American Ride is the ninth studio album from American musician Willie Nile. It was released in June 2013 under Loud & Proud Records. A hell of a lot has been written about rock & roll singer/songwriter Willie Nile since he made his Arista debut in 1981. Musicians and press alike have sung his praises across the globe, yet mainstream success has always proved elusive. It hasn't deterred him, however; he's continued to issue new recordings – albeit sporadically – that have been lyrically consistent, and contain enough deft, melodic hooks, to justify his unrepentant swagger. The recording of American Ride, the follow-up to his killer Innocent Ones from 2011, was funded by a successful Pledge Music campaign; it was to be issued independently. Loud & Proud's Tom Lipsky intervened after hearing it, and made Nile the signature signing for the label's new distribution deal with Sony's RED.

A few days after filming the concert in The Netherlands that would later be released as Anesthetize, Porcupine Tree wound up a nine date mini tour (and the Fear of a Blank Planet album cycle), with this hometown show. At least two of the band are sick and there are some rough edges, but perhaps with the knowledge that the film is in the can, this spirited performance has a looser and more relaxed feel to other shows with similar repertoire from this period.

"When asked about three of his signature orchestral works — the Grammy-winning Become Ocean, its sequel Become Desert, and the original source Become River (previously unreleased as an official recording until now) — composer John Luther Adams refers to them collectively as “a trilogy that I never set out to write.” Collected here for the first time, with newly remastered versions of Become Ocean and Become Desert by acclaimed engineer Nathaniel Reichman, The Become Trilogy pays tribute to a magical partnership between Adams, conductor Ludovic Morlot and the renowned Seattle Symphony. As a whole, the music speaks both to the meditative solace of solitude, and the universally shared experience of living, giving and interacting as a citizen of the world."

With its highly complex and artful opening chorus, the cantata Ein feste Burg is one of the highlights among Bach's cantatas. With the Kammerchor Stuttgart under Frieder Bernius and the soloists Sarah Wegener, David Allsopp, Thomas Hobbs and Peter Harvey, this masterpiece finds a more than adequate recording here. The cantata is supplemented by the Missa brevis in G minor, BWV 235, one of the four Lutheran masses Bach composed at the end of the 1730s.

Chris Lightcap is a bassist's bassist. As a sideman to leaders such as Regina Carter, Matt Wilson, Joe Morris, Marc Ribot, and Craig Taborn, his rock-solid timekeeping can be quite inconspicuous. He is a sort of steadfast superglue that leaders and composers hold in high regard. As a leader and composer, there is another Chris Lightcap. Epicenter, is his third Bigmouth release, following the quintet Deluxe (Clean Feed, 2010) and a quartet Bigmouth (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2002). He continues to display his ability to sculpt music utilizing a two-tenor saxophone lineup.

As usual, bassist Charles Fambrough assembled an impressive all-star group for this CD. Such players as altoist Kenny Garrett, Grover Washington, Jr. (on soprano), trumpeter Roy Hargrove, pianist Kenny Kirkland and even pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (making a rare appearance as a sideman for his own "Beautiful Love") are heard from, along with a few overlapping rhythm sections.

Bassist Charles Fambrough gathered together a rather impressive lineup of young greats (including on various cuts trumpeters Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove, saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Joe Ford, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, drummer Jeff Watts, and three percussionists) for a set of tricky hard bop originals. The interplay between the two Marsalises on the rapid "Broksi" is a high point, but the solos throughout the date are uniformly strong. Fambrough (who contributed seven of the pieces) stated accurately that the music reflects his periods with McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey, Grover Washington, Jr., and Airto. His well-conceived set is highly recommended.

For Immediate Release – Jeff Lorber Fusion, whose previous release Hacienda was praised for its “impeccable musicianship and deep grooves” by JazzTimes and its “funky, rollicking jams” by All About Jazz, returns on September 25, 2015, with Step It Up on Heads Up, a division of Concord Music Group. The fourth consecutive collaboration between GRAMMY®-nominated keyboardist/composer/producer Jeff Lorber and GRAMMY®-winning bassist/composer/ producer Jimmy Haslip since the two virtuosos reactivated Jeff Lorber Fusion five years ago, Step It Up features 11 new Lorber compositions, several co-written with Haslip. The longtime colleagues also co-produced the recording.

Malcolm McLaren and the Bootzilla Orchestra - Waltz Darling (1989) {Epic EK45247}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 251 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1989 Epic / CBS | EK 45247
Rock / Pop / Dance Rock / Electronic / Modern Classical

Waltz Darling was a shock to me. I was surprised by how good the album was. Jeff Beck and Bootsy Collins recreate Blue Danube by setting it to pop music. Changing classical music into pop takes some work but Bootsy and his orchestra put in the work. The vocals and music are top notch. Malcolm McLaren has been working hard on trying to become a pop star. After latching on to the punk fad, he switched to the hip-hop then to classical themes. Call him a fink or a snake, but McLaren knows what's hot or soon to be big. He's had a very active music career.

Curtis Fuller - Keep It Simple (2005) {Savant SCD 2062 rec 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 331 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 136 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2003, 2005 Savant Records | SCD 2062
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trombone

Taking off from 2004's Up Jumped Spring, trombonist Curtis Fuller once again reunites with a former Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers alum for a set of standards and original compositions. Joining Fuller this time is tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson, who played with Blakey from the late '80s until the drummer's death in 1990. Together they reignite the fiery, soulful Jazz Messenger aesthetic on such standout Fuller tunes as the John Coltrane-influenced "Maze" and the swinging hard boppish "A La Mode." Backing Fuller here is pianist Doug Carn, bassist Rodney Jordan, and drummer Fritz Wise.

Hate Them is the ninth studio album by Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It was released 10 March 2003 by Moonfog Productions. Like their subsequent release, Sardonic Wrath, the album had an electronic intro and outro created by Lars Sørensen (aka LRZ) from Red Harvest. The cover image was the work of Eric Syre from Thesyre, and incorporated images of the Sagrada Família Catholic church in Barcelona.

Lou Reed - At The Roxy with Don Cherry (1976) {2CD Set, BRR5010 rel 2015}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 653 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 223 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 60 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2015 BRR ‎| BRR5010
Rock / Jazz Rock

Lou Reed was touring in support of Rock and Roll Heart, when he rolled into L.A.'s Roxy and played a set that was recorded for later radio broadcast. Reed and his road band (which included Michael Fonfara on keys and Marty Fogel on sax) sound like they're having a fine time, and with free jazz legend Don Cherry sitting in, the band's frequent jams give this an exploratory feel that sets it apart from some of Reed's other live sets of the period.

Italian progressive metal masters DGM will release their long awaited 10th studio album, “Tragic Separation” on October 9, 2020. It follows the band’s acclaimed release , “The Passage” from 2016. DGM started writing new music in the spring of 2019, with the overall process taking almost one year. This was a longer writing process than normal for them since it was the band’s desire to push themselves beyond any boundaries set by their previous work. The end result is “Tragic Separation,” an album where the band ticks all the boxes of the Progressive Metal genre, but adds more and more of their own personal identity and approach. Long-time fans need not worry as you can still find all the trademark elements of DGM’s sound with sweeping choruses, technical passages, lightning fast fretwork, big vocals, and bombastic transitions.