Jazzis Web Shop News 12/2006

I start the December additions with a jazz album (as usual), the beautiful all-ballad by Michael Brecker:

BRECKER, MICHAEL ~ NEARNESS OF YOU: THE BALLAD BOOK
VERVE 549705 (Barcode: 731454970525) ~ USA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2000 Released: 2001
Michael Brecker is considered one of the top US saxophone players and innovators. His illustrious career goes back to the late 1960's when he was a member of the little known Jazz-Rock Fusion band Dreams (similar to BS&T and Chicago but more funky) and later as co-leader of the Brecker Brothers band (with his brother trumpeter Randy Brecker). His career as a leader started rather late with the release of his debut (self-titled) solo album in 1986 and marked his return to the jazz mainstream. Since then he released a series of consistently excellent albums, this being his 8th. With a stellar lineup including Pat Metheny on guitar, Herbie Hancock on piano, Charlie Haden on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums Brecker presents an all- ballad repertoire, which of course is a great challenge for even the most accomplished players. Of course in his case the listener has nothing to worry about, as he passes the test with flying colors. His (and his band members) playing is perfect all the way through, lush and sensuous but always sensitive to the melody's special ambience. A very nice surprise comes in the guest appearance (on two of the songs) by the veteran singer / songwriter James Taylor, who performs one of his everlasting songs and the title song. Listening to this album is nothing but bliss and pleasure, a true jazz gem.

Side note: In 2005 Michael Brecker was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer and is fighting for his life to this day. Thousands of musicians and fans underwent blood tests (myself included) in search for a suitable donor for a marrow transplant for Michael, so far with no positive match. My thoughts and best wishes for a speedy recovery are with him always.

=================================

A great Israeli poet / lyricist / journalist Eli Mohar died of cancer yesterday - a great and sad blow for the Israeli music scene. Mohar contributed the lyrics to some of Israel's most loved songs and he cooperated closely with his friend Yoni Rechter, recording two albums with him.

==================================

Getting ready for the Xmas season, hoping for a surge of orders.

==================================

Have Fun!

One superb new Prog album added tody - no Prog fan should miss this:

ADVENT ~ CANTUS FIRMUS
PRIVATE EDITION (Barcode: 702987024726) ~ USA ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1992 - 2006 Released: 2006
Every time an album like this one lands in my lap a lot of questions pop up immediately. Since I consider myself quite knowledgeable in all matters Prog, the most intriguing one being "How came I've not heard about this band earlier, considering this is their 2nd album?" Mind you this happens very rarely and even more so when the album in question is as phenomenal as this one, almost unbelievably phenomenal. Let me start with a bold statement here: "This is one of the best Prog albums ever made!" I know many of my readers at this point start shrugging and say: "Here he goes again". Let me try and explain (to the best of my ability) why I think this statement is 100 % true. Since this album was recorded in the 2000's, the musicians had the benefit of perception of the Progressive Rock's vast tradition accumulated during the genre's 30+ years of history, thus being able to incorporate this insight in their creation. I emphasize the role of perception here (either conscious or subconscious) in contrast to an attempt to imitate, which of course makes all the difference. This album creates a perfect amalgam of the entire genre's tradition up to that point (I mean the mainstream of the tradition centered on Symphonic Prog) and is in a sense a concise summary of the genre's essence. In other words when asked (for the millionth time) "What is Prog?" I can now calmly say: "Listen to this album - everything you need to know about Prog is there." Of course some influences on this music are immediately more obvious than others, the main one being Gentle Giant. Starting with the a cappella opening tune and the use of muliti-layered vocal harmonies throughout the album, the quirky rhythm changes and the devilishly clever concatenation of short themes into a continuous musical epic (like in the central 18+ minutes long tour de force piece here). Another thing is that in every respect (i.e. stylistically, sonically, conceptually, etc.) this album really belongs in the 1970's. Not that is sounds dated (God forbid), but the fact that it was made in the 2000's makes this entire venture a true miracle. Life is not fair of course, so just imagine this album released with Gentle Giant on the cover and I can assure you that it would have been considered one of the (if not the) best GG releases. Well, it has Advent on the cover, which should make no difference, but unfortunately it does. The only solace can be found in the fact that if one wishes to imagine how GG would have sounded in the 2000's, all one has to do is to listen to this album. If you are a food connoisseur, this album is a French meal with a dash of Yes as a starter, great ELP soup with main course a la Gentle Giant and a Genesis dessert. Add to this a vintage red vine full of talent, imagination, creativity and instrumental perfection and you get a perfect Prog meal called "Cantus Firmus". A bit about Advent: They are an American quartet with a guitarist, two brothers who play keyboards and a drummer. One of the brothers is the lead vocalist and the other supplies the vocal harmonies (makes perfect sense). The double keyboards provide a rich, orchestral sound which plenty of opportunities to insert a multitude of interesting ditties, which require repetitive listening in order to be noticed and appreciated. The album includes bonus material recorded for but not included on the band's debut release, which is every bit as strong as the rest of the album. There is no way to finish this but with another (shouted) question: "Where (and when) is the next album?!!!" Absolutely essential.

====================================

Have Fun!

Another great Israeli album added today:

RECHTER, YONI ~ ANOTHER STORY
HED ARZI 64289 (Barcode: 7293372428999) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2001 - 2002 Released: 2002
Yoni Rechter is Israel's most important songwriter and his albums are all milestones of the local music scene. Although his career as a composer stretches back to the 1970's, he released only a handful of albums and therefore every time a new album by him is released his many admirers (myself included) are overjoyed. This album marks another giant step for Rechter, as it is his most serious and complex work to date. Rechter's passion for jazz is evident since his early days, but here he adds to his jazz influences the other great love of his - classical music. The album includes a series of songs, which are presented as a cycle, divided into three chapters. Although not declared formally as a concept album, it can be seen as such. The opening and closing chapters are strongly jazz influenced and the central and longest second suite like chapter is strongly related to classical / choral music, where the composer uses a choir and a large instrumental ensemble for the first time, with long choral and instrumental passages. This chapter is much more complex and requires contemplation and repetitive listening in order to be fully appreciated. The entire album is beautifully recorded and produced and easily ranks among the best Israeli releases ever. All I can do is wholeheartedly recommend it, the rest is of course up to you.

===================================

Have Fun!

Another great Israeli new addition today. I must   say that I'm quite proud to have so much excellent Israeli music to offer as the country is exploding with musical activity in the last few years:

GOV, GIDI ~ MOON DANCE
HED ARZI 64343 (Barcode: 7293372434396) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2003 Released: 2003
With a career stretching over more than thirty years Gidi Gov is today a mythical figure on the local Israeli music scene. Since his early days as the lead singer of the legendary group Kaveret and up to date he maintained an unprecedented and uncompromising standard of musical excellence, refusing to participate in any sort of trendy escapades. His unique and very personal way of singing can be compared to the great American and European performers like Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits, Van Morrison and many others, all of whom posses not only a remarkable voice but also a deep understanding of music and a high level of emotional involvement with it. Although Gov usually performs material written specifically for him (in most cases by his friends Yoni Rechter and Eli Mohar), for this special project he collected a string of classic international vocal standards (and some Israeli evergreens from his past), which were beautifully translated into Hebrew by Eli Mohar and exquisitely arranged by Adi Renart (one of Israel's great jazz musicians and arrangers). The ensemble accompanying Gov includes the creme de la creme of the Israeli jazz players and the entire album is beautifully recorded and produced (IMO this is the best ever production in this country). The choice of material might have easily resulted in some tackiness, but Gov's incredible talent to interpret tacky material (like Armstrong's "It's A Wonderful World") with enough twist to make it interesting works like a charm. His interpretation of Van Morrison's "Moondance" is simply divine and the rest of the material is equally excellent. Age seems to be smiling upon Gov as the experience and seasoning turned him into a world-class performer by any standard. I absolutely adore every minute of this great album and urge everybody with sensitive ears to give it a try.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102160

====================================

Have a great weekend!

Have Fun!

A superb DVD added today, a great glimpse of the glorious past:

FREE ~ FOREVER
ISLAND 984255 (Barcode: 602498425510) ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2006
Forever indeed! Almost 40 years later nothing that happened rivals (and I mean nothing) the raw energy and the pure natural genius of the greatest Blues-Rock band of all times. Although the original band existed (on and off with attempted reunions) for a brief period of time, the mark it left on the Rock world would be decisive and everlasting. Unfortunately with the death of the band's guitarist Paul Kossoff in 1976 the chances of rebirth were gone forever. The original band reached its peak in 1970 after about two years of existence, which included extensive touring and two albums (released on Island Records), which were excellent in every possible way and definitive examples of the new Blues-Rock genre. Paul Rodger's phenomenal voice and deep feel for the blues (unrivaled to this day by any singer) and Kossoff's brilliant guitar work, backed up by rock solid and yet very inventive rhythm section consisting of Andy Fraser on bass and Simon Kirke on drums created an ideal vehicle to deliver the bluesy tunes in a new fashion, unheard before. Although the band managed to establish a dedicated following in UK among the blues fans, their express to stardom happened in 1970 with the release of their single "All Right Now", which (completely unexpectedly) topped the UK and world charts. The sudden success turned out to be quite deadly for the band, whose members had a tough time handling the unexpected stardom. The band literally fell apart soon after and the attempts to reunite failed, mostly to Kossoff's drug related illness, eventually leading to his death. The recorded legacy of the original band includes four studio and one live album, all of which are worth their weight in gold of course. As to the Free video material, things have been sadly extremely sketchy until now. This exquisite 2 DVD set comes to remedy the situation and does so with flying colors. This is obviously a labor of love as the material assembled here covers every little bit in existence of Free footage, including privately filmed material, TV clips and other oddities. Almost everything present here comes for 1970 - the crucial period of the band, which was at its peak. DVD 1 includes TV appearances in Germany and UK (and a lot of other stuff) and DVD 2 covers the entire Free concert at the Isle Of Wight festival (only partly in video, most of it being audio only). In addition there are current interviews with the remaining Free members (Rodgers, Fraser & Kirke) and other people related to their history. All together over 4 hours of sublime archive material, which of course is an absolute must for every Free fan on the globe. I must say I needed to clear my throat quite a few times while watching this and I'm sure many of you will feel the same way. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS, 275 minutes.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102162

=====================================

The SALE items were reduced to US $ 5.00 and some are still in stock! Don't miss them!

=====================================

Have Fun!

As usual it's a great joy to add a new Israeli jazz album:

THE HUMAN FACTORY ~ THE HUMAN FACTORY
JAZZ972 001 (Barcode: 7293372462795) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2006
The Human Factory is an Israeli jazz quintet led by one of the veterans of the local scene - Amikam Kimelman. Kimelman has a long and distinguished record behind him. He belongs to the first generation of Israeli-born jazz musicians and began to practice his Art when jazz was a true underground scene. He was one of the founders and principal teachers of the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, the fist such institution to undertake the jazz education of the Israeli youngsters. In time Rimon's graduates became the foundation of the local music scene and many of them achieved international fame and success. Kimelman recorded several albums and led numerous ensembles, The Human Factory being the latest one. The release of the group's album also marks the birth of a new record label, called Jazz972, dedicated to the documentation of the flourishing local jazz scene (same as Jazzis Records 20 years earlier). The Human Factory is quite an unusual quintet, as the instruments include sax, trombone, guitar, bass and drums (reminiscent of some of the splendid Bob Brookmeyer's groups). The guitarist is Aharoni Benari - past member of Israel's excellent Jazz-Rock-Funk-Latin group Atraf - here playing mainstream jazz for the first time. The other musicians are: Idan Walish - trombone, Dima Grotsky - bass and Shai Zalman - drums, all very talented and experienced players. Kimelman supplier five of the seven compositions included on the album, Benari brings one of his own and the last tune is based on an Israeli folk melody. The album is a splendid example of how the Israeli jazz scene grew up in the last couple of decades from infancy to maturity. It can easily stand up to any jazz album recorded anywhere else in Europe or US. Recommended to all fans of Israeli jazz and modern jazz lovers all over the world.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102164

=====================================

Massive re-stocking of the Columbia catalog, including all Miles Davis box sets.

=====================================

Have Fun!

A nice Scandinavian surprise added today:

ELLINGSEN, HAAKON ~ WHAT IS TO COME...?
PERFECT POP 53 (Barcode: 7090001919985) ~ NORWAY ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2004 Released: 2004
2nd album by Norwegian singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist from Oslo, with a bunch of fellow musicians helping him out under the banner of "Sir Haakon And The Popular Musicians". The Scandinavian countries are of course an endless source of great music, but I'd have never discovered this gem if not for maestro Haakon himself contacting me on MySpace and later on sending his CDs over. I was honestly quite surprised when the music started playing. This is a splendid mixture of Pop, Psychedelica and Prog, with a beautiful retro sound, which creates an imaginary "lost" treasure from the 1960s, sometime circa "Strawberry Fields" give or take a year. Mind you, I am not saying here that Haakon is a Beatles impersonator, nothing could be further from the truth. Some influence of the Lennon / McCartney style is present, but all in good measure, with many other influences evident. Haakon manages to combine all these influences splendidly to create his own personal songwriting and singing style (the vocals are in English) and his melodies are just excellent. Add to this the strong instrumental work by him and his supporting band and great recording sound and you get a truly beautiful, delightful and interesting album, which deserves repetitive listening. Warmly recommended to ageless hippies (like myself) and younger people who still have enough left of their hearing sense to spot a good melody.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102168

====================================

The annual Jazzis Web Shop END OF THE YEAR SALE! Is in full swing, with orders streaming in around the clock.

Of course some items are already out of stock and many others have dangerously low stock - FCFS as I said.

Please check your "Orders History" to see what was actually supplied. In most cases the Order Confirmation is accurate, but if an item ordered was simultaneously ordered by several customers, it is possible that it was "stolen" under your nose ;) Of course you are always charged only for what was actually shipped.

Please keep in mind that the next sale is a few month away (the annual Spring / Passover / Easter sale), so this is not to be missed.

I thank you all for helping me make the Jazzis Web Shop the finest on-line source for great music, a reputation that is well earned and deserved.

Again I wish you and your Families all the best, Happy Hanukah, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

=====================================

Have Fun!