Hideo Shiraki Quintet + 3 Koto Girls – Sakura Sakura (1965)

Here’s a really cool little Japanese jazz record that I found on Soulseek a while ago. The band is led by drummer Hideo Shiraki and features three girls playing the koto, which makes for an interesting combination of sounds. The kotos tend weave in and out of the mix, figuring prominently on only a couple of tracks (notably “Sakura Sakura”).
Most of these tracks are done in a sort of airy hard bop style, though there are also some definite modal Miles Davis-ish influences (parts of the last track “Suwa” sounds eerily similar to “So What” off of Kind of Blue).
Anyway, it’s a pretty good album. Great drums, really spirited trumpet playing, and an interesting melding of musical traditions. Recommended.

http://www.mediafire.com/?n0ku4ohm2qt

Charles Mingus

The Mingus megapost. It’s been a long time coming. Here are my five favourite albums of his. It’s late in the evening and I’m too tired to bother writing a rambling paragraph about why these albums are important, so here’s a bunch of haikus instead:


Tijuana Moods (1957, Released in 1962)


Feeling uninspired?
Rowdy trip to Tijuana
Write songs about it







http://www.megaupload.com/?d=76948D7M



Mingus Ah Um (1959)


Gospel shouts and stomps
Holy shit, the melodies…
Overflowing soul







http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DRZUH182



Oh Yeah (1962)


Now it’s time to sing
Nuclear war on my mind
Roland Kirk, you’re nuts







http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0H12WNA8



The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady (1963)


A free-jazz ballet?
Voices from the depths of Hell
Peaceful interludes






http://www.megaupload.com/?d=34P2O9K5



Let My Children Hear Music (1972)


Latter day big band
Classical music can swing
Probably his best







http://www.megaupload.com/?d=07F0MF4V

Thelonious Monk

With the arrival Thelonious Sphere Monk, modern music--let alone modern culture--simply hasn’t been the same. Recognized as one of the most inventive pianists of any musical genre, Monk achieved a startlingly original sound that even his most devoted followers have been unable to successfully imitate. His musical vision was both ahead of its time and deeply rooted in tradition, spanning the entire history of the music from the “stride” masters of James P. Johnson and Willie “the Lion” Smith to the tonal freedom and kinetics of the “avant garde.” And he shares with Edward “Duke” Ellington the distinction of being one of the century’s greatest American composers.

As much as Monk helped usher in the bebop revolution, he also charted a new course for modern music few were willing to follow. Whereas most pianists of the bebop era played sparse chords in the left hand and emphasized fast, even eighth and sixteenth notes in the right hand, Monk combined an active right hand with an equally active left hand, fusing stride and angular rhythms that utilized the entire keyboard. And in an era when fast, dense, virtuosic solos were the order of the day, Monk was famous for his use of space and silence. In addition to his unique phrasing and economy of notes, Monk would “lay out” pretty regularly, enabling his sidemen to experiment free of the piano’s fixed pitches. As a composer, Monk was less interested in writing new melodic lines over popular chord progressions than in creating a whole new architecture for his music, one in which harmony and rhythm melded seamlessly with the melody. “Everything I play is different,” Monk once explained, “different melody, different harmony, different structure. Each piece is different from the other. . . . [W]hen the song tells a story, when it gets a certain sound, then it’s through . . . completed.”
(allaboutjazz.com)

Monk's Dream (1963)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6VGT5EDK

Underground (1967) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0UC0OPG0

With John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C1XCEUVV

Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa 70 with Ginger Baker – Live! (1971)

Fela and the Africa 70 just rippin’ it live. The band is incredibly tight and Fela himself is in top form, playing some badass organ and perfecting his James Brown inspired yelps.The album also features drummer Ginger Baker. It’s kind of hard to tell what he’s doing here, apart from looking totally awesome in the cover photo. He apparently subbed in for Africa 70 drummer Tony Allen on one or two of these tracks. I guess it’s to his credit that you don’t really notice. The last track is a drum duet between Allen and Baker taken from the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival. It doesn’t really add anything to the album, but is fun to listen to.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?i4qeym42t3y

Lee Morgan – Those Dizzy Days (2004)

Live recordings from around 1957-58 of Dizzy Gillespie’s state-sponsored big band, featuring a then-teenaged Lee Morgan as a main soloist.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QHDWKZ0L

Mingus at Antibes (1960)

Phenomenal live recording from the 1960 Antibes Jazz Festival. Eric Dolphy is definitely the star of the show here; he alternates between going absolutely ape-shit and playing cool, intensely lyrical lines.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mr5ioqmqzhy
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ndz50n2kgux

The Jazz Composer’s Orchestra – Communications (1968)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=11ET07QT

Read about it here.

Roland Kirk – Volunteered Slavery (1968)

Roland Kirk was one of the most enigmatic performers of the 60s jazz scene. A blind saxophonist with bizarre dress sense, he very much played the goofball on stage, often handling several instruments at once (including a little flute stuck up his nose) and entertaining his audience with oddball banter. But he took himself and his work seriously, scoffing at being labeled a jazz musician and preferring the term black classical music.
The first half of this album is made up of upbeat R&B inflected tracks and a couple of cheesy (but fun) covers. The title track, with its deep grooves and soulful call-and-response chanting, is especially good. The second half, a live performance from the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival, is where things get serious. It spotlights Kirk’s unique habit of simultaneously playing 2 or 3 wind instruments, all while making bizarre mouth noises. The John Coltrane tribute medley is an 8-minute chronological encapsulation of Coltrane’s various styles, starting off melodic and bluesy and ending with wild free-form explorations. It’s heartfelt and intense, and a testament to Kirk’s amazing saxophone skills.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mzmjnmtzz2n

John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane (1961)

I have a hard time talking about jazz without sounding like a douchebag, so I’ll just leave you with this little article for basic info.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ji01towdend

Anthony Braxton – Three Compositions of New Jazz (1968)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tfyttiwoud5

Pharoah Sanders – Karma (1969)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nqtlokczikz

The Mothers of Invention – Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)

Probably my favourite Zappa album, if only for the amazing cover art. Mostly live stuff with plenty of horns, chanting, and a couple of bizarre monologues. Some kick-ass blues violin on the second track.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2z0mnnjdmyz

Miles Davis – Dark Magus (1974)

Figured I’d post this one too since it’s a lot harder to find than Live-Evil.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YIM2GOUG

Miles Davis – Live-Evil (1970)

Holy Shit

Disc 1:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dzmewzhzcyy
Disc 2:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BYTY1MVJ

Tim Buckley

Tim Buckley could have been a big pop star. He possessed a powerful and versatile voice and could put together catchy, well-written psych-folk tunes, as attested by his first two albums. Yet his brief recording career was more than anything driven by restlessness. While his early albums did well with the critics and the public, he never allowed himself to settle in a comfort zone, and continuously strove to push boundaries and test both the limits of his own capabilities and the patience of his fans.
Dream Letter, a two-hour live recording from 1968, is a thorough encapsulation of his early "folkie" style, while also amply displaying the nascent experiments in vocal improvisation that he would develop on subsequent albums. Stand out tracks include the “Pleasant Street / You Keep Me Hanging On” medley at the end of the first disc, and a ferocious take on “Wayfaring Stranger” near the end of the second.
Blue Afternoon, one of the three albums he put out in 1970, sees him fully embracing modal jazz in the vein of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. As on that album, the songs here are grounded in simple chord progressions and vamps, over which the melodies are able to run free. Buckley’s singing is warm and inviting, and a calm, languid feel pervades, thanks to the straightforward production and choice of backing musicians (understated electric guitar, vibes, stand-up bass and congas).
Starsailor, recorded the same year, couldn’t be more different. The reference points this time around are free jazz and modern classical music. This is pretty dark stuff. It’s also one of the most amazing, unique, forward-thinking records I’ve ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon. By now Buckley’s voice is more an instrument than a vehicle for words, and he uses it to full extent over a bed of discordant guitar tapestries and frenetic tribal rhythms. His wailing, caterwauling and grunting will haunt your dreams.This was a sort of point-of-no-return album, where he in essence gave his audience the choice to get with what he was doing or fuck off. And fuck off they did. The harsh, esoteric sounds of this record alienated the majority of his already dwindling fan-base, and financial realities finally caught up with him, putting an end to his carefree experimental streak. After several unsuccessful comeback attempts in the early 70s, he died of an overdose at the age of 28 – bitter, broke and looking twice his age. But his recorded legacy is substantial, and definitely worth exploring if you dig any of these three albums.

Dream Letter: Live in London 1968

Disc 1: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?1lgtqodttjz

Disc 2: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?0mintm2zk4t

Blue Afternoon (1970)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?umwm3yw2yny

Starsailor (1970)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?5ne1jaunqyy

A Couple of Jazz Albums

The Bill Evans Trio – At the Village Vanguard (1961)
Seminal live performance by the granddaddy of all piano trios. I read a quote somewhere about Bill Evans’ playing eliciting the kind of abstract awe that one feels when standing inside a cathedral. That’s not to say that his playing is in any way distant or detached. Rather the music is hazy and lyrical, much like the work of impressionist composers Ravel and Debussy. Evans plays calm and understated all throughout, emphasizing atmosphere. This laid-back approach allows the bassist and drummer plenty of room to do their thing. The interplay between the three musicians is amazing. The bassist in particular completely breaks free from his expected role of rhythm-keeper and acts as a second lead instrument, weaving dense countermelodies around the piano and playing mind-bogglingly complex solos.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?vkdezdbtxyt

Eric Dolphy – Out To Lunch (1964)

One of the most wonderfully out-there jazz records I’ve ever encountered. I guess you can call it free jazz to the extent that it’s free from the harmonic and rhythmic conventions associated with this type of music. But this isn’t just a group of guys freaking out on a bunch of instruments. The tunes are carefully composed, and every band member, despite being accorded plenty of room to go nuts, knows what he’s doing.The melodies are harsh and angular; the rhythms can get pretty wild, and the unusual instrumentation (flute; bass clarinet; vibraphone instead of piano) gives these tracks an eerie, atmospheric quality. But this album grooves pretty hard, and has plenty of soul.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dw4yjcmmmjr

Sun Ra

This is for Adam, who I think I remember said he wanted more Sun Ra in his life:

Space Is The Place (1972)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?12mymmjkyzw

Outer Spaceways Incorporated (1968)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?urgmz5hjr0w

Inaugural Post (Part Two)

Flying Lotus – Los Angeles (2008)
Dense, sludgy hip-hop beats. My favourite album of 2008.









http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tjzt2ae4ggy


The Pentangle – Basket of Light (1969)
British band from the 60s that played folk songs on acoustic instruments, but with intricate jazzy arrangements. The singer has a pretty voice.






http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?gnunvemyjng


Baaba Maal – Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) (2001)
This album was recorded outdoors in the Senegalese singer’s native village. Lots of little ambient sounds creep in - leaves rustling, insects buzzing, the occasional farm animal. Oh, and the music is good too. Acoustic guitars, traditional West African instruments and some really strong singing.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?uoitmyydhy5





Animal Collective – Water Curses EP (2008)
Only four tracks here, and they’re all solid. The first song has a really nice bouncy rhythm. The others are eerie ambient excursions. Headphone music.





http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tlznnmcymtd




Don Cherry – Brown Rice (1975):
Don Cherry’s take on world music. Freaky, spastic, sexy and disorienting are all appropriate adjectives.








http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?igwotjytmyi