Great Female Jazz Singers - Various Artists

Advantages: Fantastic
Disadvantages: There are none

...A History of Jazz just has got to be one of the most comprehensive programmes on the history of jazz that I have ever come across. It is subtitled Bluesland A portrait In American Music. It shows the very heavy Blues influence on the original forms of jazz. The first section is called: Everybody got the Blues. It starts with a haunting Blues refrain, as the camera look along some railroad tracks to some plaintive blues music. The camera then shows some typical scenes of life in the south of America. A steam train, black people working on the farms and playing and singing the blues. Then, comes the introduction to the programme, proper, by the host, Keith David, with Albert Murray and Robert Palmer. Keith David points out that everyone gets the blues, and that everyone develops methods of coping with the blues. His favourite... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant electronic music
Disadvantages: quite strange

...Rephlexions (various artists) is the next installment of compilation albums on the Rephlex record label. It features another set of tracks by the key players on the label and is equally as good as the first compilation (Braindance (various artists)) The sounds are spaced out emotional and very original explorations of electronia. The CD kicks off with some mellow keys on which glitchy drum and bass future breaks are laid on top. The second tracks goes straight into a gentle industrial clanking atmosphere where a glimmering machine sits in a castle basement, blue light floods through the window in the middle of the night, the machine gets more energy as the track progresses.All the tracks seem to have concepts behind them waiting to be discovered. I especially like track 14 'It aint perfect till its perfect' by LIKE-A-TIM, which sounds... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Fantastic range of great tunes and songs
Disadvantages: None

...My late Father would have approved of this CD. For this, he would have said, was real Jazz. "Not like this modern rubbish!" My father's idea of real Jazz was music by the greats of the 1920 and 1930s. Jack Teagarden, for example. Mezz Mezzrow, was another of his heroes. And perhaps some of the early Louis Armstrong. Well, two out of three ain't bad. There's no Mezz Mezzrow on this CD, but there is plenty of Jack Teagarden and some early Louis Armstrong, too. There's also Lester Young and Artie Shaw, too. I have to agree with my dad. This rocks. Well, perhaps not rocks, but I think you know what I mean! Jack Teagarden's jazz is the ultimate in smoooooth jazz. Until he really wanted to become lively, then it was as if you were listening to an entirely different orchestra. The first two Jack Teagarden and his Orchestra tracks... Read review

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