This remarkable concert at the Paris Olympia in March 1960 features the same group(less Cannonball Adderley) that recorded 'Freddie Freeloader' on Miles Davis's classic album 'Kind of Blue' a year or so earlier but they sound very different here. John Coltrane was reluctant to be part of this European tour and was anxious to leave Miles and start his own band. Despite this he's in absolutely blistering form although some members of the audience are clearly perturbed by the intensity of his playing. The recording quality is excellent and it's a mystery why this concert hasn't received more attention.
A remarkable recording for many reasons, the debut of Tin Machine predates by nearly half a decade much of the guitar-oriented alternative pop that followed the grunge explosion of 1991-1992. This does not sound like Bowie in a band; missing are the quirkiness and theatrics that characterize much of Bowie's solo work. This is a band with a band attitude, not exactly what the fans were wanting at the time.
Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote (like "Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962). Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals (some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins). To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" can sound like an average doo wop song.
Pure and simple genius from trumpeter Charlie Shavers – a player with a sweet tone and a fluid groove – stepping out here with great accompaniment from pianist Ray Bryant! The CD brings together work from the albums Charlie Digs Paree and Charlie Digs Dixie – both originally recorded for MGM Records in the late 50s, and done in a clean, uncluttered style that really brought a strong focus to Shaver's solos, but also gave some excellent rhythmic support from Bryant – working here at the height of his early powers, in a mode that's clearly relaxed enough to get with the spirit of each different session.