Guilhem Flouzat - Portraits - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2017 . Producing A Thing Called Joe was an exercise in abandon for Flouzat. On the day before the recording, the drummer spent a leisurely afternoon picking tunes and comparing different versions, making a home cooked dinner and engaging in casual conversation with his bandmates. The next day Flouzat, pianist Sullivan Fortner and bassist Desmond White met at The Bunker Studios and took turns calling tunes from a list, making arrangement suggestions on the spur of the moment and rarely recording more than two takes. When the day was done, eighteen tunes were recorded. Then came the work of distilling the material and discovering the right sequence for listeners, so they could do what listeners used to do with old LPs listen to them over and over again. A budding songwriter, Flouzat has always drawn a lot of his inspiration from the wit and understated sophistication of composers and lyricists like Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Oscar Hammerstein and the Gershwin Brothers. His interest in the American Songbook led him to learn the lyrics of lesser known standards and to call them out at jam sessions, delving into their many interpretations and incorporating them into his drum routine.

Swell Maps unveils the CD of The John Peel Sessions, remastered and available officially for the first time in over 40 years. Noisy, chaotic, and defiantly experimental, Swell Maps may not have found commercial success in their time, but their impact on music is undeniable. An inspiration to bands such as R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement and Nirvana, with Kurt Cobain famously being a fan and often seen sporting a Swell Maps T-Shirt. A democracy within the confines of punk's anything is possible, members Biggles Books, Jowe Head and brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks-helped shape the landscape of post- punk and DIY music. Now, for the first time in over 40 years, The John Peel Sessions brings together all three of their recordings for John Peel, a figure instrumental in championing their sound. Formed in the early '70s and fully realised by 1976, Swell Maps embodied the DIY ethos, launching their own tag and self-releasing the jagged, frenetic debut single InchRead About SeymourInch in 1977. Peel was an early supporter, playing their record as soon as it landed on his desk-a moment the band described as one of disbelief and elation. His regular airplay of their music helped solidify their cult status, and these sessions capture the raw energy, off-kilter melodies, and boundary-pushing creativity that defined them. The John Peel Sessions is a vital document of Swell Maps at their most unfiltered-three sessions of unpredictable, exhilarating noise.

A collection of classic recordings from the brightest stars in jazz. Five-CD collection featuring a disc of material each from Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. Charles Mingus recordings are featured on the albums Pithecantropus Erectus (1956), East Coasting (1957), Blues And Roots (1959), Ah Um (1959), Oh Yeah (1961), and Mingus Dinasty (1959). Bill Evans recordings are featured on the albums Portrait In Jazz (1960), Explorations (1961), Sunday At The Village Vanguard (1961), and Waltz For Debby (1962). Nina Simone recordings are featured on the albums Nina Simone at Town Hall (1959), The Amazing Nina Simone (1959), Nina Simone at Newport (1960), Forbidden Fruit (1961), Nina Simone Sings Ellington (1962), At the Village Gate (1962). John Coltrane recordings are featured on the albums Giant Steps (1960), Coltrane Plays The Blues (1960), My Favourite Things (1961), and Olè Coltrane (1961). Thelonious Monk recordings are featured on the albums Thelonious Monk Trio (1954), Monk's Music (1957), Brilliant Corners (1957), Misterioso (1958), and Thelonious Himself (1957).