Miles Davis Quintet - The Cool Jazz Sound (1959)

Tracks:
So What
The Duke
Blues for Pablo
New Rhumba

Line-up:
Miles Davis Quintet:
Miles Davis - trumpet, flugelhorn
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone
Wynton Kelly - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Jimmy Cobb - drums

The Gil Evans Orchestra:
Ernie Royal, Clyde Reasinger, Louis Mucci, Johnny Coles, Emmett Berry - trumpet
Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Bill Elton, Rod Levitt - trombone
Julius Watkins, Bob Northern - french horn
Bill Barber - tuba
Danny Bank - bass clarinet
Romeo Penque Eddie Caine - woodwinds

John Coltrane Quartet - Live in Belgium (1965)

Tracks:
1 - Vigil
2 - Naima
3 - My Favorite Things

Line-up:
John Coltrane - soprano and tenor saxophone
McCoy Tyner - piano
Elvin Jones - drums
Jimmy Garrison - bass

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Live in Belgium (1964)

Tracks:
01 St. Louis Blues
02 Koto Song
03 Three To Get Ready
04 In Your Own Sweet Way
05 Take Five

Line-up:
Dave Brubeck - piano
Paul Desmond - alto saxophone
Eugene Wright - bass
Joe Morello - drums

Masahiko Satoh & Soundbreakers - Amalgamation (1971)

This preposterous piece of psychedelic avant-jazz sounds like the work of aliens, each with only one foot in our universe. Propelled by cacophonous brassy blasts, volleys of machine-gunning, ecstatically 'Light Fantastic' rhythms and moments of Teo Macero-style 'Mixing Concrète' (during which the whole track becomes consumed by waves of new sound); the result is the most singular mash-up of inappropriate sounds any listener is ever likely to hear. Over two side-long tracks, shaman Masahiko Satoh sends us through a sonic mind-field, baffling our senses and our sense of gravity. Located at the centre of Amalgamation's giddy sessions was the frantic Detroit drumming of hard-bop legend Louis Hayes, whose role it was to play the bubbling ever unfolding fundament on which Masahiko Satoh's whole trip proceeded, as though the rhythm section were a magic carpet magically pulled out from under the feet of the other performers. Over this rhythmic shaking, Satoh scattered Hammond organ around and ring-modulated his Fender Rhodes piano solos (Roland built three especially for the record), added lead guitar from 'super session' legend Kimio Mizutani, trumpets and sax from Mototeru Takagi, scat singing from Kayoko Itoh, and strings from the Wehnne Strings Consort.
by Julian Cope in JAPROCKSAMPLER

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Jazz-Rock
Fusion

Tracks:
Part 1 (15.50)
Part 2 (21.18)

Line-up:
Shungo Sawada - Guitar
Masaoki Terekawa - Bass
Louis Haynes - Drums
Kimio Mizutani - Guitar
Hiro Yanagida - Organ
D.D. Dickson - Trombone
Jochen Stadt - Trombone
Jackie Hermann - Trumpet
Sabu Toyozumi - Drums
Masahiko Satoh - Keyboards, Percussion
Hideaki Sakurai - Drums, Percussion, Voice
Mototeru Takagi - Woodwinds
Kayoko Ishu - Voice
Whenne Strings Consort - Strings

John Coltrane - Meditations (1965)

1965 was a turning point in the life of John Coltrane. It was at this point that he crossed the line into the free jazz arena that he had been approaching since the early '60s. Besides his landmark Ascension, no better album illustrates this than the awe-inspiring Meditations. Coltrane's regular quartet with McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums) is expanded here with second drummer Rashied Ali (who would assume Jones' spot after this album) and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.
This conglomeration produces some dense textures, especially in the epic first track, "The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost." This sonic hurricane is a 13-minute outpouring of spiritual emotion that is at once compelling and exhausting. Elsewhere, the group delicately follows Coltrane's lead on the passionate "Love" and swings with abandon on the raucous "Consequences" as Sanders and 'Trane battle like warriors above the churning rhythm section. Finally, the aptly titled "Serenity" is a swirling free-form improvisation gently touching back down to earth after an adventurous ride through the heavens.

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Free-Jazz
Modal

Tracks:
01 - The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost (12:52)
02 - Compassion (06:51)
03 - Love (08:10)
04 - Consequences (09:12)
05 - Serenity (03:30)

Line-Up:
John Coltrane – tenor saxophone, band leader
Rashied Ali – drums
Jimmy Garrison – double bass
Elvin Jones – drums
Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone
McCoy Tyner – piano

Pharoah Sanders - Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong (1987)

Although Pharoah Sanders was originally considered a firebrand, thanks to his wild early free jazz work in the '60s, his later records are actually more in the tradition of players like his one-time leader John Coltrane and, especially, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The title track from this 1987 session could have been on any of Kirk's Atlantic albums, a mixture of gospel sway and free jazz honk that builds into a hypnotic swoon under Leon Thomas' rich baritone vocals. (Thomas also appears on his own composition, the blues "If It Wasn't for a Woman," and the closing "Next Time You See Me.") On the extended, relaxed take of Coltrane's "Equinox," Sanders doesn't try to copy his former boss' phrasing, but there's certainly a Coltrane-like elegance to Sanders' lyrical solo. In fact, Sanders' playing on the standard "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," which also features a lovely Vince Guaraldi-like piano solo by William S. Henderson III, is downright pretty. Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong is a mellow and peaceful set by a player who no longer needs to make noise; whether old-school fans will appreciate this is debatable.

by Stewart Mason at All Music Guide

Style:
Free Jazz

Tracks:
01 Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong
02 Equinox
03 Polka Dots and Moonbeams
04 If It Wasn't for a Woman
05 Clear Our of This World
06 Next Time You See Me

Line-up:
Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone
Donald Smith - electric piano
William S. Henderson III - acoustic piano
Tarik Shah - bass
Greg Banoy - drums
Leon Thomas - vocals

John Coltrane - First Meditations (1965)

A studio precursor to the collective improvisations of Meditations, this suite, recorded a month before Live in Seatle, represents the final shining examples of the interplay, sensitivity and excitement of the John Coltrane Quartet. On Meditations, Trane would add drummer Rashied Ali and tenor saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders to the mix, creating a sonic vortex that represented powerful new directions. Soon after, both Tyner and Jones felt it was time to move on.

Unlike the cosmic explorations of Sun Ship, First Meditations displays the serene side of Coltrane's spiritual quest--the reflection and outreach of A Love Supreme. The sweet trills of "Love" present Trane's tenor in an angelic light, as Garrison and Jones' shifting drone leads to a chanting Tyner epic. Likewise, "Compassion" proceeds from the gentle three against four rhythm of a Jones/Garrison stroll. Trane maintains his lyric focus throughout his dense repeated figures, before the sand-blasted overtones atop the curve of his phrase finally taunt Jones into visceral retorts. On "Serenity", over Garrison's arco bass and Jones' muted thunder, Trane essays one of his most heartbreakingly beautiful melodies, as Tyner's oceanic gyrations emphasize the oriental, prayer-like nature of the mood.
Yet "Consequences" proceeds with Old Testament fury. Jones' drum overture and Garrison's folk-like strums set the stage for Trane and Tyner's rhythmic abstracts, as the band surges into an almighty torrent of sound and fury. "Joy" begins with splintered figures over the moaning rolls and groans of drummer Jones, as Garrison and Tyner hint at a groove, and Trane's short phrases glower with intensity. Tyner levitates into billowing 3/4 polyrhythms with enormous, two-handed accents and tart celestial voicings. Then Trane returns, speaking in tongues, alternating ascents into the altissimo register with descents into the growling bottom of his horn.

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Free-Jazz
Modal

Tracks:
01 - Love (08:04)
02 - Compassion (09:30)
03 - Joy (08:49)
04 - Consequences (07:21)
05 - Serenity (06:10)
06 - Joy [Alternate Version] (12:14)

Line Up:
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone, band leader
Jimmy Garrison - double bass
Elvin Jones - drums
McCoy Tyner - piano

Freddie Hubbard - Ready for Freddie (1961)

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard really came into his own during this Blue Note session. He is matched with quite an all-star group (tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Art Davis, and drummer Elvin Jones in addition to Bernard McKinney on euphonium), introduces two of his finest compositions ("Birdlike" and "Crisis"), and is quite lyrical on his ballad feature, "Weaver of Dreams." Hubbard's sidemen all play up to par and this memorable session is highly recommended; it's one of the trumpeter's most rewarding Blue Note albums.

by Scott Yanow at All Music Guide

Style:
Hard Bop

Tracks:
01 Arietis
02 A Weaver of Dreams
03 Marie Antoinette
04 Birdlike
05 Crisis

Line-up:
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet / horn
McCoy Tyner - piano
Art Davis - bass
Elvin Jones - drums
Bernard McKinney - Euphonium / horn
Wayne Shorter - tenor saxophone

John Coltrane - I Want to Talk about you (1962)

The Master of them all... Mr. John Coltrane!

Toshiyuki Miyama & His New Heird: Masahiko Satoh - Yamataifu (1972)

The greatest cosmic jazz album ever made? The pursuit of Krautrock’s highest accolades armed only with an acoustic jazz orchestra and a single ring-modulator? The Dawning of Humanity’s earliest ages as filtered? YAMATAI-FU is all of these things and more, a spell-binding and iconoclastic work the like of which has never before been encountered. Hot on the heels of the hard-bop drumfuelled kosmiche classic Amalgamation, and once again highly inspired by his collaborations with experimental pianist Wolfgang Dauner, Masahiko Sato next delivered this huge three-part score for Toshiyuki Miyama & New Heard Orchestra, in which drummer Masaru Hiromi became the lynchpin for its entire monumental groove. Indeed, it’s difficult to image how much weight the drummerwould have lost over the course of this mighty session. Around Togashi’s flailing Philly Joe Jones-meets-Klaus Schultze drum insanity, the composer built a series of highly arranged and ever unfolding brass pieces (sometimes cacophonus/sometimes sweet) that united more cosmic jazz in the style of his own Amalgamation together with elements of fullflight Archie Shepp on the title track of his Yasmina, A Black Woman. Over this bizarre mix, Satoh added his own heavily ring-modulated electric piano, sending out Ur-sparks and shards of sonic light into the heavens with this primitive electronic device, kicking Christian Vander’s underachieving butt and creating a proto-Cosmic Jokers work in the process. Side one contained the single epic ‘Ichi’ (First), while side two was split into ‘Ni’ (Second) and ‘San’ (Third). The whole album is a righterous ducking for those who believe the Japanese never get anywhere first.
by Julian Cope in JAPROCKSAMPLER

Style:
Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Ichi (19:19)
02 - Ni (12:15)
03 - San (04:54)

Line-up:
Masahiko Satoh - Electric Piano, Composed By, Arranged By
Toshiyuki Miyama - Conductor
Masao Kunisada - Bass
Masaru Hiromi - Drums
Kozaburo Yamamoto - Guitar
Yoshinobu Imashiro - Piano
Kazumi Oguro, Shinji Nakayama - Alto Sax
Miki Matsui - Baritone Sax
Kiyoshi Saito, Shoji Maeda - Tenor Sax
Masamichi Uetaka, Seiichi Tokura, Takeshi Aoki, Teruhiko Kataoka - Trombone
Bunji Murata, Kenichi Sano, Koji Hadori, Kunio Fujisaki - Trumpet

Masayuki Takayanagi and New Century Music Institute - Ginparis Session (1963)

This is one of the earliest live recordings by Japanese jazz musicians, made when the country's jazz industry was in its infancy and there were no real jazz clubs. The leader and guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi and young members of the ambitiously named New Century Music Institute came together on one special night in 1963. Privately recorded on tape by one of the supporters, future jazz stars such as Masahiko Togashi, Yosuke Yamashita and Terumasa Hino play inspired solo after another, the combined effect of which is electrifying. Breaking out from the molds of swing and bebop, the sound they created was very progressive.

Style:
Bebop
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - Greensleeves [traditional] (17:59)
02 - Nardis [Miles Davis] (11:08)
03 - If I Were a Bell [Loesser] (12:35)
04 - Obstruction [Hideto Kanai] (11:45)

Line-up:
Masayuki Takayanagi - guitar (1)
Hideto Kanai - bass (1, 2, 4)
Kunimitsu Inaba - bass (1, 3)
Masahiko Togashi - drums (1, 2, 4)
Masabumi Kikuchi - piano (2)
Sadanori Nakamure - guitar (3)
Terumasa Hino - trumpet (3)
Hiroshi Yamazaki - drums (3)
Yosuke Yamashita - piano (4)
Kyohei Uyama - guitar (4)

Kruder & Dorfmeister - The K&D Sessions (1998)

The easy way out (of remixing) is to produce a track that sounds nothing like the original whatsoever. This may well produce something musically more rewarding, but it’s missing the real point of remixing - and that’s bringing something new to a track without destroying what’s there in the first place. Cue Kruder and Dorfmeister, two DJs from Vienna who’ve quietly produced some of the most stunning and startling remixes in the last five years and made it their trademark to leave the spirit of a track intact while twisting it into something utterly different.

As you’d expect from a record on a label called G-Stoned, the overall atmosphere of The K&D Sessions is laid back - you won’t hear any screeching 303s or encounter superfast bpms here. Instead, there are beautifully precise drums and sublimely warm deep bass lines which create their own distinct sound without becoming repetitious. Add their ear for dropping just enough melody over the top to create a simple but opulent sound, and you have music that makes 3 in the morning a wonderful place to be. If you really want a half-arsed "sounds-a-bit-like" reference, then it would have to be David Holmes, but the comparison doesn’t do either parties justice.

K&D are also refreshingly fond of keeping vocal tracks almost intact, rather than obliterating them completely. Nowhere does this stand out more than their sublimely moody mix of Depeche Mode’s "Useless", where Dave Gahan’s weary voice is given centre stage over nothing besides pared down bass and is all the more powerful for it. Not that K&D are techno-angst merchants, producing beautiful but chilly soundscapes in their bedrooms - their sound is organic, elegant, eclectic and endlessly inventive.

, review by Chris Mitchell @ Spike Magazine
. discogs

CD 1
1. Roni Size - "Heroes (Kruder's Long Loose Bossa remixed by Peter Kruder)" – 6:30
2. Alex Reece - "Jazz Master (K&D Session)" – 8:20
3. Count Basic - "Speechless (Drum 'n' Bass remixed by Peter Kruder)" – 6:37
4. Rockers Hi-Fi - "Going Under (K&D Session)" – 8:37
5. Bomb The Bass - "Bug Powder Dust (K&D Session)" – 7:20
6. Aphrodelics - "Rollin' On Chrome (Wild Motherfucker Dub remixed by Richard Dorfmeister)" – 5:39
7. Depeche Mode - "Useless (K&D Session)" – 6:13
8. Count Basic - "Gotta Jazz (remixed by Richard Dorfmeister)" – 5:32
9. Rainer Trüby Trio - "Donaueschingen (Peter Kruder's Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänskajütenremix)" – 6:55
10. Lamb - "Trans Fatty Acid (K&D Session)" – 8:33

CD 2
1. David Holmes - "Gone (K&D Session)" – 8:29
2. Sofa Surfers - "Sofa Rockers (Richard Dorfmeister Remix)" – 4:30
3. Mama Oliver - "Eastwest (Stoned Together resmoked by Richard Dorfmeister)" – 5:11
4. Bomb The Bass - "Bug Powder Dust (Dub remixed by Kruder & Dorfmeister)" – 6:20
5. Kruder & Dorfmeister - "Boogie Woogie" – 3:20
6. Sin - "Where Shall I Turn (K&D Session Vol.2)" – 5:53
7. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - "1st Of Tha Month (K&D Session)" – 5:49
8. Kruder & Dorfmeister - "Lexicon" – 1:06
9. Knowtoryous - "Bomberclaad Joint (K&D Session)" – 3:47
10. Rockers Hi-Fi - "Going Under (Evil Love and Insanity Dub remixed by Kruder & Dorfmeister)" – 4:30
11. Strange Cargo - "Million Town (K&D Session)" – 7:32

Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean (1977)

Consistently imaginative, Enigmatic Ocean is one of Jean-Luc Ponty's finest accomplishments. The French violinist recorded his share of fusion gems during the 1970s, and this album is at the top of the list. Often aggressive but sometimes reflective and moody, this CD is as unpredictable as it is adventurous. Ponty has plenty of room to stretch out, let loose, and blow, and electric guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Daryl Stuermer contribute some inspired solos as well. Also quite impressive is the insightful and passionate drumming of Steve Smith, who went on to lead the superb fusion band Vital Information. Ponty takes one risk after another, and all of them pay off beautifully.

by Alex Henderson at All Music Guide

Style:
Fusion

Tracks:
01 Overture
02 The Trans-Love Express
03 Mirage
04 Enigmatic Ocean, Part 1
05 Enigmatic Ocean, Part 2
06 Enigmatic Ocean, Part 3
07 Enigmatic Ocean, Part 4
08 Nostalgic Lady
09 The Struggle of the Turtle to the Sea, Part 1
10 The Struggle of the Turtle to the Sea, Part 2
11 The Struggle of the Turtle to the Sea, Part 3

Line-up:
Jean-Luc Ponty - piano / keyboards / vocals / bells / violone / violectra
Ralph Armstrong - acoustic and electric bass
Allan Holdsworth - acoustic and electric guitar
Steve Smith - drums
Daryl Stuermer - acoustic, rhythm and electric guitar
Allan Zavod - organ / synthesizer / acoustic and electric piano / keyboards / clavinet