Jimmie Lee Robinson – All My Life 45RPM 200g 2LP Analogue Productions Vinyl
If you tire easily of the overdone, overproduced contemporary blues – the garbage that sounds like plastic instruments being played in a tin box – and if you’ve ever wondered why that stuff is even filed under blues, than you’re like Jimmie Lee Robinson. To Jimmie Lee, the blues are more than just fast notes and wild guitar solos. They are about feelings deep and personal. They punch at emotions.
With All My Life, his second APO Records release, Jimmie Lee is aiming for goose bumps and tears. And if you’ve got appreciation for acoustic, front porch blues, you’ll have a tough time escaping his spell.
Joan Baez – Diamonds & Rust – Analogue Productions 180g Vinyl Limited Edition
Joan Baez – Recently – Analogue Productions 180g Vinyl
John Coltrane – With The Red Garland Trio – Analogue Productions 200g Vinyl
For his second long player, John Coltrane (tenor saxophone) joined forces with his Prestige labelmate Red Garland (piano) to command a quartet through a five-song outing supported by a rhythm section of Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Taylor (drums). The absence of any unessential instrumentalists encouraged a decidedly concerted focus from Coltrane, who plays with equal measures of confidence and freedom. The Coltrane original “Traneing In” Is a rousing blues that exemplifies the musical singularity between Coltrane and Garland. Even though Garland, the pianist, takes charge from the start, the structure of the arrangement permits the tenor to construct his solo seamlessly out of Garland’s while incrementally increasing in intensity, yet never losing the song’s underlying swinging bop.
Johnny Hodges – Blues A Plenty Analogue Productions 200g 45RPM Vinyl
One of the giants of the alto saxophone, Johnny Hodges was perhaps the most important soloist and sideman in Duke Ellington’s orchestra from 1928 up to Hodges’ death in 1970. The self-taught player made many solo forays during his long career – one of his ’50s outfits included a young John Coltrane – but history remembers Hodges for his virtuosic sidemanship, particularly his sensitive rendering of ballads.
Julie London – Latin In A Satin Mood – Analogue Productions 200g Vinyl
Analogue Productions has brought back Julie London sings Latin In A Satin Mood in dramatic, deserving fashion. Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and plated and pressed on 200-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, the crispness and vibrancy of this recording is spectacular.
Exotic and Latin albums were big deals in the 1950s and early '60s, and singers as diverse as Dean Martin, Lena Horne, and Peggy Lee were recording with castanets and bongo drums. Like Peggy Lee, London combines a restrained vocal approach with jazz phrasing and a cool attitude with icy sex appeal on this album of relaxing Latin standards. Julie does look beautiful on the cover, and the backup male "mariachi-esque" serenade ads to the romantic ambiance.
Lowell Graham & National Symphonic Winds – Center Stage – Analogue Productions Vinyl
From Wilson Audiophile Recordings comes Center Stage, featuring Lowell Graham conducting the National Symphonic Winds.
These recordings were made in a historic concert hall on the campus of Hampton University in Hampton Roads, Va. The history of the hall parallels somewhat New York's Carnegie Hall. The musicians in the National Symphonic Winds come from the premier military bands of the United States as well as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The result was a superb mix of seasoned and assured professionals for this single, five-hour recording session.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Gimme Back My Bullets 180g 45RPM Analogue Productions Vinyl
Matchbox Twenty – Yourself Or Someone Like You – Analogue Productions SACD
Miles Davis – Bags Groove (mono) – Analogue Productions 180 Gram Vinyl Record
For sale individually and as part of Analogue Productions’ Prestige Mono Series.
There are a multitude of reasons why Bags’ Groove remains a cornerstone of the post-bop genre.
Of course, says All Music Guide, there will always be the lure of the urban myth surrounding the Christmas Eve 1954 session — featuring Thelonious Monk — which is documented on the two takes of the title track.
There are obviously more tangible elements, such as Davis’ practically telepathic runs with Sonny Rollins (tenor sax). Or Horace Silver’s (piano) uncanny ability to provide a stream of chord progressions that supply a second inconspicuous lead without ever overpowering.
