Mom Lafert

New York trio Sunflower Bean - vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming (she/her), guitarist and vocalist Nick Kivlen (he/him), and drummer Olive Faber (she/they) – release their long-awaited third album Headful of Sugar via Lucky Number.

Things Take Time, Take Time is an assured leap forward for Barnett; a breakthrough really. This is Barnett at her most relaxed, creative and joyful. An exquisite look at the intimate, private world created by Barnett and drummer/producer Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint, Cate le Bon, Kurt Vile). It's consequently her most beautiful and intimate record to date.

Art Pepper - Living Legend (1975) {Contemporary OJCCD-408-2 rel 1989}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 244 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 120 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 1989 Contemporary / Fantasy | OJCCD-408-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Art Pepper, one of the major bop altoists to emerge during the '50s, started his comeback with this excellent set, Living Legend. After 15 years filled with prison time and fighting drug addiction, Pepper was finally ready to return to jazz. Accompanied by three of his old friends (pianist Hampton Hawes, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Shelly Manne), Pepper displays a more explorative and darker style than he had previously. He also shows a greater emotional depth in his improvisations and was open to some of the innovations of the avant-garde in his search for greater self-expression. Although this recording would be topped by the ones to come, the music (five Pepper originals and an intense version of "Here's That Rainy Day") is quite rewarding.

This giant 16-CD Galaxy set features Pepper at the peak of his powers. Most of the performances are in a quartet setting, although this collection also includes a session with strings, five unaccompanied alto solos (he also plays clarinet on a few tracks), and a pair of CDs in which Pepper performs duets with pianist George Cables. Although more general collectors may want to acquire some of the individual sessions first (most of which are available separately on CD), the more dedicated jazz fans are advised to save their money and acquire this essential package.

While just about every critic and fan has a favorite Roches album that was inexplicably ignored, most will probably agree that Speak was the one that really should have gone gold. All of the ingredients for a huge album are here: emotional yet accessible songs, radio-friendly folk-pop arrangements, and the sisters' usual mind-blowing vocal pyrotechnics. True, the title cut does have harmonies and cadences that are more typical of Bulgarian music, but much of the rest of this album is radio-ready.

Duke Pearson - Now Hear This (1968) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD TYCJ-81064 rel 2014} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 278 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 327 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1968, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | TYCJ-81064
Jazz / Hard Bop / Progressive Jazz / Piano

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. Duke Pearson returned to a big band setting for Now Hear This!, once again proving his agility and inventiveness as an arranger and leader. Working with a larger band than before – the total number of musicians weighs in at 17 – Pearson nevertheless keeps things clean and uncluttered. His compositions, as well as the songs he covers, cover a broad range of emotions, styles, and tonal colors, with lush ballads taking the center stage. Even if much of this music is beautiful, Pearson's arrangements take chances and are unconventional, which means it rewards close listening as well.

An industry veteran who first got his start as a session player for pop artists in the '80s, smooth jazz saxophonist Steve Grove (aka Euge Groove) marks his 16th year as a solo artist with his tenth studio album, 2016's Still Euge. This is Groove's fifth album for Shanachie, following 2014's Got 2 Be Groovin', and once again finds him handling the production duties.

Frank Zappa - Lumpy Money - The Project/Object (2009) {3CD Zappa Records ZR20008 reissue 2016 rec 1968}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.00 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 483 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 1.23 Gb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2009, 2016 Zappa Records | ZR20008
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Official Release #85. This triple volume package contains an audio documentary tracing the conception and construction of Frank Zappa's We're Only in It for the Money (1968) and Lumpy Gravy (1968) masterworks. As the second entry in the Project/Object series (the first being the MoFo Project/Object in 2006 that gathered four CDs worth of goodies from the Freak Out! era), the modus operandi for Lumpy Money (2009) remains much the same as its predecessor. Presented within are primary components from both works in several unique – and formerly unissued – incarnations and configurations. It should also be noted that neither of Zappa's mid-'90s approved masters for We're Only in It for the Money or Lumpy Gravy are found here. Instead of retreading those – which (as of this 2009 writing) remain in print on the Rykodisc label – the nearly three-and-a-half hours served up here offer an embarrassment of insight into the development of the music, as well as the modular recording style that Zappa was evermore frequently incorporating into his craft.