Can - Monster Movie (1969)

Can - Monster Movie (1969)

rock | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 240MB

SACD 2004

Allmusic:
Can's debut is the only full-length, proper release to feature original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, whose free-form ranting is matched by a raw, aggressive dynamic unlike anything else in the group's canon; driving, dissonant songs like the extraordinary "Father Cannot Yell" and "Outside My Door" even owe a rather surprising debt to psychedelia and garage rock. More indicative of things to come is the closer, "Yoo Doo Right," a 20-minute epic built on the kinds of hypnotic motifs and minimal rhythms that quickly became Can trademarks.

Tracks
-1. "Father Cannot Yell" 7:06
-2. "Mary, Mary So Contrary" 6:21
-3. "Outside My Door" 4:11
-4. "Yoo Doo Right" 20:27

Personnel
* Irmin Schmidt – keyboards
* Jaki Liebezeit – drums
* Holger Czukay – bass
* Michael Karoli – guitar
* Malcolm Mooney – vocals

sample & buy: Monster Movie

 

Roy Haynes - Cymbalism (1963)

Roy Haynes - Cymbalism (1963)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 265MB

OJC

Allmusic:
In the '60s, Roy Haynes had no problem keeping busy as a sideman/accompanist, but the drummer didn't record an abundance of albums as a leader. Cymbalism, which was recorded in Rudy Van Gelder's legendary New Jersey studio in 1963, is among the albums that Haynes provided for Prestige's New Jazz subsidiary. This session finds the drummer leading an acoustic quartet that includes Frank Strozier on alto sax and flute, Ronnie Mathews on piano, and Larry Ridley on bass -- and together, the musicians provide a hard bop/post-bop album that is fairly unpredictable. Cymbalism gets off to a modal, somewhat John Coltrane-ish start with Strozier's "Modette," one of the tunes that features Strozier on flute instead of alto sax (his main instrument). But a more Charlie Parker-minded approach prevails on the standard "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," which isn't surprising because Bird was among Strozier's primary influences (as was Jackie McLean). Meanwhile, the exuberant "Go 'n' Git It!" doesn't sound like either "Modette" or "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You"; this Mathews number has a funky soul-jazz/boogaloo outlook and wouldn't have been out of place on an organ combo date -- the tune would have been perfect for Richard "Groove" Holmes, Jimmy McGriff, or "Brother" Jack McDuff. And after "Go 'n' Git It!," Cymbalism changes moods once again with "La Palomeinding," a melancholy Strozier piece that finds him on flute once again. Cymbalism, which Fantasy reissued on CD in 2002 on its Original Jazz Classics imprint, falls short of essential. Nonetheless, it's a pleasing, well-rounded effort that deserves credit for diversity.

Tracks
-1. "Modette" - Haynes, Strozier - 9:47
-2. "I'm Getting Sentimental overYou" - Bassman, Washington - 5:36
-3. "Go 'n' Git It!" - Mathews - 3:52
-4. "La Palomeinding" - Strozier - 6:40
-5. "Medley: Hag/Cymbalism/Oleo" - Haynes, Rollins, Strozier, Wyands - 11:05

Personnel
* Roy Haynes - drums
* Frank Strozier - sax, flute
* Ronnie Mathews - piano
* Larry Ridley - bass

sample & buy: Cymbalism

 

Madredeus - Existir (1990)

Madredeus - Existir (1990)

world | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 255MB

EMI

wikipedia:
Madredeus is a Portuguese band. Their music combines traditional Portuguese music (many times erroneously associated with the subgenre of Fado) with influences of modern folk music. The lyrics are often melancholic and related to the sea or travelling or absence, continuing a tradition of songs that dates back to Medieval times (with obvious relations to cantigas de amigo among others).
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Existir (translated from both Spanish and Portuguese; means "To exist"), was the second full-length studio disc from Portuguese band Madredeus. The group gained a better sound and production this time around, as it recorded in an actual studio, rather than below a tram railway (as was their first disc). The music maintains the same sextet format as its predecessor; the classical guitars, the keyboards, the accordion, the cello, and vocalist Teresa Salgueiro; yet it finds them forming a bond between their original music and Portuguese folk, together with the atmosphere created by the use of keyboards & synthesizers. The festive/traditional "O Pastor (The Shepherd)" became a national hit.

Tracks
-01. "Matinal (Vocal Version)" – 3:24
-02. "O Pastor" – 3:42
-03. "O Navio" – 3:36
-04. "Tardes De Bolonha (Instrumental)" – 3:05
-05. "O Ladrão" – 2:50
-06. "Confissão" – 2:48
-07. "O Pomar Das Laranjeiras" – 4:20
-08. "Cuidado" – 4:12
-09. "As Ilhas Dos Açores" – 5:04
-10. "O Menino" – 3:56
-11. "Solstício" – 4:14
-12. "A Vontade De Mudar " – 2:19

sample & buy: Existir

 

John Surman, Jack DeJohnette - Invisible Nature (2000)

John Surman, Jack DeJohnette - Invisible Nature (2000)

(Live in Tampere and Berlin) 

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 480MB

ECM

Allmusic:
John Surman (on baritone and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, and synthesizers) and Jack DeJohnette (playing drums, electronic percussion, and piano) make for a very intriguing duo on these seven originals taken from a pair of live concerts. Other than "Song for World Forgiveness" (a ballad mostly by DeJohnette), the music is primarily freely improvised yet manages to be melodic, diverse, and logical. The performances are atmospheric, with both players utilizing electronics in spots while retaining their own musical personalities. Surman has long been a very flexible and mostly laid-back player, while DeJohnette also has the ability to fit in almost anywhere. Rather than individual melodies or solos, this CD is most notable for its overall feel and the blend between these two unique musicians.

Tracks
-1. "Mysterium" - 15:57
-2. "Rising Tide" - 9:32
-3. "Outback Spirits" - 12:30
-4. "Underground Movement" - 9:45
-5. "Ganges Groove" - 6:36
-6. "Fair Trade" - 11:21
-7. "Song for World Forgiveness" - 9:29
All compositions by John Surman and Jack DeJohnette
Recorded at the Tampere Jazz Happening and JazzFest Berlin in November 1999.

Personnel
* John Surman — soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, synthesizer
* Jack DeJohnette — drums, electronic percussion, piano

sample & buy: Invisible Nature

 

James Moody - Moody's Mood For Blues (1955)

James Moody - Moody's Mood For Blues (1955)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 280MB

OJC ltd

Allmusic:
In the mid-'50s James Moody led a four-horn septet that played music falling somewhere between bop and rhythm & blues. The danceable rhythms and riffing made its recordings somewhat accessible but the solos of Moody (on tenor and alto) and trumpeter Dave Burns also held listener's interests. Vocalese master Eddie Jefferson has two guest appearances (on "Workshop" and "I Got the Blues") and Iona Wade sings "That Man O' Mine" in a Dinah Washington-influenced style but the emphasis is on Moody's solos and the ensembles; the leader's two versions of "It Might as Well Be Spring" (one on tenor, the other on alto) are highlights of this enjoyable CD reissue.

Tracks
-01. "I'm Gone" - Jones - 3:19
-02. "A Hundred Years from Today" - Washington, Young, Young - 2:45
-03. "Keepin' Up with Jonesy" - Jones - 3:14
-04. "Workshop" - Fuller - 3:08
-05. "That Man O' Mine" - Jones - 2:58
-06. "Over the Rainbow" - Arlen, Harburg - 3:03
-07. "Jack Raggs" - 2:40
-08. "Mambo with Moody" - Jones" - 4:07
-09. "It Might as Well Be Spring [Take 1]" - Hammerstein, Rodgers - 3:51
-10. "It Might as Well Be Spring [Take 2]" - Hammerstein, Rodgers - 3:46
-11. "Blues in the Closet" - Pettiford - 3:53
-12. "Moody's Mood for Blues" - Jones - 5:35
-13. "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" - Traditional - 2:51
-14. "I Got the Blues" - Jefferson - 2:43
-15. "Blues Walk" - Golson - 3:14
-16. "Faster James" - Jones - 3:40

Personnel
James Moody - sax
Dave Burns - trumpet
William Shepherd - trombone
Numa "Pee Wee" Moore - baritone saxophone
Sadik Hakim, Jimmy Boyd - piano
John Lathan - bass
Joe Harris, Clarence Johnson - drums
Eddie Jefferson, Iona Wade - vocals

sample & buy: Moody's Mood for Blues

 

Fred Frith - Quartets (1994)

Fred Frith - Quartets (1994)

contemporary, avantgarde | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 230MB

RecRec 44

wikipedia:
Quartets is a 1994 studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It consists of two compositions by Frith, "Lelekovice, String Quartet #1", performed by the Violet Wires String Quartet, and "The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not", performed by an electric guitar quartet. Frith performs with the guitar quartet, but not with the string quartet.
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"Lelekovice, String Quartet #1" was composed by Frith in 1990 and was dedicated to Iva Bittová, Lelekovice being the name of the village near Brno in the Czech Republic where Bittová lives. It was first performed in July 1991 by the Edison Quartet at the Nieuwe Musiek Festival, in Middelburg, the Netherlands, and was used by the United States choreographer Amanda Miller in her dance piece, My Father's Vertigo in 1991. The recording on this album was made in December 1992 by the Violet Wires String Quartet at Angel Studios, London. "Lelekovice" was recorded again in June 2003 by the Arditti Quartet and appeared on Frith's 2005 album, Eleventh Hour.
"The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not" was commissioned by Roulette, New York City and composed by Frith in 1989. It was first performed in February 1989 by Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar at The Kitchen, New York City, and recorded by the same group in February 1989 at Studio Victor, Montreal. An album of this piece and other recordings by the group were released on Fin de Siecle (1989). Only sections A and C of this composition appear on the album.
Frith did not play on "The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not" with Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar, and when he wanted to perform this piece himself, he assembled an electric guitar quartet in 1992, comprising René Lussier, Nick Didkovsky, Mark Howell and himself. The quartet recorded the complete piece in April 1992 at Sorcerer Sound, New York, releasing it on Quartets. Later Mark Stewart replaced Howell and the new quartet became known as the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, touring internationally and recording two albums, Ayaya Moses (1997) and Upbeat (1999).
Parts of "The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not" also appear in the documentary film, Step Across the Border (1990), and its soundtrack, Step Across the Border (1990), performed by an electric guitar quartet which Frith conducts.

Tracks
-1. "Lelekovice, String Quartet #1 (for Iva Bittová)" (Frith) – 24:12
-2. "The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not" (Frith) – 28:35

Personnel
"Lelekovice, String Quartet #1" performed by Violet Wires String Quartet:
* Ann Morfee – violin
* Abigail Brown – violin
* Phil D'Arcy – viola
* Liz Parker – cello
"The As Usual Dance Towards the Other Flight to What is Not" performed by Electric Guitar Quartet:
* Fred Frith – guitar
* René Lussier – guitar
* Nick Didkovsky – guitar
* Mark Howell – guitar

sample & buy: Quartets

 

George Russell - At The Five Spot (1960)

George Russell - At The Five Spot (1960)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 330MB

Verve 2000

Allmusic:
This limited-edition CD reissue covers six tracks recorded in the studio (since they obviously omit any of the background noise, and the usual out-of-tune piano heard on live dates recorded at the long defunct New York City nightclub is missing). The band includes trumpeter Al Kiger, trombonist David Baker, tenor saxophonist Dave Young, bassist Chuck Israels, and drummer Joe Hunt, along with Russell's sparse piano. Things kick off with a driving take of Miles Davis' "Sippin' at Bells," which features great interaction among the horns. Carla Bley's "Dance Class" is choppy, dissonant, and very humorous; she also wrote "Beast Blues," which features Kiger's muted horn, an energetic solo by Young, and a very understated solo by Baker. Baker contributed "121 Bank Street," a roller coaster post-bop vehicle. John Coltrane's "Moment's Notice," which had only been recorded three years earlier by its composer, is re-scored with a very spacious Russell arrangement that provides minimal accompaniment for the soloists. Unlike many of Russell's releases, this one has only one of his originals, "Swingdom Come," with a jagged angular theme that defies predictable paths. Although Russell plays more of a composer/arranger style of piano, his very challenging arrangements are very attractive. Anyone who enjoys his releases for RCA, Riverside, and Decca from around this period in his career should definitely acquire this sure-to-be-collectable CD.

Tracks
-1. "Sippin' at Bells" (Miles Davis) - 7:19
-2. "Dance Class" (Carla Bley) - 6:17
-3. "Swingdom Come" (Russell) - 7:30
-4. "121 Bank Street" (David Baker) - 5:58
-5. "Beast Blues" (Bley) - 8:56
-6. "Moment's Notice" (John Coltrane) - 8:02
Recorded September 20, 1960 in NYC

Personnel
* George Russell: piano, arranger, conductor
* Al Kiger: trumpet
* David Baker: trombone
* Dave Young: tenor saxophone
* Chuck Israels: bass
* Joe Hunt: drums

sample & buy: At the Five Spot