Phil Harris - That's What I Like About Phil Harris (1988) {RCA DMC1-0826}
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© 1988 RCA Special Products ‎| DMC1-0826
Jazz / Vocal Pop / Vocal Music / Swing

There was a time when Phil Harris so epitomized the stereotype of "good old boy" that he could have copyrighted it. He gradually evolved his public personality from a southern-accented bandleader and singer to the boozy braggart on the "Jack Benny Program" and his own "Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show." In reality, he was rather shy and not too eager to push his career beyond radio and recordings. He was just about to fall into obscurity between two generations when his voice work as Baloo the Bear in Disney's "Jungle Book" put him right back on top again. This collection of his songs offers an excellent profile of his public persona as well as some clues to the creation of the Phil Harris character.

Lalo Schifrin - Piano, Strings and Bossa Nova (1962) {Verve 589 763-2, Cardboard Sleeve rel 2002}
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© 1962, 2002 Verve / MGM | 589 763-2
Jazz / Bop / Latin Jazz / Bossa Nova / Piano

While he’s best known as a composer of music for films and television (the original MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series), Lalo Schifrin is also a jazz pianist, once in the employ of iconic trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in the late-1950s and early-‘60s. Released in 1962, BOSSA NOVA finds the Argentina-born Schifrin paying tribute to the Brazilian style with lush, elegant strings and his lyrical piano. There are bossa nova standards, three originals, and some songs by American composers given the romantic bossa treatment.

Empyrium - Into the Pantheon (2013) {Prophecy Productions PRO 141CD}
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© 2013 Prophecy Productions | PRO 141CD
Rock / Acoustic Folk / Dark Metal / Neofolk / Romance

This musical release form the metal band Empyrium captures a live performance by the group, recorded in Leipzig on November 6, 2011. Songs featured in the concert include "The Days Before the Fall," "Where AT Night the Wood Grouse Plays," and more.

Kenny Cox - Introducing Kenny Cox and The Contemporary Jazz Quintet (1969) {Blue Note 85189 rel 2007}
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© 1968-69, 2007 Blue Note | 0946 3 85189 2 1
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Piano

Originally released in 1968, Introducing Kenny Cox and the Contemporary Jazz Quintet is the first recording by the storied and somewhat lesser known Detroit ensemble. Led by pianist Cox, the Contemporary Jazz Quintet featured saxophonist Leon Henderson (brother of Joe Henderson), trumpeter Charles Moore, bassist Ron Brooks, and drummer Danny Spencer. Interestingly, this group is perhaps best known for its connection to the legendary Detroit rock group the MC5 as both Moore and Henderson performed on the band's 1971 cut "Sister Anne."

Joseph Bonner - Triangle (1975) {Whynot WNCD79405 rel 2009}
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© 1975, 2009 Whynot / Candid | WNCD79405
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano Trio

A fine pianist who was originally heavily influenced by McCoy Tyner, Joe Bonner is an excellent interpreter of modal-based music and advanced hard bop. He studied music at Virginia State College and early on played with Roy Haynes (1970-1971), Freddie Hubbard (1971-1972), Pharoah Sanders (1972-1974), and Billy Harper (late '70s). Bonner, who recorded as a leader for Muse, Theresa, and most prominently Steeplechase, has been based in Colorado since the 1980s and remains a talented improviser.

The Claudia Quintet - For (2007) {Cuneiform Records ‎Rune 247}
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© 2007 Cuneiform Records ‎| Rune 247
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / New Chamber Music / Modern Creative

Percussionist John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet belongs to a sub-genre all by itself : it combines elements of jazz, prog rock and chamber music. The band is already on its fourth album ("four"?), and always with the same line-up : Chris Speed on clarinet and sax, Matt Moran on vibes, Ted Reichman on accordion, Drew Gress on bass and Hollenbeck himself on drums. The compositions are like lightly flowing rivers, with repetitive undertones, complex interacting melodies and often changing rhythms. The overall musical effect is more important than the musician's soloing. There are solos of course, but they don't carry the weight of the performance.

Oscar Peterson - We Get Requests Again (2004) {Universal Japan UCCU-1040}
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© 2004 Universal Japan | UCCU-1040
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Piano

We Get Requests Again is a "best of" compilation of Oscar Peterson. It features a selection of Peterson's songs compiled and remastered by the renowned engineer Taizo Yano. This compilation was released exclusively in Japan.

Mary Lou Williams - Plays In London (1954) {Vogue–Legacy No. 05 rel 2013}
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© 1953-54, 2013 Vogue / Legacy / Sony Music | No. 05 / 88725443772-05
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Piano

Mary Lou Williams traveled to London, England in the winter 1953 and sometime in 1954 for these sessions, likely spaced about a year or so apart, with two different British rhythm sections, the common denominator throughout being bongo player Tony Scott. This Vogue album originally titled Mary Lou Williams Plays in London and issued in the U.S. on the GNP Crescendo label as In London, is back on Vogue as The London Sessions.

Lalo Schifrin - The Liquidator (1965) {Film Score Monthly ‎FSM Vol. 9 No. 16 rel 2006}
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© 1965, 2006 Film Score Monthly / TCM Turner Classic Movies Music ‎| ‎FSM Vol. 9 No. 16
Jazz / Classical / Soundtrack / Stage & Screen

The Liquidator (1966) was an MGM spy spoof starring Rod Taylor as "Boysie" Oakes, a cowardly assassin who takes orders from Trevor Howard and falls for Howard's secretary, future "Bond girl" Jill St. John. The film was a black-comic look at the secret agent milieu popularized by the James Bond series, filmed in England and on the French Riviera, directed by noted cinematographer Jack Cardiff, and based on the novel by John Gardner. Scoring The Liquidator soundtrack was Lalo Schifrin - the composer who would become iconic for another '60s spy franchise, Mission: Impossible. The Liquidator was one of Schifrin's first feature-film assignments, which he tackled with his characteristic jazz/symphonic panache, combining eclectic, tuneful source cues with dramatic, avant-garde score - all with a gloriously '60s flair. Schifrin did not attempt to emulate the James Bond scores, but provided his own sense of danger and excitement, making use of many of England's finest jazz players.

Gary Burton - Throb (1969) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27042}
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© 1969, 2012 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan | WPCR-27042
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Throb is dominated by bassist Steve Swallow’s wonderfully complex and idiosyncratic compositions, although the great composer/arranger Michael Gibbs contributes three tunes as well. Talk about an embarrassment of riches! The combination of Steve Swallow’s bass, Gary Burton’s vibes and Richard Greene’s violin gives the band a unique texture. Given the instrumentation, there is a lot of country music thrown into the mix. Jerry Hahn is the guitarist here and contributes the usual wankery common for the period, but Swallow makes good use of him in the arrangements. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’d probably have to go for Steve Swallow’s hilarious Chickens, which is just what it sounds like..

Fink & The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra - Live in Concert (2013) {Ninja Tune ZENCD201}
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© 2013 Ninja Tune | ZENCD201
Classical / Alternative / Acoustic / Symphonic Rock / Modern Classical

Back in 2012 Fink played a very very special one-off show. It was in Amsterdam, and they were accompanied by The (full) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The product was an undiluted triumph – a perfect marriage between Fink’s subtle and melodic songwriting and the power of a full orchestra. The subsequent live album, entitled Fink Meets The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will be available on 14th October 2013.

Oscar Pettiford - Montmartre Blues (1960) {Black Lion BLCD760124 rel 1989}
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© 1959-60, 1989 Black Lion Records / Phonoco | BLCD760124
Jazz / Bop / Bebop / Bass

The great bassist Oscar Pettiford spent his last year playing in Europe before his unexpected death on September 8, 1960. Except for four songs cut in August, this CD contains Pettiford's final recordings. Teamed with a young group of Europeans (most impressive is pianist Jan Johansson and trumpeter Allan Botschinsky) who were clearly pleased to be playing with him, Pettiford has a fair amount of solo space on ten numbers with "Willow Weep for Me" being his feature. Five of the tunes are Pettiford originals including the title cut, "Laverne Walk" and his answer to Miles Davis' "So What" which he titled "Why Not? That's What!" This is a fine set of boppish music that makes one wonder what Oscar Pettiford might have accomplished in the 1960s had he lived.

Franz Koglmann & Lee Konitz - We Thought About Duke (1994) {Hat Hut hatOLOGY 543 rel 2002}
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© 1994, 2002 Hat Hut | hatOLOGY 543
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Trumpet / Saxophone

Duke Ellington tributes, much like Cole Porter, George Gershwin, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis tributes, were a dime a dozen in the '80s and '90s. All too often, these Ellington tributes were unimaginative and predictable, sticking to the standards while ignoring the many lesser-known gems that were written by Ellington or his partner Billy Strayhorn. But predictability isn't a problem on We Thought About Duke, a cerebral post-bop date that trumpeter/flugelhornist Franz Koglmann co-led with alto sax master Lee Konitz.

Brian Eno - Music For Films III (1992) {All Saints Records ASCD04 rec 1983-1988}
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© 1983-88, 1992 All Saints Records | ASCD04
Ambient / Electronic / Avant-Garde / Experimental

Music for Films, Vol. 3, is a set of mismatched pieces by Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (aka Eno). They are from his voluminous works for cinema, installations, shorts, and other related media. The disc contains 15 short pieces (only one is over five minutes). In that regard, there is a distinct similarity to his new wave pop music from the '70s. This CD is, however, all instrumental, largely electronic, and distinctly Eno. Despite their dissimilar origins, these tracks have definite cohesion. Eno injects avant-garde timbres and metallic textures into each composition. The flow is smooth, the atmospheres are vast, and the soundscapes are vivid. This is a very cool montage of Eno's work.

John Cale - Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films of Andy Warholol (1997) {Rykodisc HNCD 1407}
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© 1997 Hannibal Records / Rykodisc | HNCD 1407
Modern Classical / Minimal / Experimental / Avant-Garde / Stage & Screen

John Cale's soundtracks for two of Andy Warhol's experimental films of the early 1960s, premiered in 1994 and recorded live at a concert at Lille, France in 1995, are multi-part free-form works on which his keyboards are accompanied by fellow ex-Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole, and a string quartet. The abstract nature of the films allows Cale free rein to create impressionistic soundscapes occasionally reminiscent of the ambient work of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. Cale fans should note that though some of the music is melodic, there is none of the pop or rock found on many of his albums, but then most Cale fans probably are adventurous enough to give this a try.