With signs of a resurgence of interest in big bands in the late 1950s, Maxwell Davis came up with the idea of producing a series of albums for Crown Records recorded in the finest stereophonic sound, in a tribute to such legendary bandleaders as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton, among others. For this purpose, he wrote all new arrangements and reimagined and conducted a number of tribute bands to perform the music with the signature spirit that made their original leaders famous. The personnel for each album consisted primarily of prominent members and soloists who performed with the original bands, with additional valuable contributions from some of the best jazz musicians working in the Hollywood and New York studios.
With signs of a resurgence of interest in big bands in the late 1950s, Maxwell Davis came up with the idea of producing a series of albums for Crown Records recorded in the finest stereophonic sound, in a tribute to such legendary bandleaders as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton, among others. For this purpose, he wrote all new arrangements and reimagined and conducted a number of tribute bands to perform the music with the signature spirit that made their original leaders famous. The personnel for each album consisted primarily of prominent members and soloists who performed with the original bands, with additional valuable contributions from some of the best jazz musicians working in the Hollywood and New York studios.
With signs of a resurgence of interest in big bands in the late 1950s, Maxwell Davis came up with the idea of producing a series of albums for Crown Records recorded in the finest stereophonic sound, in a tribute to such legendary bandleaders as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton, among others. For this purpose, he wrote all new arrangements and reimagined and conducted a number of tribute bands to perform the music with the signature spirit that made their original leaders famous. The personnel for each album consisted primarily of prominent members and soloists who performed with the original bands, with additional valuable contributions from some of the best jazz musicians working in the Hollywood and New York studios.
Welcome to Monster Planet, Steve Maxwell Von Braund’s 1975 classic of Australian proto-electronica, a big blast of Kosmische dust, Korgs working overtime…Arguably, the first fully electronic Australian album, Monster Planet is a solo recording from one half of the infamous Australian electronic duo, Cybotron. Von Braund recorded this pre Cybotron album upon his 1973 return to Australia after soaking up the sounds of psychedelic 60s London where he mingled with Hawkwind, The Soft Machine and Graham Bond. Circling between that classic Krautrock motorik beat, and a different, almost jazz-y kind of fluidity, Von Braund combined his London experience with his love of German Head music such as Amon Duul, Popol Vuh and Ash Ra Temple, to create a mutant electronic masterpiece. Praised by Tangerine Dream, and lauded by legions of Krautrock collectors, Monster Planet is an early example of visionary Australian experimentation.
LOS ANGELES – In February 1986, The Replacements performed a classic live show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. That night, a 24-track mobile studio was on hand to record the quartet as they careened through a 29-song marathon that mixed tracks from all of the band’s albums to date with B-sides and covers. Until now, that pristine recording of the legendary performance has only been available in low-quality bootleg form. Even so, Pitchfork has called the show “a fiery, focused set that would make a true believer out of any skeptic.”