Foreigner is the self-titled debut studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released in 1977. It spun off a barrage of hit singles, including "Feels Like the First Time", "Cold as Ice" and "Long, Long Way from Home". It also features album tracks such as "Headknocker" and "Starrider", the latter of which features a rare lead vocal from lead guitarist and co-founder Mick Jones. The first attempt at mixing the album was done at Sarm Studios, London, but dissatisfied with result the album was re-mixed at Atlantic Recording Studios by Mick Jones and Jimmy Douglass.

Haydn's Paukenmesse or Missa in tempore belli (''Mass in Time of War''), written in 1796, was the first of the series of six masterpieces which Haydn in virtual retirement wrote for the name-days of the Princess Esterhazy, wife of his patron. Austria was still at war with Napoleon, and the most memorable passage in the whole work, reason for the nickname Paukenmesse (''Drum Mass''), comes when the Agnus Dei gives way to the ''Dona nobis pacem''. There a sinister drumroll suggests threatening gunfire, followed by a blazing trumpet fanfare of a call to victory. It was an effect which Beethoven a generation later was going to crib in one of his own supreme masterpieces, the Misa solemnis, and it is surprising that this earlier model has not been revived more often, whether in concert or on record.

For longtime fans of genre-bending jazz piano trio the Bad Plus, 2016's It's Hard will feel pleasantly familiar. Once again showcasing the talents of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer David King, It's Hard finds the Bad Plus reworking a set of well-curated pop covers. In that sense, the album fits nicely next to the group's previous covers albums, all of which helped build their reputation as a maverick, forward-thinking outfit unafraid to recontextualize both modern pop songs and traditional acoustic jazz. Particularly effective here is the trio's languid, impressionistic take on Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over."

From Miles Davis' Doo-Bop to albums by Greg Osby and Steve Coleman, much of the "jazz/rap fusion" released has been more hip-hop than jazz – essentially, hip-hop with jazz overtones. Bill Evans, however, has featured rappers in much the way a hard bopper would feature a singer – on "Reality" and the poignant, reggae-influenced "La Di Da," rapper Ahmed Best successfully interacts with an actual, spontaneous, improvisatory band instead of merely pre-recorded tracks. Best's rapping style – a cerebral approach akin to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest instead of more hardcore rappers like Tupac Shakur and Ice-T – is well-suited to this challenging and complex jazz-fusion setting.

More than 30 years after the death of Jim Morrison, interest in The Doors is as strong as ever. They have been the posthumous subject of both a best-selling biography and a cinema film. 'Maximum Doors' presents the complete and unauthorised audio-biography of this ground-breaking quartet from their earliest days, through their rise to fame and enormous success, to the death of Morrison in Paris and the demise of the band. A perfect addition to every Doors fan's collection.

Michael Brecker’s incredibly assured debut as a leader is a hard act to follow, but Don’t Try This at Home (issued on the Impulse label) is a worthy followup. As before, Brecker achieves an artful balance of complex songforms/orchestrations and fiery soloing. This date definitely stands up to repeated listening. Although the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) is not the equal of a saxophone in terms of expressiveness, Brecker continues to find appropriate uses for it on Don’t Try This at Home.

Max Roach - It's Time (1962) {Impulse! Japan MVCJ-19084 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 320 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 110 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962, 1998 Impulse! / MCA / Universal Victor Japan | MVCJ-19084
Jazz / Bop / Jazz Blues / Drums

This Max Roach date is an unusual set. The outing featured the drummer's all-star sextet (which consisted of trumpeter Richard Williams, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, trombonist Julian Priester, pianist Mal Waldron, and bassist Art Davis) joined by a vocal choir conducted by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and orchestrated by Roach (who contributed all six originals). Unlike most other collaborations, the choir was not overly gospel-oriented and was utilized as a sort of jazz ensemble. Each of the horn players has a feature or two and singer Abbey Lincoln stars on "Lonesome Lover."

Alessandro Scarlatti wrote over 600 cantatas, two of which are on this 1987 disc performed by soprano Lynne Dawson and the Purcell Quartet: Correa nel seno amato and Già lusingato appieno. He wrote considerably less keyboard music – and next to nothing compared with the gargantuan achievement of his son Domenico – one of which is on this disc performed by Robert Woolley, the harpsichordist of the Purcell Quartet: the Variations on La Folia. With the chamber cantatas flanking the keyboard variations, this disc is a wonderful program of the elder Scarlatti's art. Though there are some who might argue English soprano Dawson is perhaps too reserved for this repertoire, none would argue that she doesn't have a clear voice and a supple technique. And while there are others who might argue the Purcell Quartet is perhaps too stringent for the repertoire, none would argue they don't play together with consummate ease and they don't accompany Dawson with brilliant mastery. But there are few who would disparage Woolley's blindingly virtuosic and blazingly demonic La Folia Variations.

As the follow-up album to Oxygene, Equinoxe offers the same mesmerizing affect, with rapid spinning sequencer washes and bubbling synthesizer portions all lilting back and forth to stardust scatterings of electronic pastiches. Using more than 13 different types of synthesizers, Jarre combines whirling soundscapes of multi-textured effects, passages, and sometimes suites to culminate interesting electronic atmospheres. Never repeating the same sounds twice, it is obvious that the science fiction hype of the late '70s played a large part in the making of this album. Computerized rhythms and keyboard-soaked transitions scurry by, replaced by even quicker, more illustrious ones soon after. There is always a pulsating beat or a fluttering tempo happening somewhere in each of the tracks, which are titled as a numbered sequence one to eight…

Tony Bennett - Sings Ellington, Hot & Cool (1999) {RPM–Columbia CK 63668}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 315 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 146 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 67 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1999 RPM Records / Columbia / Sony Music | CK 63668
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Big Band / Contemporary Jazz / Swing

Tony Bennett's practically inevitable commemoration of the Duke Ellington centenary is an appropriately blue-chip affair, with a big band and orchestra augmenting the Ralph Sharon Quartet on arrangements by Jorge Calandrelli, who has slowed the tempos to give the singer time to give intimate interpretations to the lyrics of songs like "Mood Indigo" and "Sophisticated Lady." Especially impressive are the less familiar tunes, such as "Azure" and "Day Dream." The slowest tunes also leave room for expressive solos by trombonist Al Grey and trumpeter Wynton Maralis ("Mood Indigo") and violinist Joel Smirnoff ("Sophisticated Lady").

Jamaaladeen Tacuma, G. Calvin Weston, Mary Halvorson, Marc Ribot: 4 professional, harmolodic noise improvisers with an uncommon love of Philly soul and hard groove. Forever young, forever Philadelphian, forever fixated on the moment before dance went digital. Stuck in the groove like a scratch in your favorite record. Ladies and Gentlemen…the hardest working musicians in punk/funk/soul/noise: The Young Philadelphians!!!

Oscar Peterson & Joe Pass - Porgy And Bess (1976) {Pablo OJCCD-829-2 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 244 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 101 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2006 Pablo Records / Fantasy / Universal | OJCCD-829-2 / 00025218682923
Jazz / Bop / Clavichord / Guitar

To me, what Peterson did with the clavichord is brilliant. At times it sounds like a funky fretted instrument, maybe a mandolin. It's neither harpsichord nor piano. Historically, clavichord predates both. By pressing the keys harder, the player can actually bend strings like a blues guitarist. But clavichord is not a loud instrument– even an acoustic guitar can overpower it. Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass are, of course, masters. The playing is top notch (the album was recorded in a single studio session). Harmonically they don't take Gershwin anyplace he hasn't been before, but their assured feel combined with the novel acoustic blend make this album a constant delight.