Roberto Carcasses - Invitation (2000)

01.Llegó, Llegó

02.De la Habana a Nueva York

03.Puerto Padre

04.Velas Içadas

05.California en Clave

06.Monk's Mood

07.Descargasses

08... Y Llegó el Invierno

09.Tonada Para Robin.

Roberto Carcassés, piano

Jorge Pérez Zagua, bass

Hilario Bell, drums

Oliver Valdés, drums

Alejandro Aparicio "El Pícaro", congas

Mario Hernández, trumpet

Yazek Manzano, trumpet

César López, alto sax

Alfredo Thompson, baritone sax

Elmer Ferrer, guitars

Amado Dedeu, vocals

Bobby Carcassés, vocals

Liliam, vocals

Pancho Terry, chekeré drums, vocals.

Roberto Carcassés - Invitation
2000

Cuban Music Series. The New Generation.

Interactivo leader debut album.
Featuring guitar wizard Elmer Ferrer and former Irakere members César López, Mario "El Indio" Hernández and Alfredo Thompson.

Brought to you by TQMP
The Quality Music Project

I love it when drummers become pianists because they bring a propulsive charge to the instrument. Just listen to how Eddie Palmieri, Omar Sosa and Roberto Carcassés manage meter and time. Carcassés, a conservatory-trained percussionist from Cuba, makes his debut with Invitation, a CD that shows how his rhythmic approaches enhance his montuno-driven grooves and intricate angular melodies.

In the 1990s Carcassés, son of renowned jazz singer Bobby Carcassés, was part of the pivotal Latin-jazz band Columna B, with saxophonist Yosvany Terry and drummer Dafnis Prieto. Roberto and his contemporaries created a new view of jazz by building on contemporary rhythms such as songo and timba. From the dancehall Afro-funk opener, "Llego, Llego (Timba Mabo)," to the solo piano closer "Tonada Para Robin," Roberto threads a musical journey that speaks to this fusion.

A street rumba, "De La Habana a Nueva York," opens an homage to Mario Bauza, which features Carcassés' scat-crazy dad. Roberto gives "Monk's Mood" a Cubano reworking with the beautiful voice of Liliam passionately delivering the Brazilian ballad "Velas Icadas." Don Pancho Terry offers a santeria prayer on "Descargasses (Ochun)" over a 6/8 beat with a funky twist, but it's young Roberto who shines with creative sparkle on this Invitation.
-- Jazz Times

One of the finest Afro-Cuban jazz projects in recent years. Tight, spicy, and full of unexpected turns. There is a whole lot of talent in this band.
-- descarga.com

Hot on the heels of arranging and performing on Selma Reis's introspective homage to romantic Cuban boleros The Air of Havana, pianist Roberto Carcassés extroverts himself with high-energy jazz that hones the sharp edge of traditional Cuban music. The descarga "Llego, Llego" kicks off the disc with the flare of Mario "El Indio" Hernandez and Yazek Manzano's tandem trumpets, smoothing the way for a piano tribute to piano-man composer Hilario Durán that's capped by Irakere's Alfredo Thompson on tenor sax. "Monk's Mood" syncopates the Thelonius Monk classic, taking an already up-tempo composition and flinging it into near delirium. The improvised "Descargasses (Ochun)" builds from Pancho Terry's chant to the Orishas as handclaps, good vibes, and rippling piano hold the jam together. Carcassés is one of the finest Cuban pianists and arrangers around, never stooping to convention while staying just this side of the familiar, and the varied material here shows off his melodic gifts to the hilt.
-- amazon.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Roberto Carcassés es un joven músico hijo del jazzman cubano Bobby Carcassés. Se graduó de la Escuela Nacional de Arte en percusión en 1991. A pesar de esto, su carrera profesional la ha hecho como pianista y como tal ha acompañado a Gema y Pavel, dos cantantes cubanos asentados en España, en el disco Trampas del tiempo, ha grabado con el grupo Columna B, y ahora presenta su primer disco en solidario: Invitation.

Su juventud no le impide presentar este CD acompañado de músicos de tan reputada jerarquía como los saxos del Irakere César López y Alfredo Thompson, el trompetista Mario Hernández y su propio padre, Bobby Carcassés.

En Invitation, Carcassés muestra una gran calidad como pianista, pero aún más su capacidad como arreglista y director musical. La banda suena compacta, haciendo jazz afrocubano del bueno. El jazz latino en general está buscando horizontes. El jazz le da múltiples posibilidades mientras más hurga en él. Lo afrocubano también. Carcassés hace ver que puede nadar profundamente en ambas aguas. La trompeta de Hernández y los saxos de los Irakere, suenan de manera sublime, en la descarga que abre el disco –Llegó, llegó de Changuito– donde el propio Carcassés muestra su talento como pianista. Le sigue De La Habana a Nueva York, un homenaje a Mario Bauzá con la participación de la educada voz de Bobby Carcassés y los soneos de Amado Dedeu, nombrando una lista de rumberos que incluye a puertorriqueños como Giovanni Hidalgo o Cachete Maldonado, Jerry González y cubanos que optaron por el exilio como Patato, Mongo Santamaría, El Paisa... en un ejercicio que se comienza a repetir cada vez con mayor frecuencia, para beneplácito de los melómanos.

Le sigue una versión de Puerto padre, la composición de Emiliano Salvador que ya se ha transformado en un standard, en una versión interesante que respeta el espíritu del arreglo de la grabación de (Emiliano) Salvador de 1979, Nueva Visión.

Le sigue una canción de Ivan Lins adaptada como bolero y vocalizada por Liliam. Quien esto escribe no se le da fácil cualquier bolero cantado "educadamente". Este no es la excepción. Desencaja un poco con el resto del disco, a pesar de estar bien ejecutada y con un sentimental solo de guitarra de Elmer Ferrer.

California en clave, original de Carcassés, brilla por su alegría y gracia y calienta el ánimo que pudo haber enfriado la anterior. Tiene un original solo de saxo alto de César López que introduce el del pianista. La batería, el chekeré y las congas juegan al contrapunto. Bien.

Sigue la composición de Thelonius Monk, Monk's Mood, donde Carcassés nuevamente da muestras de su sabor a hora de los solos, respetando el jazz, es decir, faltándole el respeto a todo menos al ritmo y la armonía, y Mario Hernández exhibe su habilidad soplando la trompeta.

Descargassés, pieza para piano, voces (casi toda la banda) y palmas, metiéndose en el canto religioso, alegre y festivo, para terminar con dos temas de piano solo que cierran el CD.

Invitation es un paso adelante en el jazz afro cubano.
-- anapapaya.com.

Tony Lakatos - Gypsy Colours (2006)

01.Crying Away from India 10:42

02.Matilem 8:29

03.Bebop 4:13

04.Relaxing at the Coffee House 6:09

05.O.C. 6:58

06.East of the Moon 5:00

07.Troublant Bolero 6:46

08.Duj-Duj Dema Devla Phaka Duj 5:21

09.Night, Like a Sea 6:06

10.Mr. Fried 7:13.

Andras Lakatos - drums

Gyorgy Orban - bass

Monika Rostas - vocals

Szakcsi Bela Lakatos - piano

Tony Lakatos - saxophone.

Tony Lakatos - Gypsy Colours (2006)

Though still underrated by the media at large, saxophonist TONY LAKATOS has progressed to become one of the most popular protagonists on his instrument, acclaimed by jazz fans in Europa, and especially in the USA. His own production work with Randy Brecker, Billy Hart, Trilok Gurtu, Joanne Brackeen, Adam Nussbaum, George Mraz, Al Foster, Jimmy Scott supplies ample testimony of his craft, backed up by guest appearances on albums from a.o Wolfgang Haffner and Masha Bijlsma.

On his latest production, this native Hungarian now residing in Frankfurt, Germany has turned his ear to Gypsy culture, back to the roots. Together with pianist Szakcsi Bela Lakatos, meanwhile a fixture wherever Jack De Johnette appears, he has designed an up-to-date reflection of both jazz and Gypsy influences. The simple fact that these musicians have found styles of their own over the years precludes any direct association with that grand seigneur of Gypsy Jazz, Django Reinhardt, nor is the listener being handed yet another version of someone's idea of World Music.

All of the musicians involved on this effort come from Hungarian Gypsy families with long traditions in the field, though their attention has been decidedly devoted to jazz improvisational work. For Tony and Szakcsi , the source of inspiration was to combine these two worlds that don't really lie all that far apart, and yet retain each one's special ambience. For example, the evolution of Gypsy culture from its origins in India to the East and West European present is taken up on the plaintive “Crying Way From India”, a piece kept in a lyrical style well reminiscent of the classic melodic craft known from Hungarian Gypsies.

Tony Lakatos - Gypsy colours at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival 2010

Jean-Michel Pilc - New Dreams (2007)

But Not For Me

A Child Is Born

Trees Part I

Hummingbirds

New Dreams

Satin Doll

Widmung

Old Joe

Action

The Meadow

Burning Path

The Brook

Simplicity

Straight No Chaser

Trees Park 2.

Jean-Michel Pilc: piano

Thomas Bramerie: bass

Ari Hoenig: drums

Mark Mondesir: drums.

By
LAUREL GROSS,
Published: October 14, 2007

Like a master builder, pianist Jean-Michel Pilc constructs and reconstructs, but instead of fixed or stable edifices his creations are more like castles in the air. All the better. There's nothing stiff or rigid about what he makes through his playing and composing so there's room for listeners to breathe as they explore these new spaces with him.
If all this sounds a bit strange, just listen to New Dreams. Move along with him note to note, moment to moment. Trust. If you have the ears for it, you will find this time well spent. It's pure delight to follow Pilc without knowing where you are going—and it's impossible to know where he is going, until he gets there. So every song on this recording is an exploration, a discovery.
There are standards (including "But Not For Me, "A Child Is Born, "Satin Doll and "Straight No Chaser ), ten of the fifteen tracks are Pilc originals ("Trees Part I, "Hummingbirds, "New Dreams, "Action and "Trees Part II, among them) and there's also a rearrangement of Robert Schumann's "Widmung. Every one is exquisitely, delicately rendered and, in some ways, it doesn't matter what is a standard and which is a Pilc original—they all sound completely fresh. At times, it's like hearing an extraordinary magical music box which just refuses to play the prescribed tunes again and again, the same way, as would be expected. Pilc seems to tinker with one's perceptions. An original heard for the first time can sound extremely familiar, a standard unknowable. And even when hearing this music on repeated listening, everything still sounds unexpected.
Throughout, Thomas Bramerie on bass and Ari Hoenig and Mark Mondesir, sharing drum duties, provide elegant and subtle support perfectly attuned to Pilc's unclassifiable sounds.
If you are talking (or thinking or analyzing how these great effects are achieved or why Pilc chooses to do things as he does) you can't be hearing. And if you're not hearing fully, you're not experiencing this music. So stop reading and, in this age of multitasking, go against the grain and do only one thing: Listen.

Track Listing: But Not For Me; A Child Is Born; Trees Part I; Hummingbirds; New Dreams; Satin Doll; Widmung; Old Joe; Action; The Meadow; Burning Path; The Brook; Simplicity; Straight No Chaser; Trees Park 2.

Personnel: Jean-Michel Pilc: piano; Thomas Bramerie: bass; Ari Hoenig: drums; Mark Mondesir: drums.

Joey DeFrancesco, Guido Basso, Lorne Lofsky, Vito Rezza - One Take: Volume One (2008)

My Romance

If I Were A Bell

My Funny Valentine

Someday My Prince Will Come

How Insensitive

Walkin

Caruso.

Vito Rezza - Drums

Guido Basso - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Lorne Lofsky - Guitar

Joey DeFrancesco - Organ (Hammond).

By
RAUL D'GAMA ROSE,
Published: August 15, 2008

“ When these magical moments find their way to heart and mind they will remain vivid long after the sound of music has vanished into the night. ”

Joey DeFrancesco, Guido Basso, Lorne Lofsky, Vito Rezza
One Take, Volume One
Alma Records
2008

The beauty of jazz is that it is music containing the sound of surprise. Most jazz musicians only plan what they are going to play, not how they are going to play it. So it may be different each time it is played. Then there is the jazz jam, the descarga. Things heat up as the jam progresses. The group gets tighter and the music starts to flow, bubbling like a brook, tumbling like a waterfall, roaring like a river in flood. Making it up as they go along, the jazz jam may not be a big deal for seasoned musicians.

But to jam a recording session and do it all in just one take... Now that is really something—close to a miracle. Now it's much more than just a jam. So was Alma Records producer, Peter Cardinali in over his head when he dreamed up this project? Jaws may have dropped, but on evidence, for all the wrong reasons.

Here on One Take, Volume Oneis the miraculous evidence of four superb musicians getting together to pull it off. And Alma captured that on CD and DVD simultaneously, which makes it even more remarkable. One Take, Volume 1 brings together the mighty Canadian jazz guitarist, Lorne Lofsky, venerable flugelhorn player, Guido Basso, and percussionist, Vito Rezza with the magnificent Hammond B3 of none other than Joey DeFrancesco. Although listeners are sure to find the CD breathtaking, the DVD is highly recommended as well.

Nothing—not even the finest sounding CD—can completely replace the experience of "being there" at the moment when the music happens. When these magical moments of melody, harmony and rhythm unfold on the unsuspecting ear and find their way to the innermost recesses of the heart and mind's eye they will remain vivid and be remembered long after the sound of music has vanished into the night. For this reason alone, the DVD will hold pride of place in any music library shelf. The CD, of course recommends itself, being one of a kind and playable anytime, even when you cannot afford the intrusion of the picture.

Now, what makes this project unique is not necessarily what makes it a resounding success. This is largely due to the simple fact that the atmosphere was electric. Musicians knew what they were committing to tape and also the fact that had just one shot at making it work. Remember, this is not just a jam, but also a one-take jam. There is so much respect here. No one is leader, just four fine musicians getting down and making the impossible happen.

The super session kicks off with producer Peter Cardinali defining the challenge, and the musicians deciding who will call the tunes. Basso calls Rogers and Hart's "My Romance." He also states the theme with his hallmark luscious, warm tone and then proceeds to take a beautiful, understated solo for a couple of choruses. DeFrancesco eggs him on with the occasional growling chord or resonant flourish. Lofsky solos next and in the first few notes provides notice of why he is one of the most valued interpreters of song and also one of the leading solo guitarists in the jazz scene in Toronto. His solo is crafted with flighty exuberance, almost the antithesis of Basso's warmth—almost personifying the moment when lovers intertwine—one playing off the sensuousness of the other's shy skittishness. DeFrancesco's solo is full of dazzling twists and turns as the inner drama of the song unwinds.

If the DVD is to be believed, then this is just a warm-up and is followed up—without flourish—by Frank Loesser's classic, "If I were a Bell." By now the band is really cooking, with Basso and DeFrancesco describing and defining the song from its head. It's taken slightly faster than Miles Davis' classic readings, with Rezza adding a touch of humor as he sounds the bells at the beginning of the track.

There is also some fine interplay between the musicians—especially when Rezza takes his star turn when he extrapolates the theme. Lofsky calls the next tune, "My Funny Valentine," and proceeds to define the pace as well. By now the unit is really cooking. Basso's flugelhorn plays low notes that one never really thought were possible on a flugelhorn. Lofsky's fretwork is fluid, and he paces his solo with an unmatched sense of space. DeFrancesco's playing slightly behind the beat is also quite special, as are the clever changes throughout the song.

Rezza and DeFrancesco together shape "Someday My Prince Will Come" as a slightly faster waltz. By now the group is steaming and nothing can come between the magic and the music, which gets even more adventurous from here on. Solos are more risque. Notes are more twisted. Harmonics are grabbed from out of thin air and every musician is heard digging deeper—from the upper register of the fretboard to the highs and lows of the flugelhorn, every musician stretches outside his comfort zone. DeFrancesco is particularly awe-inspiring on "Someday My Prince Will Come." He appears to have unearthed the magical nature of the protagonist's longing for being united with her love. During the final choruses of the song, the interplay between musicians sharing and exchanging bars with Rezza is also fascinating. Rezza also unearths otherworldly tones from his range of drums and his subtle shading is also near perfect, thanks to masterful use of brushes.

The session peaks on Tom Jobim's "How Insensitive." Here every musician navigates the twists and turns of the many-layered emotions of the song as if they were privy to special secrets, as if they know of the intimacy that exists every time you negotiate a Jobim song. Basso by now has found a link between flugelhorn and trombone and almost sounds like both. DeFrancesco is dazzling once again and you can see why he has the two finest hands—especially his effortless left hand—on the Hammond B3 since Jimmy Smith and Larry Young. And Lofsky's reading of the song is, once again, just perfect with his breathtaking glissandos and chordal variations. Richard Carpenter's "Walkin'" is no less a wonder. DeFrancesco and Rezza are particularly exuberant and recall the electricity of that day when Miles Davis made this track his own. Now you can feel yourself awaiting the end.

Here producer Peter Cardinali apparently had a surprise for the group—especially DeFrancesco. The DVD tracks him as he emerges from the recording booth with a score-sheet with his arrangement of Lucio Dalla's extraordinary chart, "Caruso." Apparently none of the musicians had heard of this track. So the sound of surprise takes on new meaning. Now Cardinali invites the musicians into his recording booth, ostensibly to hear the original. They emerge from the booth and appear to be fired up. Not only is the track an inspired choices for a date such as this, but the musicians appear to be moved by the music. DeFrancesco is spectacular as he opens the melody; Lofsky and Basso give mesmerizing performances on guitar and flugelhorn.

You know now that if the session does not end here, the emotion and the electricity of the event will dissipate completely. And so ended the first of one of Alma's most ambitious projects. As a listener you find yourself asking whether the session was a success. The answer comes faster than you would have expected. And the moments of magic will last a very long time indeed.

The DVD also features some interesting features—including the "Food for Thought" segment, which provides a subtle hint as to why the session was such a resounding success. A word about the CD: this is an analog recording that is digitally mastered. So the quality of sound is truly life-like.


Tracks: My Romance; If I Were A Bell; My Funny Valentine; How Insensitive; Walkin'; Caruso.

Personnel: Joey DeFrancesco: Hammond B3 organ; Guido Basso: flugelhorn and trumpet; Vito Rezza: drums; Lorne Lofsky: guitar. Peter Cardinali: producer.

Elvin Jones - On The Mountain (1975)

01.Thorn Of Aa White Rose (5:09)

02.Namuh (7:50)

03.On The Mountain (4:40)

04.Smoke In The Sun (4:06)

05.London Air (5:35)

06.Destiny (7:29).

Jan Hammer - keyboards

Gene Perla - bass

Elvin Jones - drums.

This 1975 date for the brilliant drummer, with Jan Hammer on keyboards and bassist Gene Perla, is a minor, if somewhat overlooked, classic from the tail-end of the early '70s to the mid-70s' run of great jazz fusion releases. Both Perla and Hammer worked with Elvin Jones between 1971 and 1973, in bands featuring saxophonists Frank Foster, Joe Farrell, Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman. Here, the smaller format allows for a tight group sound with openings for strong solos and fluid interplay throughout. Jones is well up in the mix, giving fans a front-row opportunity to enjoy the drummer, both in all-over-the-kit, rolling-thunder mode and in the subtler moments of his peerless brushwork. The trio perform a half-dozen originals by Perla and Hammer. The impressive writing has a definite jazz sensibility, but Hammer's Moog and electric piano work, Perla's alternating between electric and acoustic basses, and Jones' own fierce eruptions provide a satisfying, rock wallop in several spots. ~ AllMusic.

Don Rendell Quintet - Space Walk (1972)

On the Way leading into Antibes

Summer Song

The Street called Straight

Euroaquilo

Space Walk

A Matter of Time.

Bass – Jack Thorncroft

Drums – Trevor Tomkins

Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Alto Flute – Don Rendell

Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute – Stan Robinson

Vibraphone, Flute – Peter Shade.

This is the first complete LP by the Don Rendell Quintet which came into being when the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet split, amoeba-like, into separate units. (Rendell's quintet was heard on part of "Greek Variations" —Columbia SCX6414--which I reviewed in December 1970.) As always Rendell acts as a catalyst, drawing the best from his fellow musicians and setting both example and inspiration to younger men in his employ. Stan Robinson, who partners Don in the front line, has developed into an assured, confident tenor soloist just as Ronnie Ross did when he joined the Rendell Quintet eighteen years ago. In fact there are times when I find it difficult to tell Don and Stan apart, so strong is the Rendell influence. On drums is the ever-improving Trey Tomkins, still one of this country's most underrated percussionists. Jack Thorncroft, an Australian, is the big-toned bass player while Peter Shade doubles flute and vibraphone. With Rendell and Robinson each playing tenor, clarinet and flute (and Don also playing soprano) the quintet is capable of producing a wide variety of tone colours. On Antibes, for example, there are consecutive flute solos by Robinson, Peter Shade and the leader. All four tunes on Side 1 were composed by Rendell who is one of the fastest and most prolific jazz composers I know. (I once arranged to meet him for lunch. I arrived on time but Rendell, who hates to be late for an appointment, had turned up ten minutes early. While waiting for me he had jotted down the melody line and chord symbols for a thirty-two bar chorus tune which had just occurred to him.)
The strength of the writing is in the first side with Summer Song a little gem of a composition. Street Called Straight has an opening eight bars which sound, melodically and harmonically, like an oblique approach to I Can't Get Started. The resemblance ends there however but this is a track on which, until I referred to Charles Fox's useful sleeve-note, I was almost certain that it was Don who took the tenor part. (In fact Rendell plays flute on this number while Stan Robinson switches to tenor.)
The writing on Side 2 is shared; Euroaquilo (composed by Robinson), Space Walk (Peter Shade) and A Matter Of Time (Trey Tomkins and tenor saxophonist Dave Quincy). Some of the tracks have an easy ambiguity in terms of time and it says a great deal for Don Rendell, who has spent so much of his life thinking and playing in common time, that he moves over and through the changing time signatures with complete freedom. This is really a very attractive and thoroughly professional album which has steadily grown on me since I first received it. Strongly recommended. A.M.

Dave Grusin - Discovered Again! Plus (1976) [Remastered 2004]

01.A Child Is Born (3:49)

02.Keep Your Eye On the Sparrow (4:20)

03.Sun Song (4:45)

04.Captain Bacardi (2:41)

05.Git Along Little Dogies (4:34)

06.The Colorado Trail (5:00)

07.Cripple Creek Breakdown (4:47)

08.Adeus A Papai (2:22)

09.Keep Your Eye On the Sparrow (theme from Barreta) (4:23)

10.Sun Song (4:44)

11.Git Along Little Dogies (4:33)

12.The Colorado Trail (5:20).

Dave Grusin (piano)

Harvey Mason (drums)

Ron Carter (bass)

Lee Ritenour (guitar)

Larry Bunker (percussion).

Lincoln Mayorga, co-founder of Sheffield Records, has wanted to make a direct-to-disc album with Grusin for many years, and Grusin became intrigued with the challenge. Finally the idea and the occasion met. Direct-to-disc recording implies spontaneity. One performs live. The stylus hits the lacquer, cuts a continuous groove starting at Note 1, Side 1. It will not terminate until the last note of Side 1, and then 2. In this sense it is a live performance. Yet, the music must be painstakingly rehearsed so that the engineer can cope with the heroic task of mixing as he records. For it is an engineer’s medium. This puts aching pressure on the musicians trying to stay in touch with their own impulses. What the engineer must program, the musicians must de-program as they go. Somewhere in this minefield an unusual quality of music emerges. It is never child’s play. For this extraordinary task, Grusin hired a special group of musicians. They are also the same guys Grusin hires for most of his work. They’re up to it and they suit him. One, bassist Ron Carter, was an import.

Anyone who knows jazz knows Ron Carter. The sound he can get from an acoustic bass (full sized, not three-quarter) is like nobody else’s sound. It is particularly satisfying to hear the depth with which that sound is caught within the direct-to-disc recording medium.

The guitar player is Lee Ritenour, who is too young to play as well as he does, but Grusin lets him get away with it. Indeed, it would be hard to stop him. It is difficult to pin down the reasons for rapport between musicians at their work. Grusin and Ritenour generate a similar momentum; they’re both fast, disreputable, and great little dancers.

Drummer Harvey Mason is a staple of your basic Dave Grusin rhythm section. His agility is seemingly effortless. I’ve seen him sight-read complicated time signatures while I was still trying to hear them in my head. He also has a silly streak that’s hard to resist. Most important in this case, he keeps the time where Grusin likes to hear it, while painting on colors of his own. And if this were not enough, he often brings a shopping bag full of homemade popcorn to the dates.

Larry Bunker is the formidable vibraharpist and percussionist on the album. You should be so lucky as to be in any kind of trouble on a record session and have Larry Bunker there, imperturbably drinking his black coffee, waiting, ready to bail you out. Rarely have I known a more contained musician, nor a more various and capable one. Bunker is what the word veteran is for. ~ ElusiveDisc.

Dusko Goykovich – Blues In The Gutter (1983)

01.Think In Half Time

02.Faros

03.Oo-Bop-P’da

04.Samba- De Loves Me

05.Intro

06.Nursery Sketch

07.Blues Inthe Gutter.

Dusko Gojkovic (tp,flh)

Erich Kleinschuster (tb)

Milos Krstic (p)

Kreso Remeta (b)

Alvin Queen (ds).

An excellent bop-based soloist who has recorded rewarding sets for Enja, Dusko Goykovich played in Yugoslavia and Germany before visiting the U.S. for the first time with Marshall Brown’s International Youth Band (playing at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival). Goykovich attended Berklee (1961-1963) and played with the orchestras of Maynard Ferguson (1963-1964) and Woody Herman (1964-1966) before deciding to return to Germany, leading a group with Sal Nistico (1966). He was with the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band (1968-73) and had a 12-piece band with Slide Hampton (1974-1975). Miles Davis is his main influence, but Dusko Goykovich (who has been quite active during the ’80s and ’90s in Europe) has his own extroverted style.
— Scott Yanow.

Don Ellis - The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground (1969)

THE NEW DON ELLIS BAND GOES UNDERGROUND Featuring Patti Allen
(Columbia CS 9889, © 1969)

TRACK LISTING:
House in the Country (Al Kooper / arr. Don Ellis)
Don't Leave Me (Harry Nilsson / arr. Don Ellis)
Higher (S. Stewart / arr. Don Ellis)
Bulgarian Bulge (public domain / arr. Don Ellis)
Eli's Comin' (Laura Nyro / arr. Don Ellis)
Acoustical Lass
Goood Feelin'
Send My Baby Back (Marbray, Hewitt / arr. Don Ellis)
Love for Rent (Fred Selden / arr. Fred Selden)
It's Your Thing (Isley, Isley, Isley / arr. Don Ellis)
Ferris Wheel
Black Baby (Allen, Ellis).

PERSONNEL:
Don Ellis
trumpet, electrophonic trumpet, ring modulator, flugelhorn.

Saxes & Woodwinds:
Fred Selden - alto sax, soprano sax, flute, clarinet
Lonnie Shetter - alto sax, soprano sax, flute, clarinet, oboe
Sam Falzone - tenor sax, clarinet, flute
Hadley Caliman - tenor sax, flute
John Klemmer - tenor sax, flute
Mike Altschol - baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute;
Jon Clarke - baritone sax.

Trumpets:
Glenn Stuart
Stu Blumberg
John Rosenberg
Jack Coan.

Trombones:
Jock Ellis
George Bohannon
Glenn Ferris
Dana Hughes - bass trombone
Doug Bixby - contrabass trombone, tuba.

Rhythm:
Jay Graydon - guitar
Pete Robinson - piano, Fender Rhodes, ring modulator, clavinet, harpsichord
Joe Julian - bass
Carol Kaye - bass
Gary Todd - bass
Ralph Humphrey - drums
Rick Quintnal - drums, vibes, percussion
Gene Strimling - percussion
Lee Pastora - congas, bongos, shaker, cowbells.

Vocals:
Patti Allen
The Blossoms.

REVIEW:
This album gets a bum rap, but it actually isn't that bad. Al Cooper's involvement in the Autumn album probably had something to do with the opening Blood, Sweat, and Tears cover tune, and he produced the "Eli's Comin'" track. The other covers include songs by Harry Nilsson ("Don't Leave Me"), Sly & The Family Stone ("Higher"), and The Isley Brothers ("It's Your Thing," where the entire trumpet section plays quarter-tone trumpets). The tune that really sticks out on the album is "Bulgarian Bulge," an arrangement of a Bulgarian folk song in 33/16 time. Mind boggling. As for the originals, Fred Selden's "Love for Rent" has a nice breakdown in the middle, where Don plays an echoplexed solo over the chorale-like trombones. Don's "Goood Feelin'" is an earful, going through a number of musical styles (although I could do without the cheesy background vocals). "Acoustical Lass" would be interesting if they issued the whole track, and "Ferris Wheel" features, naturally, trombonist Glenn Ferris...what the hell is the noise at the end of the song?!

A better question would be "Who is Patti Allen?" I'd be interested in hearing how Don and Patti got hooked up. Patti sings four songs on the album with varied results, the best track being "Send My Baby Back." Just when you thought you were baffled enough, the studio vocal group The Blossoms (Darlene Love, Fanita, and Jean King, who, among countless other distinctions, were the singers on "Shindig") also lend their voices to Underground. Is this the same guy who previously recorded "Indian Lady"?!?!?! In the end, it's all a lot of fun.

08.06.03 - I just listened to Laura Nyro's version of "Eli's Comin'" and Don's arrangement is practically a transcription. At the very least, it retains more of the original elements than Maynard's version of the song (which was recorded a year later). Maynard's take on it is a bit more exciting, but Don's is more sonically interesting. Wait a sec…what in God's name am I talking about? I need to get a real life.

12.13.05 - I never thought this album would ever see a CD reissue, but I'm proven wrong once again by Wounded Bird. Getting back to the covers, "It's Your Thing" is not the best version of the song (that honor goes to the band Cold Grits), but the shout section is exciting, and the quarter-tone trumpet section should make anyone chuckle. Don matches Nilsson's wacky vocal stylings almost note for note on "Don't Leave Me." I like Don's version better than the original. Pat Williams also did an arrangement of the song on Heavy Vibrations, but it's too marching band-ish for me (someone is even blowing a whistle to signal the choruses!!). Seek out those OOP Pat Williams albums on Verve...they are all sonically interesting and true musical time capsules.

Dan Adler, Joey DeFrancesco, Byron Landham – Back to the Bridge (2010)

01. Silver and Gold (Adler) 5:14

02. Oh, Look at Me Now (Bushkin) 6:32

03. Joy Spring (Brown) 5:24

04. Back to the Bridge (Adler) 5:21

05. Good Old Days (Adler) 6:55

06. A Beautiful Friendship (Styne-Kahn) 7:43

07. Yatsanu At (We Left Slowly) (Zehavi) 7:14

08. Between Jobs (Adler) 5:10

09. I’ve Never Been in Love Before (Loesser) 6:37

10. The Smudge (Peterson) 8:08.

Dan Adler, guitar

Joey DeFrancesco, organ

Byron Landham, drums.

Dan Adler - Back To The Bridge (Featuring Joey DeFrancesco)

Back To The Bridge is a fine showcase for jazz guitarist Adler's writing, arranging and playing skills, and presents ten tracks of organ trio music in all its glory. Joey DeFrancesco is the most renowned and recognizable organist of the modern era, and DeFrancesco brings his longtime drummer, Byron Landham.

Tracklist:
01. Silver And Gold (5:14)
02. Oh, Look At Me Now (6:32)
03. Joy Spring (5:24)
04. Back To The Bridge (5:21)
05. Good Old Days (6:55)
06. A Beautiful Friendship (7:43)
07. Yatsanu At (We Left Slowly) (7:14)
08. Between Jobs (5:10)
09. I've Never Been In Love Before (6:37)
10. The Smudge (8:08)

Total Time: 64:18 min

Personnel:
Dan Adler, guitar
Joey DeFrancesco, organ
Byron Landham, drums.
Dan Adler made a strong impression with his debut recording as a leader, All Things Familiar, a quintet date featuring tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart and pianist Richard Samuels.

On Back To The Bridge, the inventive guitarist explores a mixture of standards and originals with the top jazz organist of the past 20 years, Joey DeFrancesco.

American jazz has been Dan Adler's main musical inspiration throughout his life. In high school in his native Israel he took lessons from Avri Sharon, a jazz guitarist who had studied with Jim Hall and Chuck Wayne. Seeing guitarist Ray Crawford performing with Jimmy Smith in Tel Aviv was an influential moment in Adler's career as was discovering the early recordings of Joe Pass. Since moving to New York, Adler has worked in jazz clubs, played duo gigs, and performed with many of his musical heroes.

On Back To The Bridge, Dan Adler, Joey DeFrancesco and the organist's regular drummer Byron Landham explore the classic jazz organ trio format. The interplay and communication between Adler and DeFrancesco make it sound as if they play together on a regular basis, but that is not surprising since they are both masters of the mainstream jazz vocabulary and are natural swingers.

The opening original Silver And Gold, a tribute to Horace Silver, has the trio grooving hard from the start with Adler and DeFrancesco taking solos that are full of inventive ideas. Oh, Look At Me Now, pianist Joe Bushkin's most famous composition, was a swing era hit that became associated with Frank Sinatra. Listen to how clear Adler's articulation is during his thoughtful solo.

Clifford Brown's Joy Spring receives an unusual melody statement that alternates between two different tempos, before it becomes a cooking uptempo romp. Back To The Bridge is an Adler original that is a well disguised take on Have You Met Miss Jones. His Good Old Days is a quirky jazz waltz with a melody that is actually played in superimposed 4/4 time.

A Beautiful Friendship starts with an introduction that hints at a New Orleans march before it settles into a medium tempo swing. The lone ballad of the set is an Israeli standard, the somber Yatzanu At (We Left Slowly) . Adler's Between Jobs is reminiscent of Blue Mitchell's Fungii Mama in that it utilizes rhythm changes, has a calypso feel, and is quite joyful. I've Never Been In Love Before, taken faster than usual, includes one of Adler's best solos of the project, an improvisation overflowing with creative ideas. The album concludes with Oscar Peterson's The Smudge, a medium-tempo blues that includes a memorable guitar/organ tradeoff.

A major step forward for Dan Adler, Back To The Bridge is a delight for fans of straight ahead jazz.
Scott Yanow.

Charlie Sepulveda & The Turnaround (2008)

01.Something Cute (Lee Morgan) 6:38

02.Don't You Worry About a Thing (Stevie Wonder) 7:09

03.Si Tú Sabes (Sepulveda) 10:34

04.Mr. Jazz (Sepulveda) 6:00

05.Chang's Song (Herbie Hancock) 4:38

06.Bomba Pa' Carmen (Sepulveda) 6:34

07.Mo Better Blues (Mike Lee) 6:54

08.Gubraltar (Freddie Hubbard) 7:22

09.Mírame Más (Julio Gutiérrez) 6:40.

10.Caribeño (Gabriel Rodríguez) 7:01.

Charlie Sepulveda & The Turnaround - Heineken Jazz Fest 2007.

At age 20, Charlie Sepulveda earned the first trumpet slot in the band of another native New Yorker of Puerto Rican ancestry, heralded pianist Eddie Palmieri. Twenty-five years later, after working with stars from Dizzy Gillespie to Tito Puente, Sepulveda has further proof that his studies at City College of New York, and in Puerto Rico, were fruitful. He started a solo recording career in 1991, but has only seven CDs, partly because he’s been busy giving back as a professor at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

The latest, Charlie Sepulveda & the Turnaround, is an audio textbook in combining disparate studio crispness with concert energy. Sepulveda also studied at the conservatory, and at the Universidad de Puerto Rico. The university’s campus radio station, WRTU, has state-of-the-art digital equipment, so the trumpeter recorded the seven-piece band live in the studio.

Sepulveda covers vintage material by Lee Morgan (“Something Cute”), Herbie Hancock (“Chan’s Song”) and Freddie Hubbard (“Gibraltar”), bringing something new to each through creative arrangements. A band of this size requires attention to detail when recording live, but pianist Eduardo Zayas and vibraphonist Felipe Fournier keep Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing” creatively uncluttered by alternately setting up and answering Sepulveda and saxophonist Norberto Ortiz.

The trumpeter’s originals range from some of the disc’s most rhythmically simple (“Si tu Sabes”) to “Mr. Jazz,” his churning dedication to Puerto Rican radio host Wito Morales. Bassist Gabriel Rodriguez is a unifying force throughout the CD, and drummer Raul Maldonado and conguero Gadwin Vargas leave each other—and everyone else—just the right amount of space on Sepulveda’s complex “Bomba Pa’ Carmen.” The leader also adds muted trumpet on Mike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues,” and salutes Puente on Julio Gutierrez’s poignant “Mirame Mas.”
~ jazztimes.com.

Charles Mingus - Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife (1988)

01.Slop

02.Song with Orange

03.Gunslinging Bird

04.Things Ain't What They Used to Be

05.Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers

06.Far Wells, Mill Valley

07.Mood Indigo.

Maurice Brown , Seymour Barab (cello)

Jerome Richardson (flute, saxophone)

Bobby Jones (reeds, tenor saxophone)

Danny Banks (reeds)

John Handy, Benny Golson, Booker Ervin (saxophone)

Dick Williams, Snooky Young, Jimmy Nottingham (trumpet)

Julius Watkins (French horn)

Eddie Bert, Jimmy Knepper, Urbie Green (trombone)

John Foster, Roland Hanna (piano)

Theodore Cohen (vibraphone)

Dannie Richmond (drums).

All music is from the 1959 Columbia release MINGUS DYNASTY, except for "The Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers" which is taken from Mingus' 1971 recording LET MY CHILDREN HEAR MUSIC.

Most of the Mingus Dynasty, which features the same lineup as Mingus Ah Um and has a similar feel but is less driving. Inexplicable inclusion of "Shoes of the...." from Let My Children Hear Music, recorded twelve years later. All great music. ~ Michael Katz

Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble – Blueprints (Chicago Sessions) (2010)

Send Eggs

Milesmiles

Captain Spok

Vuelvo a Vivir

Blueprints

Bossa Pegajosa

Tierra

Timeless.

Victor Garcia: trumpet;

Tito Carrillo: trumpet;

Roger Ingram: trumpet;

Freddie Rodriguez: trumpet;

Steve Turre: trombone, shells;

John Mose: trombone;

Craig Sunken: trombone;

Greg Ward II: alto sax;

Rocky Yera: tenor sax, baritone sax, flute;

Steve Eisen: baritone sax;

Rich Moore: alto sax (7), clarinet (7);

Neal Alger: guitar;

Darwin Noguera: piano:

Joshua Ramos: electric bass;

Paoli Mejia: congas;

Victor Gonzales, Jr. congas;

Juan Picorelli: timbales;

Ernie Adams: drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 8);

Juan Daniel Pastor: drums (2, 5, 7);

Juan Daniel Pastor: cajon;

Nythia Martinez: vocal;

Ricky Luis: vocal.

Darwin Noguera is a sublime talent. Not only does he have extraordinary technique, something he seems to have worked hard on, but he is brilliantly expressive and he has the dynamic that enables him to him to annunciate in various idioms and metaphors although his strongest is one with a heavy Latin underpinning—especially on this Big Band album, Blueprint, which he appears to have co-created with his alter ego, the trumpet playing Victor García. The pianist and the trumpeter might have made strange bedfellows were it not for the relationships already forged by the venerable Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie (Pablo Records, 1974). The one with Noguera and García might be longer-standing than that. Moreover, these two musicians write and arrange more like Lennon and McCartney than anyone else. And Blueprints contains some of the finest examples of this writing.

The bold, brassy pervasiveness of this band is replete with the muscular flexing not only of the burnished tones of the horns—the brass section has four trumpets and two trombones—but echoes with the valiant thunder of percussion as well. Although the forthright nature of the music is undiminished throughout and its existentialism is kept alive also by the steady throb of the electric bass, a certain softness does occur in the vocal chart that is gracefully negotiated by the clear and magnificent soprano of Nythia Martinez on “Timeless”, a chart that closes this fine album. However this is not before seven other majestic charts are worked over by some disciplined reading of melody, inventive harmony and the delicate persistence of the Latin beat.

Most of the writing may be attributed to García here, but Noguera has been known to contribute in large measure to the writing and certainly to the arrangement of the voicings as well. Both musicians may appear not to spend too much time on subtlety here, but this is probably deliberate. This is a collection of aggressive, bronzed charts and the clever use of the softer shades of the musical palette are used to enrich the tonal and timbral values of the music; to provide accents rather than to drive the beating heart of the compositions. A notable exception—in addition to “Timeless”, that is—might be Noguera’s “Milesmiles”, which is more than a clever play on Miles Davis’ path breaking eponymous album. Interestingly, the chart is a feature for the trumpet of García, but Noguera underpins the trumpeter’s bold insinuations with a gentle ebb and flow of musically harmonious waves to calm the fluttering melody.

The addition of Steve Turre on trombone, on “Captain Spok” and on shells on “Blueprints” is inspired. Turre brings his characteristic swelling tone, screeches and melodic smears to the charts and on the latter his vigorous harmonising on shells is spectacularly cast against the backdrop of Paoli Mejias’s robust showing on congas. This leaves the music of Blueprints, both the chart and the album to reverberate unforgettably long after the music is actually done.

Chet Baker – You Can’t Go Home Again (1977)

Tracks + Personnel:

1. Love For Sale (12:58)
Chet Baker (trumpet), Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone), John Scofield (acoustic & electric guitars), Richie Beirach (electric piano, Clavinet), Ron Carter (bass), Alphonso Johnson (electric bass), Tony Williams (drums), Ralph MacDonald (percussion)

2. Un Poco Loco (9:20)
Chet Baker (trumpet), Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone), John Scofield (acoustic & electric guitars), Richie Beirach (electric piano, Clavinet), Ron Carter (bass), Alphonso Johnson (electric bass), Tony Williams (drums), Hubert Laws (flute), Don Sebesky (electric piano)

3. You Can’t Go Home Again (5:43)
Chet Baker (trumpet), Paul Desmond (alto saxophone), Kenny Barron (acoustic & electric pianos), Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums), Don Sebesky (electric piano)

4. El Morro (13:14)
Chet Baker (trumpet), Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone), John Scofield (acoustic & electric guitars), Richie Beirach (electric piano, Clavinet), Ron Carter (bass), Hubert Laws (flute), Tony Williams (drums), Ralph MacDonald (percussion), John Campo (bassoon)

AMG:
Against all odds, Baker made a successful comeback in the mid-’70s after several years totally outside of music. This LP from A&M Horizon features him with a large group on three selections playing Don Sebesky arrangements. Tenor-saxophonist Michael Brecker and guitarist John Scofield are among the all-star supporting cast on ‘Love For Sale’, ‘Un Poco Loco’ and ‘El Morro’. The fourth selection has altoist Paul Desmond (on his very last recording) interacting with the trumpeter/leader on a small group version of Sebesky’s ‘You Can’t Go Home Again’. This is worth searching for.

Chetbakertribute.com:
Chet holds his own in a jazz-fusion setting. Much of this recording seems dated today, as Moog synthesizers permeate many of the arrangements. Fans of his more traditional sound will like the quintet tracks with Desmond, who died just months after these recordings.

(Verve later issues a 2-CD set containing too many unnecessary alternate takes, with jarring switches from the jazz-fusion of this issue to a traditional jazz combo, and six tracks from the album “The Best Thing For You”.)

Ben Williams - State Of Art (2011)

01.Home 4:13

02.Moontrane 6:31

03.The Lee Morgan Story 4:32

04.Dawn Of A New Day 7:38

05.Little Susie Intro 1:24

06.Little Susie 6:46

07.November 7:07

08.Part-Time Lover 7:07

09.Things Don't Exist 6:01

10.Mr. Dynamite 5:32

11.Moonlight In Vermont 4:52.

Matthew Stevens (guitar)

Marcus Strickland (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone)

Gerald Clayton (piano, Fender Rhodes piano)

Jamire Williams (drums)

Etienne Charles (percussion).

Recording information: Sear Sound, New York, NY (06/16/2010/06/17/2010).

Bassist Ben Williams' 2011 solo debut, State of Art, is a thoughtful contemporary and post-bop-leaning album that finds the winner of the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition delving into several original tunes and successful pop covers. Williams is an adroit improviser with a fluid, muscular approach to the upright -- as well as the electric -- bass, and he showcases all of his skills here along with his ear for unexpected covers and lively originals. Tracks like the roiling, Latin-infused number "November," featuring guitarist Matthew Stevens, and the high-energy, frenetic "Mr. Dynamite" are ear-popping straight-ahead jazz moments, while the hip-hop jazz cut "The Lee Morgan Story," featuring MC/vocalist John Robinson, brings to mind such '90s innovators as Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest. A child of the hip-hop generation, Williams clearly has an affinity for the music he grew up with, and consequently, although he does deliver a ruminative and gorgeous contemporary jazz version of "Moonlight in Vermont" here, he also includes a handful of inspired soul covers, including a string-heavy take on Michael Jackson's "Little Susie" and a slow and funky modal jazz version of Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover" featuring saxophonist Marcus Strickland, while he turns R&B singer Goapele's "Things Don't Exist" into a cinematic orchestral jazz ballad. Though not an R&B cover, Williams' version of trumpeter Woody Shaw's underappreciated "Moontrane" only helps to further expand an already supremely well-rounded debut. ~ Matt Collar.

Bobby Matos & John Santos - Mambo Jazz (2001)

01.Entrada (Agogo y Agbe) 2:28

02.Caminado 5:44

03.Mambo Mona Mix X 3:55

04.I Don't Speak Spanish (But I Understand Everything When I'm Dancing) 6:46

05.Nueva Diana 4:52

06.Oye Mi Querida 5:07

07.Ya Se Ve 5:10

08.Cachao 5:36

09.Salida (pa' Cafe Borinquen) 1:19.

Bobby Matos- timbales, congas, bongos, chekere, guiro, bells, coro

John Santos- timbales, coro

Victor Cegarra- piano

John Calloway- piano, flute

Eliseo Borrero, David Belove- bass

Michael Turre- baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, flute, bells

Melecio Magdaluyo- flute, alto saxophone

Ron Stallings- soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone

Wayne Wallace- trombone

Gilbert Castellanos- trumpet

Paul Van Wageningen- claves

Judson Matos- chekere

Robertito Melendez- bongos, bell, chekere

Orestes Vilato- timbales.

By
JIM SANTELLA.

By allowing their bands to jam together for this project, Bobby Matos and John Santos have created a loose-knit, easy to like affair. Both percussionist bandleaders emphasize Afro-Latin jazz in their respective ensembles. Beside a colorful lineup of tuned drums and cowbells of different sizes, their combined orchestra has room for traditional Afro-Cuban vocals and fiery horn solos. Two dramatic readings make an emotional impression. One appears as a reverent homage to bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez, 82, who is widely regarded as the creator of mambo music. The other forges ahead in a contemporary mood with thoughts on how this music affects us. Passionate and piercing, the mambo has long given us visual and aural scenery for romance. Horn solos offer refreshing samples of the spontaneity; and everyone in the combined band gets involved. Of particular note are the spots provided by John Calloway on piano and flute, Michael Turre on baritone sax, Wayne Wallace on trombone, Eliseo Borrero on bass, Victor Cegarra on piano and both Ron Stallings & Melecio Magadaluyo on saxophones. Both leaders share their enthusiasm through various percussion instruments. Santos and Matos reach a high point on "Oye Me Querida," on bongos and timbales, respectively, when they interact with conguero Robertito Melendez with spirits soaring. Both bandleaders provide effective examples of the required rhythms, while leading their combined orchestra through a pleasurable session of mambo jazz.

Branford Marsalis & Joe Calderazzo - Songs Of Mirth And Melancholy (2011)

01.One Way 7:13

02.The Bard Lachrymose 4:28

03.La Valse Kendall 7:40

04.Face On The Barroom Floor 4:31

05.Endymion 6:02

06.Die Trauernde 1:42

07.Hope 8:49

08.Precious 6:02

09.Bri's Dance 8:04.

Branford Marsalis - saxophones

Joey Calderazzo - piano.

Given the history that saxophonist Branford Marsalis and pianist Joey Calderazzo have, the end results of Songs of Mirth and Melancholy should not be surprising, yet they are. Calderazzo replaced the late Kenny Kirkland in Marsalis' band in 1998 and the rapport between them is seamlessly intuitive as revealed here. Cut in three days in Durham, North Carolina, the set contains compositions by both men, as well as a surprising pair of covers.

Black Roots - Funky & Abstract Directions In Jazz (1965-1975) (2001)

01 I WALK ON GILDED SPLINTERS - Dr John the Night Tripper

02 JAGGER THE DAGGER - Gene McDaniels

03 THE WINDJAMMER - Mongo Santamaria

04 IT'S YOUR THING - Shirley Scott

05 FOXY BROWN - David Newman

06 MEAN GREENS - Eddie Harris

07 SEE LINE WOMEN - Yusef Lateef

08 THE FAKIR - Duke Pearson

09 RAGA MEGHA - Joe Harriott/John Mayer Double Quintet

10 WITCHI TAI TO - Jim Pepper

11 SUFUR - Rufus Harley

12 BLACK ROOT - Roland Kirk.

Various Artists (Atlantic)
By Dean Rudland.

And all hail to the genius of Atlantic Records. Because as we enter that most future of years - well after 1984 and that blew it - we've prepared for the release of a monster of a compilation that really shows some far out thinking amongst the jazz and progressive funk community in the late 60s early 70s.

We have music going back to its most basic of objects, the drum. In Black Root Roland Kirk, takes us back to the street parades of New Orleans and with the primal screams of his horns gets straight to the heart of the matter. Dr. John brings in the Voodoo spirit for his seminal I Walk On Gilded Splinters, hippy trippy nonsense, which somehow is something more. Eugene McDaniels who used to be plain Gene crooning pop hits. In the 70s he subsidised a politicised solo career as the Left Rev. McD by writing big pop hits for Roberta Flack. Here he may or may not be taking on the egotism of certain pop stars - but he definitely does it over one hell of a groove that was one of the key breaks on Tribe Called Quest's debut LP.

Mixing in elements of funk into the overall stew are David Newman on Roy Ayers Blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown and Shirley Scott playing it fairly straight with the Isleys' It's Your Thing. Adding the final ingredient of a touch of latin flavour is Mongo Santamaria who takes Neal Creque's Windjammer away from the islands and into a Nu-Yorican funk flier.

Keeping it more into an R&B roots thing is Yusef Lateef, who takes on the sought-after Nina Simone cut See Line Women in his normal commanding style. Eddie Harris is equally as commanding on his own Mean Greens - a much underrated horn player giving it the most.

Lateef was renowned for introducing Eastern influences into jazz, and taking up his challenge here is Duke Pearson with the amazing The Fakir which has the much underrated James Spaulding on flute. More authentic and just as good is the Joe Harriott - John Mayer Double Quintet. Taking it into another place are the Native American chants that Jim Pepper brings to Witchi Tai To.

So as we said let's hail Atlantic Records and its messing in a wide variety of music. Never has the past sounded so modern.

Brother Jack McDuff - Brotherly Love (2001)

01.Hot Barbecue 5:36

02.Vas Dis 7:27

03.Kettle Of Fish 5:19

04.Georgia 7:57

05.Santa Amalia 5:39

06.April In Paris 4:40

07.Time's Marchin' On 9:34

08.Pork Chops & Pasta 8:08

09.Rock Candy 11:51.

Brother Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco (Hammond B-3 organ)

Red Holloway (alto & tenor saxophones)

Andrew Beals (alto saxophone)

Jerry Weldon (tenor saxophone) John Hart, Pat Martino (guitar)

Frank Gravis (bass)

Grady Tate, Rudy Petschauer (drums).

Brotherly Love is "Brother" Jack McDuff's final recording session, and features Red Holloway and Pat Martino, both of whom were integral members of his popular '60s group. Recorded just months before his sudden death in 2001, McDuff pulls out all the stops on nine great tracks with phenomenal Hammond B-3 artistry. Two bonus tracks feature previously unreleased material that spotlights McDuff with his protégé, Joey DeFrancesco, sharing in the brotherly love.

Six originals and three standards brim with McDuff's trademark soul and blues chops, all sharing stories in a language the entire world can understand -- the blues. "Hot Barbecue" and "Georgia" are sure standouts, while the "live" recordings, "Pork Chops and Pasta" and "Rock Candy," add another level of excitement to this great recording. On the "live" tracks, McDuff and DeFrancesco together display their staggering Hammond B-3 organ techniques and their love of the blues and jazz that made them a presence on the soul-jazz scene. "Brother" Jack McDuff was a true soul-jazz man, and Brotherly Love captures the essence of the strong musical path he forged for more than 50 years.

Bobby Hutcherson - Farewell Keystone (1982)

01.Crescent Moon (7:14)

02.Short Stuff (6:51)

03.Prism (7:00)

04.Starting Over (10:56)

05.Rubber Man (6:56)

06.Mapenzi (13:31).

Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone)

Harold Land (tenor saxophone)

Oscar Brashear (trumpet, flugelhorn)

Cedar Walton (piano)

Buster Williams (bass)

Billy Higgins (drums).

Recorded a year before San Francisco's legendary club Keystone Korner (which was open for 11 years) closed, this live set features tenor-saxophonist Harold Land with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson (who co-led a group with him in the 1970's) and trumpeter Oscar Brashear (who has often teamed up with Land during the past 15 years). With pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Higgins completing the sextet, it is not surprising that the music is hard bop-oriented and of consistent high quality.
Originally out on Theresa, the Evidence [Bellaphon] CD reissue adds a lengthy version of Harold Land's "Mapenzi" to the original five-song program, all of which are originals by the musicians. Recommended.

Bryan Beller - View (2003)

01.Bear Divide Beller 2:33

02.Seven Percent Grade 5:31

03.Supermarket People 7:12

04.Elate 1:32

05.Get Things Done 7:35

06.Backwoods 3:37

07.Bite 3:54

08.Eighteen Weeks 7:39

09.Projectile 1:35

10.Wildflower 4:49

11.No 4:12

12.See You Next Tuesday 4:11

13.View.

Jeff Babko - Organ (Hammond)

Bryan Beller - Audio Production, Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric), Composer, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Soloist, Spoken Word, Vocals

Sean Bradley - Violin

Fausto Cuevas - Percussion

Nick D'Virgilio - Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing, Vocals (Background)

Colin Keenan - Vocals

Mike Keneally - Organ (Hammond), Piano, Vocals (Background)

Dmitri Kourka - Viola, Violin

Rick Musallam - Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals (Background), Wah Wah Guitar

Toss Panos - Drums

Wayne Perez - Cartage, Documentation, Sound Effects

Griff Peters - Guitar, Guitar (Baritone)

Tricia Steel - Vibraphone

Dave Takahashi - Cello

Joe Travers - Drums

Wes Wehmiller - Composer, Guitar (Bass), Photography, Vocals (Background)

Yogi - Guitar.

Review
by Sean Westergaard

After a decade or so of being "bassboy for hire," seemingly content playing other people's music, Bryan Beller decided the time was right for making some music of his own. View is his first travel down that road. It's an album of solid rock instrumentals (a couple tunes have vocals), broken up by several solo bass pieces. Beller's got chops to spare, but also shows taste and restraint in his playing, along with some fine compositions.

View starts with the very pretty "Bear Divide," scored for an electric and an acoustic bass, then moves into a killer groove with "Seven Percent Grade," featuring Mike Keneally on piano and Rick Musallam on guitar (Beller's bandmates in the Mike Keneally Band). Then it's time for Keneally's turn on guitar with "Supermarket People," with Jeff Babko on Hammond organ, followed by the slightly ominous "Elate," for solo bass. Beller was wise to limit Keneally's involvement (lest anyone doubt this is Bryan's baby), and just as wise to feature Rick Musallam and Griff Peters on guitars, because they sound great on these tunes.

As a composer, Beller shows a pretty broad range, and an affinity for some genuinely sick tones (check Musallam on "Seven Percent Grade," or Keneally on "See You Next Tuesday"). Although all the songs are clearly composed, some are more of a groove, allowing the guitarists plenty of room to strut. "Projectile" is a fairly brief rocker with a great distorted vocal that builds to a frenetic conclusion. Each of the solo bass pieces evokes a different mood, with Beller showing what a great musician he is (there's a lot more to it than just technique). His treatment of John Pattitucci's "Backwoods" is especially nice. Perhaps the most surprising pieces are "Eighteen Weeks," with its wonderful use of a string trio and vibes, and the beautiful title cut, "View," both of which really demonstrate the depth of Beller's composing ability. The only mis-step on the album is "Bite," a pretty generic rocker, and the only other tune Beller didn't write himself. Given Beller's abilities and background, this could have all too easily become a bass showcase, or a guitar shredder album. There is some monster playing on the album to be sure, and fans of those camps will not be disappointed with View, but thanks to his musical sense and savvy, the album goes way beyond that. Those familiar with him already knew Bryan Beller was a great bass player; View shows him to be a fine composer, and an excellent producer as well. This is a strong first effort.

Biography
by Sean Westergaard

After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1993, Bryan Beller's first big gig was with Ahmet and Dweezil Zappa's band Z, which is where he first met Mike Keneally. In 1996, after two albums and a tour, Keneally decided to leave Z for a solo career and Beller decided to stick with Keneally, beginning a musical partnership that's now lasted more than ten years over the course of seven albums and countless tours. During his time in Los Angeles, Beller also played and/or recorded with Wayne Kramer (MC5), Dream Theater's James LaBrie, singer/songwriter Janet Robin (Lindsey Buckingham), and Steve Vai. Beller appears on several Vai albums, and was asked to be bassist for Vai's 2004 shows with the prestigious Metropole Orchestra (their performance of "Lotus Feet" was nominated for a 2005 Grammy). In 2002, Beller began work on View, his debut as a leader. Financed, composed, and produced by Beller, the critically praised View was released on his own Onion Boy label in the fall of 2003.

Beller is also a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including a long-running column in Bass Player magazine (1999-2003). He's interviewed several heavyweight bass players like Lee Sklar, Neil Stubenhaus, and Billy Sheehan, and currently has a column called Masterclass in Bass Player. Beller moved from Los Angeles to Nashville in early 2006, but continues to work as both a freelance bassist and writer while working on material for his second album. Despite the location change, he is also still recording and touring with Mike Keneally both in the Mike Keneally Band and as a clinician for Taylor Guitars.

Arturo O'Farrill - Blood Lines (1999)

01.Moment's Notice

02.Brava

03.Chinas y Criollas

04.Pure Emotion

05.Ya Yo

06.Little Susan

07.Arturo's Closet

08.Siboney

09.Walking Batteriewoman

10.Darn That Dream.

Arturo O'Farrill (piano)

Papo Vazquez (trombone)

Andy Gonzales, George Mraz (bass)

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez (drums)

Jerry Gonzales (congas, percussion).

Recording information: Clinton Recording Studio, New Y (02/1999).

Fast approaching 40, pianist O'Farrill (son of the legendary Latin bandleader/arranger Chico O'Farrill) finally released his debut CD. It's a meaty jazz trio-oriented affair with several Afro-Cuban spins, more like Bill Evans with fire than burn-down-the-house Eddie Palmieri. But since he is no spring chicken or lightweight, O'Farrill's lyricism and good melodic and harmonic common sense are well developed and far from naïve. He's active and interactive, digging in and taking his swings, listening and reacting to the mighty contributions of bassist George Mraz or Andy Gonzalez and the exciting drumming of Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez. As much as he's capable, he's not trying to blow you away with pyrotechnics, but seduce you with advanced, temperature-rising music. The recording starts with a concise, crisp, uptempo version of "Moment's Notice," followed by the Santi Debriano-written Panamanian waltz "Brava." One of the most unusual pieces is the interesting Chinese-Cuban, Rob Mounsey-written "Chinas y Criollas," with Jerry and Andy Gonzalez and including Jerry on congas. Also featured is Carla Bley's lightning-quick "Walking Batterie Woman," which O'Farrill played at a much more deliberate speed when he was with Bley's band in the late '70s and early '80s. Two tracks feature the purposefully flatted, mushy, bluesy trombone of Papo Vazquez on the rolling, kinetic "Ya Yo" and the similarly energized 5/4 to 6/8 original "Arturo's Closet." O'Farrill also explores the patient, trusting romanticism of classic Afro-Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona during the evergreen "Siboney," Mraz's arco intro does the same on "Pure Emotion," and a solo piano version of the standard "Darn That Dream" fully displays O'Farrill's interpretive and improvisational talents to the max. There's also a beautiful Randy Weston piece titled "Little Susan" in 6/8. Aside from the world-class musicianship, O'Farrill's stance is inviting and resourceful as any, and he likes to change up time signatures, which makes the date eminently and repeatedly listenable. Better late than never for O'Farrill, this marvelous recording shows the leader in a most favorable light. A gem in little need of polishing. ~ Michael G. Nastos
.