ShoePac

Luthomania – Itinérances… Album : Itinérances… Artist : Luthomania Release date : 2004 Number of discs : 1 Genre : World Total Time : 00:55:12 Total size : 91,2 MB Tracks : 01 - Transsiberia 02 - Lila 03 - Itinérance 04 - Meeting 05 - Arida 06 - Epitaph 07 - Andaloussiat 08 - Flips Eclips 09 - Erhu 10 - Bach To LA 11 - Peace Piece @ VBR mp3 Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=9UOVDP94

Luthomania Periples Album : Périples Artist : Luthomania Release date : 2001 Number of discs : 1 Genre : World Total Time : 00:59:45 Total size : 293 MB (FLAC) Tracks : 1. Welcome 4:14 2. Boabab 4:12 3. Chaconne 3:52 4. Raoud 5:54 5. Yi 6:39 6. Sabra 2:43 7. Herbie 4:33 8. Alhambra 6:34 9. Black Bamboo 3:10 10. Selimivar 8:00 11. Guadalquivir 2:11 12. Haiku 2:20 13. Calcutta Blues 5:18 @ FLAC Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=16GFL0KO

Luthomania Periples Album : Périples Artist : Luthomania Release date : 2001 Number of discs : 1 Genre : World Total Time : 00:59:45 Total size : 136 MB Tracks : 1. Welcome 4:14 2. Boabab 4:12 3. Chaconne 3:52 4. Raoud 5:54 5. Yi 6:39 6. Sabra 2:43 7. Herbie 4:33 8. Alhambra 6:34 9. Black Bamboo 3:10 10. Selimivar 8:00 11. Guadalquivir 2:11 12. Haiku 2:20 13. Calcutta Blues 5:18 @ 320Kbit/s mp3 Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=16GFL0KO

Rabih Abou-Khalil Arabian Waltz Album : Arabian Waltz Artist : Rabih Abou-Khalil Release Date : 1996 Label : Enja Genre : Jazz Total time : 00:58:08 Total size : 261 MB (FLAC) Tracks : 01 Arabian Waltz 02 Dreams of a Dying City 03 Ornette Never Sleeps 04 Georgina 05 No Visa 06 The Pain After @FLAC Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=7P5K94FE

Rabih Abou-Khalil Arabian Waltz Album : Arabian Waltz Artist : Rabih Abou-Khalil Release Date : 1996 Label : Enja Genre : Jazz Total time : 00:58:08 Total size : 133 MB Tracks : 01 Arabian Waltz 02 Dreams of a Dying City 03 Ornette Never Sleeps 04 Georgina 05 No Visa 06 The Pain After @320 Kbit/s mp3 Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=7P5K94FE

Anouar Brahem - Thimar Album : Thimar Artist : Anouar Brahem Release Date : 1994 Label : Ecm Records Number of Discs: 1 Genre : Fusion Total time : 00:54:21 Total size : 212 MB (FLAC) Tracks : 01. Badhra 02. Kashf 03. Houdouth 04. Talwin 05. Waqt 06. Uns 07. Al Hizam Al Dhahbi 08. Qurb 09. Mazad 10. Kernow 11. Hulmu Rabia @ FLAC Middle East-meets-West fusions, heralded under a jazz banner, are nearly always scary. Scary in the sense that, instead of the musicians synthesizing their cultural traditions in a magical gestalt, the result is usually a watered-down pastiche of the kind of easy-listening exotica typically peddled by audiophile labels or stacked next to the patchouli bin at the incense shop. It's embarrassing, especially if you know how mindbending the real stuff can be. Anouar Brahem, who plays the Arabic stringed instrument called the oud, isn't scary or embarrassing. But the genre in which he participates is so suspect it takes a while to appreciate the value of his latest album. Recorded with master Brit improvisors John Surman (soprano saxophone and bass clarinet) and Dave Holland (bass), Thimar is never less than beautiful, and is often haunting in its subtle chemistry, which quietly evokes glimmers of blues moods within stately Arabic-themed progressions. Surman's soprano playing fails to fully erase thoughts of Kenny G, but Holland's exquisite touch both plucking and bowing repeatedly compels attention. The bassist lends a structural integrity to these pieces that makes it hard to dismiss them as kitsch. Still, there's something so consistently softcore about this concept that the album seems almost destined to be used as background music. --- Steve Dollar, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=MEVS5ISN

Anouar Brahem - Thimar Album : Thimar Artist : Anouar Brahem Release Date : 1994 Label : Ecm Records Number of Discs: 1 Genre : Fusion Total time : 00:54:21 Total size : 124 MB Tracks : 01. Badhra 02. Kashf 03. Houdouth 04. Talwin 05. Waqt 06. Uns 07. Al Hizam Al Dhahbi 08. Qurb 09. Mazad 10. Kernow 11. Hulmu Rabia @ 320 Kbit/s mp3 Middle East-meets-West fusions, heralded under a jazz banner, are nearly always scary. Scary in the sense that, instead of the musicians synthesizing their cultural traditions in a magical gestalt, the result is usually a watered-down pastiche of the kind of easy-listening exotica typically peddled by audiophile labels or stacked next to the patchouli bin at the incense shop. It's embarrassing, especially if you know how mindbending the real stuff can be. Anouar Brahem, who plays the Arabic stringed instrument called the oud, isn't scary or embarrassing. But the genre in which he participates is so suspect it takes a while to appreciate the value of his latest album. Recorded with master Brit improvisors John Surman (soprano saxophone and bass clarinet) and Dave Holland (bass), Thimar is never less than beautiful, and is often haunting in its subtle chemistry, which quietly evokes glimmers of blues moods within stately Arabic-themed progressions. Surman's soprano playing fails to fully erase thoughts of Kenny G, but Holland's exquisite touch both plucking and bowing repeatedly compels attention. The bassist lends a structural integrity to these pieces that makes it hard to dismiss them as kitsch. Still, there's something so consistently softcore about this concept that the album seems almost destined to be used as background music. --- Steve Dollar, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=MEVS5ISN

Márta Sebestyén & Muszikás Hazafelé Album : Hazafelé Performers : Márta Sebestyén & Muzsikás Release date : 1996 Number of discs : 1 Total size : 262 MB (APE & CUE) Total time : 00:46:07 Tracks : 01 Wedding in Füzes village.mp3,"10:14" 02 Round dance of Gyimes.mp3,"03:39" 03 Trouble, trouble.mp3,"04:25" 04 Dance of lads.mp3,"04:53" 05 Oh, the road is long.mp3,"04:07" 06 Verbunk from Gyimes.mp3,"01:09" 07 Rákóczi March.mp3,"02:43" 08 My mother's rosebush.mp3,"07:02" 09 Cry only on Sundays.mp3,"04:45" 10 Fly, swallow, fly.mp3,"03:10" @ APE & CUE The albums Homeward Bound and Morning Star, presenting Hungarian traditional music, were the first successful registrations of Márta outside of Hungary. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=WPDOPX9F

Márta Sebestyén & Muszikás Hazafelé Album : Hazafelé Performers : Márta Sebestyén & Muzsikás Release date : 1996 Number of discs : 1 Total size : 66,3 MB Total time : 00:46:07 Tracks : 01 Wedding in Füzes village.mp3,"10:14" 02 Round dance of Gyimes.mp3,"03:39" 03 Trouble, trouble.mp3,"04:25" 04 Dance of lads.mp3,"04:53" 05 Oh, the road is long.mp3,"04:07" 06 Verbunk from Gyimes.mp3,"01:09" 07 Rákóczi March.mp3,"02:43" 08 My mother's rosebush.mp3,"07:02" 09 Cry only on Sundays.mp3,"04:45" 10 Fly, swallow, fly.mp3,"03:10" @ VBR mp3 The albums Homeward Bound and Morning Star, presenting Hungarian traditional music, were the first successful registrations of Márta outside of Hungary. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=WPDOPX9F

Mártha Sebestyén - Kismet Album : Kismet Performers : Márta Sebestyén Release date : 1996 Label : Hannibal Number of discs : 1 Total size : 266 MB (FLAC) Total time : 00:46:15 Tracks : 1. Devoiko Mome (Traditional (Bulgarian)) 4:50 2. Sino Moi (Traditional (Bulgarian)) 5:44 3. Leaving Derry Quay / Eleni (Traditional (Irish/Greek)) 5:23 4. Gold, Silver or Love (Traditional (Bosnian)) 6:28 5. Hindi Lullabye (Traditional (Indian/Romanian)) 7:51 6. The Shores of Loch Brann / Hazafele (Traditional (Irish/Hungarian)) 4:31 7. If I Were A Rose (Ha En Rozsa Volnek) (Traditional (Baskirian/Hungarian/Russian)) 5:06 8. Imam Sluzhba (The Conscript) (Traditional (Bulgarian)) 6:00 @ FLAC Amazon.com This may not be her very best album; however that doesn't mean it's not glorious. Marta Sebestyen remains one of the world's most wonderful voices. Ghost-like, she steals up and takes you over. This time she's moved away from traditional Hungarian pieces (she's from Hungary, in case you were wondering) to sing material she loves from around the globe. So you get "Leaving Derry Quay/Eleni," a marriage of Irish and Greek, Indian lullabies, music of the Balkans, and beyond. It's all beautiful, a voice like gauze sliding over the music. This mix and match of cultures makes it a perfect American album. After all, this is the melting pot, the place of refuge for us huddled masses, where all are supposedly equal. The albums she made with Muzikas were transcendental. Now she's on her own, spreading her wings and finding she can fly. It won't be long before she can truly soar. After all, she's already crossing continents. --Chris Nickson Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=PEGMFNAM

Mártha Sebestyén - Kismet Album : Kismet Performers : Márta Sebestyén Release date : 1996 Label : Hannibal Number of discs : 1 Total size : 105 MB Total time : 00:46:15 Tracks : 1. Devoiko Mome (Traditional (Bulgarian)) 4:50 2. Sino Moi (Traditional (Bulgarian)) 5:44 3. Leaving Derry Quay / Eleni (Traditional (Irish/Greek)) 5:23 4. Gold, Silver or Love (Traditional (Bosnian)) 6:28 5. Hindi Lullabye (Traditional (Indian/Romanian)) 7:51 6. The Shores of Loch Brann / Hazafele (Traditional (Irish/Hungarian)) 4:31 7. If I Were A Rose (Ha En Rozsa Volnek) (Traditional (Baskirian/Hungarian/Russian)) 5:06 8. Imam Sluzhba (The Conscript) (Traditional (Bulgarian)) 6:00 @ 320 Kbit/s mp3 Amazon.com This may not be her very best album; however that doesn't mean it's not glorious. Marta Sebestyen remains one of the world's most wonderful voices. Ghost-like, she steals up and takes you over. This time she's moved away from traditional Hungarian pieces (she's from Hungary, in case you were wondering) to sing material she loves from around the globe. So you get "Leaving Derry Quay/Eleni," a marriage of Irish and Greek, Indian lullabies, music of the Balkans, and beyond. It's all beautiful, a voice like gauze sliding over the music. This mix and match of cultures makes it a perfect American album. After all, this is the melting pot, the place of refuge for us huddled masses, where all are supposedly equal. The albums she made with Muzikas were transcendental. Now she's on her own, spreading her wings and finding she can fly. It won't be long before she can truly soar. After all, she's already crossing continents. --Chris Nickson Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=PEGMFNAM

Márta Sebestyén & Muzsikás Dúdoltam Én Album : Dúdoltam Én Performers : Márta Sebestyén & Muzsikás Release date : 1993 Number of discs : 1 Total size : 98,6 MB Total time : 00:42:58 Tracks : 01. Vetettem Violát (A Violet I Planted) Moldva 02. Széki Magyar, A ‘Misié (Misi's Dance From Szék) Mezöség 03. Fúvom az énekem (I Sing My Song) Gyimes 04. Fehér galamb szállt a házra (A White Dove Has Come) Mezöség 05. Hajnali nóta (Morning Song) Kalotaszeg 06. Egy pár tánc Mezöségröl (A Couple’s Dances From Mezöség) 07. Szeress egyet, s legyen szép (Love Just One) 08. Három árva (Three Orphans) 09. Fújnak a fellegek (Dark Winds Come) Somogy 10. Teremtés (Genesis) @ 320 Kbit/s mp3 "Márta Sebestyén's first solo album features Muzsikás as her backing group and, indeed, largely follows in the mould of earlier Muzsikás albums. "Dúdoltam én" contains tracks with various approaches to Hungarian folk songs - the majority are performed with authentic traditional musical accompaniment, some have a modern musical arrangement and some are pure vocal performances with no music at all. The highlights of the album are the first and last tracks - both are among the finest of Sebestyén's career." Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FN3URNIP http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z0654URQ

Ali Farka Toure The Source Album : The ource Artist : Ali Farka Toure Release Date : 1993 Original Release Date : 1991 Label : World Circuit Number of Discs: 1 Genre : World Total time : 01:00:29 Total size : 110 MB Tracks : 1. Goye Kur 2. Inchana Massina 3. Roucky 4. Dofana 5. Karaw 6. Hawa Dolo 7. Cinquante Six 8. I Go Ka 9. Yenna 10. Mahini Me @ 256 Kbit/s mp3 Amazon essential recording The source of the Niger River? The source of the blues? Ali Farka Toure is one of the great African guitarists--one who has experimented in the most subtle of ways, seeking inspiration but never creating fusions with other popular music styles. The Source is more roots and less fronds than his Ry Cooder recording Talking Timbuktu; this earlier recording did find him working with Taj Mahal and harmonica player Rory McLeod, but mostly this is a recording with his amazing band, calabash players Amadou Sisse and Hamma Sankare and conga player Oumar Toure, plus a chorus of singers. The emphasis is on the guitar of Toure and the source of the music, the soil of Mali itself. --Louis Gibson Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4LAKGEOU http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JAQ5BDB5

Ensemble Constantinople Memoria Sefardí Album : Memoria Sefardí Artist : Ensemble Constantinople Release date : 2002 Number of discs : 1 Total size : 297 MB (FLAC & CUE) Total time : 01:03:58 Tracks : Anon., Cancionero Musical de Palacio 1. Ya soi desposado / Oy comamos y bebamos Anon., Smyrna 2. El rey que muncha madrugada Anon., Morocco / Spain 3. Abenamar / La rosa enflorence Anon., Rhodes 4. Hija mia mi querida Anon., Rhodes 5. La cantiga de la Ley Anon., Alexandria / Istanbul 6. Puncha puncha Anon., Istanbul 7. Aman minoush Anon., Smyrna 8. El rey de Francia Anon., Cassaba 9. Avrid migalanica Anon., Rhodes 10. El regateo de las Anon., Morocco 11. La vida es un passahe Anon., Morocco 12. Las compras del Rabiner Anon., CMP 13. Si abra Anon., CMP 14. El cervel mi fa Nocte idie Anon., CMP 15. Jançu Janto @FLAC & CUE Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=K3TKMY3P

Muzsikás Maramos, The Lost Jewish Music of Transilvania Album : Maramos, The Lost Music of Transilvania Performer : Muzsikás Release date : 1993 Number of discs : 1 Genre : Ethnic Total size : 56,4 MB Total time : 00:49:14 Tracks : 1 Khosid Wedding Dance 4:33 2 The Rooster is Crowing 3:06 3 Dance From Maramaros 3:36 4 Lamenting Song 1:59 5 Ane Ma'amin 2:56 6 I Have Just Come From Gyula 3:04 7 Farewell to Shabbat 3:14 8 Jewish Dance From Szaszregen 3:07 9 Hat a Jid a Wejbele 1:59 10 Jewish Csardas Series from Szek 4:00 11 Khosid Dance 1:38 13 Haneros Halelu 3:11 12 The Greeting of the Bride 3:48 14 Farewell to the Guests 0:41 @ VBR mp3 Back in 1993 I saw an odd album by a previously-unknown-to-me Hungarian band called Muzsikás. Titled, "the Lost Jewish Music of Transylvania," it seemed likely to be, at worst, a different folky take on old Yiddish songs. Instead, it was my introduction to one of the most wonderful folk bands anywhere, and to the ethereal voice of Marta Sebestyén (whose own recordings are never so good as when she records with this band). Even then, the melodies seemed more Hungarian than Jewish, but this is not a bad thing. Good Hungarian folk--and Muzsikás play it better than anyone--is an aural delight. The sawing fiddles and complex time signatures are intensely moving. The irony, however, is that the inflections are not Jewish. The difference is so great that during a discussion of "tradition as avant garde" on the jewish-music discussion list, someone put forward this album as a truly avant garde sound. I guess it is, in its way, as it isn't based on Jewish ways of playing, only Jewish notes. Upon my arrival in Eastern Europe back in 1996 everyone hastened to explain to me how traditional Jewish music in that area was played Jewishly--not like that band Muzsikás did. It was further explained to me that they had simply gotten bad advice when they recorded. They should have spoken, with, say, Bob Cohen, formerly of the Budapester Klezmer Band, now of Di Naye Kapelye, in Budapest. For all that, you can still hear the same core melody as on the Yiddish Theatre song, "Belz," as the band does "Jewish Dance from Szászrégen, and the "Jewish Csárdás" are a wonderful introduction to the Romanian tradition most akin to American bluegrass. Klezmatics fans will also hear an instrumental covered on a recent album of that radical roots klezmer band, here played as "Haneros Halelu". This is a beautiful album. On their way to recover one thing, the band has created something different, yet wondrous, instead. Compounding the ironies, it is also one of the weakest of Muzsikás albums. So be it. It is also good that the band has rescued this repertoire. And, it is worth noting that the band continues to perform this music as they know it, and that it continues to sound beautiful and moving in concert. There is something magic in hearing Sebestyén introduce a Havdalah song as one of her favorite all-time melodies. Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 7/19/97 Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WXPS1VND

Habib & Hassina Guerroumi Nouba Raml Album : Nouba Raml Artist : Habib & Hassina Guerroumi Release date : 2000 Number of discs : 1 Genre : Arabo-Andalous Total size : 209 MB (FLAC) Total time : 00:53:46 Tracks : 1. Touchia Zidane 2. Inqilab Zidane 3. Mseder Raml 4. Btaihi Raml 5. Istikhbar - Derj Raml - Insiraf Raml - Insiraf - Khlas 1 - Khlas 2 @ FLAC Algerian Habib Guerroumi is an accomplished oud player and vocalist. He is accompanied by his wife, Hassina Guerroumi, who plays the darbouka. The two Noubats are presented in a complete form, each a lengthy suite comprised of many pieces that follow each other without pause. There is a variety of rhythms and styles with the different pieces, though all share the same mood given by the mode of the Noubat. Each Noubat begins with an instrumental prelude where the sweet and delicate playing of Habib Guerroumi's oud is highlighted. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=ZCBL9M85

Habib & Hassina Guerroumi Nouba Raml Album : Nouba Raml Artist : Habib & Hassina Guerroumi Release date : 2000 Number of discs : 1 Genre : Arabo-Andalous Total size : 123 MB Total time : 00:53:46 Tracks : 1. Touchia Zidane 2. Inqilab Zidane 3. Mseder Raml 4. Btaihi Raml 5. Istikhbar - Derj Raml - Insiraf Raml - Insiraf - Khlas 1 - Khlas 2 @ 320 Kbit/s mp3 Algerian Habib Guerroumi is an accomplished oud player and vocalist. He is accompanied by his wife, Hassina Guerroumi, who plays the darbouka. The two Noubats are presented in a complete form, each a lengthy suite comprised of many pieces that follow each other without pause. There is a variety of rhythms and styles with the different pieces, though all share the same mood given by the mode of the Noubat. Each Noubat begins with an instrumental prelude where the sweet and delicate playing of Habib Guerroumi's oud is highlighted. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=ZCBL9M85

Anouar Brahem Khomsa Album : Khomsa Artist : Anouar Brahem Release Date : 1994 Label : Ecm Records Number of Discs: 1 Genre : Fusion Total time : 01:15:56 Total size : 318 MB (FLAC) Tracks : 1. Comme Un Depart 2. L’Infini Jour 3. Souffle Un Vent De Sable 4. Regard De Mouette 5. Sur L’Infini Bleu 6. Claquent Les Voiles 7. Vague 8. E La Nave Va 9. Ain Ghazel 10. Khomsa 11. Seule 12. Nouvelle Vague 13. En Robe D’Olivier 14. Des Rayons Et Des Ombres 15. Un Sentier D’Alliance 16. Comme Une Absence @ FLAC Personnel: Anouar Brahem - (oud), Richard Galliano - (accordion), Francois Couturier - (piano, synthesizer), Jean Marc Larche - (soprano saxophone), Bechir Selmi - (violin), Palle Danielsson - (double-bass), Jon Christensen - (drums) Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=95E837VP

Anouar Brahem Khomsa Album : Khomsa Artist : Anouar Brahem Release Date : 1994 Label : Ecm Records Number of Discs: 1 Genre : Fusion Total time : 01:15:56 Total size : 174 MB Tracks : 1. Comme Un Depart 2. L’Infini Jour 3. Souffle Un Vent De Sable 4. Regard De Mouette 5. Sur L’Infini Bleu 6. Claquent Les Voiles 7. Vague 8. E La Nave Va 9. Ain Ghazel 10. Khomsa 11. Seule 12. Nouvelle Vague 13. En Robe D’Olivier 14. Des Rayons Et Des Ombres 15. Un Sentier D’Alliance 16. Comme Une Absence @ 320 Kbit/s mp3 Personnel: Anouar Brahem - (oud), Richard Galliano - (accordion), Francois Couturier - (piano, synthesizer), Jean Marc Larche - (soprano saxophone), Bechir Selmi - (violin), Palle Danielsson - (double-bass), Jon Christensen - (drums) Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=95E837VP

Rabih Abou-Khalil The Sultan's Picnic Album : The Sultan’s Picnic Artist : Rabih Abou-Khalil Release Date : 1994 Label : Enja Genre : Jazz Total time : 00:52:35 Total size : 120 MB Tracks : 01. Sunrise In Montreal 8:20 02. Solitude 6:40 03. Dog River 4:32 04. Moments 6:21 05. Lamentation 9:06 06. Nocturne Au Villaret 6:37 07. The Happy Sheik 6:06 08. Snake Soup 4:53 @320 Kbit/s mp3 Composer and oudist Rabih Abou-Khalil generates variety and interest by bringing aboard different guest musicians for each album. The personnel on Sultan's Picnic is so similar to that of Blue Camel that one might expect them to sound similar. But there's a key difference in the presence of Howard Levy on Sultan's Picnic. Levy is a talented harmonica player who has done a lot of offbeat work, including a stint with BTla Fleck & the Flecktones. Despite the power of Charlie Mariano on alto sax and Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, this album is dominated by the idioms of the harmonica, specifically the jazzy, quirky, lackadaisical idiom popularized by Levy's work with the Flecktones. This domination is noticeable from the beginning, on "Sunrise in Montreal." Occasionally, the harmonica recedes to the background and allows other instruments to shine through. On "Solitude," Levy provides only the occasional raspy sound effect, while Abou-Khalil steps forward with an instrument he had custom-built: the bass oud. Other novel instruments put in an appearance here as well. Michel Godard huffs and toots away on the tuba and its archaic predecessor, the serpent. (This is in addition to Steve Swallow on bass.) Whether because of the multitude of instruments -- all the aforementioned, plus three percussionists and an uncredited electric guitar -- or just too much influence from Levy, the album lacks focus, except when it sounds like the Flecktones. There are exceptions, like "The Happy Sheik" and "Snake Soup," where Abou-Khalil sounds like his dramatic self again. But on these tracks, Levy is used mostly as punctuation. ~ Kurt Keefner, All Music Guide. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=4IYXNWZE

Rabih Abou-Khalil The Sultan's Picnic Album : The Sultan’s Picnic Artist : Rabih Abou-Khalil Release Date : 1994 Label : Enja Genre : Jazz Total time : 00:52:35 Total size : 271 MB (FLAC) Tracks : 01. Sunrise In Montreal 8:20 02. Solitude 6:40 03. Dog River 4:32 04. Moments 6:21 05. Lamentation 9:06 06. Nocturne Au Villaret 6:37 07. The Happy Sheik 6:06 08. Snake Soup 4:53 @FLAC Composer and oudist Rabih Abou-Khalil generates variety and interest by bringing aboard different guest musicians for each album. The personnel on Sultan's Picnic is so similar to that of Blue Camel that one might expect them to sound similar. But there's a key difference in the presence of Howard Levy on Sultan's Picnic. Levy is a talented harmonica player who has done a lot of offbeat work, including a stint with BTla Fleck & the Flecktones. Despite the power of Charlie Mariano on alto sax and Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, this album is dominated by the idioms of the harmonica, specifically the jazzy, quirky, lackadaisical idiom popularized by Levy's work with the Flecktones. This domination is noticeable from the beginning, on "Sunrise in Montreal." Occasionally, the harmonica recedes to the background and allows other instruments to shine through. On "Solitude," Levy provides only the occasional raspy sound effect, while Abou-Khalil steps forward with an instrument he had custom-built: the bass oud. Other novel instruments put in an appearance here as well. Michel Godard huffs and toots away on the tuba and its archaic predecessor, the serpent. (This is in addition to Steve Swallow on bass.) Whether because of the multitude of instruments -- all the aforementioned, plus three percussionists and an uncredited electric guitar -- or just too much influence from Levy, the album lacks focus, except when it sounds like the Flecktones. There are exceptions, like "The Happy Sheik" and "Snake Soup," where Abou-Khalil sounds like his dramatic self again. But on these tracks, Levy is used mostly as punctuation. ~ Kurt Keefner, All Music Guide. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=4IYXNWZE

Eek-A-Mouse – Skidip! Album : Skidip! Artist : Eek-A-Mouse Release Date : 1981 Label : Shanachie Genre : Reggae Total time : 00:34:45 Total size : 31,8 MB Tracks : 1. Sensee Party 2. Looking Sexy 3. Modelling Queen 4. You Na Love Reggae Music 5. Always on My Mind 6. Do You Remember 7. Skidip! 8. Na Make Mi Girl Go Away 9. Fat and Slim 10. Where Is My Baby @ 128 Kbit/s mp3 Eek-A-Mouse sent the dancehalls raving in 1979 with his very first DJ single, the Joe Gibbs produced "Once a Virgin." The rodent linked up with Henry "Junjo" Lawes soon after, but surprisingly, Lawes was slow to release Eek's recordings, and so the mouse scurried off to work with Linval Thompson. Their first single together, 1980s "Modeling Queen," hit, as did "Bubble Up Your Hip," the latter titling Eek's Thompson-produced debut album which arrived before the year was out. Two years later, the U.S. Shanachie label released the set as Skidip!, a fast follow-up to Wa-Do-Dem which had hit American shelves that same year. Confusingly, Shanachie retitled over half the album's tracks: "Skidip" itself, for instance, was actually "Bubble Up Your Hip"; "Walking Sexy" became "Looking Sexy"; "Need Your Loving" was enigmatically renamed "Always on My Mind" (even though it bore no relation to the Willie Nelson hit of that title); and "Every Girl Is a Virgin" became the presumably more acceptable "Fat and Slim." "Do You Remember Those Days" was shortened but oddly, "Reggae Music" was lengthened to "You Na Love Reggae," and "My Girl" was expanded to "Na Make Mi Girl Go Away." The set itself was increased as well, with the addition of "Sensee Party." But regardless of what the songs were called, they were a devastating group. Only a few -- "Queen," "Remember," and "Bubble" spun at 45, but the rest of the set was filled with tracks that could have done the same. From the good-times vibe of "Sensee Party" and "You Na Love Reggae," across the romantic "Always on My Mind," and onto the heart aching "Where Is My Baby," every one was equal in strength to the hits, all driven by Thompson's mouth-watering productions and the Roots Radics spine-tingling riddims. ~ Jo-Ann Greene Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T2ANWJ6O

Eek-A-Mouse Wa-Do-Dem Album : Wa-Do-Dem Artist : Eek-A-Mouse Release Date : 1982 Label : Greensleeves Genre : Reggae Total time : 00:44:32 Total size : 40,6 MB Individual track details : 1) Ganja Smuggling 2) Long Time Ago 3) Operation Eradication 4) There's A Girl In My Life 5) Slowly But Surely 6) Wa-Do-Dem 7) Lonesome Journey 8) I Will Never Leave 9) Noah's Ark 10) Too Young Too Understand @ 128 Kbit/s The album that started it all. Released in 1982 on the Shanachie Records label and backed by the popular Jamaican session band Roots Radics. Contains many songs he still performs today. Including Ganja Smuggling, Long Time Ago, and Wa-Do-Dem (love me virgin girl). Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=286RLH62

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis Two Men with the Blues Album : Two Men with the Blues Artist : Willie Nelson & Wynton Maralis Release Date : 2008 Label : Blue Note Records Genre : Jazz Total time : 00:53:29 Total size : 84,7 MB Tracks : 01. Bright Lights Big City 02. Night Life 03. Caldonia 04. Stardust 05. Basin Street Blues 06. Georgia On My Mind 07. Rainy Day Blues 08. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It 09. Ain't Nobody's Business 10. That's All @VBR mp3 *********** Two Men with the Blues is no more a jazz album than a blues album. It's neither jazz returning home, nor blues wandering out. What Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis have created is a compilation of jump-blues standards with arrangements that compliment both genres. While most of the album is careful not to take itself too seriously, there are a few tracks that seem to plod on for ages. The live set kicks off with the upbeat "Bright Lights, Big City," on which Marsalis' horn is crisp and full. "Ain't Nobody's Business" and "Basin Street Blues" are arranged slower than better known versions but still fit the album's context. Nelson and Marsalis's take on "Stardust" comes off as a bit too "Sinatra" for Nelson's thin vocal, while "Georgia on My Mind" just doesn't work at all. Still, the things that work, work well. "Night Life" and "Rainy Day Blues" are particular stand-outs, and "Caldonia" is a faithful homage to the Louis Jordan original--minus Jordan's screaming punch line, of course. The album ends riding high on the last song, "That's All," with its straight-out-of-a-New-Orleans-Baptist-church feel. Both Nelson and Marsalis are notorious for collaborating with other artists. Therefore, it seems only natural that they've found themselves on a project together. Overall, this set is well worth the wait. --Eric C.P. Martin Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U432DQ0N

Wynton Marsalis He and She Album : He and She Artist : Wynton Marsalis Release Date : 2009 Label : Blue Note Records Genre : Jazz Total time : 01:15:17 Total size : 102 MB Tracks : 01. Poem 02. School Boy 03. Poem 04. The Sun And The Moon 05. Poem 06. Sassy 07. Poem 08. Fears 09. Poem 10. The Razor Rim 11. Poem 12. Zero 13. Poem 14. First Crush 15. First Slow Dance 16. First Kiss 17. First Time 18. Poem 19. Girls! 20. Poem 21. A Train, A Banjo, And A Chicken Wing 22. He and She @VBR mp3 *********** As the title to WYNTON MARSALIS's fifth Blue Note release indicates, He and She is about that eternally compelling and most elemental of subjects: the relationship between a man and a woman. The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, trumpeter, and band leader, however, hasn't merely crafted a love story, but a life story -- a bittersweet rumination about the evanescence of life as well as the elusiveness of romance. Time is very much at the heart of He and She: the swift passage of time over the course of one's life, the mood-altering shifts of time within the duration of a song. It's an ambitious effort, combining spoken word and music, and Marsalis has given his quintet some formidable charts. The album is tempered with dashes of humor and plenty of swing. There's ease and elegance and more than a little wisdom in these grooves. Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QBYVVAYJ http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KP7A74D9