Cut Capers are a 9-piece Bristol band whose energetic live performance and infectious sound have won them a cult following on the British festival scene. Mixing a swinging vintage-style brass section (think Caro Emerald) with funk, soul and hip-hop. Like all the best bands, (and many of those on Freshly Squeezed Music) their sound is hard to pin down but comparisons have been made to “Madness, The Streets and Lily Allen” among many others (The Bristol Magazine). Cut Capers have established themselves as go-to festival favourites, playing headline shows and main stage performances at some of the UK’s biggest festivals including Glastonbury Festival (official) and Boomtown Fair.

As much as The Moody Blues have earned the right to make a mediocre album, they shouldn't have been given the keys to the studio without a better batch of ideas than what ended up on Keys of the Kingdom. Like Sur La Mer three years earlier, many of the songs on here feel like prefabricated studio pop: programmed drum beats, sterile keyboards and soulless guitars pop up in the speakers seemingly untouched by human hands, compounded by brass arrangements and backing singers that were never a part of the Moodies' original vision…

Zu Antonio Salieris Schülern gehörten Beethoven, Schubert und Liszt. Er wurde als Wiener Hofkapellmeister bewundert. Und überhaupt galt Salieri zu seiner Zeit als einer der beliebtesten Opernkomponisten Europas. Doch nicht zuletzt dank des Kino-Hits »Amadeus« von Milos Forman verbindet mit man seinem Namen die abenteuerliche Geschichte, er hätte Mozart vergiftet. Dabei schätzten sich Mozart und Salieri. Zudem war Mozart gar von Salieris Oper »La Fiera di Venezia« derart begeistert, dass er 1773 Klaviervariationen über ein Duett aus dem II. Akt komponierte. Dieses Duett »Mio caro Adone« bildet nun auch einen der vielen Höhepunkte in der Weltersteinspielung von Salieris komischer Oper »La Fiera di Venezia«.

Both Anton Arensky and Sergey Taneyev belong to the generation of Russian composers who came to prominence at the end of the 19th century, midway between Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. With its expansive themes and wonderfully elegiac mood, Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1 is dedicated to the memory of cellist Karl Davydov. The subtle use of counterpoint in Taneyev’s Piano Trio in D major reveals his expertise in combining earlier techniques with the emphatically Romantic style that both composers inherited from Tchaikovsky. These two masterpieces summarize the development of the piano trio genre in Russian music of the 19thcentury, and subsequently laid the foundations for its further evolution.

Jimmy Cleveland - Complete Recordings (2006) {2CD Set, EmArcy–Lone Hill Jazz LHJ10235 rec 1955-1959}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 794 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 359 Mb
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© 1955-59, 2006 EmArcy / Lone Hill Jazz | LHJ10235
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trombone

This two CD set features the complete recordings of Jimmy Cleveland as a leader. Trombonist Cleveland closely follows in the footsteps of the great J.J. Johnson. Fluid, dynamic solos over the great ensemble writing of Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and others. A must have for fans of trombone and mid-'50s post-Bop. One of the most exciting jazz trombonists of the 1950s, Jimmy Cleveland had a technique equal to that of Bill Watrous (who would not emerge until a decade later), an enthusiastic style that could hold its own with Frank Rosolino, and was the first important new voice on the trombone to emerge after J.J. Johnson.

Grant Green - The Latin Bit (1962) {Blue Note CDP 8376452 rel 1996, Ron McMaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 429 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 142 Mb
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© 1962, 1996 Blue Note / Capitol | CDP 7243 8 37645 2 5
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Guitar

Grant Green, being known mainly as a soul jazz guitarist, eventually gravitated into the popular boogaloo sound. The Latin Bit is the natural bridge to that next phase, though a bit premature for most in 1961-1963, even relative to the subsequent bossa nova craze. Pianist Johnny Acea, long an underrated jazzman, is the nucleus of this session, grounding it with witty chops, chordal comping, and rhythmic meat. The Latino rhythm section of drummer Willie Bobo and conga player Carlos "Patato" Valdes personify authentic, seasoned spice, while at times the chekere sound of Garvin Masseaux makes the soup too thick.

Scott Hamilton - Across The Tracks (2008) {Concord Jazz ‎0888072303881}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 347 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 135 Mb
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© 2008 Concord Jazz ‎| 0888072303881
Jazz / Standards / Mainstream Jazz / Neo-Bop / Saxophone

A project long in the making, Across the Tracks finds tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton pairing with journeyman blues guitarist Duke Robillard for a set of burnished lesser-known standards, ballads, and blues. As Rhode Island natives, Hamilton and Robillard crossed paths early on in their careers, with the younger Hamilton drawing inspiration for his own straight-ahead jazz from Robillard's brand of vintage swing, blues, and R&B.

Tucked mischievously away at the back end of Uriah Heep’s 25th studio album, Falling Under Your Spell could well be the best song the British legends have written since the early 70s. Admittedly, it’s a dead spit for the immortal Easy Livin’, and that may be why the band opted to keep it as a belated treat, rather than placing it front and centre. But what a song it is, all propelled along by that unmistakable turbocharged shuffle, as Phil Lanzon’s rampaging, fiery keys fill up the foreground and the increasingly irresistible Bernie Shaw bellows his veteran head off…