Chick is the king of all whup-as-s when it comes to chops among monster jazz pianists. I mean, if you want to talk intense technique on the keys, no one even comes close, not Jarrett, not Mehldau, not Hancock, not Kuhn, not Oscar Peterson or Hiromi and not even Lyle Mays, just listen to the endlessly creative hundred note runs of 64ths he plays with crystal clear tone in improv all over this CD, almost blowing Vinnie out of his seat, time and time again. Now, Vinnie is already a well-known alien from another planet, such a great drummer (some say the best ever, including Zappa, who named him the prize-winner of those he played with in his autobiography) that hardly any player fazes him but Chick is out to teach the 'kid' a lesson and a lesson he does, in fact, impart.

An instrument as extension of the soul. The Hurdy Gurdy is not only embedded in her name, but her music is directly translated from her mind into the green wooden body. Patty Gurdy has established not only the instrument, but herself as a versatile artist, singer and songwriter.

This double album reissues Chick Corea's first album as a leader, Tones for Joan's Bones, adding two previously unissued tracks from the same session plus a pair of performances from a Hubert Laws date of the period that feature Corea's piano and writing. With such players as Joe Farrell on tenor and flute, trumpeter Woody Shaw, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joe Chambers on this Corea date, the pianist performs five of his originals plus "This Is New" while The Laws cuts include Corea's "Windows." Throughout, this advanced hard bop music, which keeps an open attitude toward the avant-garde innovations of the period, is consistently stimulating. Even at this early stage, Chick Corea's playing is quite recognizable.

Armando Corea was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He is of southern Italian and Spanish descent. His father, a jazz trumpeter who led a Dixieland band in Boston in the 1930s and 1940s, introduced him to the piano at the age of four. Surrounded by jazz, he was influenced at an early age by bebop and Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver, and Lester Young. At eight he took up drums, which would influence his use of the piano as a percussion instrument.

SkeleToon have announced the release of their third new ‘They Never Say Die’, a tribute to Eighties classic flick ‘The Goonies’ by Richard Donner/Steven Spielberg. With eleven guests taking over the main roles, ‘They Never Say Die’ is the third of five chapters in the band’s “Nerd Saga”, a fictional journey that goes way beyond a natural love for the “geek” world of cult movies, videogames and comics, to describe the world seen through the eyes of those forcibly removed from the masses because of their passions.

Ultimate Gangster Movie Soundtrack. Double CD 40 track collection of gangster movie phenomenon, featuring Stealers Wheel from Reservoir Dogs, Santana from Carlito's Way, Lalo Schifrin from Bullitt, Nilsson from Casino, Booket T and the MG's.

A collection of rare and obscure 1970s dance music.

Funky, fuzzy - a really wonderful set of extended psychedelic jazz numbers from twin tenorists Takeru Muraoka and Takao Uematsu! The set's billed as a live tenor "battle" on the cover - but it's hardly the sort of record that you'd hear from American players in this mode - no bebop jams, and instead some great soul and funk-influenced lines on the horns, served up over rhythm from a trio that features electric piano, electric bass, and drums from the mighty Motohiko Hino! There's a nice degree of fuzz on the saxes at times (are they using some effects pedals?) - and the long tunes really open up with a wicked groove that feels like some lost US jazz funk album from the early 70s.

Recorded in 1992 and promised to appear shortly after Mesmerised's release, Beyond the Pale only finally surfaced four years later, on a completely different label than indicated. Arguably this had something to do with Kevin Shields, who makes his one and only appearance on an E.A.R. album with the first track, also the title song - perhaps they had to remix it to death or something. Whatever the exact reason, Beyond the Pale also is the one time the original four members of the group, Shields, Sonic Boom, Martin, and Prevost, all performed together under the E.A.R. rubric. Boom is credited with main songwriting and producing, understandable as he was taking the lead with the whole thing in the first place, though he and Martin did mix the album together at Shields' London studios…

A second helping of rare and obscure 1970s dance music. Includes exclusive re-edits and cover-ups. Contains ultimate rare disco collectors items!