This installment of my Compendium of Jazz-Rock Fusion is meant to incorporate all of the albums that I have had the chance to determine came from the Third Wave of the evolution of Jazz-Rock Fusion--including the "masterpieces," the near-masterpieces, and the "other" albums that are, in my opinion, either errantly assigned to the Jazz-Rock Fusion sub-genre where they would probably be better served as examples of "fringe" or "related" outliers.
Masterpieces of the Third Wave:
2. U.K. UK (1978)
Total length: 40:03
Line-up / Musicians:
- John McLaughlin / acoustic guitar, vocals, producer
- L. Shankar / violin, viola, vocals
- Vikku Vinayakram / ghatam, nal, kanjeera, morsing, vocals
- Zakir Hussain / tabla, timbales, bongos, dholak, nal, triangle, vocals
1. "Mind Ecology" (5:48) blasts you away with its amazing sonic onslaught--which seems to beckon one to take up Sufi trance dancing (the whirling dervish). (10/10)
2. "Face to Face" (5:56) is without question one of the most beautiful and technically stunning songs I've ever heard. McLaughlin's strumming, alone, takes one to another dimension! Music in absolute perfection! (11/10)
3. "Come on Baby, Dance with Me" (1:57) is a lot like a brief jazz rondo piece where each of the instruments takes turns carrying the main melody line before gelling to repeat it as an ensemble. Amazing technical feat! (4.5/5)
4. "The Daffodil and the Eagle" (7:01) feels as if some Indian musicians are laying around in the shade on a scaldingly hot day playing some lazy blues, then getting revved up, they take each other to task, first picking up the pace, then really sitting up and trying to out do one another. That fourth minute is so exhilarating to hear! Very bluesy, very McLaughlin-like. Shankar really blazes on this one. Really fun! (13.33333/15)
5. "Happiness Is Being Together" (4:27) begins like something out of a Santana or South American song catalogue--a mariachi, perhaps? I get so mesmerized when John McLaughlin is strumming! Another Shankar showpiece. (Or is that Itzhak Pehrlman? Wow!) John, in turn, is so cool and at ease--and so Spanish! (8.875/10)
6. "Bridge of Sighs" (3:52) slows it down to a very emotional pace with a very JONI MITCHELL feel. The space in this song is its most beautiful part--where its emotion really presents itself. The musicians get to show off the subtle dynamics they are able to coax out of their instruments on this one. (9/10)
7. "Get Down and Sruti" (7:01) is the showpiece for Zakir Hussein--one of the preeminent percussionists of the past 50 years. John's obtuse and unpredictable chord choices in the second minute are as mesmerizing as ever. This is followed in the third minute by Shankar's turn to seduce some incredibly slippery notes and runs out of his violin. Next Zakir takes his turn, filling the fourth minute and more with what sounds like herds of scurrying marmots or mongooses. Even Vikku Vinayakram gets a turn on his ceramic and metallic hand percussives (the traditional Carnatic instrument called the ghatam) before the konnakol voice chatter begins. Konnakol is the Carnatic Indian traditional vocalese call-and-response and vocal rhythmic repetitions that are more prominent in future SHAKTI albums and concerts. After this album, John McLaughlin even began working konnakol chatter into his concerts even when it wasn't in a Shakti format! (I have had good fortune and privilege of seeing a few of John's concerts). A song of unearthly musicianship. (13.5/15)
8. "Peace of Mind" (3:21) is an absolutely gorgeous song which seems to truly capture the astounding Beauty of true Peace. (10/10)
Bravo, Mr. McLaughlin and company. Thank you for this album.
It is hard and beautiful to remember that this is an all-acoustic album and could, therefore, be repeated in concert without the aid of electricity. Something I can't help but think about in these dangerous times: What will my favorite musics sound like in a post-petroleum world? The musicians of India and artists like John McLaughlin, Mickey Hart, Ry Cooder have already provided us with some clues to what that might be like. But rarely with the combination of beauty, joy, and astounding virtuosity of SHAKTI.
5. Michał URBANIAK Atma (1974)
Michał's first album recorded and released for CBS Records in the USA (Fusion was a re-release of a previously released European-recorded album from 1973). Atma was recorded in New York in June and released in September.- Michał Urbaniak / electric violin, vi-tar violin and soprano sax
- Urszula Dudziak / voice, percussion
- Czesław Bartkowski / drums
- Pawel Jarzebski / electric bass
- Wojciech Karolak / keyboards, Fender piano, Moog, Farfisa, Clavinet
- Ray Mantilla / Congas, drums, percussion
1. "Mazurka" (5:08) opens with a little spirit of Stéphane Grappelli in Michał's violin, but then his ground-breaking MIT-designed vi-tar electric violin hybrid takes off in the fashion only heard by the future sound of L. Shankar--all played over a wonderfully-lo-funk rhythm track held tightly together by Wojciech Karolak's awesome keyboard play (mostly clavinet). Awesome futuristic sound. Definitely genre-bending. (9.5/10)
2. "Butterfly" (7:13) more prototypical Smooth Jazz with wordless vocalist Urszula Dudziak's Northettes-like performance in much of the song's lead position over the first three minutes. The Latin-infused smooth funk is like BOB JAMES music only several steps up in terms of both sophistication and production. Michał's loyal band is so locked in, so synchronized and attuned to one another's perfectly blended contributions to the music playing beneath the soloists. (Wojciech is astoundingly good.) And I can't let this go without mentioning the amazing STEELY DAN/DAVE STEWART-like shift in the rhythmic tone of the song around 5:43 that comes from Wojciech--switching in and out of a bassa nova lite. Genius! So beautiufl! Then why do I find myself craving some of that raw "dirty" play from Michal's earlier albums? (14.75/15)
3. "Largo" (4:30) another "Silence"-like (from Inactin) slow violin and other drone-like bowed and synthetic instruments. Ula is in the mix, helping with the presentation of the main melody, but then providing ghost-like GILLI SMYTH-like faeirie-waif vocals between and around the impressive electric violin play of her husband. The drums, bass, percussion, and keys beneath are solid, as always, in their shifting duties of support. (8.75/10)
4. "Ilex" (5:48) a fast-paced, uptempo mostly-race, sometimes cruising song of great complexity suddenly turns quite serious and heavy at 1:15, but then at the very end of the second minute it shifts back into an awesome J-L Ponty-like cruising speed with some interesting Latin-Caribb rhythm play beneath Michał's soaring Ponty-like electric violin play. The bridges between solo passages are lightning fast and complex whole-band affairs in the same way that Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever use. Urszula gets the next solo but she is rather reserved, holding surprisingly close to the main melodies--which is even more amplified in the next section in which she tandems with her husband's frantic violin lines. It's nothing short of amazing! Easily a top three song for me. (10/10)
5. "New York Batsa" (5:03) more clavinet-heavy highway cruising with Ula in the lead with her husband's vi-tar and some saxophone (?!) very cool composition that takes no little talent and skill to pull off for all the band members--especially the remarkable Urszula Dudziak. After the 2:25 restart, Michał takes a turn soloing all alone on his slow-flanged violin (not the vi-tar--that returns a little later). Columbia must be getting more comfortable (or impressed) with Ula's talents as they're really letting her have free reign as well more front and center positioning in the mixes--it's not all GONG-like faerie work or sexy/soothing Northettes fare. (Thank god! She's just too talented to try to hold back.) (9.5/10)
6. "Kama (part I)" (2:24) or "Kama Ula" on some albums; a solo a cappella performance from Ula that is very, very heavily treated with many effects that I cannot begin to guess at. (Todd Rundgren-like.) (4.375/5)
7. "Kama (part II)" (2:21) the Ula-fest continues but this one is more straigtforward (less prodcessed) and more Flora Purim-like (though she definitely goes far beyond the Santería chanting of Flora as the song goes on) with some great fast-paced, highly percussioned jazz-funk running beneath her. (4.667/5)
8. "Atma : yesterday" (3:17) a surprisingly gentle and spacious slow jazz-funk that provides the spacey foundation for Michał to boldly go on his delay-echo-infinite-sustained violin some amazing melody playing. (Had the band possibly heard KOOL & THE GANG's "Summer Madness" before they created this song?) The man knows how to use his effects! (and inspire Jean-Luc Ponty along the way). Do I hear a little saxophone doubling up the violin at the end? This little tune could very well have served as a back up theme for Alan Almond's Pillow Talk radio show. (9.5/10)
9. "Atma : today" (3:30) uptempo yet not as breakneck as some of the other songs on the album--more Brasilian bossa nova in its base, the bass, drums, congas, rich multiple keys, and other Brazilian percussion are exquisite in their support of Michał's violin and background saxophone play. The fact that this man, a Pole, could find this kind of affinity for Brazilian bossa nova for his sensuous electric violin to play over but Jean-Luc Ponty never could exposes one of the flaws/biases in M. Ponty's music. (9.3333/10)
10. "Atma : tomorrow" (3:16) a variation of the first Atma's theme and sound palette, slightly changed, engineered slightly differently. Might Ronnie Laws have heard this before he launched into the recording of his first solo album? Not as rich or powerful as the previous "version" but still quite good. (9/10)
Total time: 42:30
94.08 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion; one of the best shining examples of peak Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion that I've ever heard (and by now I've heard a few!) Absolutely an essential acquisition to any music lover who claims to know or love J-R Fusion.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Dmitry Sablin / keyboards. band leader
- Evgeny Nochevniy / guitar
- Michail Mamedov / guitar
- Sabir Ryazaev / sax, flute
- Alik Nifchenko / bass
- Igor Gordeev / drums
With:
- Gasan Mamedov / violin (not credited on the cover)
1. "Ашхабад / Ashgabat" (7:43) piano and electric instruments enter separately and eventually congeal in the second minute into a very familiar European-style folk jazz motif--but only for a half a minute, then things slow down and spread out so the electrified instruments can each display the subtleties of rich sounds they can create. At the end of the fourth minute, however, everyone steps back into the fast lane to cruise down the city street with another very-European sounding melody--but, again, only for a brief duration of time: at the end of the fifth minute the band shifts again, this time into a series of more jazz-rock motifs that carry Eastern European melody lines. The music is so clever, so intricate and well-timed (and conceived) that I feel as if I'm listening to a soundtrack intended to accompany a silent film from the 1920s. (13.75/15)
2. "Край Родной / Native Land" (9:46) everybody knows how much I love music that is inspired by the band members' own ethnic cultural traditions and this song jumps straight out of the blocks in this fashion. In fact, it's not until the third minute that I detect much influence of Western style as only the electric guitar seems to "feel" out of place. Saxophone, drum kit, electric bass, and electric piano join with the sax flute, traditional percussion instruments and colloquial melodies and eventually establish quite a lovely melody-centered piece in the fifth minute. The four-octave bass lines alone are just killing me, but all of the emotion being put into each instrumentalist's contribution to the weave and overall melody is just heart-wrenching. It's like a classic of Motown Soul! At 7:18, however, the band shifts gear, racing down the mountain side with some very impressive subtleties presenting in several of the instrumental performances (especially electric guitar and drums). But then in the middle of the ninth minute the band reverts back to the heart-wrenching Soul melodies for a beautifully conveyed finale. Wow! I was not expecting this--this beauty! This emotion! This skill! Superlatives abound! I would not change anything about this song: it is absolute perfection! (20/20)
3. "Чапыксуар / Chapyksuar" (8:33) opening with a collection of hand percussion instruments woven together with clapping until violin joins in at the end of the first minute expressing a Fiddler on the Roof-like melody. The joinder of the electric guitars in the third minute cause the band to change directions, shifting slowly to more funk and R&B sound palette--and they do it well--especially the guitars and bass but also the sax. At 3:40 there is another shift into a bit of a Caribbean/Latin with, oddly enough, organ leading the way. A minute later we are again changing direction with some "Shaft"-like cymbal play marking the shift into some different folk-R&B stuff. Then at the six-minute mark the fast-playing note play of an electric guitar, accented by a mirroring Igor Gordeev on drums, takes us into some more jazz-rock styles with piano, sax, and muted rhythm guitar strumming to follow, sounding very much as if we'd entered a Wild West salooon with a piano bar. My least favorite song on the album but still overwhelmingly impressive! (17.5/20)
4. "Диалог В Ауле / Dialogue in the Aul" (7:44) opens with solo electric guitar chord play that sounds so much like some of JIMI HENDRIX's playing around (without all of the volume and distortion, with wah and flange used instead). Drums, bass, and violin join in to create a slow, plaintive jam, with saxophone soon joining in to play off the heart-melting melodies being made by the violin. What a duel of gorgeous melodies! How can this kind of beauty even be possible! Then at 2:50 the band pauses to let a bagpipe-like instrument lead them into a new, more up-tempo motif, one that actually shifts a couple of times through several different styles including more jazzy, more serious rock-oriented, and more (I'm assuming) locally-folk-oriented styles before settling into a great folk jazz motif that sounds a bit like early JEAN-LUC PONTY stuff. While I absolutely adore the opening three minutes of drop-dead gorgeousness, I am blown away by the dextrous and seemingly-facile shifts through a series of very different motifs in that second half--and by the fact that each individual motif was so perfectly and richly conveyed: as if they could each one have been developed separately into their own individual song. Amazing! (14.5/15)
Total Time 33:46
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ara Tokatlian / flute, tenor & soprano saxes, piano, Fender Rhodes, Mini-Moog & PS 3000 synths, native winds, vocals
- Ignacio Elisavetsky / guitar, vocals
- Guillermo Bordarampé / bass, acoustic guitar, bandura, alto vocals
- Jose Luis Perez / drums, percussion
- "Elemental De Tierra" :
1. "Gob (Maestro-Mago De Los Gnomos)" (5:58) awesome opeing with some very impressive drums-and-percussion interplay with distant saxophone and Fender Rhodes adding accents in the backgrround. At the very end of the first minute the band shifts into a punctuated Mahavishnu/RTF-like performance of electronic instruments. Man! This drummer is so good! (And his drums are recorded so perfectly for this kind of dynamic power Jazz-Rock Fusion!) Surprisingly, Ara Tokatllian's tenor saxophone takes the first significant solo--really flying off into near-Coltrane free jazz realms with his reckless abandon! But the support crew keeps me well engaged--and makes Ara's craziness quite tolerable. Bass player Guillermo Bordarampé is also quite impressive, but the work of percussionist Jose Luis Perez may rival that of both Ara's sax and his own drumming! It's really hard to imagine Third Wave Power Jazz-Rock Fusion being any better than this! (10/10)
2. "Destilando El Perfume De Los Minerale"s (4:58) with the gentle piano and flute opening to this it's hard to fathom its supposed-connection to the previous song (within the umbrella of the "Elemental de tierra" suite title). Vocals and soaring saw-synth enter with Guillermo's melodic bass as Ara's piano and synths expand their involvement beneath the singing. There is some feeling of RPI bands like PFM and Maxophone as well as Chick Corea in this as well as some KHAN! Pretty but nothing as Earth-shattering as the opener. (8.875/10)
3. "Cristalizando Los Rayos Del Sol" (4:26) the heavier side of Jazz-Rock Fusion, bordering on Jazz-Rock or straight-up Prog. Complex with plenty of magical individual performances from all of the musicians (though the drums are a little poor in their volume levels), the multi-voice vocal enters around the two minute mark, delivering a round of lyrics before giving way to folk flute and then a powerful section with some great chord progessions supporting both electric guitar and synth solos. Then we're back to the group lyrics for another round of the same, this time with synth, sax, organ and then guitar offering the harmonized "solos" till the end. (9.5/10)
4. "Djin (Maestro-Mago De Los Salamandras)" (3:52) metronomic piano chords support a rather bombastic intro with drums, bass, and multiple searing guitars exposing the power this band is capable of. But, this only lasts about 50 seconds before the storm passes and we're left with piano and soprano sax (and, soon, flute) to deliver some gentle pastoral beauty for about a minute before the drums-and-duo-guitars explode onto the scene again. This cycle continues until the pastoral and main theme combine to softly take us out. (9.25/10)
5. "Despertar De Los Hijos De La Mañana" (3:45) electric piano playing two chords opens this before the rest of the band crashes the party with some quite bombastic play: everybody but the bass (and piano) seeming to scurry off into their own soloing. By the arrival of the second minute things are calming down, eventually leaving just the piano and flute to play for us, but then--just as with the previous song--the cycle of pastoral beauty being broken by 20-to-30-second bursts of bombast continue--until a bass and cymbal crash at 3:26 signals the intro to the next song of the suite. Wonderful stuff! (9.25/10)
6. "Necksa (Maestro-Mago De Las Ondinas)" (8:07) opens to quickly establish a cool Jazz-Rock Fusion bass and drum groove, funky yet well-steeped in rock, before tenor saxophone presents the main melody. The bass player's style sounds like Stanley Clarke with the thick bass lines mixed with heavy bass chords. So cool! An extended "pause" or "repeat" in which no real soloing is going on is then followed by another explosion of sax melody-making before the music shifts into a different motif--one that seems to combine a 1960s spy-theme with the big RTF sound palette. At 5:45 things thin out, making way for the arrival of vocals: first all female choir, then male. By 6:30 the music turns back to all-instrumental with a more Latin rock sound and feel while a spacey synth and flute fly above the rhythm guitar and heavy bass work. Excellent! (14/15)
- "Elemental De Aire" :
7. "Los Nacidos Del Viento" (3:57) a gentler, more spacious soundscape is created over which breathy, gentle male vocalist (doubled up?) joins in sounding like a cross between something between classic NEKTAR, CAMEL, CELESTE, PFM, and modern DEVIN TOWNSEND. Sax and odd synth sounds take the lead in the fourth minute before volume-pedal-controlled electric guitar notes and flute provide bird-like sounds to take us out--while the gently-arpeggiated electric guitar chords that started it all continue throughout and right to the end. Very pretty. Almost more prog folky than JRFuse. (9.125/10)
8. "Paralda (Maestro-Mago De Los Silfos)" (8:09) a rock-heavy Jazz-Rock Fusion song built around a variation of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" while deploying a heaviness that well-emulates the peak music of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR: this is truly remarkable! At 4:45 the band takes a detour down a JAN HAMMER-like road so that Ara Tokatlian can show off his synth prowess--in two channels--in opposition to his guitarist, Ignacio Elisavetsky. An extraordinary duel (triel?)--one that is right up there with anything Mahavishnu or RTF or their numerous offshoots and imitators ever did. (14.25/15)
Total time 39:20
93.61 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a full-blown masterpiece of proggy Jazz-Rock Fusion: on the same level as the best from Fermáta, SBB, Jan Hammer, or any of the early RPI classics! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED--especially if you profess yourself a prog lover!
- Jukka Hauru / guitars
- Jukka Linkola / piano, synthesizers
- Esa Kotilainen / string synth
- Heikki Virtanen / bass
- Tomi Parkkonen / drums
- Teemu Salminen / flute, saxophones, clarinet
With:
- Pekka Pöyry / soprano & alto saxophones (1, 2)
- Pekka Pohjola / bass (1, 2)
1. "Enema Syringe" (5:45) what opens as a full minute of displaying MAHVISHNU ORCHESTRA fire turns RETURN TO FOREVER at 1:20 with the introduction of the MiniMoog. At 1:45 then it sleakly slides over into pure JAN AKKERMAN territory before morphing magically into LARRY CORYELL and then GEORGE DUKE to JOE ZAWINUL-led WEATHER REPORT for the finish. The accompanying bass, drums, and keyboard playing is nothing short of miraculous! Amazing! Even if it is a bit imitative and even plagiaristic, this is pure Jazz-Rock Fusion perfection! (10/10)
2. "When I Met My Wondergirl" (8:52) beautiful and spacious LONNIE LISTON SMITH-like Cosmic Music with some awesome JAN AKKERMAN-like tone and feeling up top, mixed with the piano, sax, and bass (this latter grâce à the addition of Pekka Pohjola). The exposition takes a long time of stop-and-go before finally settling down into a fairly straightforward flowing "ballad" in the fourth minute. Just following the work of the two bass players is pure bliss--such a humbling joy! (19/20)
Total Time 38:50
93.19 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of fully-formed, superlatively-engineered Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. I feel so lucky to have been allowed to know this music!
Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / ARP Odyssey, 2600, String & Soloist synths, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 Clavinet, co-producer
With:
- Bennie Maupin / soprano & tenor saxophones, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute
- Paul Jackson / electric bass
- Mike Clark / drums
- Bill Summers / percussion
2. "Actual Proof" (9:40) with the smooth synth strings and floating flute, this one crosses both the Stevie Wonder-like funk and Bob James-like Smooth Jazz worlds despite the wonderfully funky bass and clavinet play. From a keyboard-perspective, this song lets me know that Herbie had heard Eumir DEODATO's hit-generating music from Prelude. From a bass and drums perspective I can hear that Paul Jackson and Mike Clark had been hearing the stuff that Buster Williams and Stanley Clarke as well as Billy Cobham and Lenny White were doing since the Bitches Brew sessions; just stupendous play from both of them! One of the coolest funk-laden Smooth Jazz songs you will ever hear! (19.75/20)
Total Time 38:46
10. ÉDITION SPÉCIALE Horizon Digital (1978)
- Marius Lorenzini / guitar, synth, vocals
- Ann Ballester / keyboards, synth, vocals
- Francois Grillot / bass (1-6)
- Alain Gouillard / drums (1-6)
- Mireille Bauer / vibraphone, marimba, percussion
1. "Aurore" (5:42) cool two-part song with Mireille Bauer's vibraphone given one of the primary/prominent roles in the weave. I very much like the tone and style of play from guitarist Marius Larenzini and I find this weave with its multiple melodies competing and yet complementing with one another quite enjoyable. (9.125/10)
2. "Camara" (9:25) a similar style to the previous song despite the long intro and presence of French choral vocals. They create a great little weave here with very catchy melodies and swinging rhythm track. Do I hear a little similarity to Belgian band COS here? At the 3:20 mark the band shifts up a gear with a little Latin percussion added to the swing in order to guide and inspire the two synth soloists to strive upwards. At 4:28 we're back to the lighter, smoother COS- like vocal motif, perhaps slowed down a bit, now using some dramatic stop-and-start techniques to punctuate pauses and shifts. Very cool! And boy! can these musicians play! I am SO impressed! Though there is a definite Third Wave smoothness to the engineering and sound palette, the band is definitely carving out their path through the exciting funk of this still-fairly-new seb-genre of music (i.e. Jazz-Rock Fusion). Have I mentioned how impressive drummer Alain Gouillard and bassist François Grillot are on the bottom end? I love the harmonized duet between Mireille Bauer on the vibraphone and Ann Ballester on the electric piano during the closing minute. (19/20)
3. "Ma vie dégénère" (2:58) almost a standard rock song with more choral vocals in the fore. Not nearly as exciting as the previous songs (and not nearly as complex or jazzy). (8.4/10)
4. "Daisy" (7:04) again I'm hearing a much more modern kind of music--something more avant-garde than what the 1970s is usually like--though some of the jazzier Canterbury bands also come to mind during certain sections of this song. Opening with electric guitar and vibraphone arpeggiating a two chord sequence over and over, I am quite reminded of 2023's OIAPOK (almost exactly!) And this is 45 years before Pierre "Cheese" (Wawrzyniak) and company ever released an album! Lots of funky panning, both forward and back and then side to side, very quickly. I'm still quite blown away by the ballsy music and engineering. Could this have really been 1978? Also, the funk coming from both the bass play and the syncopation of the rhythm section as a whole in the middle section, is quite remarkable. Nice Steely Dan quality and familiarity to the keyboard and guitar parts. Wow! (14.25/15)
5. "Jungle's Jingle" (6:32) another odd, off-kilter song that has a very quirky Canterbury sound palette and a twist-and- turning bent to it not unlike Pierre Wawrzyniak's CAMEMBERT project of the 2010s. At 1:15 there is a little pause bridge for a reset before the band drops back into the hypnotically circular motif of the opening section. Odd synth and guitar sounds join the weave to present before 2:18 when a new motif is established, one that is still "circular" but now containing some MAGAM or SETNA-like menace in the feel of the weave. Again the lead instruments (guitar and synths) are put through some very strange futuristic sound-blender or something for several of the solos though vibraphone and piano or still within the realms of normalcy. I love the gutsy experimentalism these guys (and gals) are expressing! (9.25/10)
6. "Confluence" (4:46) a slow and very deliberate mathematical construction opens this one for the first 83 seconds before the band merges onto the autoroute while assuming a piano-led high cruising speed. The somewhat Latin- tinged weave is peppered with piano, synths, marimba and timbales performing the lead melody injections until a whole band chorus joins in spewing forth a wildly crazed African-sounding Babel-speak at 3:03--which starts out within the musical weave but gradually drives the instruments from the soundscape for a full 30 seconds of crazy a cappella time before everything comes to a full stop, leaving us with a sudden and surprising space with no sound! Crazy! Then, at 4:04, the hard-driving motif returns with a new Zeuhlish insistence (especially from the bass, drums, and guitar). This could quite easily have been something I might have heard on CAMEMEBERT's two albums from the 2010s, Schnorgl Attahk and Negative Toe. but nothing I would ever have expected to have heard in 1978! I am stunned! (9.75/10)
Total Time 36:27
I am still stunned--even now after my fifth or sixth listen to this astonishing album! How?! . . . What?! . . . Where the heck did these cats come from? Where the heck did they get their ideas? I mean, there's only so much you can get from listening to Parliament, James Brown, Mandrill, Osibisa, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and/or Frank Zappa! How much of this ingenuity can be attributed to producer Laurent Thibault's genius?
93.03 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of refreshingly original Canterbury- and Zeuhl-infused Jazz-Rock Fusion. I definitely consider this an essential addition to any so-called prog lover's music collection.
- John Goodsall / electric & acoustic guitars, sitar, backing vocals, effects
- Robin Lumley / piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, autoharp (5), clavinet, synthesizers (Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, Roland String), backing vocals, effects
- Percy Jones / bass, autoharp (7), marimba (8), effects
- Phil Collins / drums, lead vocals, piano (3), effects
- Morris Pert / percussion
1. "Sun in the Night" (4:25) with John Goodsall's sitar and an overall Indian feel (including melodic chant vocals from Phil, John, and Robin), the band start off with quite a BEATLES-like tribute. I actually like this song quite a bit. (8.875/10)
2. "Why Should I Lend You Mine" (11:16) the BEATLES-like sound palette is somehow continued despite the more-African Jújù guitar and Percy's free-floating fretless bass. Allan Holdsworth-like guitar in the center lead is cool but then it is followed by a pretty cool NOVA Vimana-like "jungle mystique" passage in which everybody's sound contributions are very quite and subdued: more mood-influencing than virtuosic or flashy-demonstrative. (They're trying to replicate the awesome harp & percussion interlude in the middle of YES' "Awaken.") At 8:30 the individuals begin to ramp up their volumes and with John making some AL DI MEOLA/CORRADO RUSTICI-like runs before the song starts to decay and rest again. Despite it's Vimana-"Awaken" references, I absolutely love this song! (Probably cuz I love Vimana and "Awaken.") (19/20)
4. "Hate Zone" (4:41) on this somewhat funky tune John and Percy try their best to replicate the funky sounds that JAN AKKERMAN created on his two 1976 releases. (9.125/10)
Total Time 49:32
92.98 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; despite its imitative nature, this is definitely a masterpiece of Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion; Moroccan Roll is a far-better album than I ever gave it credit! It just took two years of submersion into the world of "classic era" Jazz-Rock Fusion for me to be better able to appreciate it!
- Herbie Hancock / piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D6 Clavinet, synths (Oberheim Polyphonic, ARP Odyssey, Pro-Soloist, 2600 & String Ensemble)
With:
- David T. Walker / electric guitar
- Dewayne McKnight / electric guitar
- Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson / guitar, synthesizer, talkbox
- Bennie Maupin / bass clarinet, alto & bass flutes, saxello, tenor & soprano saxophones, percussion
- Stevie Wonder / harmonica
- Wayne Shorter / soprano saxophone
- Jim Horn / flute, saxophone
- Ernie Watts / flute, saxophone
- Richard Hyde / tuba, bass trombone
- Garnett Brown / trombone
- Bud Brisbois / trumpet
- Jay DaVersa / trumpet
- Louis Johnson / electric bass
- Paul Jackson / electric bass
- Henry Davis / electric bass
- James Gadson / drums
- Mike Clark / drums
- Harvey Mason / drums
- Bill Summers / percussion
1. "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" (7:27) a song some proclaim the greatest funk jam of all-time, Herbie's clavinet, Louis Johnson's bass, the solid drums and amazing horn arrangements really are amazing but it's the incredible rhythm guitar of Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson and the other guitarists that always get me. Great housecleaning music. Excellent, if slightly incongruous. piano solo in the final 90 seconds. I am hard pressed to imagine how won could make this a better song. (15/15)
2. "Sun Touch" (5:09) a sound palette that could serve as a late-nite "Pillow Talk" radio theme song is actually quite complex with some very intricate performances. The rhythm section seem to almost want to pause or delay the song but Herbie's Fender Rhodes keeps pushing it along. Brilliant! Then you get the addition of Wah Wah's guitar riffs and the horns the further you travel into it. (9.5/10)
Total Time 44:47
92.89 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of funked-up Jazz-Rock Fusion; a true example of nearly perfect blending of Jazz-Rock and Jazz-Funk trends as they occurred in the mid-1970s. Though many people consider Herbie as a leader and innovator, I choose to think of him and his musical outpourings as an excellent barometer of the latest trends in J-R Fusion: he was always in the first wave of expressionists to come after the stones of innovation had been thrown by other artists and engineers--maybe he was (consistently) that first wave.
- Chris Hinze / flute
- Philip Catherine / Spanish guitar, electric guitar
- Michaël Samson / electric guitar
- Jasper Van 't Hof Electric / electric piano [Fender Piano], organ
- Rob Van Den Broeck / piano, Fender Rhodes
- John Lee / bass [acoustic, electric]
A2. "Harriet" (6:28) this John Lee composition opens with a late-night piano, upright bass and brushed drums foundation. Chris Hinze 's flute and a variety of other wind instruments used by Charlie Mariano join in. I hear little or no guitar in this one but I do hear two piano keyboards. Nice gentle tune with delicate emotions expressed from Charlie's variety of instruments. (9/10)
Line-up / Musicians:
- John Abercrombie / guitar
With:
- Jan Hammer / Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer
- Jack DeJohnette / drums
2. "Love Song" (4:34) Jan Hammer's piano and John Abercrombie's acoustic guitar are here recorded performing a beautiful duet. These guys really hear each other--which is why this lovely conversation sounds so respectful and co-ordinated--like a dance--and not unlike something Chick Corea and Al Di Meola might have done together. (9.75/10)
3. "Ralph's Piano Waltz" (5:21) a more typical jazz swing with a great melody "hook" This is a John Abercrombie composition that became one of his signature songs--one that he re-recorded on several other studio albums and, of course, performed live with many of his bands--and I wouldn't understand anyone who wouldn't be able to "see" why. Great performance by John with awesome support from Jan's organ play and Jack's stunning drum play. Though I have great trouble thinking of Jack DeJohnette as a "fusion" drummer, he is definitely on the short list of the best jazz drummers I've ever heard (probably #1): his creativity is a marvel to behold. (9.5/10)
4. "Red In Orange" (5:21) a furious syncopated opening sounds like it could come from both EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER or the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA though the jazz guitar play ends up sounding more like JOHN TROPEA or ERIC GALE during the early section, the Larry Coryell in the fiery second section, and then like John McLaughlin in the photon-speed final minute. Jan Hammer's dynamic organ play sounds like LARRY YOUNG (Khalid Yasin)--especially when in support mode--but then he fires up some amazing Keith Emerson-like stuff in his duels with John--and Jack is right there with them the whole way! (9.625/10)
Total Time: 43:53
Line-up / Musicians:
- John Harmon / piano, composition, electric piano, orchestrated by, soloist, other
- Larry Darling / flugelhorn, synthesizer, soloist
- Kurt Dietrich / trombone, soloist, other
- Andy Waterman / engineer
- Mike Murphy / soloist, drums
- John Kirchberger / tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, soloist, other
- Mike Hale / soloist, trumpet
- Jeff Pietrangelo / soloist, trumpet
- Peter "Herb" Butler / technician
- Randy Tico / bass, soloist
- Matrix / producer
2. "Spring (Inspired By The Season For Ivan)" (8:25) pre-1980s Pat Metheny Group with some really strange dynamic arrangements! A very cool, mature composition of perfectly arranged group dynamics. A mighty nice representation of Spring--not unlike the music of Jay Beckenstein's SPYRO GYRA. (18/20)
3. "Mountolive (Inspired By The Literary Creation Of Lawrence Durell)" (5:14) opens like a dirge for a New Orleans funeral before turning cinematic and DON ELLIS ORCHESTRA fullness and light--and Randy Tico's funk. There's also some more je ne sais quoi-ness to this: like a BURT BACHARACH-itude or Brian ENOssification or BILL CONTI-ness. The massive drum solo paired with the New Orleans dirge doesn't really work for me but the rest is amazing (9.5/10)
4. "Come September (A Father's Farewell To His Five-year-old Son)" (2:54) lullaby electric piano is joined by solo bass trombone for this emotive, surprisingly dark opening. This one definitely develops cinematically though also very much like a collaboration between Weather Report and MAGMA, kind of like Blade Runner's "Blade Runner Blues" except done for trombone instead of flugelhorn. Weird to think this existed before and separate from Vangelis' composition of said soundtrack--which was composed with synthesizers but first published on vinyl by the New American Orchestra using Chuck Findlay's flugelhorn in the lead position. (9/10)
5. "Wizard (Musical Impressions Of J.R.R. Tolkein's Unforgettable Mage, Gandalf From "The Lord Of The Rings")" (10:55) moving straight from the intro of the previous song into this one with no delineation the music takes on many more standard jazz idiosyncracies--even Big Band era stuff--while also using the modern conventions championed by the likes of Chick Corea and Eumir Deodato. Lots of odd and unusual synth sounds--including on the percussion side of things--while the big band rhythm section and choral vocals join in. The drumming and interplay of the fretless bass and electric keyboards are, to my ear, essential anchors for the success of this piece. Everything is so well-conceived and precisely delivered! Plus, there is a "big cinema" classical music film score feel to many of the most dynamic parts--not unlike that which Chick Corea pulls off for his magnificent The Mad Hatter "opera." (19/20)
6. "Smile At The Foot Of The Ladder (A Musical Portrait Of Henry Miller's Clown/Saint August)" (5:02) gentle performed seamlessly over militaristic snare drumming for the first couple minutes before every thing goes Paul Desmond melodic/smooth jazz with Fender Rhodes, flutes, and choir vocal "Oooo"'s. Again, nice bass and subtle drumming play. I love when the horn section joins in over the Take Five"-like rhythm pattern and electric piano soloing. Return to the military snare drumming with muted horns to close out this wonderful song. (9.25/10)
7. "Brown Boy (A Bermudian Street Scene)" (7:21) a nice piece of sophisticated smooth jazz that Bob James and Joe Zawinul (and even Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, and Benny Goodman) would have been quite impressed with. Great Jaco-like smooth fretless play in the seventh minute which is followed by quite a jovial, celebratory finish. (13.5/15)
Total Time 46:13
1. "Birdland" (5:57) iconic (though never a favorite of mine). (8.875/10)
- Frantisek Griglák / guitar, piano, synths (Roland, Arp, Elka Strings)
- Ladislav Lučenič / bass
- Karol Oláh / drums, percussion
With:
- Peter Oláh / vocals
- Dezider Pito / cello
1. "Huascaran I" (13:41) beautiful four-part symphonic piece that at times has the feel of Todd Rundgren's Utopia, at times the beautiful melodic sensibilities of something by Return to Forever, THE ELOY, or some RPI band like PFM. (28.5/30)
2. "80 000" (7:30) opens with a 90-second keyboard chord play that is an obvious nod to the opening to RETURN TO FOREVER's song "The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" from their 1976 release, Romantic Warrior. But then it moves into a motif that feels all Mahavishnu Orchestra before switching back to RtF at 2:40. Guitarist Frantisek Griglák has definitely expanded his guitar repertoire to include some pretty direct imitation of some well-studied Al DiMeola pyrotechnics. (13.5/15)
3. "Solidarity" (6:34) a song that shows how well the band, and especially keyboard speicalist Tomás Berka had studied and perfected the emulation of RtF leader Chick Corea's music and style. this one like "The Magician" or "Majestic Dance." (9/10)
4. "Huascaran II" (11:13) another Return to Forever imitation on which drummer Karol Oháh and bassist Ladislav Lučenič get to show quite prominently their own mastery of the styles and sounds of Lenny White and Stanley Clarke, respectively. On the front end, Frantisek and Tomás do their part in closing the amazing circle of imitation (of "The Medieval Overture"). The extended outro (1:50) of synth-generated birdsong and kick drum-generated heartbeat is a bit over the top. Great imitation. Wish it had more originality to it. (17.75/20)
Total Time: 38:58
Though too often a pretty obvious imitation of Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior, this is quite an exceptional album for its musicality and musicianship. Imitation is, after all, the highest form of praise, n'est-ce pas?
- Larry Coryell / guitar
- Mike Lawrence / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Mike Mandel / keyboards
- John Lee / bass
- Alphonse Mouzon / percussion
With:
- Steve Khan / 12-string guitar (1)
2. "The Other Side" (4:35) what play from the rhythm section of Alphonse Mouzon and John Lee! Wow! John is really on fire with that bass! I think the playing of this rhythm section that pushes trumpeter Mike Lawrence to such heights. The use of effects like reverb and wah-wah on Mike's trumpet is very cool. Larry is great "sneaking in" among Mike and the rhythmatists until his solo in the fourth minute. Man! Is he hot! One of my favorite Larry Coryell solos ever, to be sure! There is NO flaw with this amazing song! (Thank you, Michael Lawrence!) (10/10)
3. "Diedra" (3:56) toning it down with a saccharine tune that still manages to convey some jazz and funk despite some smooth melodies and easy-going spaciousness. This song is just so well put together: everybody performing like absolute masters of their instruments, the song (composed by Mike Mandel) founded on a simple BOB JAMES-like formula but embellished subtly as only true professionals could do. (9/10)
4. "Some Greasy Stuff" (3:30) an Alphonse Mouzon compostion that sounds like a submission for a either television show theme song or a Disco cover for a Soul Train dance tune. It's good: the performances are all top notch and seem genuinely inspired; it's just that the song is a little . . . basic. (8.75/10)
6. "Suite" (5:32) (9.25/10):
- a) "Entrance" - the first of Side Two's five Larry Coryell compositions is running on high octane, multiple engines. I am super impressed with the piano-centricity of the song and the massively dense wall of sound of this Latin-sounding tune.
- b) "Repose" - the slow down is unexpected, sparsely populated (despite the oceanic fretless bass), taking a bit to set up for the trumpet melody setting with all of the subtle contributions of the other band members.
- c) "Exit" - the finale starts out like a Mexican fiesta party before settling into a Latin-jazz-rock motif to finish. I'm not quite sure what Larry was setting out to do with this "suite" but it is definitely of the highest caliber in terms of composition and performance.
Total Time 34:55
- Joaquín "Max" Sunyer / electric & acoustic guitars
- José "Kitflus" Mas / piano, electric piano, synthesizer, clavinet
- Primitivo Sancho / bass
- Jordi Colomer / drums
1. "Sentiments" (1:50) wonderfully potent atmosphere that begins to deliver big time with the MAHAVISHNU-like finish. Wow! Great start! (5/5)
2. "Andalusia, Andalusia" (5:37) such great sound coming from the drums, hefty electric bass, and joaguín "Max" Sunyer's Al Di Meola/Corrado Rustici-like electric guitar! It builds and forms, and fills the sonic landscape just like a RETURN TO FOREVER tune. Keyboard maestro José "Kitflus" Mas has a sound palette and style that is to my ears more similar to that of JAN HAMMER than Chick Corea--and there's nothing wrong with that--though his keys are often oddly mixed just behind the other band members. Still, Kitflus and Max keep us mighty entertained with their lightning-fast runs performed in perfect synchrony. Great first full song even if a bit overly RTF. (9.25/10)
5. "Magic" (6:23) human-made dog barking and other sounds open this one up until a coaches whistle announces the real start to the song: a delightfully funky affair that presents some very engaging melodies amidst some quirky sounds and riffs. The funk bass seems quite reinforced and perhaps even enhanced by Kitflus' clavinet while Jordi's drums hold a pretty steady Billy Cobham-like beat but it's the keys that are definitely the star of this show! Nice, tight, easy-going. (9/10)
Total Time: 35:50
The first album into my Jean-Luc Ponty collection and still a favorite, Imaginary Voyage was recorded at Kundun Studios in Burbank, California in July and August of 1976 and then released by Atlantic in November.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Jean-Luc Ponty / Electric & Acoustic Violins, Organ, Synthesizer, Arranger & Producer
With:
- Daryl Stuermer / Electric & Acoustic Guitars
- Allan Zavod / Piano, Keyboards
- Tom Fowler / Electric Bass
- Marc Craney / Drums & Percussion
1. "New Country" (3:07) what a way to show off the collective skills of the new crew! Daryl Stuermer impresses from the get-go! (9.5/10)
2. "The Gardens Of Babylon" (5:06) on of the 1970s most beautiful jazz-rock instrumentals--a harbinger of the Smooth Jazz and Adult Contemporary Music that would become so radio popular in the late 70s and 1980s. (10/10)
3. "Wandering On The Milky Way" (Violin Solo) (1:50) a precursor to my favorite J-L Ponty song of all-time, "Cosmic Messenger," as well as to the "George Romero" solo on 1984's Individual Choice. (4.375/5)
4. "Once Upon A Dream" (4:08) very pleasant and engaging/melodic jazz-rock. Some great bass and keyboard play from Tom Fowler and Allan Zavod, respectively. (9/10)
5. "Tarantula" (4:04) more on the rock side of things, not the Tango I was expecting. A little too static and repetitive in the support of J-L's violin work. (8.666667/10)
- a. Part I (2:22) a play on RTF and Mahavishnu (4.425/5)
- b. Part II (4:05) a more laid back, slow cruisin' song--quite typical of one to two songs per album over the next ten years for Jean-Luc. Nice spaciousness given Allan Zavod for his solo in the second half.(8.75/10)
- c. Part III (5:28) a song with a little more evenly-parsed musical expression: everybody is on high-gear throughout and the solos all excel. (9/10)
- d. Part IV (8:00) the catchiest part of the suite and, therefore, the highlight. Great solo from Daryl, great bass work from Tom Fowler, and, of course, Jean-Luc. (14/15)
Total Time 38:10
21. EBERHARD WEBER The Following Morning (1977)
- Eberhard Weber / double bass
With:
- Rainer Brüninghaus / piano
- Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo / French horn, oboe, cello
1. "T. On A White Horse" (10:52) (20/20)
2. "Moana I" (10:10) (20/20)
3. "The Following Morning" (12:04) far more spacious and less melodic and less flowing that the previous two rather lush and sweeping song. The piano and double bass are more bare and authentic sounding--more jazzy--and less processed and engineered--the very thing that makes the album's sound feel like proggy fusion. I have, however, grown to like this one. Rated down for so much "empty" space. (21.875/25)
4. "Moana II" (7:42) this one is just a weird variation of the other Moana--with Rainer doing things that make him sound bored and Eberhard sounding as if he's just trying anything that comes to mind--like the first practice session out which "Moana I" came. Kind of unprofessional sounding filler. (12.25/15)
Total time 40:48
The arrival of this music--including Side One, a "perfect" side (an all-too-rare feat)--caused a profound awakening, such a dramatic transformation in my listening adventures and tastes, that I will forever be indebted to Eberhard and Rainer. Side Two is, unfortunately, far below the level of breathtaking beauty and much more experimental with 'soundscapes' than Side Two. Otherwise, this would be one of my favorite albums of all-time.
Wait a minute! It still is! I just turn it off after "Moana I"!
NO DRUMS! What a joy! What a revelation: that music doesn't have to have a 'beat'--or that it doesn't have to be provided by a standard drum kit. Hail to Brian Eno for turning off the drums! Hail Peter Gabriel and his WOMAD! Hail to Bill Bruford and his Simmons electronic drum kit! Hail to Zakir Hussein and his non-Western percussion! Hail to Mickey Hart and his ethnic musicology! Hail to Glen Velez and his hand drums!
If you want a trip to some of the most beautiful, peaceful inner mindscapes you could ever imagine, program "T. on a White Horse" and "Moana I" to play and repeat, over and over and over. I call this blissful place heaven!
I also love the orchestral support throughout the first two songs (something sadly lacking on Side Two's offerings). I'm really having trouble giving this album less than five stars, for it is such an unusual music listening experience, yet, the third and fourth songs, as mentioned, are far less appealing and engaging than the transportive first two. "T. on a White Horse" and "Moana I" are, IMHO, an essential experience of the mastery of truly 'progressive' music. This will be one of those rare times when the pieces of an album will earn the album a high rating despite the true 'adjusted rating' of the whole.
91.40 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of pristine jazz-rock fusion. For me, The Following Morning represents the absolute peak of the wonderful Weber-Brüninghaus-ECM relationship.
- Jean-Luc Ponty / acoustic & electric violins, Violectra, autoharp, arranger & producer
With:
- Daryl Stuermer (future GENESIS/PHIL COLLINS) / acoustic & electric guitars
- Patrice Rushen / acoustic & electric pianos, synthesizer
- Tom Fowler (IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY, FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION) / bass
- Norman Fearrington (MFSB, BILLY PAUL, future EDDIE HARRIS) / drums, percussion
1. "Is Once Enough?" (4:52) a fast cruisin' song that band leader Ponty graciously gives first dibs on extended solo time to his newbies: first to a very impressive Daryl Stuermer and then to keyboard virtuoso Patrice Rushen. A song that very much reflects Jean-Luc's recent experiences with both Zappa and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. (9.5/10)
2. "Renaissance" (5:45) an all-time great song of Jean-Luc's that harkens back a bit to his youth and to his fairly recent acoustic collaborations with Stéphane Grappelli. One of the things that makes this song so wonderful is the long drawn out melodies being played up front over the amazing bass melodies coming from not only the bass but Patrice Rushen's left hand and Daryl Stuermer's rhythm guitar support. (10/10)
3. "Aurora, Pt. 1" (2:45) innocuous and trite, mostly for the bouncy little keyboard sound and pattern that plays repetitively over the course of the song. This alone might not be so irksome were it not for the fact that it sits up front the entire time. Nothing special in the solos. Nothing special in the groove. Could've thrown this one away. Perhaps it served the band as an exercise in integrating and merging the sounds and styles of the five personalities involved with the making of this album. I would not be surprised to find out that this was the first song worked on when the band first got together. (4.25/5)
4. "Aurora, Pt. 2" (6:11) a smooth, easy going song that portends a lot of J-L P songs in the next decade. Nice shredding from Daryl on his own in the fourth and fifth minutes, but more impressive is the way he and Jean-Luc double up on harmonic paths at hyperspeeds on several occasions. Impressive but not as great as the first two songs. (8.875/10)
5. "Passenger Of The Dark" (4:14) has a kind of Canterbury feel to its opening, but then we go into an interesting "future funk" kind of sound with semi-funky bass and oscillating synth/violin notes weaving a patttern together with the drums that plays for the first two minutes over which Daryl starts out with an aggressive rock-like solo. In the softer, more spacious third minute Jean-Luc experiments with some of his new electronic/synthesized violin sounds--some of which his audience become quite familiar over the course of the next decade. I'm not sure why Patrice has been given almost exclusively background support roles for the past two songs, but it's noticeable. (8.75/10)
6. "Lost Forest" (5:23) roilling piano arpeggi and ocean-shore-like cymbal play opens this one while Jean-Luc presents his synthesized violin sound. In the gorgeous, rich full-band motif that develops Tom Fowler's effected (underwater) bass sound is awesome. Jean-Luc introduces the song's main theme before bowing out to let Patrice express her own ideas/variations with a Fender Rhodes. Then, in the fourth minute, Jean-Luc resumes his place at the fore with a typically melodic and dynamically impressive solo, which then is doubled up in the recapitulation of the opening theme with Daryl's guitar while Patrice plays around a bit from underneath. Such a cool song and songscape! Arise: Master of the Hypnotic Fairie Beauty! (9.125/10)
Total Time: 37:28
Line-up / Musicians:
- Chick Corea / acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Yamaha electric organ, Hohner clavinet, synthesizers (ARP Odyssey, Micromoog, Moog Model 15 modular synthesizer), percussion
With:
- Eddie Gómez / double bass
- Anthony Jackson / bass guitar
- Steve Gadd / drums
- Gayle Moran / vocals
- John Gatchell / trumpet
- Bob Millikan / trumpet
- Wayne Andre / trombone
- Bill Watrous / trombone
- Joe Farrell / saxophone, flute
- Ani Kavafian / violin
- Ida Kavafian / violin
- Louise Shulman / viola
- Fred Sherry / cello
2. "Lenore" (3:25) great melodic jazz-rock tune with Chick playing off of and against ... himself! Piano, Moog, clavinet, ARP Odyssey, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha organ--they're all playing off one another--as if coming from different musicians on the same stage! Gayle Moran's wordless vocalese at the end is nice touch. (9.25/10)
3. "Reverie" (1:58) opens as a solo piano piece, very pensive and heart-felt, but then Gayle's overly-reverberated vocalese float across the back stage. A sign of how in sync husband and wife are at this point in their lives. (4.625/5)
4. "Looking at the World" (5:29) opening with some previews of some of the future riffs that'll be central to next year's The Mad Hatter, Gayle joins with the rhythm section, this time singing in a more jazz-pop style (with words) before Chick ramps quickly into some heavier j-r fusion between Gayle's multi-track verses. Kind of like an oldie from the 40s with the future jazz-rock fusion that's coming with the Jaco Pastorius version of Weather Report. Interesting "underwater bass" from Anthony Jackson. (8.875/10)
5. "Nite Sprite" (4:31) this one sounds like it feeds right into the RTF Romantic Warrior recording sessions (especially Part II of "The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant"). A little funkier with Anthony Jackson's bass and Steve Gadd's fantastic near-disco jazz drumming. (9.25/10)
6. "Soft and Gentle" (5:08) with Gayle in the vocal seat for the whole song, this one once again evokes many reminders of Broadway musicals, great chanteuses of old, as well as many old jazz/pop standards of the 1940s and 50s. And I love the presence and powerful effect of the strings, Chick's grand piano, Eddie Gomez's acoustic double bass, Steve Gadd's classy jazz drumming, and the horn section. Quite lovely--as well as being quite a lovely composition. Deserves to be heard. (9.5/10)
7. "Pixiland Rag" (1:10) more light and whimsical keyboard experimentation in a solo format. There's even a little ragtime jazz in here. (4.333/5)
Total Time 37:39
With:
- George Duke / organ, piano, electric piano, clavinet, synthesizers (Mini-Moog, Arp Odyssey / String Ensemble), bells & vocals (1, 2, 6)
- Steve Gadd / drums & percussion (1, 2, 6)
- Jeff Beck / electric guitar (2, 3)
- Lenny White / drums (3)
- John McLaughlin / acoustic guitar (4, 5)
- Chick Corea / piano (4, 5)
- Earl Chapin / horn
- John Clark / horn
- Wilmer Wise / horn
- Peter Gordon / horn
- Tom "Bones" Malone / trombone
- David Taylor / trombone
- Jon Faddis / trumpet
- Lew Soloff / trumpet
- Alan Rubin / trumpet
1. "Silly Putty" (4:52) an interesting song that borders on the funky R&B that was all the rage in 1975 but really has its roots in the Blues-Rock that pre-dates the 1970s. Between Stanley, George Duke, and David Sancious the band has every weird funky chicken sound possible covered in this playful novelty tune. Not my favorite style, it still manages to entertain and, of course, display incredible musicianship. (Just wondering: Which came first: Lenny White's "Chicken-Fried Steak" or this?) (9.125/10)
2. "Journey to Love" (4:52) spacious southern rock that starts out with some high-pitched vocals (apparently as provided by Stanley and George) and then develops into something that sounds like a slowed down Mahavishnu Orchestra song. Horn section adds punctuating accents at the end of the singers' second verse signaling the start of the instrumental jam session that would unfold for the final two minutes of the song. I think the reason George Duke and David Sancious rarely get mentioned with the great sound-pioneers of the 1970s (like Jan Hammer, Chick Corea, or Herbie Hancock) is their tendency to explore/choose really odd sounds for their keys and guitars. (8.75/10)
Total Time 39:21
91.25 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a display of creative song-making commensurate with the virtuosity of its participants. Perhaps not on quite as high or memorable of a level as some of the iconic themes and songs from the other Jazz-Rock Fusion classics of the time, but definitely fitting and deserving of the attention of any lover of virtuoso musicianship.
- Jean-Luc Ponty / 4- & 5-string electric violins, violectra, piano (5), bells, conductor & orchestrations, producer
With:
- Allan Holdsworth / lead electric guitar
- Daryl Stuermer / lead & rhythm electric guitars
- Allan Zavod / clavinet, piano, electric piano, synthesizer, organ
- Ralphe Armstrong / bass and fretless bass (5)
- Steve Smith / drums, percussion
1. "Overture (0:47) great intro/opening. (4.75/5)
2. "The Trans-Love Express" (3:56) great groove with everybody clicking and in sync. Nice sound engineering--though the keyboards sounds will be better in the future albums. (8.875/10)
3. "Mirage" (4:54) hypnotic and beautiful--especially the sound of Jean-Luc's heavily-effected electric violin. (9.25/10)
4. "Enigmatic Ocean"
Part I (2:20) synth and percussion opening to which Jean-Luc and, later, the rest of the band are added. The establish some fair groundwork for the suite (4.375/5)
Part II (3:35) a fast pace does not guarantee a great song: technical skill is certainly on display, but melodies are certainly lacking. (8.875/10)
Part III (3:43) the funky side, of course. Daryl's work on rhythm is exemplary. Allan is beyond reproach. (9/10)
Part IV (2:24) a nice closing to what never really felt like a suite of connected movements. (8.875/10)
5. "Nostalgic Lady" (5:20) another beautiful song with great melodic sensibilities expressed from Ralphe, Allan and Jean-Luc. (9.25/10)
6. "Struggle Of The Sea Turtle"
Part I (3:32) one of the most purely perfect and original of Jean-Luc's songs here. Perfect balance between the band members. (9.5/10)
Part II (3:33) using some of the melodic hooks of "Part I" the band chugs along--interestingly, at a variety of speeds. Steve Smiths best drumming on the album. (9/10)
Part III (6:05) opens with Ralphe's coming out party. Then Allan gets his turn with a weird synth. Daryl gets a solo but is then followed by Allan--who is so smooth and amazing it makes Mr. Stuermer look amateurish--which is sad cuz he is not. And the the song--and the album--just suddenly fades out! It's over! And it makes no sense! (8.875/10)
Total Time 45:00
91.18 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of proggy jazz-rock fusion. The album has some great individual performances but lacks the amazing flow and sound engineering of the next album.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Toto Blanke / electric & acoustic guitars, Roland synth guitar, guitarina, PPG synth/sequencer, tambura, composer & co-producer
- Stu Goldberg / Fender Rhodes, MiniMoog
- Mat Nadolny / tenor & soprano saxophones
- Norbert Dömling / bass, co-producer
- Trilok Gurtu / tablas, percussion, hand drum
- Heinrich Hock / drums
2. "Asiento" (3:51) Trilock Gurtu's opening percussion barrage lets us know that we're in for a SHAKTI-like fusion of Eastern and Western traditions. Norbert Dömling's fretless bass is straight out of the JACO PASTORIUS school of bass. Very nice imitation with nocitceably loose and free feeling from all musicians. (9/10)
4. "Billi (6:06) a Latin vehicle for some wild tenor sax play from Mat Nodolny. Stu Goldberg's mostly-two-chord support is a bit too forward and, therefore, obnoxious. In the fourth minute, Toto's electric (Roland?) jazz guitar gets the second solo. Lot's of unusual hand percussives and weird synth noises being thrown into the background (Trilock's contributions a little too far forward). (8.875/10)
5. "Floating (5:39) a high-speed cruise that has a lot of angular melody lines in its "Vashkar"/Mahavishnu-like sound palette. Exceptional musicianship on display, top to bottom. (9.3333/10)
6. "Winterlied (3:42) a duet between Stu Goldberg's MiniMoog and Toto's steel-stringed acoustic guitar. It opens as slow and ruminative duet of MiniMoog and gentle acoustic guitar chord picking before breaking down with some more flashy contributions from the acoustic guitar while the MiniMoog continues its melody-searching unphased. Reminds me of both SHAKTI and PAT METHENY. (9.25/10)
8. "Friends (Dedicated To T. Blanke)" (4:27) interesting Weather Report-like weirdness. Smooth and melodic, though. (8.875/10)
Total Time 43:26
- Eddie Henderson / trumpet, flugelhorn
With:
- Patrice Rushen / electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer
- Julian Priester / alto, tenor & bass trombones
- Hadley Caliman / bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, flute
- Paul Jackson / bass
- Mike Clark / drums
- Woody Theus / drums (6,7)
- Billy Hart / drums (7)
- James "Mtume" Foreman / congas, percussion, piano, docadebelo
1. "Inside You" (4:49) reminds me quite a little of FREDDIE HUBBARD's wonderful version of The Stylistics' "People Make the World Go Round" from Polar AC, his final album for Creed Taylor's CTI production team. Like Hubbard's song, this is soothingly hypnotic with some nice ARP synth strings work from Patrice Rushen throughout. (8.875/10)
2. "Acuphuncture" (3:42) there is no mistaking the Smooth Jazz influence of GEORGE BENSON's recent MONSTER hit, Breezin' on this one. Nicely melodic and funky in an early Smooth Jazz kind of way. (8.875/10)
3. "Time & Space" (5:16) a beautiful and contemplative opening to this one opens the door for some great play from Eddie and Patrice. I feel a bit sad for the constrictive restraints spirited bass player Paul Jackson finds himself under. Great soprano sax work from Hadley Caliman. Still, this is an eminently enjoyable Smooth Jazz tune. A top three song for me. Patrice Rushen's multiple instrument contributions should not go without appropriate praise. (9.3333/10)
4. "Nostalgia" (4:10) Yes, sometimes you just can't help but go back to reminisce--which, of course, conjures up inspiration for new songs from the spirit of 1917-73 and the Mwandishi-Crossroads-Sextant-Realization sessions with Herbie and the gang. I love this though it's not very dynamic or fresh. (8.875/10)
5. "Kudu" (6:07) a slow sustained intro leading into a very funky motif started by Paul Jackson's bass at the one-minute mark reveals a song that is very fitting to the Miles Davis school of jazz-rock fusion. Nice clavinet and trumpet accents and flourishes during the next 90 seconds before there is a James Brown-like R&B bridge that shifts the band into support for an even-wilder Miles-like performace from Eddie. Patrice Rushen's electric piano work beneath is so lively that it threatens to distract from Eddie's superlative outbursts. Then Paul Jackson seems to take over at the end of the fifth minute with Patrice amplifying her rhythm guitar-like clavinet play to take us out. Despite the similarities in sound and style to those of 1970s Miles Davis, this is a great Jazz-Funk tune! (9.75/10)
6. "Dr. Mganga" (7:29) the Swahili name that Eddie self-adopted while living in the Mwandishi world, the band pull together a very full, very active, very funky motif that feels as if it's incorporating a variation on Eumir Deodato's "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" My other top three song. (14/15)
7. "Dark Shadow" (6:54) opens with Hadley Caliman playing bass clarinet sounding like a cross between Herbie's "Hidden Shadows" and Weather Report's "Birdland." Eddie throws in a "Nature Boy"-like melody with his muted trumpet to add to the mut-like mélange feeling of this tune. Julian Priester's contributions on trombone in the second and third minutes is awesome. (I've always loved trumpet and trombone way more than that of any saxophone or clarinet.) Patrice Rushen is also doing some very clever and interesting things beneath the horn soloists. The main bass-and-bass clarinet "Birdland" melody playing beneath it all, however, begins to feel a bit worn out: by the time we're approaching the end (which is, thankfully, quite dynamic) I've about had enough of it. Even Patrice and drummer Billy Hart seem to go to sleep around this point--and then, in the middle of the sixth minute, they do! They crash! Everything falls apart: rubbernecks before popping back to action. Unfortunately, they choose to just pick up the same parts they were all playing--the very ones that brought on the group narcoleptic fit! Not my favorite--and a sad way to close an album (cuz it leaves me with a sour feeling of disappointment). (13/15)
Total Time 38:27
90.89 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion that falls into the category of early Smooth Jazz.
Recorded & mixed at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg September 1978 for Amayana Records, this is, unfortunately, the second and final offering from this band of talented, skilled musicians.
- Max Köhler / bass
- Harald Pompl / drums
- Hans Kraus-Hübner / piano, synthesizer
- Roland Bankel / guitar
- Mandi Riedelbauch / saxophone, flute, bassoon
2. "Burning John" (4:28) creative and inflective jazz-rock fusion that has just the right amount of funk, jazz, rock, melody, twists and turns to keep it both interesting and engaging. I find this drummer (Max Köhler) to be quite impressive with the way he achieves so much with his incredibly subtle stick play on the cymbals, hi-hat, and snare. Guitarist Roland Bankel gives one of the more impressive jazz-guitar performances I've ever heard. (I am not really much of a fan of the traditional Wes Montgomery and Charlie Christian "jazz guitar" sound or stylings.) (9/10)
Total Time 40:14
90.74 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; I call this very much a masterpiece of late Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. The skills exhibited by all of these performers feel to me similar to those of a master chef in a fine restaurant: engaging menu, great presentation, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth tastes with subtle yet very-satisfying undertones of flavor peppered with the perfect amount of never-over-done bursts of stimulation and character leaving a wonderfully-long-lasting glow of pleasure and contentedness. Highly recommended.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Jean Lars / bass
- Marc Millon / drums, percussion, vibraphone
- Jaen-Michel Philippe / electric & acoustic guitar
- Jacques Lars / electric guitar
- René-Marc Bini / keyboards
- Jean-Loup Marlaud / saxophone, clarinet, flute
- Alain Labarsouque / violin
2. Saxophonie (15:25) very engaging despite its complexity, speed, and uniquity. The beautiful chord progression the band settles into during the second and third minutes has an immediate heart-wrenching effect on me due to it being the exact same as the foundational chords of LENNY WHITE's "Prince of the Sea." Also, the use of all percussive instruments (piano, drums, bass, vibraphone) to present the music over the course of the first four minutes is quite engaging. Then the music kicks into a full funky fast paced jazz-rock motif in which electric bass, drums, Fender Rhodes, jazz guitar, and sax do a great job of playing some HERBIE HANCOCK-like music. But then everything switches at the six-minute mark--picking up some more mathematical and folk-infused styles in order to express its true allegiance to the historically more-complex jazz styles of the past (as the French love). Violin enters as an electric guitar goes all under-water bubbly with its fast-played descending bass string arpeggios all set within the rich chords of René-Marc Bini's Fender Rhodes. This second half stuff continues to develop closer to being avant garde jazz than jazz-rock fusion--especially in the wild 14th minute--though they do continue to use all of the rock instrumentation of the first, more-melodic half. Definitely a very impressive, very creative song. And, despite its title, I found myself rarely listening to Jean-Loup Marlaud's saxophone play: there was just too much else going on that was far more interesting! (28/30)
3. Gavarnie (10:28) this song opens with some discordant descending chord progressions performed with mathematical skill that sounds very similar to the music created by Quebecois band CONVENTUM until it goes off on an almost Minimalist direction with bass and saxophone presenting some lead/soloing over the top. At 2:30 the music takes a turn, smoothing out a bit though continuing to explore minor and perhaps even chromatic scales and chord combinations (especially with the bass). Two guitars weave their arpeggiated chords within each other with great effect due to the slightly off-center harmonic values of their chords. Bass chords, lite cymbal play, aggressive sax, and electric guitar take turns soloing over the top--even at times, over one another--until the band succumbs to a slow fade starting around the six-minute mark. Left with distant arpeggiated electric guitar chords we are then treated to a show of fairly random percussion play of some metal objects like chimes and cowbells until the eight-minute mark when the rest of the band (bass, jazz drums, Fender Rhodes, sax) rejoin the still arpeggiating electric guitar to create a gentle, almost tender weave that could guide an infant to sleep. Very pretty! Another very, very interesting song that is, unfortunately, weakened by its obtuse chord choices as well as by the overly-simplistic metal percussion play in the sixth and seventh minutes. (17.5/20)
4. Mandarine (9:42) opening with some complex high-speed interplay between Marc Bini's piano and Jaen-Michel Philippe's steel-string acoustic guitar, the song then switches completely into a gentle, willowy duet of René-Marc Bini's vibraphone and Jean-Loup Marlaud's classical-sounding flute until 1:45 when wordless vocalese, vibes, and electric bass mirror each other in a four-note arpeggio for about 30 seconds. Then the band develops another smooth almost-Genesis-like passage that is founded in arpeggiated chords from electric piano and acoustic guitar. This reminds me of CONVENTUM. The music then continues morphing, now into an electric guitar version of the previous motif with flute and violin taking turns soloing over the top. The fifth minute is quite pleasant with the rich, warm play of the Fender Rhodes dominating, but then the band fly off into about five different directions with each instrumentalist soloing with little connection to one another for about 20 seconds but then they come back into the fold of the rich, warm Fender Rhodes, drums and intuitive bass helping to hold down the funky groove while flute, violin, and the two guitarists (acoustic and electric) take turns sharing the spotlight up front. The song then returns to a gentle repetition of a five chord progression with some solo embellishment to its end fadeout. An odd song that is very entertaining and engaging despite its frequent shifting and morphing. Rated up for creativity and sophistication. (18/20)
Total Time 41:50
- Patrice Cinelu / electric & acoustic guitars, cabasa (6), vocals (8)
- Olivier Hutman / piano, Fender & Yamaha CP30 e-pianos, clavinet, spinet, Hammond, synths (Micro Moog, ARP Odyssey, Hohner String Ensemble), vibes, string arrangements (3)
- Denis Barbier / flute, piccolo flute, alto, tenor & soprano saxes, double bass & harp (5), string arrangements (5)
- Oliver DeLaTaille / trumpet, bugle
- Philippe Simon / trombone, bass trombone
- Gilles Douieb / bass
- Umberto Pagnini / drums
- Mino Cinelu / percussion
With:
- Éric Letourneux / tenor sax (5)
- Raymond Betzi / percussion (1,5)
1. "Ali Baba" (5:10) quite solid and sophisticated Jazz-Rock Fusion that occasionally slips over into Smooth Jazz and instrumental rock. I like the prominent use of trombones as well as the core trio of band members' willingness to switch between multiple instruments during the course of a single song. (8.875/10)
4. "Octopus" (2:48) back to the R&B-grounded Jazz-Rock Funk of the Listen to the electric bass play of Gilles Douieb! as well as the contributions of the horn section! Wow! (9/10)
6. "E 330" (5:00) Oh. I get it! Alternating songs deeply rooted in the funk with other sophisticated yet-smoother song constructs. Me like! Here we have yet another amazingly superb funk song, this one founded well within the Latin traditions. The song's only weakness is that it gradually becomes smoother, more Latin melodic and less R&B funky as it progresses--especially as Olivier Hutman's piano takes the lead. It's not bad--the piano play is pretty--especially when woven with the acoustic guitar and flute--but it gets a little bland when he becomes the sole soloist (despite his similarity of style and sound to that of my well-loved favorite, Chick Corea). (9/10)
9. "Canaan Part 2" (4:14) the band uses a chill, smooth funk motif as if to recover (or let the listener recover) from Part 1. The horn section sets the band up for an extended electric guitar solo backed by some wonderful electric piano chord play and intermittent riff-blasts from the horn section. While electric guitarist Patrice Cinelu does not, in my estimation, stand up to the mind-blowing expressions of the bass, drums, percussionists, and horns, he is quite good. (8.875/10)
Total Time 39:56
- Didier Malherbe / tenor sax, flute (5)
- Francis Moze (Magma) / fretless bass, acoustic & electric pianos (6), gong (3)
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, glockenspiel & vibes (3), marimba & timpani (3)
- Mireille Bauer (Édition Spécial) / marimba (1,3,5), vibraphone (1,2,4), glockenspiel (5), tom toms (3)
- Benoit Moerlen / vibraphone (1-5)
With:
- Allan Holdsworth ('Igginbottom, Ian Carr, Tempest, The Soft Machine, The New Tony Williams Lifetime) / pedal steel (3), electric & acoustic guitars, violin
- Mino Cinelu (Moravagine, Chute Libre, Miles Davis) / congas (1,4,5), gong (2,4), cuica, triangle, maracas (3), talking drum, temple blocks (4)
Total Time: 39:38
jazzy, less committed to linear flow (sounding a little like some of Larry Coryell's brilliant, but chaotic, ideas). Guitar soloing ensues as Herbie and Jack play off of one another with some fun recklessness. Vocals return at the five-minute mark to give the song a kind of celestial stamp of approval into the finish. This one is not a funk song; it is jazz-rock. It is, however, very interesting--definitely worth repeated listens. And the song one which I like the effect of the female vocals the best. (9/10)
B4. "Aim Your Eye" (6:57) a pretty decent funky jazz-rock fusion tune despite the weird background female vocal chants and weird synth "saw" guitar chords! (13.375/15)
Total Time: 42:06
90.44 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion: one that is consistently of very high compositional and performative standards but does little to really excite or push boundaries. Also, an album that presents two rather strikingly different faces: the funk side with Herbie Hancock, Airto Moreira, and drummer James Gadsen, the other with jazz-stalwart Jack DeJohnette and funk-less Miroslav steering the rest of the musicians toward more jazz-traditional and Jazz-dominant (yet experimental) Jazz-Rock Fusion. Recommended to all Jazz-Rock Fusion enthusiasts. If anything, the performances of these top notch musicians might be worth it all on their own.
- Jarmo Hiekkala / basses
- Julla Linkola / keyboards, synthesizers
- Pertti Pokki / synthesizers (2-3)
- Jussi Tegelman / drums, congas, synthesizers (3)
- Pekka Tegelman / guitars
- String section (4) conducted by Otto Donner
1. "Alpha" (8:10) delicate, spacious horn-like synthesizer notes backed with gentle electric piano support open this song before bass and drums join in during the second minute. Electric guitar joins in a rhythm support capacity in the third minute as the band establishes a medium-paced two chord jazzy rock motif for guitarist Pekka Tegelman to solo over. There's both a Herbie Hancock (post-Mwandishi) and Larry Coryell feel to this music. And then the solo stick is passed to Julla Linkola for an electric piano solo during which the music thins a bit and the rhythm track becomes more straightforward than it was (though retaining its driving funky-jazz-rock momentum). In the early eighth minute the keyboard solo ends and the musicians all seem to just quit: they stop. For quite a lengthy pause. But then they restart for a 30-second finish. Weird ending to a weird song. The sophisticated foundational weave is kind of cool and interesting, the solos all proficient and, likewise, interesting, but something is lacking in the spirit of "purpose" and "ending" that bewilders--as if, despite their obvious skills and intelligence, the band still has some growing to do. (17.75/20)
2. "Elvin" (8:30) opening with a cryptic, cinematically-tension-filled syncopated keyboard, bass, drums, and guitar weave, the syncopated chord and note hits become more insistent as the drums assert more power and influence, but then they back off and really promote the decay of their hits with lots of spaces between the hits. In the third minute Pekka Tegelman's volume-controlled electric guitar takes on a little solo-like leadership role though the band as a whole--Peter included--remain quite focused on keeping to the odd rhythmic syncopation pattern. Then, at 4:25 the band shifts into full forward with a synth-led Percy Jones-like bass-backed two-chord cruising weave over which two synthesizer players (Perti Pokki and Julla Linkola) then take turns squirting and screaming their solos as if they were both Jan Hammers. And this is the way it plays out till the engineering fadeout ends the song four minutes later. What starts out with such amazing discipline and coordination turns into a full-out jam session! Weird. (17.875/20)
3. "Don" (4:21) a very proggy weave and sound palette plays a pseudo-jazz opening before devolving into a funky rock instrumental with Pekka Tegelman's distorted electric guitar taking the first solo. His followed by the odd electronic sound of Pertti Pokki's synthesizer, then a tight, professional drum solo from Jussi Tegelman which is followed by a return to the main motif for the finish. (8.75/10)
5. "Lähtö matkalle II" (10:39) opens with gentle piano chord play fading upward while subtle orchestral instruments support. Heavily distorted bass steps up to solo in the third minute over the six cycling piano chords. Drums begin to join in during the fourth minute--very dramatically--never really settling into a supportive rhythm pattern until the very end of the sixth minute. The footprint of this song is quite heavy, quite bombastic, and kind of celebratory (like the end of a war or something like that.) Not sure if this song is meant to be paired with "Lähtö matkalle I" since they both seem so isolated and self-contained, but what a pair of songs to finish this album! Oh, and Jarmo Hiekkala can play bass. (17.75/20)
Total Time: 40:16
- Gaetano "James" Senese / saxophone, flute, vocals
- Mark Harris / keyboards
- Franco Del Prete / drums & percussion
- Anthony "Toni" Walmsley / bass
1. "Campagna" (7:56) most excellent Jazz-Rock Fusion, very current/up-to-date with the music coming out of America at the same time, spiced up quite nicely by James Senese's vocals and the MANDRILL, OSIBISA, and CYMANDE-like African-like group/choir vocal chants. James' sax and vocals even have a little of DEMITRIO STRATOS and JAMES BROWN's swaggy confidence. The rhythm section of Franco Del Prete and Toni Walmsley are so tight, so in sync, that it gives Fender Rhodes/synth player Mark Harris a lot of confidence to do his own shining thing. A most excellent, even anthemic opener. (14.25/15)
2. "'A gente 'e bucciano" (8:42) despite the smooth, gentle opening, this one breaks into some great, dynamic music in the third minute--after James' brief introductory vocal spurt--that is well rendered but is slightly diminished by James Senese's fair but not great vocal. (Why are the vocals on this song recorded so differently and more inconsistently than the other songs on the album? It's almost as if they were only added as an afterthought in the final production but never polished or processed with any care.) Toni's bass play is awesome--and I love how it's mixed so far forward in the sonicsphere. And Franco's drumming is right up there with Toni's as is Mark Harris's Fender Rhodes play. (17.625/20)
3. "Pensione floridiana" (3:32) horn section blow followed by repeated Fender Rhodes chord arpeggi open this before drums and bass join in and settle into a bluesy jazz-rock motif that sounds as if it should be the soundtrack theme for an American radio sitcom. Pleasant but almost innocuous. (8.875/10)
4. "Viecchie, mugliere, muorte e criature" (10:02) James Senese's raspy/gritty voice once again takes the forefront over this very solid Herbie Hancock music only, this time, it's quite fitting and winning--kind of in the same way that LE ORME's Aldo Tagliopietra and AREA's Dimitri could command the stage. I love his ballsy duel between his voice and his own saxophone in the fifth and sixth minutes. The band certainly does a great job of using multiple tracks to fill their sonic field. The ad nauseum repetition of the music tends to stagnate a little over time despite Mark Harris' excellent Fender Rhodes play and James' sax solos, spirited vocals, and multiple sax "horn section" track--most of which becomes more interesting in the song's wonderful final third. (17.75/20)
5. "Vico primo parisee n°8" (7:37) quite the dynamic bass lines on this Headhunters-like funk track! Everybody is playing at the top of their game: putting together a spirited Jazz-Rock Fusion tune that could mix right in there on any of Herbie's Headhunters albums. Mark and James also impress with their equally dynamic keyboard, sax, and whistle performances. In the second half they even manage to harken back to the earliest J-R Fusion masterpieces--like Bitches Brew! It's just such a great galloping groove--one that definitely puts on full display the talents/skills of all four of the musicians. (14.125/15)
6. "'O lupo s'ha mangiato 'a pecurella" (6:49) synth and sax play the melody-leading solos in the first minute of this more laid-back, spacious tune that reminds me of something from the earliest Weather Report albums. The melodies and weaves here are much simpler, sparse, and less familiar/pleasing to the radio/pop-trained Western ear. Even James' sax play is more similar to that of Wayne Shorter while the sparse note play from the independent musicians is constructed more harmonically, instead of melodically, like Weather Report. Then we run into the final two minutes with its percussion-supported street party "drunken" celebration before the band pulls back inside, into the studio, for a more tightly-performed closing. Interesting but, like the music of Weather Report, not my favorite expression of the panoply of idioms that make up Jazz-Rock Fusion. (13.25/15)
Total Time 44:38
90.39 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of mature, more-than-competent Jazz-Rock Fusion. Recommended to all lovers of Peak Era (Third Wave) Jazz-Rock Fusion.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Marius Lorenzini / lead guitar, vocals
- Ann Ballester / organ, piano, synth, vocals
- Josquin Turenne Des Prés / bass, backing vocals
- Jean-François Bouchet d'Angélis / drums
With:
- Michel Delaporte / percussion
1. "Rock & Roll" (3:40) a great funk opener. The rhythm section is tight, the rhythm guitar and bass playing off each other so well, and a lead guitar bursting into the fore briefly, surprising me, as the song forms. Then the group singing lyrics with Marius Lorenzini in the lead (multi-layered?). Jean-François Bouchet d'Angélis' drumming is rock solid and well recorded. More fiery lead guitar in the second half. I never knew when French studios came into the possession of multi-track recording panels but Édition Spéciale definitely had access to one. (9.125/10)
2. "Rêve, rêve" (5:56) two funk rockers in a row! The French lyrics are sung this time by Marius with some lines backed by the rest of the group or sung as a group ensemble. Great foundation, the lead melodies and vocal melodies don't exactly win one over. Decent synth solo in the fifth and sixth minutes while drummer Jean-François responds with some flash and sass. (8.875/10)
3. "Tomorrow Mourning" (4:25) singing in English, with great Broadway musical-like harmony deliveries and awesomely catchy chord progressions and melodies--sounding a bit like a MAMAS & THE PAPAS song. Definitely a more pop-oriented song but it's so great: it could've/should've been a hit in the US! Great performances from the musicians! (9.25/10)
4. "Un coup je te vois" (6:32) a multi-part song with a little-cheesy group vocals that make it sound like a song from an Off-Broadway musical like Godspell or Pippen. The second part show some skill in the way the band convincingly transitions and shifts into a funkier motif but, when they try to shift back to the original motif it feels less smooth, more forced and unnatural. Then there are a couple of odd interlude-like shifts in the very middle. Despite continued wonderful--sometimes amazing--musicianship, it's a song that seems to be struggling a little too hard for an identity. (8.75/10)
5. "Tu naîtras demain" (5:28) opens with a melodic VAN MORRISON-like jazz piano chord play over which Ann blesses us with her beautiful singing voice. So many cool little elements of this song that help offset the cheesy ones. (9.125/10)
6. "Marie qui te maries!" (4:25) a cool, complex-yet-simplified, fun funk-lite song with group vocals that make one smile (and even laugh). Great play with lots of subtleties from all of the musicians. Rated up for its fun-factor. (9.125/10)
Total Time 37:09
Though the music on this album shows a band with some very skilled musicians--and some definite jazzy/sophisticated arrangements--the album is totally oriented toward more radio-friendly audiences. Even so, and despite this not being a true Jazz-Rock Fusion album--I really, really like it! This is upbeat, happy-go-lucky music that I absolutely love to have in my life. I could listen to this album and band (and Ann Ballester's voice) all day long! And the album has the great sound production that one would expect of any American or German album coming out in 1976. My biggest (and pretty much only) complaint about the album--its weakness--is in the recording and sound presentation of the vocals. The musicians are so good--they have such a great grasp on what funk and rock blended together should sound like.
90.3125 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of high-quality pop-oriented Jazz-Rock Fusion.
- Joaquín "Max" Sunyer / electric & acoustic guitars
- José "Kitflus" Mas / piano, electric piano, synthesizer
- Primitivo Sancho / bass
- Jordi Colomer / drums
1. "El caminant nocturn" (8:21) Fender Rhodes chord play is soon joined by bubble-effected bass and militaristic jazz drumming before synthesizer and electric guitar step in to take the lead. Lots of stops and goes, lots of rock and prog-sounding riffs and passages give this an almost NOVA-like feel, though something about it also reminds me of The MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA's last album, Inner Worlds. We've definitely entered the gratuitous world of commercial J-R Fuse that Herbie Hancock's Thrust and Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior opened up to the world. (17.5/20)
2. "Càntics de la carn" (11:18) so like the music that Chick Corea was doing with Leprechaun, My Spanish Heart, and The Mad Hatter that I had to keep checking as I was listening to this to make sure it wasn't something from him, Al Di, or a hidden RTF album that I'd missed! Excellent performances top to bottom (despite Kitflus' rather schlocky and now-dated array of keyboard sounds). (18/20)
3. "Riu d'agost" (7:41) piano and acoustic guitar opening that sounds suspiciously like something from Al Di Meola and Chick Corea. Even the sound engineering seems perfectly imitative of some of those earlier RTF albums (not Romantic Warrior). At 1:45 the full band breaks the spell of the acoustic duo and launches into a long bridge before settling into another Latin-rhythmed dance tune. The lead instrumentalists retain their acoustic orientations while bouncing back and forth between 10-to-20 second bursts as soloists often bridged by patches in which they play together. Quite a nice, light and jolly, and impressive song of instrumental prowess--and such tight, whole-band feel coming from the quartet. (13.5/15)
4. "Embrujo" (6:14) yet another song in which the band lets their ethnic roots come shining through--though once again expressed with incredible virtuosity and intuitive interplay. These guys are really gelling! And Max has never been more effusive! (9.25/10)
5. "Crisàlide" (6:30) piano and acoustic guitar open this one until 1:20 when searing Al Di MEOLA-like electric guitar ushers in the rest of the band. This complex, never straightforward song offers some great bass playing as well as tight disco-ish drumming with Kitflus' DEODATO-like bouncy Fender Rhodes play when Max is shredding up front. (9.25/10)
Total Time: 40:04
- James Jameson / bass (A1)
Backing Vocals – Donald Byrd, Fonce Mizell, Larry Mizell, Theresa Mitchell, Vernessa Mitchell
A2. "Wild Life" (5:58) one of those classic Mizell Brothers compositions that is based on the repetition of a very simple one-measure highly-dictatorial rhythmic motif. Lead female singer (Mildred Lane) takes the fore as the horns and strings fill space in and around the repeating motif. Trumpet and tenor sax get the first two solos as the female-dominated background vocals continue to inject repeated phrasings of the title phrase. Flugelhorn gets the final solo as Mildred finishes the song. (9.125/10)
B1. "Dancing In The Street" (4:40) yes, it's a cover of the classic Martha & The Vandellas Motown song from Marvin Gaye, Jaye Hunter, and Stevenson. Mildred Lane is given the spotlight again but her performance/rendition is never intended to imitate the original, but instead kind offer a kind of Thelma Houston or Gloria Gaynor "R&B cover version" of it. I like it but it does feel a bit as if it's meant to back a sparkly 1970s dance routine on Soul Train. (8.75/10)
Total Time: 39:58
- Jörgen Kanwischer / guitar
- Doctor Bogarth / keyboards
- Edgar Hofmann / soprano saxophone, flute
- Rainer Frank / bass
- Butze Fischer / drums
- Geoffrey Ramos / percussion
1. "Para Jofrey" (8:05) flute, piano and wind chimes opens this with guitar lurking behind until Jörgen Kanwischer's electric is revealed at the end of the first chord progression. After another round of this introductory chord progression, the band settles into a spacious two chord groove with Latin rhythmic foundations and instruments providing the background for acoustic guitar and electric guitar and saxophone weirdness to solo over the top. At 2:54, as if by Divine providence, the band suddenly switches into more serious Fender Rhodes-supported jazz-rock motif over the Latin percussion over which Jörgen solos with his acoustic guitar (with chorus-only electric accompanying in the background). The electric seems to step delicately forward in the fifth minute only to be relegated to support for an organ and electric piano solo from "Doctor" Bogarth. At the six-minute mark the Fender steps to full frontal confidently soloing while Jörgen's electric provides some nice rhythm support behind. All the while, the Latin-bound rhythm section behind all this is rock solid, even fully entertaining in and of themselves. It's almost as if they're really Latins! A bit odd-especially in the sound engineering choices--but overall a pretty cool song. (13.75/15)
3. "Smile" (5:41) some very quiet keyboard work opens this song--playing for about a minute and a half in this very subdued, though-dynamic fashion. Then the sound of a sitar notifies the band that there is going to be a launch into some discordant chords are employed in equally discordant (yet not repelling) sequences so that electric guitar, flute, and keys can solo. The way the drums and bass jump in at a more dynamic level late is pretty awesome (and powerful), taking a little away from the flutist's limelight but making the song that much more interesting. Too bad there isn't a little more variety in the three-chord foundation of this (until the very end), cuz it's very powerful. I love the band members' laidback confidence throughout. (8.875/10)
Side B
4. "Mata Meme" (5:45) odd volume pedal-controlled electric guitar experimentation over loosely improvised hand percussion play. The guitar play seems to morph in and out of Robert Fripp-like sustained loops and Al Di Meola-like speed riffs with several very convincing flourishes. Interesting and impressive though not necessarily top notch jazz-rock fusion. (8.875/10)
6. "Always Later" (6:34) sounds like a cut in from some jamming the band might have been doing on some old blues-jazz motifs. Even the saxophone solo in the lead position is playing with this old-time jazz flair and flourish. The performances are pretty cool despite the old feeling to the music. Then surprise of all surprises! About three minutes into the song the band suddenly shifts into a kind of disco-jazz mode, picking up the pace considerably, with funky synth, sax, and electric guitar taking turns soloing over the top. The chordal construction is still pretty rudimentary rhythm & blues jazz but the instrumentalists sure make it zing! The synth sound used is so unusual it could be wah-wahed--like something Jan Hammer or Thijs van Lier would come up with--practically sounding like an electric violin. The song races along with the engineer hand-volume-fading the soloists in and out of the "front" of the mix while drums and bass speed along. (8.875/10)
7. "Spain Mandala" (5:01) coming straight out of the blocks sounding incredibly like something off of one of Al Di Meola's first two solo albums--the Latin-infused power electric pieces or suites. Great imitation--even down to the Mingo Lewis percussion play and Al Di (though sometimes more Larry Coryell)-like solo guitar runs and injection of Spanish acoustic guitar towards the middle. (9/10)
Total Time 41:13
EX OVO PRO European Spassvogel (1976)
The debut album of a short-live ensemble of highly-skilled musicians from Ulm released on the Amayana Label.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Max Köhler / bass
- Harald Pompl / drums
- Hans Kraus-Hübner / electric piano, synth, management
- Roland Bankel / guitar
- Mandi Riedelbauch / saxophone, bassoon
1. "European Spaßvogel" (4:00) a very warm and intimately recorded and imaged song of jazz musicians playing a melodic and rock-inspired song. Though the bassoon is the lead instrument, the bass and drums are mixed so that they sound like they're in your lap and so draw a lot more of my attention. In the third minute guitarist Roland Bankel is given the spotlight for his erudite jazz guitar. Nice song that has the same feel as Paul Desmond's "Take Five." (9.3333/10)
2. "Mr. & Mrs. Scrooples Lament" (3:15) a couple of warm electric piano chords are repeated to open this one while bass, and cymbals pulse and hold space from behind. Bassoon, guitar, and electric jazz guitar join in to direct the song's first full motif into something that sounds like it could come from Markus Pajakkala's UTOPIANISTI or other tongue-in-cheek song producers. The electric piano and jazz guitar do, however, coax the song into jazz territory--something that one might hear from JOHN ZORN. Very modern/21st Century sounding. (9.125/10)
3. "What's the Deal" (4:42) a great, engaging, funky, even hypnotic jazz-rock fusion tune that Herbie himself would have been proud of. (9.25/10)
4. "It's Rainin' in My House" (4:22) slow-paced syncopated drums over and within which minimal bass play and slow-injections of synthesizer and heavily-treated deep bassoon notes lead the way. It's as if we're a crime detective slowly making our way through a heavily-wooded neighborhood in the wee-hours of the night with only a flashlight to help us see past the dark shadows. Or it could be the rendering of the creepy sounds one might hear inside one's own home when the power has been cut on a dark and stormy night. High marks for mood-making. (8.875/10)
5. "Don't Forget the Master" (4:13) such solid sound and musicianship! Though catchy and groovin' nicely, there are things about this song that feel incomplete and/or cheesy, as if the song really could have been more polished (compositionally). (8.875/10)
6. "In a Locrian Mood" (9:50) an opening that spans symphonic/classical to the jazz-pop in the same way that Deodato masterfully did for his rendition of "Also Sprach Zarathustra - 2001." At the two-minute mark the band shifts into gear with jazzy heavily-accented drum play and simple three-note bass line beneath soloing electric piano. At the end of the fourth minute every sits back to rest except drummer Harald Pompl who takes on a brief stop-and-go solo (later joined by Mandi Riedelbauch's sax and Max Köhler's bass mirroring Harald's syncopation). Then the song moves forward in a multi-tracked fashion in which it feels as if each and every musician is soloing all on his own: a little "free jazz," if you will. At the end of the seventh minute they come back together briefly before taking a seat to let Max have go on his effected, "underwater" bass. Around the eight-minute mark he's finished, Harald rejoins with some gentle cymbal syncopation, mirroring the pattern set forth by Max, as electric guitar takes off on a wild adventure. Synths and sax add a little texture around Hans' speed-a-long guitar play before rising with the rest of the band to kind of thicken and congeal behind and around Hans--right up until the quite sudden two-chord clipped hit that ends the song. Unusual, somewhat wild but at every moment feeling very defined and purposeful, even composed. I find it interesting and admirable but I'm not sure I'm really fascinated or engaged enough to say that I really like it. (17.5/20)
7. "Happy Sounds" (4:05) a song that sounds as if it were constructed as an exercise in whole-band discipline and perhaps as the working out of a rather mathematical problem--but then the wild and crazed second minute arrives with Mandi Riedelbauch's sax leading the band down a steep hill of uncontrollable speed and abandon. After that the band come together in a syncopated, almost-funky motif over which Roland and Hans take turns contributing their mood-appropriate solos. Harald and Max stay tightly bound underneath despite a challenging pattern and time signature. Interesting and mesmerizing for the musicianship and lack of predictability but not necessarily "happy" for me as there is little melody for me to hook into. Still, I can't say enough about the impressiveness of the performances. (8.875/10)
Total Time 34:27
I just LOVE the up-close and intimate rendering of these instruments! It's like they're playing right around you (or that you, yourself are playing the bass)! And the way each and every song is rooted in both jazz and rock trends and traditions. Rare! Despite the incredible sound rendering, the hard-core complex musical arrangements are not always as engaging as much as they are impressive. I guess I wish there was a little more of the former.
89.79 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion: the sound quality, musicianship, and compositional intelligence of these songs should qualify this album as a masterpiece but there are just not quite enough engaging melodies--even in the rhythm section's grooves--to get it there. Too bad! This is quite an extraordinary album.
Husband Michał Urbaniak recruits his usual high-profile band of musicians (the same lineup that would appear on his own first Arista album--which was to be released in the Spring of 1976 as Body English) to perform his compositions for his wife's unique wordless scat-plus vocals to soar. What an advantage: to have this kind of quality music beneath you to show off your individual skill! Urszula was recorded in New York for Arista by Michał in the summer of 1975 and then released toward the end of the year.
Line-up/ Musicians:
- Al DiMeola / electric guitar, acoustic guitar & mandolin (5), percussion (congas, bongos, castanets, handclaps) arranger & producer
With:
- Barry Miles / Yamaha organ, Minimoog, acoustic & electric pianos, marimba
- Anthony Jackson / bass
- Steve Gadd / drums
- Mingo Lewis / percussion (6), bongos & congas (3,4,6)
- Eddie Colon / percussion & timbales (6)
1. "Egyptian Danza" (5:57) a wonderfully eerie organ intro from Barry Miles sets the tone for something heavy that is intended, I'm guessing, to be spooky. Great mix of the bass, drums, and keys into the spce with Al. The "oasis interlude" in the second minute is a bit odd, but, then, so is the over-arching Latin feel and sound of this song about "Egypt." Nice work from Al, of course, on multiple tracks, but my favorite parts are his little flurries opposite Barry's organ and MiniMoog riffs. Also, this is the Steve Gadd I saw when I saw Jan Hammer and Al in concert about the time of this release or Splendido Hotel. (8.875/10)
2. "Chasin' the Voodoo" (5:05) the Mingo Lewis composition that exists in several places including Mingo's own solo album Flight Never Ending where it is called Frankincense. It's a hard-driving song often cruising along in a surprisingly straightforward time despite the prevalence of endless flurries of challenging moves like a game of lightning chess. Really, this is an amazing song; it just lacks engaging melodies except in a few places. (9/10)
4. "Señor Mouse" (7:21) a fairly recent Chick Corea song (from his and Gary Burton's 1973 album release, Crystal Silence) is here revived. Despite owning the albums on which Chick approaches this song and its variations, I have to admit that I do not recognize it or its melodies. In spite of this, the ease and spaciousness within the song's construct are greatly appreciated even if the melodies are not all that great. (13.25/15)
5. "Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars" (5:12) :
- a. "Viva La Danzarina"
- b. "Guitars of the Exotic Isle"
- c. "Rhapsody Italia"
- d. "Bravoto Fantasia"
6. "Casino" (9:29) a brilliant 55-second intro leads into a catchy riff that, unfortunately, does not continue on to become the pace or melodic determiner of the first motif; instead this becomes much slower and lazier than expected--very much like that of the exotic strains of "Flight Over Rio" from his previous album. After the midpoint, the song just keeps getting softer and softer, more spacious and drawn out, with Al even giving way to a rather cheesy smooth/Calypso-like electric piano and percussion section in the seventh and eighth minutes. When the guitar maestro does return to reclaim the lead he chooses to have himself backed by some cheesy synthesizer strings before sliding into a lull at the 8:30 mark, which is then followed by a weird Bach/Who-like series of chords to finish. (17.5/20)
Total Time 38:29
DONALD BYRD Black Byrd (1973)
Donald's first album giving the reigns of both production and composition to NASA aerospace engineer Larry Mizell. (Larry has writing credit on all seven of the album's songs. Donald has none.) Larry and his 11-month-younger brother, Fonce, were both D.C. born graduates of Howard University: Larry in engineering, Fonce in music. The brothers had only moved out to California early in 1972, with the aim of starting their own record production company (Sky High Productions). Black Byrd was recorded on April 3rd and 4th at The Sound Factory in Hollywood, California though one other date was required (Nov. 24) before the album could be mastered (perhaps for the re-recording or overdubs to he album's title song: to give it that "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" sound and feel). It was released by the Blue Note label in February of 1973.
Line-up/Musicians:- Donald Byrd / trumpet, flugelhorn, electric trumpet, vocals
- Allen Curtis Barnes / flute, oboe, saxophone
- Roger Glenn / saxophone, flute
- Fonce Mizell / trumpet, vocals
- Larry Mizell / vocals, composer, producer
- Dean Parks / guitar (A1, B1)
- Freddie Perren / piano, synthesizer, vocals
A2. "Black Byrd" (8:00) ominous funk from bass and synth with percussion and Fender Rhodes accents open this one before flutes and wah-wah-ed "Shaft"-like rhythm guitar joins in. Small male choir joins in near the beginning of the second minute talking about "walking along playing our song" while a muted horn and horn-like rhythm guitar squawk and converse between and behind the vocal passages. Truly revolutionary (as far as my experience goes--though there are reminisces here of the instrumental music rendered by The Temptations for their version of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"--which was released in September! (13.75/15)
A3. "Love's So Far Away" (6:00) high quality, smooth-yet-rollicking and grooving funk-jazz with an awesome bass line (and style) that will be emulated by Les Nemes on one of my all-time favorite albums, HAIRCUT 100's Pelican West. (9.125/10)
B1. "Mr. Thomas" (5:15) nice full, complex, but not-too-busy, example of melodic jazz-funk. (8.875/10)
B2. "Sky High" (5:59) a song titled after Larry & Fonce's new music production company! Smooth melody lines over straightforward jazz-pop with some pretty adventurous bass walking from Chuck Rainey. This is definitely upbeat and happy music--and everybody contributing seems on board with this. Male choir enters in the second half with its background delivery of the usual hokey lyrics. Besides Chuck's awesome bass play, there are great performances here from all of the trumpeters and flutists as well as the rhythm guitarist, drummer, and keyboard players. (8.875/10)
B3. "Slop Jar Blues" (6:00) a nice, easy-going, Cosby Kids-like groove over which the winds and lead trumpeter and flutist have a great dialogue. I wonder if the solo voce "Slop Jar" lead vocalist is Donald, Fonce, or Freddie Perren. Another great engineered and mixed weave of instruments with Chuck Rainey's bass, the lead flute and trumpet, and the percussionists getting especially prominent treatment. (8.75/10)
B4. "Where Are We Going?" (4:40) the two-chord piano opening that proves to be the foundation for the rest of the song inspires (and supports) another great bass performance from Chuck Rainey while flutes, trumpets, and pianos play around within the mix. At 1:37 another singular male vocal performance starts that makes me wonder who it is. Motown-style b vox soon follow. Curiously, that's when Donald's trumpet really starts to fly around: in and between the vocals and recitations of the main melody from the flutes. There is a Classics IV/Atlanta Rhythm Section "Stormy" feel to the chords and melodies of the foundational progression. All in all it's a nice Smooth jazzed-up Soul/R&B song, despite its obvious references to other Motown classics (including Marvin Gaye's What's Going On?) (9.125/10)
Total Time: 43:17
89.56 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of wonderfully-rendered blend of Smooth Jazz and Funk-Jazz.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Larry Coryell / acoustic & electric guitars
- Mike Mandel / keyboards, synthesizers
- Terumasa Hino / trumpet, flugelhorn
- John Lee / bass
- Gerry Brown / drums
With:
- Danny Toan / rhythm guitar
- Steve Khan / acoustic guitar
- Mike Brecker / tenor saxophone
- Dave Sanborn / alto saxophone
- Randy Brecker / trumpet
- Mtume (James Foreman) / percussion
1. "Kowloon Jag" (5:48) opening with some raw, distorted electric guitar chord play Larry is giving the listener notice with this composition of his that this album is going to be a heavy and aggressive collection of songs similar to those presented to the world with CHICAGO's first three albums back in 1969, 1970 and 1971. The song unfolds with a syncopated jazz-rock motif with Eleventh House's usual full soundscape and an almost Al Di Meola machine gun approach to note and melody delivery from Larry. The psychedelic effects used on several of the instruments are disorienting for their scratchy, heavily distorted quality. John Lee is given quite a space to deliver a bass solo in the fullness of the fifth minute before a bass chords ushers the band to spit out a very tightly played motif of chord play to bring the song to its close. (9/10)
2. "Titus" (5:29) an interesting composition coming from rhythm guitarist Danny Toan, whose only work before this was with Larry Young's Fuel. That's a lot of confidence Larry's instilling in this youngster. What we have here is a quickly established motif that sounds as if it comes straight from James Brown's band, the JBs, horns and all. John Lee and Gerry Brown give the song a bit of a Disco feel from the bottom end, the guitarists adding to this effect, while the R&B horns spice it up like an AVERAGE WHITE BAND song. At the same time Larry grabs the lead with his loud, distorted and compressed bluesy guitar, only spelled by a brief solo from Dave Sanborn's alto sax in the fourth minute. The song kind of drags along repetitiously ad nauseum, even as Larry solos. It's just that (8.75/10)
4. "Rodrigo Reflections" (4:39) solo acoustic guitar on this Coryell composition that sounds more like a cross between Al Di Meola, Shakti John McLaughlin, and Gene Autry. Until the fourth minute, I don't hear much that even remotely reminds me of the guitar music of Joachin Rodrigo. The horse-effect percussion spanning the length of the entire song is rather cheesy. (8.875/10)
5. "Yin-Yang" (4:42) a Lee & Brown composition, it has the mathematically rigid (and soulless) formulaic structure that is, unfortunately, often endemic to John & Gerry's songs but it is, thankfully, livened up quite substantially by the horns section, bass and rhythm guitar play, as well as Larry's electric guitar flashes. (8.75/10)
6. "Woman of Truth and Future" (6:06) though this Mike Mandel song starts out as a very pleasant and laid back spacious electric piano-led tune, it becomes a rather hypnotizing-borderline-obnoxiouss song as its second half is built over a whole-band two-bar riff that is repeated, without break, over the course of the song's final three minutes. It barely works without driving the listener crazy because it is such an unusual chord progression and melody line, but, at the same time, it is so mesmerizing that I often find myself totally tuning out the lead instruments on the top as I try to follow and figure out the odd melody path start to finish, over and over--and this is quite a feat due to the incredibly unusual "cat squealing" sounds being played over the top by Mike's synthesizer for part of that time. Unfortunately, Larry's guitar soloing in the final minute just finds itself buried in the carousel music of the rest of the band. At the same time, I rather like this song: as much if not more than any other on this album. (9/10)
Total Time 41:31
89.53 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of very tight, fully-formed R&B Funky Jazz-Rock Fusion.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Curt Cress / drums, percussion
- Dave King / bass
- Ack Van Rooyen / flugelhorn
- Volker Kriegel / guitar
- Kristian Schultze / keyboards
2. "From the Back" (4:30) the first of several very mathematically-organized funk songs comes across as a great exercise in individual discipline and whole-band cohesion. (8.875/10)
3. "Fields" (3:46) another tough song for musicians to perform smoothly despite its smooth and melodic guise: this is a tough song for individual musicians to toe the line to (as I hear mistakes from both Dave King and Volker Kriegel happening beneath Ack Van Rooyen's flugelhorn solo). Curt does manage to offer something with some beauty and serenity despite demanding so much of his musicians. (Maybe they all are having a blast playing these "études"?) (9.375/10)
4. "Shuffle On Out" (5:53) built around a blues bass line that Curt jazzifies with some key changes and subtle tempo shifts, giving Volker Kriegel two tracks to provide the lead over the top can be dangerous since he can fly, dance, and take it away, all without you suspecting that you've been hijacked. Interesting keyboard "takeover" in the fourth minute after Kristian's clavinet solo: he re-introduces the bass line before Dave King! Not my favorite song (or style/sound palette) but great work from Curt and the band to just be able to hold it together! (8.75/10)
5. "Delphine" (3:27) mathematical jazz-funk fusion. This is what one might expect from a drummer. And yet there are concerted efforts to present WEATHER REPORT-like melodies. One of the things I notice on this song was the nice combination of drums and percussion given by Curt. (8.875/10)
6. "'451271'" (3:35) another very mathematical arrangement that sounds as if the OHIO PLAYERS were getting into exploring complex time signatures and composed this song as a practice/learning tool. It's actually a pretty cool puzzle Curt has given his players. (8.875/10)
7. "No Answer" (3:46) slowed way down, exploring space in a Soul/R&B kind of way--like something KOOL & THE GANG or BOB JAMES might have done. Once again, when looked at from the perspective of getting good at solving mathematical problems, this one really works! Plus the added discipline needed to perform this flawlessly would be intense! (8.875/10)
8. "Movin' Right Along" (2:45) a funk jam the band must have been grooving to is here salvaged with a long fade in. Interesting construct with its rotating themes being injected by the various instruments while Dave King and Curt keep their heads down and focused. (8.875/10)
9. "Funk Off" (4:59) less funk and more WAR "Low Rider"-like rhythm and simple melody-making than I expected from that title! Interesting end to a very interesting album! (8.75/10)
Total Time 36:35
89.44 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a strong display of whole band commitment to some challenging ideas and compositions--a near-masterpiece of funky Jazz-Rock Fusion. For the most part, I think they come through fairly shining. What might suffer a bit is the feeling of a lack of complete or "full" development on many of the song/études.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Riccardo Cioni / clavinet, Fender piano, Omni Arp, Arp 2600
- Roberto Buoni / flute, saxophone, electric clarinet
- Luigi Fiorentino / guitar
- Mauro Sarti / drums
- Tonino Camiscioni / bass
2. "Promenade" (10:45) a slow, almost B-movie cinematic start with Fender Rhodes chords and saxophone gives way to ANT PHILLIPS-like arpeggiated electric guitar chords at the end of the first minute. This guitar-dominated motif continues for while the Fender Rhodes, gentle cymbal play, and saxophone make subtle contributions in the background. Then, at the 2:15 mark everybody kicks into a melodic two chord motif with chunky bass and full drums jumping into the fore. This is kind of NOVA Vimana-like. At the end of the fifth minute the music suddenly switches into a more Latin/Caribbean-flavored movement with lots of fast moving staccato parts. The music almost enters the area of rock/rockabilly before finally slowing down to create a new, more somber and rich keyboard and sax-filled theme in which bass and guitar have some solo exposure. The final two minutes, then, show the band backing off into just Fender Rhodes for a bit before restarting a variation on the arpeggiated guitar-with-saxophone motif from the beginning. Interesting and very pleasant song to experience. (17.875/20)
3. "Porotopostrippa Sul Pero" (8:50) fast opening with sax, bass, guitar and keys all jumping in full volume before settling back into a jerky groove in support of keyboardist Riccardo Cioni's keyboard play--and I do mean play! The dude jumps around from keyboard to keyboard for a it before settling on an unusual synth sound for a good minute. Then the full band jumps back into a whole-band pastiche with guitars and saxes (multiple tracks, each) competing for lead until finally a clarinet is left to occupy the spotlight. Very interesting solo over some nice funk. (The bass and drums are definitely in The Zone!) Guitar and bass take the next leads, in tandem for the bit in which the guitarist takes to establish himself. Then there is another lull while Luigi Fiorentino preps himself mentally for an extended electric guitar solo--here using a heavily-processed sound for his axemanship. It's a very nice rock solo in the vein of Hiram Bullock or David Sancious. (17.75/20)
4. "Cipresso Violento" (5:20) Fender Rhodes and sax interplay on this spacious, slow-to-develop-and-define-itself Smooth Jazz song. At times it has a very distinctive STEELY DAN Aja ("Aja") sound and feel. After over two minutes of feeling their way around, the band finally settles into a very RTF "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant"-like motif with heavy bass chords and repetition of a two chord form. The heavy speeding down the highway only lasts a minute or so before the song regresses to its patchy, pastoral exploratory style of the opening two minutes and then eventually closes. All in all, it's a nice song, with lots of very rich, pleasant, and engaging sounds, I just wish it would/could have established a little more structure and rhythm for a longer portion of its five-and-a-half minutes. (8.75/10)
Total Time: 31:40
- Jeff Beck / electric & acoustic (8) guitars
With:
- Max Middleton / clavinet (1, 2, 4, 6, 7), Fender Rhodes (3, 6)
- Jan Hammer / synthesizer (1, 2, 5, 7), drums (5)
- Narada Michael Walden / piano (8), drums (1, 2, 6)
- Wilbur Bascomb / bass
- Ed Greene / drums (2)
- Richard Bailey / drums (3, 4)
1. "Led Boots" (4:03) hard rockin' and funky, this oddly-timed and syncopated music credited by bassist Wilber Bascomb is a bit tough to access. The bass, drums, and clavinet play are so aggressive and, at the same time, syncopated to almost form a line of defense preventing any listener inside the melodies or structures. Jeff's guitar playing, both rhythmically and in the lead passages, are about as hard and aggressive as you've ever heard them--and they're impressive!--but there is very little melody to grab onto. The same goes for Jan Hammer's Moog solo in the final minute. An impenetrable wall of sound. (8.75/10)
2. "Come Dancing "(5:55) this layered presentation of coordinated instruments from Narada Michael Walden comes across as a mega-funked pseudo dance tune that will attract neither sing-a-long listeners or dancers. It's as if The Ohio Players tried to play Bob James' jazz-rock. (Max Middleton's Fender Rhodes play reminds me, over and over, of Bob James' approach to that same instrument.) Wilbur Bascomb's bass remains true to the funk without ever getting funky (no embellishments) while Jeff and Jan's leads are impressive, interesting, and, at times, "cute" (generating smiles). (8.875/10)
Total Time: 37:17
89.375 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of funky power Jazz-Rock Fusion. The musicianship is amazing--everybody firing on all cylinders--but the compositions are often lacking multiple dimensions and/or engaging chord and diversified melodies: the producers are banking on impressing you with the dynamic performances of the individuals more than constructing engaging grooves that might make your feet and hips want to move.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Jean-Luc Ponty / acoustic & electric violins, Violectra, strings synthesizer (3), arranger & producer
With:
- Patrice Rushen / piano, electric piano, organ, clavinet, synthesizer
- Dan Sawyer / guitar (excl. 8)
- Ray Parker, Jr. / guitar (4 & 5-solos, 8)
- Ralphe Armstrong / bass
- Leon "Ndugu" Chancler / drums, percussion, Roto toms
1. "Upon The Wings Of Music" (5:26) now here's the patented J-L Ponty sound! Thanks to bassist extraordinaire Ralphe Armstrong, the amazingly versatile (and grossly under-appreciated) keyboard player, Patrice Rushen, Jean-Luc's sound is richer, funkier, and way more modern than the electrified attempts he made on previous albums. But, hey! It's all about evolution--the willingness to try new things, adapt, and change, right? Great slap-funk bass from Ralphe with solid drumming from Ndugu. (9/10)
2. "Question With No Answer" (3:29) piano with multiple tracks of violin (a trick Jean-Luc would persist in trying and perfecting by the time Cosmic Messenger and Individual Choice roll around). Some of the violins are more effected than the others, some sounding almost acoustic. Patrice Rushen's bluesy piano provides the absolute perfect support for Jean-Luc's display of multiple personalities, but the addition of the electric bass and drums (mixed far too forward and loudly) is a mistake as their melody-making and rhythmic add-ons only distracts--especially in their total redundancy. (8.75/10)
3. "Now I Know" (4:27) slow and bluesy with a near-C&W ballad-like feel to it, the treated electric violin is very much in line with the sound that will dominate Jean-Luc's albums and music for the next decade. Nice laid back work from the rhythm section, even when Patrice steps up for an electric piano solo in the third minute. But the highlight is Jean-Luc's Violectra and synthesizer use--a first (as far as I know). Cool stuff! (8.875/10)
Total Time 36:38
89.375 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; an excellent near-masterpiece of prime Jean-Luc Ponty music--the first to achieve that signatory sound that he would master for the next 20 years. There are, however, still kinks to work out--which makes sense since Jean-Luc has an entirely new entourage of collaborators and a brand new record company. But, the gate is open for his incredible run of 15 years of masterful albums.
Line-up / Musicians:
- John Goodsall / guitar, vocals (2,4)
- Robin Lumley / keyboards & sounds (1,3,5,6,8,9)
- Peter Robinson / keyboards, sounds & vocals (2,4)
- John Giblin / bass (1,3,5-9)
- Percy Jones / bass (2,4,7)
- Phil Collins / drums, percussion, vocals (1,3), Roland drum machine (7)
- Michael Clark / drums (2,4)
- Morris Pert / percussion (2,4)
2. "Dance of the Illegal Aliens" (6:52) (13.25/15)
3. "Soho" (3:47) not j-r f at all. Like RTF for pop radio. (8.66667/10)
4. "Not Good Enough- See Me!" (7:27) PJ is amazing! Very Weather Report like with total thematic changes three times! (13.5/15)
5. "Algon (where an ordinary cup of drinking chocolate costs .£8.000.000.000)" (6:07) Stanley/RTF-like. Seriously! Great percussion work. (9/10)
6. "Rhesus Perplexus" (4:06) a little more based in traditional Latin jazz works though very much more electrified--like some of the "World Music" acts about to emerge in the 1980s. (8.875/10)
7. "Wal to Wal" (3:09) more Percy magic. Unfortunately, the entire song exists simply to showcase said skills. (8.66667/10)
8. "...And So to F..." (6:34) one of my favorite BX songs of all-time. I love Goodsall's Santana/Holdsworth-like sound and feel. (9.75/10)
9. "April" (2:40) more pensive WReport-like fare. (4.375/5)
Total Time: 48:50
- Leopoldo / Bongos, Percussion
- Michael Carvin / Clavinet
- Lawrence Killian / Congas, Percussion
- Art Gore / Drums
- Michael Carvin / Percussion
A2. "Desert Nights" (6:45) Lonnie switches to piano while the rhythm crew establish a slow-groovin' motif to quell us into nighttime submission while flute, sax, piano, and drums take turns spewing forth their subdued solos, flourishes, and fills. Lonnie's piano pounding feels a little unsuited to the desert vibe being bouyed by the others but then, who knew he'd have had a history with Don Pullen? (8.875/10)
A3. "Summer Days" (5:53) a happy-go-lucky two key samba sounding like something from a Herb Alpert or Sergio Mendes song. Here we find Lonnie once again reverting to the acoustic piano as his main voice. (8.75/10)
- Marius Lorenzini / electric & acoustic guitars, vocals
Ann Ballester / acoustic & electric pianos, synthesizers (ARP Odyssey & Omni, Oberheim polyphonic), vocals
- Josquin Turenne des Prés / bass, guitar, vocals
- Alain Gouillard / drums
1. "Vedra" (6:35) nice Fender Rhodes-driven jazz-rock fusion of the Third Wave. (8.875/10)
2. "À la source du rêve" (7:45) a song that sounds quite a bit like something straight off of JEAN-LUC PONTY's albums of the previous year, Aurora and Imaginary Voyage. For me, it's drummer Alain Gouillard that really shines on this song--especially in the second motif with some Bill BRUFORD-like sound and techniques. Marius Lorenzini's acoustic guitar play is quite like the modern Django-style that Daryl Stuermer uses on the Jean-Luc albums mentioned, while Ann Baellester's multi synth-dominated play is quite fresh and adventurous, though always quite melodic. She really shines. And, did I mention bassist Josquin Turenne des Prés' excellent funk play with his Anthony Jackson sound? A most engaging, enjoyable, and impressive song, even if it is rather simply constructed; the lively, energetic play of all of the instrumentalists makes something "simple" into an impressive display of complexity. (13.875/15)
3. "So Deep Inside" (5:45) Trying to blend with some Chick Corea/Al Di Meola riffs and themes with the There's even some part (in the fifth minute) that reminds me of UK's debut album! Like a lot of the music on the next band's next album, I can hear beginning strains of similarities to the quirky music of 2010s Camembert unconventional fringe Zeuhl. (8.875/10)
4. "Le temps d'un solo" (5:43) weaving their creative instrumental play with a somewhat STEELY DAN sound palette over another fairly simple (two-chord) construct allows for plenty of opportunity to show some flash--they're all doing it: from drummer Alain Gouillard's Steve Gadd-like rudiments to Marius Lorenzini's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter guitar tone and style, even down to Josquin Turenne des Prés' Chuck Rainey-like funk bass playing. Nice! (8.875/10)
7. "Alone, Completely Unknown" (6:55) Ahh! Here we get the first serious evidence of the band's future direction and predilection! Some quirky Jazz-Rock Fusion founded, at first, in some of the basic tenets and lessons of Second Wave J-R Fusion, but then stepping down a pop-rock side street when the vocal motif starts. The signs of this being only the infancy of this path lie in the interesting vocal arrangement: alternating male and female dialogue similar to that which HUMAN LEAGUE will exploit in a few years on their monster hit, "Human." A cute, likeable song that, when compared to the much more sophisticated weaves of the next album, feels infantile and simplistic. (13.125/15)
Total Time 44:28
I can see why so many reviewers elevate this album above its successor: it's quite melodic and its simpler instrumental palette does make it a bit more accessible and engaging. The musicianship is also incredibly high, but the quirky, unusual complexity of the next album--with a full complement of five musicians working relentlessly on some very challenging and more mature compositions--makes it superior to me.
- Gary Boyle / guitar
- Morris Pert / percussion
- Simon Phillips / drums (A1, B2, B3, B4)
- Doni Harvey / bass (A1, B2, B3, B4)
- Zoe Kronberger / keyboards (A2, A3, A4, B1, B4)
- Dave McCrae / Clavinet (A2, B1), Arp Synthesizer & Electric Piano solo (B3)
- Maggie Pert / vocals (A2)
- Jeff Seopardie / drums (A2, A4, B1)
- Steve Shone / bass (A2, A3, A4, B1)
A3. "Now That We're Alone" (1:30) beautiful EBERHARD WEBER-like bass and electric piano. (4.675/5)
A4." Lullaby for a Sleepy Dormouse (for Georgie)" (5:25) gorgeous Smooth Jazz motif over which Gary does some very nice EARL KLUGH-like nylon string guitar playing. (8.75/10)
B2. "Pendle Mist" (5:40) cymbals, bass, and Fender Rhodes take the first 1:45 to create a very mysterious, sexy, and spacious late-night motif which Gary finally joins playing in his Al Di Meola-sounding acoustic guitar. It's a really nice piece for the space that allows the musician and listener plenty of time to hear the nuanced skills of these mature performers. I love the fact that everyone seems to hold value for the mood their setting rather than move into some of the flashy soloing that they might be craving. Beautiful. I know I'd play this on repeat around midnight for a ruminative sit in my NYC penthouse apartment if I had one. (9.33333/10)
Total Time 37:48
Line-up / Musicians:
- Lluis Cabanach / electric & Spanish guitars
- Joan Albert Amargós / Steinway grand piano, Fender e-piano, Hohner clavinet, Moog & Logan String synths, keyboards, soprano sax, clarinet, flute, trombone, composer & arranger (excl. 4)
- Carles Benavent / bass, contrabass, acoustic guitar, percussion, percussive vocal effects
- Salvador Font / drums, marimba, gong, percussion, vocal effects
With:
- Aurora Amargós / castanets
- Lucky Guri / Steinway grand piano, Fender e-piano, Moog
2. "Violeta" (8:20) a gentler, smoother, almost STEVIE WONDER approach in the opening minute of this soon reveals the band's "itch" with several sudden turns into very brief little quirky motifs: it's almost as if the band are acting partly from a collective attention deficit disorder and partly out of some kind of innate mischievousness though it could also come from a serious curiosity for the chaos and humor one can express through art. Perhaps it is a combination of these three traits that also drove artists like Frank Zappa, S(Z)amlas Mammas(z) Manna, Mr. Bungle, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and the like. An odd, at times humorous, at others annoying, song. (17.75/20)
Total time 38:30
- Friedemann Josch / wind
- Locko Richter / bass, violin
- Burkard Schmidl / keyboards, electric guitar, percussion, vocals
- Jan Zelinka / drums
1. "Space Guerilla" (10:48) a three-part suite in which the second movement is full of experimental keyboard work, while only the final super-fast, super-fun section is really high quality Jazz-Rock Fusion. (18/20)
2. "Guitar For Sale" (7:57) a murky, funky vehicle for some superb Al Di Meola/Jan Hammer-like guitar synth and/or synth play from keyboardist Burkard Schmidl (who is also providing the rich electric piano chords in the rhythm section beneath). My big question is: Is that really a guitar doing the soloing over the first three minutes or a synth mimicking a guitar?
3. "Rahsaan Roland Kirk" (2:50) obviously a tribute to recently-deceased Indiana-born American sax and flute player of the same name. Multiple tracks of layers of flutes imbedded with multiple tracks of percussive voicings. Interesting. (4.5/5)
4. "Fuzzy, Don't Go To The Disco" (3:21) like an étude in funk. Can a Jean-Luc Ponty violin play funk? Can Burkard adapt to the clavinet. Can flute and sax accents supplant a brass section? etc. (8.75/10)
5. "Hoffmannstropfen" (6:04) another very mathematical and stringently-constrained construct that sounds like a study/practice session in funk mastery. Though I'll give them props for going further than Thijs Van Lier's FOCUS ever went. (8.75/10)
Total Time: 49:54
Alphonse's breakthrough funk album that is often cited as his best work. What a coup to get not one, not two, but three amazing guitarists both reaching the prime of their careers in Tommy Bolin and Lee Ritenour and Jay Graydon! The album was recorded April 4-10, 1974, at Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles with Skip Drinkwater in the production seat, it was then released in March 1975 on Blue Note.
- Alphonse Mouzon / drums, ARP 2600 synth, Fender Rhodes (6), Farfisa organ, vocals, arranger & co-producer
With:
- Jay Graydon / guitar, ARP 2600 programming
- Tommy Bolin / guitar (solos 3,7,8)
- Lee Ritenour / guitar (solos 4-6)
- Jerry Peters / Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3 organ
- Henry Davis / bass
1. "Mind Transplant" (4:05) hard drivin' rock with a lot of funk reveals a side of Alphonse that I do not know! Impressive but issuing no memorable riffs, melodies, or solos to make it memorable. (8.75/10)
2. "Snow Bound" (3:05) another impressive rock-oriented album that kind of goes nowhere. (8.75/10)
3. "Carbon Dioxide" (4:38) great drumming beneath those rock guitar riffs from the very opening. When the musicians settle into a flowing groove at 0:45 Tommy Bolin gets to lead into the melody, but then there is a dramatic tempo shift around 1:30 that leads into a very-JEAN-LUC PONTY-sounding high-speed chase passage in which Tommy flies around the fretboard with the more-than-adequate support of second guitarist Jay Graydon. Jerry Peters's Hammond B3 gets the second solo but it's oddly mixed behind everyone else. (8.875/10)
4. "Ascorbic Acid" (3:26) impressive drum opening that leads into a song structure in which Alphonse's snare hits feel off-center, making for a kind of odd distraction throughout. On this song Lee Ritenour gets front billing while Jerry Peters plays some pretty awesome Fender Rhodes beneath. I really admire the incredible tightness of all of the musicians' performances. (8.875/10)
5. "Happiness Is Loving You" (4:09) a bit slower and more melody-oriented, it's another excellent twin-guitar exhibition--though Lee gets the credit as the guy with all the solos. Not a great song but it does have catchy melodies and some pretty great nuanced double-guitar work between Jay and Lee. (9/10)
6. "Some of the Things People Do" (3:40) vocal screams at the beginning let one know that we're in for a Afro-funk song that sounds very much like the recent music coming from EARTH WIND & FIRE (without the horns) or KOOL AND THE GANG and/or THE OHIO PLAYERS. Alphonse's singing voice is okay--he's got plenty of confidence and swag--it's just not a great pop song. (8.75/10)
7. "Golden Rainbows" (6:56) a spacey, cinematic song in the vein of the stuff JEFF BECK, THE ISLEY BROTHERS or NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN will be doing. Nice. (13.5/15)
8. "Nitroglycerin" (3:03) as the title indicates, this one is pretty explosive: more from Alphonse and bassist Henry Davis as much as from the twin guitarists and Jerry Peters. Sounds a lot like Jeff Beck's "Freeway Jam." (9.25/10)
Total Time: 33:06
An album that is most impressive for the dominance of its hard-rockin' lines and sounds to me more like the music that would be coming out of bands like RUFUS and
89.12 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of hard-drivin' jazz-rock fusion.
- Patrice Lemoine / pianos, organ, Minimoog synth
- Didier Malherbe / tenor & soprano saxophones, flutes & bansuri (bamboo flute), gong
- Mike Howlett / bass, vocals
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, vibraphone, tubular bells
- Mireille Bauer / marimba, glockenspiel, xylophone, assorted percussions & gong
With:
- Miquette Giraudy / vocals (3)
- Sandy Colley / vocals (6)
- Steve Hillage / acoustic & electric guitars (1,3)
- Jorge Pinchevsky / violin (2-4,6)
- Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) / producer
1. "Wingful of Eyes (6:20) bassist Mike Howlett tries to be the band's new Daevid Allen with his vocals and lyrics while the musicians beneath seem to be inextricably drawn to the Jazz-Rock Fusion that so many Canterbury bands and adventurous jazz performers were trying out. (8.875/10)
2. "Chandra" (7:18) man! Pierre Moerlen sounds like an A1 jazz fusion drummer! The quirk is still present in the sax, electric violin, and synths, but the rest of the the instrumentalists are definitely grooving in a J-R F way. Quite like how Brand X will sound when they debut next year. At 4:23 Mike Howlett suddenly enters singing in the band's usual style of lyrics based upon double-entendres and plays on words. I don't really like how the song just gradually deconstructs and then fades out, otherwise this is a J-R F winner. (13.5/15)
Total Time: 40:01
Michał URBANIAK Fusion (1974)
- Michał Urbaniak / Electric violin, violectra, soprano sax
- Urszula Dudziak / Voice, percussion
- Adam Makowicz / Keyboards
- Wojciech Karolak / Hammond organ, Farfisa
- Czesław Bartkowski / Drums, Paiste cymbals
B3. "Bengal" (13:51) Shakti-Shankar-like plaintive violin opens this one as frenetic Fender Rhodes, African-like percussion, organ, and drumming elements play wildly around in the background, beneath the increasingly effected-disrupted violin sounds. After more than two minutes the music smooths out from beneath with drums, bass, and percussion settling into fairly straightforward jazz play (while the "distant" Fender and Wulitzer organ continue their frenzied play). Ula is given free reign aand front billing for the fifth minute--and she does not disappoint with her Flora Purim-like scatting of a wide variety of African jungle noises. Drummer Czesław Bartkowski really shines throughout this entire song with his constantly creative rhythms and fills. Michal, of course, takes a few of the solo segments though there is a very interesting/entertaining passage in the tenth minute when two keyboardists (two channels of Adam Makozicz?) seem to both take on the frenzied, frantic lizard/instect style of their vocalist and violinist leader (all the while with Czesław Bartkowski absolutely killing it beneath them). While this song stands out for many people for many reasons, I find it less cohesive and less enjoyable than the previous three songs. It's too loose and spacey like something from Bitches Brew (an album I've never particularly enjoyed). Impressive performances and ideas brought to life, to be sure, but just not as enjoyable to listen, groove, or dance to as some of Michał's other stuff. (26.5/30)
89.08 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of genre-defining Jazz-Rock Fusion music. Though this is not my favorite Michal Urbaniak album, the music is definitely back on track after the disturbingly substandard Inactin.
After the collapse and dissolution of the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, the band's multi-instrumentalist violinist, Jerry Goodman, and multi-instrumentalist keyboard player, Jan Hammer stick together for a while in order to hash out some of the collaborative magic they'd been suppressing.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Jerry Goodman / acoustic & electric violins, viola, violow, acoustic & electric guitars, electric mandolin, vocals
AND
- Jan Hammer / acoustic & electric pianos, Moog, Oberheim sequencer, drums, percussion, vocals
1. "Country and Eastern Music" (5:34) acoustic piano opening is joined by a breakout of full-spectrum rock band power motif which, after establishing itself over then next 30 seconds rests while Jerry's acoustic string quartet and Jan's percussives perform a little classical string quartet for the next 35 seconds. Then the rock motif returns within/over which Jan's moog solos with some violin support just behind. Boisterous choral vocal scream-chanting starts at 2:35--still within the heavy rock motif. At the three-minute mark there is a return to the string quartet motif while multi-track vocals continue, only now in a softer, more GENTLE GIANT-like approach. Return to the rock motif at 3:53 for some dynamic electric (and, later, acoustic) violin soloing. In the second half of the fifth minute Jan takes a turn in the lead with his Moog--which ends up, briefly, duelling with Jerry's violin--before everything de-escalates into the "string quartet" motif for the finish--with Jan's recorder-like Moog soloing over/within. Interesting and very UK-like! Also Todd Rundgren's UTOPIA. (8.875/10)
2. "No Fear" (3:28) a solo keyboard and sequencing exhibition by Jan. I can't really determine whether or not Jerry is participating at all in this as most of the sounds heard are synthetic: it seems to me to be just Moog over sequencer from start to finish. Even the long-held bent-notes that could be violin I am willing to bet are coming from the Moog. I quite like it, though. It's kind of like a preview of 1980s Jean-Luc Ponty. (9.125/10)
3. "I Remember Me" (3:47) violins and soothing electronic keyboard sounds, chords, and gentle guitar arpeggi supporting from below with barely a rhythm track implied! Impressive and pretty but, ultimately ,kind of forgettable--like a New Age song. (8.875/10)
4. "Earth (Still Our Only Home)" (4:15) a funk rhythm track from bass and drums with distorted rock electric guitars emerging from the background eventually support some interesting vocals: part rock anthem, part SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE/OHIO PLAYERS-like funk-R&B declarative. The violin and synth solos are top notch, it's the main rhythm track that I find myself wanting to change, shift, and/or develop more. Also, the shouting-choir approach to the delivery of the vocals leaves me with an even more difficult challenge of deciphering the lyrics. (8.75/10)
5. "Topeka" (2:57) another rather simplistic rock motif that feels more useful as a warm-up or étude eventually shifts into a more straightforward vamp vehicle over which Jerry and Jan take turns soloing, each using multiple instruments to do so (violins and guitars for Jerry; a variety of Moog sounds for Jan). Even the chorus is a little dull and "by the numbers"--all just providing the set up/foundation for the solos to exist. (Which makes me wonder what the solos would sound like without any rhythm track. I have the feeling they would have the exact same impact. (8.75/10)
6. "Steppings Tones" (3:29) Moog bass and moving electric piano chord arpeggi give this the feeling of a slowed down or Mahavishnu Orchestra riff or more-typical Jean-Luc Ponty motif. It does build in both fullness with layering and drum and cymbal intensity, which is nice, but it never really seems to "launch"--I find myself waiting for the "break out" moment. (8.875/10)
8. "Full Moon Boogie" (4:11) another rock motif is quickly set up that sounds as if it could have come from The Talking Heads' 1980 album, Remain in Light. The chorus motif, though still retaining a kind of David Byrne/Brian Eno style and sound, ti's a cross between "Standing at the Crossroads" and "The Great Curve." It gets a little funkier in the instrumental passages. Pretty cool though eerily prescient. (9/10)
Total Time: 39:16
89.03 on the Fishscales = B/five stars; an excellent addition to any prog and j-r-fuse lover's music collection.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Alphonso Johnson / bass, vocals, Chapman Stick
- Dawilli Gonga / keyboards, vocals
- David Amaro / guitar (3)
- Alphonse Mouzon / keyboards (Orchestron voice choir) (4)
- Blackbird McKnight / guitar (5)
- Ian Underwood / keyboards, synthesizer, programming (5, 6)
2. "Involuntary Bliss" (6:08) pretty, fey-like music with some lotus garden like soundfeel noises and gentle chord play for the first 2:45, then the band changes lanes and picks up the speed in order to enter the real world and compete with the blind consumers cluelessly choosing that way of life. At 4:15 the acolyte gives up and returns, exhausted, to the lotus world where she tries to recover and recuperate. A very interesting Narada Michael Walden-like song. (8.875/10)
Total Time 41:01
- Hansford Rowe / bass, rhythm guitar (2)
- Mireille Bauer / marimba (1,2,5), vibraphone (3,4)
- Benoît Moerlen / vibes (1-6), xylophone & tubular bells (6), glockenspiel & claves (6), marimba & percussion (3)
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, glockenspiel & vibes (1), xylophone (2), tubular bells & timpani (5)
With:
- Allan Holdsworth / rhythm (1) & lead (3,4, 6) guitars
- Mick Taylor / lead guitar (1)
- Bon Lozaga / lead (2) & rhythm (3) guitars
- Darryl Way / violin (3,5)
- Francois Causse / congas (2-5)
1. "Heavy Tune" (6:22) a dull and plodding song that seems to exhibit an over-arching malaise or fatigue from the band (though more from the guitarists (including Allan Holdsworth) and bass guitarist Hansford Rowe, but even Pierre's drum playing seems lackluster and uninspired--leaving all his energy for his vibraphone play. Stupid KISS-like rock chord progression propelled by the rhythm guitarists' "power" chords. What a sad opening. (8.66667/10)
2. "Golden Dilemma" (4:51) maybe now they've awakened! But the main rhythm track/motif is still so bland/quitidian and rock-like--with a "Take Five"/"Living in the Past" sound and feel to it. Nice play from the tuned percussionists. (8.875/10)
Total Time 37:17
- Issei Noro / Yamaha SG2000 electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals (7)
- Minoru Mukaiya / Fender Rhodes piano, acoustic piano, synthesizers, Yamaha Electone electronic organ, vibraphone
- Tetsuo Sakurai / Fender Jazz Bass bass guitar
- Takashi Sasaki / drums
With:
- Randy Brecker / trumpet (1, 8)
- Michael Brecker / tenor saxophone (1-2, 8)
- David Sanborn / alto saxophone (1, 8)
- Masatoshi Maeda / strings
1. "Time Limit" (3:07) man! what a bass player! Tetsuo Sakurai can play! Not a big fan of the David Sanborn horn section though. Still, it's good enough to earn its place as one of my top three favorites on the album. (9/10)
2. "Tears of the Star" (4:32) sexy, sultry Smooth Jazz. On this song it's the acoustic guitarist, Issei Noro, that gets to shine (though Tetsuo also gets to wow us some more). The synth chord sound and progressions in the second half are so saccharine, leading into a whole melodramatic passage for the finish. Would have been great on General Hospital to go along with the Luke and Laura melodrama going on at the time. (8.875/10)
3. "Space Road" (5:14) opens as an exercise in a certain chord progression by the bass and electric piano before the drummer (Takashi Saski) takes off in another direction at a whole different speed--leading the electric guitarist with him before convincing the bassist to follow as well. Very interesting! Ends up feelin and sounding more like something from Jean-Luc Ponty's dynamic lineup of the same time period. Excellent stuff! Defintely my favorite song on the album. (9.5/10)
4. "Midnight Rendezvous" (5:20) expressing the usual high standard of musicianship, it's just that the music doesn't really excite or bring me in. (8.75/10)
5. "Far Away" (3:55) more akin to something by The Crusaders, Bob JAMES, or even Barry White's LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA. It's very pretty but approaching golf theme or even elevator music. I do love the Joe SAMPLE-like piano work. (8.6666667/10)
6. "Swallow" (4:24) another song that sounds like one of the USA's West Coast jazz collaborations--like Tom Scott, Lee Ritenour, Dave Gruisin, or the like. Nice synth solo in the second minute, electric guitar in the third, and, of course, excellent (even astonishing) bass play. Got to give this one high marks despite its shlocky main melody and overall sound palette. A top three song. (9/10)
7. "Dream Hill" (5:39) EARTH WIND AND FIRE pop funk?! With even background vocals. Not what I was ever expecting! Guitar leads the melody parade before vocal choir joins in. (8.5/10)
8. "Black Joke" (4:17) jazz-funk that feels and sounds like 1980 with THE CRUSADERS, LARRY CARLTON/LEE RITENOUR, GEORGE BENSON, or DAVID SANBORN (which is more than a coincidence since David performs on this song). Beautiful and impressive but so dated. (8.75/10)
Total Time 36:28
- Frank Noya / bass, synths
- Fred Leeflang / saxophones, flutes, clarinet
- Nanning Van Der Hoop / drums, percussion
- Peter Schon / piano, clavinet, synthesizers, strings
1. "Fretless Fret" (4:48) a loose, contemplative COLTRANE-like excursion through several slow, spacious motifs that, eventually, lead straight into the next more-developed and far more dynamic song. (8.875/10)
2. "Tiro Tiro" (4:50) there is the strong feeling/presence of Weather Report and, later, in cluding a rather loose passage in the middle that borders on "free jazz" Well composed and performed sophisticated J-RFuse. Perhaps could've used more hooks. (8.875/10)
3. "For You Too" (2:43) sounds like a fun, quirky, pop-radio-oriented attention-getting tune similar to those some of the funk bands (and Weather Report) and artists like David Sanborn, Average White Band, and Jay Beckenstein's Spyro Gyro produced around this time. Light and engaging. (8.75/10)
4. "Matthew Welname" (5:25) using synth bass, flute and synthesizers provided the main melody lines over the top of Frank Noya's synth bass and Nanning Van Der Hoop's proficient drums (which are recorded a little out of sync with the rest of the instruments). With the joinder of clavinet and jazz bass in the second half the band is trying really hard to get into the funk but kind of miss the mark a bit with performances that feel just a bit too-tight (especially the bass). There are some nice performances and ideas here but something just falls short. (8.75/10)
5. "Dune Tune" (3:35) five chord ascending progression around which is built another Weather Report funk tune. The bass synth just isn't working for me, but the drumming here is OUTSTANDING! Nanning has definitely been practicing (and, here: channeling) his Billy Cobham chops! Synthesizer tries to engage us with a solo as electric piano continues playing that five-chord sequence every so often. In the third or fourth minute we finally get some suitable leadership: some excellent saxophone play from Fred Leeflang. This has the potential to be one great Jazz-Funk tune were they to have chosen a lead instrument other than that weird saw-synth. (9/10)
Total Time 38:04
88.72 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent attempt at some solid Jazz-Rock Fusion that is, unfortunately, marred by inconsistencies and inadequacies. I so want to like this album--due in most part to my astonishment at the skills and performance of drummer Nanning Van Der Hoop--but it's just too flawed.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Klaus Kreuzeber / Soprano alt-sax & flute
- Peter Malinowski / bass
- Christoph Krieger / violin
- Lucky Schmidt / drums (vocal)
- Muck Groh / guitar, vocals (7)
- Als Gast Onkel Latzi / Bariton-saxophone & oboe (7)
Side 1
1. "Mechelwind" (9:24) some American Southern rock-influenced themes and sounds with some very rock-like drumming, bass, and guitar playing. (Much of this song reminds me of American bands like THE OUTLAWS, DIXIE DREGS, early JEAN-LUC PONTY and perhaps Molly Hatchet and even a little bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd). Several impressively-sophisticated weaves back some nice rock-oriented solos. (18/20)
2. "Alabaster Keaton" (3:06) using variations on fairly familiar jazz melodies (from the flutes and acoustic guitar) the band presents a piece that sounds like some of the more folk-classical explorations of FOCUS. (8.875/10)
3. "Wrdlbrmfd" (5:33) a piece that has a more modern discordant edge to it (not unlike VAN DER GRAAF GENERATIOR while also preparing us for bands like SEVEN IMPALE). Once the initial weave has been beaten to death, the band shifts into a more relaxed though still-mathematical motif within which saxes, violin and guitar get to take some turns doing some soloing (but how boring for the rhythm section of bass, drums, and rhythm guitar). A good song but nothing to write home about. (8.75/10)
Side 2
4. "Elephen Elephants" (8:40) a little attempt at some JTULL both rhythmically and sound palette wise. This becomes especially evident when the flute and saxes become the lead instruments. There is also a bit of KCRIMSON feel to parts of this as well as a tastefully done (and well-recorded), extended, multi-part drum solo in the middle. When the band is allowed to rejoin it is through the heavily-effected ministrations of a picked electric guitar followed by some very pretty and enjoyable saxophone playing. Christoph Kreiger's echoed electric violin gets the next solo before the band uses a couple of sequences of slowly-ascending arpeggiated chords to close down the song. (17.5/20)
5. "Herbstzeitlos" (2:27) what opens like a mathematical exercise--and étude--ends up supplying enough grist for some melody making over the top. It's actually a decent little song! (9/10)
Total Time: 39:48
Line-up / Musicians:
- John Harmon / piano, composition, soloist
- Peter "Herb" Butler / engineer, co-producer
- John Kirchberger / tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, soloist, alto flute
- Randy Tico / bass, soloist, electric bass
- Mike Hale / composition, soloist, trumpet, percussion
- Greg Zajack / photography
- Brad McDougall / bass trombone, percussion, soloist
- Larry Darling / soloist, trumpet, percussion
- Patrick Soo Hoo/Designers / design
- Andy Waterman / engineer
- John Simon / producer
- Jeff Pietrangelo / soloist, trumpet
2. "Tale Of The Whale" (10:35) sounds like someone crossed an exaggerated Eberhard Weber bass with some VANGELIS music in an effort to try to replicate whale music in the ocean. Not quite Paul Winter Consort, but close. Around the fourth minute the band tries to go full PAUL WINTER Consort with a WEATHER REPORT rhythm section. Very catchy and engaging. The bass player, Randy Tico, is very good: very melodic. Too bad the opening four minutes wasn't so corny. (17.75/20)
3. "Homage" (3:38) (bass) trombone soloing over piano, fretless bass, and drummer's mostly-cymbal play. A bit of an early Pat Metheny vibe to this. Horn section takes over in the third minute for a crescendo before settling in for a gentle let down to finish. (8.75/10)
4. "Galadriel" (7:04) cinematic VANGELIS-like soundtrack music over which Randy Tico solos on his fretless bass. Horn section and drums kick in around the one-minute mark giving it a Broadway musical sound and feel. Piano solo that follows is very easy listening lounge music. It's a nice song--but definitely more elevator/Adult Contemporary music than hard-drivin' or funk J-R F. (13.125/15)
Total Time 37:58
Guitar master Al Di Meola's sophomore release as a band leader and his most highly-acclaimed album of all-time.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Al DiMeola / electric 6- & 12-string and acoustic guitars, ARP synthesizer (2), ARP String Ensemble & piano (6), castanets & maracas (2), timbales (4), producer & arranger
With:
- Paco De Lucia / acoustic guitar (3-second solo)
- Jan Hammer / electric piano & Mini Moog (1,6)
- Barry Miles / electric & acoustic pianos, Mini Moog (4)
- Anthony Jackson / bass guitar
- Steve Gadd / drums (1,6)
- Lenny White / drums (2,4), timbales (2)
- Mingo Lewis / percussions, congas (2,4,6), shakers, timbales, cowbell, organ & background synthesizers (1), ARP Odyssey & ARP sequencer (1)
2. "Midnight Tango" (7:28) a murkily-engineered song that always felt to me as if Al was pandering to the new wave of radio- and adult-friendly Smooth Jazz audiences. It's nice as elevator music. it's not until the first riff of Al's fiery electric guitar leap out from the dross of everything behind it at 4:15 that I finally find myself sitting up with any kind of hope. Alas! That one little riff, as magnificent as it is, is not enough to save the song--even when played over and over … and over and over. Nor is the oddly-tacked on Latin percussion party at the end. (13.125/15)
3. "Mediterranean Sundance" (5:14) the world's introduction to the fiery genius of Flamenco master Pace De Lucia. What an extraordinary piece! (So which one of The Trio is passion, which one fire, and which one grace?) If I have one complaint of this song it's of its length: a have always felt that it's too long, that the novelty of these guys flying around their fretboards in their friendly duel is just a bit overwhelming. (9.5/10)
Total Time: 37:18
By the time I heard this album I'd already been familiar with Carlos SANTANA, John McLAUGHLIN, and RETURN TO FOREVER, so I was primed for some amazing guitar pyrotechnics--which this album (and Al's predecessor, his solo debut) more than provided. While many people here on PA revere the work in the 1970s of keyboard wizard Jan HAMMER, I've never really been drawn in by his playing, his choice of sounds or his compositions, so this album loses a little on me when I can compare it to Al's contributions to RTF (which had Chick COREA, Stanley CLARKE and Lenny WHITE), Lenny WHITE (which had Onaje Alan GUMBS), or Stomu YAMASH'TA's GO (which had Steve WINWOOD and Klaus SCHULZE). The acoustic guitar duet with Paco DE LUCIA, "Mediterranean Sundance" (5:14) has always been a favorite of mine, and "Elegant Gypsy Suite" is impressive no matter how you look at it. The other songs are impressive compositions, technically amazing and performed at the highest level but have lost some of their lustre over the years. "Midnight Tango" is elegant and beautiful but seems a bit simple and immature now. It is, however, brought up a notch by Lenny's wonderful drum play. The album is very well recorded, mixed and engineered though at times it feels a bit sterile (and others murky), but it is undoubtedly a wonderful representative of a (then) young genius showing his precocious talents.
Line-up / Musicians:
- John McLaughlin / electric guitar, 6- & 12- & 13-string acoustic guitars, banjo
- L. Shankar / acoustic & electric violins
- Stu Goldberg / electric piano, Moog synthesizer with Steiner-Parker modifications, Prophet synthesizer, Hammond organ
- Fernando Sanders / Fender bass, acoustic bass, vocals (5)
- Tony Smith / drums, vocals
- Alyrio Lima / percussion, amplified Chinese cymbals
- David Sanborn / alto saxophone (8)
2. "Miles Davis" (4:54) (8.75/10)
3. "Electric Dreams, Electric Sighs" (6:27) the Mahavishnu plays banjo?!!! John's attempt to forge/force the East into Western music? Shankar is as amazing as ever but doesn't really fit as well as (8.75/10)
4. "Desire and the Comforter" (7:35) excellent once John's jazz guitar is soloing. (13.5/15)
5. "Love and Understanding" (6:39) I know it had been frustratingly difficult for John to get back together with his original SHAKTI collaborator Shankar since the 1977 recording sessions of Natural Elements, so I'm sure this Shakti-sounding opening with Shankar is a bit of a concessionary homage to that fact, but then the song tries to go SANTANA Love Devotion Surrender with some mellow group vocals. (At least these vocals sound better arranged and rehearsed--more professional.) But the odd Smooth Jazz rhythm track of very simple drums, bass, and bouncing electric piano are so much more Narada Michael Walden-like than Mahavishnu. Aside from the Shakti opening, this is just a sadly disappointing song. (8.75/10)
7. "The Dark Prince" (5:17) retrieving old memories of Emergecy! and Bitches Brew, we have a jaunt into the past with this much more dynamic expression of old jazz updated with 10-year newer instrumental sound. The construct and foundational melodies sound so very much from the two afore-mentioned albums! Nice performances all around. Just wish it were a "newer" composition. (8.875/10)
8. "The Unknown Dissident" (6:18) tender-point ROY BUCHANAN-like blues guitar soloing over modern palette blues with fretless bass from Fernando Sanders and the distinctive sonorous sax of David Sanborn. Over the course of its six minutes it settles into the listener's bones like this year's wine. (8.875/10)
Total Time 38:40
Line-up / Musicians:
- Allan Holdsworth / guitar (1-10)
- Dave Stewart / keyboards and synths
- Jeff Berlin / bass
- Bill Bruford / acoustic & electronic drums, percussion, voice of "The Mock Turtle" (5)
With:
- Sam Alder / voice of "Narrator" (5)
- Anthea Norman-Taylor / voice of "Alice" (5)
- Eddie Jobson / violin (8) - originally uncredited
1. "Hell's Bells" (3:33) (8.75/10)
2. "One of a Kind, Pt. 1" (2:20) (4/5)
3. "One of a Kind, Pt. 2" (4:04) (8/10)
4. "Travels With Myself - And Someone Else" (6:13) (8.25/10)
5. "Fainting in Coils" (6:33) (9/10)
6. "Five G" (4:46) Jeff Berlin getting Allan Holdsworth charged. (8.75/10)
7. "The Abingdon Chasp" (4:54) (8.25/10)
8. "Forever Until Sunday" (5:51) Throw away the slow Jobson first half and you have a GREAT song. (8.5/10)
9. "The Sahara of Snow, Pt. 1" (5:18) (10/10)
10. "The Sahara of Snow, Pt. 2" (3:24) (10/10)
Total Time: 46:28
Lots of noodling with too little structure to hold one's attention and make the songs memorable. The new synth-orientation is also less attractive and comprehensible than the sound palette of the band's previous album. However, as much as the first half of the album bores, the second half cooks.
87.89 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of jazz-aspirng progressive rock music.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Caroll Bérard / acoustic & electric guitars, percussion, talkbox
- Réjean Yacola / piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, clavinet, Minimoog
- Martin Murray / Hammond B3, Minimoog, Solina, soprano saxophone, tambourin, backing & chorus (1) vocals
- Gilles Ouellet / celesta, percussion, backing & chorus (1) vocals, co-producer
- Pierre Hébert / bass
- André Roberge / drums, percussion, timbales, tam-tam, chorus vocals (1)
With:
- Rénald Des Rocs / chorus vocals (1)
1. "Stadaconé" (10:19) While I don't like the bluesy-jazz guitar here, I like the easy funk jazz and clavinet coming from the rest of the band. They've definitely figured out how to get mainstream "hooks" in their music. The two keyboard artists are definitely the stars here! I love how the rhythm section slowly, almost imperceptively, pick up the speeds in the middle. Fun! (17.666667/20)
2. "Le Cosmophile" (5:43) more pop-friendly music that comes from a Todd Rundgren jazz-funk orientation. The first 80-seconds are a bit weird, but then the second motif brings us even closer to the funked up world of Todd Rundgren and particularly his UTOPIA incarnations. There's even a blazing smooth jazz saxophone à la DAVID SANBORN as well as a requisite Hammond solo. (8.875/10)
3. "Il faut sauver Barbara" (4:19) a little quirkier than the previous two songs though not so quirky as to fall into Canterbury territory. at the same time I feel as if the jerky song never really establishes flow nor resolution. (8.6666667/10)
4. "Ad hoc" (4:30) mouth-wah guitar and very busy funk keyboards (Fender Rhodes) and bass give this one more of the FOCUS sound and feel that I caught a little of on their previous album--here more like something off of Mother Focus or Focus Con Proby. Nice but nothing extraordinary. (8.75/10)
5. "La 'baloune' de Varenkurtel au Zythogala" (4:57) another song that starts out with a FOCUS-like sound palette but then goes the direction of Smooth Jazz artists like Ronnie Laws or Narada Michael Walden. However, I absolutely love the bird-like vocals with the bass, Fender Rhodes, and saxophone in the third minute--very HATFIELD AND THE NORTH-like. A fun and pleasantly engaging (if progressively simplistic) song. (8.875/10)
6. "Isacaaron (ou Le démon des choses sexuelles)" (11:22) a quirky-jerky song that plays out like a cross between a cerebral ELP piece mixed with a discordant RETURN TO FOREVER and one of those "unfinished" feeling FOCUS songs. (17.375/20)
Total Time 41:10
The music here is confident but definitely heading a little bit more toward the Smooth Jazz that will take over the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement in the next couple of years. It's clean and focused, the musicianship top notch, but feels as if the constructs are a bit watered down or smoothed out to make them more accessible to a larger audience.
87.76 on the Fishscales = B-/a low four stars; a well-engineered display and well-played album of proggy jazz-rock fusion that at times feels like a announcement that Smooth Jazz is here.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Wlodek Gulgowski / acoustic & electric Piano, celesta, minimoog
- Steve Gadd / drums & percussion
- Anthony Jackson / bass
1. "Soundcheck" (4:32) Wlodek sure picked a winning combo for his rhythm section! The style and sound presented here is pure Chick Corea/Return To Forever--even using his keys to mimic the Al Di Meola guitar inputs as well as plenty of moments reminding the listener of Chick Corea. The rhythm track is so excellent that it'd be hard for Wlodek to go wrong no matter what he chose to play! Though the overall effect is still Jazz-Rock Fusion, the melodic dictates of the rising Smooth Jazz and Yacht Rock strains are fully present here. (9.25/10)
2. "Truth-Seeker" (5:49) another great very smooth and easily-accessible Chick Corea-like motif that is spread out (dumbed down) a bit as if to give the listener more space and time with which to digest and hear the melodies and hooks. Not quite on a BOB AJMES level of Easy Listening, but almost. (8.875/10)
Total time: 38:30
RETURN TO FOREVER Musicmagic (1977)
The final studio album of Chick Corea's 1970s Return to Forever project. It was recorded in January and February of 1977 at the Caribou Ranch outside Boulder, Colorado, and then released in March by Columbia Records.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Gayle Moran / piano, Hammond B3, Polymoog, vocals
- Joe Farrell / flute & piccolo, tenor & soprano saxophones
- James E. Pugh / tenor trombone
- Harold Garret / baritone horn, tenor & bass trombones
- John Thomas / trumpet (lead), flugelhorn
- James Tinsley / trumpet, piccolo trumpet
- Stanley Clarke / electric & acoustic & piccolo basses, vocals, co-producer
- Gary Brown / drums
2. "Hello Again" (Clarke) (3:49) proto-Smooth Jazz with Stanley singing a soulful love song with Gayle over some pretty but also cheesy music. (8.875/10)
Total time 41:50
- b) Sueño
- c) Recuerdo
- d) Trompetango
- e) Tanguito
- f) Soldó
- a) Vidala
- b) Smog
- c) Galope
- d) Mal-ambo
- e) Vidala Again
- f) Amanecer - Tormenta
- g) Final
Total Time 37:59
- Harold Budd / electric piano (1), piano & vocals (4), choir conductor (3), composer
With:
- Marion Brown / alto sax (1)
- Richard Bernas / celesta (1), electric piano (3)
- Gavin Bryars / glockenspiel (1,4), celesta (3), vocals (4)
- Maggie Thomas / harp (1-3)
- Howard Rees / marimba (1), vibes (4)
- Jo Julian / marimba (1), vibes & vocals (4)
- Michael Nyman / marimba (1,4), vocals (4)
- John White / marimba (1), percussion & vocals (4)
- Nigel Shipway / percussion (3)
- Lynda Richardson / mezzo soprano vocals (2), chorus vocals (3)
- Alison Macgregor / chorus vocals (3)
- Lesley Reid / chorus vocals (3)
- Margaret Cable / chorus vocals (3)
- Muriel Dickenson / chorus vocals (3)
- Ursula Connors / chorus vocals (3)
- Brian Eno / vocals (4), producer
1. "Bismillahi 'Rrahman 'Rrahim" (18:25) rich electric piano play that could be mistaken for some of the music Fred Rodgers made for his television show in Pittsburg is beautifully enhanced by marimba, harp, celesta, and saxophone, all of it receiving the Eno engineering touch (a lot of reverb). Is this where Vangelis got some inspiration for his soundtrack recordings for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner? Peaceful, dreamy, mesmerizing, and thoroughly relaxing, this could just be the music of Heaven. Though the song is consistent in its vibe, there are two motifs, the first dominated by Marion Brown's saxophone while the second gives the team of marimba players (four of them!) more attention--and it never really overstays its welcome (as many a satisfactorily rejuvenated massage client will attest). (37/40)
2. "Two Songs: Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord / Butterfly Sunday" (6:26) Harold barely accompanies Maggie Thomas' concert harp while mezzo soprano Lynda Richardson supplies the soaring, angelic vocalese. Incredible chords played sporadically from the harp. (9.66667/10)
3. "Madrigals Of The Rose Angel: Rosetti Noise / The Crystal Garden And A Coda" (14:20) more gorgeous major seventh chords being played as arpeggi from the harp, marimba, and electric piano as the Budd-directed choir sings their amazing melodies. Celesta and other tuned and untuned metallic chimes and percussives add their important contributions over the middle section of the song. A little weak in its sparse and drawn-out finish, otherwise this is just an amazing masterpiece of heavenly music. (29/30)
4. "Juno" (8:26) minor chords from Harold's piano that preview some of his future work with Eno on their Ambient album series. The vocals on this one are different in that they come from a male ensemble of six. Marimbas, vibes, and chime percussion take over for the vocals in the middle section. (18/20)
Total time 47:37
Line-up / Musicians:
- Radim Hladík / acoustic & electric guitars
- Oldřich Veselý / acoustic & electric pianos, organ, ARP & string synths, vocals
- Fedor Freso / bass, bass mandolin, percussion, vocals
- Vlado Čech / drums, percussion
2. "Ej, Padá, Padá Rosenka / Dew Is Falling, Falling" (6:36) a FOCUS-like opening with some searing Steve Howe-like guitar flurries turns even more FOCUS-like when the band settles into a church-like organ-based vocal section at the end of the first minute. The sound and styles of Radim Hladík's guitar wavers between those of 1972 Robert Fripp and 1972 Jan Akkerman. The singer's voice sounds a bit strained. All in all it is still an impressive and enjoyable song. (9/10)
3. "V Sobotu Popoludní / On Saturday Afternoon" (4:15) the band starts off in third gear and then proceeds to build a cool BILLY COBHAM-like tune. The insistence of the tandem bass-and-drum lines is clear and undeniable. The next motif sounds a lot like some of Italian band AREA's driving music from Crac! or even some of the peak J-RF from the likes of Lenny White or Tony Williams circa 1975-6. My favorite song on the album (probably because it is really the one that is the most genuinely founded in Jazz-Rock Fusion). (10/10)
Total Time 40:38
93.28 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; though not necessarily fresh or unique music, I cannot deny the masterpiece quality of the performances and skills displayed on this album. The bulk of this music, however, feels more like skilled progressive rock music than Jazz-Rock Music.
- Eduardo A. Niebla / lead guitar
- Miguel A. Blasco / rhythm guitar
- Benet Nogue / organ, Mellotron, piano, Moog, vocals, composer
- Juan Punyet / drums, percussion
With:
- Jean P. Gomez / bass
1. "Reviure" (9:56) starts off like a MAGMA song but then quickly moves into an ominously-chorded formative weave in which the musicians feel like they're figuring each other out, trying to find the common structure and space from which to launch into song. It's very Mahavishnu/RTF-like. At 2:15 they finally congeal--bursting forth into a fiery controlled chaos in which stops and starts are peppered with blistering soli from guitarist Eduardo Niebla as well as Benet Nogue's Moog. Drummer Juan Punyet is forceful and constant as is loud bassist Jean Gomez. A break at 4::50 leads into a keyboard riff that is repeated over and over as all the other instrumentalists join in with their own two-measure staccato melody lines, creating an complex and energetic weave which somehow turns smooth as Mellotron and organ join in. Another break and organ-supported "quiet" section at 6:40 leads to Benet Noque's first vocals. He sounds like Aldo Tagliapietra or one of the other RPI vocalist who like to used the distant reverb sound effect on their voice. In the ninth minute the band returns to full rock power, cruising along at a fast but safe speed until the second half of the tenth minute when everybody starts speeding up and speeding up, resulting in a "crash" into a spaceless void in which spacey sounds make you think the careening vehicle flew off into the cloudy heavens (which is, in fact, the start of the second song). (18.25/20)
2. "Somni" (9:34) the suspended animation-voyage through the cloudy heavens continues with lots of weird psychedelic phenomena to observe and feel. It's really like being in a dream--or better, a drug trip--in which you are the astonished observer of so many unbelievable and totally random and disconnected things floating (or sometimes speeding) by you. The overwhelming feeling, though, is definitely childish delight and fearless amazement. In the seventh minute the music heavies when a distant vocal announces some change like a circus ringmaster. Very NEKTAR-like. The dirty bluesy guitar lead that ensues is over the ramped up music is also quite ROYE ALBRIGHTON-like, but then the rhythm section slows way down--holding on to the same melody and chords but slowing them down with their effects makingit seem as if the whole world--the observer's perspective--had suddenly moved into slow motion. And there it ends. Cool song with, as mentioned, elements that fell Nektar-ish, but also a pleasant and melodic feel (due a lot to the soothing constant of the gentle acoustic guitar strumming)--not quite Gong-like; more BRAINTICKET. Not as instrumentally flashy or complex as the previous song but quite engaging. (18.5/20)
3. "Atila" (11:56) opens with some coughing noises--as if from a drunk smoker--before keyboard arpeggio riff and bass line open things up. Within 30-seconds the band has congealed in a two-chord driving flow that sounds very much like the music coming from our current Cornwall-based Scottish favorites, THE EMERALD DAWN. In the fourth minute they slow down for a serene patch (probably to water the hourses) before drummer, bass, and keyboards begin to announce the time to recommence the procession. With the army on the road again, there are many constants in the march with plenty of small, light conversations going on within the phalanx. Another bridge in the sixth minute leads us into some landscape in which there are more challenging mountain paths, giving the soldiers not only a tougher journey but also some spectacular views of the land below them. This section culminates in rollicking downhill jaunt with an "I'm Just a Singer in a Rock 'n' Roll Band" sound, speed, and structure to it. Nice lead guitar and synth dual soloing in the eight minute just before an impressive drum solo to fill a minute or so (which, by the way, I'm very pleased at how clear/cleanly it was recorded). At the 10:30 mark the rest of the band rejoins, picking up the rapid pace of before but employing a different chord structure. Then shows up the monstrous ogre who, apparently, devours the phalanx of soldiers, leaving behind a windswept plain empty of not only humans but life as a while. I guess that's what Atila did! (22.5/25)
4. "Al Mati" (7:14) apparently, a very melodic rock song is needed to complete the story: a vehicle for a narrator to expound upon the lessons and morals of the story we've just been privy to. I have to admit that I do like this kind of RPI-like narrated story scape. Then, for the second half of the song, there is an instrumental divertimento in which the band members get to show off their chops a bit. (13.75/15)
Total Time: 38:40
Line-up / Musicians:
- Pekka Pohjola / grand piano, bass, arranger & co-producer
With:
- Seppo Tyni / guitar (2-6)
- Olli Ahvenlahti / electric piano & bass (2), grand piano (6)
- Pekka Poyry / saxophone (1-3,5), soprano saxophone solo (1,4)
- Juhani Aaltonen / saxophone (1,3,5)
- Eero Koivistoinen / saxophone (1,3,5)
- Teemu Salminen / saxophone (1,3,5)
- Tom Bildo / tuba (3), trombone (6)
- Markku Johansson / trumpets (4,6)
- Aale Lindgren / oboe (5)
- Vesa Aaltonen / drums, percussion (2-4)
- Esko Rosnell / percussion (2-4)
- Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / woodwinds & strings (3,6)
- Esko Linnavalli / conductor (3,6)
- Jorma Ylönen / concertmaster (3,6)
2. "Vapour Trails" (4:44) more in the rock world than jazz or prog, though qualifying for those too, this one has the electric guitar leading the way and contains a guest bass player (!) in Olli Ahvenlahti. Guitarist Seppo Tyni is quite good with great technical skill and a clear, clean sound. The brief spell in the third minute when the music moves smoothly straightforward instead of syncopated staccato is my favorite--feeling very Joe and Gino Vannelli-like. (It's repeated a couple of times.) (9/10)
4. "Dancing in the Dark" (5:39) setting up with a RUFUS "Tell Me Something Good"-like foundation, the horn section provides the melody and accents for the first minute while the bass, percussion, and drums roll the music down the road. Guitar and piano become breakout instruments in the second minute before everybody falls back into the Rufus motif for a pretty decent trumpet solo. The rhythm section is very tight, but the solos feel a little too proscribed and constricted. (Was Pekka tough to work with?) An okay song that I'm marking up for such pristinely performed and captured music. (8.875/10)
Total Time 31:54
Line-up / Musicians:
- Iñaki Egaña / bass and vocals
- Kiko Guerrero / drums
- Marcos Mantero / keyboards
- Manuel Rodrigue / guitar
1. "Tarantos del Califato Independiente" (20:46) a very long and drawn out intro which eventually culminates in some very nice HAWKWIND-like two-chord jazzy prog over which the electric guitarist and synth player take turns soloing with competency and Spanish-infused creativity. Too bad it took them seven minutes to get there! (Must be the effects of the hash.) At 9:40 there is a cymbal crash, stoppage, and reformulation to create a new motif that has a bit of a Reggae feel to it--though more of a GONG-like version of Reggae. At 11:40 there is a stoppage of keys and guitars as drummer and bass player begin a motif with some staccato syncopation played off and with one another. The rest of the band soon rejoins, continuing the staccato motif but quickly bringing a Moorish flavor to it--especially melodically. This turns Miles Davis Spanish in the fourteenth minute with the takeover of a synth horn in the lead. Then things break down into spacey/eerie synth and guitar textural sounds before bass and guitar begin forming a spacious nest for some organ and then vocalese (on two tracks). Very pleasant and relaxing. The vocalist (Iñaki Egaña) is very good! Around the 18-minute mark we return to full rock, albeit slow and atmospheric, for some nice electric guitar soloing from Manuel Rodrigue--which takes us pretty much to the end. This is definitely way more proggy than jazzy or jazz-rock fusion, despite its instrumental nature. It's a very nice construct. (36/40)
3. "Cerro Alegre" (7:33) acoustic guitar solo opens before piano takes over. The rest of the band gradually joins in, figuring out their roles in the song, until finally shifting into a fully-planned motif with and harpsichord beneath some fiery electric guitar soloing. Another down-shift into a kind of mysterious spy-thriller soundtrack motif over which Marcos solos on his electric piano. When Manuel is given the lead again, the music is very thin, slow, and very synth washy, but his SANTANA-like solo is so clean and excellent it wouldn't matter what he was being accompanied by. Great stuff! More tempo and motif changes ensue for piano and Spanish themes to express. Wow! What a journey these guys just took me on! Worth many more listens. (14/15)
4. "Cancion de la Oruga" (5:32) the album's final song opens with some airy synth soloing over gently-picked acoustic guitars (multiple) before bassist Iñaki Egaña enters with his pleasant singing voice. There's a bit of a Renaissance "Trip to the Fair" feel to the chord and melody choices the band establishes after Iñaki's first verse (almost as if it has been lifted directly from the Sheherazade album!). Even when the band goes instrumental and heavy on the percussion its still feels like I'm listening to the creepy, eery parts of "Trip to the Fair," albeit a Spanish version. I have to admit, however, that the band has done a rather remarkable job of adapting this to their own instruments, language, and interpretation, thus, I'm going to give them credit and respect for the petit vol. (9/10)
Total Time: 42:21
Line-up / Musicians:
Alphonso Johnson / Vocals, Bass, Guitar [Acoustic]
- Ernie Watts / Saxophone [Tenor] (A3, B4)
Horn Section (A3, B4):
- Trumpet - Chuck Findley
- Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Gary Grant
Vocals - Diane Reeves (A1), Jon Lucian (A4), Phillip Bailey (EARTH WIND & FIRE) (A1)
A2. "As Little As You" (3:23) a funky instrumental (8.75/10)
Line-up / Musicians:
- Bill Connors / Acoustic Guitars
With:
- Jan Garbarek / Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
- Gary Peacock / Double Bass
- Jack DeJohnette / Drums
1. "Melting" (11:33) excellent jazz foundation from Bill's nylon string guitar's arpeggitions, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette's exquisite more-traditional jazz work in the rhythm department, all set up to support and elevate the clear melody work of Jan Garbarek's tenor sax. Beautiful. In the sixth minute Bill finally steps into the spotlight as Gary and Jack continue their exquisite support. Such beautiful, fluid, and yet dynamic acoustic guitar playing! It's almost on a par with classical guitar virtuoso John Williams. Though Jack DeJohnette's drumming never sounds boisterous or ultramasculine, he does an amazing job of performing at an incredibly high level of skill: His play in the second half might even be called racy or piquant. If all jazz sounded as beautiful as this it might be my go-to choice of music. (18.75/20)
2. "Not Forgetting" (6:33) solo guitar on a John McLaughlin-playing-Bill Evans-level opens this before the rhythmatists join in with some sparse support. Jan's tenor is the first to solo--a little too strong or loud for fitting in with the others (in my opinion) but then Bill solos on a steel-string acoustic guitar as Gary very much plays off of him. All the while, Jack remains affixed to his cymbal work. Bill's unexpected and sometimes-obtuse chords used to support Jan's next solo are so reminiscent of the amazing support work that John McLaughlin creates on so many songs throughout his career. I can't say that I've heard many jazz guitar virtuosi perform on this kind of level. (9/10)
3. "Face In The Water" (6:25) spacious, more spacious, discordant, and avant-garde/free jazz than anything before lends to the thinking that this album and music (and ECM productions in general) may actually belong more in the straight jazz category than fusion. Impeccably and virtuosically performed, just not my favorite. (8.66667/10)
4. "Aubade" (9:38) another tune that starts out in a style that is more true jazz in its chordal and melodic patterning. In the second minute there is an almost-imperceptible shift into some gloriously gorgeous chords and melodies. But it doesn't last as Bill and Jan move back into pensive and discordant patterns while Jack's delicate cymbal play increases its pace and syncopated, expressive sophistication. No Gary Peacock bass (that I can hear) in the first five minutes though a second guitar track appears in that fifth minute. Again, Jack's drum contributions grow and increase in intensity despite still remaining in what one would call a "gentle" and "background" role. Jan returns around the six-minute mark for a turn on his soprano sax, really exploring some of the instrument's high notes for a stretch before leading everyone down into a quieter place so that Jack can have a solo. The man is so skilled, so creative, that it's hard to take in much less comprehend all that he offers to the listener. Amazing is the truest adjective one can apply. At the nine-minute mark we return to that catching little chord progression in order to usher out the song. Not a song that I will be drawn back to hear very often but one that definitely has my fullest respect and admiration. (18/20)
Total Time 47:20
Line-up / Musicians:
- Marko Bitenc / vocals, percussion
- Franc Opeka / guitar
- Andrej Petkovic / drums
- Andrej Konjajev / keyboards
- Davorin Petric / guitar
- Marjan Lebar / bass
with:
- Mitja Bavcon / flute, guitar
- Slavko Lebar / guitar
- Marko Rudolf / Canon F-1
Total time: 36:59
- Andrej Pompe / electric piano, mellotron
- Janez Hvale / drums
- Aleksander Malahovsky / saxophone
- Gabrijel Lah / bass
- Peter Gruden / guitar, vocal
Side A:
1. "Dez" (3:55) opening with a driving jazz-rock infused palette, the song is quickly given over to some solo and group vocals rendered in a style akin to Western artists like Spencer Davis Band, Chicago, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Lighthouse, and Santana. The music is slightly simple and rudimentary, as if it might have been one of the band's early works, but it's polished and the solos (guitar) are quite refined. (8.875/10)
2. "Sprehod" (4:45) set up almost like a light, airy song carrying a little bit of mystery in it--just like something from The Zombies ("She's Not There") or The Association. This is, however, an instrumental. It contains some nice melodic electric guitar soloing from Peter Gruden, using a kind of Gregg Allman tone on his guitar, with that hypnotic "She's Not There" groove going on beneath. Nice! Not really jazz-rock or even close to Jazz-Rock Fusion, but it's nice in a Santana kind of way. (8.875/10)
3. "Razmisljanje" (4:40) melodic instrumental lounge jazz-rock (sounding very much like an instrumental cover of some more famous song or melody) with Andrej Pompe's "dirty" electric piano claiming lead position over the smooth and solid bass and drum rhythm track. At 2:45 Andrej takes a background support position behind Peter Gruden's equally-dirty electric guitar--which goes on to perform a pleasing and dextrous HIRAM BULLOCK-like guitar solo. A very pleasing song with some impressive performances (I really like the cohesive, easy-going parity and skills presented by drummer Janez Hvale and bass player Gabriejel Lah.) (9.125/10)
4. "Oaza" (4:45) sax, electric piano and bass open this before the band shifts into gear with a jazz-rock motif over which distorted and gritty saxophone and electric piano solo before Peter Gruden steps in with some pop singing. The klezmer-like chorus melody then gets picked up by the horns and guitar and repeated a few times before shifting back to the motif for the second verse. The instrumental passage after the second chorus has the dirty electric piano carrying the chorus melody forward before pausing to let Aleksander Malahovsky step in with his sonorous saxophone to play out on the top to the song's end. Like a jazzy-pop song from the live band in The Unbearable Lightness of Being film. (8.75/10)
Side B:
1. "Brez besed" (7:20) the guitar tone and sound in the opening seconds sounds more like a Dobro playing some Americana music, but then the full band shifts into gear and we have a pretty nice Jazz-Rock groove that is grounded by some excellent flamboyant funk bass and solid rock drumming. Sax, electric piano and prominent rhythm guitar fall into line with the compelling tracks put up by the rhythmatists, sax and electric piano taking the first two blues-rock solos before guitarist Peter Gruden takes over at 3:45. His John Tropea-like solo is quite nice--quite expressive--and definitely could have gone on longer, but the band feels that it has to stop at a traffic light, wait for permission to move forward, and then decide which direction it wants to go from there. (13.5/15)
2. "Svit" (5:10) long Mellotron intro with percussion incidentals for 90 seconds before rhythm guitar and rest of the band fall into a nice third-gear two-chord groove so that Peter and Andrej can express themselves in solo guitar and solo Mellotron (! Yes: I shit you not!) Electric piano solo follows in the fourth minute. Overall, the song is fairly simple: about as demanding on the rest of the band as a Zombies song. Pure ear-candy. (8.875/10)
3. "Sled sonca" (5:10) more melodic jazz-rock--here picking up a kind of hypnotic LARRY CORYELL sound playing something CHRIS REA-like that could easily be considered Yacht Rock. The main rhythm track with its own melody is like an island theme from Gilligan's Island. (8.875/10)
Total Time: 35:45
89.167 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent display of jazzy rock music founded on iconic songs and styles of the British and American hit makers of the late 1960s.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Zdenek Fiser / guitar
- Pavel Kostiuk / keyboards
- Michal Gera / trumpet
- Jaromír Helesic / drums
- Frantisek Uhlír / bass
2. "Cervanky" (4:47) slow and reflective with delicate yet-nuanced performances from all of the musicians. The music keeps getting stronger, more dynamic (and, melodically, more 1960s game show-like) over the course of its almost-five minutes. (8.75/10)
3. "Osmikraska" (5:49) opening with some bowed electric bass (or cello) that has a very interesting effect plugged into it, the song then launches with the whole band moving into a great bass-and-drum-led groove with horn section. Great syncopation from the drums and bass while guitarist Zdenek Fiser solos and Fender Rhodes player Pavel Kostiuk supports. Trumpeter Michal Gera takes the next turn in the lead while bassist Frantisek Uhlír does some interesting moving around beneath. Bowed electric violin (or cello) gets the next turn before the band comes back together to recite the collective melody line with the horns fully involved. Cool song! (9/10)
4. "V klidu a pohode" (4:23) ominous melody line to open this slow, ruminative song of suspicion and paranoia. A little too herky-jerky for my tastes. (8.75/10)
5. "Sextant" (4:43) even though the title here seems to give a nod to Herbie Hancock, I hear a predominance of Mahavishnu Orchestra with Jan Hammer-type Moog soloing. (9/10)
6. "Cumulus" (5:03) a nod to Billy Cobham's "Stratus"? a very quirky and interesting song making footprints in several j-r fusion camps: funk, technical, Smooth, experimental, and (9/10)
7. "Riko" (4:45) smooth jazz with some admirably-tight whole-band playing--especially from the multiple instruments proposing the melody together. My favorite song on the album. (9.25/10)
8. "Povidlove hody" (5:26) from the start this sounds like an experimental practice étude--like one of the band's warm up songs. (8.5/10)
Total Time 38:58
- Patrick Moraz / vocals, piano, Hammond C3, synths, Mellotrons, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, harpsichord, marimbaphone, Taurus bass pedals, sequencers & assorted keyboard instruments, gong, cymbal, alpine horn & addit. percussion, arranger, orchestrator, conductor & producer
With:
- John McBurnie (Jackson Heights) / lead vocals
- Vivienne McAuliffe (Principal Edwards Magical Theatre, Anthony Phillips, Camel, ) / lead vocals
- Veronique Mueller / French vocals
- Children of Morat, Switzerland / chorus vocals
- Ray Gomez / lead & rhythm guitars
- Auguste de Anthony / acoustic & electric guitars
- Jean Ristori / cello, double bass
- Jeff Berlin (Bruford) / electric bass
- Alphonse Mouzon / drums (1-7)
- Andy Newmark / drums (8-14)
- Jean-Luc Bourgeois / gong, tom-tom
- Phillippe Staehli / timpani, percussion
- Rene Moraz / tap dance, castagnets
- Percussionists of Rio De Janeiro (Paulinho Braga, Hermes, Chico Batera, Gordinho, Claudio, Bezerra, Doutor, Nenem, Jorginho,
- Gilson de Freitas / percussionists' leader
1. "Impact" (3:31) Patrick progs up some jazzy Brazilian rhythms. Interesting and very weird (especially the first time one hears it!) Great percussion performances. (8.875/10)
2. "Warmer Hands" (3:31) flowing over from "Impact," the song quickly morphs into a kind of Latinized "Gates of Delirium" before smoothing out for the group choir to deliver some lyrics in choral style. This section bulges forth some very strong funky coming from the solid rhythm section of Jeff Berllin, Alphonse Mouzon, and Ray Gomez. Surprisingly complex and sohpisticated but lacking the kind of melodies that Anglo-minds can latch onto. (8.875/10)
3. "The Storm" (0:52) announced by the crow-like "achhh!" of several band members as the percussion and keyboard storm cacophony explodes and slowly decays.
5. "Intermezzo" (2:49) a classical piece with multiple keyboards performing alongside the piano until it switches into acoustic backing for vocalist Vivienne McAuliffe, but then the full electric complement return for the song's post-vocal finish. (8.875/10)
6. "Indoors" (3:44) a very dense, condensed ZAPPA/Todd Rundgren's Utopia-like song race that eventually has presents some more ANNETTE PEACOCK/GAYLE MORAN-like lead vocals (that are buried too deep within the overall mix). A lot of similarities to some of the music Larry Fast's SYNERGY was doing at the same time (as well as NEKTAR's Recycled.) (8.875/10)
8. "Descent" (1:43) the high-speed synth weave that gets Side Two off and running. Finishes sounding a lot like BRAND X's "...and so to F." (4.75/5)
9. "Incantation (Procession)" (1:51) prefaced by the decaying synthesizer of the previous song, the deceptively slow, odd (carnivalian), and yet surprisingly engaging sound weave that is established is suddenly usurped by an all-percussion motif before reasserting itself to then finish the song. (4.75/5)
Total Time 46:09
88.889 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an interesting if somewhat haphazard-seeming collection of songs strung together to convey, supposedly, a single story arc. Try it out for yourselves; I cannot endorse it from the perspective of something I enjoy very much.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Robert Genco / drums, percussion, vibes, vocals
- Hugo Heredia / sax, flute
- Luciano Biasutti / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Giorgio Cocilovo / guitars
- Tuccio Garofalo / e-piano, organ
- Silvio Condemi / bass, cello
2. "Beyond The life" (5:11) excellent emotional song sung very powerfully by Robert. Impressive guitar play from Giorgio Cocilovo but excellent sound and play from Tuccio Garofalo on electric piano, bassist Silvio Condemi, and Robert on drums. Beautiful Smooth Jazz. (9.75/10)
3. "All Recomposes" (5:24) a more symphonic approach to jazz pop. Sounds like a cross between Donovan and Greg Lake-led PROCOL HARUM. Robert really does have an excellent, very emotive singing voice. The song builds beautifully after Robert finishes singing the first verse, eventually climaxing in a kind of "Space Oddity" finish. (9.5/10)
4. "Nature And Transmigration" (18:32) this seven-movement suite starts out very atmospheric/pastoral for the first two movements--like a classically-formulated song, but then it gets funky with the arrival of the fifth minute. Flute solos over the first minute of this movement before Robert starts to sing, then electric guitar gets a turn to solo. The fourth "chapter" or movement starts at 6:57 and flattens out into more-Mahavishnu-like speed sprint with Hammond organ dominating the first minute but then turning over the reigns to electric piano while electric guitar shreds and bass and drums drive the song forward. At 11:18 we subtly shift into yet another motif--this one more rock-driven with the Fender taking the first solo over the hypnotic bass and hard-driving drums. When the trumpet takes over in the lead position the bass drops down an octave or two while Robert's drums get a little more adventurous. Some stop-and-go staccato play in the final portions of this allow Robert a little more show-time before settling into a slightly different pattern to support more electric guitar lead play. The sixth "chapter" finds the band settling into an-almost Canterburian rhythm for some silliness, but then, after a little Mont Campbell-like singing, everybody shifts gears to into some more jagged, angular jazz musicianship. The seventh and final "chapter" finds us listening to a flange-effected drum solo. Nothing here is quite as compelling or quite as beautiful as the other songs on the album. That third "chapter" is the best one here. (34.75/40)
5. "Passagio" (5:15) opens with a flange-effected drum solo (a continuation, obviously, of the previous song)--one that starts out impressively but then gets too simplistic. Eventually, the rest of the band joins in and establishes a kind of poppy STEELY DAN-like motif over which Griogio solos on electric guitar before and between Robert's charged singing. The guitar solo eventually sounds just like The Eagle's at the end of "I Can't Tell You Why" (sung by Timothy B. Schmit). Another beautiful song! (9/10)
Total Time 44:37
Line-up / Musicians:
- Steve Morse / Classical, electric & synth guitars
- Mark Parrish / keyboards
- Allen Sloan / strings
- Andy West / Alembic bass, Fender fretless bass
- Rod Morgenstein / drums, vocals (5)
1. "Take It Off The Top" (4:07) a perfect display of why I always thought this band more classic rock with prog and jazz elements than true progressive rock or Jazz-Rock Fusion: it sounds like a cross between ASIA and JAN HAMMER. And it's really not all that interesting, melodic, or impressive. (8.66667/10)
2. "Odyssey" (7:35) what starts out sounding like a modern Jan Hammer composition turns neo-classical in a KITARO or TOMITA even Eddie Jobson-UK way; not quite all the way to rock like Kansas (but could be if there were vocals/lyrics). The composition is quite modern and quirky in a jazz kind of way but full of an endless parade of little tangential solos, especially from violins. Interesting but a little too busy and pointless for my tastes. (13.125/15)
Total Time: 39:46
- Carlos Wilson / trombone, vocals
- Lou Wilson / trumpet, vocals
- Ric Wilson / saxophone, vocals
- Claude "Coffee" Cave / keyboards
- Omar Mesa / guitar
- Bundie Cenas / bass
- Charlie Padro / drums
Total Time 41:56
- Toto Blanke / guitar, banjo (4), Moog bass, PPG synth & sequencer, Fx (3), co-producer
With:
- Jasper Van't Hof / prepared organ, electric grand piano & Fender Rhodes (5)
- Ulrich Rutzel / piano (7), co-producer
- Dave King / bass
- Edward Vesala / drums, percussion
1. "PPG" (6:06) cool TERRY RILEY-like Minimalist electronica is here used to create a weave that ends up supporting Toto's guitar soloing. (8.75/10)
2. "Flowers All Over" (6:16) oddly experimental music with jazz guitar eventually dominating the top. I find it boring due to the extremely drawn out time it takes to develop into anything resembling jazz music--and that only a Weather Report-like level of pop jazz. (Bassist Dave King is relegated to playing two notes on infinite repetition for the first 5:45!) Once Toto gets into gear (over half way through the song), he plays some great GEORGE BENSON-like guitar albeit over some ultra-smooth melodic support. Great drumming, though. (8.75/10)
3. "Arabab" (5:52) yet another experimental soundscape opening before wah-wah-rhythm guitar and funk bass and drums take over bringing a funked-up AREA-like sound. This may be the most jazzy song on the album, but still a far cry from the sophisticated stuff these guys are capable of. (8.75/10)
4. "Minister Ed" (7:37) again the unusual dominance of the Berlin School-like sequencer is notable. In the third minute the sequencer disappears and a slow funk with banjo rises in its place. Interesting. Not my favorite. (13/15)
5. "Song For Zeenat" (3:59) long, spacious, slow, and rather eerie electronica intro with delicate cymbal play, percussive noises, sustained low bass note amp hum, and gentle volume-pedal controlled electric guitar notes and riffs, and finger-plucking of piano strings. Over half way into the song it's still forming, coagulating, as Toto and drummer Edward Vesala are still figuring each other out. I actually love this experimental "unfinished" kind of stuff! (9/10)
6. "Spiesser Krollak" (4:32) Berlin School-like saw-synth arpeggio pans across the sonic field for a minute before being supplanted by a slow, mathematical funk chord weave that repeats itself over and while the "prepared [wah-wah pedaled] organ" solos over the top. Edward embellishes and enriches with his fills and flourishes as Toto and bassist Dave King hold fast to the foundations of the math rock motif. Interesting as an experiment/étude, but, in the long run, a waste of valuable tape and vinyl. (8.25/10)
Total Time 36:25
- Joaquín "Max" Sunyer / electric & acoustic guitars
- José "Kitflus" Mas / piano, electric piano, synthesizer
- Primitivo Sancho / bass
- Jordi Colomer / drums
1. "Preludi I record" (2:14) sounding more like a Journey or schmaltzy FOCUS song of the Mother Focus period, there are even West Side Story references to what feels like anthemic music. Weird! I'm not even sure I would call this Jazz-Rock Fusion! (4.25/5)
2. "Nova (musica de la Llum)" (8:56) music that is both cinematic and proggy enough to warrant comparisons to bands of the time like SANTANA, YES, and even Todd Rundgren's UTOPIA. Nice drumming display (if a bit sophomoric) in the fifth and sixth minutes. They're trying so hard to be top-tier prog--or J-R Fusionists--but are just not there yet. (17.5/20)
Total Time: 48:44
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ian Gillan (DEEP PURPLE) / lead vocals
- Ray Fenwick (SPENCER DAVIS GROUP) / guitars, vocals
- Colin Towns / keyboards, flute
- John Gustafson (QUARTERMASS, ROXY MUSIC) / bass, vocals
- Mark Nauseef / drums, percussion
With:
- Phil Kensie / tenor saxophone solo (2)
- Martin Firth / baritone saxophone
- John Huckridge / trumpet
- Derek Healey / trumpet
- Malcolm Griffiths / trombone
- Cy Payne / brass arrangements (1,3,4)
Total Time: 38:38
- Frank Quintero / lead vocals, drums, acoustic guitar (8), backing vocals (5)
With:
- Leo Quintero / lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (5)
- Carlos "Nené" Quintero / percussion, backing vocals (1)
- José Velásquez / bass
- Willie Croes / electric piano (1-2, 4-6, 8), Moog synthesizer, ARP String Ensemble (2, 4-6, 8)
- Jesús "Chucho" Sanoja / electric piano, Moog synthesizer, ARP String Ensemble (3)
- Ella Andall / backing vocals (5)
- Gail McLean / backing vocals (5)
- Marsha Boucaud / backing vocals (5)
1. "Feeling" (4:45) simple jazz-rock lite with some funk and some Latino elements in which wordless vocals double up the lead synth before vocalist Frank Quintero begins singing in Spanish. Closer to New Orleans Yacht Rock than serious jazz-rock Fusion. (8.6667/10)
2. "La semilla" (4:17) opens with 45-seconds of percussion only before the whole band bridges into a Disco novelty type of music with happy-go-lucky music, melodies, and hooks over funky bass and nice Fender Rhodes play. It's quite likable though definitely placing the band firmly in Crusaders-like Smooth Jazz territory. (8.75/10)
3. "El principito" (4:29) sounds like the opening to Michael Martin Murphy's beautiful horse song, "Wildfire." New Age synth is left alone to accompany Frank in a palintive vocal that reminds me of some of LOS JAIVAS' more saccharine moments from Alturas de Machu Picchu. The weird New Age keyboard sound continues to be the lead when the rest of the band arrives in full ballad support mode. Nothing J-R Fusey here. (8.375/10)
Total Time 44:57
Line-up / Musicians:
- Dave Newhouse / piano, organ, piccolo flute, alto & baritone saxophones, bass clarinet, whistle, percussion
- Tom Scott / piccolo, E-flat, alto & C-flutes, soprano, alto & baritone saxophones, B-flat & alto clarinets, oboe, soprano recorder, percussion
- Billy Swan / bass, piano, guitar, percussion
- Paul Sears / drums, gong, xylophone, vibes, percussion, "pots & pans", pennywhistle
With:
- Steven Feigenbaum / guitar (3,4)
- John Schmidt / baritone horn, tuba
- Doug Elliot / trombone
- Larry Elliott / trumpet (1)
- Greg Yaskovich / bubble trumpet (4)
Favorite songs: 4. "The Adventures of Captain Boomerang" (22:48) (38/45); 1. "Monkey with Golden Eyes" (4:02) (9/10), and; 3. "Amelia Earhart" (15:45) (25.5/30).
Total Time: 48:36
85.79 on the Fishscales = four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection. I am sure that this album would be an eminently more enjoyable listening experience for fans coming from (or for) a true jazz background, as there is a lot of that. The performances are all exquisite: high in technical skill as well tightly orchestrated.
No comments:
Post a Comment