Quatermass – The John Peel BBC Session (1970)

Quatermass were a British progressive rock band from London, active between 1969 and 1971. A related band, Quatermass II, was active in the mid-1990s.

The trio consisted of bass player and vocalist John Gustafson, keyboardist J. Peter Robinson and Mick Underwood on drums. Underwood had previously played with Ritchie Blackmore in the Outlaws, while Gustafson had been a member of Cass and the Casanovas, the Big Three, the Seniors, and the Merseybeats. Underwood later became drummer with Episode Six, and was joined by Gustafson after Roger Glover (and Ian Gillan) left to join Deep Purple. The band took its name from Professor Bernard Quatermass, a fictional scientist who had been the hero of three science fiction serials produced by BBC Television in the 1950s, and were signed to Harvest Records.

The group formed as a power trio with Hammond organ as the main instrument. Their first and only album sold itself through “…compactness, wealth of ideas, forceful lead vocals and complicated arrangements, enriched by pianist Robinson’s tasteful use of classical strings which are on display along with spacious keyboard passages at their height in the mold of The Nice.” One track, “Laughin’ Tackle”, includes 16 violins, 6 violas, 6 cellos, and 3 double bass, arranged by Robinson, and a drum solo by Underwood. Underwood remained in close contact with Blackmore, and visited Deep Purple in the studio while they were recording In Rock.

The group split in early 1971. Gustafson formed a new band, Hard Stuff (Bullet) with ex-members of Atomic Rooster.

The band’s song “Black Sheep of the Family”, a cover of Chris Farlowe, was the first track to be recorded by Rainbow, having been rejected for the Deep Purple album Stormbringer.[6]

In 1994, Underwood, and founding Deep Purple member Nick Simper joined in a project titled Quatermass II. Gustafson contributed two songs on their album, Long Road (1997), which also involved Gary Davis and Bart Foley on guitars, with Don Airey on keyboards.

And here´s a wonderful BBC broadcast recording (one of these legendayry John Peel Sessions !) inclduing this heavy and hissing organ by Peter Robinson.

What a great group … criminally underrated … one of the finest bands from this period … if you like organ/bass/drums trios !

Personnel:
John Gustafson (bass, vocals)
Peter Robinson (keyboards)
Mick Underwood (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Black Sheep Of The Family (Hammond) 3.19
02. Laughing Tackle (Robinson) 10.49
03. Make Up Your Mind Now (Hammond) 9.09
04. One Blind Mice (Gustafson/Robinson/Underwood) 6.16

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More from Quatermass:

Johnny Cash – Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany (1975)

John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Much of Cash’s music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his career. He was known for his deep, calm bass-baritone voice, the distinctive sound of his Tennessee Three backing band characterized by train-like chugging guitar rhythms, a rebelliousnesscoupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor, free prison concerts, and a trademark all-black stage wardrobe which earned him the nickname “The Man in Black”.

Born to poor cotton farmers in Kingsland, Arkansas, Cash rose to fame in the burgeoning rockabilly scene in Memphis, Tennessee, after four years in the Air Force. He traditionally began his concerts by simply introducing himself, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash”,[c] followed by “Folsom Prison Blues”, one of his signature songs. Alongside “Folsom Prison Blues”, his other signature songs include “I Walk the Line”, “Ring of Fire”, “Get Rhythm”, and “Man in Black”. He also recorded humorous numbers like “One Piece at a Time” and “A Boy Named Sue”, a duet with his future wife June called “Jackson” (followed by many further duets after their wedding), and railroad songs such as “Hey, Porter”, “Orange Blossom Special”, and “Rock Island Line”. During the last stage of his career, he covered songs by contemporary rock artists of the time; his most notable covers were “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails, “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden and, “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode.

Cash is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. His genre-spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel sounds. This crossover appeal earned him the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame. His music career was dramatised in the 2005 biopic Walk the Line. (wikipedia)

And here´s a pretty good bootleg from a concert in 1975 and Johnny Cash sings all his fevoite songs and many of his hits.

A must for every Johnny Cash fan !

Recorded live at the Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany; September 15, 1975
Very good soundboard recording

Pesonnel:
Johnny Cash (vocals, guitar)
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The Tennessee Three:
Marshall Grant (bass)
W.S. Holland (drums)
Bob Wootton (guitar)
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June Carter (vocals on
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background vocals:
Rosanne Cash – Anita Carter

Tracklist:
01. Ring Of Fire (Carter/Kilgore) 3.18
02. Interlude 0.38
03. Man In Black (Cash) 2.22
04. Big River (Cash) 2.46
05. The Lady Came From Baltimore (Hardin) 2.15
06. Sunday Morning Coming Down (Kristofferson) 4.09
07. These Hands (Noack) 3.25
08. Five Feet High And Rising (Cash) 1.47
09. Pickin’ Time (Cash) 1.48
10. I Got Stripes (Willims/Cash) 2.10
11. Doin’ My Time (Skinner) 2.23
12. Cocaine Blues (Arnall) 3.18
13. Give My Love To Rose (Cash) 2.51
14. A Boy Named Sue (Silverstein) 3.34
15. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robertson) 3.56
16. The City Of New Orleans (Goodman) 4.14
17. Hey Porter (Cash) 1.13
18. Folsom Prison Blues (Cash) 1.30
19. Wreck Of The Old 97 (Cash/Johnson/Blake) 1.33
20. Orange Blossom Special (Rouse) 3.56
21. I Still Miss Someone (J.Cash/R.Cash) 2.19
22. Jackson (Wheeler/Leiber) 2:59
23. If I Were A Carpenter (Hardin) 2.28
24. It Ain’t Me, Babe (Dylan) 3.28
25. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Habershon/Gabriel/Carter) 2.44
26. Help Me (Gatlin) 2.54
27. I Walk The Line (Cash) 4.02

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Front + backcover of another bootleg edition:

More from Johnny Cash:

Christmas 2021 (02) – Amor Artis Choir & Orchestra – A Baroque Christmas – Concertos & Cantatas (1966)

Amor Artis (founded in 1961) is a distinctive chamber chorus and orchestra, featuring dynamically balanced programs of well-known favorites together with important works rarely heard. The ensemble has achieved considerable recognition internationally through its many concerts and extensive discography, encompassing more than forty recordings.

One of the first and foremost presenters in New York of lesser-known Baroque masterpieces, Amor Artis has distinguished itself through authentic versions in style and setting, paving the way for the performances of these works given in the USA today.

Audiences and critics have also hailed AmorArtis for musical excellence in all repertoires: from Dvorak’s Requiem, performed at Carnegie Hall, to its recording of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah and Judas Maccabeus on compact disc.

The Amor Artis Chamber Chorus and Orchestra have recorded for seven labels. Their most recent recordings include discs for Newport Classic and the Vox Music Group: a recording of Mozart’s Requiem, with original instruments; a disc entitled Musica Dei, featuring choral music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Lassus, and a disc entitled Christmas Around the World, featuring favorite carols from many nations. About Musica Dei, the American Record Guide says that the listener will find on this disc “beautiful singing, superbly recorded.” (bach-cantatas.com)

And here´s a real beautful christmas album … What wonderful and mature voices.

Enjoy it !

Personnel:
Amor Artis Choral & Orchestra conducted by Johannes Somary
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Elizabeth Humes (soprano vocals on 02.)
Melinda Kessler (soprano vocals on 02  + 07.)
Anthony Tamburello (bass vocals on 02.)

Tracklist:
01. In Dulci Jubilo (Praetorius) 2.34
02. In Nativitatem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Canticum (Charpentier) 15.59
03. O ihr lieben Hirten (Hammerschmidt) 6.06
04. Magnificat (Pachelbel) 5.28
05. Vom Himmel Hhoch (Schein) 1.39
06. In Dulci Jubilo (Buxtehude) 8.00
07.bLauft, ihr Hirten, allzugleich (Haydn) 9.26

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Melody Maker – November 26, 1966

Melody Maker was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world’s earliest music weeklies, and—according to its publisher IPC Media—the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born composer, publisher Lawrence Wright; the first editor was Edgar Jackson. In January 2001 it was merged into “long-standing rival” (and IPC Media sister publication) New Musical Express.

Originally the Melody Maker (MM) concentrated on jazz, and had Max Jones, one of the leading British proselytizers for that music, on its staff for many years. It was slow to cover rock and roll and lost ground to the New Musical Express (NME), which had begun in 1952. MM launched its own weekly singles chart (a top 20) on 7 April 1956,[6] and an LPs charts in November 1958, two years after the Record Mirror had published the first UK Albums Chart. From 1964, the paper led its rival publications in terms of approaching music and musicians as a subject for serious study rather than merely entertainment. Staff reporters such as Chris Welch and Ray Coleman applied a perspective previously reserved for jazz artists to the rise of American-influenced local rock and pop groups, anticipating the advent of music criticism.

The first Melody Maker (January 1926):

On 6 March 1965, MM called for the Beatles to be honoured by the British state. This duly happened on 12 June that year, when all four members of the group (Harrison,[9] Lennon, McCartney, and Starr) were appointed as members of the Order of the British Empire. By the late 1960s, MM had recovered, targeting an older market than the teen-orientated NME. MM had larger and more specialised advertising; soon-to-be well-known groups would advertise for musicians. It ran pages devoted to “minority” interests like folk and jazz, as well as detailed reviews of musical instruments.

A 1968 Melody Maker poll named John Peel best radio DJ, attention which John Walters said may have helped Peel keep his job despite concerns at BBC Radio 1 about his style and record selection.

Starting from the mid-60s, critics such as Welch, Richard Williams, Michael Watts and Steve Lake were among the first British journalists to write seriously about popular music, shedding an intellectual light on such artists as Steely Dan, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Henry Cow.

By the early 1970s, Melody Maker was considered “the musos’ journal” and associated with progressive rock. However, Melody Maker also reported on teenybopper pop sensations like the Osmonds, the Jackson 5, and David Cassidy. The music weekly also gave early and sympathetic coverage to glam rock. Richard Williams wrote the first pieces about Roxy Music, while Roy Hollingworth wrote the first article celebrating New York Dolls in proto-punk terms while serving as the Melody Maker’s New York correspondent. In January 1972, Michael “Mick” Watts, a prominent writer for the paper, wrote a profile of David Bowie that almost singlehandedly ignited the singer’s dormant career. During the interview Bowie said, “I’m gay, and always have been, even when I was David Jones.” “OH YOU PRETTY THING” ran the headline, and swiftly became part of pop mythology. Bowie later attributed his success to this interview, stating that, “Yeah, it was Melody Maker that made me. It was that piece by Mick Watts.”[16] During his tenure at the paper, Watts also toured with and interviewed artists including Syd Barrett, Waylon Jennings, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Caroline Coon was headhunted by Melody Maker editor Ray Coleman in the mid-1970s and promptly made it her mission to get women musicians taken seriously. Between 1974 and 1976, she interviewed Maggie Bell, Joan Armatrading, Lynsey de Paul, and Twiggy. She then went on to make it her mission to promote punk rock.

In 1978, Richard Williams returned – after a stint working at Island Records – to the paper as the new editor and attempted to take Melody Maker in a new direction, influenced by what Paul Morley and Ian Penman were doing at NME. He recruited Jon Savage (formerly of Sounds), Chris Bohn and Mary Harron to provide intellectual coverage of post-punk bands like Gang of Four, Pere Ubu and Joy Division and of new wave in general. Vivien Goldman, previously at NME and Sounds, gave the paper much improved coverage of reggae and soul music, restoring the superior coverage of those genres that the paper had in the early 1970s. Despite this promise of a new direction for the paper, internal tension developed, principally between Williams and Coleman, by this time editor-in-chief, who wanted the paper to stick to the more “conservative rock” music it had continued to support during the punk era. Coleman had been insistent that the paper should “look like The Daily Telegraph” (renowned for its old-fashioned design), but Williams wanted the paper to look more contemporary. He commissioned an updated design, but this was rejected by Coleman.

In 1980, after a strike which had taken the paper (along with NME) out of publication for a period, Williams left MM. Coleman promoted Michael Oldfield from the design staff to day-to-day editor, and, for a while, took it back where it had been, with news of a line-up change in Jethro Tull replacing features about Andy Warhol, Gang of Four and Factory Records on the cover. Several journalists, such as Chris Bohn and Vivien Goldman, moved to NME, while Jon Savage joined the new magazine The Face. Coleman left in 1981, the paper’s design was updated, but sales and prestige were at a low ebb through the early 1980s, with NME dominant.

By 1983, the magazine had become more populist and pop-orientated, exemplified by its modish “MM” masthead, regular covers for the likes of Duran Duran and its choice of Eurythmics’ Touch as the best album of the year. Things were to change, however. In February 1984, Allan Jones, a staff writer on the paper since 1974, was appointed editor: defying instructions to put Kajagoogoo on the cover, he led the magazine with an article on up-and-coming band The Smiths.

In 1986, MM was invigorated by the arrival of a group of journalists, including Simon Reynolds and David Stubbs, who had run a music fanzine called Monitor from the University of Oxford, and Chris Roberts, from Sounds, who established MM as more individualistic and intellectual. This was especially true after the hip-hop wars at NME, a schism between enthusiasts of progressive black music such as Public Enemy and Mantronix and fans of traditional white rock – ended in a victory for the latter, the departure of writers such as Mark Sinker and Biba Kopf (as Chris Bohn was now calling himself), and the rise of Andrew Collins and Stuart Maconie, who pushed NME in a more populist direction.

Melody Maker redesigned as MM:

While MM continued to devote most space to rock and indie music (notably Everett True’s coverage of the emerging grunge scene in Seattle), it covered house, hip hop, post-rock, rave and trip hop. Two of the paper’s writers, Push and Ben Turner, went on to launch IPC Media’s monthly dance music magazine Muzik. Even in the mid-1990s, when Britpop brought a new generation of readers to the music press, it remained less populist than its rivals, with younger writers such as Simon Price and Taylor Parkes continuing the 1980s tradition of iconoclasm and opinionated criticism. The paper printed harsh criticism of Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker, and allowed dissenting views on Oasis and Blur at a time when they were praised by the rest of the press.

In 1993, they gave a French rock band called Darlin’ a negative review calling them “a daft punky thrash”.[citation needed] Darlin’ eventually became the electronic music duo Daft Punk.

Australian journalist Andrew Mueller joined MM in 1990 and became Reviews Editor between 1991 and 1993, eventually declining to become Features Editor and leaving the magazine in 1993. He then went on to join NME under his former boss Steve Sutherland (who had left MM in 1992).

The magazine retained its large classified ads section, and remained the first call for musicians wanting to form a band. Suede formed through ads placed in the paper. MM also continued to publish reviews of musical equipment and readers’ demo tapes –though these often had little in common stylistically with the rest of the paper – ensuring sales to jobbing musicians who would otherwise have little interest in the music press.

In early 1997, Allan Jones left to edit Uncut. He was replaced by Mark Sutherland, formerly of NME and Smash Hits, who thus “fulfilled [his] boyhood dream” and stayed on to edit the magazine for three years. Many long-standing writers left, often moving to Uncut, with Simon Price departing allegedly because he objected to an edict that coverage of Oasis should be positive. Its sales, which had already been substantially lower than those of the NME, entered a serious decline.

In 1999, MM relaunched as a glossy magazine, but the magazine closed the following year, merging into IPC Media’s other music magazine, NME, which took on some of its journalists and music reviewers. (wikipedia)

And I will continue with my “Melody Maker” entries with this issue from Novemer 26, 1966:

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The backside of the magazine:

More from Melody Maker:

Christmas 2021 (01) – Pentatonix – A Pentatonix Christmas Deluxe (2017)

All years again … I want to present Christmas songs of all kinds this December as well.

Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying (baritone), Mitch Grassi (tenor), Kirstin Maldonado (alto), Kevin Olusola (vocal percussion and vocals), and Matt Sallee (bass). Characterized by their pop-style arrangements with vocal harmonies, basslines, riffing, percussion, and beatboxing, they produce cover versions of modern pop works or Christmas songs, sometimes in the form of medleys, along with original material. Pentatonix formed in 2011 and subsequently won the third season of NBC’s The Sing-Off, receiving $200,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. When Sony’s Epic Records dropped the group after The Sing-Off, the group formed its YouTube channel, distributing its music through Madison Gate Records, a label owned by Sony Pictures. Their YouTube channel currently has over 19 million subscribers and 5 billion views. The group’s video tribute to Daft Punk had received more than 355 million views as of November 20, 2021.

Their debut EP PTX, Volume 1 was released in 2012, followed by their holiday release PTXmas the same year, with Pentatonix’s third release, PTX, Vol. II, debuting at number 1 on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart and number 10 on the Billboard 200 in 2013. In May 2014, Pentatonix signed with RCA Records, a “flagship” label of Sony Music Entertainment, while in the same year, the group released their fourth EP, PTX, Vol. III, and two full-length studio albums; PTX, Vols. 1 & 2, a compilation album released in Japan, Korea and Australia, and their second holiday release, That’s Christmas to Me, with the album certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), platinum on December 24, 2014, and double platinum on February 11, 2016, becoming the highest-charting holiday album by a group since 1962, and the fourth-best-selling album in the United States in 2014. The following year, Pentatonix released their eponymous album, their first consisting mostly of original material, which debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart for the first time in their career, followed by a third Christmas album, A Pentatonix Christmas, in 2016, and a new EP, PTX, Vol. IV – Classics, the year after.

In September 2017, Avi Kaplan, the group’s original bass, left the group amicably and was replaced by Matt Sallee, who was featured on their next album PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. I.

Pentatonix have won three Grammy Awards: they were the first a cappella act to win Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, doing so in 2015 and 2016, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance in 2017

A Pentatonix Christmas is the fifth studio album by American a cappella group Pentatonix. It is also their second full-length holiday album since That’s Christmas to Me in 2014. Featuring two new original songs, “Good to Be Bad” and “The Christmas Sing-Along”, A Pentatonix Christmas debuted on the Billboard 200 at number three with 52,000 albums sold in its first week, and later peaked at number one, selling 206,000 units in its best week. A Pentatonix Christmas marks as their second number one album on the Billboard 200 after Pentatonix. The album also debuted atop the Billboard Holiday Albums chart, their second number one on that chart after That’s Christmas to Me. The deluxe edition of the album dropped from number 6 to 200 on the Billboard 200 in 2018, the greatest drop for an album that still remained on the chart, in Billboard history. The album also, with a guest appearance by The Manhattan Transfer, marked the first recording by the fourth iteration of the group, as this was Trist Curless’ first participation with the group in a recording since the death of Tim Hauser, whom Curless officially replaced in 2014.

As of November 2017, 938,000 units of A Pentatonix Christmas have been sold in the US and 1,400,000 units worldwide. A deluxe edition was released on October 20, 2017, almost a year after the original’s release. The deluxe edition additionally marks the first appearance of replacement bass Matt Sallee and the second to last appearance of Avi Kaplan. (wikipedia)

The second full-length holiday outing from the Arlington, Texas-based, 2011 Sing-Off-winning a cappella group, A Pentatonix Christmas delivers a colorful set of Yuletide emissions with ample amounts of spirit and a truly impressive command of harmony. Acrobatic takes on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” fit nicely alongside highlights from 2014’s double platinum-selling That’s Christmas to Me, but where the former only yielded one original offering, A Pentatonix Christmas unleashes two self-penned Santa jams into the world, the winking “Good to Be Bad” and the festive “The Christmas Sing-Along.” Also notable is a soulful rendering of “White Christmas,” which sees the quintet teaming up with a cappella, jazz fusion, and pop legends Manhattan Transfer. (by James Christopher Monger)

This is the third festive album from the incredibly talented and versatile Pentatonix. Each track has a different style or vibe, sometimes more than one in each track, and each sounds wonderful when you listen for the first time, then as you listen again and again (which you will, I have been playing this CD constantly since it arrived!), there are even more fine details to notice. These five exceptionally skilful young people are not only charming in person, but have a wealth of musical backgrounds and skills, and chose to bring them together to create groundbreaking a cappella performances. I can’t praise them highly enough, and am so grateful that my daughter heard about them – another bonus is that they appeal to all generations. (Dawn S)

Personnel:
Mitch Grassi (tenor lead)
Scott Hoying (baritone lead)
Kevin “K.O.” Olusola (tenor vocals,  percussion)
Avi Kaplan (bass lead)
Kirstin Maldonado (alto lead)
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Jennifer Hudson vocals on 13.
The Manhattan Transfer (choir on 03.)
The String Mob (strings on 16.)
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background vocals:
Kala Batch – Jessi Collins – Luke Edgemon – Anthony Evans – Missi Hale – Keri Larson –  David Laucks – Tiffany Palmer – Brandon Winbush

Tracklist:
01. O Come, All Ye Faithful (Traditional) 3.36
02. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Traditional) 2.30
03. White Christmas (featuring The Manhattan Transfer) (Berlin) 3.19
04. I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Gannon/Ram/Kent) 3.27
05. Up On The Housetop (Hanby) 2.15
06. The Christmas Sing-Along (Olusola/Hoying) 3.17
07. Coventry Carol (Traditional) 3.02
08. Hallelujah (Cohen) 4.29
09. Coldest Winter (Orzabal/West/Wilson) 2.28
10. Good To Be Bad (Hoying/Maldonado) 2.07
11. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (Chasez/DeGiorgio/Timberlake) 3.56
12. Deck The Halls (Traditional) 2.47
13. How Great Thou Art () Traditional 4:08
14. Away In A Manger (Traditional) 3.04
15. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Cahn/Styne) 2.01
16. Hallelujah (Cohen) 4.31

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Charlie Haden – Nocturne (2001)

Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking Ornette Coleman Quartet.

Haden revolutionized the harmonic concept of bass playing in jazz. German musicologist Joachim-Ernst Berendt wrote that Haden’s “ability to create serendipitous harmonies by improvising melodic responses to Coleman’s free-form solos (rather than sticking to predetermined harmonies) was both radical and mesmerizing. His virtuosity lies…in an incredible ability to make the double bass ‘sound out’. Haden cultivated the instrument’s gravity as no one else in jazz. He is a master of simplicity which is one of the most difficult things to achieve.” Haden played a vital role in this revolutionary new approach, evolving a way of playing that sometimes complemented the soloist and sometimes moved independently.

In this respect, as did his predecessor bassists Jimmy Blanton and Charles Mingus, Haden helped liberate the bassist from a strictly accompanying role to becoming a more direct participant in group improvisation. In 1969, he formed his first band, the Liberation Music Orchestra, featuring arrangements by pianist Carla Bley. In the late 1960s, he became a member of pianist Keith Jarrett’s trio, quartet and quintet. In the 1980s, he formed his band, Quartet West. Haden also often recorded and performed in a duo setting, with musicians including guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Hank Jones.

Nocturne is an album by American jazz musician Charlie Haden, released through Universal/Polygram in 2001. In 2002, the album won Haden the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.(wikipedia)

At a time when the big jazz record companies have opened their archives to sample-hungry producers of the younger generation or to superficially utility-oriented compilations with titles like “Schmuse-Jazz”, Charlie Haden’s “Nocturne” comes just in time as the answer of an old master.

Their similarities in tempo and gesture make the eleven pieces, most of them classics of Latin American boleros, suitable for unobtrusive background music, which, however, does not hurt to listen to: it is mild, but not tepid music that the bassist has recorded on this album with the Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, drummer Ignácio Berroa and four prominent guest musicians.

The fact that Haden and Rubalcaba – the master of the self-contained bass playing and the sometimes breath-taking, explosive pianist – do not stand in each other’s way musically, but can complement each other perfectly, has already been proven by both in early trio recordings. They have known each other for 15 years. Their 1989 performance at the Montréal Jazz Festival together with the idiosyncratic drummer Paul Motian was released on CD only four years ago.

On “Nocturnes”, the two meet in a restrained playing that does not let the emotionally charged music slip into the overly cloying, even in the first piece of the CD, the classic “En La Orilla Del Mundo”. After all, it is orchestrated with strings and wind instruments. It is wonderful how the sound of Joe Levano’s tenor saxophone approaches Federico Britos Ruiz’s violin tone when both play the theme to each other.

It is subtleties like these that make one become more and more absorbed in this music, even with casual listening: Pat Metheny’s dance-like improvisations on “Nocturnal”, the filigree piano figure with which Rubalcaba opens and ends “No Te Empenes Más”, Haden’s pensive bass solo on “El Ciego” or the witty comments, with which Rubalcaba and the second tenor player on the recording, David Sánchez, contrast the uniformity of the boleros in “Contigo En La Distancia / En Nosostros” with the well-measured accent and drive and colouring of jazz close to the blues.

“Nocturne” is music of simple beauty, yet not simple music. The classic boleros, mostly Cuban and Mexican hits from the 1930s to the 1950s, stand up to the combination with two of Haden’s own compositions – “Moonlight” and “Nightfall” – and another piece by Rubalcaba played without percussion. And the multinational group of musicians who recorded it – besides Cubans Rubalcaba and Berroa, Uruguayan Ruiz and Puerto Rican Sánchez, US-Americans Haden, Levano and Metheny – ensure the nightly relaxed presentness of this recording. (Fridtjof Küchemann)

Personnel:
Ignacio Berroa (drums)
Charlie Haden (bass)
Joe Lovano (saxophone)
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano)
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Pat Metheny (guitar on 02.)
Federico Britos Ruiz (violin on 01., 05. + 08.)
David Sanchez (saxophone on 06. + 10.)

Tracklist:
01. En la Orilla del Mundo (At The Edge Of The World) (Rojas) 5.13
02. Noche de Ronda (Night Of Wandering) (Lara) 5.40
03. Nocturnal (Marroquín/Mojica) 6.49
04. Moonlight (Claro de Luna) (Haden) 5.35
05. Yo Sin Ti (Me Without You) (Castro) 5.58
06. No Te Empeñes Mas (Don’t Try Anymore) (Valdés) 5.27
07. Transparence (Rubalcaba) 6.09
08. El Ciego (The Blind) (Manzanero) 5.53
09. Nightfall (Haden) 6.33
10. Tres Palabras (Three Words) (Farrés) 6.11
11. Contigo en la Distancia/En Nosotros (With You In The Distance/In Us) (Luz/Castellanos) 6.29

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More from Charlie Haden:

Mo Foster – Bel Assis (1988)

Mo Foster (born Michael Ralph Foster, 22 December 1944) is an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster has toured, recorded, and performed with dozens of artists, including Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Brian May, Scott Walker, Frida of ABBA, Cliff Richard, George Martin, Van Morrison, Dr John, Hank Marvin, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has released several albums under his own name, authored a humorous book on the history of British rock guitar, written numerous articles for music publications, continued to compose production music, and established himself as a public speaker. Foster is an assessor for JAMES, an industry organisation that gives accreditation to music colleges throughout the UK. In 2014, Foster was a recipient of a BASCA Gold Badge Award to honour his lifelong contribution to the British songwriting and composing community. (wikipedia)

You´ll find more informations about Mo Foster here.

And here´s his first solo-album and … it´s a masterpiece !

Bel Assis was originally released on Pete Van Hooke’s fledgling MMC record label in 1988 and was subsequently remastered and re-released in 2003 by Angel Air Records.

This album is really for those out there who are familiar with Mo Foter’s wonderful sessions work over the past decades, and I quite frankly think this album is great.

From the 1st track with has Gary Moore guesting on it, to the final track it showcases Mo’s ability as a great bassist and as a songwriter. Maybe you should take another listen to this album and enjoy it for what it is. Great music from a great musician. (Phillby01)

Such soft and gentle compositions, perfectly played by wonderful musicians from UK (check the line up of this album)

Personnel:
Rod Argent (keyboards)
Dave Dufries (trumpet)
Mo Foster (bass, keyboards)
Sal Galina (electronic woodwind)
Peter van Hooke (percussion)
Gary Moore (guitar)
Simon Phillips (drums)
Frank Ricotti (vibraphone)
Ray Russell (guitar)
Stan Sulzman (saxophone)

Tracklist:
01.The Light In Your Eyes (Foster) 5.42
02. A Walk In The Country (Foster) 4.32
03. Gaia (Foster) 6.27
04. Crete Revisited (Foster) 4.45
05. So Far Away (Foster/Russell) 3.48
06. Analytical Engine (Foster) 5.01
07. Pump II (Foster) 6.05
08. Jaco (Foster) 6.12
09. Bel Assis (Foster) 3.44
10. And Then There Were Ten (Foster/Russell) 5.01
11 Nomad (Foster) 8.10

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More from Mo Foster:

Black Patti – No Milk, No Sugar (2015)

And here´s a very unique and special duo from Germany:

The blues has often been declared dead and gone, but one of its best attributes is the ability to survive and reinvent itself. Certainly, we lament the passing of the old vanguard masters. But let’s be optimistic: When mourning the loss of the originators, new musicians always emerge to carry on the tradition. Sometimes they descend directly from the orbit of the legendary masters, but often they seemingly come out of nowhere, or from places least expected. When that happens, it is often a refreshing and exciting renewal.

Take Black Patti, one of the best country blues duos to come out of Germany, and certainly one of the biggest blues talents ever to come out of that country. The duo started out in Munich in 2011, the capitol of Bavaria, a place better known culturally for lederhosen and beer gardens. But the duo founders Peter Krause, born 1967, und Ferdinand Kraemer, born 1990, had other ideas. Their passion was for the old, purely acoustic blues, and they are still committed to this musical genre today. The duo sometimes invites other musicians who are not part of the core duo to join them, such as Ryan Donohue on upright bass, but that depends on the size of the venue and purse of the gig.

The duo took its name from a defunct US record company. Black Patti was a small, obscure Chicago record label of the pre-WWII era. It was founded in 1927 by Mayo Williams, who named his label after a now virtually forgotten African American opera singer, Sissieretta Jones, a “Soprano Who Shattered Racial Barriers,” nicknamed Black Patti because she looked similar to the Italian singer Adelina Patti. The label lasted for only seven months and issued 55 releases before going broke. Their peacock logo was revived decades later by the well-known Yazoo label. That’s also where the Bavarian duo took its brand, and they also cover a few songs from the Black Patti label’s repertoire.

Some blues musicians give themselves exotic-sounding stage names that often become more famous than their own. That’s as common today as it has always been, and Black Patti is no exception: When the Munich lads get on stage or into the studio they appear as Peter Crow C. (Krause) and Mr. Jelly Roll (Kraemer). These pseudonyms are their artist names, both humorous and somewhat self-ironic. Ferdinand Kraemer’s selection is a personal tribute to the great Jelly Roll Morton because his first name was Ferdinand, too. And Peter Krause explained that his puzzling moniker “Crow C.” is derived from the phonetic pronunciation of his last name, as they would say it in Texas.

Unquestionably, these guys are the real deal. They have released three CDs, and all are deeply rooted in the old-time blues. (thecountryblues.com)

And here´s their debutalbum from 2015.

I know that if you two had sat down with Son House and Willie Brown and Joe Martin in Robinsonville in 1930, and did any one of the “Moon Going Down” numbers the way you did “Future”, there would have been a lot of smiles all around, and you would have been as thoroughly welcomed by them as Al Wilson was in 1964, and for the same reasons. I was really moved by that number and by the closing Patton number. So much respect for the material and yet so much originality.” (Phil Spiro)

“Here’s the ideal combination of serious study of the great blues masters and a contemporary spontaneity. Black Patti don’t just try to recreate old sounds, although they have the talent to do so.

Instead, they make the songs their own with original arrangements that still remain true to the aesthetics of the tradition. I’ve seen the best and the worst of the Blues Revival for more than fifty years. Black Patti represent the revival’s young generation, and they’re taking it in a good direction.” (Dr. David Evans)

In other words: A hell of a record !

Personnel:
Ferdinand „Jelly Roll“ Kraemer (guitar, mandolin, vocals)
Peter „Crow C.“ Krause (vocals, guitar, harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. 01. Morning Train (Traditional) 3.16
02. Jelly Roll Swing (Krause) 3.05
03. You Got To Take Sick And Die Some Of These Days (Morganfield) 3.39
04. The New Early In The Morning (Williamson I) 3.28
05. Busy Bootin‘ (Arnold) 2.57
06. Future Blues (Brown) 3.28
07. Black Patti Boogie (Kruse/Kraemer)
08. Please Baby (Sheiks) 3.08
09. I’m So Worried About My Baby (Kramer) 3.11
10. The New Shake That Thing (Sheiks) 3.18
11. Big Mama’s Door (Hart) 4.17
12. I’m Goin‘ Home (Patton) 3.20

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And the cover of their latest album was drawn by none other than the legendary Robert Crump … because he likes kMusic so damn much:

Boguslaw Lewandowski & Andreas Weimer – Duo du Salon (1999)

Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as “Salons”. Salon compositions are usually fairly short and often focus on virtuoso pianistic display or emotional expression of a sentimental character. Common subgenres of salon music are the operatic paraphrase or fantasia, in which multiple themes from a popular opera are the basis of the composition, and the musical character-piece, which portrays in music a particular situation or narrative.

Many popular composers wrote at least a few pieces which fall into the category of salon music. Some pianists composed only salon music, but many of these specialists have become highly obscure.

And here´s a wonderful example of these romantic melodies from these long forgotten times in Europe,played by two young and very talented musicians.

Personnel:
Boguslaw Lewandowski (violin)
Andreas Weimer (piano)

Tracklist:
01. Cickom, Cickom (Liebchen, Liebchen) (Traditional) 1.05
02. Csak Egy Kislány (Nur ein kleines Mädchen) (Traditional) + Repül A Szán (Schlittenfahrt) (Elemér) 4.45
03. Salut d´amour (Elgar) 3.08
04. Caprice Viennois (Kreisler) 4.03
05. Zigeunerin (Kreisler) 3.19
06. Guitarre (Moszkowski) 3.17
07. Estrellita (Ponce) 3.21
08. Tango (Albeniz) 2.29
09. Banjo And Fiddle (Kroll) 3.06
10. Rhapsody In Blue (Gershwin) 7.57
11. Vous Étes Jolie, Madame (Boulanger) 3.05
12. Comme-Ci, Comme-Ca (Boulanger) 2.27
13. Hejre Kati (Hubay) 7.05
14. Aris Tziganes, op. 11 (Espejo) 6.30
15. Rumänisch (Knümann) + Hora de martie (Dinieu) 7.03
16. Komm Zigan (Kálmán) 3.57
17. Csardas (Monti) 4.53

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Various Artists – How To Get The Most Out Of Your Stereo (1960)

A real nice sampler:

Stereophonic sound, also simply called stereo, is the reproduction of sound using two or more audio loudspeakers. This creates a pleasant and natural sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.

The word “stereophonic” comes from Greek stereos = “solid” and phōnē = “sound”. It was coined by Western Electric.

In popular usage, stereo usually means two-channel sound recording and sound reproduction using data from two speakers. The electronic device for playing back stereo sound is often called “a stereo”. (wikipedia)

And this album tried to get people excited about stereophony. And we hear funny easy listening music… played by more or less totally unknown orchestras and musicians.

Enoy it !

Tracklist:
01. George Greeley: The Continental (Magidson/Conrad) 2.36
02. Frank Comstock Orchestra: Theme From “Mickey Mouse Club” (Dodd) 2.29
03. John Scott Trotter Orchestra: Holiday For Strings (Rose) 2.40
04. Buddy Cole And His Trio: Just One Of Those Things (Porter) 3.25
05. Ira Ironstrings Orchestra: Across The Alley From The Alamo (Greene) 2.17
06. Gus Farney: Singin’ In The Rain (Freed/Brown) 2.01
07. The Warner Bros. Military Band: The Caissons Go Rolling Along (Gruber) 2.52
08. Don Ralke Orchestra: How Long Has This Been Going On (Gershwin) 2.26
09. Buddy Cole And His Orchestra: Over The Rainbow (Harburg/Arlen) 3.27
10. Matty Matlock And The Paducah Patrol: Alabamy Bound (Green/DeSalva/ Henderson) 2.58
11. Warren Barker Orchestra: Carnavalito (Zaldivar) 2.33
12. Spike Jones Orchestra: Two Heads Are Better Than One (Brandt/Jones) 2.43

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This album is in yellow vinyl: