Last Concert, The - Modern Jazz Quartet

Advantages: Some really good tracks
Disadvantages: Some are "so-so"

...and Egg Man. Strange, it is equally as sophisticated as Benny Goodman and his Quartet, yet it seems to be more vibrant and alive. Louis' singing as well as his trumpet playing really helps to kick this into a higher gear. The next track is Mame by Louis Armstrong. Jazz? Well, yes, it does still have a darn fine collection of jazz musicians backing Louis, so even though I would not call this particular piece "vintage jazz" it is still pleasant enough. Well, for the last track it is back to something that is undeniably reall vintage and classic jazz. It is Ballin' the Jack by one of the best jazz musicians of all time, Jelly Roll Morton. One of the greatest jazz pianists, singers and arrangers ever, he worked his way form playing ragtime piano in whorehouses to being one of the top jazz pianists of his day. I was lucky. I found this CD... Read review

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Advantages: the whole final gig, lots of new material, well recorded
Disadvantages: hard going for newcomers

...at the Berlin Planetarium. Presented as a work in progress the new pices were long, experimental mood works, based around Nico omnipresent harmonium and augmented by bass, drums, guitar and piano. The lyrics were fragmentary at best, and frequently the vocals were just wordless chants. But for all the unfinished nature of the pieces it is clear that here are the bones of some stunning new works, and best of all, Nico's vocals were her strongest and most accomplished in ages. This cd presents the whole concert, unedited, and closes with the encore of "You Forget To Answer" one of Nico's favourites of her own songs. It was to be the last song she would ever perform. Just a few weeks later she fell from her bike in Ibiza. The damage to her brain was too much and she died shortly afterwards. Fata Morgana is recommened to Nico fans, but perhaps... Read review

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Advantages: 154 minutes of pure class music
Disadvantages: NONE, none none none none none

...What a cool cd. There isn’t much traditional jazz- as the CD explains – it’s a compilation of what jazz created – acid jazz, breakbeat, hip-hop and soul. All the songs on the 2 CDs (which both last 77mins – there is good value for money) are classics – some which you will instantly recognise , and some which you will recognise covers of. There are all sorts of artists on the double cd – you have modern artists like Jamiroquai and Brand New Heavies, and some really cool old artists – Bill Wyman’s there – singing “Just the Two of Us” (gorgeous), and Herbie Hancock with Chameleon. There are also 2 themes – Bob James - Angela (from Taxi) and James Taylor Quartet – theme from Starsky & Hutch (a damn cool theme tune). The blurb says “it’s jazz, soul, funk and hip-hop rolled into one. What you have here is a collection of its... Read review

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