Donald Byrd - Street Lady (1973) {Blue Note Rare Groove Series rel 1997}

A landmark album by Donald Byrd – the first one where he really started to click with jazz-funk producer Larry Mizell! Mizell and Byrd had worked together previously on the Black Byrd album – a soaring bit of futuristic jazz funk that took Byrd's career to a whole new level – but this album's the one where they really began to make the formula cook, blending together tight funky rhythms, spacey keyboards, soulful vocals, and some of Donald's best solo work of the 70s! The whole thing's a masterpiece, and all tracks sparkle – including "Lansana's Priestess", "Witch Hunt", and "Street Lady", one of the funkiest tracks ever on Blue Note. A haunting record with a beautiful spacey groove, and one of the best-ever albums on Blue Note!

Donald Byrd - Ethiopian Knights (1971) {Blue Note}

Donald Byrd - Ethiopian Knights (1971) {Blue Note}

EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 247 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb

Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb | 5% repair rar

© 1998 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 8 54328 2 8 | SBM

Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Funk / Trumpet

Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens "The Emperor," it's immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk -- not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety -- than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his group work the same driving, polyrhythmic grooves over and over, making rhythm the focal point of the music. Although the musicians do improvise, their main objective is to keep the grooves pumping, using their solos more to create texture than harmonic complexity.

John Coltrane - Lush Life (1958) {2006 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}

John Coltrane - Lush Life (1958) {2006 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}

EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 248 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb

Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar

© 2006 Concord / Prestige | PRCD-8103-2 | Prestige RVG Remasters Series | 24-bit remaster | PRLP 7188

Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

“I was the engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.” —Rudy Van Gelder.