Jazz & Blues > R Jazz & Blues > by Original Release Year

Advantages: Great Trad Jazz
Disadvantages: None

Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt was one of the first important jazz musicians to be born in Europe. He spent most of his youth in the gypsy encampments close to Paris, France, playing banjo, guitar and violin. At an early age he started playing professionally at dance halls in Paris. When he was 18, he was injured in a fire in his caravan loosing the use of his 3rd and 4th fingers on his left hand. After this he focused on the guitar and developed ...
...The man is nothing short of the original guitar god influencing everyone from the Beatles, Tony Immoni, B. B. King, Willie Nelson, and myself. I lost the use of my left forefinger due to an accident. I decided that if Django could do it with 2 fingers then I could do it with 3 fingers!!!!!! Stéphane Grappelli is quite simply the greatest fiddle (violin) player the planet has ever seen. Grappelli was born in Paris, and started his career as a silent ... Read review

Advantages: Sublime music and musicianship
Disadvantages: None

...the film and character of Alfie and how it inspired different parts of the score. He was appearing at Ronnie Scott's club when he was invited to compose for Alfie, and was intrigued. He had never scored a movie before. THE TRACKS This CD, being the soundtrack to the movie, does NOT feature Bacharach's 'What's it all About Alfie?' popularised by Cilla Black et al, nor does it contain the ballad bawled by Queenie Watts during the pub brawl. There ...
...two versions of the main Alfie theme, the first is upbeat and 'jaunty', Alfie as Jack the Lad, the second version, final track, is still upbeat but chastened, the final theme where he realises what he has missed out on. The other tracks are lovely incidentals to the plot, eg the sombre moody 'He's Younger Than You Are' as painful home truths comes home after the surprise visit to the hairdresser's fancy flat; similar but more painful 'Little Malcolm ... Read review

Advantages: Blues with a modern twist and great muscianship
Disadvantages: A very mixed bag and doesn't know what it wants to be

"Unpossible" is The Hoax's follow up to their brilliant debut album "Sound Like This". Unfortuanely, this recording does not live up to the standards set by their first album. This is may be due to the fact their label Warner Bros insisted that they come up with a commercial hit. Well, the Hoax are a blues band and that is not an easy thing to do. Judging by their first album, the boys love the blues and and they played it with aplomb. But this ...
...on here but compared to their debut and final album "Humdinger", this is a pretty weak offering. "Turn it Upside Down" opens proceedings and is a filthy blues shuffle and very much in the Hoax style, and whilst it puts a refreshing spin on the blues formula, it seems tired in comparison to the energy of "Much 2 Much" off their first album. The next track is "The Emperors new clothes", which is a pretty decent song, but does not at all sound like ... Read review

Advantages: Modern, energetic blues played with passion
Disadvantages: none

...british blues band "The Hoax", sound authentically Texas Blues at times, ironic given the bands name. Discovered by Mike Vernon, who also produced this album, as well as working with Clapton and John Mayall, described the band as "The most exciting blues band I have seen for twenty years". Judging by the output on this recording, it's not hard to see, or hear even, why. Hailing from Devizes, Wiltshire, the band in their early twenties, take tired ...
...classic blues riff reworked to sound more up to date. Great vocals from Hugh Coltman on this. A good album opener but far from the best track on the album. "Much 2 Much" is a heavy blues shuffle which also puts a modern twist on the standard blues turnarounds, and is one the best songs on the album. Featuring two great guitar solos from Jon Amor and Jesse Davey, who play very much in the Stevie Ray mould, and some nice harp from Coltman. A funky ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful acoustic guitar music superbly played
Disadvantages: Very difficult now to get hold of as original CD.

One of my all time favourite CDs, Together is a jazz album featuring two American guitar vituosos, Larry Coryell and the late Emily Remler, and was recorded in 1985, and released on Concord Records.* Coryell is the more famous and experienced guitarist of the two, having been around since the late 60s dabbling in rock as well as jazz His one claim to notoriety was in the UK in 1975 when he turned up unexpectedly on stage at an Eric Clapton ...
...unnecessarily causing him profound embarrassment. Emily Remler started her musical career in the late '70s.having been a scholarship music student at Berkeley University. She soon built up a reputation for herself in the jazz world, not only because of her ability, but because it was so unusual to have a talented female jazz guitarist on the scene. On Together there are no other instruments involved other than acoustic or electric guitars, ... Read review