Nesles Agfa Chromes

The reign of Philippe IV the Fair of France, from the late thirteenth through the early fourteenth centuries, was marked by prosperity and a flourishing of the arts. During Philippe's reign, several important collections of music were copied, including the Montpellier Codex, the Chansonnier Cangé, and the Robertsbridge Codex, which remain the most significant sources of music of the era. The selections from those manuscripts recorded here are delightfully diverse: estampies – perky folk-like dances, polyphonic secular motets, and soulful Trouvère love songs. The music has a rough-hewn quality to it – it was written well before the conventions of western classical music had fallen into place, and it follows a logic that's foreign to modern sensibilities accustomed to music from the Renaissance to the Contemporary periods.

Love variations: The variant, and its corollary the variation, inseparable from the Middle Ages, have established themselves, particularly since Eloge de la variante (In praise of the variant) by Bernard Cerquiglini and the term of “mouvance” (mobility) inaugurated by Paul Zumthor, as genuine writing processes. Extending them to the musical field sounds quite obvious, and allows us furthermore to apprehend the modes of transmission and circulation of the medieval melodic repertoires.

The Lenny Hambro Quintet - Message From Hambro (1955) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 114 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 217 Mb | 5% repair rar | Mono
© 1955, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 27 | 2015 DSD Remaster
Jazz / Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with latest 2015 DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. A bold little message from alto saxophonist Lenny Hambro – a very strong record that should have made him as much of a giant on his instrument as contemporary talents like Lee Konitz or Herb Geller! Hambro has some of the soulful edge of the latter, and lots of the crisp, modern chromes of the former – especially in the way he runs alongside some great guitar in the group from Dick Garcia – a player we mostly know for his work on the Dawn label at the time, but who really makes the record something special here. The rest of the combo features Wade Legge on piano, Clyde Lombardi on bass, and Mel Zelnick on rhythm – and Hambro's sax work is angular and very deft – already at the top of his game. Titles include the Legge originals "Slave Girl", "Message In Minor", "Moon Slippers", and "Hoof Beats" – plus Hambro's "Thanatopsis" and "The Lonely One".

Sadao Watanabe - Live At The Junk (1969) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series, SICJ 63}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 436 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 148 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 340 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan / CBS | SICJ 63
Jazz / Post Bop / Neo Bop / Saxopohone

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of the more obscure albums by this great reedman – recorded live, and with a loose feel that really points towards his changes to come in the 70s! The album's got a lively vibe that's quite a change from some of Watanabe's albums from a few years before – longer tracks, lots of new ideas, and a style that's really stretching out – yet never too far outside too.

Wes Montgomery - Movin' Wes (1965) {Verve 810 045-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 195 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965 Verve / M.G.M. Records | 810 045-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Guitar

One of Wes Montgomery's grooviest records of the 60s – a wonderful collaboration with the great Johnny Pate – a jazz artist at heart, but also working here as a soulful arranger who gives Wes' guitar a nicely different flavor than some of his other Verve albums of the time! Pate's probably best known for his famous work in the studio with The Impressions in the 60s – and he uses that soulful legacy to craft some very groovy charts for Montgomery – nicely upbeat at times, yet still filled with those amazing chromes from the guitar! Wes is playing here with a groove that you'll be hard pressed to find in some of his other records, while Johnny and the band go to town in kind of a soul jazz style.

Johnny Smith - The New Johnny Smith Quartet (1956) {2016 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29025}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 154 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 47 Mb | 5% repair rar | Mono | 24bit remaster
© 1956, 2016 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29025
Jazz / Cool / Guitar / Vibes

SHM-CD reissue. Comes with a mini-description. Features new remastering if it comes from Parlophone. A Johnny Smith album with a real difference, and that difference is vibes – handled her by a young John Rae, whose tones make a perfect accompaniment to Smith's chromatic style of guitar! The balance of vibes and guitar is beautiful – handled with all that sense of space that both Johns could bring to their 50s work – with just a bit of extra help from George Roumanis on bass and John Lee on drums – players who can come in strong when needed, but often lay back and let the chromes take over!

Safri Duo is a Danish percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery (born April 5, 1966) and Morten Friis (born August 21, 1968). Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000. The result was the popular "Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)", that became one of the most popular songs in Europe that year