Record Reviews

DR. JOHN ~ AFTERGLOW BLUE THUMB 7000 (Barcode: 011105700023) ~ USA ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 1995 Released: 1995 This is a lovely and sadly little known album by iconic American singer / pianist / songwriter / bandleader Dr. JohnFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Mac RebennackFind albums by this artist), recorded with a full Jazz Big Band / Orchestra. The album presents ten songs, seven of which are American Songbook standards and three are his own songs. The album was produced by the legendary producer Tommy LiPumaFind albums by this artist and the songs were arranged and conducted by John ClaytonFind albums by this artist. The instrumentalists include guitarist Phil UpchurchFind albums by this artist, bassist Ray BrownFind albums by this artist, drummer Jeff HamiltonFind albums by this artist and other renown Jazz players. The beautiful idiosyncratic voice, piano playing and general attitude of Dr. John work absolutely perfectly with the Big Band arrangements, and the resulting music works as if it was initially created exactly for this unique setting. Overall, this is a little hidden gem of American music, which deserves to be remembered and a lot can be learned from it, how to combine cross-genre musical sources to create a perfect amalgam, which is simply everlasting. Blues, Soul and vocal Jazz enthusiasts should love this album to bits!

Updated: 05/10/2022Posted: 05/10/2022

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

DON ELLIS ~ HAIKU PROMISING MUSIC 44113 (Barcode: 602527326337) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 1973 Released: 2010 The trumpeter / composer / bandleader Don EllisFind albums by this artist was probably the most "progressive" and open-minded American Jazz musician of his time. He experimented with odd meters, World Music / Folklore themes and hired European musicians as members of his ensembles and Big Band. His contacts with Europe were excellent and his friendship with legendary producer Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist and the German MPSFind albums on this label label led to the release of two of his albums on MPS, when his US label ColumbiaFind albums on this label refused to record his novel ideas. These were sadly among his latest recordings prior to his untimely death just a few years later. This album was a second of the two MPS recordings and contains a beautiful suite for trumpet, Jazz group and orchestra, with ten themes based on ten short Japanese Haiku poems. Ellis plays wonderfully on this album, as do his colleagues: Bulgarian keyboardist Milcho LevievFind albums by this artist, legendary bassist Ray BrownFind albums by this artist, drummer John GuerinFind albums by this artist and guitarists Larry CarltonFind albums by this artist, David CohenFind albums by this artist and Tommy TedescoFind albums by this artist. The music is also wonderful, mostly melodic and gentle, but with the great orchestral arrangements and trumpet solos on top the overall effect is truly gorgeous. In many respects this is "the other side" of Ellis, compared to his highly energetic Big Band albums on Columbia. Brilliant stuff!

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Slipcase Oversampling Remastered Recommend To A Friend

OSCAR PETERSON ~ EXCLUSIVELY FOR MY FRIENDS MPS 4029759103257 (Barcode: 4029759103257) ~ CANADA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1963 - 1971 Released: 2015 This Box Set presents the reissues of the six albums ("ActionFind albums with this title", "Girl TalkFind albums with this title", "The Way I Really PlayFind albums with this title", "My Favorite InstrumentFind albums with this title", "Mellow MoodFind albums with this title" and "Travelin` OnFind albums with this title") recorded by the legendary Canadian pianist Oscar PetersonFind albums by this artist between 1963 and 1968. The music was recorded at the private villa owned by German music producer Hans Georg Brunner-SchwerFind albums by this artist during a series of house concerts entitled "Exclusively For My Friends", which were recorded using the private studio located in the villa. When Brunner-Schwer started the now legendary MPSFind albums on this label label in 1968, he released these six albums on his new label with great artistic and commercial success. The Box Set also includes two later releases, which collect previously unreleased material from these sessions, as well as from later sessions by Peterson recorded for MPS, entitled "The Lost Tapes 1Find albums with this title" & "The Lost Tapes 2Find albums with this title". Most of the music was recorded in a classic piano trio format and features bassists Ray BrownFind albums by this artist and Sam JonesFind albums by this artist and drummers Ed ThigpenFind albums by this artist, Bobby DurhamFind albums by this artist and Louis HayesFind albums by this artist, except for "My Favorite Instrument", which is a solo piano album and a couple of tracks on the "The Lost Tapes 2" which feature other players. Although Peterson is often considered as "one of the greatest Jazz pianists", mostly by American Jazz critics and writers, this is definitely a big exaggeration. He was undoubtedly one of the most technically proficient Jazz pianists and was loved by many Jazz fans for his smooth and accessible approach, but in retrospect, his decision to say deeply within the Jazz mainstream during the period when Jazz was moving rapidly forward, made his overall contribution to Jazz rather marginal. His style was always flashy and extremely pretentious, which was sometimes hard to bear. These splendidly recorded albums and their perfect execution did not save the music from aging rather ungracefully, and today they sound sort of banal and a bit dull overall. Of course connoisseurs of classic piano trio Jazz recordings will find here plenty of satisfying moments, but more up to date listeners might find this quite passé. Take your pick! Side Note The legendary German MPSFind albums on this label (Musik Produktion Schwarzwald) label, founded by Hans Georg Brunner-SchwerFind albums by this artist (HGBS) in 1963, first as SABAFind albums on this label Records and later on from 1968 as MPS Records, was the most important independent European record label, which had an enormous contribution to the development of European Jazz. For many years MPS cooperated with the legendary German producer / author Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist, my Friend and Mentor, whose visionary approach and open-mindedness brought the crème de la crème of the Jazz (in the broadest meaning of the word) musicians from all over the world to the label. Between 1963 and 1983 MPS produced about five hundred albums, many of which are among the most important Jazz recordings on this planet. In 1983 the MPS catalog was sold to UniversalFind albums on this label, which sadly resulted in all those artistic treasures to almost disappear from the face of the earth – a situation not only tragic but culturally criminal. Universal reissued a part of the MPS albums (probably 128 titles) on CD between 1999 and 2011 under the "Most Perfect Sound Edition" moniker. Since 2008 the German Promising MusicFind albums on this label label released some of the MPS recordings, but at a very slow pace. In 2014 the German company Edel AG bought the MPS catalogue from Universal and released a series of 25 MPS albums on CD with a new slipcase graphic design, which brought all those excellent albums back to life. In 2015 Edel AG started to record and release new albums under the MPS moniker. In 2016 Edel AG released a series of 10 classic MPS albums on CD, which were beautifully remastered and re-packaged, presenting the original artwork and liner notes, as well as new liner notes and photographs. An obvious labor of love, these reissues are what the MPS catalogue truly deserves. This project was continued in 2017 with another series of 10 classic MPS albums released on CD. In later years some new reissues were released sporadically. Over the years many SABA / MPS albums were reissued in Japan, which is often the only available source for these albums today, but that is a story in itself.

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted: 20/05/2018

CD 8 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend