Pure Pleasure


  
  
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    'Pharoah Sanders' "Shukuru" is noteworthy as being the album that reunited Sanders with vocalist Leon Thomas, who sang on some of Sanders' most endearing and powerful compositions-- among them the legendary "The Creator Has a Masterplan" Thomas only joins the band on two tracks-- "Mas in Brooklyn (Highlife)" and "Sun Song" The...
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    In late 1957, jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and iconoclast Jimmy Giuffre broke up the original Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Ralph Pena and Jim Hall In early 1958, for a recording session, he formed a new trio without a rhythm section For the album "Trav'lin' Light", his new trio included Hall on guitar and the underrated...
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    A beautiful, dreamlike expression of spiritual jazz recorded at a time when the idiom was completely out of vogue, Gary Bias' East 101 remains little known even by cult-classic standards, but its free-flowing approach demands attention from listeners who believe this kind of LP ceased to exist somewhere around the late 1970s...
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    Little Girl Blue, released in 1957, was Nina Simone's first recording, originally issued on the Bethlehem label Backed by bassist Jimmy Bond and Albert "Tootie" Heath, it showcases her ballad voice as one of mystery and sensuality and showcases her up-tempo jazz style with authority and an enigmatic down-home feel that is...
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    This 1976 album by the late saxophonist Stan Getz is a reunion of sorts with Joao Gilberto, the great Brazilian guitarist and singer, and the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (or Tom Jobim), along with the stylish and nonintrusive arrangements of Oscar Carlos Neves The trio changed the world in the early 1960s with its Getz/Gilberto...
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    Based upon the artistic and commercial success of “Louis Armstrong Plays WC Handy”, George Avakian gathered the All Stars into the studio again for a second session to record tunes by Fats Waller This is also a stunning album: the All Stars, at the top of their form, play great material by a single composer All Stars vocalist...
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    Recorded between trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s better-known classics Red Clay and First Light, Straight Life is actually arguably Hubbard’s greatest recording Hubbard, joined by an all-star group that includes tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, keyboardist Herbie Hancock, guitarist George Benson, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer...
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    Kenny Burrell's guitar artistry is well-documented in his years with Oscar Peterson and on his first dates as a leader on the Blue Note label, but "God Bless The Child", his only date for CTI in 1971, is an under-heard masterpiece in his catalogue Burrell's band for the set includes bassist Ron Carter, percussionist Ray Barretto,...
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    Although he'd been a fixture on the East Coast folk circuit for several years, Arlo Guthrie did not release his debut album until mid-1967 A majority of the attention directed at Alice's Restaurant focuses on the epic 18-plus-minute title track, which sprawled over the entire A-side of the long-player However, it is the other...
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    "It's incredible to witness this resurgence of Strata-East's recordings over the last few years - an appreciation for the label's groundbreaking approach to music-making, backed by a phenomenal catalogue, continues to attract listeners both new as well as its devoted faithful, once again giving rise to its revered and cult-like...
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    180-gram gatefold double LP Remastering by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London "Fifth part of the Strata-East Dolphy Series, Glass Bead Games is arguably the crown jewel of the Strata East movement, an amorphous genre that treads an unusual path between post-bop, 1970s avant-garde and spiritual jazz, with a...
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    An incredible session from the legendary Tribe Records scene — an equal effort from leader Doug Hammond and keyboardist David Durrah, who contributes some ground breaking Fender Rhodes and moog work to the set! Hammond handles drums plus a bit of vocals and synthesizer on the session — working alongside Durrah in a groove that...
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    Jim Hall's Concierto was arguably the greatest LP in the history of CTI and possibly a masterpiece With two legendary players in the frontline, trumpeter Chet Baker and Paul Desmond, Hall interprets standards and engaging originals A master of melody who never wastes notes, the centerpiece for this release is Hall's interpretation...
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    Stanley Turrentine, the jazz tenor saxophone player, was also known to some as "Mr T" or "The Sugar Man" The jazz musician was greatly influenced at a young age by family and others, having been invited to sit in with Illinois Jacquet at the tender age of 12 Turrentine's only formal musical training came from a stint in the...
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    Daddy Plays the Horn is a 1955 jazz album by saxophonist Dexter Gordon, originally released on Bethlehem Records “There’s a clear focus on getting Gordon back in the spotlight on this record, as the basic set up for each song is to feature his solos heavily The structures and tempos don’t exactly catch you off guard, but...
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    Adele Sebastian was an Afro American jazz flutist and singer, active from the early 70s  (when she was still a teenager) until her untimely death at the age of 27 (!) in 1983 from a kidney failure In fact she had been depending on monthly dialysis to stay alive for years She lived through and for the music and you can hear it on...
  • An amazing session of spiritual soul jazz – and one of the rarest albums on Strata East! Shamek Farrah’s soulful alto is matched with the free spiritual piano of Sonelius Smith, for a totally memorable session that virtually defines the essence of the Strata-East sound! The music is free, but not too free; lyrical, but...
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    Having sponsored Ornette Coleman at the School of Jazz near Lennox, MA, pianist and composer John Lewis helped launch the controversial career of one of the last great innovators in jazz Lewis' support of the ragtag Texas native was somewhat unique in jazz circles at the time and even surprising, especially considering the gulf...
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    When this set was recorded in 1964, pianist Randy Weston had no luck interesting any label to release the music, so he came out with it independently on his tiny Bakton company & then in 1972 Atlantic released the performances It is surprising that no company in the mid-1960s signed Weston up because "Willie's Tune" from the...
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    With his big, powerful voice and fervent but controlled emotionality, Solomon Burke was one of the early pioneers of soul music, though his contributions were not fully recognized until the new millennium, when he belatedly won his first Grammy By the age of nine, Solomon Burke (b March 21, 1940, Philadelphia, PA) was a preacher...
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    Champion Jack Dupree was a New Orleans bred boogie-woogie piano player But boogie-woogie piano music has little or no collector value The same cannot be said for Dupree Lps, which have always fetched healthy good prices in record bin and on ebay While you can’t give away LPs from such accomplished boogie-woogie piano players...
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    Alan Bates took Thelonious Monk into the studio for his first trio recording in fifteen years with his old sidekick Art Blakey It has been said often enough that Blakey is the ideal drummer for Monk, and one has only to hear them together again after all this time to realize the truth of the statement If Blakey at times seems to...
  • I bought this LP, of the Atlanta concert, in 1960 It knocked me out then, and it knocks me out now For me, this IS Ray Charles In the intro to 'Night Time is the Right Time' Ray says, 'and Miss Marjorie Hendricks will help us out on vocals', and boy, does she help out! Turn up the volume and strap yourself down The greatness of...
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    During the sixties there was the British Blues boom, containing many blues bands, one of the fineat being Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac In January of 1969 Fleetwood Mac were at Chess Studios, Chicago, Jamming with the likes of Willie Dixson, SP Leary, Honeyboy Edwards, JT Brown and longtime Muddy Waters pianist Otist Spann The end...
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    Another absolute gem from Alan Bates’s Candid label this must be probably Otis Spann's finest piece of work on wax He may not have been the blues, but he was sure close to being the blues pianist Spann provided wonderful, imaginative, tasty piano solos and better-than-average vocals, and was arguably the best player whose style...
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    One of the great soprano saxophonists of all time (ranking up there with Sidney Bechet and John Coltrane), Steve Lacy's career was fascinating to watch develop He originally doubled on clarinet and soprano (dropping the former by the mid-'50s), inspired by Bechet, and played Dixieland in New York with Rex Stewart, Cecil Scott,...
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    Possessor of the happiest sound in jazz, flügelhornist Clark Terry always plays music that is exuberant, swinging, and fun A brilliant (and very distinctive) soloist, he gained early experience playing trumpet in the viable St Louis jazz scene of the early '40s (where he was an inspiration for Miles Davis) and, after performing...
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    Lightnin’ Hopkins was one of the most over-recorded artists in the blues genre The recordings here were made at a pivotal moment in his career In 1960, at 48 years old, he was no longer a star in the black community, but was becoming a folk legend His deeply personal music not only reflected the experiences of his community but...
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    For the most part, this is a 1961 session wherein the blues raconteur and pianist Memphis Slim runs through a good chunk of his repertoire, the songs that came to mind that afternoon As such, it’s relaxed entertainment, rather than a fixed recording for a larger audience Which is not to say an audience can’t enjoy this music...
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    Booker Little was the first trumpet soloist to emerge in jazz after the death of Clifford Brown to have his own sound His tragically brief life (he died at age 23 later in 1961) cut short what would have certainly been a major career This is supremely soulful modern jazz and one of his best albums ever as a leader The album's got...
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    Freddie Hubbard was one of the most prolific jazz trumpeters in the business He played a hot and sassy horn! When he was teamed up with George Benson, Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter (just to name a few) on this one of many Creed Taylor-produced collaborations, he most deservedly won the Grammy! The opening title song "First...
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    Flugelhornist Art Farmer and guitarist Jim Hall had had a regular group for a time in the mid-'60s but (except for one occasion) had not played together since, until this 1978 LP This is an unusual effort for CTI in that it is a quintet set without added horns, strings or keyboards Farmer and Hall are joined by vibraphonist Mike...
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    Electric blues guitarist Melvin Taylor had been sporadically recording solo albums for 20 years when Dirty Pool arrived — and was somehow just beginning to find fame Already a hit in Europe, it had taken a steady run of performing in Chicago’s famed blues clubs to slowly earn Taylor a well-deserved reputation as an equal...
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    This is the first of two superb albums recorded by Bill Evans, and guitarist Jim Hall, and it was recorded over two sessions in April and May 1962 Arrangements simply for piano and guitar are rare in Jazz, and it is even more seldom that the results are truly inspiring and as musically worthwhile as in this case It is usual for...
  • Feel Good, not Superfly, is the sound of early-'70s pimping -- even when the tempo slows down, which happens rarely, it's for a slow blues grind, not a ballad, and songs like Tina's "Kay Got Laid (Joe Got Paid)" make no apologies for mythologizing pimps This results in a supremely sleazy, utterly addictive record, one that's...
  • Outside there was the rain and the bone-freezing chill of November in Manchester, England Inside the concert hall it was warm and it was beautiful Duke was alive and well, and his orchestra was playing with all the flaring genius that has entranced us since first this musical miracle of our century found his vocation of...
  • From its opening bars, with Bill Salter's bass and Rahsaan's flute passionately playing Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", you know this isn't an ordinary Kirk album (were any of them) As the string section, electric piano, percussion, and Cornel Dupree's guitar slip in the back door, one can feel the deep soul groove Kirk is...
  • Recorded in 1963, The Sheriff features the Modern Jazz Quartet in fine swinging form The program is not as sharply focused as on some of the earlier Atlantic releases, but it is compelling nonetheless There are four originals by pianist John Lewis, including the fleeting, bluesy title cut, and the moody, spacious "In a Crowd" --...
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    With such a tight group as the MJQ is is impossible to single out individual musicians which probably accounts for their long lived success This is a strong recording from the Modern Jazz Quartet, with inventive versions of John Lewis' "Vendome," Ray Brown's "Pyramid," Jim Hall's "Romaine," and Lewis' famous "Django," along...
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    Leadbelly's last recording sessions for a commercial record label, held in the early fall of 1944, yielded a dazzling 12 songs, embracing virtuoso guitar blues ("Grasshoppers In My Pillow"), pounding piano-driven scatting ("The Eagle Rocks", with Leadbelly himself at the ivories, a talent for which he wasn't usually recognized),...
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    Happy Trails is the 1969 follow-up to Quicksilver Messenger Service's self-titled folk-rock inflected debut Largely recorded live in concert, the album opens with a 25 minute, six-part suite of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" and is anchored with a version of his song "Mono" One of the first releases to successfully capture the San...
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    Black, Brown, & Beige is Duke Ellington’s musical representation of the African American experience in the United States It is arguably The Maestro’s greatest work The triumph of telling so important a story so well through music alone makes Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown, & Beige a masterpiece Black, Brown, &...
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    Mingus Dynasty, like its predecessor and Columbia companion Mingus Ah Um, was recorded in 1959, a watershed year for the insuperable, eruptive bassist-composer Charles Mingus Leading what amounted to a repertory company comprising some of New York’s best and most creative improvisers, Mingus musically challenged two ensembles (a...
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    "Criss-Cross" - Thelonious Monk's second album for Columbia Records – features some of the finest work that Monk ever did in the studio with his '60s trio and quartet Whether revisiting pop standards or reinventing Monk's own classic compositions, Monk and Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), John Ore (bass), and Frankie Dunlop (drums)...
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    The arrangements by Tommy Newsom for strings, brass, and woodwinds may be a bit sweet and the 12 performances may be overly concise (often under three minutes), but the resulting music is strangely pleasing Acoustic guitarist Charlie Byrd always had a strong affinity for Brazilian jazz, and he sticks exclusively to Antonio Carlos...
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    No introduction needed for this fabulous release Arguably one of the greatest blues recordingslaid down in the last 40 years! Just checking out the track listing and personnel says it all Originally released on Mike Vernon's highly collectable and revered Blue Horizon label in1969, this pressing will become a must for all serious...
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    This music counts among Ellington’s most well-realized ‘concept projects’, all inspired by Shakespeare’s work and filled with memorable melodies and ample opportunities for solos by Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, and Quentin Jackson The Ellington-Strayhorn compositions treat their soloists like actors...

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