07-17-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1994-2004 (3h 47m)

Flora Purim & Airto Moreira

07-17-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1994-2004 (3h 47m)# Flora Purim, Dave Holland Quartet, Jimmy Smith, Derek Bailey, Marcus Miller, David S. Ware,Charles Lloyd, Grażyna Auguścik, Attila Laszlo Band, Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Dave Douglas

J A Z Z   M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

.JAZZ_line on deezer

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1994-2004

Brazilian singer and a founding member of Return to Forever. Her trademark is an adventurous improvisational fusion of Brazilian and American jazz.

Flora Purim 

Radio Experienca (Radio Experience) 4:47

Finale 3:54

from The Flight 1994

Influenced by both traditional Brazilian singers and the improvisations of American jazz divas like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Flora Purim was one of the most adventurous singers of the 1970s. After meeting and marrying her husband, percussionist Airto Moreira, in their native Brazil, Purim moved with him to the U.S. in the late '60s. Though she worked with Stan Getz and pianist Duke Pearson before the decade ended, it wasn't until joining Chick Corea, Joe Farrell, Stanley Clarke, and Moreira in the original Return to Forever in 1972 that she became well known in the States.

An acclaimed, ever-evolving jazz bassist, Dave Holland is a gifted improvisor and composer whose work has touched on acoustic post-bop, avant-garde jazz, and fusion.

Dave Holland Quartet

The Winding Way (Dave Holland) 11:57

Claressence (Dave Holland) 7:28

Dream of the Elders(Dave Holland) 11:07

from Dream of the Elders 1995

Stylewise, the music on this CD sounds much closer to a mid-'60s Blue Note release than what one might expect from ECM. Although the general sound of the ensembles is light, the music is often filled with inner heat, a little reminiscent of a Wayne Shorter record. Altoist Eric Person and vibraphonist Steve Nelson work well together, bassist Dave Holland takes plenty of solo space, drummer Gene Jackson keeps the momentum flowing... Holland's originals have plenty of variety in moods while close attention is paid to dynamics. A satisfying and thought-provoking session.

A pioneer of soul-jazz who revolutionized the Hammond organ, turning it into one of the most incisive, dynamic jazz instruments of its time.

Jimmy Smith 

Stolen Moments (Oliver Nelson) 7:00

Angel Eyes (Earl Brent / Matt Dennis) 8:10

Slow Freight (Lupin Fein / Irving Mills / Buck Ram) 5:52

froim Angel Eyes 1996

A follow-up to the mostly heated performances of Damn!, this CD features organist Jimmy Smith sticking to ballads and slower material. There is a sextet rendition of "Stolen Moments" (with both Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton on trumpets); duets with both trumpeters, bassist Christian McBride, and guitarist Mark Whitfield; a trio; a quartet...

15-06-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1986-1997 (3h 47m)

 

15-06-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1986-1997 (3h 47m)# Ginger Baker, Steve Tibbetts,Bill Frisell, Either/Orchestra, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Sun Ra, David Murray, Allan Holdsworth, Flora Purim, Dave Holland Quartet, Jimmy Smith, Derek Bailey

J A Z Z   M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

.JAZZ_line on deezer

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1986-1997

Legendary rock and jazz drummer, best known as a member of seminal rock/blues supergroup Cream...  Baker made his name entirely on his playing, initially as showcased in Cream, but far transcending even that trio's relatively brief existence. Though he only cut top-selling records for a period of about three years at the end of the '60s, virtually every drummer of every heavy metal band that has followed since that time has sought to emulate some aspect of Baker's playing...

Ginger Baker 

Interlock (Ginger Baker)

Dust To Dust (Ginger Baker)

from Horses and Trees 1986

Bill Laswell's musical career has been a highly collaborative one. Almost every new release from solo excursions to a variety of mercurial group projects finds him engaged with a notable instrumentalist from the arenas of jazz, electronica, funk, hip-hop, reggae, and world music...  Horses & Trees is no exception. Persuaded by Laswell to continue working throughout the second half of 1980s, drummer Ginger Baker produced some of his most stimulating collections, not least of which were the Laswell produced Middle Passage and this 1986 set. The drummer is rock-solid throughout, which means that most of the compositions become a showcase for an impressive lineup of guest musicians that reads like a list of the Bill Laswell all-stars... "Dust to Dust" is the only piece composed solely by Baker (he shares credits everywhere else) and is the most stunning of the set with a repeated section that sounds like an alien hoe-down with world music undertones...  "Uncut" finds the likes of Bernie Worrell, Shankar and Laswell in fine form, taking solos like a jazz combo... Baker, while never caught stealing the show on any track, looms large. On Horses & Trees, his big beat pulls the greatest weight.

St. Paul-based guitarist and sonic experimentalist whose urban-landscape fusion offers a totally original approach to the creation of sound. Steve Tibbetts is a contemporary American guitarist, producer, instructor, recording engineer, and composer. His fusion of exotic and urban landscapes offers a widely acknowledged, totally original approach to the creation of sound. He plays acoustic and electric guitar as well as numerous percussion instruments including kendang and kalimba.

Steve Tibbetts 

Name Everything (Marc Anderson / Steve Tibbetts)

Your Cat (Marc Anderson / Steve Tibbetts)

from Exploded View 1987

Opening with a bang that builds to a thunderstorm, Exploded View is the definitive Steve Tibbets album. His electric guitar howls defiantly without a lot of power chords or convention, and his musicianship is top-notch, perhaps an Adrian Belew without the pop, plus a nod toward world music in production value. Tibbets scrapes and tears through the sky ("Name Everything," "Your Cat") with jaw-dropping intensity, but it would all be too much if there weren't such rich texture and softness folded into the disc as well. "Drawing Down the Moon" is a comparatively restrained piece with acoustic guitars, shakers, kalimba, congas, and a mixed bag of other percussives. .. The album is also a great showcase for Marc Anderson, a fantastic percussionist who shines here. He really understands the musical dialogue going on between himself and Tibbets' guitar... 

A stunning, eclectic guitarist who blends the best elements of rock energy with jazz harmonic sophistication and melodic interpretation. Guitarist Bill Frisell is widely known as one of the most versatile players in jazz history, despite possessing an instantly recognizable warm, bell-like tone on his instrument. Whether playing avant-jazz with his own bands, exploring various aspects of Americana and pop, or composing film scores, Frisell's focus on timbral clarity and elegance shines through.

Bill Frisell 

Lookout for Hope (Bill Frisell)

Lonesome (Bill Frisell)

from Lookout for Hope 1988

Bill Frisell's early work even in its retrospectively rawest form holds all of the values that he has evinced through his entire career. Country and eastern sounds merge with a signature sky church electric approach that is unique unto only himself. Lookout for Hope brands Frisell as a visionary, a virtuoso, and a fusioneer of many sounds that set him far apart from labelmates Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, and Terje Rypdal... there is a sense of peace and serenity that puts soulfulness on a different plane. Cellist Hank Roberts and bassist Kermit Driscoll have much to do with giving Frisell his head, weaving similar silver sounds in and through him. Then add Joey Baron's deft, precise, and colorful drumming to put the exclamation point on Frisell's new approach to improvised music... With Lookout for Hope, Bill Frisell is not so much setting trends and fashion as he is establishing a fresh sound, utterly unique from all others, and laying a foundation for many things to come.

08-11-2020 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1963-1975

 

08-11-2020 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1963-1975 # Johnny Hartman, Jimmy Smith, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Gábor Szabó, Lalo Schifrin, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Les McCann, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Harry Beckett

J A Z Z   M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

.JAZZ_line on deezer

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1963-1975

A superior ballad singer with a warm baritone, best known for his classic full-length collaboration with John Coltrane.

Johnny Hartman
Stairway to the Stars (Matty Malneck / Mitchell Parish / Frank Signorelli)

Charade (Henry Mancini / Johnny Mercer)
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning (Bob Hilliard / David Mann)
from I Just Dropped By to Say Hello 1963
The second Impulse! session for ballad singer Johnny Hartman followed his classic collaboration with John Coltrane. Hartman is heard in peak form throughout these 11 pieces, which include "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "Stairway to the Stars," and even "Charade." Tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet is on five of the songs, guitarists Kenny Burrell and Jim Hall help out on a few tunes, and Hartman is consistently accompanied by pianist Hank Jones, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Elvin Jones. This is one of his finest recordings.

A pioneer of soul-jazz who revolutionized the Hammond organ, turning it into one of the most incisive, dynamic jazz instruments of its time.
Jimmy Smith
Prayer Meeting (Jimmy Smith)
I Almost Lost My Mind (Ivory Joe Hunter)
Lonesome Road (Gene Austin / Nat Shilkret)
from Prayer Meetin' 1964
Playing piano-style single-note lines on his Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith revolutionized the use of the instrument in a jazz combo setting in the mid-'50s and early '60s, and arguably his best albums for Blue Note during this period were the ones he did with tenor sax player Stanley Turrentine. Recorded on February 8, 1963, at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, and featuring Quentin Warren on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums in addition to Smith and Turrentine, Prayer Meetin' is a delight from start to finish... The blues roots are obvious here, and the Smith-penned title track might even be called jazz-gospel, but the single most striking cut is a version of Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind," with both Smith and Turrentine building wonderful solos, suggesting new pathways for organ and sax as complementary instruments.

Voted by Miles Davis as the greatest tenor ever, an inventive saxophonist and an astonishing soloist.
Sonny Rollins
On Green Dolphin Street (Bronislaw Kaper / Ned Washington)
Hold 'Em Joe (Harry Thomas)
Three Little Words (Bert Kalmar / Harry Ruby)
from On Impulse! 1965
In 1965 and 1966 tenor giant Sonny Rollins issued three albums for the Impulse label. They would be his last until 1972 when he re-emerged on the scene from a self-imposed retirement. This date is significant for the manner in which Rollins attacks five standards with a quartet that included pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Walter Booker and drummer Mickey Roker. Rollins, who's been recording for RCA and its Bluebird subsidiary, had spent the previous three years (after emerging from his first retirement) concentrating on standards and focusing deeply on intimate, intricate aspects of melody and harmony. He inverts the approach here, and digs deeply into pulse and rhythm and leaving melody to take care of itself...

One of the outstanding tenor saxophonists in jazz history, and a major figure in bop known for his heavy doses of swing.
Dexter Gordon
Manha de Carnaval (Luiz Bonfá / Antônio Maria)
Heartaches (Al Hoffman / John Klenner)
Everybody's Somebody's Fool (Howard Greenfield / Jack Keller)
from Gettin' Around 1966
Dexter Gordon's mid-'60s period living in Europe also meant coming back to the U.S. for the occasional recording session. His teaming with Bobby Hutcherson was intriguing in that the vibraphonist was marking his territory as a maverick and challenging improviser. Here the two principals prove compatible in that they have a shared sense of how to create sheer beauty in a post-bop world. Add the brilliant Barry Harris to this mix, and that world is fortunate enough to hear these grand masters at their creative peak, stoked by equally extraordinary sidemen like bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Billy Higgins, all on loan from Lee Morgan's hitmaking combo. The subtle manner in which Gordon plays melodies or caresses the most recognizable standard has always superseded his ability to ramble through rough-and-tumble bebop...

19-08-2020 > JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1959-1966

.,

Paul Chambers

19-08-2020 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1959-1966 # Paul Chambers, The Joe Newman Quintet, The Curtis Fuller Sextette, Charlie Byrd Trio & Woodwinds. The Tubby Hayes Quartet, Herbie Mann, Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington, Johnny Hartman, Jimmy Smith, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon

J A Z Z   M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

.JAZZ_line on deezer

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1959-1966

One of the top bassists of 1955-1965, Paul Chambers was among the first in jazz to take creative bowed solos (other than Slam Stewart, who hummed along with his bowing). He grew up in Detroit, where he was part of the fertile local jazz scene.
Paul Chambers
Melody (Yusef Lateef)
Retrogress (Yusef Lateef)
Blessed (Yusef Lateef)
from 1st Bassman 1961
As a lead instrument in jazz, the acoustic bass was in many ways liberated by Paul Chambers, and paved the way for many others to follow... 1st Bassman is anchored by rising stars from Detroit such as Yusef Lateef, Curtis Fuller, and adopted (from Pittsburgh) car city resident Chambers, with trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, pianist Wynton Kelly, and drummer Lex Humphries evenly balancing the session. Interestingly enough, it was recorded not in New York or the Motor City, but Chicago. Lateef wrote all of the material... The small horn inserts of "Melody" give sway to the big bass strut of Chambers, with solos from Turrentine's stoic trumpet, Lateef's advanced tenor, and Fuller's wanton but mushy trombone included... The slightly dour post-bopper "Retrogress" gives Kelly's piano his due diligence...  the ballad "Blessed" features the arco bowed bass of the leader in a mournful mood, brightened up by the effervescent and hopeful flute of the brilliant Lateef....

Joe Newman was a superb, exciting trumpeter whose style echoed the best of Harry Edison, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thad Jones, seasoned with his own flavoring. He was among a select corps who not only enjoyed playing, but communicated that joy and exuberance in every solo.
The Joe Newman Quintet
Wednesday's Blues (Joe Newman)
Jive at Five (Count Basie / Harry "Sweets" Edison)
Taps Miller (Count Basie / Luis Russell)
from Jive at Five 1960
Originally put out on the Swingville label, this CD reissue is very much in the Count Basie vein. That fact is not too surprising when one considers that the quintet includes three members of Basie's men: trumpeter Joe Newman, tenor saxophonist Frank Wess and bassist Eddie Jones. Joined by the complementary pianist Tommy Flanagan and drummer Oliver Jackson, Newman and his friends swing their way through four vintage standards and a couple of the leader's original blues in typical fashion.

30-06-2020 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1970-1959

Joe Henderson

30-06-2020 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1970-1959 # Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Big John Patton, Larry Young, Grant Green, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell / Jimmy Smith, Dexter Gordon, Paul Chambers, The Joe Newman Quintet, The Curtis Fuller Sextette, Charlie Byrd Trio & Woodwinds

J A Z Z   M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

.JAZZ_line on deezer

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1970-1959

Remarkable tenor saxophonist whose passionate ballad playing and often fiery solos made him one of the most influential tenors in jazz.
Joe Henderson
Black Narcissus (Joe Henderson)
Isotope (Joe Henderson)
from Power to the People 1970
This album (which has been included in Joe Henderson's complete, eight-CD Milestone Years box set) has quite a few classic moments. At that point in time, tenor saxophonist Henderson was a sideman with Herbie Hancock's Sextet, so Hancock was happy to perform as a sideman, doubling on piano and electric piano, with the all-star group, which also includes trumpeter Mike Lawrence, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette...

Daring jazz vibraphonist who expanded the instrument's role with speedy tempos and often dazzling harmonic maneuvers using four mallets. Easily one of jazz's greatest vibraphonists, Bobby Hutcherson epitomized his instrument in relation to the era in which he came of age the way Lionel Hampton did with swing or Milt Jackson with bop. He wasn't as well-known as those two forebears, perhaps because he started out in less accessible territory when he emerged in the '60s playing cerebral, challenging modern jazz that often bordered on avant-garde.
Bobby Hutcherson
Una Muy Bonita (Ornette Coleman)
Summer Nights (Bobby Hutcherson)
from Stick-Up! 1968
Hutcherson's originals (five out of six selections) show him at the top of his game as a composer, and the ensemble's playing is tight and focused throughout, but what really lifts Stick-Up! to the top tier of Hutcherson's discography is its crackling energy. It's quite possibly the hardest-swinging album he ever cut, and part of the credit has to go to the stellar rhythm section of McCoy Tyner on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, who lay down a driving, pulsating foundation that really pushes Hutcherson and tenorist Joe Henderson... The lone non-Hutcherson piece, Ornette Coleman's sometimes overlooked "Una Muy Bonita," is given a fantastic, rollicking treatment as catchy as it is progressive, proving that the piece is a classic regardless of whether it's interpreted freely or with a steady groove and tonal center. Hutcherson's originals are uniformly strong and memorable enough to sit very well next to it, and that -- coupled with the energetic performances -- ranks Stick-Up! with Dialogue and Components as the finest work of Hutcherson's tenure at Blue Note.

John Patton, often known as Big John Patton, was one of Blue Note's busiest soul-jazz organists during the golden age of the Hammond B-3s. Between 1963 and 1970 Patton cooked up 11 albums' worth of material as a leader and sat in with a dizzying procession of skilled improvisers, and his best work has since been compared with that of tragically short-lived innovator Larry Young.
Big John Patton
Let 'Em Roll )Big John Patton)
Latona (Big John Patton)
The Turnaround (Hank Mobley)
from Let 'Em Roll 1967
In an unusual setting for a groove/soul jazz setting, B3 organist extraordinaire big John Patton creates a band around himself that includes Grant Green, drummer Otis Finch, and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. It's truly weird to think of vibes on a groove date, but the way Patton's understated playing works, and the way Green is literally all things to all players, Hutcherson's role is not only a clearly defined one, but adds immeasurably to both depth and texture on this date. What also makes this possible is the symbiotic relationship between Patton and Green. There is a double groove conscious swing happening on every track here, from the bluesed-out slip and slide of the title track which opens the record to a killer version of Hank Mobley's "The Turnaround," which expands the blues vibe into solid soul territory because of Hutcherson's ability to play pianistically and slip into the funk groove whenever necessary. Green's deadly in his solo on the track, shimmering arpeggios through Patton's big fat chords and chunky hammering runs... Also notable are Patton's own tunes, the most beautiful of which is "Latona," a floating Latin number with a killer salsa rhythm in 6/8. As Patton vamps through the chorus, Green slips in one of his gnarliest solos ever. It begins with a groove like run in the hard bop blues and then shoves itself into overdrive, capturing the cold sweat of a Bola Sete or Wes Montgomery in his groove years. But when Green goes for the harmonic edges, all bets are off: Hutcherson lays out, and he and Patton go running to the bridge and bring the melody back just in time to take it out. This is one of the least appreciated of Patton's records, and there's no reason for it; it is great.

03-04-2020 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1964-1960

Bob Dylan

03-04-2020 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1964-1960  >>Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Smith, The Ventures, Johnny Cash, Lou Rawls & Les McCann Ltd., Herbie Mann, THE BEATLES, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Joe Meek & the Blue Men<<

M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

favtraxmix label The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.   

1964-1960

Iconic singer/songwriter and musical wanderer who rose to prominence during the '60s folk revival and changed the world of music.
Bob Dylan
Motorpsycho Nitemare  (Bob Dylan) 4:33
All I Really Want To Do  (Bob Dylan) 4:05
Spanish Harlem Incident  (Bob Dylan) 2:25
from Another Side of Bob Dylan 1964
The other side of Bob Dylan referred to in the title is presumably his romantic, absurdist, and whimsical one -- anything that wasn't featured on the staunchly folky, protest-heavy Times They Are a-Changin', really. Because of this, Another Side of Bob Dylan is a more varied record and it's more successful, too, since it captures Dylan expanding his music, turning in imaginative, poetic performances on love songs and protest tunes alike... The result is one of his very best records, a lovely intimate affair.

The giant of postwar blues, who eloquently defined Chicago's swaggering, Delta-rooted sound with his declamatory vocals and piercing slide guitar.
Muddy Waters
My Home Is in the Delta (McKinley Morganfield) 4:00
My Captain (Willie Dixon) 5:12
from Folk Singer 1964
Muddy's "unplugged" album was cut in September of 1963 and still sounds fresh and vital today. It was Muddy simply returning to his original style on a plain acoustic guitar in a well-tuned room with Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on second acoustic guitar. The nine tracks are divvied up between full rhythm section treatments with Buddy and Muddy as a duo...

A pioneer of soul-jazz who revolutionized the Hammond organ, turning it into one of the most incisive, dynamic jazz instruments of its time.
Jimmy Smith
Prayer Meeting (Jimmy Smith) 5:44
Stone Cold Dead in the Market (Wilmoth Houdini) 3:43
Red Top (Gene Ammons) 7:36
from Prayer Meetin' 1963
Playing piano-style single-note lines on his Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith revolutionized the use of the instrument in a jazz combo setting in the mid-'50s and early '60s, and arguably his best albums for Blue Note during this period were the ones he did with tenor sax player Stanley Turrentine. Recorded on February 8, 1963, at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, and featuring Quentin Warren on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums in addition to Smith and Turrentine, Prayer Meetin' is a delight from start to finish. Forming a perfect closure to Smith's trio of albums with Turrentine (Midnight Special and Back at the Chicken Shack were both released in 1960), Prayer Meetin' was the last of four albums Smith recorded in a week to finish off his Blue Note contract before leaving for Verve...

10-03-2020 > FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1968-1963

PINK FLOYD

10-03-2020 > FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1968-1963  >>Pink Floyd, THE BEATLES, John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers, The Kinks, The Animals, THE BEATLES, Bert Jansch, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Smith, The Ventures<<

M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

favtraxmix label The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.   

1968-1963

One of the most predominant and celebrated rock bands of all time, prog- and space-rock legends, known for superlative musicianship.
Pink Floyd
Let There Be More Light (Roger Waters) 5:36
Remember a Day (Richard Wright) 4:32
from A Saucerful Of Secrets 1968
"Gathered together in a cave without a flashlight so to speak." (Tony Meador)

A transitional album on which the band moved from Syd Barrett's relatively concise and vivid songs to spacy, ethereal material with lengthy instrumental passages. Barrett's influence is still felt, and much of the material retains a gentle, fairy-tale ambience. ..on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," "Let There Be More Light," and the lengthy instrumental title track, the band begin to map out the dark and repetitive pulses that would characterize their next few records.

The most popular and influential rock act of all time, a band that blazed several new trails for popular music. So much has been said and written about the Beatles -- and their story is so mythic in its sweep -- that it's difficult to summarize their career without restating clichés that have already been digested by tens of millions of rock fans. To start with the obvious, they were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century.

The Beatles 

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  (John Lennon / Paul McCartney) 2:02

With a Little Help from My Friends  (John Lennon / Paul McCartney) 2:44

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds  (John Lennon / Paul McCartney) 3:28

from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967

With Revolver, the Beatles made the Great Leap Forward, reaching a previously unheard-of level of sophistication and fearless experimentation. Sgt. Pepper, in many ways, refines that breakthrough, as the Beatles consciously synthesized such disparate influences as psychedelia, art-song, classical music, rock & roll, and music hall, often in the course of one song... After Sgt. Pepper, there were no rules to follow -- rock and pop bands could try anything, for better or worse. Ironically, few tried to achieve the sweeping, all-encompassing embrace of music as the Beatles did here.

Major British blues bandleader who, starting in London in 1963, featured some of the most successful rock musicians of the '60s and '70s. / Throughout the '60s, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers acted as a finishing school for the leading British blues-rock musicians of the era. Guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor joined his band in a remarkable succession in the mid-'60s, honing their chops with Mayall before going on to join Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones, respectively. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (of Free), John Almond, and Jon Mark also played and recorded with the band for varying lengths of times in the '60s.

John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers 

A Hard Road (John Mayall) 3:09

You Don't Love Me (Willie Cobbs) 2:48

The Supernatural (Peter Green) 2:57

from A Hard Road 1967

Eric Clapton is usually thought of as John Mayall's most important right-hand man, but the case could also be made for his successor, Peter Green. The future Fleetwood Mac founder leaves a strong stamp on his only album with the Bluesbreakers, singing a few tracks and writing a couple, including the devastating instrumental "Supernatural." Green's use of thick sustain on this track clearly pointed the way to his use of guitar riffs with elongated, slithery tones on Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman," as well as anticipating some aspects of Carlos Santana's style...

An early highlight of the British Invasion that artfully chronicled British life past and present, fueled by the songwriting genius of Ray Davies.

The Kinks 

Party Line (Dave Davies / Ray Davies) 2:31

Rosie Won't You Please Come Home (Ray Davies) 2:28

Dandy  (Ray Davies) 2:07

from Face to Face 1966

The Kink Kontroversy was a considerable leap forward in terms of quality, but it pales next to Face to Face, one of the finest collections of pop songs released during the '60s. Conceived as a loose concept album, Face to Face sees Ray Davies' fascination with English class and social structures flourish, as he creates a number of vivid character portraits. Davies' growth as a lyricist coincided with the Kinks' musical growth... making the record one of the most distinctive and accomplished albums of its time.