A really great collection of work from the legendary Nina Simone – a set that's overflowing with the kind of timeless cuts that continue to resonate as strongly today as when Nina was first recording them back in the 60s – served up in that genre-breaking blend of jazz, soul, and folk-styled elements – all in a style that continues to remain Nina's own! The set is very heavy on message-oriented cuts, but also includes a few remakes of standards – but done with that edge that Simone had that could turn a love song into a biting moment of commentary – a quality that really comes through here in the 19 classic tracks in the set, which are mostly from her years at Philips. Titles include "Feeling Good", "Sinnerman", "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", "Me Me Quitte Pas", "Mississippi Goddam", "Strange Fruit", "Work Song", "Take Care Of Business", "See Line Woman", "I Put A Spell On You", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Ain't Got No I Got Life", and "Don't Explain". The package also features 7 remixes too – new reworks of classic Simone tracks, done with the continuing power that's kept her fresh – titles include "Feeling Good (Joel Corry rmx)", "See Line Woman (Riton rmx)", "Sinnerman (Sofi Tukker rmx)", "My Baby Just Cares For Me (honne rmx)", "Take Care Of Business (Rudimental rmx)", "I Put A Spell On You (Floorplan rmx)", and "Be My Husband (Hot Chip rmx)". ~ Dusty Groove
A very different album than you might expect – certainly different than the music that pianist Ethan Iverson was giving us when he was a member of The Bad Plus – and a set that may well stand as a great testament to his decision to break out on his own! There's a subtle sort of majesty here as Ethan plays in a trio with Jack DeJohnette on drums and Larry Grenadier on bass – often with the kind of rhythmic pulse of his previous work, but with themes that travel at a deeper level, and which have the record bristling with meaning at each new twist and turn – thanks to the fresh vision of Iverson's music! Make no mistake, this is hardly a standard piano trio album – something that's signaled on the initial tune, "The More It Changes", which has a vocal chorus – then continues through the trio titles "Had I But Known", "For Ellen Raskin", "The Eterna Verities", "She Won't Forget Me", "At The Bells & Motley", "Praise Will Travel", and "Merely Improbable". ~ Dusty Groove
Travis Duo’s debut album is a collection of improvisations done based on a set of line drawings and diagrams drawn during lucid dreams. Recorded by legendary producer Martin Bisi at his studio in Brooklyn NY, “HYPNAGOGIA” is a bold and honest 1st album by the pair pushing abstractions whilst gently nestling on their pop roots. The kaleidoscopic overtones of the sitar dance elegantly with the charismatic and eloquent contrabass, provoking dreamers to kenopsia-tic drawers of the sub-consciousness; psychedelic with a mean right hook, at times eruptive like a feral animal ready to bite, to long deep bows that stretch across the glittering night sky reaching through to your deepest of nightmares lurking at the bottom of oceanic abyss. Featuring: Daniel Carter on flute and saxophones, the NYC Jazz veteran weaves through the tapestry of colours painted by Sean McCaul on xylophone, as Devin Brahja Waldman poetically releases the spirits summoned by the dynamic drumming of Niko Wood moving mountains and parting the clouds to a brighter future.
A huge collection of work from the initial years in the long musical career of Toots Thielemans – a musician who really helped shape the sound of jazz on a few different instruments, and who also made strong contribution to the world of soul and soundtracks over the years too! The package features eight full albums by Toots – all brimming over with color and lyrical magic – with Thielemans famously crafting these amazing lines on harmonica – bringing the instrument into jazz territory that no others had touched – and often playing guitar as well, depending on the record. The settings here vary nicely, as the records are from both European and US sources, each of which have a different setting – including a date with backings by Kurd Edelhagen on the record Road To Romance, small combo European sounds on the 1961 record Toots, work with the Ray Bryant trio on The Soul Of Toots Thielmans, a cool French group on Try A Little Tenderness, a larger US orchestra on Time Out For Toots, a small jazz combo with Pepper Adams on Man Bites Harmonica, Toots' group with organ from Billy Desmedt on Toot's Quartet, and a larger group on The Sound Of Toots Thielmans. 84 tracks on four CDs – with notes in English and French! ~ Dusty Groove
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