Nat Adderley - The Scavenger (1968) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series UCCO-90203}
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© 1968, 2013 Milestone / Concord / Universal Japan | UCCO-90203
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Cornet

One of the best-ever Nat Adderley albums, and a damn funky set of tracks that has a tight soulful feel! The session's got a similar feel to some of the other rare late 60s Milestone albums (like the 2 killers by Bobby Timmons!) – especially in that it's got a group that plays with the fullness of a larger ensemble, and who race in and out nicely, to support the funky solos of the leader. Of course, some of the other players are pretty darn nice in the solo department too – like Joe Henderson on tenor, Jeremy Steig on fluge, and Joe Zawinu on piano – and they also manage to keep a tight rhythmic groove throughout. Titles include "The Scavenger", "Sweet Emma", "Rise Sally Rise", and "Melnat".

Moondog - Bracelli - Fläskkvartetten (1987) {Kakaphone KPH 102} (Released on VINYL but not CD)
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© 1987 Kakaphone | KPH 102
Classical / Avant-Garde / Modern Classical / Minimal

Double 2-part canons are used in GYGG, DARK EYES, FROST FLOWER and FRISKA. FANTASIA is a canonic but not canon. CANON in Asia Minor is a 3-part canon with pedal point. LOG in c minor is a 2-part canon with pedal point. LOG in G Major is a 3-part canon without pedal point. The Double Bass doubles Cello 2 at the octave wherever possible, also serving as a pedal point.

Blue Mitchell - A Sure Thing (1962) {Riverside OJCCD-837-2 rel 1994}
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© 1962, 1994 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-837-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

A hip session from Blue – one that points the way towards some of his later work on Blue Note, and which features a larger than usual group arranged by Jimmy Heath. As on some of Heath's other projects from the time, the groove is tight and soulful, but never so dominant as to overwhelm the soloists. Mitchell's the main player, of course – but the rest of the group features work by Heath, Pat Patrick, Jerome Richardson, and Wynton Kelly. Tracks include "A Sure Thing", "West Coast Blues", "Hootie Blues", and "Hip To It".

Modern Jazz Quartet - Dedicated To Connie (1960) {2CD Set Atlantic Jazz 82763-2 rel 1995}
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© 1960, 1995 Atlantic / WEA | 82763-2
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream / Bop

After drummer Connie Kay passed away, this previously unreleased concert, recorded in Slovenia in 1960, was issued on a double CD and dedicated to him. The Modern Jazz Quartet (which also includes pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson and bassist Percy Heath) is heard in surprisingly inspired form playing their usual repertoire of the time. Highlights include a 23-minute medley of John Lewis compositions, "Bag's Groove," "It Don't Mean a Thing," "Django," "How High the Moon" and "Skating in Central Park." Lewis has stated that the group never played better than during this concert. Although that statement is debatable, the MJQ certainly sounds in prime form throughout the easily recommended release.

James Brown - Try Me! (1959) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9280 rel 2003}
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© 1959, 2003 Polydor / Universal Music Japan | UICY-9280 | Cardboard Sleeve | 24bit remastering | Mono
Funk / R'n'B / Soul / Funky Jam

Limited to 5000 copies.Paper sleeve. TRY ME, credited to James Brown and his Famous Flames was originally released as KING 12-635 in 1959. It was Brown's second album, and as with most of his non-live pre-1970's albums, it contains previously released singles. Here it's some of his final Federal and later-to-be King sides. Two of TRY ME's album-only cuts were later released as KING singles.

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Diaspora Sefardi (1999) {2CD Set Alia Vox AV 9809 A+B} (Montserrat Figueras)
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© 1999 Alia Vox | AV 9809 A+B
Classical / Medieval / Renaissance / Chamber Music / Vocal Music / Jewish Folk / Western European Traditions / Spanish Folk

Hespèrion XXI was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2001 for their double album Diáspora Sefardí, a collection of vocal works and instrumental pieces dating from the 15th century when the Jews were expelled from parts of Spain. The Sephardic Diaspora refers to this Jewish exodus in 1492 when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella commanded that all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity be expelled from Castile and Aragon in modern-day Spain. An estimated 100,000 Jews fled to North Africa, lands of the Ottoman empire (particularly Turkey and Greece), and other European countries such as France, Italy, and Portugal. These exiles brought with them unique culture, language, and traditions. The resultant marriage of influences from the Sephardic Jews’ old and new homes is reflected in Hespèrion XXI’s two-disc set, Diáspora Sefardí. The selections on the album depict not only surviving traditions of medieval Hispanic music but also the influence of sophisticated musical forms which developed in the Ottoman empire during the 16th century.

RCO - Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vol 1, 1935-1950 (2002) {13CD Box Set Q Disc 97017, Limited Edition}
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© 1935-50, 2002 Radio Netherlands Music / Q Disc | 97017
Classical / Orchestral / Symphony / Romantic / Early 20th Century

Böhm was reported to have told the Wiener Philharmoniker towards the end of his life "I loved you as one can only love a woman". Listening to this boxset, capturing the Concertgebouworkest at the peak of its powers (between 1935 and June 1941), still at a commendable level (between July 1941 and 1944) before having to rebuild from the ashes of war (1945 to 1947) to finally come back to the highest level (1949-1950), the careful auditor has history in the making unfolding with its drama, its joys, but essentially its incommensurable beauty.

Adam Rudolph - Morphic Resonances (2017) {Meta Digital Download, Bandcamp 16-44.1}
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© 2017 Meta Records | META 021
Classical / Modern Classical / Jazz / Progressive Jazz / Creative Music

Listeners should be advised that Adam Rudolph doesn’t play a beat on this album; it’s a gathering of recent compositions performed by various others, including members of his own New York-based Go: Organic Orchestra. The clear standouts are the first two tracks, in which the Momenta String Quartet gives incisive readings of “Morphic Resonances” and “Syntactic Adventures”—the latter piece dedicated to Rudolph’s mentor Yusef Lateef. Rudolph’s background as a percussionist manifests itself in the use of what he calls “ostinatos of circularity,” layered polyrhythms that create the effect of one part blending almost imperceptibly into another.

Cannonball Adderley - Cannonball Enroute (1958) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9961}
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© 1958, 2013 Mercury / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9961
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Cannonball Enroute is the sixth album by the jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, and his first released on the Mercury label, featuring performances with Nat Adderley, Junior Mance, Sam Jones, and Jimmy Cobb. Cannonball Adderley's enroute to a great jazz legacy here – stepping out in a groove that begins to show some of the soul jazz modes he was forging at the end of the 50s – a great change from the straighter bop styles of his early years! The lineup here is a wonderful early expression of the familiar Adderley groove – with brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Junior Mance on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – with Mance and Jones bringing an especially nice bottom end to the record – one that gets things moving in a very soulful way! Titles include "Porky", "Hoppin John", "That Funky Train", "I'll Remember April", and "18th Century Ballroom".

Stephan Mathieu - Radiance (2018) {12CD Box Set Schwebung Étendue I-XII}
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© 2018 Schwebung | SE I-XII (Étendue I-XII)
Experimental / Sound Art / Modern Classical / Electronic / Acousmatic / Reflection / Slow Listening

RADIANCE is a new work by Stephan Mathieu comprising twelve album-length pieces, each of them following the concept of stasis, the unfolding of time and sustained frequencies, deep listening, and immersive soundscapes.

Moondog - Katia Labèque & Triple Sun (2018) {Deutsche Grammophon Digital Download}
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© 2018 KML Recordings / Deutsche Grammophon
Classical / Jazz / Electronic / Piano

Louis Thomas Hardin, called "Moondog," was one of the true geniuses of his time. Prolific and visionary, he linked Bach, jazz, and Amerindian rhythms and wrote mini-symphonies, madrigals, and piano pieces. Moondog's admirers included Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin, and more. In tribute, pianist Katia Labèque presents a selection of Moondog pieces rearranged with the group Triple Sun (David Chalmin, Massimo Pupillo and Raphaël Séguinier).

Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music (1976) {2008 Harvest Japan Mini LP TOCP-70361}
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© 1976, 2008 Harvest / EMI Music Japan / Toshiba | TOCP-70361 | Mini LP
Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop / Prog Rock / Glam Rock

Things had changed for Be Bop Deluxe by the time of the group's fourth album. The band that turned up in glam rock regalia on its 1974 debut, Axe Victim, was in suit and tie on the cover of Modern Music in 1976. Inside, the band's transformation into a sophisticated pop group seemed complete. Arrangements were still ornate, but the songs were dominated by their highly imagistic lyrics, and as often as not, Nelson was borrowing ideas from the Beatles. It didn't quite work, despite pleasant numbers such as "Orphans of Babylon" and "Kiss of Light," perhaps because a true pop sensibility requires a gift for simplicity that Nelson has never exhibited. The album charted high in England and made the Top 100 in the U.S., but it was Be Bop's peak, not its breakthrough.

Various Artists - Yen Box, Vol. 1 (1996) {16CD+Bonus CD Yen Records - ALCA-5073~5088, ALZZ-10 rec 1982-1985}
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© 1982-85, 1996 Yen Records / Alfa Music Japan / Toshiba-EMI | ALCA-5073~5088, ALZZ-10
New Wave / Synth Pop / Electronic / Rock / Pop / Japanese

¥・E・N Box Vol.1. Includes 64-page booklet. Set released in a cardboard box. Each disc comes in a cardboard sleeve with artwork replicating the original LP covers. The inserts for each of these albums come bundled together with a paper sleeve stamped Yen Records. Yen Records - an imprint of Alfa Records that ran from 1982 to 1985 fronted by Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra. Most albums were produced by Hosono or Takahashi.

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Le Royaume Oublie - La Tragedie Cathare (2009) {3CD Set Alia Vox AVSA 9873}
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© 2009 Alia Vox | AVSA 9873
Classical / Medieval

Catharism was the name given to a Christian religious sect that appeared in the Languedoc region of what is now southern France and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Cathars saw matter as intrinsically evil. They denied that Jesus could become incarnate and still be the son of God and thus, the Catholic Church regarded the sect as dangerously heretical. Faced with what they saw as a rapidly spreading cancer, the Church called for a crusade, which was carried out by knights from Northern France and Germany and was known as the Albigensian Crusade. This campaign, and the inquisition that followed it, eradicated the Cathars completely. It also had the effect of weakening the semi- independent southern principalities in the area, ultimately bringing them under direct control of the King of France.

Kim Byoung Duk - Experiment No. 2 (1992) {LP - Daedo Records DL-KBD-01} (Released on VINYL but not CD)
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© 1992 Daedo Records | DL-KBD-01
Experimental / Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Ambient / Electronic

Kim Byoung Duk. His name may sound unfamiliar to the general public, but Kim Byoung-duk was the pioneer of art rock and experimental music in Korea in the 1990s. He pursued meditative music that combined jazz and contemporary music, both artistic and experimental. “These days, a growing number of young people in Western countries are taking an interest in the genre of ambient music like that of Kim Byoung-duk or New Age,” said an official from “Daehan Electronics.” “We wanted to introduce the unique, Korean-style experiment to the world.”