Snake Charming

On the follow-up to the mind-blowing Spirits Known and Unknown, singer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer Leon Thomas decided to take a different track. Far from the sparely orchestrated ensembles of the previous works, Thomas loaded this set with jazz luminaries such as Roy Haynes and Billy Cobham, Billy Harper, Donald Smith, James Spaulding, Sonny Morgan, Ernie Royal, and many others as well as a backing chorus of female voices. Side one is the up-tempo jazz ride, as Thomas and company rip through a host of his own tunes, such as the scatted post-bop of "I Am" and the nearly bar-walking blues of "Come Along." But the side is graced by an absolutely stunning read of Milt Jackson's "Bag's Groove," with Harper leading a five-horn section…

The Sound - From The Lions Mouth
FLAC | Artwork | 24Bit 96kHz: 903 MB | 16Bit 44.1kHz: 295 MB
Cat#: Korova KOW 58 384 | Country/Year: Germany 1981
Genre: Post Punk, Indie Rock | Hoster: Filesonic/Uploaded

Many have said that The Sound were not given the recognition they deserved. From the Sun Records Music Store: "The Sound were tragically overlooked in their time and have remained unjustly neglected since." From Trouser Press: "It's hard to understand why this London quartet never found commercial success. At their best, the Sound's excellent neo-pop bears favorable comparison to the Psychedelic Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen." And from Jack Rabid of Big Takeover magazine: "The Sound? Just one of the finest bands of the 1980s."

The John Lurie National Orchestra - The Invention of Animals (2014) {Amulet Records Digital Download 16-44.1}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (qobuz.com) -> 222 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Amulet Records | AMT 037
Jazz / Modern Creative / Modern Jazz / Score

This archival compilation is a much-needed addendum to John Lurie's recorded legacy. Since being struck with a chronic case of Lyme disease in 2000, the saxophonist and composer has focused more on painting than music. The John Lurie National Orchestra was an early-'90s trio with percussionists G. Calvin Weston and Billy Martin. This group recorded fairly little in the studio, issuing only one album, 1993's Men with Sticks. The title track from that recording is featured and showcases just how fluid and communicative they could be in virtually any circumstance. It's one of the true highlights here, with Lurie's hypnotic alto exploring the subtleties of a melodic idea atop a circular rhythm orgy by Weston and Martin.