Pcd Files

Sun Ra & His Arkestra - Live At Montreux (1976) {2CD Set P-Vine Japan Mini LP PCD-22032~3 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 459 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 192 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2003 Inner City Records / P-Vine Japan | PCD-22032~3
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Jazz Funk / Progressive Jazz

One of Sun Ra's best non-Saturn live sets of the 70s – a nice little record that shows the group mixing it up with equal parts avant garde and straight ahead jazz, all handled in that ever-growing large group style that made them a real force to be reckoned with in a concert setting! The album was recorded during the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival, and has a bit more focus and polish than some of the other Arkestra live material from the time – a mature, coherent sound that almost points the way towards some of their work to come in the 80s – when Ra and the group were finally reaching the wider audience they deserved. The set's a double-length one, and features players who include John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, Pat Patrick on baritone, Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet, Craig Harris on trombone, and James Jackson on Ancient Egyptian Infinity drum – which is always a treat. Ra plays solar organ and moog, as well as piano.

Billy Wooten & Richard "Groove" Holmes - The Place To Start (2013) {P-Vine Records PCD-93740 rec 1986}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 370 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 154 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1986, 2013 Billy Wooten / P-Vine Records | PCD-93740
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Vibes / Hammond Organ B-3

A lost chapter of genius from vibes player Billy Wooten – and a great one too! The set's a rare outing with Hammond giant Groove Holmes – laid out nicely here in a quartet setting that offers up plenty of Billy's great vibes mixed with the organ – in a mode that's very different than anything else Wooten ever recorded, and which really takes us back to the best soul jazz years of 60s Prestige Records! The group also features great tenor from Jimmy Coe – a player we don't really know at all – and drums from Jozell Carter, who works nicely with the rhythms from Holmes' work on the Hammond. Titles include "Blue Bossa", "Bags", "Groove's Blues", "It's A Groove Thing", and "I Remember April."

Arnett Cobb - Chittlin' Shout (1971) {Japan P-Vine Records PCD-22214 rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 386 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 128 Mb |
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 43 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2005 P-Vine Records | PCD-22214
Jazz / Jazz Blues / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

A stomping Texas tenor player in the tradition of Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb's accessible playing was between swing and early rhythm blues. Cobb emerged in the big leagues by succeeding Illinois Jacquet with Lionel Hampton's Orchestra (1942-1947). After leaving the band, Cobb formed his own group, but his initial success was interrupted in 1948, when he had to undergo an operation on his spine. After recovering, he resumed touring. But a major car accident in 1956 crushed Cobb's legs and he had to use crutches for the rest of his life. However, by 1959, he returned to active playing and recording. Cobb spent most of the 1960s leading bands back in Texas, but starting in 1973, he toured and recorded more extensively.

There's a kind of beautifully perverse brilliance to the Pussycat Dolls. Not only are they a sextet who got their start as neo-burlesque dancers in Los Angeles, but they make no bones about being a gleefully manufactured dance-pop act. Open the booklet for their 2005 debut, PCD, and their artificiality is made clear: the first page reads "All lead and background vocals by Nicole Scherzinger," a former member of Eden's Crush, the failed prefab teen pop group assembled on the WB's pre-American Idol reality music show Popstars. There is no pretense that Kimberly, Carmit, Ashley, Melody, and Jessica are there for anything besides filling out the illusion that this is a real performing musical group and providing some serious eye candy for a group that is all about the visuals.

Charles Williams - Stickball (1972) {P-Vine Japan PCD-23934 rel 2007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 259 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2007 Mainstream Records / P-Vine Japan | PCD-23934
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Saxophone

Full-on funky backings for saxophonist Charles Williams – a set that almost has him in the same territory as Stanley Turrentine during his late 70s years on Fantasy Records, or Hank Crawford over at Kudu! The style here is a bit more lush than some of the other Mainstream Records dates of the time – full backings arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins – always plenty darn soulful, and built around a mix of strings and jazzier instrumentation – set up with the care and precision of a hip soul soundtrack, and topped by well-crafted alto sax solos by Williams. Other players include Chris Woods on baritone sax, Bubba Brooks and Frank Wess on tenor, Don Pullen on organ, Paul Griffin on electric piano, David Spinozza on guitar, and Ray Barretto on congas.