Average Rating:

.

Frank (Deluxe)

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Amy Winehouse

May 12, 2008
Like her or not, there is no denying Amy Winehouse is hugely talented. This double album is packed with superb songs that are classic Winehouse grooves. Whether it be foot tap, jazzy undertones, contemporary or ballards her soaring unique voice is there for all to hear.

The album mixes in some live versions and a few different mixes, so you get a good blend of Amy's work.

If you like Back to Black you will adore this bumper collection of songs of Amy at her best.

Excellent

Average Rating:

.

Time Out

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Dave Brubeck Quartet

April 07, 1997
Below is the review I recently posted on Amazon.com for the Dave Brubeck Take Five SACD. I really felt I should post the reveiw on Amazon.co.uk also, as there appear to be reviews which relate only to the CD release - same story with US Amazon. Surely there must be others out there that could stand up for this superb SACD album??!!

Although I'm not what I consider to be a great fan of jazz, I have enjoyed Dave Brubeck's music for quite some time. For the last two and a half years or so, I have bought almost only high resolution music (DVD-A or SACD), and was determined to buy this disc soon. For a short while, several years ago, I owned the standard CD version of this album - until I donated it to my father-in-law. For anyone reading ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 / Horrace Silver: Creepin In /Nigel Kennedy

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Nigel Kennedy

April 14, 2008
i too am a fan of nigel kennedy , but this recording doesnt do anything for me though as ever it is exceptionaly well played...but the combination of "modern" bits in among the classical music only distracts me..i like one or the other but if you are more adventurous than me,i highly recomend it!

Average Rating:

.

The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Charles Mingus

March 20, 1999
Forgive the tital, but how exactly do I define an album such as this, or indeed an artist like Mingus? This is the most undoubted five-star I have ever given, because, unlike most art, which either seems clear and gives you a good impression, or seems clear but gives you a banal impression, this does not seem clear ( in any of the multiple meanings of the term) , but gives you a transcendentally impressed feeling afterwards.
Certainly, it does seem quite gloomy. The title makes me think of some sort of lost scripture, with depressing implications for the fate of mankind, and the music is a series of movements circulating around the theme of damnation and torture in chains. The sounds which emerge: thundering, percussive drums, screaming brass, heavy ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

The Best Of Chris Barber

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Chris Barber

February 26, 2008
20 toe-tapping tracks for only £2.98! You can't go wrong and will enjoy the best it can get!!
All the great jazz classics are on here including THE haunting "Petite Fleur" with Monty Sunshine, along with some cracking live tracks AND 6 numbers featuring the fabulous voice of Ottilie Patterson.
If "April Showers" alone doesn't get your feet a jiggin' then you must be a piece of wood........man!
There's not one bad track on this album, which all come from the mid to late 1950's and it finishes with a rousing last track of a live version of "You Rascal You"; so buy it NOW Daddio and get in the groove!

Average Rating:

.

The Essential Sarah Vaughan

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Sarah Vaughan

February 15, 2003
Some rave about Ella Fitzgerald, her tonal purity and mirth, but say she could lack emotional depth (not sure I agree). Some rave about Billie Holliday, but have to cede that she had a narrow range, although she was a groundbreaking stylist. Sarah Vaughan was the third great female voice of jazz, and believe you me, she lacked nothing!

This album is a wonderful budget introduction to one of the most remarkable voices of all time. Her range and her sheer musical intelligence are unsurpassable.

Average Rating:

.

Greatest Hits

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Kenny Ball

February 26, 2008
Some of the tunes on this are nearly fifty years old and they are still swinging. Wow, he may not be considered the coolest artist on the planet...but Kenny's got Balls!!!!!

Average Rating:

.

Mingus Ah Um

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Charles Mingus

February 08, 1999
This is a rarity - a Mingus album with no duff tracks at all - everything is spot-on.The eclecticism of the music and its execution are breathtaking - if you need music to wake you up, try Boogie Stop Shuffle (so that's where they got the Mission Impossible theme from!).The gentler side of Mingus emerges beautifully on the slower tracks such as Pork Pie Hat.As for the recording - how did they manage such stunning sound? OK,it's remastered, but compare it to Monk CDs from the same time and it leaves them behind - vibrant,balanced,clear and dynamic - a must-buy!

Average Rating:

.

Stolen From Strangers

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Jun Miyake

October 20, 2008
Every now and then, and by that I mean five years or so, I find an exceptional new piece of music thanks to a review of some sort. A piece of music I would otherwise have been unlikely to stumble across. The kind of stuff they don't play on the radio. But I will read a review, usually in a newspaper, and it will get to me so much that I will have to buy that piece of music to find out if it as good as the review makes it sound. and it ends up blowing my wig off.

This is such a piece of music.

I have the Guardian newspaper to thank for pointing me to this amazing CD by the Japanese trumpeter and arranger, Jun Miyake.

There is bossa nova, schmaltz, stuff that sounds a bit trip-hoppy, chanson, Bulgarian voices, jazz. Its all deeply deeply ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Damn Right I've Got The Blues

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Jazz
by: Buddy Guy

September 18, 2004
Buddy Guy celebrates his new recording contract with Silvertone by setting out his stall from the very first track - the title which features some exceptionally fiery guitar playing and there's some lovely fluid guitar playing all over this album. As well as this facet Buddy Guy shows his softer - more "bluesier" side on "Five Long Years" and "Black Night" - the two longest tracks on the album. The album features a stellar cast of guitar greats - Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Mark Knopfler but Buddy Guy's guitar burns the brightest of them all. There's an odd cover here of "Mustang Sally" which is taken a tad slower than normal but works well. The last track - "Remembering Stevie" is in homage to the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan and is a beautiful poignant instrumental.