Playboy Scans

Steve Nieve is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, the Imposters and Madness. He has also experienced success as a prolific session musician, featured on a wide array of other artists' recordings. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Elvis Costello and the Attractions. In addition to his work with Costello, Nieve has released several solo albums. Keyboard Jungle (1983) was his first, a combination of classical and ersatz film scores delivered from his beloved Steinway piano. His second album, Playboy (1987), consisted of solo acoustic piano renditions of rock songs by David Bowie, 10cc, the Specials, X and others, as well as original compositions.

Something of a smooth jazz oriented answer to the label's 2003 straight-ahead compilation Jazz After Dark, this highly engaging two-disc set features oft-played radio hits that have helped define the genre's generally easy grooves and colorful melodies. For diehard fans, smooth jazz has always been as about much about lifestyle as music, and these tracks will no doubt remind them just why they became devotees. All the early classics (circa mid-'70s to mid-'80s) are here, from Kenny G.'s "Songbird" and Dave Grusin's "Mountain Dance" to George Benson's "Breezin'" and Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Just the Two of Us." These are supplemented by later hits like Boney James & Rick Braun's "Grazin' in the Grass" and Dave Koz's "You Make Me Smile." But it's not simply an objective survey of smoothness at its best. The collection also seems designed to promote artists in the Concord Jazz stable – David Benoit and Russ Freeman, the Rippingtons, the Braxton Brothers, Gato Barbieri, Eric Marienthal, and Cassandra Reed, among others.

The title of this set by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond refers to his having placed first once again in the alto chair in the Downbeat poll. Released in 1960, First Place Again is the result of an unexpected gathering of the rhythm section of the Modern Jazz Quartet: Percy Heath and Connie Kay, and Jimmy Giuffre 3 guitarist Jim Hall. The four musicians were all unexpectedly at home in New York and took full advantage of cheap, after-hours recording studio time to play out this set of standards and a pair of newer tunes, John Lewis' great blues, "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West," and "East of the Sun (and West Of The Moon)," from a Princeton University theater work…

Canned Heat 1967-1976: The Boogie House Tapes is a double-disc set, assembled by drummer Adolfo de la Parra, the only remaining member of the original '60s band, and Canned Heat collector Walter de Paduwa; it's a compilation of some previously "lost" studio and live performances of the indefatigable boogie band. While hardcore fans will rejoice hearing the great Alan Wilson, who appears on roughly half of these tracks, in his prime, it's still a very mixed bag. Guitarists Harvey Mandel and Henry Vestine are featured prominently, as is vocalist Bob "the Bear" Hite who, along with drummer de la Parra, is the only constant band member across these two CDs.

Musically, this band is tough to describe. They are closest to stoner rock, but their instrumental nature and tendency to experiment place them a bit beyond the standards of that genre. With their uncompromising instrumental sound that echoes such desert rock bands as Kyuss and The Obsessed, they were not an easy band to fully understand, but surely an intriguing one. They unofficially disbanded in mid-2002. This special 3CD digipack anthology is limited to a numerated 1500 copies…

Lambchop seem like one the most domesticated bands around. Maybe it’s because their sound, despite the fullness that comes from so many members, retains its subtlety and subdued complexity with the loose feel of a pick-up band among friends. Or maybe it’s because in songs such as “Nashville Parent” and “The New Cobweb Summer,” singer / lyricist Kurt Wagner always seems to be wandering his house, thinking deep thoughts about dogs and sponges, and doling wryly homespun wisdom like some brilliantly addled Lewis Grizzard. He finds inspiration in such housebound activities as walking the dog, verbally sparring with the missus, and drinking in the backyard. In a sense, this is the flipside of the typical country concerns of cheating spouses and barstool life, playing up not the heartache that haunts most songs, but the mundanity of the day-to-day grind that everyone faces—as well as the small particulars that make it worthwhile.

This CD was the first CD ever by Eddie Taylor Jr and a tribute to his father Eddie Taylor! His brothers Larry and Tim are here, both on drums! All great Taylor hits are on this CD - from "Big Town Playboy" to "Bad Boy".

Drummer Vinnie Sperrazza grew up in the Utica, New York area, and earned a degree in jazz studies from William Paterson University. While at WPU, he began a long-term musical relationship with the legendary pianist James Williams, which continued until Mr. Williams' passing in July 2004. Through the auspices of Mr. Williams, he performed in many memorable club engagements, concerts, and recordings with such individuals as Clark Terry, Bill Mobley, Steve Wilson, Javon Jackson, Richard Davis, and Mulgrew Miller.