This CD/DVD – Release puts you back to the amazing moments of a great Blues Caravan Tour 2017. Take a floor-filling London soul man. Add a golden-voiced Southern States storyteller. Throw in a fast-rising Philadelphia based singer/saxophonist. Then hold on to your hats. Recorded at the 14th February 2017 in the Hirsch Club in Nuernberg, the most varied Blues Caravan comes back to life. You can rely on Si Cranstoun to move your feet. Inspired by the vintage soul of Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke, this charismatic British bandleader has graduated from an apprenticeship busking on the streets of London to the head of the vintage R&B scene. You hear hip-shaking original material from last year’s acclaimed Old School album – plus fan-favourite singles like “Coupe De Ville” – delivered in a voice like sunshine.

John Ghost is ingenious and exploratory, often described as a symbiosis between the sounds of Steve Reich, John Hollenbeck, Nils Frahm and Jaga Jazzist. Created around the Ghent guitarist and composer Jo De Geest, the Belgian sextet draw on influences from jazz, rock and post-classical music, where minimalism, electronics and a cinematic atmosphere characterize their instrumental music…

Between the Sheets is the second studio album of the jazz group Fourplay which was released by Warner Bros. Records on August 17, 1993. The album peaked at nos. 2 and 15 upon the Billboard Jazz Albums & Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Between the Sheets has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States and has thus been certified gold by the RIAA.

It’s not every jazz musician who doubles on guitar and oud (the centuries-old Middle Eastern forerunner of the mandolin), but Gordon Grdina makes the combination work. He brought 14 difficult originals to the studio for a recording session with veterans Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, drawing on his interest in blending elements of Arabic music and various jazz genres. When Grdina is playing oud, the songs often seem like they evolved spontaneously in the studio, especially the meandering “Platform” and the dark “Renunciation.” On guitar, Grdina’s gift for spaciousness and lyricism in the longing “Distant” sounds reminiscent of Jim Hall. The brooding “Cobble Hill” is another striking performance. While Peacock and Motian had their work cut out for them engaging this music, they provide terrific interaction with Gordon Grdina throughout the sessions.

A fantastic overview of the later genius of Sister Rosetta Tharpe – a key figure in the development of rock, soul, and a number of other styles from that key midcentury moment in American music! Tharpe's a singer with a voice that influenced Aretha Franklin and other female soul artists – and a guitarist with a fast-riffing style that was born in gospel, but had a huge influence on rock and roll – as you'll hear here in a really well-chosen batch of cuts from the second half of her career!

Denny Zeitlin - Cathexis (1964) {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICP 4220}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 341 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 145 Mb
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© 1964, 2014 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4220
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest 2014 DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. Since the 1960s, pianist Denny Zeitlin's recording career has been erratic due to his concentration on his full-time psychiatric practice, so the reissue of some of his earliest recordings will hopefully satisfy fans who haven't had anything new to acquire since his 1992 Live at Maybeck Recital Hall. The intelligent buildup from the repeated motif of the intense, boppish "Repeat," the rich voicings within "I-Thou," and the dazzling runs through the blazing "Cathexis" make it no surprise that Zeitlin received critical acclaim early in his career.

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Orient-Occident II: Hommage a la Syrie (2013) {Alia Vox AVSA9900}
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© 2013 Alia Vox | AVSA 9900
Classical / World Music / Medieval

The first volume of Orient Occident - released in 2006 - turned out to be a landmark in Jordi Savall's discography. For the first time, the maestro explored an extra-European repertoire, demonstrating the same musicological expertise he had shown with composers like Marin Marais. The album soon became a best seller. The second volume in this exploration focuses on Syria, alternating instrumental and vocal pieces. Musicians from Syria, Lebanon and Israel play alongside Hesperion XXI and illustrate the artistic and humanist process we have come to expect from Jordi Savall.

Thieves' Kitchen, a trio of Phil Mercy, Amy Darby, and Thomas Johanson (ex-Anglagard), with adjunct members Anna Holmgren (Anglagard), Johan Brand (Anglagard) and Paul Mallyon (ex-Sanguine Hum), have created a collection of meticulously crafted and expertly performed songs in the vein of the most complex Canterbury scene and symphonic Yes demanding the highest degrees of difficulty from its musicians. Vocalist Amy Darby's stylings are similar to the palette-clearing effects of a superlative red wine - the backbone upon which each song rests, despite the fact that it is a "lead" instrument…

Stan Levey - Plays The Composition Of Cooper, Holman and Guiffre (1954) {2014 Japanese Bethlehem Album Collection 1000}
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© 1954, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6123 (BCP-1017)
Jazz / Bop / Cool

The first album ever from drummer Stan Levey, but a set that already shows his mighty talents as a leader! Stan wisely chose some great songs to work with here – penned by west coast highlights Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper, and Bill Holman – and taken into a small combo mode that really shakes the tunes free of any of the larger Kenton-esque qualities of the composers. Giuffre is on the record – playing baritone in the sextet along with Zoot Sims on tenor, Conte Candoli on trumpet, Claude Williamson on piano, and Max Bennett on bass – about as great of a Bethlehem lineup as you could hope for at the time. Sims brings in a really rich sense of soul tot he record – and titles include "Drum Sticks", "Lightnin' Bug", "Exaktamo", and "Extraversion".

Bassist Gary Peacock contributed all six originals to this set which also features pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette. These musicians (who are equals) have played together many times through the years and their support of each other and close communication during these advanced improvisations is quite impressive. It's a good example of Peacock's music.

These two CDs feature live performances by the legendary Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov of some of Chopin's most enduring masterpieces, the 24 preludes, the opus 25 tudes, and the great 2nd sonata. Originally available as two separate full price CDs, they are now being released as a set at a special price. They were recorded in Paris at three concerts during 1990 and 1992.