This mostly introspective, Jackie McLean led session featuring trombonist Grachan Moncur III (who contributes three of the four compositions), Roy Haynes, bassist Larry Ridley and Bobby Hutcherson, whose vibraphone add an otherworldly element to the mix, sounds more like something from an eerie “Twilight Zone” episode than what one normally expects or gets from the Blue Note franchise.

As the liner notes point out, there’s nothing inauthentic about a Swiss composer conducting a Swiss orchestra performing a ballet written by a Spaniard.

Ansermet conducted the world premiere of “LeTricorne” in 1919 and it wasn’t in Spain. It was in Leicester Square in the UK at a theater appropriately named The Alhambra that’s long since been torn down. Sergei Diaghilev’s The Ballets Russes danced, and costumes were by Picasso. It must have been something to hear and see!

When Frank left Capitol to start his own Reprise label, his old label made a push to reap the old catalogue's financial benefits. Frank fought back by recording in April of 1963 this album of big Capitol hits with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. Sinatra knew the tunes well, laying them all down live with orchestra in two days.

The prolific, smoky-voiced Irish folk/rock singer Eleanor McEvoy has had an almost twenty year recording career, first on major labels, where she enjoyed mainstream success but after getting caught in an excess of red tape, she extricated herself and began recording for independents.  

This review was but a few words from being finished and a fumbling finger destroyed the whole thing. I hate when that happens! I'm not going to try to reproduce it. Too painful. So let me summarize what I'd written: yes The Four Tops and the other Motown acts were slick and aimed at white America, and the Chess stuff was much hipper, but this was great pop stuff nonetheless.

A Ken Burns ten part PBS special will project itself onto your inner movie screen as Pat Conte plays on 19th century fiddle and banjo and occasionally vocalizes a set of old American tunes the accompanying press release describes as "old-time, primitive blues and archaic songs...". 

Conte is a world folk music collector, vintage American music expert, fine artist  and producer of the Yazoo Records "The Secret Museum of Mankind" series. He's also a superb musician.

It's easy to imagine a generation of young guitar students wearing out the grooves of this set of  "urban instrumental surf music."

Yes, it's considered "blues," but by 1965 when this was issued, rock and surf had made their way into King's vocabulary.

There are no "tunes" to speak of, just the usual 12 bar blues chord turnarounds played by a drum/keyboard/bass rhythm section and some steam train sax, over which King riffs around the root.

Street playing string bands played some of the best music I heard at this year's SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. The Carolina Chocolate Drops out of Durham, North Carolina are one of the few African-American string bands plying the trade today. The trio plays fiddle, banjo, guitar, harmonica, bones (yes, bones) and other traditional instruments on this 10"  four tune EP. The group had a Grammy Award® winning album for "best traditional folk album" with their 2010 CD release "Genuine Negro Jig" also on Nonesuch.

Classical music recorded all-analog using purist microphone techniques are few these days. Here is one from Bob Attiyeh's Yarlung Records that is both sonically and musically exquisite.

Classical music recorded all-analog using purist microphone techniques are few these days. Here is one from Bob Attiyeh's Yarlung Records that is both sonically and musically exquisite.

Not one Hollies hit is among the twenty songs on this ten 45rpm 7" box set and that's the best part!

Not that the hits like "Bus Stop," "Carrie Anne," "Look Through Any Window" and the others aren't great songs.

Not one Hollies hit is among the twenty songs on this ten 45rpm 7" box set and that's the best part!

Not that the hits like "Bus Stop," "Carrie Anne," "Look Through Any Window" and the others aren't great songs.