Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings (2021/FLAC)

 

• Art Blakey: drums
• Wayne Shorter: saxophone
• Lee Morgan: trumpet
• Bobby Timmons: piano
• Jymie Merritt: bass

01 - Now's The Time 22:34
02 - Moanin' 13:32
03 - Blues March 11:44
04 - The Theme 00:32
05 - Dat Dere 12:13
06 - 'Round About Midnight 13:28
07 - Now's The Time (Version 2) 17:15
08 - A Night In Tunisia 11:11
09 - The Theme (Version 2) 00:30

Oscar Peterson - A Time for Love: The Oscar Peterson Quartet Live in Helsinki, 1987 (2021/FLAC)

 In 1987, jazz immortal Oscar Peterson led his quartet featuring Joe Pass, Dave Young and Martin Drew, through the final engagement of their 14-concert European fall tour at Helsinki’s famed Kulttuuritalo. A Time For Love captures Peterson’s focus on performing original compositions on the bandstand alongside timeless classics at the pinnacle of the group’s creative stride.

The final gig of a long international tour that began with four concerts in Brazil, this date was the 14th of a European tour that took the quartet all over mainland Europe and Scandinavia. Anyone with any knowledge of jazz knows that the magic of consistent performing only makes the synergy and empathy of an ensemble – both substances this quartet has in mind-blowing quantity – better and better. That always dwarfs the fatigue factor, and sometimes results in sheer magic on a different plane. That’s clearly what happened during this spectacular concert. As Kelly Peterson said: “Performing with joy and vivacity, they determined to make every concert better than the previous one. This night in Helsinki is a glorious example of that” – and a stunning addition to the continuing legacy of this beloved master of music.

The recording is ideally summed up by Green in his liner notes: This live concert recording of Oscar in his epic prime is a heaven-sent time capsule of beauty and serves a glorious addition to the Jazz pantheon itself, a stunning testament to the music for which he honestly, humbly and fearlessly dedicated his life as a peaceful warrior, a hero to us all for the ages. I’m thankful for the gift of this concert and that Oscar’s spiritual music will play on for us today and tomorrow, as we need it more than ever before.

• Oscar Peterson, piano
• Joe Pass, guitar
• Dave Young, double bass
• Martin Drew, drums

01 - Cool Walk 09:07
02 - Sushi 06:57
03 - Love Ballade 10:40
04 - A Salute to Bach (Medley): Allegro / Andante / Bach’s Blues 20:38
05 - Cakewalk 09:17
06 - A Time for Love 08:09
07 - How High the Moon 04:28
08 - Soft Winds 06:03
09 - Waltz for Debby 05:18
10 - When You Wish Upon a Star 04:54
11 - Duke Ellington Medley: Take the “A” Train / Don’t Get Around Much Anymore / Come Sunday / C-Jam Blues / Lush Life / Caravan 18:57
12 - Blues Etude 05:55

Django Reinhardt - Intégrale Django Reinhardt, Volumes 1 - 20 [40 CD, 1996-2005/FLAC)

 

The sprawling Intégrale Django Reinhardt, Volumes 1 through 20 (Frémeaux et Associés) is a massive, amazing tribute to Django Reinhardt’s life.

The basic outline of Django Reinhardt’s remarkable career is familiar to just about anyone who loves the guitar: how he started playing guitar-banjo as a child in the bals musette, the rough, working-class dancehalls of Paris; how he nearly lost his life in a fire that badly burned his left hand; how, in the process of relearning to play guitar with his crippled hand, he developed a mastery of his instrument that still astounds other guitarists; how he formed the Quintet of the Hot Club of France with violinist Stephane Grappelli and created the style now known as Gypsy jazz; and how, after filling hundreds of records with his astonishing music, he retired to the little village of Samois, where he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1953 at the age of 43.

Vol. 01 - Presentation Stomp (1928-1934)

Vol. 02 - I Saw Stars (1934-1935)

Vol. 03 - Djangology (1935)

Vol. 04 - Magic Strings (1935-1936)

Vol. 05 - Mystery Pacific (1936-1937)

Vol. 06 - Swinging With Django (1937)

Vol. 07 - Christmas Swing (1937-1938)

Vol. 08 - Swing From Paris (1938-1939)

Vol. 09 - H.C.Q.-Strut (1939-1940)

Vol. 10 - Nuages (1940)

Vol. 11 - Swing 42 (1940-1942)

Vol. 12 - Manoir De Mes Rêves (1943-1945)

Vol. 13 - Echos Of France (1946-1947)

Vol. 14 - Django's Dream (1947)

Vol. 15 - Gipsy With A Song (1947)

Vol. 16 - Festival 48 (1948)

Vol. 17 - La Mer (1949)

Vol. 18 - I'll Never Be The Same (1949-1950)

Vol. 19 - Troublant Boléro (1950-1952)

Vol. 20 - Pour Que Ma Vie Demeure (1953)

Stan Kenton And His Orchestra - The Chronogical Classics 1940-1947 (5 CD/FLAC)

 

Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Kenton had several pop hits from the early 1940s into the 1960s, his music was always forward-looking. Kenton was also a pioneer in the field of jazz education, creating the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp in 1959 at Indiana University.

The Paris All-Stars – Homage To Charlie Parker (1990/FLAC)

 

The city of Paris celebrated bop and the spirit of Charlie Parker with several days of all-star concerts in 1989, highlighted by this performance featuring eight giants who either played with the late alto saxophonist or built upon the foundation of his contributions, though the repertoire doesn't draw exclusively from Parker's recordings. The concert was led by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, with alto saxophonists Phil Woods and Jackie McLean, tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist Hank Jones, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Max Roach. Egos are never apparent as the men joyfully support one another and no one goes out of his way to showboat during a solo. Getz is featured in "Warm Valley," Roach is all alone during his three-part "Drummers' Sweet," it's Jackson with the rhythm section in the sentimental "Old Folks," while Heath opens a trio rendition of "Yardbird Suite" with a formidable unaccompanied solo. Dizzy's muted horn is complemented by Jones' spacious piano in a marvelous duet of "Con Alma." Woods and McLean team up for a fun romp through "Cherokee," while everyone returns to the stage for an inspired, smoking interpretation of "A Night in Tunisia," followed by Gillespie's delightful scatting in a burning take of "Oop-Pop-A-Da," which ignites his fellow players. Classical composer Mort Goode's liner notes talk more about the musicians than the performances themselves, so that explains why he didn't catch the bizarre mislabeling of "Steeplechase" as "Birk's Works," or the crediting of Gillespie's "Oop-Pop-A-Da" to Babs Gonzales. Sadly, this A&M CD has been out of print for quite some time, though it is well worth searching for a copy. 

    Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean, Phil Woods

    Bass – Percy Heath

    Drums – Max Roach

    Piano – Hank Jones

    Tenor Saxophone – Stan Getz

    Trumpet – Dizzy Gillespie

    Vibraphone – Milt Jackson

Recorded June 15, 1989 at La Grande Hale - La Villette, Paris 

1. Steeplechase
2. Warm Valley
3. Drummer's Sweet: The Third Eye/Billy the Kid/The Drum Also Waltzes
4. Old Folks
5. Yardbird Suite
6. Con Alma
7. Cherokee
8. A Night in Tunisia
9. Oop-Pop-A-Da

Charles Tolliver Big Band - Mosaic Select 37 (3 CD, 2011/FLAC)

 

Three recordings, one of them previously unreleased (recorded in Hamburg for NDR), and featuring at least two generation of hard-boppers, including Jon Faddis, Herb Geller, Charles McPherson, George Coleman, Reggie Workman, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, Clifford Jordan. On the German recording some of the most eminent Americans residents of Berlin, such as Benny Bailey and Alvin Queen, can be heard.

 

The Crusaders - The Golden Years (3 CD, 1992/FLAC)

 Issued in 1992, the first of GRP's Crusaders boxes deliberately limits its reach to a 20-year stretch, stopping just before the crucial departure of drummer Stix Hooper -- hence the arguably apt title The Golden Years. The three discs occasionally give us a good idea of the band's evolution from a fine Texas bop outfit to the soulful groovemeisters somewhat beyond category. 

Disc One roughly documents the transition from the Jazz Crusaders to the Crusaders, with the live "Eleanor Rigby" serving as the pivotal turning point, though some may lament the short weight of material (albeit licensed from Pacific Jazz) from the 1960s. 

Musically, Disc Two is a gas, an uninterrupted cornucopia of first-rate material -- two tracks from Those Southern Knights, almost the entire Free as the Wind album, and doubling back to two monster cuts from Crusaders I, the sublime "So Far Away" and percolating "Put It Where You Want It." 

Disc Three moves at a somewhat lower level, but you do get the full-length "Street Life," and the set closes with a flashback to The Second Crusade. Missed chronological opportunities aside, newcomers and established fans will find a terrific selection of fine grooves and zesty music-making in one compact box. 

 

 

VA - The Smithsonian Collection Of Classic Jazz [5 CD, 1997/FLAC]

 

The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz is a five-disc box set released in 1997 by the Smithsonian Institution. Compiled by jazz essayist and historian Martin T. Williams, the album featured tracks from over a dozen record labels spanning several decades and genres of American jazz, from ragtime and big band to post-bop and free jazz. The compilation has been recognized as an invaluable document of jazz history and maintains a legacy as introductory listening for new jazz fans as well as scholarship.

 

 

Andy Summers discography [1982-2017] (FLAC)

  

Andrew James "Andy" Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English multi-instrumentalist, born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England.

While Andy is best known as the guitarist of the Police, he has since forged a successful and acclaimed solo career with new age-influenced contemporary instrumental music that, like his work with Sting and company, draws on his love for jazz and his fascination with creating instrumental textures.

1982 - Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - I Advance Masked

1984 - Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - Bewitched

1987 - Andy Summers - XYZ

1988 - Andy Summers - Mysterious Barricades

1989 - Andy Summers - The Golden Wire

1990 - Andy Summers - Charming Snakes

1991 - Andy Summers - World Gone Strange

1995 - Andy Summers - Synaesthesia

1997 - Andy Summers - The Last Dance of Mr. X

1998 - Andy Summers - A Windham Hill Retrospective

1999 - Andy Summers - Green Chimneys- The Music of Thelonious Monk

2000 - Andy Summers - Peggy's Blue Skylight

2004 - Andy Summers - Earth + Sky

2005 - Andy Summers & Victor Biglione - Splendid Brazil

2017 - Andy Summers - Triboluminescence

Henry “Red” Allen And His Orchestra - The Chronogical Classics 1929-1947 (FLAC)

 

Jazz history is full of innovators, interpreters, and individualists. The innovators change the way that the music is played and influence both their contemporaries and future generations while the interpreters perform the mainstream of the day or earlier styles, contributing fresh ideas to the music. The individualists are unique players who have their own sound and/or style. While they may not be major influences on others, they add to the legacy of jazz through their colorful musical personalities. Henry “Red” Allen was an individualist.

The last great trumpeter to emerge from New Orleans in the 1920s and arguably the most advanced of all of them. Allen’s playing remained unpredictable throughout his career. He was mostly heard in Dixieland, trad jazz and swing settings but the trumpeter tended to be more modern than his repertoire and his bands. His playing was quite speechlike and conversational, his phrasing sometimes almost ignored the beat, and he had a wide array of sounds, smears, and growls that sounded unlike anyone else. Allen was also an underrated vocalist who sang a bit like his trumpet playing and was a natural and masterful showman.