I start the February new additions with another superb Santana release, as appropriate for my Artist Of The Month:

SANTANA ~ LOTUS
COLUMBIA 467943 (Barcode: 5099746794323) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 1973 Released: 1999
6th album and the first official Santana live album (not counting the Santana / Buddy Miles collaboration from early 1972, which wasn't a proper Santana album). Recorded in Japan in June of 1973 (before the 5th album - Welcome - was recorded) and released as a massive 3 LPs album (initially in Japan only), it features the new Santana Mk. II as an octet, with core members Tom Coster (keyboards), Doug Roach (bass) and Michael Shrieve (drums), supported by several musicians added for the Japanese tour: Richard Kermode (keyboards), Leon Thomas (vocals), Armando Peraza (percussion) and Jose Areas (percussion). All these musicians (and a few distinguished guests) were to take part in the recording of Welcome soon after and the tour was an excellent opportunity to fuse, cement and rehearse the line-up. Although Carlos Santana was a transformed musician by the time this music was recorded, leaving the Latin Rock groove behind and stepping full steam ahead into Fusion and Jazz-Rock, playing live before audiences meant to perform the well known and much loved Santana material from the three legendary first albums alongside the new material. As a result, this album presents to the listener an entirely new outlook at the early Santana material, performed here with a much jazzier edge, creating Fusion per excellence. Carlos plays wonderfully, with his usual melodic feel, but improvises more, which is of course all for the better. The two keyboards players provide the band with a massive sound, with Coster soloing often in Chick Corea's fashion. The expanded rhythm section is busy at all times driving the music forward. In short, this is everything a Fusion fan might wish to find in an album - over two solid hours of musical bliss, with great tunes and excellent musicianship. Wholeheartedly recommended!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102199 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102199

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Today's addition is probably the most sensational jazz album ever recorded - big words I know, but check it out:

LANYI, ARIEL ~ 31 BARS
KADIMA COLLECTIVE 07 ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2006
It is extremely difficult to write anything about this album due to the fact that it probably is the most sensational jazz recording ever, considering the fact that Ariel was only 9 years old (YES NINE) when this music was recorded. Of course there are a few well-known piano prodigies in music's history, but surely none of these played improvised music and free jazz. Ariel plays classical piano since the age of 4 and discovered jazz accidentally (at the tender age of 7) by pressing an Earl Hines link on the Net. He started to take lessons with Jean Claude Jones, leader of the Kadima Collective (a group of Israeli musicians dedicated to improvised music) and soon was discovered to possess exceptional gift for improvisation and a musical attitude of a matured musician. The music included here was recorded on several occasions live and in the studio during the months proceeding his 10th Birthday, when this album was released. The album contains mostly Ariel's original compositions and improvisations, primarily because composition, free improvisation and avant-garde are the main attraction of jazz for him. The few standards that appear here are substantially altered, as appropriate for his genre. Some of the pieces are solo piano performances, others are duos with Israel's most important improvisers (all of which could easily be Ariel's grandfathers), like Harold Rubin (clarinet), Jess Koren (sax), Jerry Garval (drums) and Jean Claude Jones (bass). Whatever the starting point of each piece, they all show Ariel's enthusiasm for free improvisation and his unique mixing of styles, ideas and influences. One thing is sure; nobody in this world would guess, by listening to this music without the knowledge of the facts, that this is a kid. The music is completely mature and exceptionally developed. It's almost scary to imagine what this kid will be up to in a few years? Check it out for yourself!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102200 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102200

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The last missing item of the Kadima Collective (the Israeli free jazz and improvised music label)  releases was added today:

LEV, GAN ~ LANGUAGES
KADIMA COLLECTIVE 05 ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2005 Released: 2005
Gan Lev is a renowned Israeli saxophonist. He is a graduate of the Manness College of Music in NY and studied in various European music Academies. An accomplished classical player he is a member of the Israeli Philharmonic, but his real love is jazz and improvised music. On this album he cooperates with bassist Jean Claude Jones, founder of the Kadima Collective. Playing a wide rage of saxophones (soprano, alto & baritone) Lev displays his exceptional technique and deep feel for the music. The duo performs 17 (mostly short) pieces, varying from clearly composed to totally improvised music. For the fans of the genre this is something to savor. It is heartwarming to see such unconventional and challenging music being released on record, thanks to the Kadima Collective initiative, well done!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102201 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102201

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Here is another Santana album added today, celebrating Santana being my Artist of the month:

SANTANA ~ BARBOLETTA
COLUMBIA 474685 (Barcode: 5099747468520) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 1974 Released: 1995
7th album, featuring the Santana Mk. II lineup with some distinguished guests like Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira and his wife the singer Flora Purim, and bass player Stanley Clarke. Sadly the great bass player Doug Rauch, who was responsible for the band's pulsating rhythms, departed to be replaced by original Santana member David Brown. The album has a strong Brazilian feel mainly due to the presence of Airto and Purim and their version of Dorival Caymmi's "Promise Of A Fisherman" is truly wonderful. Santana plays with confidence and his usual flair with Coster's keyboards filling in and him soloing occasionally, mostly on electric piano. This is a great Fusion album, which stands the test of time beautifully. Unfortunately this was the last of the "great" Santana albums. When Santana's album sales started to show lower then usual figures, Columbia executives pressured Carlos to return to a more commercial output, and he eventually caved in. The remainder of the band's output, although always full of brilliant moments, was to be haunted of sales potential (rather than musical) considerations. Carlos remains of course one of the greatest guitar players ever and his recorded legacy up to this album is an everlasting testimony to the greatness of the era.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102202 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102202

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Please chaeck out your waiting list. With MASSIVE re-stocking that took place yesterday some of your items might be back in stock!

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Another Santana related item added today, this time a Fusion tribute to his great music:

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ VIVA CARLOS!: A SUPERNATURAL MARATHON CELEBRATION
MASCOT 7210 (Barcode: 8712725721024) ~ USA ~ Jazz-World Fusion
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2006
5th Fusion tribute album produced by Jeff Richman (see the earlier John Coltrane, John McLaughlin, Miles Davis and Steely Dan Fusion tributes). Sticking to the same formula, the producer sets up a "house band" (this time including Peter Wolf - keyboards, Abe Laboriel - bass, Dave Weckl - drums and Luis Conte - percussion) and matches it with some of the best Fusion guitar players (this time Robben Ford, Frank Gambale, Albert Lee, Pat Martino, Mike Stern and others). As the title suggests, the subject matter this time is the music of Carlos Santana. Since this formula worked out splendidly on the previous four albums, there is no reason to suspect that things would go wrong this time, and indeed they don't. The only problem might have been the choice of material from the vast Santana repertoire, but fortunately only the best tunes were selected, all of them from his early and most fruitful years. The various guitar players, rather then to imitate Santana's guitar sound and special technique, play in their own individual way, taking the music places often quite different from the origin. The entire album works out beautifully as a whole and Fusion fans (and guitar freaks) should have a field day with this stuff.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102203 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102203

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The new Blackfield album is here! It will be added tomorrow!

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Here is what SO MANY of you were waiting for - the new Blackfield album (Israeli Edition):

BLACKFIELD ~ II (Israeli Edition)
HELICON 8276 (Barcode: 7293627827621) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2007
2nd album by Israeli / UK group which combines the forces of Israeli rocker Aviv Geffen and Porcupine Tree's leader Steven Wilson. The album was recorded over several months between Tel-Aviv and London and released exactly two years after their sensational debut. The two leaders spread their responsibilities, each doing what he knows best. Geffen wrote 7 of the 10 songs present here and Wilson the other 3. Wilson takes all the vocal leads, except on one song, plays guitar and takes care of mixing and production. The music is a direct continuation of the direction the group took on the debut album, with solid songwriting and concise 4 minutes long songs arranged as a continuous flow of music almost like a concept album. String arrangements and keyboards provide a (mostly) melancholic background and Wilson's guitar tastefully fills the spaces. Geffen's songwriting is getting better and more refined with time, loosing some of the youthful rebellion that characterized his early days, replaced by distinct bitterness and melancholy. Overall a beautiful album worthy of repeated listening and growing on the listener with time. A most welcome follow-up to the debut and as usual already making all the fans waiting for the next one.
Note: The Israeli Edition is packaged in a plastic jewel case wrapped in a carton slipcase. The musical content is identical to the International Edition.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102204 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102204

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A beautiful new jazz item added today:

LIEBMAN, DAVE ~ BACK ON THE CORNER
MASCOT 7219 (Barcode: 8712725721925) ~ USA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2007
In June of 1972 Miles Davis entered the studio to record one of the most radical statements of his entire career - the legendary On The Corner album. Moving further away from conventional jazz, this music was all about funk and groove, based on hypnotic bass riffs. Miles used an extended group of musicians on this session, some of them "Miles veterans" (McLaughlin, Corea, Hancock) and others "Miles first-timers", including the saxophonist Dave Liebman. Playing with Miles was of course an event, which would jump-start Liebman's career, who was in time to become one of the finest American jazz players of all times. 34 years later Liebman returns to these sessions with fond memories and pays tribute to the Master by recording this excellent album. Using his regular quartet (Vic Juris - guitar, Tony Marino - bass and Marko Marcinko - drums) and strengthened by ex Miles Davis sideman Mike Stern and legendary bassist Anthony Jackson, Liebman recreates the atmosphere of the On The Corner sessions splendidly. Liebman wrote most of the music, but he also uses two Miles-penned tunes from that album ("Black Satin" and "Ife") to emphasize the connection. Everything works like magic here: the music is beautiful, the musicians excellent and the grooves are able to wake the dead. It's been quite a while since I had such a good time with a new jazz album. Do yourself a huge favor and grab this ASAP.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102205 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102205

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The new Blackfield album is, as expected, the most wanted item in a long time. Thank you all for these orders ;)

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Another recetly discovered Soft Machine live album added today, a true piece of history this one:

SOFT MACHINE ~ MIDDLE EARTH MASTERS
CUNEIFORM 235 (Barcode: 045775023526) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene
Recorded: 1967 - 1968 Released: 2006
Although the last decade witnessed an abundance of live Soft Machine releases, it is always welcome to discover yet another piece of the mysterious musical phenomenon that surrounded this band. Soon after the band was formed in 1966 and even before the first album was recorded they lost Daevid Allen and the remaining trio (Kevin Ayers, Mike Ratledge and Robert Wyatt) carried on with their unique psychedelic sound and vision. The music contained on this album presents the band live at the legendary London's Middle Earth club (the successor of the no less legendary UFO club). Two sessions, one from late 1967 and the other from early 1968, recorded by the experimental sound technician Bob Woolford, remained completely forgotten for almost 40 years, to be recently unearthed by (or rather for) the owner of Cuneiform Records, who is a restless SM aficionado. Considering the sound quality of the original recording, some painstaking efforts have been made to restore this music to an audible quality and maintain the atmosphere of the original setting. The result is quite impressive and although the vocal parts are badly under-recorded the entire set has its magic, especially the sound of fuzz organ being pounded mercilessly during the extended instrumental improvisations. For the many SM fans, this is a unique document of the early days and a key factor in understanding the band's development.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102207 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102207

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Following the superb reissues by Virgin/EMI of Steve Hackett, VDGG, Peter Hammill and Captain Beefheart, it's time for the Steve Hillage catalog. Today the first of the recently remastered 8 Hillage albums was added:

HILLAGE, STEVE ~ LIVE HERALD
VIRGIN 373440 (Barcode: 0094637344026) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1977 - 1978 Released: 2007
5th album by the legendary guitarist and the only live document of his music during the early period of his solo career. Recorded during a period of 18 months when Hillage and his band (three different band lineups are featured) performed frantically all over the world in support of his excellent solo albums, this material was initially released as a double LP. The first 3 sides of the album included live material and the fourth side included new studio material. For the CD reissue the 3 live sides were combined into a single CD (now with bonus live material previously unreleased) and the studio material was moved as bonus tracks of the next album (Open), where it rightfully belongs. Hillage composed almost all the music on the album with his life-long musical companion and synthesizer pioneer Miquette Giraudy, whom Hillage befriended during his Gong days. The sound of the band is often quite similar to Gong's familiar mixture of psychedelic Space-Rock and early ambient influences (which would later develop as Hillage's main interest) are also quite evident. In retrospect this is quite visionary music, foretelling by almost 20 years the ambient explosion of the late 1990's. There is a lot happening (musically) here, which means this stuff requires attentive listening to truly comprehend its complexity. This is an important historical document, which sheds a lot of light on the music scene of the late 1970's, which existed in parallel to the punk dominated mainstream.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102209 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102209

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Time to add another jazz item, a delightful album by the Master pianist Herbie Hancock:

HANCOCK, HERBIE ~ THE NEW STANDARD
VERVE 988403 (Barcode: 602498840351) ~ USA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1996 Released: 2005
After playing jazz standards throughout all his life (in addition to original music of course), Hancock decided to record an album dedicated to his rendition of contemporary Pop songs, which in his opinion deserve to enter the standard songbook. The Beatles, Steve Wonder and scores of other songwriters active since the 1960's composed thousands of songs worthy of becoming classics, yet the jazz standards to this day are mostly tunes written in the first half of the 20th century. Hancock selected a dreamy sextet of some of the best contemporary jazz Masters to take part in this recording, with Michael Brecker - sax, John Scofield - guitar, Dave Holland - bass, Jack DeJohnette - drums and Don Alias - percussion. He takes the original tunes quite far from the source, transforming them into jazz with masterful touch and divine sensibility. Of course all the players perform beautifully, with Hancock taking a few fiery solos and so do Brecker and Scofield. The rhythm section provides solid and sophisticated background and the entire session just swings like there is no tomorrow. Absolutely delightful!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102210 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102210

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I wish a great weekend to all of you!

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The next installment of the Steve Hillage remasters is here:

HILLAGE, STEVE ~ RAINBOW DOME MUSICK
VIRGIN 373458 (Barcode: 094637345825) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1979 Released: 2007
6th album by Hillage, which was really an off-shot project from his "normal" sequence of solo albums, as it was recorded to serve as background music for a special event staged in London in April of 1979 - the "Mind And Body Festival". As part of the festival's preparations a special dome was erected, called the Rainbow Dome, as it presented the visitor / spectator with special light effects. The festival's organizers contacted Hillage with their plans and he immediately agreed to write the music, which would be played continuously in the Rainbow Dome. Hillage and his partner Miquette Giraudy quickly assembled an ambient soundtrack for the project and the music was released to coincide with the festival's opening. The music is a beautiful example of early ambient composition, executed with deep sensibility and grace. It was to be an extremely influential piece of music, which would be often cited by members of the young generation of composers of ambient music some two decades later as one of their main influences. Hillage and Giraudy themselves changed their main musical activity to ambient and electronic music in the later days of their career, still being active today as System7. A classic!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102212 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102212

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Another Steve Hillage remaster added today:

HILLAGE, STEVE ~ L
VIRGIN 373419 (Barcode: 094637341926) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1976 Released: 2007
2nd album by Hillage and his most (commercially) successful release ever. In contrast to the debut album, which was recorded while Hillage and his partner Miquette Giraudy were still members of Gong and included strong similarities to Gong material, this album was quite a different affair. Hillage used his record label's connections to establish contact with US musician / producer Todd Rundgren, who agreed to produce this album. Hillage and Giraudy left for the US, where this album was recorded and produced by Rundgren, with members of Rundgren's band Utopia serving as the backing band. The material includes both original material by Hillage / Giraudy and a few covers of what Hillage describes as "his favorite songs at the time" (including a great version of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man"). The album stands the test of time fabulously and is a great example of both Hillage's strength as a composer and a guitarist. One more point of interest is the participation of the great jazz trumpet player Don Cherry, who adds an interesting coloring to the album's atmosphere. A classic by all means!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102213 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102213

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Another Steve Hillage remaster added today (5 down, 3 to go):

HILLAGE, STEVE ~ OPEN
VIRGIN 373459 (Barcode: 0094637345924) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1979 Released: 2007
7th album by Hillage in less than 5 years and the third one originally released in 1979 - a very busy year for him. As already mentioned (see Live Herald) the album opens with four studio tracks originally included as side 4 of the Live Herald album and then continues with the tracks recorded a few months later as the original Open album. As usual most of the music was written by Hillage and his partner Miquette Giraudy, with just one cover of a Beatles song and a most surprising instrumental track based on a song by the legendary Egyptian singer Oum Kalsoum. This proves that Hillage was looking everywhere for inspiration and his openness to music outside the strict rock circles was always obvious. Just two months after the album was released the Steve Hillage band would play a couple of farewell concerts and disband and it would be three years until the next Hillage album would be released. The album stands the test of time beautifully and the remaster upgrades the sound considerably, so this is another must for SH fans.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102215 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102215

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A beautiful series of Israeli re-issues was just released, here is the most sensational one of these (others to follow):

SHESHET ~ SHESHET (30TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION)
NMC (ISRAEL) 82366 (Barcode: 7290011507602) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1977 Released: 2007
Eponymous album by this Israeli group led by Shem Tov Levy, who also wrote almost all the music, and including the best local musicians at the time. This Prog / Jazz-Rock outfit created a great blend of western, Latin and middle-eastern music, which sounds as fresh today as it did at the time of the recording. Lead vocals are by Yehudith Ravitz, who later became a major Israeli star. The compositions are heavily influenced by Prog (Gentle Giant in particular) and the album ranks among Israel's all time best albums. The beautiful new edition includes as a bonus the extra-rare (just a few copies of the original LP are known to be in existence) second album by Sheshet, never previously released on CD, which the group recorded as soundtrack of the Israeli film "The Stretcher March" (see Side note). The only vocal track on the second album is sung by no other than Gidi Gov, who also played a leading role in the film. The reissue of this album is a major feast for the Israeli Prog discography.
Side note: Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli society entered a period of major upheaval and a radical re-examination of its values and social / political perspectives. The pioneering and bold film "The Stretcher March" was the first of its kind to openly examine the moral and psychological difficulties faced by soldiers in the IDF, a subject that was a complete taboo beforehand. This film and later other similar films and books written / published in the late 1970's were all a result of this fascinating period in Israel's society formative years.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102216 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102216

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I wish you all a great weekend!

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Here is the 2nd new Israeli beautiful reissue:

CASPI, MATTI ~ MATTI CASPI (2) (30TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION)
NMC (ISRAEL) 80779 (Barcode: 7290011507589) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1975 - 1979 Released: 2007
2nd eponymous album by Caspi (his first album was also self-titled and hence this one is commonly known as "2" or the "door bell album" - see the cover art). The 1970's were the formative years of the Israeli musical scene and Caspi's role was one of the most crucial and influential at the time, rivaled only by the output of Yoni Rechter and Shlomo Gronich (with whom Caspi cooperated - see their album as a duo). Inspired by a wide variety of musical influences, like Progressive Rock, jazz, blues and Brazilian music, Caspi created a unique blend of superb songwriting, which inspired later generation of Israeli musicians, notable to this very day, as well as creating some of the best Israeli songs ever. Caspi not only wrote and arranged all the music on this album, but he also sings and plays all the instruments (and does it extremely well), giving a new meaning to the term "solo album". To this day this is one of the most "perfect" albums ever recorded in Israel, setting an incredibly high standard to be followed. This beautiful new edition includes an entire second CD of bonus live material, never previously available on record.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102217 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102217

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Here is the third (and last) beautiful new Israeli reissue:

LITANI, DANNY ~ VERY TOGETHER (30TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION)
NMC (ISRAEL) 81099 (Barcode: 7290011507596) ~ ISRAEL ~ Classic Rock
Recorded: 1970 - 1978 Released: 2007
Danny Litani is one of the most talented Israeli musicians and songwriters, and yet he never reached the stardom status, he so well deserves. Deeply rooted in American music, especially Dylan's legacy of folk and protest songs and the blues, Danny was always quite different and somewhat disconnected from the Israeli mainstream. His beautiful bluesy baritone fits ideally his soulful self-written material as well as his interpretations (translated into Hebrew) of American classics. Always accompanied by the best Israeli rock and blues players, his albums and concerts were a source of musical joy and heartfelt experiences. This album includes some of his best songwriting to date (he composed all the songs) and is definitely his strongest and most consistent release. Two of the songs are great duets with Yehudith Ravitz. This beautiful new edition includes a plethora of bonus material, never previously available on record, including live tracks, radio singles, etc. Making all of it available to the general public is a true delight. For people not familiar with Danny's output, this is a most warmly recommended opportunity to get exposed to his charm. (See also his superb album with the group Shamayim")

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102218 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102218

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Another Steve Hillage remaster added today (2 more to go):

HILLAGE, STEVE ~ FISH RISING
VIRGIN 373415 (Barcode: 094637341520) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene
Recorded: 1974 - 1975 Released: 2007
1st album recorded while Hillage was still a member of Gong. After recording with Gong the entire "Radio Gnome Invisible" trilogy, Hillage decided it was time to start a solo career, where his music would be featured more prominently, with this album being the first step in that direction. In Gong Hillage met his life-long partner Miquette Giraudy, who would become his musical collaborator and they both composed all the music and the entire concept of this album. Most of his Gong cohorts participate, but Hillage added the great Dave Stewart on keyboards and Lindsay Cooper (from Henry Cow) on bassoon, to create a much more sophisticated sound and instrumentation. The material consists mostly of 3 long (2 over 14 minutes) suites and a few shorter pieces. The overall sound and style of the album is still very much Gong related / influenced and can be considered as another Gong off-shot project (which many Gong fans do), but Hillage's individuality is certainly already present and it will come to full fruition starting with the next album. In retrospect this album manages to keep at its extraordinary qualities well and is still fresh and exciting, adding another Canterbury classic album to the list.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102219 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102219

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A superb Latin jazz album added today - something I stumbled upon in MySpace:

PANCHITO ~ RESURRECCIÓN
WORD FUSION MUSIC (Barcode: 8717496770264) ~ NETHERLANDS ~ Jazz-World Fusion
Recorded: 2006 Released: 2006
This is one of those completely anonymous albums that put a smile the size of a moon on my face. Panchito are a Dutch nonet, led by guitarist André van Berlo, who also composed and arranged all the music, which plays Latin jazz. So what's the big deal you ask? Well the big deal is what is played and how it's played. There are countless Latin jazz bands around the globe, between Cuba and Timbuktu, which beat the hell out of their congas, but only very few of these bands can make Salsa sound like Art. What the members of Panchito lack in their genes (none of them seem to be of Cuban heritage) they amply compensate in their ability to play and improvise. The European musical heritage of preciseness and clarity, combined with the fire in the soul is in this case an overwhelming success. There is none of the sloppiness often found in Latin jazz, which can be charming sometimes but often quite annoying. Every note here is clean as a whistle and exactly right. And if you think this stuff is an anemic version of Irakere, you are dead wrong - just listen to the music and you won't be able to stop yerbuty from sheikin'. Just pour yourself a long drink, put this album on full volume, relax and close your eyes and off you go to tropic paradise.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102220 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102220

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Here is the last addition for this month and the first in a series of newly remastered brilliant Soft Machine albums:

SOFT MACHINE ~ THIRD (EXPANDED EDITION)
SONY BMG 687293 (Barcode: 828768729328) ~ UK ~ Canterbury Scene
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2007
3rd album originally released as a double LP. Although basically a trio at this point (Wyatt, Hopper & Ratledge) they use a horn-section to expand the sound of the band, which includes among others Elton Dean (soon to be a full time SM member) and Jimmy Hastings (brother of Pye from Caravan). The music is of course one of the most pivotal recordings of the era and widely accepted as one of the greatest epics of Prog and Canterbury music, with brilliant improvisations and incredibly strong writing. Almost entirely instrumental, with Wyatt`s occasional scatting, this album marks the band's transition from early psychedelic pop / rock to Jazz-Rock and later eventually to free jazz. With constantly changing lineup the band managed in the span of just a few months, between late 1969 and early 1970, to create an entirely new genre in itself, as nothing else done by any other band would ever sound similar to Soft Machine (of that period). This music is as revolutionary and groundbreaking as the stuff Miles Davis was creating at the time on the other side of the pond, and equally brilliant. The beautiful new edition adds a full bonus CD, which contains a live recording at the Royal Alert Hall (August 1970), done by the BBC (a trademark of sonic quality), previously unreleased. An absolute masterpiece, beyond essential!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102221 - https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102221

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