Passin' Thru - CHARLES LLOYD NEW QUARTET (Blue Note) CD Bass – Reuben Rogers Drums – Eric Harland Piano – Jason Moran Saxophone / Flute – Charles Lloyd Track 1 recorded at Montreux Jazz Festival June 30, 2016. Tracks 2-7 recorded at The Lensic, Santa Fe New Mexico July 29, 2016. Mastered by Bernie Grundman and issued in quality gatefold digipak with 12-page booklet with photos and infos. Recommended!
MARION BROWN / THREE FOR SHEPP / IMPULSE / 1966 / US FIRST STEREO PRESSING AS-9139 LP "Three for Shepp" my Marion Brown is has the same concept as Archie Shepp's "Four for Trane" - one side consists of originals by the album artist, the other of compositions by a revered musician. I've always associated Marion Brown with complex Free Jazz, for a great number (if not majority) of his output was released on labels that had a reputation of signing musicians with no intention to compromise their artistic vision in order to attract greater audiences (ESP disk and Freedom for instance). Brown certainly does not compromise, yet his style and his compositions are more accessible than what I expected or feared by several magnitudes. On this album, Brown's compositions lean more toward Avantgarde with looser and atonal but not completely free playing. As a side note, this is the earliest appearance of Strata East co-founder Stanley Cowell on record I know of - he plays on Side B, where the group tales on Shepp's tunes. Also, as on several Impulse! releases around that cat.no., the recording was done by RVG, but not the mastering (note the lack of the typical "VAN GELDER" stamp in the runouts. It does sound fantastic, though. The liner notes are somethin' else (I hope they are sharp enough for comfortable reading): Brown is interviewed and shares some of his political views; they may seem radical, but I guess one has to account for the period the interview was given and how life for a black man (musician) must have been back in the day.
Byrd’s-day with back-to-back funky Jazz-Fusion . . . 1969/2018 Blue Note – B0028724-01 Vinyl Me, Please. Classics – C017 — KPG@CA 1972/2019 Blue Note – BST 84380 Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series – KPG@CA
Stanley Turrentine - Another Story via The Blue Note Stanley Turrentine Quintet/Sextet Sessions Disc 5 Session (G) Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; Thad Jones, flugelhorn; Cedar Walton, piano; Buster Williams, bass; Mickey Roker, drums. .
My Funny Valentine Personnel: Miles Davis – trumpet George Coleman – tenor saxophone Herbie Hancock – piano Ron Carter – double bass Tony Williams – drums
Recorded within a week of each other, Freddie Hubbard’s Blue Note debut and Tina Brooks’ only Blue Note performance as leader to be released in his lifetime — it’s always great hearing these two play together and both albums complement one another well. I enjoy playing these back-to-back . . . 1960/2019 Blue Note – BST 84040 Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series – KPG@CA 1960/2008 Music Matters Ltd. – MMBST 84041, Blue Note – BST 84041 Blue Note The Definitive 45 RPM Reissue Series – KPG&SH@ATM
Progressive Records [Japan 1978] KUX-81 G - Scott Hamilton " The Grand Appearance" - rec. 1978 - Engineer: Fred Miller
Harold Land - tenor sax Red Mitchell - bass Carmell Jones - trumpet Frank Strazzeri - piano Leon Petties - drums Recorded 1962 A very nice sounding CD Atlantic 1376, Japan Import All original songs composed by the Various band members. Love that cover shot!
Live At Newport - Eddie Harris (Atlantic) CD 24-bit remaster This album was recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1970 and originally released in on LP in 1971. I initially struggled to get into all the different aspects of this record but now I have heard it three or four times my opinion has changed from uncertain to positive!
CACHAITO - ORLANDO CACHAITO LOPEZ (World Circuit) CD with Bass – Orlando "Cachaíto" López Bongos – Carlos Gonzalez Congas, Percussion – Miguel 'Anga' Diaz Electric Guitar – Manuel Galban Guiro, Claves – Alejandro Pichardo Organ [Hammond], Clavinet – Bigga Morrison Timbales – Amadito Valdes Released 2001 in slipcase with 24 page booklet. An excellent recording as Afro-Cuban music meets Afro-American Jazz and with a tasteful sprinkling of dub in the mix! One reviewer descibed this release as "A reinvention of popular Cuban music".
John Coltrane Afro Blue Impressions [2 CD Remastered][Expanded] Rmst Exp Bril ed. 2 CD, Extra Tracks, Remastered Personnel: John Coltrane — tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone McCoy Tyner — piano Jimmy Garrison — double bass Elvin Jones — drums
CHARLES BRACKEEN / RHYTHM X / STRATA-EAST / 1968 / US FIRST STEREO PRESSING SES-19736 This album was recorded in 1968 but not released until 1973, when Clifford Jordan produced the "Dolphy Series" for Strata-East. In hindsight, the long period between recording and release might have been a good thing. In 1968 this record would probably have raised some eyebrows. First, the Quartet is to 3/4, well, Ornette Coleman's. Don Cherry, Charlie Haden (here almost famously misspelled "Hayden" on the front- and back cover) and Eddie Blackwell already played as a unit for as long as seven years when this album hit the recording studio, which means Brackeen practically joined a self-sustaining organism, and we all know what these do with new organs... anyway, Ornette Coleman's music was still considered a unique thing by 1968 and this record, due to its obvious similarities, would probably have received lesser reviews than it deserves. The obvious first: Brackeen's style is highly reminiscent of Ornette's, especially in the way he (abrubtly) ends high-pitched notes but also his timing. It's certainly not a bad thing (how many tenor saxophonists sound like Coltrane and how many of them would have killed to play with McCoy, Jimmy and Elvin?). He does have a different approach to letting the rhythm section explore and improvise, though. While I always enjoyed Haden's talent, I don't think I have ever heard him so present and clearly defined as on this record, especially on the title track. He is clearly the center of gravity on "Rhythm X". His solo, at about 2/3 of the track, gives me goosebumps, especially when he suddenly plays an almost menacing theme. I have a feeling that lots of other sax-players would have interrupted Haden long before he had reached that peak of suspense. Also, Blackwell's is first rate - it's not just his amazing sound, he actually keeps all things in motion, but he doesn't overplay it. It is almost as if Haden and Blackwell sound even more unleashed on this album than with Coleman. All in all this album is quite accessible, with a beautiful ballad ("Hour Glass") and two faster tracks on side B. I'd recommend it to those who love Coleman's first three albums on Atlantic. This record is the fourth in my collection of the "Dolphy Series" on Strata-East. It was still in the shrinkwrap when I received it, but I tend to rip those off and use a new and clean and resealable outer sleeve. I don't think I'll be getting "Izipho Zam" by Pharaoh Sanders (the only record of the series I am missing) anytime soon - while I really love Sanders' music, this album is one I can't get into.
Now: Paul Bley (piano) with Gary Peacock (bass) and Paul Motian or Billy Elgart (drums). Released by ECM in 1970.
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis ~ The Rev Prestige, 1959/1969 Volume 2 of the Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis cookbooks featuring Shirley Scott Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, December 5, 1958.
LA SABOTEUSE - YAZZ AHMED (Naim) CD (also on 2xLP) Released June 2017 in gatefold cardboard sleeve with booklet. Yazz Ahmed is a new name to me and I have, on one hearing, been impressed with this album - but it is one I need to listen to again to appreciate more fully all that is going on here.
