Friday 10 July 2015

Fish - Live In Krakow: Acoustic + Electric (1995) [2xDVD5 NTSC] {2010 Choc Frog}


Fish - Live In Krakow: Acoustic + Electric (1995) [2xDVD5 NTSC] {2010 Choc Frog}
2xDVD5 -> 3.52 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | Dolby AC3, 2 ch | ~ 115m | ISO Images
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 48 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 Choc Frog / Voiceprint | VPDVD10 / VPDVD11
Rock / Neo-Prog / Art Rock / Prog-Rock


Recorded live at the Bucklein Theatre, Krakow, Poland, October 14th 1995 and at the Hall of TV in Krakow, Poland, 11th October 1995. On the 25th of April 1958 there's a great singer born in Edinburgh: Derek William Dick (FISH). Because he finds it very nice to lie in the bath for hours, with his rubber duck, he gets this nickname from his friends: FISH. Later Derek shall use this name as his artists name. Derek grows up in the little village Dalkeith, where his parents have a garage. He's in school there, where he has a easy time, and has good results. Derek too is a fan of THE BEATLES in that period, and he wants to learn to play an instrument. But he never gets beyond playing a tennis racket in front of the mirror. The first single he buys is "Lola" of THE KINKS.

Yannick Nezet Seguin, Lisa Batiashvili, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra - Tchaikovsky Pathetique (2014) {Deutsche Grammophon}


Yannick Nezet Seguin, Lisa Batiashvili, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra - Tchaikovsky Pathetique (2014) {Deutsche Grammophon}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 231 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 154 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 45 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013, 2014 Deutsche Grammophon | 0289 479 0835 7
Classical / Symphony


Yannick Nézet-Séguin's first symphonic recording with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon is of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, "Pathétique," which the conductor has known intimately throughout his career. Due to his familiarity with the music, this is a solid reading that holds its own against the large number of recordings of this symphony, so listeners who need a first-rate version can be assured of the interpretation and the performance. Yet because this is one of the most frequently recorded classical pieces of all time, one may wonder what Nézet-Séguin brings to it that makes his rendition necessary.

Frank Zappa - Dance Me This (2015) {Zappa Records}


Frank Zappa - Dance Me This (2015) {Zappa Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 246 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 115 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 326 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Zappa Records / ZFT | ZR 20018
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Jazz Rock / Synclavier


Official Release #100. The LAST album by Frank Zappa. The last album that guitarist Frank Zappa worked on prior to his death in December 1993 will finally be released this June. Titled Dance Me This, the LP is considered the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's 100th and final official release, ending a legacy that began with the Mothers of Invention's landmark 1966 album Freak Out! In talking to Guitar Magazine prior to his death at the age of 52, Zappa described his final LP as "a Synclavier album called Dance Me This, which is designed to be used by modern dance groups. It's probably not going to come out until next year," the Guardian reports. The album was ultimately shelved indefinitely, and while a steady stream of posthumous releases and reissues have satisfied Zappa fans in the following decades, Dance Me This was all but forgotten until Zappa's widow Gail Zappa began hinting at the final album's eventual arrival in 2011.

John Zorn - Naked City - The Complete Studio Recordings (2005) [5CD Box Set] {Tzadik}


John Zorn - Naked City - The Complete Studio Recordings (2005) [5CD Box Set] {Tzadik}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.06 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 783 Mb
Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 43 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2005 Tzadik | TZ 7344-5 | Tzadik Archival Series
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental / Modern Composition / Structured Improvisation


Naked City: The Complete Studio Recordings is a five disc box set that contains all of the studio albums released by Naked City during their five-year history. Probably Zorn's most popular and most controversial musical project, the music of Naked City has been debated, analyzed, adored and reviled by fans, critics and academics alike, but nothing can replace the experience of hearing it in all its frightening glory. Most people know this music from the single domestic release on Nonesuch, but the major portion of their studio recordings were issued from 1989 - 1993 on the hard to find Japanese labels Avant and Toy's Factory.

Thursday 9 July 2015

Weather Report - Live In Tokyo (1972) [2CD] {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series}


Weather Report - Live In Tokyo (1972) [2CD] {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 525 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 212 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 263 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4229~30
Jazz / Fusion


Reissue with DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. A Japanese-only album from Weather Report – recorded early in the group's career, and with some of the same sort of freedoms that Miles Davis was getting on his own double-length dates from Japan! The tracks here are quite stretched out, and often adventurous – showing a marked ability to jam heavily at one moment, get contemplative the next, and continually explore sounds on the frontiers of fusion in the 70s. The group's the "second chapter" Weather Report – with Wayne Shorter on reeds, Joe Zawinul on keyboards, Miroslav Vitous on bass, Eric Gravatt on drums, and Dom Um Romao on percussion – and titles include "Orange Lady", "Vertical Invader/Seventh Arrow/TH", "Surucucu/Lost/Early Minor/Direction", and "Tears/Umbrellas".

Wednesday 8 July 2015

Bud Shank & Bob Cooper - Mosaic Select 10 (1954-58) [3CD] {2004 Mosaic Records 24-bit Remaster by Ron McMaster}


Bud Shank & Bob Cooper - Mosaic Select 10 (1954-58) [3CD] {2004 Mosaic Records 24-bit Remaster by Ron McMaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 960 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 484 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 30 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster by Ron McMaster
© 2004 Pacific Jazz / Mosaic Records / EMI Records | MS-010
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Flute / Saxophone


This excellent 3-CD set collects two 10" albums by Shank and 4 12" albums co-led by Shank and Cooper, all for the Pacific Jazz/World Pacific labels between 1954-58. The West Coast cool school was at its height at this time, and both Bud Shank and Bob Cooper were in the thick of it. The first disc gets off to a rousing start with the marvelously swinging VALVE IN HEAD from 1954, with Bud playing fluid alto sax. He's joined by three valve trombone players (Bob Enevoldsen, Stu Williamson, and the ringer Maynard Ferguson) on this tune and for the first half of the disc, an interesting concept. The second half finds him with Coop at Cal Tech in 1959. Count Basie's THE KING gets a rousing airing, and there's a nicely done ballad medley.

Dr. Lonnie Smith - Boogaloo To Beck (2003) {Scufflin' Records}


Dr. Lonnie Smith - Boogaloo To Beck (2003) {Scufflin' Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 490 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 187 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 304 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 2003 Scufflin' Records | CD-8481
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Post Bop / Organ


On this tribute, the songs of Beck serve as a starting point from which Dr. Lonnie Smith and his ensemble launch soulful interpretations. The groove runs deep, and Smith’s animated motions can have you boogaloo-ing at your seat in minutes. The organist’s spontaneous tirades turn loose the reins for a wild ride.

Harold Land - Take Aim (1960) {2012 Japanese BNLT Series Remaster}


Harold Land - Take Aim (1960) {2012 Japanese BNLT Series Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 238 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 16 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 Blue Note / EMI Music Japan | TOCJ-50293 | 24bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Saxophone


Originally recorded in 1960 for Blue Note but not released until 1980, Take Aim, like Harold Land himself, has undeservedly fallen through the cracks. Most famous for his association with the Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet of the '50s, Land is another unheralded West Coast giant who made a name for himself out here in California, but was under the radar of the jazz elitists. Take Aim, featuring an obscure group of musicians, is a pleasant surprise, and should be a welcome refresher for anyone looking for music similar to the tenorist's earlier and more famous exploits.

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Grant Green - Retrospective 1961-66 (2002) [4CD BoxSet] {Blue Note}


Grant Green - Retrospective 1961-66 (2002) [4CD BoxSet] {Blue Note}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.91 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 713 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 39 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2002 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 40851 2 3 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz-Funk / Soul Jazz / Guitar


Simply put, this is a very decent four-disc collection of the work of guitarist Grant Green. It features tracks from his many albums as a leader and some as a sideman with others, such as Lee Morgan, John Patton, Baby Face Willette, and Sonny Clark. His early-'60s sides are here along with most of his defining cuts from the '60s, from hard bop to soul-jazz to ballads to gospel -- everything most fans would ever want is here, including his late blues sides recorded in the bars of Detroit in 1970. While Green's own albums can never be replaced, this is a solid portrait of one of the most influential jazz guitarists in history.

Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982) [CD+DVD] {2008 25th Anniversary Deluxe Casebook Edition}


Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982) [CD+DVD] {2008 25th Anniversary Deluxe Casebook Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 502 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 160 Mb
DVD5 -> 3.53 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | PCM Stereo 2 ch | ~ 55m | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 189 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2008 Epic / Legacy / MJJ | 88697220962
Pop / Soul / R'n'B / Dance Pop / Quiet Storm


The Biggest Album Ever just got bigger. The 25th Anniversary Edition of Thriller celebrates this ground-breaking album with 7 bonus tracks, six of which are previously unreleased. The new tracks include exclusive remixes from Kanye West, Fergie, will.i.am and Akon along with a previously unreleased track from the Thriller sessions, "For All Time," newly mixed and mastered by Michael Jackson. Also included is a BONUS DVD with new, digitally restored versions of the three videos from the album as well as the Michael Jackson's groundbreaking performance of "Billie Jean" on the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" television special (first broadcast on NBC May 16, 1983).

The Salsoul Orchestra - The Salsoul Orchestra (1975) {2012 Big Break Records Remaster}


The Salsoul Orchestra - The Salsoul Orchestra (1975) {2012 Big Break Records Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 386 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 134 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 55 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 Big Break Records / Cherry Red / Verse Music | CDBBR 0101
R'n'B / Funk / Disco / Philly Soul


THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA - as well as being the legendary backing band for many of the Salsoul Records artists - were a highly successful act in their own right. Throughout their career they consisted of up to 50 members (many of whom were also standing members of MFSB – Philadelphia Internationals house band). They released eleven successful albums on Salsoul Records over a seven year period.

Hypercolor - Hypercolor (2015) {Tzadik TZ 7811}


Hypercolor - Hypercolor (2015) {Tzadik TZ 7811}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 353 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 119 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 140 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Tzadik | TZ 7811 | Tzadik Spotlight Series
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Avant-Pop / Experimental


A crazy collaborative jazz-rock unit out of the new generation of Downtown improvisers, Hypercolor is a bizarre trio that blends Beef- heart, Sonny Sharrock and ’80s punk with contemporary classical orchestral textures, spastic world music rhythms and noise improvisation. Sonic madness featuring the twisted guitar of Eyal Maoz, the deep toned bass of James Ilgenfritz and the grooving drums of African music aficionado Lukas Ligeti.

Monday 6 July 2015

Remi Geniet - J.S.Bach - Partita No.4, Caprice, Suite Anglaise No.1, Toccata en do mineur (2015) {Mirare


Remi Geniet - J.S.Bach - Partita No.4, Caprice, Suite Anglaise No.1, Toccata en do mineur (2015) {Mirare}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 300 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 188 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 64 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014, 2015 Mirare / MIR 268
Classical / Baroque / Piano Solo


Only 21 years-old when this recording was made, Rémi Geniet offers us a fascinating portrait of Bach on the piano. From the virtuosity of the early works like the Toccata to the supreme mastery of the dance suites (Partita and English Suite), the drama and brio of Bach's keyboard music can vie with that of operas or concertos. Rémi Geniet was one of the last students of the great pianist Brigitte Engerer and is now under the guidance of Prof. Evgeni Koroliov in Hamburg. At the age of 20, he was awarded the second prize of the Queen Elisabeth 2013 International Piano Competition in Belgium. This debut recording has already been distinguished by a Diapason d'Or by the french classical music magazine Diapason.

Masabumi Kikuchi - East Wind (1974) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}


Masabumi Kikuchi - East Wind (1974) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 305 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 105 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 148 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9131
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano


A brilliant set from Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi – two long, leaping, loping tracks that almost feel like some of McCoy Tyner's best work! Kikuchi plays acoustic piano, and the group's a quartet with Terumasu Hino on trumpet, Koshuke Mine on tenor, Eric Gravatt on drums, and Juni Booth playing some really wonderful bass. Booth's bass leads the tracks with a soulful quality that you don't always hear on Kikuchi's other work – really giving the record a strongly-rooted vibe, while the musicians are still free to really open up and explore. The album's tracks, "East Wind" and "Green Dance", are both excellent examples of the soulful freedoms allowed in the Japanese scene of the 70s – side-long numbers that are different both from contemporary performances on both the US and European scenes of the period.

Caratini Jazz Ensemble - Body & Soul (2014) {Caramusic}


Caratini Jazz Ensemble - Body & Soul (2014) {Caramusic}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 333 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 127 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 88 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Caramusic | PC130728
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Modern Ensemble


La musique de « Body & Soul » est née d’une demande du Paris Jazz Festival d’illustrer les images du long métrage muet de Oscar Micheaux sorti à l'automne 1925. Ce film aura donné à Paul Robeson son premier rôle à l'écran avant de s'imposer comme le tout premier chef d'oeuvre du cinéma noir. Le compositeur et chef d'orchestre Patrice Caratini signe ici une partition originale de toute beauté. Grâce à ce projet, c'est la première fois qu'une B.O. jazz est composée pour la scène en l'honneur d'un film muet afro-américain. Loin des stéréotypes racistes proposés par Hollywood, les personnages de Micheaux n'étaient ni des esclaves, ni des domestiques, encore moins des Oncles Tom, mais des citoyens américains fiers de leurs racines africaines, porteurs de forces et de faiblesses. Un excellent disque d’un compositeur français qui mérite les honneurs.

Andrew Hill - Andrew!!! (1964) {2015 Japan SHM-CD Blue Note 24-192 Remaster}


Andrew Hill - Andrew!!! (1964) {2015 Japan SHM-CD Blue Note 24-192 Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 328 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 122 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 174 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 2015 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | UCCQ-5115
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano


Quite possibly our favorite album ever from pianist Andrew Hill – a really unique outing that features the vibes of Bobby Hutcherson and a rare non-Sun Ra appearance by tenorist John Gilmore! The presence of Hutcherson brings a real "new thing" energy to the album – a feel that's similar to Bobby's classic Dialogue album, of which Hill was such an important part. But the searching tenor of Gilmore also brings a striking new level to the session as well – and his solos open up with a raw, earthy quality that really shades in the album with a great deal of feeling. Gilmore's role here is a bit like that of Joe Henderson on his freer Blue Note material – but his sound still undeniably unique, at a level that really makes us wish he'd recorded more albums like this at the time. The tracks are all originals by Hill, and include the titles "Duplicity", "Black Monday", "The Griots", and "Le Serpent Qui Danse". CD features 2 bonus alternate takes too!

Clifford Thornton New Art Ensemble - Freedom & Unity (1967) {2001 Atavistic Unheard Music Series}


Clifford Thornton New Art Ensemble - Freedom & Unity (1967) {2001 Atavistic Unheard Music Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 495 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 180 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 68 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Third World / Atavistic | Unheard Music Series | UMS / ALP225CD
Jazz / Modern Creative / Free Jazz / Trombone


For those who don't know better, the free jazz movement is considered a sharp break with the past heritage of the music. That really wasn't the case. As Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp hearkened back to field hollers and very basic folk forms, musicians like Clifford Thornton went in the opposite direction, building on the music of the sophisticates and expanding the possibilities for jazz. Listening to music with this much space in it, it might be hard for some listeners to hear the Mingus. But it's there. And because that's there, Ellington is here in heaping handfuls as well. Sure this stuff is rough in spots.

Gigi Gryce Orch-tete - Reminiscin' (1960) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster}


Gigi Gryce Orch-tete - Reminiscin' (1960) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 173 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 79 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 132 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 2013 Mercury / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9963
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone


A great lost date from the wonderful Gigi Gryce – a set that features the altoist in an sextet, but often swinging with a looser vibe than on some of his better-known albums from the 50s! There's a mix of soulful and modern here that's not unlike the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet – both players of Gryce's same postwar generation, and coincidentally recording for Mercury at the same time. Although the groove here is definitely different – less emphasis on the bottom, and more on the top – not just Gryce's wonderfully raspy alto, but also the trumpet of Richard Williams too. All other players are great as well – and Eddie Costa brings in some sweet vibes – in a lineup that also features Richard Wyands on piano, and either Reggie Workman or George Duvivier on bass, and either Walter Perkins or Bob Thomas on drums. Tracks include "Reminiscing", "Gee Blues Gee", "Blue Light", and "Night In Tunisia".

Wilco - Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014 (2014) [4CD Box Set] {Nonesuch Records}


Wilco - Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014 (2014) [4CD Box Set] {Nonesuch Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.78 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 672 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 692 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Nonesuch Records | 7559-79543-9
Rock / Adult Alternative / Indie Rock / Alternative Country Rock / Experimental Rock


Alpha Mike Foxtrot, is a 4-CD box-set of rare studio and live recordings collected from Wilco's extensive archives spanning the acclaimed Chicago band's 20-year career. Rolling Stone calls Alpha Mike Foxtrot "a comprehensive document of a great band with endless secrets to reveal" and the Austin Chronicle dubs it "a rousing release for fans." Produced by Grammy-nominated producer Cheryl Pawelski, co-founder of Omnivore Recordings, whose credits include Big Star's Keep an Eye on the Sky, The Band's A Musical History and Townes Van Zandt's Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions and Demos 1971 1972, Alpha Mike Foxtrot features 64 pages of liner notes that include track-by-track recollections from Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy, notes by band members Nels Cline and John Stirratt, and reflections from members of Wilco's extended professional family. The booklet also showcases dozens of archival and never-before-seen photos from a wide array of photographers chronicling all phases of the band's career.

Sunday 5 July 2015

Frank Zappa - Have I Offended Someone? (1997) {Rykodisc Remaster Complete Series}


Frank Zappa - Have I Offended Someone? (1997) {Rykodisc Remaster Complete Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 451 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 152 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1997 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10577
Rock / Jazz Rock / Experimental Rock / Art Rock


Official Release #67. As the title suggests, Have I Offended Someone? contains all of Zappa's notoriously tasteless parodies and satires, from "Bobby Brown Goes Down," "Catholic Girls," and "Jewish Princess" to "He's So Gay," "Titties 'n Beer," and "Dinah-Moe Humm." Nearly all of the tracks are presented in new remixed versions, and two songs, "Dumb All Over" and "Tinsel Town Rebellion," have never been released before.

The Jazztet - At Birdhouse (1961) {Argo-Verve 2002 Mini LP 24-bit Remaster}


The Jazztet - At Birdhouse (1961) {Argo-Verve 2002 Mini LP 24-bit Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 296 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2002 Argo / Verve | 589 762-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone


The Jazztet were only in existence for a brief time (1959-1962, not counting the later reunions), but with a flurry of recording activity they left a valuable legacy. By the time of they made their fourth album, co-leaders Art Farmer and Benny Golson were the only remaining original members, but the presence of underrated trombonist Tom McIntosh (who is appreciated more for his compositions than his playing ability, since he stopped performing in 1969), Cedar Walton, bassist Thomas Williams, and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath are a welcome presence. These live performances are from a 1961 engagement at the Birdhouse in Chicago.