VA - Membran Music's Jazz Ballads Series Vol. 16-20 (10 CD, 2004) [FLAC + 320]

 

A CD sets with the most beautiful ballads in the history of jazz.

Lyrical, imaginative, sensuous and melodic jewels from the art of music.

Precisely for those people who have maintained their taste for lasting musical values.

Jazz in its most gentle form.

Irrestible...

Jazz Ballads 16: Charlie Parker

Jazz Ballads 17: Tenor Giants

Jazz Ballads 18: Art Tatum

Jazz Ballads 19: Louis Armstrong & Jack Teagarden

Jazz Ballads 20: All Stars Jam Sessions

Ella Fitzgerald - Air Mail Special (Quadromania 4 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy - The Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996-2001 (7 CD, 2011/FLAC)

 

Nonesuch Records releases jazz pianist Brad Mehldau’s Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996–2001 on December 6, 2011. The set includes the five original Art of the Trio albums (the fifth volume includes two CDs), released on Warner Bros. over a prolific four year period from 1997 to 2001; a seventh disc of previously unreleased material from shows at the Village Vanguard in 1997, 1999, and 2001 completes the box. These recordings feature Mehldau’s longtime trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. Repertoire includes interpretations of standard tunes and modern classics as well as many original compositions. New liner notes by Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson include interviews with all three trio members. 

David Murray - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note Vol.2 (7 CD, 2013) [FLAC]

 

David Murray's first box set in this series was one of Black Saint/Soul Note's better reissues. And this second volume is it's equal, and in some instances possibly better. The seven albums here span the years 1979 to 1993, and show Murray in different playing styles, but always close to the top of his skills. 

Chet Baker - My Funny Valentine [10 CD, 2008] [FLAC + 320]

  

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.
In the 1950s, Baker earned much attention and critical praise, particularly for albums featuring his vocals, such as Chet Baker Sings. Jazz historian David Gelly descibed the promise of Baker's early career as seemingly representing "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one." However, his "well-publicized drug habit" also drove his notoriety and fame, as Baker was in-and-out of jail for much of his life before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and '80s.

Baker died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Bill Evans - The Complete Fantasy Recordings [9 CD, 1989]

 

Bill Evans' Fantasy recordings of 1973-1979 have often been underrated in favor of his earlier work but, as this remarkable nine-CD set continually shows, the influential pianist continued to grow as a musician through the years while holding on to his original conception and distinctive sound. The collection has all of the 98 selections recorded at Evans' 11 Fantasy sessions, including nine numbers from a previously unreleased 1976 concert with his trio. In addition, Evans' appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio program is tacked on as a bonus and it is actually among McPartland's finest shows, a fascinating hour of discussion and music with Evans. Nearly all of the performances on this box (which includes duets with bassist Eddie Gomez and singer Tony Bennett, trio outings with Gomez and either Marty Morell or Eliot Zigmund on drums, and a couple of quintet sets with the likes of tenors Harold Land and Warne Marsh, altoist Lee Konitz, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Philly Joe Jones) is available individually on CD but Bill Evans' more passionate collectors will certainly want this definitive box. The only minus is Gene Lees' typically self-serving liner notes; he always seems to love to write about himself.

 

 

Stanley Clarke - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 

CD1 - Stanley Clarke (1974)

CD2 - Journey to Love (1975)

CD3 - School Days (1976)

CD4 - Modern Man (1978)

CD5 - Clarke/Duke Project (1981)

Art Pepper - Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section (stereo 1957-2021) [24-192]

By the time of this, Art Pepper's tenth recording as a leader, he was making his individual voice on the alto saxophone leave the cozy confines of his heroes Charlie Parker and Lee Konitz. Joining the Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones made the transformation all that more illuminating. It's a classic east meets west, cool plus hot but never lukewarm combination that provides many bright moments for the quartet during this exceptional date from that great year in music, 1957. 

• Art Pepper - alto saxophone
• Red Garland - piano
• Paul Chambers - bass
• Philly Joe Jones - drums

01 - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 05:26

02 - Red Pepper Blues 03:39

03 - Imagination 05:54

04 - Waltz Me Blues 02:58

05 - Straight Life 04:01

06 - Jazz Me Blues 04:49

07 - Tin Tin Deo 07:44

08 - Star Eyes 05:14

09 - Birks Works 04:19

David Murray - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note Vol.1 (5 CD, 2011) [FLAC]

 

The five CDs in this box represent the first David Murray Octet recordings, released between between 1980 and 1991. The original version of the band included Murray on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Lawrence "Butch" Morris on cornet, Henry Threadgill on alto saxophone, trombonist George Lewis, trumpeter Olu Dara, drummer Steve McCall, bassist Wilber Morris, and pianist Anthony Davis. This incarnation lasted for the first two albums in the set, Ming (1981) and Home (1982). Lewis and Dara are replaced on 1983's Murray's Steps by Craig Harris on trombone and trumpeter Bobby Bradford. While all of the Murray Octet recordings are worth hearing, it is these first three that are most enduring in scope and execution.

VA - Golden Jazz Box: The Six Best Albums From The Six Best Jazzmen (6 CD, 2015) [FLAC]

 

Son of the Blues, Jazz is one of the deepest expressions in music. With improvisation as its foundation, the genre includes multiple artists that are embedded in gold letters in the history of popular music. Golden Jazz Box is a celebration of that legacy, presenting the 6 best albums of each one of the genre's biggest icons: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans and Duke Ellington.

Golden Jazz Box works as a true musical encyclopedia, the definitive collection of these wonderful singers in one six-CD box. Golden Jazz Box is a fantastic album, suitable for any moment and mood and an opportunity to get closer to these timeless artists.

Thelonious Monk - Les Liaisons Dangereuses (OST 1960 / 2017) [24-96]

The only soundtrack recorded by Thelonious Monk in 1959 to be released for the first time! Contains performances of classic Monk tunes heard in Roger Vadim's 1960 French film Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Features Monk's 1959 all-star band of Charlie Rouse, Sam Jones & Art Taylor, plus special guest saxophonist Barney Wilen. 

• Thelonious Monk - piano
• Charlie Rouse - tenor saxophone
• Barney Wilen - tenor saxophone (1, 2, 8, 11)
• Sam Jones - bass
• Art Taylor - drums

Rec.: Nola Penthouse Sound Studios, 111 W. 57th St., New York City, NY, July 27, 1959.

01. Rhythm-A-Ning (5:47)

02. Crepuscule With Nellie (5:16)

03. Six In One (4:28)

04. Well, You Needn't (4:57)

05. Pannonica (Solo 1) (2:27)

06. Pannonica (Solo 2) (2:55)

07. Pannonica (Quartet) (6:20)

08. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (6:57)

09. Light Blue (2:47)

10. By And By (We'll Understand It Better By And By) (1:47)

11. Rhythm-A-Ning (Alternate) (5:36)

12. Crepuscule With Nellie (Take 1) (2:29)

13. Pannonica (45 rpm Master) (6:53)

14. Light Blue (45 rpm Master) (4:09)

15. Well, You Needn't (Unedited) (6:47)

16. Light Blue (Making Of) (14:13)

Charlie Parker - Complete Savoy & Dial Sessions [8 CD, 2001/FLAC ]

 

Recorded between 1944 & 1948. Through the miracle of high-resolution digital transfer and mastering technology, Bird enthusiasts can now get an earful of the shape of Charlie Parker's musical accomplishments for Savoy and Dial in the 1940s. Available as a eight-disc box set, the alto saxophonist is recorded in various configurations as performer and bandleader with such mainstream jazz greats as trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, pianists Bud Powell and Erroll Garner, drummer Max Roach, trombonist J.J. Johnson, and bassist Ray Brown, to name but a few.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin - The Inner Mounting Flame (1971/2012 remaster/FLAC)

 

The Inner Mounting Flame is the debut studio album by American jazz-rock fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra, recorded in August 1971 and released in November of the same year by Columbia Records. After their formation, the group performed several debut gigs before they entered the studio to record their first album featuring all original material written by guitarist John McLaughlin.

•     John McLaughlin – guitar
•     Rick Laird – bass
•     Billy Cobham – drums, percussion
•     Jan Hammer – keyboards, organ
•     Jerry Goodman – violin

01. Meeting Of The Spirits (6:52)

02. Dawn (5:10)

03. The Noonward Race (6:28)

04. A Lotus On Irish Streams (5:40)

05. Vital Transformation (6:16)

06. The Dance Of Maya (7:17)

07. You Know, You Know (5:07)

08. Awakening (3:30)

09. The Noonward Race (Live) (15:23)

Lennie Tristano - Intuition (4 CD, 2003/FLAC)

 Blind since childhood, pianist Lennie Tristano nevertheless went on to create a whole school of jazz composition and playing. His playing was spare and his harmonies inspired by contemporary classical music, forming an antidote to the bebop styles prevalent at the time. This 4CD set is a comprehensive collection of his early work and includes performances from musicians such as Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh as well as Lennie's solo and trio work.

Lennie Tristano (piano); Billy Bauer (guitar); John LaPorta, Buddy DeFranco (clarinet); Lee Konitz, Charlie Parker (alto saxophone); Emmett Carls, Warne Marsh, Charlie Ventura (tenor saxophone); Ernie Caceres (baritone saxophone); Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, Shorty Rogers (trumpet); Earl Swope, J. Alan Johnson , Kai Winding (trombone); Denzil Best, Don Lamond, Harold Granowsky, Al Levitt, Jeff Morton, Roy Haynes, Shelly Manne (drums).

Stan Getz & João Gilberto feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim - GETZ/GILBERTO (Expanded, 2014) [24-192]

Getz/Gilberto is an album by American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto, featuring pianist and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim (Tom Jobim), who also composed many of the tracks. It was released in March 1964 by Verve Records. The album features the vocals of Astrud Gilberto on two tracks, "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") and "Corcovado". The artwork was done by artist Olga Albizu. Getz/Gilberto is a jazz and bossa nova album and includes tracks such as "Desafinado", "Corcovado", and "Garota de Ipanema". The last received a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and started Astrud Gilberto's career. "Doralice" and "Para Machucar Meu Coração" strengthened Gilberto's and Jobim's respect for the tradition of pre-bossa nova samba. 

• Stan Getz - tenor saxophone
• João Gilberto - guitar, vocals
• Antonio Carlos Jobim - piano
• Sebastião Neto - bass
• Milton Banana - drums
• Astrud Gilberto - vocals (in "The Girl from Ipanema", "Corcovado", "The Girl from Ipanema )

Stereo Version

01. The Girl From Ipanema (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim & Astrud Gilberto) (5:20)

02. Doralice (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (2:46)

03. Para Machuchar Meu Coracao (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (5:07)

04. Desafinado (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (4:08)

05. Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) (feat. Astrud Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim) (4:17)

06. Só Danço Samba (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (3:40)

07. O Grande Amor (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (5:27)

08. Vivo Sonhando (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (2:57)

Mono Version

09. The Girl From Ipanema - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim & Astrud Gilberto) (5:13)

10. Doralice - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (2:46)

11. Para Machuchar Meu Coracao - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (5:06)

12. Desafinado - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (4:10)

13. Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) - Mono Version (feat. Astrud Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim) (4:15)

14. Só Danço Samba - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (3:24)

15. O Grande Amor - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (5:27)

16. Vivo Sonhando - Mono Version (feat. Antonio Carlos Jobim) (2:57)

Mono Singles (bonus tracks)

17. The Girl From Ipanema - Single Version (feat. Astrud Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim) (2:48)

18. Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) - Single Version (feat. Astrud Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim) (2:20)

Charles Lloyd - Manhattan Stories (2 CD, 2014/FLAC-HD)

Manhattan Stories is a trip back in time, a journey to a long gone and long-missed era. It's a window into the great Charles Lloyd's art at a period of transition. The shows presented on this beautifully packaged two-disc set—one recorded at the infamous Slugs' Saloon in the summer of 1965, the other recorded at Judson Hall in September of the same year—took place shortly after Lloyd left the employ of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and before he became a cross-over sensation and hero to hippies, moving a million units of Forest Flower: Charles Lloyd At Monterey (Atlantic, 1966).

• Charles Lloyd, tenor saxophone, flute
• Gábor Szabó, guitar
• Ron Carter, bass
• Pete La Roca, drums

CD 1 (Live at Judson Hall, NYC, September 3, 1965)

01. Sweet Georgia Bright (17:49)

02. How Can I Tell You (11:56)

03. Lady Gabor (13:50)

CD 2 (Live at Slugs' Saloon, NYC, 1965)

01. Slugs' Blues (12:57)

02. Lady Gabor (13:50)

03. Dream Weaver (15:30)

The Bad Plus - The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (2015) [24-96]

The Bad Plus Joshua Redman is a 2015 album by jazz trio The Bad Plus and saxophonist Joshua Redman.

The record is the group's eleventh studio album and the first one in collaboration with Joshua Redman. It only contains original compositions, except for "Dirty Blonde" and "Silence is the Question" which already appeared on previous albums.

•     Reid Anderson – bass
•     Ethan Iverson – piano
•     David King – drums
•     Joshua Redman – saxophone

1.  As This Moment Slips Away 06:53
2.  Beauty Has it Hard 07:01
3.  County Seat 03:03
4.  The Mending 04:11
5.  Dirty Blonde 05:32
6.  Faith Through Error 03:18
7.  Lack the Faith But Not the Wine 07:13
8.  Friend or Foe 08:36
9.  Silence is the Question 13:31

Tommy Dorsey & Frank Sinatra - The Song Is You (5 CD, 1994/FLAC)

 This five disc box set contains every studio recording Frank Sinatra performed with Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra, a few tracks of alternate recording takes, and a full disc of mostly-unreleased radio broadcasts. It is considered a definitive look at the first years of what would become a half-a-century long career. 

Grant Green — Retrospective 1961-66 [4CD, 2002/FLAC]

 Simply put, this is a very decent four-disc collection of the work of guitarist Grant Green. It features tracks from his many albums as a leader and some as a sideman with others, such as Lee Morgan, John Patton, Baby Face Willette, and Sonny Clark. His early-'60s sides are here along with most of his defining cuts from the '60s, from hard bop to soul-jazz to ballads to gospel -- everything most fans would ever want is here, including his late blues sides recorded in the bars of Detroit in 1970. While Green's own albums can never be replaced, this is a solid portrait of one of the most influential jazz guitarists in history. 

The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings (2 CD, 2009/FLAC)

The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings is a two-CD box set released in 2009 compiling the two recording sessions by singer Tony Bennett and pianist Bill Evans which produced The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album in 1975 and Together Again in 1976, including twenty alternate takes and two bonus tracks not released on the original albums.

•     Tony Bennett – vocals
•     Bill Evans – piano

Miles Davis Quintet - The Complete Columbia Studio Sessions 1965-68 (6 CD, 1998/FLAC)

 

By 1965 Miles Davis had gone through a handful of stages, from the Birth of the Cool nonet's multihued orchestrations to the development of a hard-bop sound keeled on Davis's midregister wooziness and the band's driving backbone in the "first" great quintet (featuring John Coltrane), to the modal freedom of Kind of Blue. So when the solidly established Davis convened a new quintet, known as his "second" great one, and hired youngsters Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, it seemed a skewed move. 

These six CDs show just how creatively and intelligently skewed the move really was. The material here, which has also been reissued on expanded single CDs of the main full-length original LPs (E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky), is immediately and unceasingly startling. Davis & Co. were quickly discarding their live performance practice of playing loads of standards and were further discarding traditional melodic structures for more rigorous harmonic exercises. Shorter in particular, at times the most prolific composer in the band, was advancing his tunes and his solos in equal proportion. The tunes are increasingly sharp-edged and, with Williams driving the band with a categorical balance of abandon and control, loopily energized. Miles blows with tighter and tighter control of his tone even while the band seems to be finding all kinds of expressive freedoms that easily elongate into lengthier studies. Toward the end of this box, you'll hear the seeds of the Miles that went on to unloose Bitches Brew. Even though the roots of the aggressively electric Miles are in these sessions, there are uncategorizable points of beauty strewn all over the tunes.

 

Paco de Lucía - The Montreux Years (Live) [FLAC-HD]

Beautifully restored and remastered: A showcase of Paco De Lucia’s mesmerising Montreux Jazz Festival live performances between 1984 to 2012. One of the world’s most celebrated flamenco guitarists, Paco De Lucía helped legitimize flamenco music across the world and was one of the first flamenco guitarists to have successfully crossed over into other genres of music including classical and jazz. Described by Eric Clapton as a ‘titanic figure in the world of flamenco music’, De Lucía was noted for his fast and fluent picados and was known for adding abstract chords and scale tones to his compositions with jazz influences. These innovations saw him play a key role in the development of traditional flamenco and the evolution of new flamenco and jazz fusion. At the age of 18 De Lucía recorded his first album ‘La Fabulosa Guitarra’ in Madrid. One of his greatest musical partnerships was with the Spanish singer Cameron de la Isla in the 1970s. Together the two men recorded 10 albums, which inspired a New Flamenco movement.

1. Vámonos (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2012) (10:54)

2. La Barrosa (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2006) (6:29)

3. Solo Quiero Caminar (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1984) (9:24)

4. Alta Mar (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1984) (10:29)

5. El Tesorillo (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2006) (9:48)

6. Buana Buana King Kong (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1984) (8:34)

7. Variaciones de Minera (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2012) (9:19)

8. Zyryab (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2006) (17:03) 

George Benson - Good King Bad (1976/FLAC)

Good King Bad is the thirteenth studio album by American guitarist George Benson featuring performances recorded in 1975 and released by CTI Records in 1976. 

Recorded: Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on July 1 (track 3), July 8 (track 6), Dec 4 (tracks 1 & 2) & Dec 5 (tracks 4 & 5), 1975

The Phil Woods Six - Live From The Showboat (2 CD, 1976/2014/FLAC)

 

Recorded at the Showboat Lounge, Silver Spring, MD.,

 November 1976.

• Phil Woods - alto, soprano sax
• Mike Melillo - piano
• Harry Leahey - guitar
• Steve Gilmore - bass
• Bill Goodwin - drums
• Alyrio Lima - percussion

 Disc 1

01. A Sleepin' Bee (7:38)

02. Rain Danse (8:20)

03. Bye Bye Baby (7:56)

04. Django's Castle (All Mine Almost) (5:55)

05. Cheek To Cheek (11:51)

06. Lady J (5:32)

07. Little Niles (13:04)

Disc 2

01. A Little Peace (8:24)

02. Brazilian Affair (Intriga Amorosa) (21:35)

03. I'm Late (7:26)

04. Superwoman (5:54)

05. High Clouds (5:55)

06. How's Your Mama (Phil's Theme) (5:32)