Altoist John Handy's debut as a leader (which was originally part of the two-LP set of the same name) was recorded when he was still a member of Charles Mingus' group. Teamed with trumpeter Richard Williams, pianist Roland Hanna, bassist George Tucker and drummer Roy Haynes, Handy (who doubles on tenor) shows the influence of John Coltrane in spots and also the fury and heat of playing with Mingus…

10 from 6 is a compilation album released by British supergroup Bad Company in December 1985 on Atlantic Records label. All the songs on the album were previously released on Swan Song Records, a record label begun by Led Zeppelin in 1974. 10 From 6 means ten songs from six albums – namely, Bad Company's first six records, all of which were big hits on album-oriented rock radio. This brief yet very effective collection gathers all of the group's best-known songs ("Can't Get Enough," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Shooting Star," "Bad Company," "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy," "Ready for Love") in one place. Although most album-oriented hard rock acts are better heard on the original albums, Bad Company's records tended to be more uneven than those of their peers, making 10 From 6 a valuable collection for the group's casual fans, who will want to bypass the cluttered studio albums and just get the cream of the crop.

Another quality L&R Records production that has been saved by a reissue on Evidence Music. Originally recorded in 1982, Chicago's Young Blues Generation features the raw, frantic work of guitarist Lurrie Bell and harp blower Billy Branch, who remain the closest the blues scene has to a modern-day Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. Back in 1982, Bell and Branch were still carving out a sound of their own - an amalgam of Rice Miller, the West Side guitar slingers (namely Guy and Magic Sam), and the funkier Stax and Hi Records hitmakers. This album consists entirely of reworked blues and R&B covers, each one drawn out by lengthy, tag-team soloing - sometimes derivative, but more often wildly inspired and unpredictable…

On his first several albums beginning in the mid-'90s, trumpeter Nicholas Payton appeared intent on establishing the range of his New Orleans influences, whether Wynton Marsalis or Louis Armstrong, to whom Payton paid tribute on 2001's Dear Louis. Then, on 2003's Sonic Trance, Payton threw a curve by diving headfirst into the world of late-'60s/early-'70s Miles Davis, complete with funky wah-wahs and sprawling electric keyboards. Into the Blue is another turnabout, and a welcome one: on this set of mostly original compositions, a pensive, largely laid-back Payton truly comes into his own. The ten tunes, recorded in New Orleans, offer a variety of moods, from melancholy to jubilant, an elegance permeating all of the performances…

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Original Bootleg Series from The Manticore Vaults Vol. 3 Set 1 (2002) {Castle Music rec 1974-1977}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 388 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 143 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974-77, 2002 Castle Music / Sanctuary Record | CMYBX524 / 1
Rock / Art Rock / Progressive Rock

Set 1: Anaheim Convention Centre, CA. USA 10th February 1974 - Wheeling Colosseum 1977. No less than five discs serve up four phenomenal ELP concerts in the final installment of a series that remains one of the most audaciously brilliant in any band's catalog. We begin with excerpts from shows recorded at the Anaheim Stadium in 1974 as the band toured Brain Salad Surgery and Wheeling Colosseum in 1977 on the Works tour – a longer look at both would have been preferable, of course, but we're dealing with original bootleg releases here, the source of every recording in this series, so what you see is what you get.

Mention the early-’80s ‘Neo-prog’ movement, and it’s virtually guaranteed that you will get the usual roster of names mentioned: Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, Solstice maybe… but very rarely will you hear the name Haze. This is a shocking omission, given that the band actually formed in 1978, and were right in the thick of it when the movement began getting off the ground. Of course, they were based in Yorkshire, an area of the country regarded by the London-based press of the time as somewhere just to the left of Jupiter, so that certainly won’t have helped. They’ve taken some lengthy sabbaticals along the way (they split completely between 1988 and 1998), but they are still here, still gigging extensively, especially around their Yorkshire stamping-ground, and still releasing new music…

The IIKKI label put Seabuckthorn aka guitarist Andy Cartwright and Australian photographer Sophie Gabrielle in touch with each other who then went on to create Through A Vulnerable Occur together. Cartwright uses finger picking, bows and open tunings to create his music, a fine balance between ambient and folk. Gabrielle’s work is influenced by psychology, mythology and spiritualism.

This is a reissue of a recording that was previously issued by Nuova Era and Mondo Musica. It allows us to hear Marilyn Horne in one of her signature roles, and it was presumably for her that this production was mounted at Venice’s La Fenice. Horne’s performance is what one would expect; she tosses off the coloratura with ease, and her performance is very assured. Her colleagues provide generally good support. Gasdia does not make as strong an impression as some of her recorded competition as Almirena, but her singing is technically assured.

Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. Decked out in leather and chains, the band fused the gothic doom of Black Sabbath with the riffs and speed of Led Zeppelin, as well as adding a vicious two-lead guitar attack; in doing so, they set the pace for much popular heavy metal from 1975 until 1985, as well as laying the groundwork for the speed and death metal of the '80s….

Art Farmer & Gigi Gryce - When Farmer Met Gryce (1955) {Prestige OJCCD-072-2 rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 215 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954-55, 1994 Prestige Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-072-2
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone

One of Art Farmer's pivotal mid 50s sides – recorded in the company of altoist Gigi Gryce, a great player and a budding young arranger who helped Farmer really formulate the best side of his sound! The tracks are lyrically modern – but still have a nice dose of soul in them – a wonderful blend that really sets the stage for the move that Art was making away from earlier trumpeters in jazz – into that hip territory that was neither too cool, nor too overblown – and which would almost be known as "Farmer-like" in years to come! The album features Gryce and Farmer in 2 different groups – one with Horace Silver on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – the other with Freddie Redd on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Art Taylor on drums.

Charlie Parker - Jazz at the Philharmonic "1946" (1996) {Giants Of Jazz CD53107 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 349 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 169 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1946, 1996 Giants Of Jazz / Promo Sound AG | CD 53107
Jazz / Bebop / Bop / Saxophone

The 1946 Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts were true all-star events. This CD compiles portions of two different evenings. The first track, from January, includes trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Al Kilian, and Howard McGhee and saxophonists Charlie Parker, Willie Smith, Charlie Ventura, and Lester Young in the front line. Young, having recently gotten out of the military service, is still not at full strength, with Parker and Gillespie taking charge in the rousing "Sweet Georgia Brown." McGhee takes Dizzy's place on the remaining January numbers.

The 4 CD boxed-set has been released in a special format. It contains a full color booklet, super rare, previously unreleased Alphaville audio and all the websongs which were presented between 2000 and 2001 for the very first time at the Alphaville website. The album is strictly limited (2500)…