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Kind of Blue

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Miles Davis

April 07, 1997
It has already been said here that this album is usually found in non-jazz fans' collections alongside Bob Marley's greatest hits and most probably David Gray's entire ouvre. Perhaps it stands sentry there unplayed, just so its spine can be read, head tilted sideways, begging to impress upon whoever it is browsing through their collection some ill-gotten measure of sophistication? Perhaps they did play it once then decided no, they were right about jazz all along?

Modal, understated, and (aaargh!) cool, or tedious, cicuitous and under-cooked? Amongst aficionados, the most fiercely debated issue with the session is whether you are appreciating it at the correct pitch (an issue with the tape playback speed when it was mastered). That ... Read More:

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Verve Presents: The Very Best of Christmas Jazz

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Various Artists

November 05, 2001
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

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Then And Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Herbie Hancock

November 10, 2008
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

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Live at Belleville

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Arild Andersen, Tommy Smith, Paolo Vinaccia

November 10, 2008
Living here in California and knowing this live concert recording would not be on sale until Nov. 25th, I ordered from the [always reliable] Amazon.UK. I'm a nut for live material, especially in the jazz idiom and realize that ECM seldom (if ever) releases a shoddily recorded live set.

This recording is superb! I only received it yesterday, so I have only listened on headphones and can't state that the concert atmosphere ambiance will duplicate as well on my 10-speaker rig. But musically there are no grounds for disappointment. Each member of the trio blends into a cohesive whole and the tonal balance is perfect!

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Maiden Voyage: Remastered

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Herbie Hancock

June 14, 1999
Like the sea itself, Maiden Voyage is vast and epic- flirting with adventure and myth. It is Herbie Hancock's tour de force- what the wonderous Speak No Evil was to his Blue Note peer, Wayne Shorter- ie. representing the composer/pianist at his imaginitive peak. We can only imagine what kind of zone Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman, Ron Carter and Tony Williams must have been during the recording of this masterpiece- so wonderfully coherent yet brimming with subtle musical conflict. And Hancock's playing is simply majestic.

The opening track is stunningly simple- you might feel a little uninspired by the low-key opening, but then, all of a sudden, it all opens out beautifully during the trumpet solo. This short flourish embodies the enitre ... Read More:

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The Koln Concert: 24 January 1975

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Keith Jarrett

July 01, 1988
I first heard this record at a friends house. I was completely blown away. I went straight to the first record store and bought it. Since then it became my favorite Jazz album of all times, and has put Keith Jarret, in my opinion, on the top of the world's greatest piano players.
I've been a fan ever since and bought every single live album he has released. They are all amazing, but there's no love like the first one.
No record collection will be complete without it.

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Midnight Blue: Remastered

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Kenny Burrell

April 05, 1999
Hynotic, subtle and the same time wonderfully soulful this record surely sits within the top five of all time Blue Note releases. It's the ultimate late night session. The consistently wonderfully Kenny Burrell who makes the difficult sound effortlessly simple gives a masterclass in Jazz guitar playing with an endlesss tapestry of smooth licks that melt into the instinctive groove of Stanley Turrentine's sax. It's a partnership made in heaven, they work so languidly off each other on, "Mule" The way Burrell brings in the track on,"Soul lament," with his emotive twanging are classic bars of music. I am also particularly fond of the waltz tempo on,"Wavy Gravy."
This record is wonderfully focussed, Burrell's musical philosophy is stamped all over the music. The ... Read More:

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Miles Davis: Kind of Blue 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition 2CD/LP/DVD

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Miles Davis

October 27, 2008
It's just arrived and the package feels like it is worth the money. I already have all the music bar a few fragments of studio sequences and the "previously released in unauthorized form" 17:28 version of So What, but for the Miles completist it's wonderful to have.

Now - to sit back and luxuriate in this sublime music once again!

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Blue Train: Rudy Van Gelder Remaster

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: John Coltrane

August 18, 2003
With BLUE TRAIN, John Coltrane not only firmly established his own voice on the tenor saxophone, but also proved his abilities as a bandleader and composer. The musicians on BLUE TRAIN, hand-picked by Coltrane himself, play superbly not only as individuals, which is to be expected of players of such high caliber, but also as a cohesive unit--a rare occurence in an era where "all-star" bands would come together for one session, then disband just as quickly.Coltrane burns through the opening blues, igniting the rhythm section with rapid flurries of notes and reaffirming his absolute mastery of both sound and medium. At this stage of his career, Trane was still occupied with blowing over increasingly challenging chord changes. His ideas flow, flawlessly executed, logically ... Read More:

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Speak No Evil: Remastered

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Post-bop
by: Wayne Shorter

May 03, 1999
This album is proof that the criticisms of Wayne Shorter being just another Rollins-Coltrane imitator were indeed fatuous. Shorter, who has always incorporated a stronger element of the blues to his playing than Coltrane did in the mid-sixties, mixes this with some masterful composition and improvisation. Couple this with some astounding support from the polyrhythmic Elvin Jones, a (sometimes over) brassy and exuberant Freddie Hubbard, with the mercurial Herbie Hancock and journeyman Ron Carter.

The compositions themselves are wondrous, opening with "Witch Hunt", an interesting piece with a separate intro that moves straight into the main theme. It is a haunting blues with great solos from Shorter and Hubbard, driven along by Jones' fiery beat. "Fee-Fi-Fo ... Read More: