J.M. RECOMMENDS
Mandatory Reality (Clear Vinyl Limited Edition)
Joshua Abrams Natural Information Society LP 33,04 €
Mosaic Box Sets
STRATA-EAST RECORDS
PRICE DROP ON SELECTED LP EDITIONS
Artist of the Month
Charlie Parker
One of a handful of musicians who can be said to have permanently changed jazz, Charlie Parker was arguably the greatest saxophonist of all time. He could play remarkably fast lines that, if slowed down to half speed, would reveal that every note made sense. "Bird," along with his contemporaries Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell, is considered a founder of bebop. Parker's remarkable technique, fairly original sound, and ability to come up with harmonically advanced phrases that could be both logical and whimsical were highly influential. The incomparable life and extraordinary, trailblazing career of jazz titan and influential composer Charlie Parker will be honored throughout 2020 with a worldwide celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth (August 29, 1920).
Label of the Month
Ezz-thetics
A post-war masterpiece, George Russell’s Ezz-Thetics is the inspiration behind the new Swiss label from Werner X. Uehlinger, founder of Hat Hut Records. Its first steps have been quite big besides the usual high quality contemporary artists. Recordings by Jimmy Giuffre 3, Albert Ayler, Marion Brown, Matthew Shipp, John Coltrane or Sun Ra have gathered interest and placed the label in the music radar for collectors and aficionados alike. All these releases under a new sub-series called “Revisited” made up of a selection of important releases from the 1960s which marked an important the label would like to share with passion for these creative years in Avantgarde Jazz.
CD of the Month
Mike Westbrook - Love & Understanding
Citadel/Room 315 is an hour-long suite of eleven tracks, beautifully composed and arranged by Mike Westbrook that is rightly considered to be one of the high-points of Brit-jazz from that era. Mike was commissioned by Sveriges (Swedish) Radio to write the work with Surman as lead soloist. He then travelled to Sweden to perform and conduct it for the first time, live in concert. This recording has never been released until now and presents a wildly different recording to the later LP, the rawness and freedom of the playing contrasting strongly with the more polished studio album.