Altoist Kenny Garrett, who was then a key member of Miles Davis' group, had one of his strongest early sets as a leader on this Atlantic disc. "Ja-Hed" features his post-bop improvising over the chord changes of "Impressions," the is both lighthearted and adventurous on "Mack the Knife" and the title cut has Garrett expertly building up an emotional solo from intense long tones to sound explorations and late period 'Trane screams. Throughout the CD, Kenny Garrett's alto is the main attraction but the strong rhythm section (comprised of pianist Mulgrew Miller, either Charnett Moffett or Ron Carter on bass, Tony Reedus or Elvin Jones on drums and occasional percussionists) should not be overlooked.

Guitarist Lee Ritenour has long been associated with Brazilian styles (especially after playing with Sergio Mendes's Brasil '77 in the '70s), and 2005's WORLD OF BRAZIL continues that association to excellent effect. Ritenour's smooth, soulful style lends itself perfectly to bossa nova and samba grooves on this mix of originals and covers (including, not surprisingly, several tunes by the genre's greatest composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim). But one of the things that makes WORLD OF BRAZIL such a treat is the host of guest stars, which includes keyboardists Herbie Hancock and Dave Grusin, bassist John Pattitucci, singer El Debarge, and percussionist Carlinhos Brown. No less a luminary than Tropicalia pioneer Caetano Veloso appears on his own "Linda," and his sultry tenor sounds as alluring as ever. With its mix of smooth jazz and Brazilian flavors, the overall vibe of this disc is relaxed, sophisticated, and cool.

After 15 years of guitarist Lee Ritenour primarily playing crossover music, this set of mostly straight-ahead jazz was a surprise. Ritenour always loved Wes Montgomery's playing and on many of these cuts, that influence dominates his sound and style.

When guitarist Bill Frisell first began a more decided focus on roots music, bluegrass and country & western music with the release of 1996's Nashville (Nonesuch), despite being largely very well-received, jazz purists rankled when the largely bluegrass/folk-informed album began to garner awards like Downbeat Magazine's Best Jazz Album of the Year. While Frisell's oftentimes Americana-tinged work has, in the ensuing years, become more fully accepted for the wonderful music that it is, fellow six-stringer John Scofield is unlikely to find himself the subject of such purist criticism with Country for Old Men.

Karyn White's third album is one of the better R&B albums of the 90's. Way before TLC entered their mega-successful stage of career with "CrazySexyCool" Karyn White had released this gem, that easily ranks as the singer's very best effort. With production duties from Terry Lewis, Jimmy Jam (well tried duo responsible for mega-success of Janet Jackson) and Babyface (probably the 90's most successful R&B songwriter and producer) "Make Him Do Right" sounds almost like "Greatest Hits" album, because every single song has hit written all over it. "Can I Stay With You" could have been huge #1 hit in tradition of other Babyface-penned ballads, but her record label slept on it. The same can be said of "Here Comes The Pain Again" and "Nobody But My Baby".

Sun Ra - Astro Black (2018) {Modern Harmonic MHCD-080 rec 1972}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 212 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 97 Mb
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© 1972, 2018 Sun Ra LLC / Modern Harmonic | MHCD-080
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Space-Age / Jazz Funk / Progressive Jazz

One of the darkest Sun Ra albums of the early 70s – and a set that's also a bit unusual in his catalog as well! The album was issued during Ra's run with Impulse Records – a period that mostly saw the label reissue previous records from the Saturn catalog – save for a rare few like this one, which was an unusual all-new batch of material for Impulse! Because of that, it's been a bit overlooked in later years – maybe missed as less authentic, but actually some of the most striking sounds that Ra created at the time! There's a very strong tension here between electric and acoustic elements – not in the usual fusion-based way, but instead with this vibe that often has the electric instruments providing darker areas of sound, while the woodwinds and percussion have a way of humanizing the proceedings. June Tyson's also at her moodiest on the title track, "Astro Black" – and other titles include "Hidden Spheres", "Discipline 99", and the long improvisation "Cosmo Fire".

Limited Edition 80-CD set presenting Claudio Arrau’s complete Philips and American Decca recordings plus his live recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 with Leonard Bernstein (Amnesty International) on Deutsche Grammophon. Balancing invincible technical accuracy and virtuosity with rigorous intellectual and spiritual stimulation, Claudio Arrau played to probe, divine and to interpret the will of the composer, always faithful to the text. He viewed technique and virtuosity as inseparable from musical expression and constantly stressed the expressive, spiritual and creative power of virtuosity while downplaying its sensational aspect and suffusing every note with meaning.

Eberhard Kummer - Nibelungenlied - Complete Recording (2007) {2CD Set MP3 Edition Only The Chaucer Studio OR038}
MP3 @192 -> 1.24 Gb on two MP3 CDs
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© 2007 The Chaucer Studio | OR038
Classical / Medieval / Narration / Early Music

Over 18 hours of Medieval German storytelling! Eberhard Kummer performed this epic work in Middle High German with musical accompaniment in a series of concert performances in October and November 2006 in Vienna. This recording was undertaken and sponsored by the Phonogramm-Archiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and was recorded before a live audience over a series of five afternoon and nights, from 4p.m. to 12 midnight.

Paradigms is an honest attempt to expand musical horizons, capturing the essence of the unique prog vibe by focusing on the genre's most important aspect: variety. Featured musicians on the album include drummer Craig Blundell (Frost*/Steven Wilson), bassist Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex-Pain of Salvation), guests Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater), Alex Argento on keyboards, and the lovely jazz vocalist Houry Dora Apartian. Project by: guitarist and founder Shant Hagopian…

Matching Mole (Robert Wyatt) - Matching Mole's Little Red Record (1972) {2013 Columbia Japan Mini LP Blu-spec CD2 SICP 30322}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 384 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 144 Mb
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© 1972, 2013 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 30322
Rock / Art Rock / Experimental / Jazz Rock

Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Matching Mole features 2013 remastering and the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD players). Includes bonus tracks. Maybe it's because Wyatt relinquished his firm upper hand on the songwriting (everybody in the band pens material) and production (Robert Fripp takes over), but this is a distinct comedown from Matching Mole's debut.