"It was due or die for Toto on the group's fourth album, and they rose to the challenge. Largely dispensing with anonymous studio rock that had characterized their first three releases, the band worked harder on its melodies, made sure its simple lyrics treated romantic subjects, augmented Bobby Kimball's vocals by having other group members sing, brought in ringers like Timothy B. Schmit, and slowed down the tempo to what came to be known as 'power ballad' pace. Most of all, they wrote some hit songs." – All Music Guide

	1. Rosanna
	2. Make Believe
	3. I Won't Hold You Back
	4. Good For You
	5. It's A Feeling
	6. Afraid Of Love
	7. Lovers In The Night
	8. We Made It
	9. Waiting For Your Love
	10. Africa

180-gram vinyl

It was a fairly ordinary quintet that entered the Audio-Video Studios in New York City on 30 January 1956: one tenor saxophone, one alto saxophone, a pianist, a drummer and … you guessed — an extraordinary man on the double bass! Not just an instrumentalist, but also an imaginative composer, wayfarer between all kinds of jazz, arranger and enfant terrible.

The Suite "Pithecanthropus Erectus" is — among other things — program music. Having learned to walk upright, having achieved alleged superiority over animals, and having caused devastation, the destruction of mankind's natural resources follows. The composer Mingus gives his fellow mankind/musicians the widest possible freedom, which all exploit to the full both in interplay and in the solos. Bedded down in noise and sound collages, the piece is the result of an experimental workshop. The Gershwin classic "A Foggy Day" takes on the role of intermediary between the jazz styles of the 1930s and free jazz. And in "Profile Of Jackie" and "Love Chant" the arranger calls for his soloists to go to the very limits of their artistic improvisation.

Charles Mingus was certainly not an easy person to deal with for his family, friends and fellow musicians. But that fades into the background when it comes to such outstanding music. Luckily, we outsiders can once again enjoy the music of this genius 60 years after the studio recording, in its original format.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: January 1956 at Audio-Video Studios, New York City by Tom Dowd & Hal Lustig in mono
Production: Nesuhi Ertegun

	1. Pithecanthropus Erectus
	2. A Foggy Day
	3. Profile of Jackie
	4. Love Chant

80-gram vinyl

In the 1970s, Herbie Hancock's Crossings was to be found on every IKEA record shelf in the student pads of jazz-fusion fans. The cover, with its psychedelic touch, also contributed significantly to its popularity — although it was unclear where the crossing was going to take us …

Nevertheless, the excellent trumpeter Eddie Henderson — often underestimated as an improviser and composer, and Benny Maupin — who like Hancock had grown up under Miles Davis's wing, present a wide range of sound-generating instruments — as was all the rage in those days. Synthesizer and Mellotron (a polyphonic tape replay keyboard and as such practically the prototype of the sampler) were permanent members of the group — and even produce here melodic arches of sound! Whether Bennie Maupin's "Quasar" launches the group and us into extraterrestrial territory (as stated in one review) is a moot point.

This LP is a contemporary historical document, though it certainly doesn't sound antiquated. That's why younger listeners too will find pleasure in this experiment from the previous millennium.

Recording: February 1972 at Pacific Recording Studios, San Mateo, CA., by Patrick Gleason
Production: David Rubinson

	1. Sleeping Giant
	2. Quasar
	3. Water Torture

80 gram pressing, gatefold jacket

In his seventh album the guitar guru is once again surrounded by numerous freshly recruited supporting musicians and the star producer David Rubinson. The latter watches carefully over the development of this project, which is highly reminiscent of the early Santana sound. A perceptible infatuation with the vocals, or the wealth of buzzing, pulsating, clattering, clicking rhythms, or yet again the inimitable bubbling, frothy guitar solos: a Santana LP is simply unthinkable without all this. Why then should one try to pick out the various styles, genres or consumer groups when this record belongs to his best and most important six, seven – or maybe even eight? At the end of the day, we all remain amigos with Santana.

	1. Dance Sister Dance
	2. Take Me With You
	3. Let Me
	4. Gitano
	5. Tell Me Are You Tired
	6. Europa
	7. Let It Shine

Musicians certainly don't have it easy with record companies. First of all, they must struggle to even get a contract. Then, when their debut release has proved a success, they are bandied around from one arranger to another in all the recording studios imaginable. But having been "treated" with such sounds as a snappy combo, meaty big band and smoochy string orchestra, there at last comes an opportunity for some artists to be themselves again

This album wholly concentrates on Nina Simone and demonstrates that she does not need help from anyone else in order to bring her strikingly expressive voice into the limelight. Accompanying her in her songs about loneliness, identity crises and desires is her faithful friend, the piano, which she masters equally as well as her voice. The piano parts are far more than just casual accompaniments. Varying from number to number, they range from a classical, bluesy sound, to late-Romantic fervor, right up to avant-garde aggression. And yet all these pieces have something in common: filled with bizarre beauty, they portray a complex personality with all its ups and downs.

	1. Seems I’m Never Tired Lovin’ You
	2. Nobody’s Fault But Mine
	3. I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
	4. Everyone’s Gone To The Moon
	5. Compensation
	6. Who Am I
	7. Another Spring
	8. The Human Touch
	9. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)
	10. The Desperate Ones

After his early avant-garde years with Blue Note Records, Herbie Hancock achieved much success with pop music fans by gradually turning towards a mixture of Afro-American styles in which he combined soul, jazz and funk. Having composed the soundtrack to Bill Cosby's animated children's show "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" and released a popular family-oriented album titled Fat Albert Rotunda, Hancock stated that instead of looking for jazz musicians who could play funky music, he had searched for funk musicians with a feeling for jazz. That this concept functions only too well is demonstrated in the funky album ManChild, which features such brilliant jazz musicians as Wayne Shorter, Bennie Maupin and Ernie Watts. But wait! There's no narcissistic showing off here as in a jam session. The whole band performs as one, playing concentrated grooves around Hancock's carefully intertwined electronic sounds. The result is a fast-paced funky style, due to the collective efforts of the band, although each member is given ample opportunity to show off his prowess in short solo interludes and thus delight the listener with his unique style.

	Side 1
	Hang Up Your Hang Ups
	Sun Touch
	The Traito
	Side 2
	Bubbles
	Steppin’ in It
	Heartbeat

Forty-two years ago, Chet Baker – one of the most tragic figures of jazz who lived in the fast lane and ruined himself with drugs and alcohol – was constantly on the road from one European jazz club to another. Local rhythm groups were not always top notch so it was only logical to pick the very best from several countries for a film-music production in Italy. And it was equally logical that RCA's Italian subsidiary brought the musicians into the studio in January 1962. With one exception, the eight titles on this disc are all so-called standards. The two winds demand total concentration from the rhythm section while maintaining relaxed and laid-back harmonic patterns. And this is something the Italian Tommasi, the Belgian Thomas, the Frenchman Quersin and the Swiss Humair carry off with an air of nonchalance. The two ballads – "These Foolish Things" and the only new composition "Ballata In Forma Di Blues" – are tucked in between the other numbers and give the listener space to breathe. They are surrounded by numbers with a fast tempo, all of which demonstrate Chet Baker's and Bobby Jasper's high standard of musicianship.

	1. Well, You Needn’t
	2. These Foolish Things
	3. Barbados
	4. Star Eyes
	5. Over The Rainbow
	6. Pent Up House
	7. Ballata In Forma Di Blues

The recently-deceased Nina Simone singing at her passionate best on this 1967 release. This is a tremendous artist accurately reproducing native blues in a most compelling fashion. There are no mannerisms. Affectation never enters the picture. There is no hiding behind big bands, studied arrangements or audio effects. Miss Simone simply sings – with heart at all times, with guts on certain tunes and with abandon on everything.

	1. Do I Move You?
	2. Day And Night
	3. In The Dark
	4. Real Real
	5. My Man's Gone Now
	6. Backlash Blues
	7. I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl
	8. Buck
	9. Since I Fell For You
	10. The House Of The Rising Sun
	11. Blues For Mama

	1. ‘Round Midnight
	2. Ah-Leu-Cha
	3. All Of You
	4. Bye Bye Blackbird
	5. Tadd’s Delight
	6. Dear Old Stockholm

180-gram vinyl

Whenever Milt Jackson could free himself from the "bondage" of the Modern Jazz Quartet and its assertive leader John Lewis, he dedicated himself to his two great passions: ballads and the blues. That was precisely the case when he entered the famous Rudy van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA in 1956. He was free to choose his sidemen, and money was no object, which is why various formations gathered in the studio for the three recording sessions.

With Lucky Thompson on the tenor sax (unfortunately for only three numbers), Barry Galbraith, Barney Kessel or Skeeter Best on the guitar, Oscar Pettiford or Percy Heath on the bass, together with Kenny Clarke or Lawrence Marable on the drums, he set off on a journey through the history of jazz. John Lewis stayed unobtrusively in the background and offered 'Bags' (as Milt was known) plenty of opportunities to glory in soloistic freedom.

The themes were soon found: the musical composers Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, as well as a work from The Duke Ellington Songbook, formed a basis upon which all the musicians could perform with confidence. Three compositions by Milt Jackson himself proved that he too was full of imagination.
If you don't possess this LP — or maybe none by Milt Jackson — here is an opportunity to remedy this shortcoming. The present author would award this recording 5 out of 5 possible stars!

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: January 1956 in New York City by Tom Dowd and February 1956 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, by Rudy Van Gelder
Production: Nesuhi Ertegun

	Side 1
	So In Love
	These Foolish Things
	Solitude
	The Song Is Ended
	They Didn't Believe Me
	Side 2
	How High The Moon
	Gerry's Blues
	Hello
	Bright Blues

Pressed at Pallas on 180-gram vinyl

Reissued Decca SXL from Speakers Corner. The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Ernest Ansermet performs Georges Bizet's Carmen Suite, L'Arlésienne Suite.

The 19th century suites with their collection of favorite songs and instrumental excerpts from operas are the clear forerunners of today's "Best-Of" culture. The "Carmen Suite" was assembled after Bizet's death and brought the operatic masterpiece into the concert hall. The overture is fresh and rousing, the toreador theme marches in proudly and purposefully, followed by the destiny motif in the minor key which burns itself into ones ear and mind. With every bar it becomes obvious that this suite is not so much a series of excerpts but rather the true substance of its creator's musical ideas.

All that remained of the five-act play "L'Arlésienne" after its unsuccessful premiere was Bizet's incidental music, which he himself orchestrated lavishly and premiered with success. Similar to "Carmen", popular melodies are treated with the composer's own unique style to make them ageless, and Ernest Ansermet and his orchestra stages them delightfully for all eternity.

Recording: April and May 1958 at Victoria Hall, Geneva (Switzerland), by Roy Wallace

	1. Carmen Suite
	2. L'Arlesienne Suite

180-gram vinyl

It took more than four decades of patient hard work until a discriminating congregation could proclaim Albert King as one of the three kings of the electric blues, alongside B. B. King and Freddie King. Albert had a tough but highly motivated beginning, playing blues on a guitar he had made himself. Later he bought a really good instrument, then came a couple of promising songs, and a series of successful singles made under a contract with Stax Records in Memphis. Finally, late in life, Albert landed on the sunny side with "Born Under A Bad Sign." The album became one of the most influential recordings in the history of the blues. King's music was appreciated by white people too, which smoothed his path out of small clubs and on to big live events.

Right from the title song, he travels along familiar tracks in the blues world, occasionally making a detour to hectic, soulful realms ("Crosscut Saw") and letting himself be carried away by strident winds ("Kansas City"). Over and over again, the musicians surprise one with ever new sound colourings, as in the hum and buzz of "Oh, Pretty Woman," the brusque admonitory "Down Don't Bother Me," or the swinging fiddling of "The Hunter."

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: March 1966 – June 1967 at Stax Studios, Memphis (TN)
Production: Jim Stewart

	Side 1
	Born Under A Bad Sign
	Crosscut Saw
	Kansas City
	Oh, Pretty Woman
	Down Don’t Bother Me
	The Hunter
	Side 2
	I Almost Lost My Mind
	Personal Manager
	Laundromat Blues
	As The Years Go Passing By
	The Very Thought Of You

	1. Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation
	2. Waves Within
	3. Look Up (To See What's Coming Down)
	4. Just In Time To See The Sun
	5. Song Of The Wind
	6. All The Love Of The Universe
	7. Future Primitive
	8. Stone Flower
	9. La Fuente Del Ritmo
	10. Every Step Of The Way

Elvis Presley, with the Jordanaires, sings hymns as a tribute to his Tupelo roots

Church music and hymns made up the first music that Elvis Presley ever heard. Church music was also the first music Elvis ever sang. It was as natural to him as nursery rhymes and Mother Goose are to other children.

What makes these songs so enjoyable? Why are they music to one's ears? Is it because of the simple yet unique melodies, the soft or rocking grooves, or the prayer wheel-like verses that are sung alternately by a soloist and chorus? Elvis fans might well be able to answer this question just by taking a quick look at the cover of this album. Other, more undiscerning lovers of black folk spirituality would say that this is a well-produced, professional album that can't be equalled.

Elvis lets his young, flexible voice swing sonorously here, lightly and airily there, all the while supported by a top-notch vocal backing group. The rich vocal harmonies are sung with true passion, and it is certainly no coincidence that one is reminded of the sound of the Golden Gate Quartet. In one moment the voices soar to celestial heights, in another they plunge down to a deep rumbling bass, not forget the soft and springy rhythm section. For John Bush, writing for AllMusic.com, "this LP isn't just one of Elvis' best LPs, it's one of the best (and best recorded) gospel sessions of all time."

	Side 1
	His Hand In Mine
	I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs
	In My Father's House
	Milky White Way
	Known Only To Him
	I Believe In The Man In The Sky
	Side 2
	Joshua Fit The Battle
	Jesus Knows Just What I Need
	Swing Down Sweet Chariot
	Mansion Over The Hilltop
	If We Never Meet Again
	Working On The Building