Montreux

Following their successful appearance here on the Golden Rose TV Festival in April 1969, the band was invited back to play the Montreux Jazz Festival in June to a more youthful audience. The hot sunny weather saw the boys play an impromptu afternoon matinee by the pool, which culminated in a topless Dick Heckstall-Smith diving in to cool down! During that time bootlegs were a big part of the scene. Repertoire Records has curated the best of the best and these albums are now 'officially' available for digital download for the first time. Physical copies are on their way!

This live recording at the Montreux Jazz Festival is the last of the glorious 1980s albums by the polish trumpet virtuoso / composer Tomasz Stanko and his Freelectronic ensemble, here consisting of keyboardists Janusz Skowron and Tadeusz Sudnik and bassist Witold Szczurek. Stanko is in top form and in a great mood, which is evident by the happy atmosphere captured herein. His trumpet soars to incredible heights and the brilliant improvisations chase one another. In retrospect this is a perfect moment captured for posterity, just before the ever-changing Stanko would embark on yet another musical journey with the onset of the 1990s. The 1980s Stanko's Jazz-Rock period was about to be abandoned and replaced by a return to the Jazz tradition and the new (again) Stanko, which would capture worldwide audiences with his ECM recordings…

Phil Woods And His European Rhythm Machine - At The Montreux Jazz Festival (1969) {2016 Japan Verve 60th Rare Albums SHM-CD Reissue Series UCCV-9612}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 250 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
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© 1969, 2016 Verve / Universal Japan | UCCV-9612
Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Saxophone

Verve 60th Anniversary Rare Albums SHM-CD Reissue Series. Reissue with SHM-CD format. Phil Woods' recordings with his short-lived European Rhythm Machine are among the most adventurous of his career, though few of them have been available in the CD era. This 1969 concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival features the alto saxophonist with pianist George Gruntz, bassist Henri Texier and drummer Daniel Humair in a wide ranging set.

For a period in 1977-78 (after the death of altoist Paul Desmond), pianist Dave Brubeck had a quartet with his sons keyboardist Darius, drummer Dan and Chris on bass and trombone. This Montreux concert features five of Dave Brubeck's originals (including "It's a Raggy Waltz" and "In Your Own Sweet Way") along with the standard "It Could Happen to You" and finds father Dave in fine form even if Desmond is clearly missed.

Gilberto Gil - Ao Vivo - Montreux International Jazz Festival (1978) {Warner Music Brasil 092746057-2 rel 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 481 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
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© 1978, 2002 Warner Music Brasil | 092746057-2
Jazz / Brazilian Jazz / Música popular brasileira / Brazilian Traditions / Brazilian Pop

Recorded live at the Montreux Casino, in the 12th Montreaux International Jazz Festival, in 14th of July 1978, Switzerland. This live disc contains a spirited live performace that touches on the funkier side of Gil and Brasilian music in general. Especially memorable is the second tune, Chororo, which has a kind of joyous tropical feel to it which is counter balanced by a musical bridge which appears several times that puts the major chords of the vocals against the minor chords of the band, creating an interesting 'tense' section in an otherwise upbeat song. The cover of Tropicalia favorite Bat Macumba is terrific as well, very extended and different than the Os Mutantes version. This disc is a great addition to any MPB collection, and might also be enjoyed by the jam band set due to Gil's band's funky and frenetic back up work.

Albert Collins would be gone just a year and a few months after this July 1992 set at Montreux but there was no loss of vitality even at this late date in the blues guitarist's career. The set consists only of seven tracks, but three of those - "Lights Are On (But Nobody's Home)," "Too Many Dirty Dishes," and the über-funky "Put the Shoe on the Other Foot" - clock in at between 11 and over 15 minutes, plenty of time for Collins and his band to kick up some serious dust. On the latter song, bassist Johnny B. Gayden's bass , Bobby Alexis' keys, Marty Binder's drums, and the sax and trumpet of Jon Smith and Steve Howard, respectively, lay down a solid foundation on top of which Collins goes to town with the kind of stinging, mean-ass solo that initially provided him with his reputation as one of the heavyweights.

At the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival, a variety of artists (including keyboardist Warren Bernhardt, tenor-saxophonist Michael Brecker, guitarists Steve Khan and Larry Coryell, trumpeter Randy Brecker and vibraphonist Mike Mainieri) recorded a dozen funky selections which were originally released on two Arista LPs. Michael Brecker in particular is in good form. The results are not essential but offer listeners a time capsule of where R&B-oriented fusion was in 1978.