Archie Shepp – Dollar Brand – Duet
Two different styles of two gifted musicians are combined in this album are engraved in Tokyo by Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand in June 1978. While Shepp was staying in Tokyo during his concert tour in Japan, Brand came to Japan specifically for this recording session and the two met [...]
Bill Evans Trio With The Symphony Orchestra
I have been asked to write a few words for the purpose of expressing my intent in the making of this kind of album. This is difficult or impossible at some levels, but I could say that one motivating factor was an answer to a general desire on my [...]
The words "versatile" and "multi-talented" seem to damn vibraphonist/bandleader Roy Ayers with faint praise, but summing up a musician of this quality without going over the moon is a tough task. Known to the hip-hop generation as Icon Man of acid jazz, Roy Ayers' roots extend deep into bop. He started playing with West Coast [...]
Oscar Peterson Piano Solo – Tracks
Oscar Peterson has a gargantuan discography in which he is well represented in all kinds of ensembles. But his solo outings are among his very finest. Though his group efforts show his playing at a consistent level of virtuosity and revealhis ability to adapt to any style or context, Peterson [...]
Herbie Hancock – Flood
This is an amazing album from the Headhunters band years, recorded live in Japan at 2 different venues, 3 days apart. This album, until a remastered CD version was released in the US in 2005. It's some of my favorite Herbie, super avant-garde funk, and a whole lotta soul! It also features [...]
Super-Sonic Sounds is the 1974 Impulse reissue of the first Sun Ra album to be released on his label El Saturn Research, Super-Sonic Jazz, which was owned and operated by Ra and his business partner Alton Abraham. Before the Super-Sonic Jazz release they had released singles by Chicago doo-wop groups like the Cosmic Rays. The [...]
Scatman John Larkin "Scatman" John Larkin – Self Titled LP Download
It's amazing sometimes where a little investigation into a record can lead you. I came across this sealed copy of the John Larkin LP on the Transition Records label a few years ago (forget where I found it), and held onto it due to the abstract, [...]
Facing You is one of the most important recordings in contemporary jazz for several reasons, aside from being beautifully conceived and executed by pianist Keith Jarrett. It is a hallmark recording of solo piano in any discipline, a signature piece in the early ECM label discography, a distinct departure from mainstream jazz, a breakthrough for [...]
From hearing some melancholy jazz like this, you (or me anyway) would never guess that Guaraldi got his start playing with the slickster Cal Tjader. He then went on to play in his second big band that included Afro-Latin legends Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo. He had his first taste of being personally recognized with [...]
Oscar Peterson Trio With Milt Jackson – Very Tall
The first meeting on records between the unshakably relaxed Milt Jackson and the formidably cohesive Oscar Peterson trio is intriguing for what it reveals of Peterson’s flexibility. Even within the disciplined context of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson’s conception always remains fully his own. He has [...]
