Various Artists - The Rough Guide To Classical Jazz (World Music Network) (1996)

The Rough Guide to Classic Jazz is a jazz compilation album originally released in 1997. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the album covers the genre's growth from the turn of the 20th century to the 1930s, largely focusing on the "Jazz Age". The compilation was produced by Phil Stanton, co-founder of the World Music Network. Curation was performed by Robert Parker, an audio engineer specializing in the period and host of the radio show Jazz Classics in Digital Stereo.

Michaelangelo Matos, writing for the Chicago Reader, claimed it "buried" the contemporaneous Swing Revival and noted his surprise at the number of "obscure white groups".

"The Rough Guide to Classic Jazz is a fine introduction to the growth of jazz from the beginning of the 20th century up to the mid-'30s, including selections by all the major pioneers -- Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington -- as well as important blues figures like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Pinetop Smith."

---------- Review by Keith Farley

Tracklist:

1. "Dr Jazz" - Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers (3:24)
2. "Smoke-House Blues" - Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers (3:26)
3. "Dixie Jass Band One-Step" - Original Dixieland Jazz Band (2:37)
4. "Dippermouth Blues" - King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (2:26)
5. "Mr. Jelly Lord" - New Orleans Rhythm Kings (3:04)
6. "Sugar Foot Stomp" - Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra (2:48)
7. "Potato Head Blues" - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven (2:55)
8. "West End Blues" - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five (3:17)
9. "Hear Me Talking to You" - Ma Rainey with her Tub Jug Washboard Band (2:59)
10. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" - Bessie Smith (2:57)
11. "Shake That Jelly-Roll" - J.C. Cobb & His Grains Of Corn (2:57)
12. "Stomp Your Stuff" - State Street Ramblers (3:11)
13. "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" - Pinetop Smith (3:09)
14. "Nobody's Sweetheart" - McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans (3:05)
15. "Since My Girl Turned Me Down" - Bix Beiderbecke & His Gang (3:03)
16. "Beale Street Blues" - The Charleston Chasers (2:59)
17. "Imagination" - Miff Mole & His Molers (2:49)
18. "Makin' Friends" - Eddie Condon & His Footwarmers (3:00)
19. "The Minor Drag" - Fats Waller & His Buddies (2:39)
20. "Log Cabin Blues" - Clarence Williams' Washboard Five (3:11)
21. "South" - Benny Moten's Kansas City Orchestra (2:33)
22. "Creole Love Call" - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (3:12)
23. "Hot and Anxious" - Don Redman & His Orchestra (2:49)
24. "New King Porter Stomp" - Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra (3:06)

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - The Rough Guide To West Africa (1995) (World Music Network)

World Music Network is a UK based record label specializing in world music. It was set up in 1994 by husband and wife team Phil Stanton and Colombian-born Sandra Alayón-Stanton. World Music Network consists of four record labels – Music Rough Guides, Riverboat Records, Introducing and Think Global. Music Rough Guides releases the Rough Guides CD compilations.

The Rough Guide series is produced in association with Rough Guide books and delivers the best possible starting point for exploring different music from all over the world.

‘The Rough Guides’ net is cast historically as well as stylistically… the liner notes are meticulously researched and written.’ ------- Wall Street Journal (USA).

I have a fairly extensive collection of these and while some are better than others they are a great starting point for anyone curious about the music of a particular area, I personally think some of the later compilations aren't great but I suppose it's all music and deserves to be listened to so as people can make their own evaluations. I'm going to start posting them all up over the next while.

If anyone checks out the world music network website and is looking for a specific compilation comment down below and I'll see what I can do.

The Rough Guide to West African Music, originally released in 1995 was the second release of the series; it largely focuses on Malian music, with six of the twelve tracks coming from that country. This is followed by Senegal (two tracks), and Guinea, Niger, Ghana, & Mauritania (one track each). Phil Stanton acted as producer on the compilation.

Chris Nickson of AllMusic gave the album four stars, but lamented the broadness of the topic, stating "the real problem with this album isn't the music, which is glorious throughout, but the fact that it suffers from the size of its ambition and the inability to fully realize it."

Michaelangelo Matos, writing for the Chicago Reader, praised the record's focus on slow to midtempo music, stating it "succeeds in sustaining a meditative, inner-gazing mood."

Tracklist:

1. "Foliba" - Super Rail Band (7:51)
2. "Djelika" - Toumani Diabaté (7:14)
3. "Roucky" - Ali Farka Touré (8:18)
4. "Toro" - Moussa Poussy (4:44)
5. "M'Bore" - Sona Diabate (6:09)
6. "Djama Kaissoumou" - Oumou Sangare (6:46)
7. "I Ka Di Nye" - Bajourou (5:19)
8. "205" - E.T. Mensah (3:05)
9. "Utru Horas" - Orchestra Baobab (8:41)
10. "Almamy Bocoum" - Mansour Seck (4:57)
11. "Mauritania My Beloved Country" - Dimi Mint Abba & Khalifa Ould Eide (3:32)
12. "Agne Anko" - Kante Manfila (4:37)

Download Link - Mediafire

Dr. Alimantado - Best Dressed Chicken In Town (1978)

"Best Dressed Chicken in Town" is the debut album by Jamaican deejay Dr. Alimantado. It was first released in 1978, and collects many of his self-produced singles from 1972 to 1977, and employs the sound engineering talents of Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby, and Scientist. It was the first album released by Greensleeves Records, and gained a cult following within both the reggae and punk rock communities in the UK at the time. (Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols fame announced it to be one of his favourite reggae albums....)

The album employed several major hits as the basis for the tracks, including Horace Andy's versions of "Ain't No Sunshine". The album was described by The Independent as "one of the finest albums from reggae's golden age". There have been a number of re issues of this album over the years, this is a rip of the original album from the vinyl, which lends a lot to the authentic feel when listening to it.

"One-of-a-kind Jamaican DJ Dr. Alimantado found unexpected fame with U.K. punks after Johnny Rotten bestowed his blessings. The hoopla was certainly warranted based on the high quality of his mid-'70s sides, several of which are included on Best Dressed Chicken in Town. Handling production chores himself, Alimantado enlisted top reggae engineers and producers like Lee "Scratch" Perry, King Tubby, and Scientist to add their own alchemy to the mix. The dub-inflected tracks and Alimantado's idiosyncratic musings prove a potent combination, especially on standouts like "Poison Flower" (a version of a Horace Andy vocal), the Rasta vengeance number "I Killed the Barber," and the comically over-the-top title cut. Other highlights include the bubbly "Unitone Skank," as well as the album's two instrumentals: a predictably bizarre and brilliant Scratch mix, "I Am the Greatest Says Muhammed Ali," and the Duke Reid homage "Tribute to Duke" (based on Slim Smith's incredible rendition of the Billy Stewart soul gem "Sitting in the Park"). Completing this very enjoyable disc are sampled vocals by Gregory Isaacs and Jackie Edwards, the musical contributions of great Kingston studio outfits like the Aggrovators, and, finally, the tableau-like cover photo of Alimantado walking the sunny streets of downtown Kingston. Along with other unique dub and DJ titles like Mikey Dread's African Anthem, Best Dressed Chicken in Town is a must for reggae enthusiasts"

---------------- Review by Stephen Cook 

Tracklist:

1. "Best Dressed Chicken in Town" engineer - Upsetter
2. "Just The Other Day" vocals - Droopy; engineer - King Tubby
3. "Poison Flour" vocals - Horace Andy; engineer - Philip Smart
4. "Gimmie Mi Gun" vocals - Gregory Isaacs; engineer - Lancelot "Maxie" McKenzie
5. "I Killed The Barber" vocals - Jackie Edwards; engineer - Philip Smart
6. "Unitone Skank" vocals - Gregory Isaacs; engineer - Pat Kelly
7. "Can't Conquer Natty Dreadlocks" engineer - Upsetter
8. "Ride On" vocals - Jah Woosh, Jimmy Radwell; engineer - Upsetter
9. "Plead I Cause" engineer - King Tubby
10. "I Shall Fear No Evil" engineer - Philip Smart

Download Link - Mediafire

Django Reinhhardt (with ‘le Quintette du Hot Club de France’) - "le Disque d’Or de Django Reinhardt" (1965)

Jean "Django" Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a Belgium-born French guitarist and composer of Romani ethnicity.

Reinhardt is often regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time; he was the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the guitar genre. After his third and fourth fingers were paralysed when he suffered burns in a fire, Reinhardt used only the index and middle fingers of his left hand on his solos. He created an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar), which has since become a living musical tradition within French Gypsy culture. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz". Reinhardt's most popular compositions have become jazz standards, including "Minor Swing", "Daphne", "Belleville", "Djangology", "Swing '42", and "Nuages".

If you’ve got nothing to do on your lazy Sunday afternoon, you could do a hell of a lot worse than to put on ‘Django Reinhardt’ and dream away your day from your window.


Tracklist:


1 Melodie au crepuscule
2 Place de Broukere
3 Nuages
4 Belleville
5 Viper’s dream
6 Les yeux noirs
7 Minor swing
8 Porto cabello
9 Swing de Paris
10 Sweet chorus
11 Dinette
12 Crepuscule


Download Link - Mediafire

Mississippi John Hurt - The 1928 Sessions (1928)

John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt (July 3, 1893 or March 8, 1892— November 2, 1966) was an American country blues singer and guitarist.

Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine. Singing to a melodious finger-picked accompaniment, he began to play local dances and parties while working as a sharecropper. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1928, but these recordings were commercial failures. Hurt then drifted out of the recording scene and continued to work as a farmer. Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, located Hurt in 1963 and convinced him to relocate to Washington, D.C. where he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt entered the university and coffeehouse concert circuit with other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, he recorded several albums for Vanguard Records.

This album features the 13 original 1928 recordings of Hurt. Justifiably legendary, with gentle grace and power on these understated vocal and fingerpicking masterpieces. These are the ones to hear, although all Hurt is worth listening to.


Tracklist:


1 Ain't No Tellin' 2:55
2 Stack O' Lee Blues 2:57
3 Candy Man Blues 2:46
4 Spike Driver Blues 3:15
5 Avalon Blues 3:03
6 Louis Collins 2:59
7 Frankie 3:21
8 Big Leg Blues 2:51
9 Nobody's Dirty Business 2:53
10 Got The Blues Can't Be Satisfied 2:51
11 Blessed Be The Name 2:47
12 Blue Harvest Blues 2:53
13 Praying On The Old Camp Ground 2:36


Download Link - Mediafire

Clifford Brown & Max Roach - "Study In Brown" (1955) & "Max And Roach Incorporated" (1954)

A Study In Brown features the 1955 version of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, a group also including tenor-saxophonist Harold Land, pianist Richie Powell and bassist George Morrow. One of the premiere early hard bop units, this band had unlimited potential. Highlights of this set are "Cherokee" (during which trumpeter Brownie is brilliant), "Swingin"' and "Sandu." All of the group's recordings are well worth acquiring.


---------- Review By Scott Yanow





Tracklist:

1. "Cherokee" (Ray Noble) - 5:44
2. "Jacqui" (Richie Powell) - 5:11
3. "Swingin'" (Clifford Brown) - 2:52
4. "Lands End" (Harold Land) - 4:56
5. "George's Dilemma" (Brown) - 5:36
6. "Sandu" (Brown) - 4:56
7. "Gerkin for Perkin" (Brown) - 2:56
8. "If I Love Again" (Jack Murray and Ben Oakland) - 3:24
9. "Take the 'A' Train" (Billy Strayhorn) - 4:18

Download Link - Mediafire

-------------------------------------

 

Brown is--justifiably--a jazz icon, and this album [Max And Roach Incorporated] showcases his celebrated rapid-fire riffs and remarkably rounded and mellow tone.

The rapid bebop of "Sweet Clifford" and the closer," I Get A Kick Out of You," may have you shaking your head in awe, with fast but fully articulated soloing by Brown, and simply amazing bop sax by the (underrated?) Harold Land. The notes and lines are just right! Max Roach's astonishing drumming adds to the intensity and wonder of the experience.

Brown's long, almost haunting trumpet on "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is one of the most beautiful and evocative trumpet solos I've ever heard. His voicing of the lyrics and tender/plaintive sound are superb.

Richie Powell is the force behind "I'll String Along With You," and recalls the tone of Tatum, the sentiment of Hoagie, and the chord emphasis of Nat Cole.
"Stompin' at the Savoy" grooves mellow, with light comping by Powell and bassist George Morrow, and warm burnished solos by Brown and Land. Max Roach slowly builds his solo teasingly, culminating in a bop tour de force.
Land is especially effective on "Darn That Dream" where his warm, lush, burnished playing recalls the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman CD. Whether you're a longtime Clifford Brown fan, or are just making his acquaintance, I highly recommend this album!

----------- Review By M. Allen Greenbaum

 

 

 Tracklist:

 

1. "Sweet Clifford" (Clifford Brown) - 6:41
2. "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (Bing Crosby, Ned Washington, Victor Young) - 7:19
3. "Stompin' at the Savoy" (Benny Goodman, Andy Razaf, Edgar Sampson Chick Webb) - 6:23
4. "I'll String Along with You" (Al Dubin, Harry Warren) - 4:09
5. "Mildama" (Max Roach) - 4:30
6. "Darn That Dream" (Eddie DeLange, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 4:02
7. "I Get a Kick out of You" (Cole Porter) - 7:36

Download Link - Mediafire 

Sorry about the delay........

Hello everyone I haven't updated this blog in a while unfortunately have just been very busy with real world shenanigans. There's a serious backlog of music that I've been meaning to get around to uploading/writing about but I just don't really have the time these days..... SO........ I've decided that it's the writing really long blurbs thats the most time consuming thing in this whole process so I'm going to take a little breather from that and go down the road of just uploading the album and the tracklists. I'll tag them all by genre as effectively as I can so you can make a decision as to whether you want to check it out. Chances are if I am going through the effort of putting it up it's worth a listen (or at least I would like to think so hehehe). When I get a bit more spare time I'll hopefully get to go back and finish the write ups.......

Also a very happy new year to you all!

:)