AAA Vinyl

Paul Kantner RIP. When is this parade of dead rock icons going to end? Can we at least have a short break?

Taking a break from High End Munich coverage of which there's a lot more, brings me to Analog Spark's recent reissue of Bernstein Conducts Rhapsody in Blue/American In Paris (Columbia MS 6091).

If you go into this ambitious acoustic Led Zeppelin covers project hard wired for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page you’re probably bound for disappointment but if you just relax into it, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you see in your mind’s eye. You’ll surely like what the production brings to your ears.

1971's Jack Johnson is Miles Davis making as close to a rock record as he's made.

Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander still tours at age seventy two. He was but thirty two when this live album was recorded at The Montreux Jazz Festival.

Originally released as a double LP back in 1956, Ella Fitzerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book was both the first of her "songbook" albums and the first release on Norman Granz's then brand new Verve Records (MG V-4001/2).

Recording direct-to-disk is difficult enough. The entire side has to be cut in one long take. Consider a big band vocal album like this, which has four songs per side. The orchestra and singer have to be ready as soon as the cutting stylus hits the lacquer and then they have to perform flawlessly on each track, pausing but a few seconds between songs.