Sam 2015

Even Norwegians get the blues. On “Tears Of The World,” guitarist Knut Reiersrud and his band find themselves in the company of the 72-year old vocalist Mighty Sam McClain, originally from Louisiana. Together, they have dedicated themselves to the music of the deep south and have given impressive proof that, when it comes to playing hard-driven R&B, soul or blues, it's not where you come from that's important.In the context of the regular flow of new releases on the ACT label, “Tears Of The World” is patently a stylistic outlier; and yet this detour is not all that surprising, given label founder Siggi Loch's passion for the blues. In Loch's autobiography he describes the experience of what he remembers as the “wildest night” of his life - until then, at least. It was in 1962, and he was at one of the first American Folk Blues Fest…

Sam Morrison - Dune (1976) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9180}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 215 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 169 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1976, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9180
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Fusion / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. A pretty great little fusion set from saxophonist Sam Morrison – as slinky, sloping, and seductive as the title – and a record that might have been right at home on CTI! The album features all original tunes by Morrison – played with a very cool group that includes Al Foster on drums, Buster Williams on bass, Mike Wolf on Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, and Ryo Kawasaki on guitar. Morrison shifts effortlessly between soprano, flute, and tenor – working in a mode that's choppy, but never too over the top – dancing along in a lyrical, soulful mode! Titles include "Wonder", "Dune", "Song Of Landa", and "I Knew It Right Away".

Sam Jones - Seven Minds (1974) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9140}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 259 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 136 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1974, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9140
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. A strong 70s recording by a group that was mostly known as the Cedar Walton trio – the group of Sam Jones on bass, Walton on piano, and Billy Higgins on drums – recorded only for the Japanese market, and a heck of a record! The set's got one standout feature that sets it apart from some of the other sides by the Walton group at the time – the use of a string quartet on a few of the tracks, which creates some great interplay between the core trio and the augmented strings.

Magic Sam Blues Band - Black Magic (1969) {2015 Delmark Deluxe Edition DE 620}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 423 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 159 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2015 Delmark Records | DE 620
Blues / Rhythm & Blues / Soul / Chicago Blues / Electric Blues

Recorded on October 23 and November 6, 1968 Black Magic was released only days before Magic Sam's untimely passing on December 1, 1969. He was only 32! The album went on to win a W.C. Handy Award in the classic blues album category. This Digipak Deluxe Edition contains more than an hour of west side Chicago blues at its finest, re-mastered from the original analog tapes. The 16-page booklet contains never before seen photos at the recording session, additional color photos from the Ann Arbor Music Festival, the original liner note from the LP and a new note by producer Bob Koester.

The Country Side Of Harmonica Sam - Open Letter To The Blues (2015) {El Toro Records ETCD6068}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 222 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 El Toro Records / ETCD 6068
Country / Honky Tonk / Hillbilly / Rockabilly

It’s rather ironic that a lot of the current European artists are outdoing their American counterparts when it comes to reproducing a sincere country sound. A fine example of this transition is The Country Side of Harmonica Sam and their current album ‘Open Letter To The Blues’, because it doesn’t come much more authentic than this when replicating country music from the late 50s and early 60s. With the countries of origin for this new long player stemming from Sweden, this latest guise for Harmonica Sam (real name Samuel Andersson) is one that fits splendidly as the honky tonk sound of the aforementioned periods in history is resuscitated and delivered inch perfectly as if it never went away!