:::Azimuth:::

Posted: Monday 29 December 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: ,
4



This is a lounge-jazz easy listening album, loaded with funky accent and lush riffs. Approach this release with care, as you might become addicted to listen to this after each complex and demanding album that you go through. This is a perfect sonic afterglow music; the album of the "afterwards".
:::By docperkins:::

Azymuth - Azimuth (1975)

1. Linha Do Horizonte (4:29)
2. Melô Dos Dois Bicudos (3:08)
3. Brazil (3:58)
4. Seems Like This (4:31)
5. Caça A Raposa (5:12)
6. Estrada Dos Deuses (3:14)
7. Wait For My Turn (3:01)
8. Montreal City (3:19)
.9 Morning (3:48)
10. Periscópio (7:36)

Credits
Artwork By [Design By] - Swifty
Drums, Percussion - Ivan Conti [Mamao]
Engineer [Assistant] - Barrachinka , Jaire Gualberto , Zé Guilherme
Engineer [Sound] - Ari Carvalhaes , Eugenio , Luigi , Luis Cláudio
Guitar - Joao América [Parana] (tracks: A1)
Guitar, Violin, Vocals, Percussion, Bass - José Alexandre Malheiros
Mastered By [Remastered By] - John Dent
Other [Coordination By] - Duncan Ballantyne , Hugh De Winton , Joe Davis , Lewis Robinson
Percussion, Vocals - Arinvaldo Contesini
Piano, Clavinet, Electric Piano, Organ [Hammond], Synthesizer [Moog, Arp], Vocals - José Roberto Bertrami
Vocals - Márcio Lott (tracks: A1, A7, A9)
Vocals, Percussion - Joao América [Parana]
Written-By - A. Malheiros (tracks: A2, A3, A5 to A7, A10) , I. Conti (tracks: A2, A3, A5, A6, A10) , J. R Bertrami (tracks: A2 to A6, A8 to A10)

Notes
Original album recorded at Estudios Hawai Phonogram, Rio De Janeiro between October '74 and February '75.

:::Tangerine:::

Posted: Friday 19 December 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , ,
4

Still considered an expatriate as he resided in Europe, Dexter Gordon (tenor sax) returned stateside in mid-1972 long enough to lay down two sessions' worth of material that would primarily be split between Tangerine (1972), Generation (1973), and Ca'Purange (1973). The opening update of the Johnny Mercer staple "Tangerine" gets things underway with a mid-tempo treatment allowing Gordon, Thad Jones (trumpet), Hank Jones (piano), and Stanley Clarke (bass) plenty of room to groove on their own as well as in the quintet with Louis Hayes' (drums) rock-solid downbeat. Oddly, the performance is not presented in its entirety, fading out nearly nine minutes in. Hank Jones shines on the easygoing "August Blues" -- the first of three Gordon originals featured on the platter. Gordon is more methodical as his interesting ideas develop organically and inspire the same from Thad Jones, who kicks things up with his dizzying double-time before handing things back to pianist Hank Jones. Clarke steps up and gives the tune a final shot of soul as the rest of the ensemble join back in. The funky "What It Was" is the most modern-sounding side on the album, with Clarke's undulating and propulsive bass giving the number a contemporary kick. Although pianist Jones decides to class up the joint with refined and bluesy contributions that rhythmically jump and jive all over the beat. From a slightly earlier date, Gordon is accompanied by Cedar Walton (piano), Buster Williams (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums) on the LP's final two entries. The interpretation of the Mancini/Mercer classic "Days of Wine and Roses" is suitably stately with Gordon's rich tone perfectly capturing the tuneful romanticism without seeming maudlin or trite. The same can be said of Walton's warm and inviting runs that glide into a short but sublime bass solo from Williams. It certainly ranks up there as one of Gordon's greats. Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) is on hand for the closer -- Gordon's "The Group" -- as listeners are given a taste of the former's strong melodic sense. His blows are resounding, particularly so when doubling up beside Gordon for maximum impact.

:::By Lindsay Planer:::

Dexter Gordon – Tangerine (1972)

1. Tangerine 9:04
2. August Blues 9:56
3. What It Was 8:16
4. Days of Wine and Roses 8:46

Credits
Dexter Gordon- tenor saxophone
Thad Jones- trumpet
Hank Jones- piano
Stanley Clarke- bass
Louis Hayes- drums; 
Freddie Hubbard- trumpet
Cedar Walton- piano
Buster Williams- bass
Billy Higgins- drums

Notes
Recorded: June 22 & 28, 1972, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

:::Gentleman:::

Posted: Wednesday 10 December 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
5

Gentleman is both an Africa 70 and Afro-beat masterpiece. High marks go to the scathing commentary that Fela Anikulapo Kuti lets loose but also to the instrumentation and the overall arrangements, as they prove to be some of the most interesting and innovative of Fela's '70s material. When the great tenor saxophone player Igo Chico left the Africa 70 organization in 1973, Fela Kuti declared he would be the replacement. So in addition to bandleader, soothsayer, and organ player, Fela picked up the horn and learned to play it quite quickly -- even developing a certain personal voice with it. To show off that fact, "Gentleman" gets rolling with a loose improvisatory solo saxophone performance that Tony Allen eventually pats along with before the entire band drops in with classic Afro-beat magnificence. "Gentleman" is also a great example of Fela's directed wit at the post-colonial West African sociopolitical state of affairs. His focus is on the Africans that still had a colonial mentality after the Brits were gone and then parallels that life with his own. He wonders why his fellow Africans would wear so much clothing in the African heat: "I know what to wear but my friend don't know" and also points out that "I am not a gentleman like that!/I be Africa man original." To support "Gentleman," the B-side features equally hot jazzy numbers, "Fefe Naa Efe" and "Igbe," making this an absolute must-have release. [In 2000, MCA released Confusion and Gentleman as a two-fer.]

:::By Jack LV Isles:::

Fela Kuti - Gentleman (1973)

1. Confusion, Pts. 1&2
2. Gentleman
3. Fefe Naa Efe
4. Igbe

Credits
Producer, Arranged By, Composed By - Fela Ransome Kuti
Saxophone [Alto, Tenor], Electric Piano, Vocals - Fela Ransome KutiSaxophone [Tenor] - Igo Chico
Trumpet [Solo] - Tunde Williams

:::Contours:::

Posted: Wednesday 3 December 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , , ,
5


On Contours, his second Blue Note album, tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers fully embraced the avant-garde, but presented his music in a way that wouldn't be upsetting or confusing to hard bop loyalists. Rivers leads a quintet featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Joe Chambers through a set of originals that walk a fine line between probing, contemplative post-bop and densely dissonant avant-jazz. Each musician is able to play the extremes equally well while remaining sensitive to the compositional subtleties. Rarely is Contours anything less than enthralling, and it remains one of the high watermarks of the mid-'60s avant-garde movement.
:::By Stephen Thomas Erlewine:::

Sam Rivers – Contours (1965)

1. Point Of Many Returns (9:20)
2. Dance Of The Tripedal (10:07)
3. Euterpe (11:43)
4. Mellifluous Cacophony (8:58)

Credits
Bass - Ron Carter
Drums - Joe Chambers
Piano - Herbie Hancock
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano], Flute, Written-by - Sam Rivers
Trumpet - Freddie Hubbard

Notes
Originally released as Blue Note BST 84206, recorded on May 21, 1965

:::Concerto Piccolo:::

Posted: Monday 1 December 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
5

Recorded live at the Zurich Jazz Festival in 1980, this was America's first taste of the wild abandon that is the Vienna Art Orchestra and expatriate Lauren Newton's glorious vocal instrument. This is a 13-piece big band led by the beautifully weird compositional, instructional, and arranging craziness of Mathias Rüegg. They trash and revere all traditions -- both historical and avant-garde at the same time -- while using them both along with carnival and circus music, classical forms and fugues, and French salon music. They swing here like a Mingus big band playing "Jelly Roll, But Mingus Rolls Better," with soloists who could care less what the ensemble chart says and vice versa. Newton, mixed high above the prattle, soars with the intensity of a pianist while blowing Jon Hendricks away at his own game. The fun really begins when the ensemble changes tempos two or three times and sections play against each other as in "Concerto Piccolo," even if begun by the lilting line of the title's instrument. Musical puns and variations on serious themes abound from the orchestra pit, but unlike Rüegg's Euro counterparts like Franz Koglmann and Stan Tracey, this man has a sense of where colorization and parody end and a new musical language is created. In this sense he resembles both Frank Zappa and Willem Breuker, but uses tradition differently -- not as a guidepost but as a landmark on the way to someplace else (and Rüegg knows exactly where he's going, judging by his charts). The man's imagination is the limit because his band can do virtually anything he dares to dream up. And while it's true that the saxophone (and reed) section of Harry Sokal, Roman Schwaller, and Uli Scherer is top-notch, virtually unsurpassed by any like section in European music, it is Ms. Newton's performance that steals the night. She cuts loose with an abandon that vocalists rarely use these days. Unafraid to screw up the text, when she picks up steam she is literally unstoppable -- even by the band! There are colors, harmonies, and polyphonal systems at work here that will be recalled as the glory years of Euro big-band jazz in the future, and the evocative timbral nature of Rüegg's compositions will be studied for decades to come. Truly, Concerto Piccolo is an amazing debut from a band that offers more than it could possibly receive.

:::By Thom Jurek:::

Vienna Art Orchestra - Concerto Piccolo (1980)

1. Concerto Piccolo 15:30
2. Herzogstrasse 4 11:13
3. Jelly Roll, But Mingus Rolls Better 12:50
4. Variations on Am Hermineli Z'liab 12:26
5. Tango from Obango 12:33

Credits
Anna Lauvergnac (vocals), 
Tobias Weidinger (trumpet), 
Matthieu Michel (trumpet), 
Stephan Zimmermann (trumpet), 
Juraj Bartos (trumpet), 
Adrian Mears (trombone), 
Robert Bachner (trombone),
Dominik Stöger (trombone), 
Ed Partyka (bass trombone, tuba), 
Mauro Negri (alto saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone, flute), 
Joris Roelofs (alto saxophone, clarinet, flute), 
Harry Sokal (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), 
Andy Scherrer (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, piano), 
Herwig Gradischnig (baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet), Martin Koller (guitar, electronics), 
Georg Breinschmid (double bass), 
Ingrid Oberkanins (percussion), 
Mario Gonzi (drums), 
Ronny Matky (sounds)

:::Between Nothingness & Eternity:::

Posted: Wednesday 19 November 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , , , ,
2

The first Mahavishnu Orchestra's original very slim catalog was padded out somewhat by this live album (recorded in New York's Central Park) on which the five jazz/rock virtuosos can be heard stretching out at greater length than in the studio. There are only three selections on the disc, all of which were to have been on the group's then-unissued third album -- two of them, guitarist John McLaughlin's "Trilogy: Sunlit Path/La Merede la Mer" and keyboardist Jan Hammer's "Sister Andrea," are proportioned roughly as they were in their studio renditions, while the third, McLaughlin's "Dream," is stretched to nearly double its 11-minute studio length. Each develops organically through a number of sections, and there are fewer lockstep unison passages than on the earlier recordings. McLaughlin is as flashy and noisy as ever on double-necked electric guitar, and Hammer and violinist Jerry Goodman are a match for him in the speed department, with drummer Billy Cobham displaying a compelling, raw power and dexterity to his work as well, especially on the CD edition, which also gives bassist Rich Laird a showcase for his slightly subtler work. Yet for all of the superb playing, one really doesn't hear much music on this album; electricity and competitive empathy are clearly not enough, particularly on the 21-minute "Dream," which left a lot of fans feeling let down at the end of its side-two-filling run on the LP. In the decades since this album was released, the studio versions of these three pieces, along with other tracks being worked up for their third album, have appeared as The Lost Trident Sessions -- dating from May and June of 1973 -- thus giving fans a means of comparing this repertory to what the band had worked out (or not worked out) in the studio; and Between Nothingness and Eternity has come up a bit in estimation as a result, benefiting as it does from the spontaneity and energy of a live performance, though even that can only carry this work so far -- beyond the personality conflicts that broke up the band, they seem to have been approaching, though not quite reaching, a musical dead end as well.
:::By Richard S. Ginnell & Bruce Eder:::

The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Between Nothingness & Eternity (1973)

1. Trilogy (The Sunlit Path / La Mere De La Mer / Tomorrow's Story Not The Same) (12:01)
2. Sister Andrea (8:22)
3. Dream (21:24)

Credits
Bass - Rick Laird
Drums - Billy Cobham
Guitar - John McLaughlin
Piano & Moog - Jan Hammer
Producer - Murray Krugman
Violin - Jerry Goodman

Notes
Recorded in august of 1973, in Central Park by location. Sound by Dawson. Engineered by Tim Geelan.
Produced by Murray Krugman and Mahavishnu John McLaughlin.
All compositions by John McLaughlin, except "Sister Andrea" by Jan Hammer.

:::Blue Matter:::

Posted: Monday 3 November 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
2

One of the top jazz guitarists from the mid-1980s on, John Scofield has always had a very recognizable sound and the ability to combine together R&B/funk with advanced jazz. He is the lead voice throughout most of this release, performing eight of his originals with a group also including keyboardist Mitchel Forman, electric bassist Gary Grainger, drummer Dennis Chambers, percussionist Don Alias and (on three of the numbers) Hiram Bullock on rhythm guitar. Although not for jazz purists, who should get his slightly later Blue Note releases instead, this set should interest guitar freaks.

:::By Scott Yanow:::

John Scofield – Blue Matter (1987)

1. Blue Matter (5:47)
2. Trim (7:33)
3. Heaven Hill (4:28)
4. So You Say (4:34)
5. Now She's Blonde (5:32)
6. Make Me (2:53)
7. The Nag (4:18)
8. Time Marches On (7:32)

Credits
Bass - Gary Grainger (2)
Drums - Dennis Chambers
Guitar - Hiram Bullock (tracks: 1, 6, 7) , John Scofield
Keyboards - Mitchell Forman
Mastered By - Bob Ludwig
Mixed By - Joe Ferla
Percussion - Don Alias
Producer - Steve Swallow
Recorded By - Joe Ferla

Notes
All Compositions Written By John Scofield
Published By Scoway Music BMI In North
America (Gramavision Music BMI Outside USA)
Recorded At Media Sound, NYC September 1986
Mixed At Gramavision Studio
Mastered At Masterdisk, NYC December 1986
Cover Art: Ivan Chermayeff

:::Sahara:::

Posted: Thursday 30 October 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
1

After the death of John Coltrane, his longtime pianist McCoy Tyner was in something of a musical quandary. Keeping up with his mentor through the incredible explorations of the early '60s, he seemed to have some difficulty navigating the even further out territories explored in the two or three years before Coltrane's death in 1967. His subsequent albums as a leader were solid, enjoyable efforts but seemed oddly retrograde, as though he needed time to settle back and re-digest the information handed down to him. With Sahara, Tyner found the precise perfect "middle ground" on which to stand, more structured than late Coltrane, but exploding with a ferocity and freedom of sound that made it simply one of the greatest jazz recordings of the decade. None of the other members of his quartet ever sounded so inspired, so liberated as they do here. Sonny Fortune threatens to tear the roof off the joint on more than one occasion, Calvin Hill is more than rock-solid on bass, his roots arcing deeply into the earth, and as for Alphonse Mouzon, well, no one familiar with his later vapid meanderings in fusion would begin to recognize him here, so incendiary is his playing. And Tyner develops so much pure energy, channeled with such pinpoint precision, that one worries about the physical stability of any piano under such an assault. From the extraordinarily intense "Ebony Queen" through the ruminative solo "A Prayer for My Family, the equally intense "Rebirth," and the concluding, side-long title track, there's not a misstep to be heard. "Sahara," over the course of its 23 minutes, covers vast ground, echoing the majesty and misery of the geographical area with percussion and flute interludes to some of Tyner's very best playing on record. Even something that could have resulted in a mere exercise in exotica, his koto performance on "Valley of Life," exudes both charm and commitment to the form. Tyner would go on to create several fine albums in the mid-'70s, but never again would he scale quite these heights. Sahara is an astonishingly good record and belongs in every jazz fan's collection.
:::By Brian Olewnick:::

McCoy Tyner – Sahara (1972)

1. Ebony Queen (8:58)
2. A Prayer For My Family (4:45)
3. Valley Of Life (5:17)
4. Rebirth (5:19)
5. Sahara (23:28)

Credits
Bass, Percussion, Reeds - Calvin Hill
Drums, Percussion, Trumpet, Reeds - Alphonse Mouzon
Engineer - Elvin Campbell
Mastered By - Ray Hagerty
Piano, Koto, Flute, Percussion - McCoy Tyner
Producer - Orrin Keepnews
Saxophone [Soprano, Alto], Flute - Sonny Fortune

Notes
Recorded January 1972 at Decca Recording Studios, New York City. Remixed February 1972 at Mercury Sound Studios, New York City. All compositions by McCoy Tyner. Cover and liner photographs by Clarence Eastmond, design by Ron Warwell.

:::Accident:::

Posted: Tuesday 28 October 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
2

The only review I could find on net is in polish. Sorry Folks!
"Accident" to drugi album The Hub. Jest w zasadzie kontynuacją koncepcji z "Vandalism", jednak pod wieloma względami jest to krok do przodu. Specyficzna dla zespołu stylistyka, która łączy w spójną i naturalnie brzmiącą całość wpływy gatunków takich jak jazz, metal, hardcore o wielu innych, jest tu podana w bardziej czytelnej, dojrzalszej formie. Płyta jest krótsza od swojej poprzedniczki, jednak raczej na tym zyskała, gdyż zdaje się że nie ma na niej ani jednego zbędnego dźwięku, wszystkie kompozycje są bardzo ciekawe i zapadają w pamięć. Całość jest bardziej spójna i przekonująca. Już od pierwszych taktów pierwszego utworu słychać, że będzie świetnie. Muzycy nie zmarnowali roku, który minął od wydania poprzedniego materiału, mam wrażenie, że grają jeszcze lepiej, coraz wyraźniej zaznaczając swój indywidualny styl. Dotyczy to szczególnie perkusisty, Seana Noonana, który wypracował charakterystyczną technikę, sprawiającą że jego karkołomne rytmy wciąż zaskakują nietypowymi rozwiązaniami, nieprawdopodobnymi zmianami tempa. To robi ogromne wrażenie, można by pomyśleć że mamy do czynienia z precyzyjnym robotem a nie człowiekiem. Już pierwszy utwór świetnie to obrazuje, dalej jest nie inaczej. Tim Dahl potwierdza tu swoją klasę, jest absolutnie fenomenalnym basistą, posiadającym fantastyczną technikę i zmysł innowatora. Kiedy widziałem go na koncercie wydawało mi się niemal niemożliwe, że można aż tak doskonale panować nad instrumentem. Jego ogromnym atutem jest to, że wspaniale wykorzystuje wszystkie możliwości ekspresji, jakie daje elektryczny instrument. Jego znakiem firmowym jest używanie przesteru, w którym osiągnął mistrzostwo. Tym większa szkoda, że na płycie, tym razem znacznie lepiej nagranej niż "Vandalism" i generalnie brzmiącej bardzo dobrze, właśnie przesterowany bas brzmi... źle. Chodzi mi wyłącznie o czysto techniczną kwestię realizacji nagrania - przester brzmi tak, jakby nagrywany był liniowo, bezpośrednio z wyjścia w efekcie. Sprawia to, że brzmi bardzo płasko, brak mu przestrzeni i brudu, agresji. Szkoda. Jest to szczególnie zauważalne w porównaniu z fantastycznym brzmieniem zespołu na koncercie. Trio uzupełnia Na saksofonie altowym Dan Magay, świetnie wpisując się w konwencję zespołu. I on zdaje się grać pewniej, tym razem stosując mniej efektów elektronicznych jednak szerzej wykorzystując naturalne właściwości instrumentu. Jak już wspominałem, kompozycje są wyśmienite i to bez wyjątków. Są krótsze niż na debiutanckiej płycie, za to sprawiają wrażenie lepiej przemyślanych, mają ciekawą strukturę, zaskakują ciągłymi zmianami, nie ma tu miejsca na zbytnie eksploatowanie chwytliwych motywów, których na płycie nie brakuje. Cały czas coś się dzieje, nigdy nie wiadomo, czego się spodziewać za chwilę - czy unisonalnego motywu w stylu wczesnego Ornette Colemana, czy może krótkiego deathmetalowego ataku, czy też może nagłego zwolnienia lub przyspieszenia. To wszystko sprawia, że fantastycznie słucha się tej muzyki i wciąż chce się do niej wracać. The Hub to naprawdę wschodząca "gwiazda" nowoczesnej muzyki okołojazzowej. Jeżeli ich dalsze dokonania będą równie ciekawe, to będzie świetnie. Jeśli natomiast kolejna płyta będzie o tyle lepsza od "Accident" o ile ta przewyższała debiut, to The Hub stanie się jednym z moich absolutnych faworytów. Trzymam kciuki i mam ogromną nadzieję, że następny ich album, tak jak dotychczasowe dwa, będę mógł kupić na ich kolejnym koncercie w Polsce.

:::By Wojszyca:::

The Hub – Accident (2002)

1. Big Mouth. (Noonan) - 3:08
2. Screaming Contest. (Dahl) - 2:23
3. Citris. (Dahl) - 3:22
4. Pocket Bones. (Noonan) - 6:25
5. Jimmy. (Dahl) - 0:38
6. Soiled Huggies. (Dahl) - 6:06
7. Over + Out. (Noonan) - 7:00
8. Shocked And Bruised. (Dahl) - 6:38

Credits
Dan Magay: sax
Tim Dahl: bass
Sean Noonan: drums

:::Brown Rice:::

Posted: Saturday 25 October 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: ,
1

If Eternal Rhythm was Don Cherry's world fusion masterpiece of the '60s, then Brown Rice is its equivalent for the '70s. But where Eternal Rhythm set global influences in a free jazz framework, Brown Rice's core sound is substantially different, wedding Indian, African, and Arabic music to Miles Davis' electrified jazz-rock innovations. And although purists will likely react here the same way they did to post-Bitches Brew Davis, Brown Rice is a stunning success by any other standard. By turns hypnotic and exhilarating, the record sounds utterly otherworldly: the polyrhythmic grooves are deep and driving, the soloing spiritual and free, and the plentiful recording effects trippy and mysterious. The various ethnic influences lift the album's already mystical atmosphere to a whole new plane, plus Cherry adds mostly non-English vocals on three of the four tracks, whispering cryptic incantations that make the pieces resemble rituals of some alien shaman. The title cut has since become an acid jazz/rare-groove classic, filtering Charlie Haden's acoustic bass through a wah-wah pedal and melding it with psychedelic electric piano riffs, electric bongos, wordless female vocals, short snippets of tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe's free jazz screeching, and, of course, Cherry's whispers and trumpet. Closer "Degi-Degi" works a similarly mind-bending mixture, but the middle two pieces ("Malkauns" and "Chenrezig") are lengthy explorations where Cherry's languid trumpet solos echo off into infinity. Of all his world fusion efforts, Brown Rice is the most accessible entry point into Cherry's borderless ideal, jelling into a personal, unique, and seamless vision that's at once primitive and futuristic in the best possible senses of both words. While Cherry would record a great deal of fine work in the years to come, he would never quite reach this level of wild invention again. [Brown Rice's original title was Don Cherry, which was changed a year after its initial 1975 release.]

:::By Steve Huey:::

Don Cherry - Brown Rice (1975)

1. Brown Rice (5:14)
Bass [Acoustic] - Charlie Haden
Bongos [Electric] - Bunchie Fox
Drums - Billy Higgins
Electric Piano - Don Cherry , Ricky Cherry
Saxophone [Tenor] - Frank Lowe
Trumpet - Don Cherry
Voice - Don Cherry , Verna Gillis

2. Malkauns (13:58)
Bass [Acoustic] - Charlie Haden
Drums - Billy Higgins
Tambura - Moki Cherry
Trumpet - Don Cherry

3. Chenrezig (12:50)
Bass [Acoustic] - Hakim Jamil
Drums - Billy Higgins
Electric Piano - Ricky Cherry
Saxophone [Tenor] - Frank Lowe
Trumpet - Don Cherry
Voice - Don Cherry

4. Degi-Degi (7:06)
Bass [Acoustic] - Charlie Haden
Drums - Billy Higgins
Electric Piano - Ricky Cherry
Piano [Yamaha] - Don Cherry
Saxophone [Tenor] - Frank Lowe
Voice - Don Cherry

Credits
Co-producer - Beppe Muccioli
Mastered By [Digital] - John Snyder , Rudy Van Gelder
Mixed By - Corrado Bacchelli , Kurt Munkacsi
Producer - Corrado Bacchelli
Recorded By - Kurt Munkacsi

Notes
Originally released in 1976 by A & M Records, Inc. Los Angeles.
Recorded by Kurt Munkacsi at the Basement Recording Studios, New York.
Digitally mastered by John Snyder and Rudy Van Gelder at the Van Gelder Recording Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, April 1988.

:::Bitches Brew:::

Posted: Friday 24 October 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in June of 1970 on Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio over the course of three days in August of 1969. The album continued Davis' experimentation of electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album. With the use of these instruments, such as the electric piano and guitar, Davis rejected traditional jazz rhythms in favor of a looser, rock-influenced improvisational style.

Often cited as one of Davis' best-selling albums and masterpieces, Bitches Brew marked a turning point in modern jazz. Upon release, it received mixed criticism from fans and critics, alike, due to the album's unconventional style and revolutionary sound. Later on, Bitches Brew gained recognition as one of jazz's greatest albums and a progenitor of the jazz rock genre, as well as a major influence on rock and funk musicians.

In February 1969, Davis recorded In a Silent Way, a bold step into ambient funk and electric futurism that inspired the trumpeter to go further out at the sessions for Bitches Brew that August. Davis wanted, he said, "the best damn rock & roll band in the world," to connect jazz with the forward motion of Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. Davis' band was superbad (Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, etc.). But the word fusion was never big enough to describe the visceral thrill of these explosive studio explorations and the pioneering tape-edit wizardry of producer Teo Macero, arguably the original Chemical Brother.

No artist has ever reinvented themselves quite so much as Miles Davis. By 1969 he had already upended jazz by championing modal jazz (and in the process recording Kind of Blue which is almost universally acknowledged as the greatest jazz album of all time). By 1969 he was ready to upend it again, and his previous album In A Silent Way had already given hints of what was to come with its increasing shift from an acoustic to an electric sound.

Recording sessions:

As was Davis's practice, he called musicians to the recording studio on very short notice. A few pieces on Bitches Brew were rehearsed before the recording sessions, but other times the musicians had little or no idea what they were to record. Once in the recording studio, the players were typically given only a few instructions: a tempo count, a few chords or a hint of melody, and suggestions as to mood or tone. Davis liked to work this way; he thought it forced musicians to pay close attention to one another, to their own performances, or to Davis's cues, which could change at any moment. On the quieter moments of "Bitches Brew", for example, Davis's voice is audible, giving instructions to the musicians: snapping his fingers to indicate tempo, or, in his distinctive whisper, saying, "Keep it tight" or telling individuals when to solo.

Davis composed most of the music on the album. The two important exceptions were the complex "Pharaoh's Dance" (composed by Joe Zawinul) and the ballad "Sanctuary" (composed by Wayne Shorter). The latter had been recorded as a fairly straightforward ballad early in 1968, but was given a radically different interpretation on Bitches Brew. It begins with Davis and Chick Corea improvising on the standard "I Fall in Love too Easily" before Davis plays the "Sanctuary" theme. Then, not unlike Davis's recording of Shorter's "Nefertiti" two years earlier, the horns repeat the melody over and over while the rhythm section builds up the intensity. The issued "Sanctuary" is actually two consecutive takes of the piece.

Despite his reputation as a "cool", melodic improviser, much of Davis's playing on this album is aggressive and explosive, often playing fast runs and venturing into the upper register of the trumpet. His closing solo on "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" is particularly noteworthy in this regard. Davis did not perform on the short piece "John McLaughlin".

I can't really explain what Bitches Brew is all about without a bit of historical context. This was 1969 when experimentation in music was at its height. In Britain Pink Floyd were popularising psychedelia and King Crimson were about to release In The Court of the Crimson King and invent progressive rock. In America Davis, ever the restless genius and unable to stand still musically was looking for something more radical and dramatic still. Supplementing his band up to no less than 3 keyboard players and a bass clarinet, and surrounding himself as ever with musicians of the highest caliber he went into the studio for 3 days to record a double album of 6 densely layered tracks.

So what came out? Well, easy listening this ain't and I certainly wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to Jazz or to Miles Davis (Kind of Blue does very nicely for both of those - you might as well start with the best!). The first disc consists of 2 side length tracks, "Pharoah's Dance" and "Bitches Brew", both over 20 minutes. They're both wild cocktails of smoky improvisational jazz. Pharoah's Dance is famous for having no less than 19 edits within it, some as short as 1 second long, and really marks the start of using the studio and the editing booth as an instrument in its own right. I actually can't describe either of these tracks well as each time you listen to them they sound different: there's little structure to hang on to and a mellow groove can quickly dissolve into shards of dissonance with Davis's distinctive trumpet shrieking over the top.

The second disc of the album is somewhat more relaxed. "Spanish Key" actually stays on the same groove for nearly 17 minutes (but certainly isn't boring for it). This is followed by "John McLaughlin" (yep, the track is named after the famous jazz guitarist) and "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down", a menacing track that can almost sound like Led Zeppelin in parts. Finally comes "Sanctuary", a soft sad and superb close with Davis's trumpet at its most plaintive.

The effects of Bitches Brew were revolutionary. Davis had merged rock and jazz, inventing what we now call fusion (perhaps I should say remerged - after all Rock is a 50's ofshoot of Jazz). Extraordinarily for such an experimental album it was one of Davis's biggest sellers and also won him a Grammy. It's influence still permeates todays music. Thom Yorke from Radiohead admits that previous to recording their masterwork OK Computer, Bitches Brew had been lodged almost permanently in his CD player. After its release in 1970, jazz, rock, and the whole of music would never be the same.

:::From http://www.milesdavis.com/:::

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)

CD 1
1 - Pharaoh's Dance (19:57)
2 - Bitches Brew (26:59)

CD 2
1 - Spanish Key (17:26)
2 - John Mclaughlin (4:43)
3 - Miles Runs The Voodoo Down (14:02)
4 - Sanctuary (10:53)
5 - Feio (11:49)

Credits
* Miles Davis - trumpet
* Wayne Shorter - soprano saxophone
* Bennie Maupin - bass clarinet
* Chick Corea - electric piano (solo on "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down")
* John McLaughlin - guitar
* Dave Holland - bass
* Harvey Brooks - electric bass
* Lenny White - drum set
* Jack DeJohnette - drum set
* Billy Cobham - drum set
* Don Alias - congas, drum set
* Airto Moreira - percussion
* Juma Santos (credited as "Jim Riley") - shaker, congas
* Larry Young - electric piano on "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" "John McLaughlin" "Spanish Key" and "Pharaoh's Dance"
* Joe Zawinul - electric piano on "Bitches Brew" "Sanctuary" "Spanish Key" and "Pharaoh's Dance"

:::Kwanza:::

Posted: Wednesday 22 October 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
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Kwanza is a curious Archie Shepp recording. Released in 1969 on Impulse, it features cuts recorded between September 1968 and August 1969 with an assortment of lineups. Four of the album's five cuts were produced by Bob Thiele, and one, "Slow Drag," by Ed Michel. Shepp composed three tunes here, and he is in the company of musicians such as Grachan Moncur III (who composed "New Africa"), Jimmy Owens, Dave Burrell, Wally Richardson, Bob Bushnell, Bernard Purdie and Beaver Harris, Leon Thomas, Charles Davis, Woody Shaw, Cedar Walton, Wilbur Ware, Joe Chambers, Cecil Payne, and others. As the title might suggest, Kwanza is a joyful record, full of celebration in blues and jazz. "Back Back" opens the set with a colossal funky blues that feels like an out version of the JB's with Burrell kicking it on B-3. The all-too-brief "Spoo Dee Doo," showcases Thomas' unique, and truly awesome vocal stylings along with Tasha Thomas and Doris Troy providing a swinging backing R&B chorus. "New Africa" is the most vanguard track here, with a different rhythm section than on "Back Back," and no guitar, Burrell returns to his piano. It begins in a manner that suggests anger, but not rage. It becomes an edgeless, rounded meditation on joy and gratitude, a statement of purpose at realization and transcendence with Shepp, Owens. and Davis playing alongside Moncur as a monumental choral line in timbres; textures, big harmonic reaches and ultimately resolution. "Slow Drag," is a funky blues tune, it struts a minor key line that feels like a mutated "Wade in the Water," but its Latin rhythms and the killer bass work of Wilbur Ware make the cut a standout. The set closes with Cal Massey's "Bakai," a tune that walks a fringed line on the inside and swings like mad. Kwanza may not be one of Shepp's better known recordings, but it is certainly one of his fine ones.

:::By Thom Jurek:::

Archie Shepp – Kwanza (1969)

1. Back Back Shepp 5:45
2. Spoo Dee Doo Shepp 2:38
3. New Africa Moncur 12:50
4. Slow Drag Shepp 10:09
5. Bakai Massey 9:59

Credits
Drums - Beaver Harris (tracks: 2, 3, 5)
Mastered By - Bob Irwin , Jayme Pieruzzi
Producer - Bob Thiele (tracks: 1 to 3, 5)
Reissue Producer - Bryan Koniarz
Saxophone [Baritone] - Charles Davis (2) (tracks: 1, 3, 5)
Saxophone [Tenor] - Archie Shepp
Trombone - Grachan Moncur III (tracks: 1, 3, 5)
Trumpet - Jimmy Owens (tracks: 1, 3, 5)

Notes
Original LP issue: Impulse AS-9262
Recorded September 1968 and February and August 1969 in New York City.

:::Here Comes Louis Smith:::

Posted: Monday 29 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
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Louis Smith had a brilliant debut on this Blue Note album, his first of two before becoming a full-time teacher. The opener (Duke Pearson's "Tribute to Brownie") was a perfect piece for Smith to interpret, since his style was heavily influenced by Clifford Brown (who had died the previous year). He is also in excellent form on four of his basic originals and takes a particularly memorable solo on a haunting rendition of "Stardust." Altoist Cannonball Adderley (who used the pseudonym of "Buckshot La Funke" on this set, a name later used by Branford Marsalis), Duke Jordan or Tommy Flanagan on piano, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Taylor make for a potent supporting cast, but the focus is mostly on the criminally obscure Louis Smith. After cutting his second Blue Note set and switching to teaching, Smith would not record again as a leader until 1978. All bop and '50s jazz fans are strongly advised to pick up this CD reissue before it disappears.
:::By Scott Yanow:::

Louis Smith - Here Comes Louis Smith (1957)

1. Tribute to Brownie6:35
2. Brill's Blues8:18
3. Ande6:39
4. Star Dust5:16
5. South Side8:35
6. Val's Blues6:17

Credits
Bass - Doug Watkins
Composed By - Louis Smith (2) (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6)
Drums - Art Taylor
Other [Original Liner Notes] - Leonard Feather
Other [Reissue Liner Notes] - Bob Blumenthal
Photography [Cover And Liner] - Francis Wolff
Piano - Duke Jordan (tracks: 1, 2, 5) , Tommy Flanagan (tracks: 3, 4, 6)
Producer - Tom Wilson (2)
Reissue Producer - Michael Cuscuna
Remastered By - Rudy Van Gelder
Saxophone [Alto] - Cannonball Adderley
Trumpet - Louis Smith (2)

:::Gil Evans' Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix:::

Posted: Saturday 27 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , ,
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This CD reissue (which adds additional material to the original LP program) is much more successful than one might have expected. Jimi Hendrix was scheduled to record with Gil Evans' Orchestra but died before the session could take place. A few years later, Evans explored ten of Hendrix's compositions with his unique 19-piece unit, an orchestra that included two French horns, the tuba of Howard Johnson, three guitars, two basses, two percussionists and such soloists as altoist David Sanborn, trumpeter Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson, Billy Harper on tenor, and guitarists Ryo Kawasaki and John Abercrombie. Evans' arrangements uplift many of Hendrix's more blues-oriented compositions and create a memorable set that is rock-oriented but retains the improvisation and personality of jazz.
:::By Scott Yanow:::

Gil Evans - Gil Evans' Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix (1974)

1. Angel 4:07
2. Crosstown Traffic / Little Miss Lover 6:34
3. Castles Made of Sand / Foxey Lady 11:23
4. Up From the Skies 6:32
5. Up From the Skies 7:29
6. 1983 - A Merman I Should Turn to Be 7:32
7. Voodoo Chile 5:05
8. Gypsy Eyes 3:42

Credits
Bass - Don Pate  , Michael Moore
Chimes, Percussion [Latin], Vibraphone - Warren Smith, Jr.
Clarinet - Howard Johnson (3)
Congas, Drums - Susan Evans
Drums - Bruce Ditmas
Electric Guitar - John Abercrombie , Ryo Kawasaki
Electric Piano, Synthesizer - David Horowitz
Flute [Alto], Saxophone [Soprano] - David Sanborn
French Horn - Peter Gordon
Guitar - Keith Loving
Horn, Synthesizer - Peter Levin
Leader, Piano - Gil Evans
Producer - Mike Lipskin
Saxophone [Tenor], Flute - Billy Harper
Saxophone, Flute, Saxophone [Tenor] - Trevor Koehler
Synthesizer, Trombone, Flute, Bass - Tom Malone
Trumpet - Lewis Soloff
Trumpet, Vocals - Marvin C. Peterson
Written-By - Jimi Hendrix

:::Not In Our Name:::

Posted: Thursday 25 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
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Charlie Haden brings back yet another incarnation of his Liberation Music Orchestra to tape. This intermittent project began at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969 and was recorded for Impulse. Carla Bley has been the only constant member of this project. She plays piano and does the arranging of these eight tunes. Other members include trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, guitarist Steve Cardenas, drummer Matt Wilson, Miguel Zenon on alto, Chris Cheek on the tenor horn, Joe Daley playing tuba, and Ahnee Sharon Freeman playing French horn. The music is a lively and diverse set of covers, except for the title track -- composed by Haden -- and "Blue Anthem" by Bley. The seamlessness with which Bley melds her aesthetic to Haden's is remarkable. The tone and timbre is warm throughout. The reggae-fueled "This Is Not America" -- written by Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, and David Bowie -- dryly quotes from "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at its end. The hinge piece of the album is the nearly-17-minute "American the Beautiful" that contains a wondrous, stately, if somewhat dissonant, read of Samuel Ward's famous tune, bursts into post-bop before a fine solo by Zenon, and then slips into Gary McFarland's jazz opus by the same name. The tune travels -- with solos by virtually everyone -- then to the African-American gospel church where it stops at "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson, and winds up at a cross between the original tune and Ornette Coleman's elegiac slipstream dream anthem "Skies of America" before returning full circle to the original theme. The Liberation Music Orchestra goes even deeper into the national consciousness with a bluesy, New Orleans brass band-inspired version of "Amazing Grace." Then they dig into the gorgeous "Goin' Home," Antonin Dvorak's largo theme from the New World Symphony -- with jazz liberties taken, of course. The set ends with the adagio from Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings." Again, Bley's arrangement is stunning, understated, and finessed, yet full of dynamic reach. This is a beautiful album, one that makes a case for vision, creativity, and concern. Not in Our Name pulls together a wide range of aesthetic possibilities that all reflect the American consciousness and simultaneously mourns the passage of it while resisting with a vengeance that nadir. While a jazz recording, this album crosses the boundaries of the genre and becomes a new world music, a new folk music: one to be celebrated, perhaps even cherished.
:::By Thom Jurek:::

Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra - Not In Our Name (2005)

1. Not In Our Name (6:19) Written-By - Charlie Haden
2. This Is Not America (6:39) Written-By - David Bowie , Lyle Mays , Pat Metheny
3. Blue Anthem (7:49) Written-By - Carla Bley

America The Beautiful (Medley) (16:54)
4A. America The Beautiful Written-By - Gary McFarland , Augustus Ward*
4B. Lift Every Voice And Sing Written-By - Weldon Johnson*
4C. Skies Of America Written-By - Ornette Coleman -
5. Amazing Grace (7:12) Written-By - John Newton (2)
6. Goin' Home (From The Largo Of The New World Symphony) (7:49) Written-By - Antonín Dvořák
7. Throughout (8:55) Written-By - Bill Frisell
8. Adagio (The Adagio For Strings) (7:25) Written-By - Samuel Barber

Credits
Bass - Charlie Haden
Drums - Matt Wilson
Engineer [Assistant] - David Abbruzzese
Engineer [Assistant], Mixed By [Assistant] - Nicolas Baillard
Engineer, Mixed By - Gérard De Haro
Executive Producer - Daniel Richard
French Horn - Ahnee Sharon Freeman
Guitar - Steve Cardenas
Mastered By - Thomas Verdeaux
Other [Art Director] - Patrice Beauséjour
Photography - Thomas Dorn
Piano - Carla Bley
Producer - Charlie Haden , Ruth Cameron
Producer, Arranged By, Conductor - Carla Bley
Saxophone [Alto] - Miguel Zenon
Saxophone [Tenor] - Chris Cheek , Tony Malaby
Trombone - Curtis Fowlkes
Trumpet - Michael Rodriguez , Seneca Black
Tuba - Joe Daley

Notes
Recorded July 19-22, 2004 at Studio Forum Music Village, Rome Italy. Mixed July 27-29, 2004 and mastered October 22, 2004 at Studio La Buissonne, Pernes Les Fontaines, France.

:::Universal Conciousness:::

Posted: Tuesday 23 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
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Recorded between April and June of 1971, Alice Coltrane's Universal Consciousness stands as her classic work. As a testament to the articulation of her spiritual principles, Universal Consciousness stands even above World Galaxy as a recording where the medium of music, both composed and improvised, perfectly united the realms of body (in performance), speech (in the utterance of individual instrumentalists and group interplay), and mind (absolute focus) for the listener to take into her or his own experience. While many regard Universal Consciousness as a "jazz" album, it transcends even free jazz by its reliance on deeply thematic harmonic material and the closely controlled sonic dynamics in its richly hued chromatic palette. The set opens with the title track, where strings engage large washes of Coltrane's harp as Jack DeJohnette's drums careen in a spirit dance around the outer edge of the maelstrom. On first listen, the string section and the harp are in counter-dictum, moving against each other in a modal cascade of sounds, but this soon proves erroneous as Coltrane's harp actually embellishes the timbral glissandos pouring forth. Likewise, Jimmy Garrison's bass seeks to ground the proceedings to DeJohnette's singing rhythms, and finally Coltrane moves the entire engagement to another dimension with her organ. Leroy Jenkins' violin and Garrison's bottom two strings entwine one another in Ornette Coleman's transcription as Coltrane and the other strings offer a middling bridge for exploration. It's breathtaking. On "Battle at Armageddon," the violence depicted is internal; contrapuntal rhythmic impulses whirl around each other as Coltrane's organ and harp go head to head with Rashied Ali's drums. "Oh Allah" rounds out side one with a gorgeously droning, awe-inspiring modal approach to whole-tone music that enfolds itself into the lines of organic polyphony as the strings color each present theme intervalically. DeJohnette's brushwork lisps the edges and Garrison's bass underscores each chord and key change in Coltrane's constant flow of thought.

On side two, "Hare Krishna" is a chant-like piece that is birthed from minor-key ascendancy with a loping string figure transcribed by Coleman from Coltrane's composition on the organ. She lays deep in the cut, offering large shimmering chords that twirl -- eventually -- around high-register ostinatos and pedal work. It's easily the most beautiful and accessible track in the set, in that it sings with a devotion that has at its base the full complement of Coltrane's compositional palette. "Sita Ram" is a piece that echoes "Hare Krishna" in that it employs Garrison and drummer Clifford Jarvis, but replaces the strings with a tamboura player. Everything here moves very slowly, harp and organ drift into and out of one another like breath, and the rhythm section -- informed by the tamboura's drone -- lilts on Coltrane's every line. As the single-fingered lines engage the rhythm section more fully toward the end of the tune, it feels like a soloist improvising over a chanting choir. Finally, the album ends with another duet between Ali and Coltrane. Ali uses wind chimes as well as his trap kit, and what transpires between the two is an organically erected modal architecture, where texture and timbre offer the faces of varying intervals: Dynamic, improvisational logic and tonal exploration become elemental figures in an intimate yet universal conversation that has the search itself and the uncertain nature of arrival, either musically or spiritually, at its root. This ambiguity is the only way a recording like this could possibly end, with spiritual questioning and yearning in such a musically sophisticated and unpretentious way. The answers to those questions can perhaps be found in the heart of the music itself, but more than likely they can, just as they are articulated here, only be found in the recesses of the human heart. This is art of the highest order, conceived by a brilliant mind, poetically presented in exquisite collaboration by divinely inspired musicians and humbly offered as a gift to listeners. It is a true masterpiece.
:::By Thom Jurek:::
 
Alice Coltrane - Universal Conciousness (1971)

A1 Universal Consciousness (5:05)
A2 Battle At Armageddon (7:22) Drums - Rashied Ali
A3 Oh Allah (4:54)
B1 Hare Krishna (8:16) Drums - Clifford Jarvis
Tamboura - Tulsi
B2 Sita Ram (6:12) Bells - Clifford Jarvis
Drums - Clifford Jarvis
Percussion - Clifford Jarvis
Tamboura - Tulsi
B3 The Ankh Of Amen-Ra (4:48) Drums - Rashied Ali
Wind Chimes - Rashied Ali

Credits
Bass - Jimmy Garrison (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B2)
Drums - Jack DeJohnette (tracks: A1, A3, B1)
Harp - Alice Coltrane
Organ - Alice Coltrane
Producer - Ed Michel
Violin - Joan Kalisch (tracks: A1, A3, B1) , John Blair (tracks: A1, A3, B1) , Julius Brand (tracks: A1, A3, B1) , Leroy Jenkins (tracks: A1, A3, B1)

:::My Spanish Heart:::

Posted: Wednesday 10 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: ,
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This 1976 release features Chick Corea in what was then, and remains, a unique musical setting. While it is truly an electric jazz fusion record, it is also the only solo recording of Corea's on which he attempted to truly explore the Latin side of his musical heritage. My Spanish Heart marks a full-scale, yet thoroughly modern, exploration in the musical lineage Corea sprang from. Making full use of synthesizer technology, a string section, and synth-linked choruses -- of two voices, his own and that of Gayle Moran -- as well as percussionist Don Alias, drummer Steve Gadd, a full brass section, and the sparse use of Jean Luc Ponty ("Armando's Rumba") and bassist Stanley Clark, Corea largely succeeded in creating a Spanish/Latin tapestry of sounds, textures, impressions, and even two suites -- "Spanish Fantasy" and "El Boro." The string quartet performs its intricate and gorgeously elegant arrangements with verve and grace on "Day Danse" and on the suites, with Corea's contrapuntal pianism creating a sharp yet warm contrast to the shifting tempos, wild interval leaps, and shimmering timbral balances that occur. The only pieces that sound dated on this double-album-length set are the fusion pieces, which are, with their production and knotty stop-and-start modulations and key signature equations -- omplete with aggressive arpeggios and scalar linguistics -- destined to be limited in expression by the voice of their use of technology. Thus, "Love Castles," "The Gardens," and "Night Streets" suffer from their rather cheesy production despite their tastefully done double fusion semantics (jazz to rock to Latin music). There is no doubt that Corea's musicianship was up to any task he chose at this point in time. Simply put, he was compositionally and intellectually at the top of his game, and this record, despite the many of his that haven't aged well, still surprises despite its production shortcomings.

:::By Thom Jurek:::

Chick Corea – My Spanish Heart (1976)

1. Love Castle (4:47)
2. The Gardens (3:11)
3. Day Danse (4:29)
4. My Spanish Heart (1:37)
5. Night Streets (6:02)
6. The Hilltop (6:15) Composed By - Stanley Clarke
7. Wind Danse (4:55)
8. Armando's Rhumba (5:19) Handclaps - Narada Michael Walden Violin - Jean-Luc Ponty
9. Prelude To El Bozo (1:36)
10. El Bozo, Part I (2:49)
11. El Bozo, Part II (2:06)
12. El Bozo, Part III (4:56)
13. Spanish Fantasy, Part I (6:07)
14. Spanish Fantasy, Part II (5:11)
15. Spanish Fantasy, Part III (3:09)
16. Spanish Fantasy, Part IV (5:04)

Credits
Arranged By, Piano [Acoustic, Fender], Synthesizer [Moog 15, Mini-moog, Arp Odessy, Polymoog], Organ [Yamaha], Handclaps - Chick Corea
Bass [Acoustic] - Stanley Clarke
Composed By - Chick Corea (tracks: 1 to 5, 7 to 19)
Drums - Steve Gadd
Engineer - Bernie Kirsh
Percussion - Don Alias
Producer - Chick Corea
Strings - Arriaga Quartet
Trombone - Ron Moss
Trumpet - John Rosenberg , Stuart Blumberg
Trumpet [Lead] - John Thomas (3)
Vocals, Choir - Gayle Moran

:::Money Jungle:::

Posted: Friday 5 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
2

Duke Ellington surprised the jazz world in 1962 with his historic trio session featuring Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Not in a mood to simply rework older compositions, the bulk of the LP focused on music he wrote specifically for the session. "Money Jungle" is a thunderous opener, a blues that might be classified somewhere between post-bop and avant-garde. The gem of the date is the fragile, somewhat haunting ballad "Fleurette Africaine," where Mingus' floating bassline and Roach's understated drumming add to the mystique of an Ellington work that has slowly been gathering steam among jazz musicians as a piece worth exploring more often. "Very Special" is a jaunty upbeat blues, while the angular, descending line of "Wig Wise" also proves to be quite catchy. Ellington also revisits "Warm Valley" (a lovely ballad indelibly associated with Johnny Hodges) and an almost meditative "Solitude." Thunderous percussion and wild basslines complement a wilder-than-usual approach to "Caravan." Every jazz fan should own a copy of this sensational recording session.

:::By Ken Dryden:::

Duke Ellington - Money Jungle (1962)

1. Money Jungle 5:27
2. Fleurette Africaine 3:33
3. Very Special 4:23
4. Warm Valley 3:31
5. Wig Wise 3:17
6. Caravan 4:11
7. Solitude 5:31
8. Switch Blade 5:21
9. A Little Max (Parfait) 2:57
10. Rem Blues 4:15
11. Backward Country Boy Blues 6:30

Bonus Tracks
12. Solitude 4:42
13. Switch Blade 5:11
14. A Little Max (Parfait) 2:56
15. Rem Blues 5:44

Credits
Bass - Charles Mingus
Drums - Max Roach
Piano - Duke Ellington

Notes
Recorded at Sound Makers, New York City on September 17, 1962

:::Giant Steps:::

Posted: Wednesday 3 September 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , ,
1

History will undoubtedly enshrine this disc as a watershed the likes of which may never truly be appreciated. Giant Steps bore the double-edged sword of furthering the cause of the music as well as delivering it to an increasingly mainstream audience. Although this was John Coltrane's debut for Atlantic, he was concurrently performing and recording with Miles Davis. Within the space of less than three weeks, Coltrane would complete his work with Davis and company on another genre-defining disc, Kind of Blue, before commencing his efforts on this one. Coltrane (tenor sax) is flanked by essentially two different trios. Recording commenced in early May of 1959 with a pair of sessions that featured Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Art Taylor (drums), as well as Paul Chambers -- who was the only band member other than Coltrane to have performed on every date. When recording resumed in December of that year, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) were instated -- replicating the lineup featured on Kind of Blue, sans Miles Davis of course. At the heart of these recordings, however, is the laser-beam focus of Coltrane's tenor solos. All seven pieces issued on the original Giant Steps are likewise Coltrane compositions. He was, in essence, beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos -- the 180-degree antithesis of the art form up to that point. These arrangements would create a place for the solo to become infinitely more compelling. This would culminate in a frenetic performance style that noted jazz journalist Ira Gitler accurately dubbed "sheets of sound." Coltrane's polytonal torrents extricate the amicable and otherwise cordial solos that had begun decaying the very exigency of the genre -- turning it into the equivalent of easy listening. He wastes no time as the disc's title track immediately indicates a progression from which there would be no looking back. Line upon line of highly cerebral improvisation snake between the melody and solos, practically fusing the two. The resolute intensity of "Countdown" does more to modernize jazz in 141 seconds than many artists do in their entire careers. Tellingly, the contrasting and ultimately pastoral "Naima" was the last tune to be recorded, and is the only track on the original long-player to feature the Kind of Blue quartet. What is lost in tempo is more than recouped in intrinsic melodic beauty. Both Giant Steps [Deluxe Edition] and the seven-disc Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings offer more comprehensive presentations of these sessions.

:::By Lindsay Planer:::

John Coltrane - Giant Steps – Deluxe Edition (1959)

1. Giant Steps (4:43)
2. Cousin Mary (5:45)
3. Countdown (2:21)
4. Spiral (5:56)
5. Syeeda's Song Flute (7:00)
6. Naima (4:21)
7. Mr. P.C. (6:57)
8. Giant Steps (Alternate Version 1) (3:40)
9. Naima (Alternate Version 1) (4:27)
10. Cousin Mary (Alternate Take) (5:54)
11. Countdown (Alternate Take) (4:33)
12. Syeeda's Song Flute (Alternate Take) (7:02)

Credits
Bass - Paul Chambers (3)
Drums - Art Taylor (tracks: 1 to 5, 7) , Jimmy Cobb (tracks: 6)
Engineer [Recording] - Phil Iehle , Tom Dowd
Piano - Tommy Flanagan (tracks: 1 to 5, 7) , Wynton Kelly (tracks: 6)
Producer [Supervision] - Nesuhi Ertegun
Saxophone [Tenor] - John Coltrane
Written-By - John Coltrane

:::Hörselmat:::

Posted: Friday 22 August 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety:
2

Svenska Löd Ab! is a Jazz group in sweden, and to me, one of the best jazz albuns I ever heard.
It's full of energetic improvisations, with some Hammond solos in some songs.

In some songs, especiality En Mäktig Eldaregesäll, has beautiful passanges of the Hammond with an exotic bass making the base in G/C. Really Cool.
The Second song, Den Dan Vi Sket I Hugo, has a beautiful brass section,and improvising in C/F with some stops with exotic and extraodinary riffs as the song goes.
A very rare record only made in 200 copies.
Maybe swedens best known guitar player are playing on this album, Janne Schaffer.
This album it's Jazz, it's Rock-Fusion, it's great and kicks ass!

::By jazzlover

Svenska Löd AB! – Hörselmat (1971)

1. Introduktion - Ta Er I Brasan
2. Den Dan Vi Sket I Hugo
3. Teryleneblus 13 50 EPa
4. En Mäktig Eldaregesäll
5. Right On - Kliv På
6. Va Då Rå - Va E', Reö
7. Undrar Om Mona Och Kent Spelar
8. Riff á La Lindström

Credits
Arranged By - Bengt Lindqvist
Bass - Jan Bergman
Drums - Nils-Erik Slörner
Engineer - Gert Palmcrantz
Guitar - Bengan Karlsson , Janne Schaffer
Organ, Piano - Bengt Lindqvist
Producer - G. Palmcrantz , Janne Forsell , Svenska Löd
Saxophone [Tenor] - Kalle Lundborg , Olle Wirén
Trombone - Mats Eriksson (3)
Trumpet - Lennart Axelsson , Åke "Jocke" Johansson

:::Tale Spinnin':::

Posted: by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , ,
1

"Dedicated To The Living" Weather Report's ever-changing lineup shifts again, with the somewhat heavier funk-oriented Leon "Ndugu" Chancler dropping into the drummer's chair and Alyrio Lima taking over the percussion table. As a result, Tale Spinnin' has a weightier feel than Mysterious Traveller, while continuing the latter's explorations in Latin-spiced electric jazz/funk. Zawinul's pioneering interest in what we now call world music is more in evidence with the African percussion, wordless vocals, and sandy sound effects of "Badia," and his synthesizer sophistication is growing along with the available technology. Wayne Shorter's work on soprano sax is more animated than on the previous two albums and Alphonso Johnson puts his melodic bass more to the fore. While not quite as inventive as its two predecessors, this remains an absorbing extension of WR's mid-'70s direction.
:::By Richard S. Ginell:::
 
Weather Report - Tale Spinnin' (1975)

1. Man in the Green Shirt (6:28)
2. Lusitanos (7:24)
3. Between the Thighs (9:33)
4. Badia (5:20)
5. Freezing Fire (7:29)
6. Five Short Stories (6:56)

Credits
Bass - Alphonso Johnson
Drums - Leon Ndugu Chancler
Keyboards - Joe Zawinul
Percussion - Alyrio Lima
Saxophone - Wayne Shorter

Notes
P 1975 Sony Music Entertainement Inc.
No Jewel Box - This CD-Package looks like a miniature version of a Vinyl album.
JOE ZAWINUL : (Melodica, Rhodes Piano, TONTO, ARP 2600 Synthesizer, Organ, Oud, Mzuthra, Vocal, West African Xylophone &Acoustic Piano / Composer of Tracks 1, 3, 4 & 6) and WAYNE SHORTER (Tenor & Sopran Saxophones / Composer of Tracks 2 and 5) = WEATHER REPORT
with the Rhythm Section from SANTANA (Borboletta 1974) : 
'Ndugu' Leon Chancler (Drums, Tympani &Marching Cymbals) 
Alphonso Johnson (Electric Bass).
plus :
Alyrio Lima (Percussions)

Recorded January & February 1975 in L.A. at Wally Heider
Orchestration : Joe Zawinul
Recording Engineer : Bruno Botnick

:::Timeless:::

Posted: by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
4

Guitarist John Abercrombie's first in a long line of recordings for ECM was also his debut as a leader. Teamed up with Jan Hammer (who here plays organ, synthesizer, and piano) and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Abercrombie plays four of his originals, plus two by Hammer. These performances differ from many of the guitarist's later ECM dates in that Hammer injects a strong dose of fusion into the music, and there is plenty of spirited interplay between those two with fine support by DeJohnette. Thought-provoking and occasionally exciting music that generally defies categorization.

:::By Scott Yanow:::

John Abercrombie - Jan Hammer - Jack De Johnette – Timeless (1974)

1. Lungs (12:08)
2. Love Song (4:34)
3. Ralph's Piano Waltz (5:21)
4. Red In Orange (5:21)
5. Remembering (4:32)
6. Timeless (11:57)

Credits
Artwork By - Robert Masotti , Rolf Liese
Drums - Jack DeJohnette (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6)
Engineer - Tony May
Engineer [Mixing Engineer] - Jan Erik Kongshaug
Guitar - John Abercrombie
Organ, Synthesizers, Piano - Jan Hammer
Producer - Manfred Eicher

Notes
Recorded June 21 and 22 1974 at Generation Sound Studios, New York

:::Brilliant Corners:::

Posted: Wednesday 20 August 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
2

Although Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk's third disc for Riverside, it's the first on the label to weigh in with such heavy original material. Enthusiasts who become jaded to the idiosyncratic nature of Monk's playing or his practically arithmetical chord progressions should occasionally revisit Brilliant Corners. There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song. The passage of time makes it all the more difficult to imagine any other musicians bearing the capacity to support Monk with such ironic precision. The assembled quartet for the lion's share of the sessions included Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass), and Ernie Henry (alto sax). Although a compromise, the selection of Miles Davis' bassist, Paul Chambers, and Clark Terry (trumpet) on "Bemsha Swing" reveals what might be considered an accident of ecstasy, as they provide a timeless balance between support and being able to further the cause musically. Likewise, Roach's timpani interjections supply an off-balanced sonic surrealism while progressing the rhythm in and out of the holes provided by Monk's jackrabbit leads. It's easy to write Monk's ferocity and Forrest Gump-esque ingenuity off as gimmick or quirkiness. What cannot be dismissed is Monk's ability to translate emotions into the language of music, as in the freedom and abandon he allows through Sonny Rollins' and Max Roach's mesmerizing solos in "Brilliant Corners." The childlike innocence evoked by Monk's incorporation of the celeste during the achingly beautiful ode "Pannonica" raises the emotional bar several degrees. Perhaps more pointed, however, is the impassioned "I Surrender, Dear" -- the only solo performance on the album. Brilliant Corners may well be considered the alpha and omega of post-World War II American jazz. No serious jazz collection should be without it.

:::By Lindsay Planer:::

Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners (1956)

1. Brilliant Corners (7:44)
2. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (13:06)
3. Pannonica (8:50)
4. I Surrender, Dear (5:27)
5. Bemsha Swing (7:40)

Credits
Bass - Oscar Pettiford (tracks: 1 to 4) , Paul Chambers (3) (tracks: 5)
Drums - Max Roach
Piano - Thelonious Monk
Producer - Orrin Keepnews
Saxophone [Alto] - Ernie Henry
Saxophone [Tenor] - Sonny Rollins
Trumpet - Clark Terry (tracks: 5)

Notes
Recorded in New York, December 1956

:::Unit Structures:::

Posted: Tuesday 12 August 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , , , , ,
1

After several years off records, pianist Cecil Taylor finally had an opportunity to document his music of the mid-'60s on two Blue Note albums (the other one was Conquistador). Taylor's high-energy atonalism fit in well with the free jazz of the period but he was actually leading the way rather than being part of a movement. In fact, this septet outing with trumpeter Eddie Gale, altoist Jimmy Lyons, Ken McIntyre (alternating between alto, oboe and bass clarinet), both Henry Grimes and Alan Silva on basses, and drummer Andrew Cyrille is quite stunning and very intense. In fact, it could be safely argued that no jazz music of the era approached the ferocity and intensity of Cecil Taylor's.

:::By Scott Yanow:::

Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures (1966)

1. Steps
2. Enter, Evening (Soft Line Structure)
3. Enter, Evening [alternate take]
4. Structure / As Of A Now / Section
5. Tales (8 Whisps)

Credits
Bass - Alan Silva , Henry Grimes
Drums - Andrew Cyrille
Piano, Bells, Written-By - Cecil Taylor
Recorded By [Recording By] - Rudy Van Gelder
Saxophone [Alto] - Jimmy Lyons
Saxophone [Alto], Oboe, Clarinet [Bass] - Ken McIntyre
Trumpet - Eddie Gale Stevens Jr.

:::Juju:::

Posted: Friday 8 August 2008 by jazzlover in Etykiety: , ,
1

Fulfilling the potential promised on his Blue Note debut, Night Dreamer, Wayne Shorter's Ju Ju was the first really great showcase for both his performance and compositional gifts. Early in his career as a leader Shorter was criticized as a mere acolyte of John Coltrane, and his use of Coltrane's rhythm section on his first two Blue Note albums only bolstered that criticism. The truth is, though, that Elvin Jones, Reggie Workman, and McCoy Tyner were the perfect musicians to back Shorter. Jones' playing at the time was almost otherworldly. He seemed
to channel the music through him when improvising and emit the perfect structure to hold it together. Workman too seemed to almost instinctively understand how to embellish Shorter's compositions. McCoy Tyner's role as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time was played here as well, and his light touch and beautiful, joyful improvisations would make him a much better match for Shorter than Herbie Hancock would later prove to be.
JuJu rests in the uphill portion of Shorter's creative peak. While the sidemen may have been an even better match for him than the ensembles he would put together for later albums, he was just beginning to find his footing as a leader. His performances were already showing evidence of great originality -- yes, they were influenced by Coltrane, but only in the way that they broke apart the structures of the bop sound to create a sound that had all of the variety and flexibility of the human voice. On later albums like Speak No Evil and The Soothsayer, however, Shorter would rise to an even higher level as a performer with more powerful, confident playing that reached farther afield in its exploration of melodic textures.

What really shines on JuJu is the songwriting. From the African-influenced title track (with its short, hypnotic, repetitive phrases) to the mesmerizing interplay between Tyner and Shorter on "Mahjong," the album (which is all originals) blooms with ideas, pulling in a world of influences and releasing them again as a series of stunning, complete visions.

:::By Stacia Proefrock:::

Wayne Shorter – Juju (1964)

1. Juju Shorter 8:35
2. Deluge Shorter 6:53
3. House of Jade Shorter 6:53
4. Mahjong Shorter 7:44
5. Yes or No Shorter 6:39
6. Twelve More Bars to Go Shorter 5:31
7. Juju [alternate take/] Shorter 7:50
8. House of Jade [alternate take/] Shorter 6:39

Credits
Bass - Reginald Workman
Drums - Elvin Jones
Engineer - Rudy Van Gelder
Piano - McCoy Tyner
Producer - Alfred Lion
Tenor Saxophone - Wayne Shorter