The Art of Mad Max

This is the one that started it: Mosaic, recorded in 1961, was the first recording of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers as a sextet, a setting he kept from 1961-1964. The band's front line was trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter; Cedar Walton played piano and Jymie Merritt (a criminally underappreciated talent) was the bassist. Everything on this set was written by the musicians in the band. Walton wrote the burning title track; its blazing tempo and Eastern modes were uncharacteristic of the Jazz Messengers sound, but it swings like mad. Hubbard contributed two pieces to the album, the first of which is the groover "Down Under," with its blues gospel feel. The bandmembers dig their teeth into this one, carrying the blues theme to the breaking point as Hubbard fills in between…

A luxurious and authoritative 64CD orchestral and concerto set, celebrating one of the world’s great orchestras and their 64-year relationship with Decca Classics. Few labels can claim to be so associated with a city as inextricably as Decca is with Vienna. No history of classical recordings would be complete without a chapter documenting how both Decca and the WP worked to perfect the art of recording in the city’s great concert halls, most notably in the famous Sofiensaal.

Art Pepper - The Complete Village Vanguard Sessions (1977) {9CD Box Set Contemporary 9CCD-4417-2 rel 1995}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.11 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.28 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 34 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 1995 Contemporary / Fantasy | 9CCD-4417-2
Jazz / Post Bop / West Coast Jazz / Saxophone

One of the clearest examples of the creative genius of Art Pepper, especially in his later years – filled with loads of long live tracks that are a masterpiece of improvisation! The group features George Cables on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. A lavish nine-disc boxed set that contains all 45 uninterrupted takes from Art Pepper's legendary stay at the Village Vanguard! Any Pepper fan will find a lot to treasure here: A Night in Tunisia; You Go to My Head; These Foolish Things; Labyrinth; My Friend John; Valse Triste; But Beautiful; Caravan; More for Les ; a solo sax rendition of Somewhere over the Rainbow ; radically-different alternate takes; witty between-song banter and spoken introductions, and more, plus an essay in the liner notes tells the whole sordid tale of Pepper's odyssey from prison to a halfway house to a late-1970s rebound that brought about some of his best music.