IS IT TRUE that Miles Davis liked what Jimi Hendrix was doing and that Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis planned/discussed to record/play together?

ALEX JOHNSTON … Yes. Miles was supposedly introduced to Hendrix’s music by his then-wife, Betty, née Mabry, who was a figure on the counter-cultural scene at the time: a model, a singer, a DJ and a general scenemaker. Betty and Miles’ marriage didn’t last very long. Sources disagree as to why it ended: one version […]

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SOFT MACHINE: Floating World Live (CD)

Re-issue in digipak with 16-page booklet This CD marks the first release of a live performance by Soft Machine’s Bundles line-up featuring Allan Holdsworth on guitar. This concert, recorded forRadio Bremen in January 1975, consists of most of the Bundles material, which hadn’t been released although in the can since the previous summer, plusa couple […]

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CANNONBALL ADDERLEY: ‘Dis Here’ (4 CD)

“This 57 track set follows Cannonball’s story from 1955 through to 1959 where he is joined by the likes of Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans and Milt Jackson. Also included is a 24 page book with the Cannonball Adderley story, discography and rare photos….”  DISC ONE / “SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION – Spontaneous Combustion […]

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NINA SIMONE: What Happened, Miss Simone? Episode #1 of 5

Inspired by the Oscar-nominated TV documentary, Alan Light’s biography draws on Nina Simone’s early diaries, rare interviews, childhood journals and input from her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly to paint a picture of the classically-trained pianist who became a soul legend, a leading civil rights activist and one of the most influential artists of our time. […]

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STAN GETZ: The Complete Columbia Album Collection (8CD Mini-LP Style Sleeve + Booklet) Box Set

The most complete package to date of Stan Getz’s Columbia albums 8 great albums! covering the period 1972-1979, most produced by Stan himself Each individual album is packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that album’s original cover art. Booklet with full discographical info., photos, and liner notes It was not long after tenor saxophonist […]

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LOUIS ARMSTRONG: Advice on his music

Went car-booting on Sunday and came away with a double LP called Ella & Louis (Starportrait on the Verve label). Now this is not the sort of music I’d normally even consider but what the hey, it was in superb nick and a quid! Admittedly a lot of it merely re-inforced my feelings of antipathy […]

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Quill

JAZZ: For aficionados

I’m going to review records in my collection, and you’ll be able to decide if they’re worthy of your collection. These records are what I consider “must haves” for any jazz aficionado, and would be found in their collections. I wont review any record that’s not on CD, nor will I review any record if […]

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THE BILL EVANS TRIO: On A Monday Evening (Vinyl LP)

We are told: UNRELEASED 1976 BILL EVANS TRIO CONCERT on VINYL. On A Monday Evening features eight songs performed in the Madison Union Theater at the University of Wisconsinon Monday, November 15, 1976 and exists thanks to two college-age deejays that recorded and archived the concert. Larry Goldberg and James Farber had interviewed Bill Evans […]

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RY COODER: Vigilante Man (6CD Box)

We are told: Limited edition 6CD Box Set featuring influences and six FM broadcasts from 1972, 1974, 1989 and 1995. Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder’s chameleon-like fretted instrument virtuosity, songwriting, and choices of material encompass an incredibly eclectic range of North American musical styles, including rock & […]

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JAZZ: Léon, the professional… of French jazz

MARTYNA KIELEK / Senior Music Editor After this tongue-in-cheek title, I would like to invite you to discover an extremely promising young French jazz saxophone player, Léon Phal. He claims to be influenced both by John Coltrane and by the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti, and there is certainly no dearth of variety in his music. […]

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JAZZ: Frustrations with the music/Harmony

Hello, I’ve had several piano teachers who’ve taught me how to interpret classical music, learned the scales, a few arpeggios, a few things about chords… and I’m pretty advanced technically. However, I feel like I don’t even know a thing. Can’t improvise, can’t analyze, or understand hardly anything about music or what’s necessary to learn. […]

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Jazz: How can you best appreciate it?

“Jazz is notorious for being a difficult musical genre to appreciate. Many people believe they’re supposed to like it and that knowing about jazz impresses others. Despite this, most people still find it difficult to follow. Jazz experts say the key to appreciating jazz is to focus on how different musicians play off one another’s […]

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MILES DAVIS: 1986-1991 The Warner Years (5CD Box Set)

In 1985, Miles Davis shocked the music world by moving from Columbia to Warner Bros. He immediately started working on an album called ‘Perfect Way’ after a tune by Scritti Politti, later renamed ‘Tutu’ by producer Tommy LiPuma. When ‘Tutu’ was released in 1986, it re-ignited Miles Davis’ career, crossing over into the rock and […]

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DEXTER GORDON: Our Man In Paris (Numbered 140g Clear Vinyl LP)

We are told …. This 1963 date is titled for Dexter Gordon’s living in self-imposed Parisian exile and recording there with two other expatriates and a French native. Along with Gordon, pianist Bud Powell and Kenny “Klook” Clarke were living in the City of Lights and were joined by the brilliant French bassman Pierre Michelot. […]

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SOFT MACHINE; Live In 1970 (Limited edition/1000 deluxe 4CD set digi-pack)

A limited edition(1000 only), deluxe four CD set in digi-pack format, re-mastered with extensive liner notes. These live recordings feature the band in a transitional stage from the darlings of the London Underground scene of the late sixties to the jazz rock outfit they became. The line up is MIKE RATLEDGE, ROBERT WYATT, HUGH HOPPER, […]

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