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21.03.2009 г.

Joe Henderson - 1973 - Canyon Lady


Joe Henderson - "Canyon Lady"
(LP Milestone Records, 1973)
Produced by Orrin Keepnews for Milestone Records
Recorded in October 1973 at Berkeley

Personnel :
Joe Henderson (ts)
Luis Gasca, Oscar Brashear, John Hunt (tp)
Julian Priester, Nicholaas TenBroek (tb)
Hadley Caliman, Ray Pizzi, Vincent Denham (flutes)
George Duke (el. piano)
Mark Levine (ac.piano)
John Heard (b)
Eric Gravatt (d)
Francisco Aguabella (perc.)

01. Tres Palabras
02. Las Palmas
04. All Thing Considered

13.03.2009 г.

Dizzy Gillespie & Lalo Schifrin - 1977 - Free Ride


Dizzy Gillespie teamed up with Lalo Schifrin to compose and produce for him. The result is some interesting parts like a bass line with congas in Incantation, but a lot of the music is light, poppy jazz with a lot of wah wah guitar, sort of like Bob James. The best track is the last, Last Stroke Of Midnight with a dark and mysterious feel to it with keyboard work that sounds like it could be part of an Afrika Bambaataa track. Really though, most of the songs tend to merge into each other in an unmentionable mass.

01 - Unicorn
02 - Fire Dance
04 - Wrong Number
06 - Ozone Madness
07 - Love Poem For Donna
08 - The Last Stroke Of Midnight

12.03.2009 г.

Charles Williams - 1972 - Stickball

Charles Williams - Stickball
1972

Charles Williams (alto sax)
Chris Woods (alto sax, baritone sax)
David "Bubba" Brooks (tenor sax)
Frank Wess (tenor sax, flute)
Don Pullen (organ)
Clyde Lucas (drums)
Cornell Dupree (guitar)
David Spinozza (guitar)
Gordon Edwards (bass guitar)
Paul Griffin (electric piano)
Randy Brecker (flugelhorn)
Ray Barretto (congas)
David Carey (congas & marimbas)
and a 16-headedstring section, conducted by Ernie Wilkins

Recorded in NY 1972
LP: Mainstream 381
CD: Mainstream PCD 23934

Full-on funky backings for saxophonist Charles Williams -- a set that almost has him in the same territory as Stanley Turrentine during his late 70s years on Fantasy Records, or Hank Crawford over at Kudu! The style here is a bit more lush than some of the other Mainstream Records dates of the time -- full backings arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins -- always plenty darn soulful, and built around a mix of strings and jazzier instrumentation -- set up with the care and precision of a hip soul soundtrack, and topped by well-crafted alto sax solos by Williams.

01. Who Is He (And What Is He To You)
02. People Make The World Go 'Round
03. Where Is The Love
04. Iron Jaws
05. Drown In My Own Tears
06. Ain't No Blues
08. Willow Weep For Me

11.03.2009 г.

Ramon Morris - 1973 - Sweet Sister Funk

Ramon Morris
Sweet Sister Funk
'73 New York

Ramon Morris (ts)
Albert Daily (el-p)
Mickey Bass (b)
Granville "Mickey" Roker (dr)
Cecil Bridgewater (tp)
Lloyd Davis (g)
Tony Waters (congas)

One of the rarest albums on the Groove Merchant label -- and one of the best! Ramon Morris has a sweet tone on the tenor that works very well with the electric piano in his tight little combo -- grooving with a style that's like the best Black Jazz funk records of the time -- mixing together bright notes, funky rhythms, and plenty of great chord changes! Cecil Bridgewater's on trumpet, and the band has a really righteous feel -- with lots of real soul and thoughtful playing mixed into the jazz funk grooves of the record. Massive -- with titles that include "Sweat", "Lord Sideways", "Sweet Sister Funk", and a nice version of "People Make The World Go Round".

02. Wijinia
04. Sweat
06. Lord Sideways