Jazz Dsd

Robert Wyatt - The End Of An Ear (1970) {2013 Japan Mini LP Blu-spec DSD Remaster SICP 30323}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 268 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 110 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970, 2013 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 30323
Rock / Art Rock / Experimental / Jazz Rock

Cardboard sleeve reissue features remastering in 2013 and the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD players). Of all the projects Robert Wyatt created apart from his tenure with Soft Machine and Matching Mole, The End of an Ear has to be the strangest, and among the most beautiful and misunderstood recordings of his career. Recorded near the end of his membership in Soft Machine, End of an Ear finds Wyatt experimenting far more with jazz and avant-garde material than in the jazz-rock-structured environment of his band.

Shunzoh Ohno feat. Masabumi Kikuchi - Something's Coming (1975) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 229 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 180 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1975, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9141
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Fusion / Trumpet

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. An aggressive bit of funky fusion – a set that matches the talents of Japanese trumpeter Shunzoh Ohno with some hip American grooves from Reggie Lucas on guitar, Cedric Lawson on keyboards, Don Pate on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums! The sound is very full-on – in a mid 70s Miles Davis electric mode, but with perhaps a bit more of a funk touch on the best cuts – almost a refinement of the groove that Miles hit in Japan, fusing the energy into some great tunes that really pack a sharp punch! Haynes' drums are surprisingly heavy at points – and titles include "You Dig That?", "But It's Not So", and "I Remember That It Happened".

Miles Davis - Miles Smiles (1966) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1216}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 284 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb | Full Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1966, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1216 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Its greatest triumph is that it masks this adventurousness within music that is warm and accessible – it just never acts that way. No matter how accessible this is, what's so utterly brilliant about it is that the group never brings it forth to the audience. They're playing for each other, pushing and prodding each other in an effort to discover new territory. As such, this crackles with vitality, sounding fresh decades after its release. And, like its predecessor, ESP, this freshness informs the writing as well, as the originals are memorable, yet open-ended and nervy, setting (and creating) standards for modern bop that were emulated well into the new century. Arguably, this quintet was never better than they are here, when all their strengths are in full bloom.

Miles Davis - Miles Davis In Europe (1964) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1210}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 201 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 138 Mb | Full Artwork
© 1964, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1210 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Recorded live in France at the Festival Mondial, du Jazz Antibes, Miles Davis in Europe captures trumpeter Miles Davis in late 1963. While Four & More and My Funny Valentine – both taken from the same 1964 New York Philharmonic Hall concert – are most often cited as this lineup's essential live recording, Miles Davis in Europe is a no less exciting listen. The band, including tenor saxophonist George Coleman, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams had recorded Seven Steps to Heaven a few months earlier, which would turn out to be the one studio album Davis would make with the lineup.

Herbie Hancock - Sunlight (1978) {2009 Columbia Japan Blu-spec DSD Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1978, 2009 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 20206 | DSD Remaster
Jazz / Post Bop / Jazz Funk

After Man-Child, alas, Herbie Hancock's American jazz-funk records in the 1970s grew gradually more commercial, less stimulating, and crucially, less truly funky with each release, even as his equipment rack grew larger. Just take a look at the staggering collection of keyboards on the back cover of the Sunlight LP – all sought-after collectors' items now – yet Hancock makes so little use of their possibilities here. For much of the album, he seems most interested in establishing a new career as an electronic vocalist.

Miles Davis - A Tribute To Jack Johnson (1970) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1222}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 338 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 129 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 337 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1222 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Jazz Fusion / Trumpet

A masterful tribute from one bad cat to another – and easily one of Miles Davis' greatest electric albums ever! The album's got a powerful, epic sort of feel – a renewed focus after the looser style of Bitches Brew, and the 70s live albums – and one that mixes a deeper funky sound with the raw, exploratory style Davis had let loose a few years before. Michael Henderson's bass is a big part of the power of the record, and John McLaughlin's guitar has never sounded better, or sharper. Teo Macero made the whole thing magic in the studio, and titles include two sidelong funkdafied jams – "Right Off" and "Yesternow".

Kohsuke Mine - Out Of Chaos (1974) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9133} (ft. Masabumi Kikuchi)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 233 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 188 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1974, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9133
Jazz / Modal Music / Post Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Fine flowing modal music from Mine and his crew (a crack team of the usual j-jazz suspects) from back in '74. This was one of Mine's first outings after switching from alto to tenor and definitely one of his best ever. Also one of the first albums on the very righteous East Wind label. The stately lyrical second track (by Kikuchi) is a standout here, sandwiched between the two high-power numbers penned by Mine. The concept for the cover art is questionable (red gloop as a representation of chaos? Or maybe the art director used this image because s/he was clean out of chaos?). But when it comes to the music, there's nothing lacking here whatsoever!

Of the new releases issued under Art Pepper's name in 1980, So In Love was overall the finest. The altoist stretches out here on a program of standards and blues, backed by alternating rhythm sections from the East and West coasts. For this Analogue Productions DSD release, we didn't mess with perfection. Gus Skinas from the Super Audio Center produced New York Album and So In Love for DSD from flat transfers from the original analog master tapes that were remixed from the multi-track tapes and transferred to 2-track analog by Rik Pekkonen and John Koenig. For The Intimate Art Pepper Skinas authored the DSD tracks from the remaster by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman created for the 2003 Analogue Productions SACD reissue…

Art Farmer - Yesterday's Thoughts (1975) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 258 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 156 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1975, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9155
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Flugelhorn

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. With Art Farmer's phenomenal output of recordings as a leader during his long career, it isn't surprising to run across obscure gems such as this pair of 1975 studio sessions recorded in New York for release in Japan by Eastwind. Joined by frequent collaborator Cedar Walton on piano, as well as bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins, the mellow flugelhornist excels on the ballads that make up the majority of the album.

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue (1959) {2003 DSD Remastered SACD Hybrid}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 352 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 132 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 369 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 2003 Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music | 064935 9
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Referring to "Kind of Blue" as the best jazz album of all time might actually be doing it a disservice. Jazz is one of those complex artforms which many people shy away from, afraid that they will not be able to understand it. So extoling its virtues might frighten people even more. But "Kind of Blue" is simply beautiful music. When listening to it, you forget everything you might feel about jazz, whether good or bad, and can only listen to it, amazed and excited. Miles Davis has created something so powerful yet full of simple, memorable melodies. Every note takes you further into that state where you simply hush up, tell whoever you are with to shut up, and listen. It is certainly not the type of music I would put on when friends come over for a chat. But it is an album which I can listen to, over and over and over again. Definitely something for MUSIC fans.