Jazz Dsd

More Best of the Best: David Manley Jazz Recordings brings listeners a sampler that highlights 8 Jazz Standards from a series of Jazz albums recorded by audio designer and recording engineer David Manley…

Miles Davis - Nefertiti (1967) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1218}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 239 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 66 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1218 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Nefertiti, the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet, continues the forward motion of Sorcerer, as the group settles into a low-key, exploratory groove, offering music with recognizable themes – but themes that were deliberately dissonant, slightly unsettling even as they burrowed their way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music, since, like on much of Sorcerer, the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes.

Miles Davis - Sorcerer (1967) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1217}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 64 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1217 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Sorcerer, the third album by the second Miles Davis Quintet, is in a sense a transitional album, a quiet, subdued affair that rarely blows hot, choosing to explore cerebral tonal colorings. Even when the tempo picks up, as it does on the title track, there's little of the dense, manic energy on Miles Smiles – this is about subtle shadings, even when the compositions are as memorable as Tony Williams' "Pee Wee" or Herbie Hancock's "Sorcerer." As such, it's a little elusive, since it represents the deepening of the band's music as they choose to explore different territory.

Terumasa Hino - Live In Concert (1975) {DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9146 rel 2015}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 326 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 109 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 150 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1975, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9146
Jazz / Fusion / Post Bop / Trumpet

Reissue with DSD remastering. A real lost treasure from trumpeter Terumasa Hino – a warm and wonderful live set, and one that's neither too free, nor too smooth – just perfectly set up right down the middle to open up on these beautiful long performances! The lineup is all Japanese – a great array of players that includes Shigeharu Mukai on trombone, Hideo Miyata on tenor, Sadao Watanabe on alto sax, Motohiko Hino on drums, and Fumio Itabashi on Fender Rhodes – part of a slightly larger ensemble who can be tight at times, but still allow plenty of room for open freedom on the solos. Hino's only part of the picture, as the other soloists get in some great space too – and the set includes the 23 minute groover "Logical Mystery", the long soulful original "In The Darkness", and a sweet mellow take on "Round Midnight".

Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come (1961) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1208}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 252 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 101 Mb | Full Artwork
© 1961, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1208 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Cool / Hard Bop / Trumpet

The tenor sax here makes the album a standout – as John Coltrane still works with Miles Davis on 2 tracks for the record, but Blue Note stalwart Hank Mobley joins in on the rest! The approach is similar to that of the classic Coltrane/Davis years – and in a way, the record's kind of a swan song to that period – one of the last studio session that Miles would cut in such an unabashedly sweet and lyrical way. And while Mobley's always better known for his harder-blown notes at Blue Note, he sounds totally great here next to Davis – really keeping up the gentle spirit and spaciousness of the record, and working with a gentleness that surpasses even his work on the legendary Soul Station album. Rhythm is by the trio of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb.

Miles Davis - Seven Steps To Heaven (1963) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1209}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 276 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 111 Mb | Full Artwork
© 1963, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1209 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

A key point in the development of the Miles Davis sound of the 60s – his first album to feature work from Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – augmented by some equally nice work on other tracks from Victor Feldman and Frank Butler! The sound here is beautifully spare – a wonderful exploration of ideas that Miles had been putting forth on some other albums for Columbia, but crafted here with a vision that's apparent in the very first note – and which transforms both the tunes and the work of the players into a focused, near-perfect sound all the way through.

Air Pocket (The Fowler Brothers) - Fly On (1975) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 272 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 130 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1975, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9145
Jazz / Fusion / Light Bop

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. A warm and soulful set of fusion tracks – issued only in Japan, but recorded by a hip group from the US! Air Pocket features the Fowler Brothers – Walt, Bruce, Ed, and Steve – on trumpet, trombone, bass, and alto, respectively – plus drummer Chester Thompson, guitarist Mike Miller, and pianist Stu Goldberg, who really plays some great moog, clavinet, and electric keys on the set! Tunes are well-written – a bit choppy, but never too jamming, and really just done in this nice blocky way that creates a slightly funky approach, and a good degree of soul. Titles include "Elephant's Graveyard", "Hi Lo Redic", "Colors For Marvin", "Night's Move", and "Becky".

Art Farmer - The Summer Knows (1976) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 224 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 206 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1976, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9177
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop / Flugelhorn

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Gently graceful work from Art Farmer – and a wonderful example of the way he was expanding his talents in the 70s! The set's got a slow burning sensuality that seems to bring even more soul out of Farmer's work on flugelhorn than before – especially on the mellower cuts, which seem especially written as showcases for Art's masterful examples of understatement. But don't go thinking that the album's all ballads, because with a rhythm section that includes Cedar Walton, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins, the tracks move along nicely, even when in a gentler mode. Titles include "The Summer Knows", "Ditty", "Manha Do Carnaval", and "When I Fall In Love".

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1969) [2CD] {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition, SICP-1220/21}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 604 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 226 Mb | Artwork (web)
© 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1220/21
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Rock

Among the most controversial recordings in the history of jazz, BITCHES BREW was Miles Davis' shot across the bow of jazz insularity, a bold statement about jazz's ability to draw upon elements of popular culture, without mitigating its spirit of spontaneous invention. Much as Ornette Coleman's THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME set a new standard for harmonic and melodic freedom a decade before, BITCHES BREW signaled a sea change in jazz.

Miles Davis - Miles In Berlin (1964) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1214}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 138 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb | Full Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1964, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1214 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

A really great bit of live work from Miles Davis – and the first-ever recorded appearance of the quintet with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – even though the album was never issued in the US at the time! The set follows very strongly in the mode of the group's work at the Plugged Nickel – with a pace that's faster than usual, and bristling with freely exploratory energy. Titles include "Milestones", "So What", "Walkin", and a nicely stepped-up version of "Autumn Leaves". Shorter's solos are worth the price of the record alone, but Williams' work on the kit never ceases to amaze!