Roland Set

Johnny Hartman - Boston Concert 1976 (2007) {2CD Set, Gambit Records 69276}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 523 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 283 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2007 Gambit Records | 69276
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Standards

Johnny Hartman, known best for his 1963 collaboration with John Coltrane, is considered by many to be one of the most gifted jazz vocalists ever, yet his discography is surprisingly limited and he never gained the recognition he so justly deserved during his lifetime. This double CD edition contains a complete previously unreleased performance by Johnny Hartman backed by a trio - taped in 1976 from a radio broadcast in Boston. It is the first known recording of Hartman following his 1973 album “I've Been There” - the next entry in his discography being the October 1977 live set at the Sometime Club in Tokyo, with Roland Hanna and George Mraz - which is presented here as a 9-track bonus.

Various Artists - Let Me Tell You About The Blues - New York: The Evolution Of New York Blues (2009) {3 CD Box Set}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 682 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 479 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 125 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2009 Fantastic Voyage / Future Noise Music Ltd. | FVTD030
Blues / Regional Blues

The blues recording industry began in New York City and for most of the 1920s, musicians travelled from all parts of the country to make their mark in the recording studio. Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey were amongst the most popular female singers but they were soon rivaled by the likes of Lonnie Johnson, Robert ‘Barbecue Bob’ Hicks, Texas Alexander and Mississippi John Hurt. Kansas Joe McCoy cut ‘When The Levee Breaks’, justly famous in its Led Zeppelin incarnation, in the city.

Various Artists - Heavy Sugar: The Pure Essence Of New Orleans R&B (1952-1959) {3CD Set Fantastic Voyage FVTD051 rel 2010}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 574 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 357 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1952-59, 2010 Fantastic Voyage | FVTD051
Rhythm & Blues / Rock ‘n’ Roll / Rockabilly

Over the course of time, Heavy Sugar has been the title of a song, the name of a radio station, an independent movie and the primary ingredient for a rapturous recipe. How fitting it is that this latter description also epitomizes the ingredients that go to make up Heavy Sugar: The Pure Essence of New Orleans R&B. Just think, if the celebrity chefs of New Orleans were to whip up Heavy Sugar until the peaks start to form, then the hostesses on Bourbon Street would go that little bit further and add any flavour necessary to achieve a creamy finish.

Jérôme Lejeune continues his History of Music series with this boxed set devoted to the Renaissance. The next volume in the series after Flemish Polyphony (RIC 102), this set explores the music of the 16th century from Josquin Desprez to Roland de Lassus. After all of the various turnings that music took during the Middle Ages, the music of the Renaissance seems to be a first step towards a common European musical style. Josquin Desprez’s example was followed by every composer in every part of Europe and in every musical genre, including the Mass setting, the motet and all of the various new types of solo song. Instrumental music was also to develop considerably from the beginning of the 16th century onwards.

Frederico Ricci's Corrado d'Altamura is a dramma lirico that opened at La Scala in 1841. Set in 12-century Sicily, the highly dramatic plot tells of betrayal and then revenge between Roggero, the Duke of Agrigento and his former friend and tutor, Corrado, to whose daughter, Delizia, Roggero has promised marriage - only to break his vows. The great expert in 19th-century Italian opera Julian Budden thought Ricci's serious works 'are worthy to stand beside Mercadante's.' This is the sixth opera in the Essential Opera Rara series and, once again, a vivid impression of the work is captured on a single disc, accompanied by a complete libretto and article by the eminent 19th century scholar, Jeremy Commons.