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.

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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.

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

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A beautiful jazz / classical album added today:

MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN ~ THIEVES AND POETS
EMARCY 801075 (Barcode: 602498010754) ~ UK ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion
Recorded: 2003 Released: 2003
John McLaughlin is not only the world's finest guitar player, but surely also the most versatile one. Throughout his illustrious career he played almost in every conceivable jazz-related genre between free jazz, Jazz-Rock Fusion, mainstream jazz, Jazz-World Fusion and so on. This gorgeous album opens yet another area for his musical achievements - the marriage of classical music and jazz or Jazz-Classical Fusion. The contents of the album can be divided into two parts. First comes a title piece - a splendid suite for acoustic guitar and orchestra (over 26 minutes long in 3 parts), which presents McLaughlin accompanied by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie (with Renato Rivolta conducting). The music shows McLaughlin's skills as a composer of contemporary music, based on the European romantic tradition. It is passionate and elegant, as one might expect from McLaughlin and quite a revelation for many of his admirers. The second part of the album consists of four jazz standards performed here in a very special guitar arrangement with McLaughlin accompanied by guitar based classical Aighetta Quartet. As these four standards have been mostly associated with legendary jazz pianist (Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Gonzalo Rubalcaba) McLaughlin presents them as homage to these jazz Giants. This is a very personal album, delicate and subtle, requiring a most attentive listening and deserving repetitive exploration. Essential musical experience!

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Please get your orders in ASAP if they are to arrive in time for Xmas.

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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.

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Following the tragic death of the great Israeli poet and lyricist Eli Mohar I added his album as a tribute to his great talent:

RECHTER, YONI / MOHAR, ELI ~ THOUGHTS AND POSSIBILITIES
HED ARZI 15690 (Barcode: 7293372569029) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1995 Released: 1995
2nd album sharing the names of these two Israeli music makers (Rechter - composer and Mohar - lyricist), but in fact they have been life-long friends and co-writers of hundreds of songs recorded by all top Israeli artists, including Gidi Gov, Arik Einstein and many more. Rechter is a superb composer and his unique lyricism and skill to craft touching and memorable melodies make him the most important Israeli songwriter in the last decades. Mohar, a romantic poet and publicist, wrote some of the most touching and beautiful song lyrics ever written in the Hebrew language (of course the non-Hebrew speaking people are unfortunately unable to enjoy and appreciate those). Together they are simply unbeatable - every song is a pearl and an everlasting addition to their songbook. As if all this is not enough, this album has a bonus value: Rechter and Mohar invited all the top Israeli singers to be guest vocalist and they are featured on some of the songs. The list includes Gidi Gov, Danny Sanderson, Efraim Shamir, Alon Oleartchik (all four were members of the legendary Kaveret group with Rechter), Yehudith Ravitz, Arik Einstein and others - a true who's who of the Israeli music scene. This is an important album for the local music scene, one that will remain fresh for many years to come.
Side note: Eli Mohar died of cancer a week before these lines were written. His amazing talent was always an inspiration for me and his memory will be treasured as long as I live.

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Massive restocking!

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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.

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One more Yoni Rechter album added today to complete his fabulous output available on my site:

RECHTER, YONI ~ ROMANCE IS WHAT COUNTS
HED ARZI 15492 ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1990 Released: 1991
The annual Israel Festival is the most prestigious cultural affair produced in Israel. Among the many events of the festival, each year one Israeli musician is invited to present an evening of his songs, which is considered a great honor for the artist and a gesture of gratitude for his achievements. Of course in the case of Yoni Rechter the gratitude is highly deserved and the cycle of songs he presents is truly exquisite. This album (recorded live) captures the event in its entire splendor. Being a hopeless romantic at heart, Rechter chose the theme of love and romance as the connecting thread between all his songs. His life-long friend and partner, the poet Eli Mohar, supplied the lyrics to his music, except a few songs where Rechter uses poems written by the most important Israeli poets like Natan Zach and Natan Alterman. To perform the songs Rechter invited his old friends, with whom he recorded previously, like Yehudith Ravitz and Gidi Gov. The players are all top Israeli musicians, mostly from the jazz circle. The entire affair is truly magical and all the songs are of such high quality that in time they achieved a permanent status in the pantheon of the Israeli songbook. Essential for lovers of Israeli music and poetry and romantics, wherever they might be.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102159 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102159

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Please note the new feature which enables you to go directly to a specific item from this announcement.

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Have a great weekend!

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

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

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

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Another great DVD added today:

PROCOL HARUM ~ LIVE AT THE UNION CHAPEL (COLLECTORS' EDITION)
EAGLE VISION 030 (Barcode: 5034504903098) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2003 Released: 2004
If everything Procol Harum ever did was to record their 1967 singe "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", they would have already ensured their position in the Rock's Hall Of Fame as authors of the definitive, hypnotic and most brilliant Rock song of all times. Of course (and luckily for all Procol Harum's many admirers, myself included) they managed quite a bit more with a long chain of brilliant albums recorded in the 1960s and 1970s and two reunions: the first one in 1991 and the second in 2003. The 2003 reunion resulted in the recording of a new album called "The Well's On Fire", and a world tour to promote the album. This DVD documents the final concert of the tour upon the band's return to UK. The unusual setting for the concert - a church - adds a dramatic background to this spectacular event and makes this DVD even more spectacular and theatrical than expected. The band includes two of the band's founding members Gary Brooker on piano & vocals and Matthew Fisher on organ, accompanied by Matt Pegg on bass, Geoff Whitehorn on guitar and Mark Brzezicki on drums. With several months of touring behind them the band plays spotlessly and the strength of the material reaches its full glory. The material form the new album is included and of course many of the band's greatest past achievements, including the full version of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", which is quite a rarity. Additional material includes interviews and other bonus stuff. The CD included in this set contains the highlights of the concert. This is a must for all Procol Harum fans and basically for anybody who loves great Rock. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS, 139 minutes.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102163 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102163

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The SALE items were reduced to US $ 5.00 and some are still in stock!

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

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

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Here is another splendid Israeli album, one of the last editions for 2006:

CHAMELEON TRIO ~ IN BETWEEN
MINDOORS ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion
Recorded: 2005 Released: 2006
Debut album by one of the most interesting ensembles active on the burgeoning Israeli scene. Completely original, the trio combines contemporary classical chamber music and jazz into a beautiful amalgam, which should leave no sensitive listener cold. The trio consists of Dvir Katz - flute & composer of all the music, Nitai Levi - clarinet & bass clarinet and Ora Boasson-Horev - contrabass. All three are graduates of prestigious music schools (Katz and Levi are graduates of the Rubin Music Academy in Jerusalem and Boasson-Horev is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston). These young and talented players combine their forces to create some of the most advanced and adventurous music ever played in the Holy Land. Although the music is mostly composed (i.e. written), there are many improvised passages, which require not only performing skills but also a creative imagination. There is an obvious highly emotional involvement here on the part of the musicians, who play they heart out. One must remember at all times that this is Art, not entertainment. Therefore as difficult as this music can be at times, requiring total involvement from the listener to match the musician's emotions, it is not to be dismissed lightly as "too difficult". En contraire, the intellectual effort invested in digesting this kind of music (and eventually loving it) can be extremely rewarding. I hope as many people as possible will make this effort and enrich their souls with this unusual experience. Highly recommended for the more adventurous and open-minded listeners.
Side note: As 2006 nears its end I am truly amazed by the quality of new music that was created and released in Israel this year. This makes me extremely proud and happy of course, especially in view of the fact that Israeli Artists manage to overcome the extreme and difficult reality of our day-to-day life and uplift their spirits to the higher Artistic plane, which is both amazing and commendable.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102167 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102167

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Here it is again, the annual Jazzis Web Shop END OF THE YEAR SALE!

As every year, celebrating my birthday (December 17th) and the Holiday Season of Hanukah, Xmas and New Year, I give all my customers the opportunity to get some music at a fantastic discount of 12 % on ALL ITEMS, including the already discounted SALE and ONE OF A KIND ITEMS.

The sale ends on midnight December 31, 2006 and as there will be no re-stocking till then strict FCFS (First Come, First Served) policy applies.

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.

This is my way to say "thank you" to all of you for supporting me all the year round. I hope you can all appreciate my constant efforts to expend my catalog and keep adding new exceptional items, as well as keeping up my level of service

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.

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

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

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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!

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