Phil Roy

Dan Morganstern makes an excellent point in his liner notes when he laments the tendency to refer to Roy Eldridge as a “link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie.” For one thing, Diz eschewed the kind of brilliant trumpet tone that characterized the work of Eldridge and Armstrong. Considered in this light, if one starts with Armstrong’s early achievements and then looks for anything like that kind of distilled joy in all the subsequent history of the music, one gets no further than the spectacular sides the man they called “Little Jazz” made for Columbia in January 1937. There’s just no one after that to “link” to, ever…

Phil Perry has one of the most "spiritual" voices I've heard. The lyrics are so wonderful, true and touching. He has to be one of the top artist of our time.

Jack Wilson - The Jack Wilson Quartet featuring Roy Ayers (1963) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27094}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 225 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 82 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 117 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1963, 2012 Warner Japan / Atlantic / Rhino | WPCR-27094 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / Post Bop / Piano

A great album recorded in 1963 for Atlantic – one of our favorite ever! Jack Wilson's one of our favorite piano players, and we rave about him all the time on these pages – and one of the reasons why we love him so much is that he was often accompanied by Roy Ayers, who started out his career playing vibes in his group! The pair together are a dream, and this album is arguably their best effort – filled with moody modal cuts, and lots of lyrical interplay that hits these beautiful high points, then dives into pits of darkness. Titles include "Harbor Freeway", "De Critifeux", "Corcovado", "Jackleg", and "Nirvana & Dana".

This 21-song set is representative of Roy Wood's always inventive work with the Move, Wizzard, and as a solo artist. It contains no fewer than three U.K. number one hits, in addition to the seasonal "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day," and which usually makes a chart appearance during the holidays. And the sound quality is uniformly fine, which certainly hasn't been the case with some reissues like The Best of & the Rest of Roy Wood & Wizzard, which is something of a companion piece to this disc. The songs range from the strongly Beatles-influenced early Move singles ("Blackberry Way") to their heavier, later material ("California Man" and "Brontosaurus," both of which have been covered by Cheap Trick) to the Phil Spector homages of Wood's rock & roll big band Wizzard ("See My Baby Jive," "Ball Park Incident," and "Angel Fingers") to sumptuous solo pop confections ("This Is the Story of My Love"). A gifted writer, arranger, and producer, Wood is an underappreciated original whose music should appeal to any fan of classic rock and pop.

Phil Woods And His European Rhythm Machine - Alive And Well In Paris (1968) {2010 Pathe Japan Jazz Masterpiece Best & More 999 Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 253 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1968, 2010 Pathe / EMI Music Japan | TOCJ-50087 | Jazz Masterpiece Best & More 999 Series
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Saxophone

Phil Woods & His European Rhythm Machine was a brilliant though short-lived quartet that made a handful of albums between 1968 and 1973, though most of them are long out of print. Happily, this early studio effort, with pianist George Gruntz, bassist Henri Texier, and drummer Daniel Humair, has been reissued in Japan by Toshiba-EMI, all of whom provide first-rate rhythmic support and make the most of their solos. The leader's "And When We Are Young" was written in tribute to Senator Robert Kennedy, who was gunned down by a cowardly assassin in the spring of 1968 in the midst of Kennedy's celebration of his presidential primary victory in California. The piece begins with a mournful dirge before cutting loose with some wailing post-bop.

MYSTERY GIRL: 25TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP DELUXE EDITION features the remastered original album on two 180-gram LPs. It also includes nine stunning unreleased bonus tracks, including studio demos and the previously unheard song “The Way Is Love,” based on a long-lost demo featuring new instrumentation from Orbison’s children, Wesley, Roy Jr. and Alex, and John Carter Cash, son of Orbison’s longtime friend Johnny Cash.