Mastersound

Thelonious Monk - At Newport 1963 & 1965 (2003) {2CD Set, Sony Mastersound Japan SICP 5069~70}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 516 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 204 Mb
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© 1963-65, 2003 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 5069~70 | Sony Mastersound
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Piano

Thelonious Monk's 1963 Newport Jazz Festival set has been released in whole or part on several different Columbia releases, but this 2002 reissue is the best version yet. One finally gets to hear nothing but Monk on this edition, with the added bonus of a previously unreleased and undocumented appearance from the 1965 festival. The earlier material, with Charlie Rouse, Butch Warren, and Frankie Dunlop, is already very familiar to serious Monk devotees, particularly the inspired addition (due to the suggestion of festival producer George Wein) of clarinetist Pee Wee Russell on two songs.

Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (1959) {Japan Mastersound SRCS 9201}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 314 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 108 Mb
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© 1959, 1997 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | Mastersound | SRCS 9201 | Mini LP
Jazz / Hard Bop / Bop / Bass

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um.

On his last couple of Warner Brothers albums, Gorilla and In the Pocket, James Taylor seemed to be converting himself from the shrinking violet, too-sensitive-to-live "rainy day man" of his early records into a mainstream, easy-listening crooner with a sunny outlook. JT, his debut album for Columbia Records, was something of a defense of this conversion. Returning to the autobiographical, Taylor declared his love for Carly Simon ("There We Are"), but expressed some surprise at his domestic bliss… "Isn't it amazing a man like me can feel this way?" he sang in the opening song, "Your Smiling Face" (a Top 40 hit). At the same time, domesticity could have its temporary depressions ("Another Grey Morning"). The key track was "Secret O' Life," which Taylor revealed as "enjoying the passage of time"…

Most of the Sinatra recordings available during the 1950s consisted of his contemporary work for Capitol Records. But every so often his former label, Columbia Records, would get something together on LP from among his '40s and early-'50s sides. The Voice was one of a handful of '50s long-players showcasing the first phase of Sinatra's solo career, and at the time it wowed listeners - the focus is on the ballads, and the dozen represented here constitute a bumper crop of classics, all resplendent in the singer's richest, most overpowering intonation and most delicately nuanced work. The sensibilities, from the lushly seductive "Laura" to the gently self-satisfied "(I Got a Woman Crazy for Me) She's Funny That Way," show off a huge emotional range, and the latter song may be the highlight of the album…

Wynton Marsalis - Wynton Marsalis (1982) {Columbia Mastersound Gold Edition CK 53790}
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© 1982 Columbia / Sony Music | Mastersound Gold Edition | CK 53790
Jazz / Neo Bop / Post Bop / Trumpet

The Definitive version of this album classic, it is produced to the highest possible standard. The latest sonic technologies and equipment. And Archival research to find the original masters assures a listening experience that puts you in the studio with the artist himself. 20-bit digital transfers using sony's "SBM" process. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis's debut on Columbia, recorded when he was only 19, made it clear from the start that he was going to be a major force in jazz. At the time Marsalis (who was originally a bit influenced by Freddie Hubbard) was starting to closely emulate Miles Davis of the mid-'60s and his slightly older brother Branford took Wayne Shorter as his role model.

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
"It could be made into a monster if we all pull together as a team"
Pink Floyd were smart with this album. Given the overwhelming success of its predecessor, they could easily have tried to create "Dark side of the moon, 2".

Electric Light Orchestra continued on their winning Top 40 ways with the release of Discovery. Now pared down to the basic four-piece unit, Jeff Lynne continued to dominate the band and they still got their hits (this time around it was the smash "Don't Bring Me Down"). Elsewhere on the disc there was, of note, "Last Train to London" and "Confusion." Though Discovery charted well, it was becoming obvious that ELO were starting to run themselves out of useful Beatles hooks with which to fuel their hit-making machine.

Blow by Blow typifies Jeff Beck's wonderfully unpredictable career. Released in 1975, Beck's fifth effort as a leader and first instrumental album was a marked departure from its more rock-based predecessors. Only composer/keyboardist Max Middleton returned from Beck's previous lineups. To Beck's credit, Blow by Blow features a tremendous supporting cast. Middleton's tasteful use of the Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and analog synthesizers leaves a soulful imprint. Drummer Richard Bailey is in equal measure supportive and propulsive as he deftly combines elements of jazz and funk with contemporary mixed meters. Much of the album's success is also attributable to the excellent material, which includes Middleton's two originals and two collaborations with Beck, a clever arrangement of Lennon and McCartney's "She's a Woman," and two originals by Stevie Wonder…

War is Roger Waters' great muse, the impetus for so much of his work, including the semi-autobiographical 1979 opus The Wall. The Final Cut, his last album with Pink Floyd, functioned as an explicit sequel to The Wall, but 1992's Amused to Death acts as something of a coda, a work where Waters revisits his obsessions – both musical and lyrical – and ties them together with the masterful touch of a mature artist…