Basil Mitchell

The "100 Years of Italian Opera" series released by Opera Rara is unique in the annals of opera recordings. However, this installment is especially exciting as it documents the evolution of Italian opera during the 1820's, the decade when romanticism truly began to come into its own on the operatic stage. Opera Rara has lovingly compiled a variety of arcana written by composers famous and forgotten. Included is everything from overtures to arias, duets, ensembles, and entire scenes.

Blue Mitchell - Bring It Home To Me (1966) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD TYCJ-81052 rel 2014} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 247 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 213 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1966, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | TYCJ-81052
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and 24 bit remastering. Genius work from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – one of his most solid sides as a leader from the 60s, and a well-deserved treasure in the Blue Note catalog! The album's quite different than the straight soul jazz of Blue's early days on Riverside – or the more arranged dates of the late 60s – and it features him moving in a soulful, lyrical, modal style – quite similar to Horace Silver in conception, but with a fresh execution that's mighty nice – and which marks Mitchell as one of the fresher trumpet voices of his generation!

Recorded live in Burghausen, Germany in 2007, Far Side features journeyman avant-garde saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and his ensemble the Note Factory performing in a concert. Joining Mitchell here are trumpeter Corey Wilkes, pianists Craig Taborn and Vijay Iyer, bassists Jaribu Shahid and Harrison Bankhead, and drummers Tani Tabbal and Vincent Davis. Beginning with the epic three-part 30-minute suite "Far Side/Cards/Far Side," the concert is an atmospheric and cinematic mix of Mitchell's longstanding musical touchstones including free jazz, European classical music, and modern creative group improvisation. Tracks such as the fragmented and atonal "Quintet 2007 A for Eight" and the similarly inclined "Trio Four for Eight" have the feel of composed classical music while evincing a more freely improvised aesthetic. This is often achieved by juxtaposing bowed cello and bass parts against improvised piano and sections where each musician seems to interject a melodic idea into an overall harmonic theme. There are moments of layered percussion, expansive atonal soundscapes, and fiery and combative moments between Mitchell and Wilkes as well as windy, drawn-out passages that tilt upon silence. If you're a hardcore Mitchell aficionado and/or fan of ECM's cerebral jazz catalog, Far Side would be a stellar addition to your library.

Blue Mitchell - Step Lightly (1963) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD UCCQ-5100 rel 2015} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 236 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 149 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1963, 2015 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | UCCQ-5100
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. One of the most obscure records from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – a great session recorded in the 60s, during Blue's classic stretch with Blue Note – but not issued until 1980, and even then, only briefly! The record's a great example of Mitchell's strong capacity to play well in a larger group – this time a sextet, featuring Joe Henderson's tenor and Leo Wright's alto – playing imaginative lyrical lines next to Blue's sweet trumpet, and dancing around with a sound that's as lyrical as it is soulful! Other players include Herbie Hancock on piano, Gene Taylor on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums – and titles include "Mamacita", "Andrea", "Step Lightly", "Sweet & Lovely", and "Bluesville".