New Link!

New link for Lou Blackburn - The Complete Imperial Sessions. Find it in the original comment. Enjoy while is up!

New Link!

Dave Pike - Manhattan Latin: The Sensuous Rhythms of Spanish Harlem has been replaced as requested. You'll find it in the original comment. Enjoy!

Jimmy Woods - Conflict (1963)

It's hard to understand why Jimmy Woods recorded so little before evidently retiring from jazz. His entire recorded legacy includes just a pair of dates as a sideman and two albums for Contemporary. Woods' final date as a leader is a memorable affair, with an all-star cast of musicians, including trumpeter Carmell Jones, tenor saxophonist Harold Land, pianist Andrew Hill, bassist George Tucker, and drummer Elvin Jones, all of whom (except Tucker) recorded as leaders before the decade was over. The program is made of six originals, including the tense, bluesy march "Conflict"; the turbulent "Aim"; and the tricky (and well-named) "Apart Together." His one ballad of the date is the unusually structured "Look to Your Heart." While all of the soloists are impressive and Jones' powerful drumming fuels the horn players, the leader's adventurous alto sax is not to be missed. Review by Ken Dryden

http://www.allmusic.com/album/conflict-mw0000028623

Ike Quebec - Bossa Nova Soul Samba (1962)

With his thick, engaging sound and elegant romanticism, it only made sense for Ike Quebec to try his hand at the bossa nova boom Stan Getz kick-started in 1962, and that's what he did with Soul Samba. However, Quebec makes the session much more than mere bandwagon-jumping. He takes some chances with the repertoire and consciously adds a heavy blues inflection that makes Soul Samba one of the more unique interpretations of the bossa nova style. It's also one of the more sensuous, thanks in part to the combination of Quebec's natural tendencies and the soft, light style itself, but even more so with the extra bit of meat added via the blues. The music is warm and danceable, yet with a late-evening hush that's more suggestive of winding down and getting cozy with someone. Quebec's choices of material are never obvious -- the Brazilian selections do not include any Jobim standards, for one thing, and both Quebec and guitarist Kenny Burrell (absolutely stellar in support) contribute original material that ranks among the album's best performances (particularly Quebec's "Blue Samba" and Burrell's "Loie"). What's more, Quebec adapts some unlikely sources -- the traditional standard "Liebestraum" and the Dvorak theme "Goin' Home" -- into surprisingly effective samba pieces. The whole project is thoughtfully conceived and beautifully executed, treating bossa nova as a new means of personal expression, not just a fad to be cashed in on. Sadly, Soul Samba was Quebec's final album, but at least his career ended on a high note. Review by Steve Huey

http://www.allmusic.com/album/soul-samba-mw0000073875

New Links!

Find updated links in the relative comments
Mal Waldron - Mal 4; Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - Bamboleate; Sonny Clark - Dial "S" for Sonny

New reup!

Link for Lou Blackburn's Complete Imperial Sessions have been replaced, as requested. You'll find it in the original comment! Enjoy!

Mosaic Box Sets New links!

Links for Curtis Amy and Bennie Green wonderful Mosaic Box Sets have been replaced wih fresh ones. You'll find them in the original comments! Be sure to get them while they last!

Joe Gordon - Looking Good! (1961)

Joe Gordon did not live long, only making it to 35. His second of two recordings as a leader (originally released by Contemporary) finds him on the verge of leading his own group. Gordon wrote all eight of the selections and is joined by adventurous but obscure altoist Jimmy Woods, pianist Dick Whittington, bassist Jimmy Bond, and drummer Milt Turner. Although the solos are generally more memorable than the tunes, this is an excellent effort that hints at what might have been had Joe Gordon lived.

Yusef Lateef - The Centaur and the Phoenix (1961)

From his first explosion of recordings in the mid-'50s, Yusef Lateef was a player who was always gently stretching the boundaries of his music to absorb techniques, new rhythms, and new influences from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Centaur and the Phoenix, however, takes the risks and the innovations that Lateef was known for, and expands them in a number of different directions all at once, leading to an album that bursts with new ideas and textures, while remaining accessible, and above all, beautiful. Lateef seems eager here to take the next step musically by breaking the mold of his previous albums. While he is a gifted composer, only a third of the songs featured here are his work: the rhythm-driven flute showcase "Apathy," the gentle, nocturnal tribute to his daughter "Iqbal" and the tone poem "The Philanthropist." The best of the rest come from Kenny Barron, who was only 17 at the time, and Charles Mills, a contemporary classical composer who drew the album's self-titled highlight from two of his symphonies, the first paying tribute to Crazy Horse and the other to Charlie Parker. Providing the structure and textures needed for these intricate compositions was Lateef's largest ensemble to date. Accustomed to working in a small-group format, he makes managing a band of nine sidemen seem easy. Several Lateef regulars are here, including Barry Harris, Richard Williams, and Ernie Farrow, but the inclusion of forward-thinking musicians like Joe Zawinul also help take this album to a higher level. The greatest miracle of this recording, however, is the balance that Lateef achieves with this large group -- they are always an asset, never a distraction, and even as they come on strong and powerful on songs like "Apathy," or Barron's arrangement of "Ev'ry Day (I Fall in Love)" he remains in charge, somehow making his delicate flute (or oboe, tenor sax or argol) rise above it all, spilling out brightness, grace and joy.

Review byStacia Proefrock

http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-centaur-and-the-phoenix-mw0000085902

Fresh new links...again!

Just posted fresh new links for anyone interested in these two great albums! Please let us know about any other dead links and i will try to re-post them as soon as i possibly can!

Thanks Genre Slur for letting me know!

* Ben Webster & Joe Zawinul - Soulmates
* Bobby Timmons - This is here!

Links in respective comments...

Enjoy!