bagpipes in jazz music – a re-cooption of the instrument from Scottish styles, taking it back to its roots in northern Africa. A number of Harley's other albums from the time are a bit gimmicky – but this later set is a soul jazz masterpiece, infused with rich Coltrane-like modes of expression, as Harley plays both soprano sax and bagpipes over some long modal original compositions! The group is a great one – with Oliver Collins playing some fantastic spiraling lines on piano, and great bass and drum work by James Glenn & Billy Abner. Titles include "Ali", "X", "About Trane", "Tribute To Courage", and a great version of "Sunny"!

Austin Cromer - Sings For Her (1964) {2014 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27972}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 194 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 75 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1964, 2014 Atlantic / Warner Japan / WEA / Rhino | WPCR-27972 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Classic Jazz / Ballads

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Austin's one and only album as leader. If you like crooners, then he can croon with best. The only album we've ever seen from vocalist Austin Cromer – a deep-voiced jazz singer with a style that's somewhere in the best space between Billy Eckstine and Arthur Prysock! Cromer's a lot more relaxed and less posturing than either of those bigger names – and he's got a great setting here, with small combo backing from a group that features Hubert Laws on flute, Chick Corea on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Bruno Carr on drums! The set's a jazz one at heart, but has some soulful undercurrents too.

Yusef Lateef - The Gentle Giant (1972) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27480}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 218 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1972, 2013 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27480 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Saxophone / Flute

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Yusef Lateef's music from the early '70s commands large doses of both appeal and skepticism. At a time when funk and fusion were merging with the intensely volatile and distrustful mood of the U.S., Lateef's brand of Detroit soul garnered new fans, and turned away those who preferred his earlier hard bop jazz or world music innovations. Thus The Gentle Giant is an appropriate title, as Lateef's levitational flute looms large over the rhythm & blues beats central to the equation. Kenny Barron's Fender Rhodes electric piano is also a sign of the times, an entry point introducing him to the contemporary jazz scene, and on that point alone is historically relevant.