This Mess is a Place, Tacocat’s fourth full-length and first on Sub Pop, finds the band waking up the morning after the 2016 election and figuring out how to respond to a new reality where evil isn’t hiding under the surface at all—it’s front and center, with new tragedies and civil rights assaults filling up the scroll of the newsfeed every day. “What a time to be barely alive,” laments “Crystal Ball,” a gem that examines the more intimate side of responding emotionally to the news cycle. How do you keep fighting when all you want to do is stay in bed all day? “Stupid computer stupor/Oh my kingdom for some better ads,” Nokes sings, throwing in some classic Tacocat snark, “Truth spread so thin/It stops existing.”

After decades of self-exile, pianist/composer/bandleader Abdullah Ibrahim finally had an opportunity to return to his native South Africa in the early 1990s. This solo CD was recorded at Cape Town and has seven of his themes, all of which reflect his heritage; in addition, Ibrahim performs Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now." An excellent effort that must have been an emotional experience for the unique and masterful Abdullah Ibrahim.

Jackie McLean - Consequence (1965) {Blue Note 11429, Connoisseur CD Series rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 263 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 2005 Blue Note / Capitol | 0946 3 11429 2 5 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone / Trumpet

This 1965 session pairs Jackie McLean with Lee Morgan in the front line and features a rhythm section of pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Billy Higgins – a powerhouse band. Originally recorded in 1965, it wasn't released on LP until 1979. The music here is much more straight-ahead other McLean dates from the '60s.

Formula 3 were one of first and most popular Italian rock bands of the late 60's/early 70's era and their debut LP (released in February 1970 by Numero Uno label) without a doubt is one of the best psychedelic album ever recorded in Italy! Musically this trio was similar to early Deep Purple, Procol Harum and Vanilla Fudge - with heavy emphasis on Hendrix-like guitar (by Alberto Radius - one of the best Italian guitarists ever), tasteful Hammond organ passages and really fine vocals. The 7-minutes long title track is an amazing piece of dark, intensive and heavy psychedelic rock and must be heard to be believed! Other songs were divided for ambitious pop-psychedelia and heavy, intense pieces including fine rendition of classic Walk Away Renee.

In keeping with the band's imperfect career, The Best From the Noise Years takes an imperfect stab at assembling the best moments from German melodic thrashers Rage…

There are very few musicians who dare to expand their artistic vision with every new project as Swedish vocalist-songwriter-composer Lina Nyberg. Aerials, is the her second installment in a trilogy of albums that offers her unique perspective about the world, the elements and the music itself. Nyberg began the trilogy with the double album The Sirenades (Hoob, 2014), that featured her songs composed for her quintet and the Norrbotten Big Band, sketching poetic images of cyber-seas, monsters and waves. On Aerials Nyberg sings of avians real and mythological birds and raising her glance a bit higher and adding images of pilots, winds and astronauts.

From instantly recognizable garage stompers to Latin-soaked club tunes, Tim Deluxe has produced some very direct dance hits over the course of his career. So the U-turn he presents on his 2014 album, The Radicle, may come as a surprise to some. It transpires that after the throwaway success of his chart toppers - referring to "Rip Groove," concocted as part of the garage group Double 99, and "It Just Won't Do" - and his experiences within the dance music industry, Deluxe needed to change direction. So he actively surrounded himself with jazz and blues musicians, eventually forming a collective, and said collective would become the defining feature of The Radicle, as it casually blends live jazz and blues alongside conventional house music production and form…

In association with DJ Amir’s 180 Proof Records, BBE is honoured to present another gem from the small yet significant Strata catalogue. A precursor to New York’s Strata East, Detroit’s Strata Records was founded in the late 1960s by former Blue Note artist Kenny Cox. Starting life as a music-led community organisation, coffee shop studio and venue, Strata released only a few titles as a record label, gaining the imprint a cult following among record collectors and jazz lovers across the globe.

Incredibly unique concept album from the one and only, Tom Ze´. As featured in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Brazilian Albums of all-time list (2007). One of Ze's finest albums in our opinion, originally released by Continental Brazil in 1976 - a tough one to find at a good price in its original form now. 'Estudando do Samba' (or 'Studying The Samba') is a post-Tropicalia studio experimentation laiden with layers of hypnotic percussion, effects & samples that deconstructs the 'samba' form. Recorded during what was arguably his most creative period.

I can pretty much award any playing of the Brahms Violin Concerto with a 4 to 5 star rating even before I hear the very first note, IF, we have a soloist and conductor such as this combo, Shlomo Mintz and Claudio Abbado. A quick glance at the CD cover and you are struck by at least two things. Number one, these two artists are refreshingly youthful in appearance, and that is nice to see once again, as the camera caught Maestro Abbado before he was struck by stomach cancer, in 2000, which eventually led too his passing in January of this year, 2014, at age 80.

Frank Gambale is best known as the guitarist in Chick Corea's Elektric Band. On this collection of instrumental and vocal selections, Gambale put more emphasis on the production and the people working along side him, and carefully chose his guitar solo indulgences.