In 2001 Mirabassi joined Rabih Abou-Khalil's group and soon became its foremost soloist who regularly brings the audience into a boiling state. While Rabih's music has an Arabic color, Gabriele's is deeply rooted in the folk music of his native Italy which he presents with great emotional power. Accordionist Luciano Biondini, who has also worked with such as Tony Scott and Enrico Rava, and tuba player Michel Godard, the most versatile exponent of his instrument worldwide, have been working with Mirabassi for quite a while - formerly as a quartet with additional drums or mandolin. All three of them are currently members in Rabih Abou-Khalil's band.

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) mastered the art of being elusive. During his long career the legendary Italian pianist’s forays into the recording studio were few and far between. The concerts and broadcast performances he didn’t cancel, though, sometimes found their way onto pirated discs. This allowed pianophiles to gain a fuller dimension of their puzzling, ultra-perfectionist hero.

Gathered here are many of the first sides cut by the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Better known maybe as Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli's band, this very original Parisian combo took the energy of early jazz classics sides by Armstrong, Beiderbecke, et al., and infused it with elements from the French chanson tradition and Reinhardt's own gypsy heritage. Beyond their unique guitar and violin repartee, though, Reinhardt and Grappelli could match - and even surpass - the improvised swing forged by their stateside contemporaries, a feat rarely achieved in the early days of European jazz. With the quality of these maiden QHCF sides, then, the pickings are plentiful. Alongside other finely remastered collections on JSP and Affinity, this and many other Classics volumes in the label's strict chronological series will probably be best appreciated by completists rather than survey-seeking newcomers. That said, the 22 tracks here contain some top performances, including such QHCF standouts as "You and the Night and the Music," "Ultrafox," and "Avalon." Also to be found are a some innocuous vocals by Jerry Mengo, a few cuts manned by New Orleans native and multi-instrumentalist Frank "Big Boy" Goudie, and plenty of Reinhardt and Grappelli's incredible playing. A nice addition to an already healthy catalog.

For the second volume of the music of Eric Coates, John Wilson has built his programme around three contrasting ‘major’ works. The Suite Summer Days was premiered in October 1919, shortly after Henry Wood had fired Coates from his position as lead viola in the Queen’s Hall Orchestra. An immediate hit, the suite received rave reviews and many more performances. It was recorded in 1926, Sir Edward Elgar telling Coates that he had played it so often that he had worn out the disc!

Am I Right? [EP] (1991) [Limited Edition]. Separate from the actual Am I Right? EP itself, this pleasant release collects new mixes and alternate versions of tracks from Chorus, often with great results. Noted techno act the Grid gets its hands into "Am I Right?" itself for the leadoff track, adding some extra atmospheric synth lines and harder-edged electronic crunch; it's not a notable revision from the original otherwise, but still has a certain something. Mark Saunders, a regular studio compatriot of the band's, handles the LFO Modulated Filter mix of "Love to Hate You." The name's a touch misleading in that neither of the LFO duo actually appear on the track, but as a further pumping up of the arena-synth atmosphere of the original, it's a winner…

"German Dark Metal pioneers NACHTBLUT will release their sixth studio album Vanitas on October 2nd 2020 via Napalm Records. The listener will be drawn into the band’s musical maelstrom in a classifying NACHTBLUT manner: hard riffs, Askeroth’s incisive vocals, rousing melodies and profound, candid lyrics. Three years after the previous album Apostasie was released, NACHTBLUT returns with even more vigor and might.

Isengard was the solo-project initially started in 1989 by Fenriz – one the key driving forces behind Norwegian legends Darkthrone – because he had many musical ideas to explore that didn’t strictly fit in with the style and music of his main band. Under the Isengard moniker, Fenriz released 2 albums encapsulating doom, death, black & Folk/Viking metal in the shape of ‘Vinterskugge‘ & ‘Høstmørke‘, & finally we welcome the third addition to this cult project. Everything on ‘Vårjevndøgn’ was performed and engineered by Fenriz himself. The tracks were all recorded between 1989 & 1993 using the infamous Necrohell Studios, notable for recording Darkthrone’s classic ‘Transilvanian Hunger’ & ‘Panzerfaust’ albums. ‘Vårjevndøgn’ was mastered by Jack control at Enormous Door.

Alice Coltrane - Transfiguration (1978) {2CD Set, Sepia Tone-Warner STONE 01 rel 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 429 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 195 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1978, 2002 Sepia Tone / Warner Bros. | STONE 01
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Piano

Alice Coltrane never had an easy time of it with critics. That she was able to pursue her rugged musical vision in the midst of controversy (many claimed she was "the Yoko Ono of the John Coltrane Quartet," in that she replaced McCoy Tyner when Trane decided to shift the focus of his band) is, in retrospect, a heroic act, though, humble as she is, she would never see it that way. This double-LP live set recorded at UCLA in 1978, reveals in total the ambitious and profound free jazz and universal musical frontiers Ms. Coltrane was able to explore in both small and larger groups.

Zoot Sims - New Beat Bossa Nova, Vol. 1 & 2 (1962) {Colpix Japan Mini LP TOCJ-9604 rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 423 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 148 Mb
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© 1962, 2004 Colpix Records / Toshiba-EMI | TOCJ-9604 | Mini LP | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Latin Jazz / Bossa Nova / Cool / Saxophone

24bit digitally remastered reissue. Comes housed in a cardboard sleeve. This release compiles two wonderful LPs presenting Zoot Sims playing bossa nova songs, as well as jazz standards in a bossa nova mood arranged by Manny Albam and Al Cohn: New Beat Bossa Nova (Colpix SCP435), and its sequel, New Beat Bossa Nova Vol. 2 (Colpix SCP437). Recorded in 1962, these were among the first albums to combine bossa nova and jazz. Both LPs feature the outstanding guitarist Jim Hall as a soloist.

Grant Green - Live At The Lighthouse (1972) {Blue Note CDP 7243 4 93381 2 8 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 496 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 166 Mb
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© 1972, 1998 Blue Note / Capitol | CDP 7243 4 93381 2 8
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Guitar

Some of Grant Green's hottest moments as a jazz-funk bandleader came on his live records of the era, which were filled with extended, smoking grooves and gritty ensemble interplay. Live at the Lighthouse makes a fine companion piece to the excellent Alive!, though there are some subtle differences which give the album its own distinct flavor. For starters, the average track length is even greater, with four of the six jams clocking in at over 12 minutes. That makes it easy to get lost in the grooves as the musicians ride and work them over.

The Shadows remain one of the most prolific bands of the last 60 years. They had 31 hit singles (plus 30 with Cliff Richard), which include 16 Top 10 hits (plus 25 more with Cliff), 5 No. 1 hits (plus 7 with Cliff). They've also spent 361 weeks on the albums chart (plus another 400+ with Cliff), selling tens of millions of records since 1958, and defining the sound that influenced many of the world's greatest guitarists…

Sam Rivers - Inspiration (1998) {RCA Victor ‎74321-64717-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 463 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 169 Mb
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© 1998 RCA Victor / BMG ‎France | 74321-64717-2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Flute

Prior to Inspiration, Sam Rivers hadn't recorded for a major label in nearly 20 years, and he hadn't cut a studio session in two decades. That doesn't mean he was inactive; he was teaching, playing, and giving concerts but never recording. Aware that many of Rivers' big-band compositions – not only his recent material, but some earlier works as well – had never been given the proper treatment, saxophonist Steve Coleman helped arrange a recording contract with BMG, with the end result being the astonishing Inspiration album.

The Internet informs me that Carme Canela is over 50 years old and has been singing professionally for more than three decades, so it must be assumed that her appearance as “new talent” is an attempt to broaden her audience. The most obvious link with jazz is a fine rendition of uncredited English lyrics to Monk’s Pannonica. Otherwise the eclectic repertoire (including Julia by Lennon and McCartney) underlines what I’ve gleaned - that she doesn’t see herself as purely a jazz singer. Nevertheless the excellent backing trio is clearly working within the jazz idiom and Carme-la combines musicality and emotion in a delightful manner, with moods and tempos nicely varied.

This extensive release collects together all the recordings Café Zimmermann has made for Alpha: the fruit of many years of work, research and collaboration. Each separate performance has been realized with the greatest care, both in selecting the interpreting artists and in seeking out the very best acoustic conditions for the recording: the instruments, locations, and ample, well-calibrated sound balance have all been perfectly captured by Hugues Deschaux and d'Aline Blondiau, who from first to last ensured an entirely unprecedented sound transparency for every instrumental line. The combination of these elements has contributed to make Café Zimmermann a landmark among baroque ensembles. Here is a sixteen-album set to celebrate the ensembles 20th anniversary!

After devoting an album to sonatas by Giuseppe Tartini, for this anniversary year of the illustrious Paduan virtuoso, Evgeny Sviridov offers us a recording of violin concertos. This is his first collaboration with Millenium Orchestra, the ensemble founded by Leonardo Garcia Alarcon in the framework of CAVEMA in Namur. Most of the concertos selected come from manuscript copies made in eighteenth century Germany, where Tartinis reputation was very high. Evgeny Sviridov has found in these scores cadenzas and ornaments which are very probably in the hand of Johann Georg Pisendel, the great virtuoso violinist of the Dresden court, a friend (and interpreter) of Johann Sebastian Bach! Following a practice that was becoming increasingly common in Germany at that time, one of the concertos has two horn parts in addition to the strings. Of the 130 or so surviving violin concertos, Evgeny Sviridov has selected five.