1976

After 1975, "the year in which anything was possible," comes the year in which Jazz-Rock Fusion goes from being wildly experimental to feeling fully-formulated, even somewhat codified, in all of its forms--or at least in the forms and styles that will last beyond the year.

January

HERMANN SZOBEL Szobel

After reading Nick Mannion's intriguing review of this album (and phenomenon), my curiosity was so piqued that I listened to the album on YouTube. Like everybody else, I was utterly blown away. So I went searching for more on the story of this artist, the making of this album, and, of course, the story of what happened to Hermann after he disappeared. When I stumbled upon the very recent YouTube interview of bassist Mike Visceglia (the last surviving member of the band that made this album with Hermann) as conducted by insightful (and passionate) YouTube reviewer (and drummer), Andy Edwards (ROBERT PLANT, IQ, MAGENTA, FROST*, RAIN, LEY LINES), I was, again, blown away. What an amazing story!

     18-year old Austrian piano prodigy Hermann Szobel came to the United States to contact his mother's brother, a shaker and mover in the music industry who was going by the name of Bill Graham. (Yes, that Bill Graham.) Legend has it that Hermann walked into the first studio he could find, which happened to be one in the middle of recording an album for and with Roberta Flack. Somewhere along the line he disrupted everything while proclaiming, "I am the greatest pianist in the world!" or something to that effect. Intrigued, the session musicians in attendance--which included bassist Anthony Jackson--urged the young man to demonstrate his skills. Apparently he blew everyone away, prompting several of the musicians to recommend him to Arista's top brass. He earned a contract--even getting beneath the prestigious umbrella of the big label, not just the small jazz-only subsidiary. Set up in a studio apartment on or near Times Square (thanks, Uncle Bill!), Szobel was set up with several musicians that other people thought would be a good fit for collaborating with the young genius. Whittled down to a quintet, the band rehearsed all Winter, Spring, and Summer of 1975, the band members practically living with Hermann until the album was finally recorded in October and November of '75 at The Record Plant. It was then released by Arista in January of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Hermann Szobel / piano

- Michael Visceglia / bass

- Bob Goldman / drums

- Dave Samuels / percussion, marimba, vibraphone

- Vadim Vyadro / tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute

1. "Mr. Softee" (6:45) so much bombastic power in Hermann's piano play, but then you get these amazingly-inspired collaborators to join in--young artists who totally shared and committed to Hermann's vision--and who had worked together for months pounding away at these songs in order to perfect them to Hermann's liking--and you can't help but be impressed. There is some very strong jazz funk in the bones of this song but the influence of Frank Zappa is also definitely obvious as well as modern classical composers like John Cale (with whom bassist Mike Visceglia had already been working). Other free jazz and European jazz trends can also be heard.

      Too bad about the sudden fade out at the end; the song/jam obviously went on longer (and I for one would love to hear it) but I get it: you only have two 19-minute sides to work with. Excellent song and music: commanding the listener's attention in very much the same way Norwegian band SEVEN IMPALE did with their debut album, 2014's City of the Sun. (14.75/15)

2. "The Szuite" (12:30) a classically-styled and -constructed suite that definitely qualifies more for the neo-and pseudo-classical chamber type of music that Belgian/French bands Univers Zéro and, a little later, Présent would soon be doing. So many times as I listen to Hermann's piano play I feel as if I'm listening to the piano music or stylings of Franz Liszt or Sergei Rachmaninoff! After 90 seconds of brewing and bubbling the music bursts forth in a fullness with a very somber and serious yet melodic SEVEN IMPALE motif. (Of course I realize that my reference points are totally reversed since the band members of Seven Impale wouldn't even be born for another ten years or more. It's just what I know, here, now, in 2024, to compare this music to.) Lots of repetition of riffs for Dave Samuels to show off his prodigious talents on the tuned percussives, and then there is a rest period for the rest of the band while Hermann solos on his piano for about 11:24, very much carrying forward the ideas and melodies expressed by Dave's work during the previous minute or two. Here I am rather reminded of Keith Jarrett's sound and work from his massively popular worldwide hit, The Köln Concert (an album that was released in January of this same year that Hermann and band were creating, perfecting, and, eventually, recording this album). When the other musicians rejoin I am more reminded of UZED again in some very complex, classically-oriented avant-garde music (which is masterfully composed and performed). These performances are just so tight, the composition so mature and perfect, it's really hard to find fault or flaw. Even if I don't always like the styles represented, here they're so good, so sensible and flowing (and, often, melodic--which is, unfortunately, important to me) that I do. I love this! (24.5/25)

3. "Between 7 & 11" (5:08) a song with big, funky, heavily-treated jazz bass that transpires with lots of syncopated, stop-and-go rhythmic elements coming from the careful, deliberate drums and percussion instruments, as well as that of Hermann's percussive piano. There is some kind of presence of an electric synth or treated percussive instrument flitting and floating around in the background of the opening couple of minutes. Then the song kind of restarts, with lots of staccato bursts and note play from the whole band as well as from Vadim Vyadro's tenor saxophone while Hermann fills the spaces between whole-band forays with impressively fluid piano runs and Rachmaninoff-like chord progressions. As the song develops both the speed and seem to compact and compress, culminating in more jazz-like soloing from Vlad's sax. Impressive if more mathematical song. (9.333333/10)

4. "Transcendental Floss" (6:08) This song is much more in line with some of the more rhythmically expressive jazz and jazz-rock artists of the time like McCoy Tyner and Tony Williams and Billy Cobham. Thank goodness for the presence (and talents) of such incredibly adaptive Jazz-Fusion artists like drummer Bob Goldman, funk bass player Mike Visceglia, and virtuosic vibraphone, marimba, and percussion player Dave Samuels (who had a long career as a vibraphonist/marimba player in the jazz/Latin music world) cuz there is some awesome funk going on here! as well as a very familiar SEVEN IMPALE vibe. Interesting final coda before the song finally cuts out. (Also SEVEN IMPALE-like)  (9.5/10)

5. "New York City, 6 AM" (6:45) opens with some interestingly processed/treated/engineered percussion play--which cuts out after about 90 seconds whereupon Mike's deep, chunky "underwater" bass enters and leads the band into its slow, pensive, almost minimalistic weave. This is so rich! I love how all of the layers and instruments (and engineering effects) play with one another. The music may not be as sophisticated as the previous songs, but the construction and engineering are absolutely masterful! Definitely capturing an early morning big city vibe. The biggest problem with the ending of this song (and album) is that it leaves me starving for more! (14.5/15)

Total Time 37:16

I understand why so many people have trouble categorizing this music. I personally feel the music of this album is more Jazz-Rock Fusion (as Mike Visceglia and Andy Edwards elucidated: 1975 was the absolute peak for all possible combinations of existing musical traditions), but the piano play is definitely Avant Garde/RIO--the kind that bands like Univers Zero and Present would soon be exploring. The contrast in styles between Hermann's piano play and the lively and virtuosic jazz-rock play of the rest of the band is one of the things that makes the music so intriguing. After hearing the story about the headstrong personality of Mr. Szobel, I kept wondering how Hermann even allowed, much less was open to, this "jazz-rock dilution" of his music--if it had anything to do with the demands of Arista (his record company). But the more I heard about Hermann's demanding, controlling personality, I couldn't help but conclude that the eclectic cross-pollination represented in the album's music must have been fully idealized by its leader and composer. The fact that Mr. Visceglia so clearly claims to having spent "months" living in Hermann's Manhattan loft practicing these pieces attests to Hermann's shared passion for the product that resulted in Arista's 1976 release. 

This music is so well performed (and recorded in single takes--with everyone playing live, together, in the recording studio, all at the same time!) that the listener can really tell how hard the musicians had worked to render it as perfectly as Hermann wished. Truly an incredible achievement of musical documentation! 

96.7778 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an unquestionable masterpiece of progressive rock fusion music. This is definitely one of finest studio albums I've ever heard (as well as one of the highest rated albums I've ever reviewed).

EBERHARD WEBER Yellow Fields

With the creation of 1976's Yellow Fields (which was recorded in September of 1975) we find Eberhard returning to a jazz combo/quartet format for the exposition of the exploration of his rather unique musical ideas. It helps that he has chosen three of my very, very favorite European jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion musicians as his collaborators. The album was released by ECM Records in January of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Eberhard Weber / double bass
With:
- Charlie Mariano / soprano saxophone, shehnai, nadaswaram
- Rainer Brüninghaus / piano, synth
- Jon Christensen / drums

1. "Touch" (4:58) I am not usually much of a fan of the saxophone but Charlie Mariano has a rare gift for playing with sound and style that rarely irks my sensitive nervous system. Eberhard's underwater bass is the second most attention-grabbing performer here while Rainer and Jon do excellent work holding down the rhythmic foundation of an eminently-enjoyable song. (9.3333/10)

  
2. "Sand-Glass" (15:40) with a tuned percussion melody that sounds Gamelan (and, thus, marimba), Jon, Eberhard, and Rainer create a peaceful if-oddly-melodized foundation within which bass, Fender Rhodes, soprano sax, and even Jon's cymbal work have plenty of room to add infinitely creative and never-overdone flourishes, flashes, nuances, undertones and overtones. At the end of the fifth minute Charlie switches to the nasally sound of the shehnai for his soloing for about two and a half minutes. Then it's back to his soprano sax--here doubled up--before giving way to Rainer's Fender Rhodes. The creative, fluid play of Eberhard on his underwater bass is so unusual--and yet prepares one for the sounds and stylings he dominates with on his next album, The Following Morning (my favorite of his). Jon Christensen really shines in this section of the song: truly playing off of his band mates and their own expressions of fervor and subtlety. The style subtly shifts over the course of the 12th minute as Eberhard and Jon change their approach to more of a straightforward rock-like bass-and-drum team approach while Rainer continues his almost-too-subtle/gentle Fender Rhodes play. (He really could have stepped up more--or the engineers could have mixed him in front of the cymbals, Gamelan marimba, and bass instead of burying him in the back. A pretty decent composition that shows some of the exploration Eberhard was into at the time--and which he will improve upon/perfect on future albums. (26.5/30)

3. "Yellow Fields" (10:05) I hear a LOT of CHICK COREA and RETURN TO FOREVER in the structure and performances of this song--especially from Rainer and Jon; Eberhard and Charlie sound more like they're from WEATHER REPORT. Therefore, I call this a clever merger of the two, something that could only be managed by four absolute virtuosos of their instruments--which we have here. The only thing really missing from this tune are hooks that anchor themselves in the listener's memory. (17.75/20)

4. "Left Lane" (13:35) with extended sections with only Rainer and Eberhard playing with and off of each other, this one really preps the listener for the duo's next album, The Following Morning on which there will be no drumming, loads of lush orchestration, as well as plenty of areas, like this, where the two are left alone in a large, starkly-empty space. Eberhard convinces Rainer to back down from an extended solo with the establishment of a structured bass line that ushers Jon and Charlie back into the jazz mix, with Charlie taking the lead with his rapid-fire spewing of notes on his soprano sax. At the ten-minute mark Charlie relinquishes the lead for Rainer's Fender Rhodes. It's a nice solo, egged on by Jon and Eberhard's flawless though relentless encouragement. Nice. Charlie returns to a subdued lead for the final ninety seconds, being joined in the last minute by tracks of his nadaswaram and shehnai until the song's slow final fadeout. (26.66667/30)

Total time 44:18

89.1667 on the Fishscales = B+/four stars; an excellent addition to any Jazz or Jazz-Rock Fusion lover's music collections. Recommended if mostly for the magnificent displays of virtuosity from all four of the contributors.

ELVIN JONES The Prime Element 

(The first disc of The Prime Element was re-released as a part of the At This Point in Time release in 1998).

Tracks A1 to B2 recorded at A&R Recording Studio, New York City, N.Y. on July 24, 25 & 26, 1973.
Tracks C1 to D2 recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on March 14, 1969.
All selections here were released for the first time by Blue Note sometime in 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Elvin Jones / drums

- Gene Perla / bass

- Wilbur Little / bass
- Jan Hammer / synthesizer [Mini Moog], electric piano [Fender Rhodes], piano 
- Cornell Dupree / electric guitar
- Miovelito Valles / percussion

- Omar Clay / percussion

- Richie Landrum / percussion
- Candido Camero / congas

- Lee Morgan / trumpet

- Pepper Adams / saxophone [baritone]

- George Coleman / saxophone [tenor]
- Frank Foster / saxophones [tenor & soprano]

- Steve Grossman / saxophones [tenor & soprano]
- Joe Farrell / saxophones [tenor & soprano]
- Warren Smith / timpani

A1. "At This Point In Time" (7:35) an intense, hard-driving funk jazz cover of a tune offered by saxophonist Frank Foster that feels a little like something for orchestra and/or big band. Jan Hammer's Fender Rhodes is quite prominent as is each of the distinctive tracks of the horn section: flutes, soprano, tenor, and baritone saxes, trumpet as well as Warren Smith's timpani and Gene Perla's funk bass line. It has a laidback cockiness like the music of Herbie Hancock's Fat Albert Rotunda or Gil Scott-Heron's Pieces of a Man. (13.75/15)

A2. "Currents/Pollen" (11:16) another extraordinary solo drum intro--a full minute of just Elvin! In the second minute, while Elvin continues bashing away, the four percussionists join in, enriching the rhythmic weave with congas, wood block, it's not until 2:43 that anybody else joins in but when they do it's an immediate transformation into jazz with the bassist(s) fast-walking behind Jan Hammer's fast-paced soprano-sax-like MiniMoog soloing as Elvin settles into a smooth straightforward jazz accompaniment. In the fifth minute Elvin's accompanists desist while Elvin returns to bone-crushing skin-beating. In that fifth minute the horns enter as a horn section, presenting at first some low four-note chords but then gradually expanding the pitch spectrum until the middle of the sixth minute when there is a stoppage, bridge of chime sprinkles, followed by the start of an entirely new motif (this must be "Pollen")--this one sounding like something nice from The Soft Machine Third with a Latinized Deodato arrangement. Toward the end of the seventh minute Cornell Dupree steps into the spotlight with some jazz guitar, then Jan Hammer in the eighth with a Chick Corea-like Fender Rhodes solo. At the end of the ninth minute, when Jan Hammer steps back into a support role within the rhythm section, the horn section comes in with some cool sustain chords for about a minute until one of them (a tenor sax player, I think) steps forward to solo--holding this leadership position for the rest of the song--which ends up being a long, slow fadeout. I really liked everything about this incredibly odd song! I don't know how these two songs, one attributed to Don Garcia, the other to bassist Gene Perla, ended up being smashed together but I like it! I know I'll be returning to it for another dose! (19.25/20)

B1. "The Prime Element" (8:20) the kind of song and rhythms that makes you want to be there: just to watch the guys do this song. Latinized (look at all those percussionists employed to help out!) yet definitely exploring the J-R F palettes and textures. It is, therefore, no wonder that this song is attributed to percussionist Omar Clay as its chief composer.

     Jan Hammer is solid on his role as part of the rhythm section with his Fender Rhodes but then goes off with that MiniMoog like a Brasilian pole dancer! But the one message being sent from this music, from start to finish, is that Mr. Jones is a Boss of the Master class! An incredible listening experience if especially for Elvin's drumming. (18/20)

B2. "Whims Of Bal" (12:25) piano and xylophone are part of the whole-band ensemble presenting percussionist Omar Clay's second compositional contribution to this album. The opening sounds so avant-garde (even Zeuhlish) with its pounding dissonant chords--not unlike the Hermann Szobel album that cam out in this same month--but in the second minute the music settles into a nice faux-samba Latin-infused piano-based syncopated, percussion-aided vamp over which a baritone saxophone solos in its lower registers for about two minutes before being supplanted by a tenor sax for another couple of minutes before a soprano sax takes a turn. I like the piano work that's been going along beneath the reed instruments but I find myself (especially after the three previous songs) to not be hearing more dynamic adventuring from the rest of the rhythmatists. Around the nine minute mark there is a timpani-announced stoppage, which seems to serve as the faucet opening up a deluge of cacophonic free-jazz noise coming spilling out all over the floor until it has all spilled out and only sense and surprise are left to assess the outcome. Interesting finish! (22/25)

Disc One rating = 91.25

C1. "Inner Space" (6:34) here the band covers a Chick Corea composition using a big band arrangement for the horn section. The first of the recordings held since 1969, there is a notable "agedness" to the sound quality in the recording when compared to the other material from the first disc, which, again, were recorded in the Summer of 1973. Even the way the drum kit is recorded is quite different--with much more volume given to the cymbals and horns, far less to the low end (bass and toms) as well as a general "narrowness" to the overall soundscape. Also, Elvin's performance (as well as that of the whole ensemble) just feels much more circumscribed and conservative--as if the freedoms that Larry Coryell, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the Power Fusionists had unleashed were not even in the artists' realm of consideration yet (which, of course, they were not). It's good, solid hard bop but it has none of the animalistic testosterone that the other disc's songs all have. (8.75/10)

C2. "Once I Loved [O Amor Em Paz]" (6:18) the band's cover of an Antônio Carlos Jobim song: it is treated reverentially with some lovely flute playing the lead melodies in place of voice while Elvin, Ron, Candido Camero, and the other percussionists hold down the gentle rhythm track. Trumpeter Lee Morgan meanders around the sidelines with his muted horn until the two-minute mark when he stops allowing Joe Farrell to step up an octave with his flute in order to command full occupancy of the spotlight. At 3:40 the rolls are reversed as Joe silences his flute to let Lee step into the light tout seul. Nice--with nice solos--but nothing Earth-shattering here, just beauty. (8.75/10)

C3. "Raynay" (7:54) the first of Elvin's own compositional contributions to the album, it offers the listener some very interesting drum and percussion interactions steadied by a very smooth walking bass track as  saxes and trumpet take turns soloing (while stepping into the line for horn section duties in-between solos). There are some nice solos as well as helpful horn section bridges while Elvin keeps provoking near-solo-like playfulness on his kit. The hot-shot drum playing doesn't work within the song weaves (or as stand alone entertainment) as well in 1969 as it does in 1973. (13.375/15)

D1. "Champagne Baby" (11:28) a song attributed to saxophonist Joe Farrell, it opens with a 30-second intro before seeming to find its groove, but then it suddenly returns to the wayward exploratory nature of the opening 30-seconds for a second go round of the "searching for a foothold" chord bursts before finally committing to the samba-percussed cymbal-happy motif that will play out for the bulk of the next ten minutes. (The rhythm track and odd beat signature sounds like it was lifted/borrowed/sampled and manipulated by 21st Century Swedish "romantic swingtronica" jazz band KOOP for their song, "In a Heartbeat.") Whoever the soloists are (I have to assume that Joe Farrell is one of them), they are really locked in and inspired--especially the sax soloists in the sixth and seventh minutes--which seems to inspire Elvin to some very creative drum play beneath him. At 7:45 everybody and his brother joins in, sounding as if they were each oblivious to one another, sealed into their own recording chambers with the rhythm track to listen to because they all seem to be spouting off with little or no regard for the other horn players. This loose cacophony, however, does not last long before the ensemble steps back to let Elvin do some of that inventive soloing that he does, only returning (with somewhat more arranged synchrony) to finish the song for the last minute. (17.875/20)

D2. "Dido Afrique" (11:16) Elvin's only other compositional credit, it is swinging and feeling very much like an example of some late 1960s television theme music--until it becomes all drums and percussion in the sixth minute. After nearly five minutes of this percussionist play the bass and horns return to try to reign the song back into its early themes but Elvin and his beat mates continues to exert their dominance, at times throwing the horns out of the mix, at the end allowing them to help finish. Interesting. (18/20)

Disc Two rating = 89.0

Total time: 83:06

I can't even begin to understand how and/or why Blue Note decided to release these two very different albums, recorded three and a half years apart, together as a single package--still three years after the second recording sessions had occurred. It makes perfect sense that someone with better sense would separate the two and re-release them years later as completely different packages. I, however, am cursed to have to rate this "album" as one single entity despite the overwhelming evidence that they are two completely different listening experiences. For any one reading this in the 21st Century, I urge you to seek out the 1998 Blue Note re-release of disc one as At This Point in Time and, if necessary, for completionists, the original The Prime Element release from 1976 in order to hear the 1969 material rendered unto disc two.

90.0625 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars (five stars for Disc One, a masterpiece of dynamic Jazz-Rock Fusion); an excellent snapshot into two different phases of Elvin's development. 

ARENA Arena

To make this album a bunch of Australian studio/sessions musicians were lured into breaking in a new recording studio just outside of Melbourne--Crystal Clear Studio. The "band" recorded and produced the material that would become this album in 1975 and then released it (themselves!) early in 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Ted White / saxophone, flute
- Peter Jones / keyboards, piano
- Graham Morgan / percussion, drums
- Bob Arrowsmith / bass
- Charlie Gould / guitar

1. "Journey In Threes" (6:30) drums, funked up bass, clavinet, saxophone, and guitar open this one with a GENTLE GIANT-like circus romp, then there is a long spacious pause before the band kicks back in at 1:20, this time in a very tightly arranged nearly-Reggae weave with tenor sax in the lead and guitar doing accent strums and notes. The bass is now more straightforward (the previous sound I called a "funked up bass" may have been, in fact, the left hand on the clavinet). Clavinet gets the second solo spot but the sax comes back for the third--this time with a little more vim and vinegar. Very interesting! And danceable in a DON ELLIS way. I don't know why I like the clavinet so well! (9/10)

2. "Scope" (5:05) BRUFORD-like syncopated complex opening weave turns into a little smoother jazz at the 30-second mark with bass and drums weaving a tightly Then, at 1:45 the band stops at the stop sign, looks both ways, then takes a left turn down one of the Fender Rhodes as keyboardist Peter Jones starts flying over his plastic keys. Another stop at another stop sign at the 3:15 mark results in another change of direction--this one more straightforward as the car cruises out onto the Nevada desert where we watch it fade away into the distance. Very interesting, complex jazz-rock fusion--all of the motifs sewn together here are quite complicated. Impressive! (9/10)

3. "Duke" (3:50) a duet of moody sax and supportive lounge Fender Rhodes gives this opening a late night French Film Noire or Femme Fatale feel. Nice performance if a bit stereotypic. The guys must have been in a mood. (8.75/10)

4. "Scrichell Cat" (6:30) more music that feels like something from an old black and white film--until the three-chord rock bridges. Sax is again offered the lead role while bass, drums, Fender Rhodes, and wah-rhythm guitar provide support and accents. Oddly simplistic compared to the mind-bogglingly complex music of the opening two songs. Charlie Gould's electric guitar finally gets a solo around the four-minute mark--it's nice! He's got a very nice tone and very flowing, technically sound run capabilities. When he pairs up with the sax in the sixth minute it works remarkably well and then they parts ways to return to the rock motif for an extended period over (beneath) which the searing ROBERT FRIPP-like guitar play continues to the very end. (8.875/10)

5. "Keith's Mood" (7:34) The angular, sometimes discordant Robert Fripp guitar sound and style starts off right from the opening note of this one while drums, bass, and saxophone play Coltrane or Ornette Coleman to the Robert. Around the two-minute mark the band takes a divergent path to explore a trash-filled alley that empties out next to the church onto main street in the form of a blues-based R&B passage. Sounds like The Isley Brothers, past (the Sixties) and future (Harvest for the World, Go For Your Guns. etc.) An extended drum solo fills the sixth minute and more sounding quite traditional jazz except for the use of a large floor tom. At the end of the eighth minute the rest of the band returns, playing some grroup scales before suddenly stopping. Interesting and impressive but not very engaging (or danceable). (13/15)

6. "The Long One" (6:32) this one sounds like early Herbie Hancock as he explored the landscapes and sonic possibilities of early funk and R&B-infused jazz-rock. Sax is the lead melody-maker but the funky bass and Fender Rhodes play a huge role in the song's overall feel. Very cool in the early-1970s meaning of the word. Fender Rhodes takes the next solo in the fourth minute while the bass, guitar, and drums do a great job of maintaining the funky base. The nuances of each instrumentalist's contributions to this song are really quite something to behold--and even study! Not my favorite song or song style but definitely praiseworthy for these incredibly mature performances. (9/10)

7. "Turkish Defunked" (7:41) Waht?! a straight-time beat?! (Wait 20 seconds.) Oh! They were just messing with me! Back to some funk with some Eastern European/Middle Eastern sounds coming from the sax(es). When the opening mood and sound palette have been established, the sax drops out for an extended Fender Rhodes solo that sounds quite a bit like Ray Manzarek. Sax resumes the lead as Ray continues to add sass and bluesy funk around the sides. Cool song that has its feet more in jazz than R&B-rock but goes back to the Turkish theme enough to confuse us. In the sixth we finally get the return of the burning sound of Charlie (Glenn's nephew) Gould's fuzzy electric guitar, but then the band switches gears, gets more staccato rhythm-brained before finally returning to the main theme for the finale (while Charlie continues his nonstop Fripp runs from behind). High quality performances of a diversified composition.(13.5/15)

Total Time 43:42

Through this album, I can see how the AVERAGE WHITE BAND inspired the world. 

88.91 on the Fishscales = B+/four stars; an excellent addition to any Jazz-Rock Fusion lover and an album that I think any and every prog lover can and would appreciate.

LEE RITENOUR First Course

Lee Ritenour's debut album, First Course, was recorded and mixed at The Sound Labs, Hollywood, Calif. October-December, 1975 and then officially released in 1976 by Epic Records. 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Lee Ritenour / guitars [electric, clsassical], producer [associate]

- Bill Dickinson / bass

- Chuck Rainey / bass

- Louis Johnson / bass

- Harvey Mason / drums, percussion

- Ed Greene / drums

- Dave Grusin / electric piano, organ, synthesizer, clavinet

- Jerry Peters / keyboards, clavinet

- Larry Nash / keyboards, clavinet

- Michael Omartian / keyboards, clavinet

- Patrice Rushen / keyboards, clavinet

- Ian Underwood / synthesizer [programming]

- Jerry Steinholtz / congas, percussion

- Tom Scott / Lyricon, saxophone [tenor]
- Jerome Richardson / saxophone [baritone]
- Ernie Watts / saxophone [tenor]
- Frank Rosolino / trombone
- Chuck Findley / trumpet

A1. "A Little Bit Of This And A Little Bit Of That" (6:18) a solid, upbeat and uptempo and funk tune that fits the typical television soundtrack music of the era. (8.875/10)

A2. "Sweet Syncopation" (4:48) a Bob James-like song with disco elements and a lot of riffs and tricks that were stereotypic of the day. (8.75/10)

A3. "Theme From Three Days Of The Condor" (4:08) even though I love the film from which this tune was supposedly borrowed, I do not at all recognize it for the fact that the soundtrack is/was never anything remarkable enough to me to have been memorable--which says a lot because soundtracks are often such an important element of every movie that I like--and I've seen this movie many times over the years. Still, as a song, this one stands up as something quite enjoyable for its careful consideration of space and palette. Very pretty if, ultimately, definitely a qualifier for the "elevator" category of Smooth Jazz. (9/10)

A4. "Fatback" (4:20) another Smooth Jazz elevator music masterpiece for its simple melodies, straight time shuffle, and urban colloquial street talkin' guitar play. (8.875/10)

A5. "Memories Past" (1:52) a pretty little pseudo classical solo guitar piece. Melodic and smooth. (4.375/5)

B1. "Caterpillar" (4:21) back to the funk. Lee certainly is a master of it--not only as a guitarist but also as a composer/arranger. I never thought to give Lee Ritenour (or Skip Drinkwater) credit for the foundation and codification of the Smooth Jazz movement! (8.75/10)

B2. "Canticle For the Universe" (6:13) a white man's funk that helps me to define the Yacht Rock phenomenon: laid back white man's overbite dance music for sunlight, Dacron leisure suits, and driving in your Datsun 240z. Some really nice arrangements and layering in the "chorus" sections. (8.875/10)

B3. "Wild Rice" (5:33) more 1970s Discofied pop funk excellently arranged, performed, thickly layered, and sterilized for the masses. Though I may not like it, the vision and foresight of the creators of this music are definitely of a genius level: they won! (8.75/10) 

B4. "Ohla Maria (Amparo)" (3:50) the cover of a Antônio Carlos Jobim tune by Lee on his Classical guitar. There is minimal support from tracks dedicated to other Classical guitars as well as synthesizer flutes and gentle, rich electric piano. Gorgeous. Though not really Jazz-Rock Fusion, this still gets my vote for favorite song on the album. (9.333/10)

Total Time: 41:34

West Coast Smooth Jazz of The Crusaders, Bob James, Steely Dan, Tom Scott, Dave Gruisin type here is being defined--born of the Jazz-Rock Fusion idiom, the music has been taken from the realms of the experimental and exploratory and codified into a specific pop sound that is friendly to the television-watching and radio-at-work-listening masses. Despite the Skip Drinkwater production credit, I cannot help but lump this album's sound in the sanitary pile of Bob James-style productions of the era--though this does have more of the pristine, over-production sound that is more associated with the Steely Dan and Dave Gruisin and many of the top pop-R&B acts like Earth, Wind & Fire and I slather when visualizing that studio filled with those amazing West Coast studio musicians all playing together, at once, layer over layer: Chuck Rainey, Louis Johnson, and Bill Dickenson! Harvey Mason and Ed Greene! Dave Grusin, Jerry Peters, Larry Nash, Michael Omartian, Ian Underwood, and Patrice Rushen! Tom Scott, Jerome Richardson, Ernie Watts, Frank Rosolino, and Chuck Findley! How can one possibly fail with walls of sound from that mini orchestra of L.A.'s finest? And I am not going to contest the amazing performances, arrangements, engineering, and production of this album's sounds; I'm just not as much an advocate of the direction this kind of production took Jazz-Rock Fusion: like it took the excitement and freshness out of it and made it pedestrian. I always find myself lamenting the watered-down accessibility of music as this represents yet I can still hear the amazing virtuosity of its performers in the music, so I feel bad for my perhaps-unjust denigration of the artistry involved to create this kind of music. It just all starts to sound and feel . . . the same! Also, I do not wish to denigrate demean the skills and talent of Lee Ritenour: he is without a doubt an amazing guitarist, amazing songwriter, arranger, and producer. As mentioned above: perhaps the world gives far too little credit to Lee for his role in shaping the direction that made Jazz-Rock Fusion so accessible to the masses that it became ubiquitous, and popular!  

88.92 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; though this is not what I consider a masterpiece of innovative Jazz-Rock Fusion, I cannot fault the songwriting, musicianship, arrangements, production, or engineering for anything! They were just conforming to the sonic trends that were taking over the world of instrumental music at the time--and to which Lee Ritenour's personal vision and preferences were fixated! This is a Smooth Jazz album of the very highest quality!

February

CHICK COREA The Leprechaun

Chick's demo hopeful for entry/admittance to the world and work of Broadway composer, he produced this album late in 1975 and then got Polydor to release it on Ground Hog's Day (February 2) of 1976. 

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

And:

- Danny Cahn / trumpet

- 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

1. "Imp's Welcome" (2:55) very cool intro with many weird, quirky sounds coming from Chick's vast collection of keyboards. (4.5/5)

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)

8. "Leprechaun's Dream" (13:03) a thoughtful, rather pensive song that makes one feel fear and uncertainty: as if a person is living in the moment so as to escape having to make any/all decisions in the Big "Real" World. The play of double bassist Eddie Gomez and flutist Joe Farrell are delightfully uplifting--especially playing off of the syncopation genius of Steve Gadd. The contributions of the string and horn sections are also quite welcome. Crossing/blending several unusual styles makes this a rather unique and ambiguous song--making it difficult to define or categorize. Again, I feel that Chick this album's music is best serving as a "getting to know" each other germination fest for what will become Romantic Warrior, and then, The Mad Hatter. Still, it's hard to not admire, respect, and be awed by the performers' performances as well as Chick's growing big-band compositional mastery. (22.6667/25)

Total Time 37:39

 This album, as a whole, sounds like an artist that is sitting on a fence, trying to decide which direction to take his music. As displayed here, the talented man has many directions to choose: we here much of his recent Return To Forever style, some of his older Latin roots, some of the future fanciful future dreaming that he's doing, and a surprising number of riffs, sounds, and styles that feel as if they are coming from the world of the Broadway musical (especially Leonard Bernstein)! The question of what he will choose to "specialize" in--and when he'll come out of his haze of confusion and synaesthesia--will be resolved in the next year or two with the demise of his popular and highly-acclaimed Return To Forever project and the repetitious re-confirmation of his solo career. All in all, this is definitely a step toward Chick's other upcoming masterful releases, Romantic Warrior, My Spanish Heart, and my favorite, The Mad Hatter. 

91.25 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of eclectic jazz-rock fusion and another amazing release in a long career of astonishingly high creativity and top-tier quality products. 

GONG Shamal

Left stunned and reeling by the departures of founder Daevid Allen and, six months later, innovative guitarist Steve Hillage, the band fumbles around to try to reconfirm or redefine their identity. Recorded in London in December of 1975 at Olympic Studios and Basing Street Studios with Pink Floyd's Nick Mason in the production booth, Shamal was released in February of 1976 by Virgin Records.

Line-up / Musicians:
- 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)

3. "Bambooji" (5:13) music that is fully-intended to present as some kind of quasi-Asian--at least for the first two minutes as bamboo flute (bansuri), xylophone, marimba, plucked violin, and other Asian-sounding percussion instruments blend together to present some semi-Asian-sounding melodies entrapped within the quasi-Asian sounds of a strings and percussion ensemble. A fair to middling representation. (8.6667/10)

4. "Cat in Clark's Shoes" (7:43) a syncopated circle weave of jazz-rock music which goes stop 'n' go ZAPPA-klezmer in the fourth minute, bluegrass jamboree for the fifth, then a weird kind of blend of these and other New Orleans-type stuff for the sixth and old-time Roaring Twenties for the seventh before returning to a horn-supported funk for the final 30 seconds. Weird and unattractive despite the admirably flexible instrumental performances. (13/15)

5. "Mandrake" (5:04) this one opens with a slow but steady exercise in mathematical teamwork before finally spreading out and hitting a third gear forward speed at 2:17. Multiple tuned percussion instruments are the main conveyors of both of the song's two motifs with Didier Malherbe's weirdly-processed (muted?) soprano saxophone pepping things up in the middle. (8.75/10) 

6. "Shamal" (9:00) again Mike's bass, Pierre's drumming, and Patrice Lemoine's bumpin' Fender Rhodes provide the foundations for some excellent J-R F funk over which Didier Malherbe's reverbed tenor sax plays some appropriately soul-ful melodies. Singing that previews 1980s Talking Heads, Human League, and Tom Tom Club enter with Mireille Bauer's vibraphone. Sax returns to the lead in the funky sixth minute as Mireille switches to tubular bells and vibes. Jorge Pichevsky's heavily-wah- and -flanged  electric violin joins in with the next round of choir chant vocals. I have to say that everybody really clicks and steps up for this one; it's easily the best song on the album. (18.5/20)    

Total Time: 40:01

The band seems to be definitely grasping for roots in the Jazz-Rock Fusion forest. It will be their next album, Gazeuse! that will get them there.  

89.11 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of jazz-fusion heading hippy music. Recommended to all lovers of the jazzy direction taken by most of the 1970s Canterbury bands.

JEAN-LUC PONTY Aurora

Teaming up with youngsters Daryl Stuermer (age 23), Patrice Rushen (21), and ex-Mother of Invention bass player Tom Fowler (who was only 25 years old) resulted in Jean-Luc's first successful solo foray into the burgeoning market of Jazz-Rock Fusion. After brief but intense stints with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra (Second Incarnation), the French violin virtuoso had a pretty good idea of the directions he wanted his career and music to go. The album was recorded in California at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles in December of 1975 and then released by Atlantic on February 26 of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- 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)    

7. "Between You And Me" (5:54) a melodic song that somehow lets bassist Tom Fowler lead the way!(?) Pretty awesome. Though not funky, it is a catchy groove that Tom, Patrice, and drummer Norman Fearrington present and hold fast. Jean-Luc's electric violin seers an impressive solo in the first slot. When the band recongeals, it is with the same jazzy weave that Tom's bass lead us in with. Next up is Patrice with a very warm and smooth Fender Rhodes solo (the whole song is warm and almost smooth). Jean-Luc reclaims the spotlight for the next verse for a brief solo before calling the band back in for another go-round of the opening weave. Nice. (9/10)

8. "Waking Dream" (2:24) pensive piano chord play opens this before electric bass and electric violin and electric guitar join in to co-present an interesting melody--one that at first is perfectly harmonized by Tom's bass lines but then see him fall into a kind of one-bar counterpoint. Nice. (4.425/5)  

Total Time: 37:28

Despite the fact that I owned this album back in the day, it feels fresh to me today, and yet, at the same time, revelatory of many of Jean-Luc's consistent future patterns and tricks of his trade. It was the next studio album, Imaginary Voyage that hooked me in as a devoté (and concert attendee) over the next ten years. I've also watched with no small sadness at the way keyboard virtuoso Patrice Rushen's career has slowly been whitewashed of her keyboard talent in place of her success as a singer. I've always loved her warm keyboard playing. I would think that this album helped significantly to serve each and every one of the performers in advancing their careers.

91.32 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion, the first of a long line of them for this J-R Fusion master.

March

WEATHER REPORT Black Market

Though the band had long been established--inspired by Miles Davis' Bitches Brew sessions in the summer of 1969--this is one of the band's most popular albums. It was recorded for CBS Records at Devonshire Studios in December of 1975 and January of 1976 and then released by Columbia Records on March 11, 1976. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Joe Zawinul / Yamaha grand piano, Rhodes electric piano, ARP 2600 & Oberheim Polyphonic synths, orchestrations, co-producer
- Wayne Shorter / soprano & tenor saxophones, Computone Lyricon, co-producer
- Alphonso Johnson / basses (1,3-5,7)
- Jaco Pastorius / fretless bass (2,6,8-10)
- Narada Michael Walden / drums (1,2)
- Chester Thompson / drums (3-7)
- Don Elias / congas & percussion (1,6)
- Alejandro "Alex" Acuña / congas, percussion (2-5,7)

1. "Black Market" (6:30) (8.5/10)

2. "Cannon Ball" (4:40) the band's first contribution from Jaco Pastorius (9/10)

3. "Gibraltar" (7:49) (13.5/15)

4. "Elegant People" (5:03) the percussionist's treat (9/10)

5. "Three Clowns" (3:27) (8.5/10)

6. "Barbary Coast" (3:10) Jaco's first compositional contribution to the band. This is Jaco doing Jaco while the band supports. (8.5/10)

7. "Herandnu" (6:38) Alfonso Johnson penned this final song of the album--and a beauty it is! For me this is the band at their most dynamic and joyful. Very Steely Dan-like. (9/10)

Total Time: 37:17

While the performances are masterful throughout this album, I don't feel that the compositions are as strong or as memorable as those from other WR albums. While the sounds or stylings of Joe Zawinal and Wayne Shorter never really wowed me, the ensemble sound, unusual (and engaging) melodies, and great performances from the extraordinary Weather Report rhythm section always drew me in. Here we are graced with various combinations of contributions from bassists Alphonso Johnson and Jaco Pastorius, drummers Narada Michael Walden and Chester Thompson, and percussionists Don Elias and Alejandro "Alex" Acuña. What a treat!

88.0 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent acquisition for any Jazz-Rock Fusion lover and a landmark album in the discography of Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter's ever-transitioning band.

OPUS-5 Contre-Courant

Part symphonic rock, part jazz-rock fusion (especially in the piano), part folk (especially in the harmonium-like vocal harmonies), this band from Québec sounds like a cross between Maneige, Harmonium, and Sloche (which just happen to be all Québec bands). Contre-Courant was released on March 17, 1975 by the Celebration label. 

1. "Les temps des Pissenlits" (9:10) Central to the success of this great song is the HARMONIUM-like earworm choral vocal repeated over the course of the second two-thirds. (18.5/20)

2. "Il Çtait magicien" (11:40) opens like a CAMEL-RICK WAKEMAN piece. Other sounds and motifs that are familiar remind me of RENAISSANCE, TRAFFIC, ELP, and even ELTON JOHN. Not always cohesive or easily flowing, there is so much great music and musicianship on display here that I can't help but rate it highly. Strange that it goes so quite/delicate with two minutes to go. Quite anti-climactic. (18/20)

3. "Les saigneurs" (9:21) opens with anachronistic sounding steel-string guitar work--Anthony Phillips "Private Parts and Pieces"-like. At the end of the second minute tom-toms usher in a choral vocal section that sounds very much like a FOCUS-like play on classical traditions. Even the piano play and stop-and-go forms used feel FOCUS and/or GENTLE GIANT like. In the fourth minute, the musicians stop for a totally a cappella section before heading back into a jazzy flute and piano led "Moondance" like motif. Quite complex and virtuosic. The sixth and seventh minutes find the music alternating between precise jazz motifs and "Ancient"-sounding vocal responses. Then we move into a more pop music sounding section with gentle melodies and a simple instrumental chordal weave. (18.75/20)

4. "Le Bal" (5:42) sounds quite a bit like early Genesis--even the quirky story form structure of the song. Very nice keyboards and vocals. Quite and interesting and engaging song. (9/10)

5. "Contre-courant" (3:55) nature/harbor sounds mixed with odd synth sound lead into brief choral bank before the piano-based rock motif takes off in a GENTLE GIANT/FOCUS direction--lots of quirk playing off of very serious sounding classical riffs and motifs. Fascinating! Especially if this is, as it feels, intended to be a kind of tongue-in-cheek classical-rock fusion. (9/10)

Despite the obvious skill and virtuosity of all of the musicians involved, central to the band's achievements are the keyboard play of Olivier Du Plessis: he is a marvel to listen to. I am also quite impressed by the bass and flute playing and the vocals.

91.56 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; an excellent contribution of FOCUS/CAMEL-like progressive rock music. In fact, this music--and the temperament conveyed through it--is quite on the same par as all of the afore-mentioned bands. I call this a masterpiece! (It's just not true Jazz-Rock Fusion.)

GEORGE BENSON Breezin'

Grammy Award winner and, at that time, the biggest selling Jazz album of all-time, in retrospect the album is definitely representative of a crossing-over from jazz or even any jazz-fusion into pure Smooth Jazz. Young drummer Harvey Mason would become a staple rock as a studio musician for many, many Smooth Jazz albums (as well as disco and pop) as are guitarist Phil Upchurch and keyboard genius Ronnie Foster. For me it is the work of Claus Ogerman that raises eyebrows. This is an album that is often cited and praised by audiophiles for its pristine sound clarity and definition. Breezin' was recorded under Tommy LiPuma's supervision at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California, on January 5-7 in 1976 and then released on March 19 by Warner Brothers.

Lineup / Musicians:

- George Benson / lead guitar, vocals

- Stanley Banks / bass

- Harvey Mason / drums

- Ralph MacDonals / percussion

- Ronnie Foster / electric piano, Minimoog

- Jorge Dalto / clavinet, piano

- Phil Upchurch / rhythm guitar

- Claus Ogerman / conductor

A1 "Breezin'" (5:40) a. Bobby Womack song, the listener is immediately greeted by the lush and uplifting Nature sounds of Claus Ogerman's orchestra, then Phil Upchurch's bass, Harvey Mason's solid rhythm forging drums, Ralph McDonald's tasteful percussion, and  Geoerge uses only his guitar to speak for him on this one but the whole band (and orchestra) are so tight! (9.5/10)

A2 "This Masquerade" (8:03) the Grammy Award winning cover of a Leon Russell song. Jorge Dalto's piano always surprises me, but then George's vocal mirroring of his guitar note-play did/does as well. Genius and virtuosic but never my favorite song even though I love Stanley Banks' bass play, Jorge's piano, and Claus Ogerman's orchestral contributions. (14/15)

A3 "Six to Four" (5:06) composed by rhythm guitarist Phil Upchurch, this is a song that  I remember as much for being played (and danceable) in the discos and parties at the time as anything else. I always found Ronnie Foster's MiniMoog solo in the second minute rather annoying--but I loved the clavinet! Also, the introduction and use of the orchestra in the second half only is/was pure genius! (9/10) 

B1 "Affirmation" (7:01) a cover of a José Feliciano song, this is my favorite song on the album and one of the reasons Side Two became the only side I would play after a while of owning the record. I guess I was a budding Yacht Rocker as this song has such a Steely Dan Aja feel to it. (14.75/15)

B2 "So This Is Love?" (7:03) a George Benson composition that has a very contemporaneous ISLEY BROTHERS yet also STEVIE WONDER feel to it. Brilliant orchestration and lovely disco dance potential. (14.25/15)

B3 "Lady" (5:49) a Ronnie Foster song that opens with some great orchestral work before nary a rock or jazz instrument even shows up. A top rating for the orchestration and bass-and-keyboard play would seem in order but there are some things in the melody that just don't work for me. It sounds very close to another great early-Smooth Jazz album that I loved from the same time: Earl Klugh's Heartstring. (8.875/10) 

93.166667 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion from the beginning of the Smooth Jazz phenomenon.

BILLY COBHAM Life & Times

Bulgarian keyboard virtuoso/composer Milcho Leviev is gone but Billy's demands of his support crew remain incredibly high, his compositions still quite sophisticated. I was really looking forward to hearing this album after seeing Doug Rauch and Allan Zavod on the call sheet--and for the sake of wanting to give John Scofield and George Duke yet more chances to win me over. (Their skills are always impressive but their styles and melodic sensibilities don't seem to align with my own.) Recorded at New York's Electric Lady Studios, Life & Times was released by Atlantic Records in March of 1976. 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Billy Cobham / percussion, Moog synthesizer, arranger & producer

With:

- Doug Rauch / bass

- John Scofield / guitar

- George Duke ("Dawilli Gonga") / keyboards

- Allan Zavod / organ (1)

- Phil Bodner / bass clarinet & flute (3-a)

- Gene Orloff / violin (3-a)

- Al Brown / viola (3-a)

- Kermit Moore / cello (3-a)

- Richard Davis / bass (3-a)

- Arif Mardin / arrangements (3-a)

1. "Life & Times" (6:58) Nice racing song that puts on full display all of the principles, with very impressive solos from Scofield, Duke, and, dream of dreams, Doug Rauch. (Weird that I never really heard an "organ"!) Billy is, of course, ridiculously impressive. (13.75/15)

2. "29" (2:28) another song in which the musicians are asked to sprint from point A to B, the musicianship is quite impressive, and there are some nice melodies worked into the mayhem as well as some impressive solos, but it's just not, overall, a song that one can easily "get into." (8.875/10) 

3a. "Siesta" (3:36) as if hearing my "complaint" from the first two songs, Billy has the band slow things down and finally use space as an additional band member. Also, as if taking a cue from former compatriot John McLaughlin and recent Return To Forever albums, the musicians are asked to perform on acoustic instruments--including some strings players to replace the bass. (9/10)

- b. "Wake Up!!!!!! That's What You Said" (0:04) just what the title says. All four seconds of it.

4. "East Bay" (6:08) this one sounds like a piece that could've been generated from the former conglomerate band of New York City-based future Hall of Famers that called themselves DREAMS for the three or four year duration of their association (back in 1968 into 1971). The funk is present but slowed down to a swaggering pace while John Scofield is given the bulk of the lead instrumental play as the rest of the band just strut around the rhythm tracks. Kind of cool! (9/10) 

5. "Earthlings" (5:04) the only non-Cobham composition (attributed to John Scofield). John plays lead over active keyboard play from George's Fender Rhodes, Dougie's gattling gun bass note production, and Billy's impeccable swingtime. George gets some extended solo time in the fourth and fifth minutes to display his keyboard ideas and then mirrors/harmonizes with John's guitar play for a nice final section--my favorite part of the song. (9/10)

6. "Song For A Friend (Part I)" (5:03) a rather unique opening with slowed-down Cowboy-Western theme over which an odd synth slowly soars and falls as if a rocket being launched into the sky and then descending to the Earth--all the while the Fender Rhodes and gently picked guitar and bass and Billy's rim shots and hi-hat work keep Rancher's time. A highly unusual song: for Billy, for Jazz-Rock Fusion, for recorded music. I really like this! Again, it's nice to have songs in which space and airiness are explored to balance out the frenetic music of those other barn-burners. (9.25/10)

7. "On A Natural High" (5:17) a funky drive through town in the convertible (with the top down, of course) cruisin' all the hot spots (probably running into the Fonze, Spike Lee, and the Fresh Prince at various points along the way). Doug Rauch's very active bass play, I think, makes a nice complement to Billy's steady-yet-nuanced drum play--and George Duke seems to bridge the territory between John Scofield's squawking guitar play and the rhythmatists quite well. For me, this might be the song that works the best: melding rather perfectly on all levels. (9.25/10)

8. "Song For A Friend (Part II)" (4:43) a repeat/revisitation to the previous "Song for a Friend"'s Western cowboy motif with a different approach from John Scofield--using miked-up acoustic guitar instead of gentle electric--and from George Duke with richer, more sustained chord play from his Fender Rhodes. Nice melodies from John with excellent supportive chord play from George (while pushing that weird Prophet 5 synth portamento space note play a little more into the background). Another favorite. (9.25/10) 

Total Time 39:21

I can see how the excessive number of notes demanded of the musicians on these highly-complex songs might fatigue and/or put off some listeners but at least there are more melodies to connect with. At the same time, Billy has considerately tried to balance out the fare offered on this album with several less-than-breakneck-speed songs for the listener to settle into. And, if you're at all interested in hearing basss sensation Doug Rauch in all his glory, this might be the absolute best album in which to do so--especially as his drug addiction issues would, sadly, render him pretty much unreliable and unemployable in the next year or two. (He would be dead in three years--at the unfortunate age of 28.)

91.03 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a most excellent full-spectrum presentation of Jazz-Rock Fusion at its finest if not most melodic. Highly recommended to anyone who has not heard it. 

MIROSLAV VITOUS Magical Shepherd

After eight years in the think of the foundation and development of Jazz-Rock Fusion, Miroslav apparently felt it important to "prove" to critics that he could play/do funk (which had become all the rage since Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters and Thrust albums in 1974 and 1975, respectively. So, who better to help him out than the jazz-funk-master himself! Recorded in 1975 in San Francisco, Magical Shepherd was released by Warner Brothers Records in March of 1976.

Line-up/Musicians:

- Miroslav Vitous / bass, guitar [360 synth], synthesizer (MiniMoog)

- James Gadson / drums (A1, A2, B3, B4)

- Airto Moreira / percussion

- Jack DeJohnette / drums (B1, B2)

- Herbie Hancock / keyboards (Fender Rhodes, clavinet, synthesizers [Arp Odyssey, Arp String Ensemble, MiniMoog])

- Cheryl Grainger / vocals (A1, A2, B2, B3, B4)

- Onike / vocals (A1, A2, B2, B4)

A1. "Basic Laws" (11:46) two female vocalists open this with some celestial chanting accented by bass notes and weird synthesizer sounds. At the 90-second mark the song funnels into a slow-tempo funk tune with clavinet, bass, congas, drums, and guitar and synth incidentals. The rhythm section remains totally constant while the vocalists, guitar noises, and synth noises play a bit over the top (far less than one would imagine). An occasional key shift seems to add impetus to try new things--especially the one at 6:30--and it does but not really enough. Still, as a funk song, this one has it. Whispered vocals repeating over and over "it's rhythm" join in for the ninth and tenth minutes but then slip back into the background celestial heraldry in the eleventh as the music thins out a bit (while remaining totally committed to the funk). Then it fades out. (22.5/25)

A2. "New York City" (9:32) a more up-tempo, near-disco tune from the first note with very funky wah-wah-ed clavinet and Fender Rhodes (Herbie at his very best!). Vocalists make their first appearance, briefly, around the one-minute mark and thereafter become like curious alien beings making background commentary (a previewof Newcleus' "wicky, wicky, wicky"?) The keyboard work in the third minute makes one think of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something." The changes and variety of offerings make this one a real pleaser (despite the near-disco beat). And, yes: Miroslav can play funk! But, this for whatever reason, this is Herbie's song to shine on--even rivaling Billy Preston's "Space Race" in places. The shift into spacey dreamland in the seventh minute is very cool--very engaging--really giving Miroslav and Herbie room to show of even more of their keyboard and (for Miroslav) guitar ideas. (18.75/20)

B1. "Synthesizers Dance" (5:09) a syncopated more WEATHER REPORT-like attempt at funk: more spacious and less groove-oriented. Even the sounds being generated for lead instrument sounds are kind of off the wall--like something Parliament funkadelic would explore. Lot's of instrumental flare being shown off from multiple musicians here (and especially Miroslav)--which raises the interest/intrigue factor significantly. Good jazz-rock fusion. (8.875/10)

B2. "Magical Shepherd" (6:09) horn like call opens this before bass and Rhodes join in with lots of percussive noise from both Airto and Jack DeJohnette. The lady vocalists are back, this time singing in tandem, singing like a church or Broadway choir. It's actually kind of cool! And the music on top is interesting. At the end of the second minute there is some smoothing out of the basic music, almost committing to a set structure, then, just as you're getting used to it, things shift again into something more 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)

B3. "From Far Away" (2:30) a song built around Cheryl Grainger's jazz vocal. Airto and Miroslav's synth bass, Arp, wah-ed rhythm guitar, and Arp strings (no Herbie on this one). Feels like an étude or interlude--definitely an ude. (4.375/5)

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

Another case in point to my argument that Jack DeJohnette--as extraordinary a drummer as he is--is not a funkster. I have the feeling that getting Jack to play funk was like asking Bill Bruford to play straight time (or, for that matter, funk!)

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.

JOE HENDERSON Black Miracle

Gleaned from material that was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, in February and September of 1975, Black Miracle was released in March of 1976 by the Milestone label.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Joe Henderson / saxophone [tenor]

- Harvey Mason / drums
- Ron Carter / electric bass
- "Dawilli Gonga" (George Duke) / electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer
- Hadley Caliman / flutes, saxophone [tenor]

- Lee Ritenour / guitars (A1, A3, B2)
- Bill Summers / percussion, congas
- George Bohanon / trombone
- Don Waldrop / trombone [bass], tuba
- Snooky Young / trumper, flugelhorn

- Oscar Brashear / trumper, flugelhorn

A1. "Solution" (7:05) opening with that instrumental palette that was classic to the emerging Smooth Jazz movement that would soon come to dominate and supplant the more experimental and Power Fusion efforts in terms of popularity and ubiquity. At least here the soundscape is not so full as those over-sanitized, multi-layered monstrosities soon to become the norm when coming out of the major studios in L.A. The groove established by Ron Carter, "Dawilli Gonga," Lee Ritenour, Harvey Mason, Bill Summers, Joe Henderson's lead tenor sax and the horn section is quite repetitive but still retains many engineering elements that were more common to the previous era of Soul music (Motown). The groove is a bit too repetitive and one-dimensional for my tastes but it's well made. Nice keyboard work from George. (13.25/15)

A2. "My Cherie Amour" (6:44) opening with a similar instrumental palette as the previous song, the well-known Stevie Wonder composition dictates the mood and flow though Joe's arrangement and interpretation definitely explores more its romantic sensual possibilities. This is the first time I've ever heard a song that makes me think, "This is where Billy Joel's 'Just the Way You Are' came from!" I definitely like the "less is more" approach that Joe and his producers have chosen to travel for their version. (9/10) 

A3. "Gazelle" (5:23) George Duke and Bill Summers really make their skills known as Joe solos over this interesting construct that feels like an innovative variation on the standard ABACAB pop structure. Lee Ritenour's contributions start to take their own course in the third minute: using volume pedal controls to add a kind of pedal steel sound to the mix until he turns to more Latin jazz rhythm chord play. Then there are the excellent solos from flugelhorn and trombone before Joe returns to take us to the end. Unfortunately, the two-chord vamp used to anchor the main verse sections does wear out its welcome a little by the final section of the song--this despite the fine solos occurring over the top. (8.875/10) 

B1. "Black Miracle" (9:34) Built over another rather simple, short, and overly-repetitive rhythm track (in which Ron Carter's interesting-but-unvarying bass riff becomes the foundational azimuth for the entire song), the diverse voices of the often-switching conversation of solo inputs occurring over the top sometimes get lost for the distraction that is the now-annoying rhythm track. Luckily, around the five-minute mark there is a change of course, Ron and Harvey loosening up their stranglehold on the song's foundation (thanks a little to the inputs of Bill Summers' congas and the big band-like play of the horn section). There is a bit of "old school" jazz in this arrangement while the youngins' try to incorporate the innovations of the "new." The solos don't exactly blow me away but the looseness of the "rules of engagement" for all of the other instrumentalists I find very interesting--and enjoyable. Thank goodness for a veteran's openness to change and evolution. (17.5/20) 

B2. "Immaculate Deception" (4:12) This song feels fully committed to the mid-1970s despite the arrangements for the horn section sometimes harkening back to the late Sixties. The echo effect used on Bill Summers' congas and the Motown effects used on Lee Ritenour's rhythm guitar are so early Seventies! There is enough syncopation and shifting going on to prohibit this from slipping into any Smooth Jazz conformities but the signs of the pressures are there! (8.875/10)

B3. "Old Slippers" (5:59) a whole band (especially horn section) opening sets us up for something bordering on the Discofied Brass-Rock side of J-R F--like Earth, Wind & Fire. It's a little funky, a little Disco, a little Smooth Jazzy, a little Funk-Jazzy, and even interspersed by a few Power Fusion bars and flourishes (especially from George Duke's Chick Corea-like Latin/syncopated hits on his Fender Rhodes). The horns are great, the band leader's soloing is nice, and George Duke astonishes on all layers, it's just not a mind-blower nor ear candy delivery mechanism. (8.875/10)

Total time: 38:57

Just looking at that lineup of musicians Joe recruited for these recording sessions makes one very hopeful for some great, quality Jazz-Rock Fusion. 

88.50 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent display of the fusion of old school Brass Rock with early 70s Soul Jazz and the burgeoning trends arising in Disco and Adult Contemporary music.

April

MOOSE LOOSE Transition

An anomaly for the fact that Norwegian artists finding success on the global scale was not as common a phenomenon as it is in the 21st Century, Jazz-Rock Fusion combo Moose Loose add a violin to the ensemble for this, their sophomore studio album: an artist known as Trond Villa, who had been well established on the folk music scene in Sweden for several years. They've also seen a change in lineup with phenomenal drumming sensation Pål Thowsen having left, here being replaced by Espen Rud, and keyboardist Håkon Graf replacing former keyboard master Brynjulf Blix. The album was released by Vertigo Records on April 5, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jon Arild Eberson / guitar
- Håkon Graf / keyboards
- Pål Thorstensen / bass
- Espen Rud / drums
- Trond Villa / violin

1. "Funky Way" (8:19) a steady, somewhat funky song that definitely promotes newcomer Trond Villa, whose sound and playing style here sound remarkably like those of Jean-Luc Ponty. The rhythm section is still tight though the sound levels of the various instruments in the mix are a little out of balance. Guitarist Jon Arild Eberson stands up well, often going toe-to-toe or opposite the band's newcomer. (17.625/20)

2. "Trees" (10:25) a slow, melancholy melody is introduced on Trond's violin, soon joined by Jon Arild's gentle electric guitar arpeggios and then spacious bass and drums. In the third minute Trond's melody line is doubled and enriched by Håkon's electric piano and swirling organ. Beautiful. In the fourth minute, then, Trond steps out to allow for a transition into a bit of a slow funk from Pål and Espen beneath an  aggressive, percussive solo from Håkon's Corea-like piano. But then, at 4:40, Trond and Jon Arild return with their haunting guitar-supported melody--all the while you can tell that Espen is bursting to hold back, wanting to let loose and get more dynamic--which he begins to do a little more in the seventh minute. At 6:40, Håkon's swirling organ crescendos as a bridge to a new funk section with clavinet and funkier bass over which Trond solos with more vim and vigor on his electrified violin. He is soon replaced by Jon Arild's fiery electric guitar for a couple more minutes of funkiness. (It's really not very good funk: very simple and  ) Overall, I don't see how the two alternating motifs fit with one another: heart-piercing melancholy and fiery pseudo funk? (17.75/20)

3. "Ballad for My Little Girl" (1:56) feels like a variation on Trond's plaintive melody and style that made the previous song so powerful, only here he is supported by Håkon's piano instead of guitar. Filler? Is the band already so desperate for material in order to get to two 20-minute length sides? (4.25/5)

4. "Filet" (1:23) yet another slow, sappy violin melody (sounding to me like something coming out of a scene from a movie set in the old American Wild West) here supported by electric piano and a little acoustic guitar. It works as a practice/warmup for the next song. (4.375/5)

5. "White" (11:38) more odd, almost forced jazz-funk used to bolster up some fair but by-now-repetitive violin soloing. (Trond is no master at fiery dynamic violin play; he is more of a master of emotional melody.) Around the five-minute mark the band clears out for a spacious somber section in which the band just kind of mulls around (like some kind of In a Silent Way/Bitches Brew studio scene) while Trond and Jon Arild take turns trying to find something worth playing, some kind of inspiration, some kind of melody to possibly excite the audience with. Jon Arild's fire begins to show and catch on in the eighth and ninth minutes, elevating the performances of his cohorts nicely, but then his own inspiration and skill seem to peter out as mistakes and lulls and failures get in the way despite a growing intensity coming from the three rhythmatists (I include Håkon in this reference, of course). A bridge of dynamic showmanship at the ten minute mark signals the end of Jon Arild's time in the spotlight as well as the return of Trond. There are some good parts but as a whole this song just fails on so many levels. It even ends badly!(17.375/20)

6. "Graf" (5:01) finally a song that feels as if it's been thoroughly worked through--to the point at which every musicians' part has been thoroughly mapped out, as if each musician has been given meaningful purpose to every measure of their presence in the song. This is what I've been missing from this album's music: direction, purpose, and cohesion! While it's not a great song, it is a mature composition that has been attentively rendered. (9.125/10)

Total Time: 39:10

Despite the wonderful tones and melodies brought to the band from Trond Villa's violin, the music of Transition feels much less insistent, much less inspired and necessary than the fare the original band produced for their self-titled debut. That band was on a mission! This band feels as if they're trying to imitate or live up to the standard set by the first band (and album). Too bad! They really had such a good thing going! (And drummer Pål Thowsen really was a force!)

88.125 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a fairly nice collection of Jazz-Rock Fusion songs that could, in my opinion, almost all have used more work, more development, more commitment to fulfilling the potential of each and every musician throughout the course of each and every song. 

ALPHONSO JOHNSON Moonshadows

Long-time Weather Report bass player, this was Alphonso's debut studio album as a band leader after being replaced/pushed out of his former band by Jaco Pastorius. An album produced and shaped by Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer Narada Michael Walden--which means there will be many more infusions of pop and rock elements as well as a tendency to want to tell stories with each song. Recorded in California in January and February of 1976 at Wally Heider Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Sound Labs, Hollywood, with producer Skip Drinkwater in the driver's seat, Moonshadows was released by Epic Records in April. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Alphonso Johnson / bass, vocals, Chapman Stick

With:

- Narada Michael Walden / drums, keyboards, Producer, co-composer (8)
- Dawilli Gonga / keyboards, vocals

- Alejandro Acuna / percussion

And:

- Lee Ritenour / guitar (1, 3, 5-8)

- Bennie Maupin / reeds (1, 4, 6)

- Flora Purim / vocals (2, 5, 6, 8), co-composer (6)

- Airto Moreira / percussion (2, 5, 6)

- Gary Bartz / soprano saxophone (2)

- Chris Bond / guitar (3)

- David Amaro / guitar (3)
- Alphonse Mouzon / keyboards (Orchestron voice choir) (4)
- Blackbird McKnight / guitar (5)

- Patrice Rushen / keyboards (5)

- Ndugu Leon Chancler / drums (5)
- Ian Underwood / keyboards, synthesizer, programming (5, 6)

1. "Stump" (4:19) funk with a happy, upbeat, pop-orientation. (8.75/10)

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)

3. "Cosmoba Place" (6:18) definitely a very visual/cinematic multi-part song. Narada Michael Walden's drums are given a very different treatment here--slightly flanged or reverbed, I'm not sure what, but I like it! The song set up is part RTF part GENESIS and the bass play and Chris Bond's lead guitar work (similarly effected) are awesome. (8.75/10)

4. "Pandora's Box" (2:10) a gentle Alphonso Johnson composition that feels like a sonic and textural étude--projecting what angel music might sound like. (4.5/5)

5. "Up from the Cellar" (5:41) despite the dramatic and heavy opening wave, this song quickly establishes as a quirky funky early-Disco tune with lots of elements that will be further developed as the Disco and House music genres take root and blossom. Right now it's like a cross between The OHIO PLAYERS and EARTH, WIND AND FIRE or early Kool & The Gang. The wordless vocals are nice but it's Blackbyrd McKnight's rhythm guitar and Patrice Rushen's clavinet work that are the two instruments that really attract my attention. (8.875/10)

6. "Amarteifio" (4:48) beach waves and seagull song give this mellow opening a Lenny White Venusian Summer feel. The gentle play of Alphonso's double bass, Bennie Maupin's "distant" lyricon, Alex Acuña and Airto Moreiri's gently hypnotic percussion, the delicate picking of both acoustic and electric guitars, coupled with co-composer Flora Purim's gorgeous voice and bucolic words, as well as Dawilli Gonga's piano and keys and Ian Underwood's ARP 2600 synthesizer all work perfectly together to make this by far and away my favorite song on the album. (9.25/10)

7. "On the Case" (6:23) Alphonso tries to hook us in with a rather extended opening repetition of his bass riff but I find it kind of boring and not very melodic. It's his solo play during the fully established song that really impresses: yes, this guy's good! Nice drumming from Narada Michael Walden and electric piano work from Dawilly Gonga. Alphonoso's "electric guitar" [ChapmanStick] solo preceding that of Lee Ritenour is fresh and inventive. I'm not sure I like the carbon copy of the main song base being taken from Jeff Beck's "Freeway Jam" but here we are. (8.875/10)

8. "Unto Thine Own Self Be True" (5:14) this Narada Michael Walden composition's bombastic opening makes me think that I'm going to be hearing something from JOURNEY or FLEETWOOD MAC, but then it evolves into something different with Moog and harpsichord and piccolo bass and MiniMoog lead play, but there is a wave-like flow to the song, overall, that feels very Michael Walden-esque. (8.875/10)

Total Time 41:01

Pleasant and melodically pleasing as all Narada Michael Walden music is there is a certain flow and feel to it that is rather predictable and, thus, becomes familiar, even dull, to the listener despite all of Narada's sincere attempts to reach for music that stimulates a higher thinking and functioning for the human animal.

89.0 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent adventure in Third Phase Jazz-Rock Fusion from one of prog/fusion's premier bassists. 

MISSUS BEASTLY Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles

A reluctantly-recorded album (to satisfy contractual promises) presenting three of the members of the previous album's lineup from two years before, Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles was recorded in January of 1976 at Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik in Stuttgart (with the band producing) and then released by April Records on April 12, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Friedemann Josch / flute, sax
- Norbert Dömling / bass, percussion
- Jürgen Benz / sax, flute
- Butze Fischer / drums, percussion
- Burkard Schmidl / keyboards, vocals, percussion
Guest musicians:
- Roman Bunka / guitar
- Maria Archer / vocals
- Wolli Tümmler / sax
- Ömmes / congas
- Christian Burchard / vibes

1. "Miles All Along The Watchtower" (6:05) everybody jumps out of the gate bouncing along with Miles-Herbie-like pace and focus, creating a groove that presents drums, bass, and Fender Rhodes as each demanding our attention in every which way. Electric guitars and horns are there in the background but it's not until the fourth minute that the horns and guitar (and clavinet) begin to make their presences known. Great whole-band jam. (9.125/10)

2. "High Life" (4:41) a song that goes dragging, plodding along with a semi-Native American melody line until some Hatfield and the North-like female vocals from Maria Archer brighten things up. A new synth acquisition solos after Ms. Archer breaks from her second verse and thereafter on the back of the rhythm section. Very, very nice sound engineering creating a very full and rich sonic field: It's so pretty! (9/10)

3. "Morning Sun" (6:45) slow, funky attempt at more Miles Davis-like music. But unlike the band's previous album, there are no tempo changes! Cool big-room reverb gives this an extra-large feel--over which a very cool sax is played with adept muting skills (and maybe an effect or two). Meanwhile, the electric guitar and machine gun-effected drumming do their best to vie for our attention. But then everything quiets down at the end of the third minute so that guitarist Roman Bunka can play around with his wah-wah pedal. Then Christian Burchard is given the nod to solo on his vibes--which comes off as a bit odd and feeling forced (he's just a guest, after all, not part of the tightly-bound inner corps). In the sixth minute everything really quiets down as dirging sax and electric piano take us out on a mellow note. (13.25/15)

4. "Gurus For Sale" (5:15) keyboard rich (Fender Rhodes), bass-thick (heavily-treated fretless bass) RTF-like music with alto sax barely in the lead (not exactly mixed front and center). Again I am surprised at the album's compositional homogeneity after the patterns established by their previous album. Maybe, as has been suggested, they really weren't into the recording of this album. Norbert Dömling is, as ever, eminently listenable as he ventures around the totality of his fretboard under the guise of his heavily-effected bass. (8.75/10)

5. "La Plage De Patcha Menga" (5:19) now here is some j-r fuse with some heart and soul: energetic and spirited from start to finish--with special citation to conga player Ömnes and Northette-like b voxer Maria Archer. Definitely a beach that I'd hang out at! (9/10)

6. "Nothing Again" (10:02) more energetic, tightly played and interestingly-constructed jazz-rock fusion. Though the opening motif promises great dynamic things, the acoustic guitar solo in the second minute is played over a slowed down motif. Around 2:30 the band switches back into fourth gear for a nice cruise beneath the sunlight and wind of the saxophone. Great play from drummer Butze Fischer and, of course, bass player Norbert Dömling. Chaotic end to this section in the sixth minute leads into a spacey synth bridge that is gradually filled by a heavily-effected electric bass guitar solo and skeleton crew of congas, hi-hat play, and BRAIN AUGER-like three-chord repetition of Burkard Schmidl's Fender Rhodes. When Norbert's bass returns to rhythm and funk leadership, Burkard's right hand begins a very stylish and groovy solo reminding me even more of Brian Auger, but then at 9:15 everybody breaks back into the fast lane of a recapitulation of the opening motif. (18.5/20)

7. "Patscha Menga Underground" (3:40) flute-led funk from Friedemann Josch over bass and simple drum and percussion play. Sax, synth and flute carry the nearly-Oriental melody in the second minute before two airy flutes take over to carry us through the final 90 seconds. Interesting! Nice. (8.875/10)

8. "For Evi" (2:58) Burkard Schmidl's jazzy lounge piano from another era--or from a film--is joined by Norbert Dömling's sexy bass--both exploring their own intertwined melody lines as if dancing or in flight. Quite lovely--and very mature sounding. Definitely a favorite. (9.75/10)

Total Time: 44:45

90.79 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; another minor masterpiece of peak-level First Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion (bordering on Second Wave) and another European product that no J-RF lover should miss.

COLOSSEUM II Strange New Flesh

A band of some of Britain's finest prog rock musicians has its feet in rock, classic rock, and prog rock though they seem to be trying to exhibit their instrumental prowess as a power Jazz-Rock Fusion band. The official release date of the debut studio album by Colosseum II, entitled Strange New Flesh, was April 19, 1976. Released on Bronze Records, this album marked the beginning of the jazz-rock band led by Jon Hiseman and featuring guitarist Gary Moore.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mike Starrs / lead vocals
- Gary Moore / guitars, vocals
- Don Airey / Fender Rhodes, Steinway grand piano, ARP Odyssey, ARP Solina, Minimoog, Hammond organ, clavinet
- Neil Murray / bass
- Jon Hiseman / drums, percussion, timpani, gong, producer

1. "Dark Side of the Moog" (6:17) a song that has a bombastic, proggy side to it, probably thanks to composers and lead instrumentalists Gary Moore and Don Airy. I hear Patrick Moraz, Brand X, and Jan Hammer in this music: great musicianship but there's something a little off (forced) that is difficult to explain. (9/10)

2. "Down to You" (9:05) a cover of a Joni Mitchell song picked up by Gary Moore that Don Airey has amplified and embellished with his own Renaissance-like piano-and-acoustic-guitar mid-section. Mike Starrs' lead vocal gives it a Journey-like sound and feel though I hear some of Robert Plant's bluesyness in there as well. The overall sound palette and engineering style just feels more Prog Wannabe Classic Rock oriented than Jazz-Rock Fusion. (17.625/20)

3. "Gemini and Leo" (4:48) a song whose music feels more oriented to the funk sounds and styles of contemporary artists like Jan Hammer and Billy Cobham, but then Mike Starrs' Robert-Plant-like vocal enters and suddenly Gary Moore is a blues-rock guitarist. Don't get me wrong: There is great musicianship throughout (especially coming from drummer Jon Hiseman and funk keyboardist Don Airey), it's just that something feels a little too cringeworthy--as if we're hearing a kind of music that the Western World might (should) be rather embarrassed about. (8.75/10)

4. "Secret Places" (3:59) another song that feels cringeworthy: like a classic rock band covering a Bay City Rollers or Loverboy song. The bass, drums, and keyboard work are wonderful but the vocals and guitars are pure hair band rock. (8.6667/10)

5. "On Second Thoughts" (7:30) schlocky/syrupy electric piano supports a weird "muted" electric guitar sound soloing away for the first minute of this song before bass and drums enter to establish the slow, plaintive music to support Mike Starrs' Gino Vannelli/George Michael-like vocal on what feels like a take Norman Connors' "You Are My Starship" music. Great blues-proggy Classic Rock sound with pretty amazing super-nuanced musicianship from everyone involved--even Mike's multiple tracks. (13.5/15)

6. "Winds" (10:23) a song that comes across as something more akin to the music of GINO VANNELLI, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR or American band BABYLON when Mike Starrs is singing, more like some supergroup when it's instrumental. The musicianship is so high quality that you find yourself feeling that this must certainly be an all-star conglomeration of Jazz-Rock Fusion artists, must certainly be a consortium of Southern Rock celebrities, must certainly be the finest gathering of Classic Rock musicians ever collected on one stage, and yet it's Colosseum II! Then it finishes with a vocal-led motif that feels as if taken straight off of Matthew Parmenter's great power epic from Unfolded Like Staircase, "The Storm" (or, rather, as if MP lifted the motif from this album for the most dramatic part of his song "The Storm").  I find myself loving this song more for it's amazing musicianship and overall feel than I find myself cringing from its schlocky excessive bombast. (18.25/20)

Total Time 42:02

The band definitely has the dynamic high-energy Mahavishnu/RTF thing going on but keyboardist Don Airey gives them a definite foothold in the prog element as well. Mike Starrs, however, anchors the band in the bluesy classic rock traditions more attuned to Led Zeppelin, Styx, and Journey. This album can only qualify as Jazz-Rock Fusion based upon the outstanding skills and jazzy instincts displayed by the musicians, while it is really not J-R Fusion so much as bluesy Classic Rock--a choice that is made self-evident by the presence and support of the use of singer Mike Starrs as one of the band's main tools of expression. I must add that I firmly hold drummer Jon Hiseman in the absolute highest esteem and keyboard player Don Airy and guitarist Gary Moore are right there with him--as is bassist Neil Murray--and Mike Starrs is certainly as talented and skilled as, say, the great Gino Vannelli--but together they have a quite enigmatic even nebulous identity. 

89.167 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an album of absolute highest-class musicianship whose song presentations feel like hodge-podge pieces from different puzzles glued together almost haphazardly and with multiple and disparate goals in mind. Being exposed to this album is definitely one of the strangest listening experiences I've ever had in my lifetime!

May

LARRY YOUNG'S FUEL Spaceball

Another obscure album that I've only recently discovered from my favorite keyboard artist from the 1970s (Emergency!, Love Devotion Surrender, Venusian Summer) issues his second "Fuel" album. It was recorded in New York at Dick Charles Recording studio, early in the year, under the production of Terry Phillps, and then released to the public by Arista until May of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Larry Young / Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, piano, synths (MiniMoog, Freeman String), arrangements
With:
- Larry Coryell / performer
- Paula West / vocals
- Ray Gomez / guitar
- Danny Toan / guitar
- Julius Brockington / piano, MiniMoog, Hohner clavinet, arrangements
- Al Lockett / flute, tenor & soprano saxophones, vocals
- David Eubanks / bass
- Jim Allington / drums, percussion
- Abdoul Hakim / percussion
- Barrett Young / percussion
- José Farouk percussion
- Clifford Brown / percussion

1. "Moonwalk" (5:00) a funky jam that feels more Parliamentary and SANTANA-like than RTF--especially with the intermittent choral vocals. Larry's sound palette feels similar to some of the work on Lenny White's Venusian Summer--with Ray Gomez and Larry Coryell dueling in the background and he and Julius Brockington layering the front with their multiple keyboards. This leads to the big question of Who is Julius Brockington and why haven't we ever heard of him (before and since)? I love Larry's exploration of the sound possibilities of the low-ends of his instruments' sounds. (9.25/10)

2. "Startripper" (4:44) flowery music similar to something that would be backing Minnie Ripperton or even Steely Dan. I really like it--especially for the wonderfully playful work of the two keyboard players and rhythm and lead guitar work of Ray Gomez and Larry Coryell as well as the very engaging and melodic Latin-lite rhythm foundation. I love the presence and contribution of the flute. I love this song! It's like joy incarnate! (10/10)

3. "Sticky Wicket" (9:26) once again the listener finds itself in more of a funk/R&B range of bands like SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, PARLIAMENT, or even the AVERAGE WHITE BAND. Great performances from the drums, bass, Larry (Young), and Larry (Coryell). Not a big fan of the intermittent infusion of choral vocals to say "Sticky Wicket", but I do like the Stevie Wonder-like thickness and excellent interplay of all of the musicians. Who are these two: drummer Jim Allington and bassist David Eubanks? They're both really good! (17.875/20)

4. "Flytime" (4:50) a gentler but very much Parliamentarian funk infused with some AVERAGE WHITE BAND melodic sense. Again, I am so impressed with the cohesion of this lineup of musicians: they all seem so well-invested/attentive to Larry's charts (or intentions, if that was the case). (9/10)

5. "Spaceball" (5:07) with an introduction of male voices doing doggy "bow wow"s and Paula West performing her best quick orgasm vocal, and then the invitation to the "spaceball" party who could turn this one down?! Good funk. (8.66667/10)

6. "Message from Mars" (7:29) Solid, fully-formed, multi-level jazz rock fusion on the level of any of Chick Corea's RETURN TO FOREVER songs (and, I feel pretty sure, modeled after such). Great guitar work from both Ray Gomez and Larry Coryell as well as the organ, bass, drums and rhythm guitars. Really tightly performed. Who is Julius Brockington? Who is this David Eubanks? What ever happened to Jim Allington? (14.25/15)

7. "I'm Aware of You" (5:09) funky but not nearly as funk-oriented as much of the other stuff, this one has a more serious, true Jazz-Rock Fusion direction in its core--closer to Steely Dan than Parliament, Chicago than Stevie Wonder. Nice work from the horns and drums, though, once again, the entire band is so tight. How did they achieve this? Hours of practice or just good food and great comaraderie? (9/10)

Total Time 41:45

Throughout the entire listening to this album I kept wondering where Larry's band members came from and why I've never heard of any of these excellent musicians, but more, I kept thinking what a far superior album this is to any of Larry Coryell's Eleventh House efforts: the collaborative inputs and song compositions are way better across the board. Too bad Mr. Coryell couldn't have found more parties like the Fuel to participate in.

That Larry Young was allowed to imbue each and every one of his collaborators with such energy and fuel to perform at their most creative selves while still working within the team scape is something that comes through quite remarkable from every one of these songs: everybody was feeling the freedom and confidence to fly--and amazing is the job they did!

91.81 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a definite masterpiece somehow hidden in obscurity.

EDDIE HENDERSON Heritage

 

Co-opting the "Oakland sound" of Paul Jackson-Mike Clark--the rhythm section that Herbie Hancock had been using on his post Head Hunters Headhunters albums (Thrust and Man-Child)--is an indisputably brilliant idea. Add Patrice Rushen, Julian Priester, and Mtume and you have the formula for instant magic. The album was released by Blue Note Records on May 14, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- 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

Despite Eddie's tendency to "borrow" themes from other songs/artists in order to start/build his own songs, I cannot ignore the contributions to the progression of Jazz-Rock Fusion that Eddie Henderson and his collaborators have made. 

90.89 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion that falls into the category of early Smooth Jazz. 

MICHAL URBANIAK Body English

Undaunted at being dropped by Columbia Records, Michał moved across the street to Arista (who were into a big support mode for the new and popular Jazz-Rock Fusion/Jazz-Funk style of music--having concurrently made quite an investment in Austrian Hermann Szobel). Body English was the result of their first recording sessions (at Dick Charles Recording studio by Gene Paul and Les Paul, Jr.), being released on May 19, 1976. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / Violin, violin synthetizers, lyricon, farfisa organ, polymoog
- Urszula Dudziak / Vocal, percussion, synthesizer
- Harold Ivory Williams (MFSB, Miles Davis) / Keyboards
- Basil Farrington / Bass
- Joe Caro / Guitar
- Steve Jordan / Drums
- Bernard Kafka / Voice
- Earl Crusher Bennet / Congas

1. "New York Polka" (5:52) sounding less like a polka than a country-bluegrass jamboree or, with it's brief intro, something out of England's mediæval prog scene, this funk band lineup is solid, tight, as is the composition, with perhaps a little less effects used on Michał's violin. New drummer Steve Jordan holds his own and Harold Ivory Williams shines quite brightly--is highly creative--on his keys. Joe Caro impresses as well, crossing that bridge between jazz-rock and blues-rock with apparent ease. I guess it's really the "Robin Hood"-feeling reset bridge that's doing the most to keep steering me toward this country-bluegrass label; the rest is just pretty standard funk. (8.875/10)

 
2. "Afterglow" (1:38) a pretty interlude that somehow manages to sound very much like a full orchestra without the addition of a single extra to the basic lineup. Impressive! I guess with three band members playing the keys anything is possible! (4.5/5)

3. "Zad" (6:50) cool clavinet, bass, and other synthesized deep bass play gives this stop-and-go song a cool early-Disco feel and sound. Clearly Michał is hearing all the funky R&B that's reaching the radio stations and dance floors. Lyricon and Ula's smooth voice are quite often delivering the lead melodies on this one--except in the chorus and bridges. Though he is no Anthony Jackson, the solo by Basil Farrington in the fourth minute is pretty decent. (He's enjoying experimenting with Larry Graham's thumb hits and finger pluck-snaps). Ula's presence is felt more in the instrumental department as her vocalizations seem to be limited to solo-like appearances (5:00) or the afore-mentioned main melody deliveries. Steve Jordan really hits a Steve Gadd stride in that section beneath Ula's scat solo. Harold Williams' keys are so lush and filling that you practically don't notice they are there (but would sorely missed if they weren't--quite similar to Greg Phillanganes' work on Earl Klugh's Heartstring album from the same year.) An excellent song to keep you warm in the winter. (13.75/15)

4. "Sevenish" (6:43) a solid Jean-Luc Ponty-like slightly-medieval or bluegrass-infused opening turns into something more attuned with Joe Zawinul's WEATHER. REPORT--despite the military drumming and frequent reminders in the sound palette of Jean-Luc Ponty (coming not just from Michał's synthesized violin). Composed, performed, recorded and mixed really well. This one begs the question: Which came first: Jean-Luc Ponty's slide over into the lush side of synthizer-heavy jazz-funk or Michał Urbaniak's? Using this song as a determiner the chronology looks pretty similar. (9/10)

5. "Body English" (6:03) "Turn Me Loose" synth note and funky wah-effected bass play open this one before drums, congas, percussion, guitar, and other keyboards join in. The initial solo melody-carriers are, in fact, one-note percussive synthesizers. With its jazzified Disco foundations we have something on the novelty range like a combination of the instrumental radio hit, "Popcorn" with an Average White Band song and some Herbie Hancock pleasure candy, and yet it still has that solid core of perfectly-aligned funk masters in the rhythm section. I happen to like it quite a bit! It's very cute, melodic (borrrowing a bit from Diana Ross' version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), and memorable. (8.875/10) 

6. "Quintone" (2:33) synthesized violin, chorused bass chords, flange-wah-wahed rhythm guitar, and multiple keys present a very pensive melody and chord progression before settling into something soft and gentle in the second minute--with a heart-wrenching pop ballad melody. Simple but oh-so pretty! (9/10) 

7. "Lyricon" (6:58) another richly-textured BOB JAMES-like melodic Smooth Jazz adventure on which Michał displays some of his saxophone skill (doubled up with his violins) with his Lyricon (an electrified saxophone-like wind instrument that had been pioneered by L.A. session god and solo artists Tom Scott back in 1974). In Michał's hands, here, the Lyricon sounds like a synthesized flute. Nice Moog ("polymoog"?) solo in the fourth minute (Michał's?) I also hear a little Smooth-era Weather Report in the palette of this song. (8.875/10)

8. "Satin Lady" (5:49) It has become obvious by this point in the album that Arista had exerted quite some control on Michał's musical direction; Smooth Jazz and Steely Dan-like "Yacht Rock" were becoming all the rage and I'm sure the big record company wanted to see sales from their investments. At the same time this is a fine song, with some great violin playing, nice lead and support contributions from Ula (and male vocalist Bernard Kafka) over a very engaging easy listening BOB JAMES-like groove played to perfection by the band. It's just that Ula's presence leaves me longing for more as I know how talented she is and how integral she had been to all of Michałs previous albums. Plus, she'd just put out her second solo album (also on Arista)--and it is great! (I wonder if they were signed as a team or if Ula was given her own album as a promise to Michał--or even as a bargaining point--or as a test drive for this new band.) (9/10) 

9. "Zomar Land" (1:11) an excellent little bass and Ula show that packs so much into its brief time; it's like a mix of funk and the Carnatic Indian tradition of konnakol vocal percussion syllable singing. Cool! (4.75/5)

Total time: 43:37

I find little or no depreciation in the quality or skills on display in these compositions. Michał had worked with most of these musicians before and seems to really click with all of them. They aren't the "name" players that he had on the last two Columbia releases (including Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, John Abercrombie, and Larry Coryell) but these guys are all very, very good. Well-respected music reviewer Adam Baruch (blogpage "The Soundtrack of My Life" and "Jazzis" on rateyourmuisc.com) carries the opinion that Michal's best output ended with the end of his association with Columbia Records. This album is allowing me to realize that this is simply not true: this is a very good album! The weakness for me is in the bass: it's still amazing and perfectly funky and well-deserved in its leadership role within each song on the album, but after Michał's last album on which Anthony Jackson gives one of the most astonishingly innovative displays of future bass potentialities, poor Basil Farrington just can't compare. (No one could.)

89.56 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; another very high quality and amazingly-consistent collection of jazz-funk songs here displaying Michał's willingness to experiment with the new Disco and Easy Listening sides to Jazz-Funk and Jazz-Rock Fusion. A near-masterpiece of music however you spell it out. Highly recommended. 

THE ELEVENTH HOUSE Aspects

For some reason the timeline of Larry Coryell album releases (and recording dates) is jumbled due to his prodigious production output (three albums in 1975, three albums in 1976, two in 1977, four in 1978, two in 1979, and two in 1981). Aspects was reputedly recorded in early 1976 and then released by Arista Records in May. 

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)

3. "Pyramids" (5:21) some ISLEY BROTHERS/early KOOL AND THE GANG funk smooths out into some near-Disco stuff on this Mike Mandel composition. At 0:52 it then veers down a different road: somewhere in between the two. Lots of funk (even hand claps and slap-and-plucked bass!) and beneath Larry's bluesy guitar soloing. I'm a bit disappointed as I await some of his runs but only get blues scales and deeply bent notes in an almost BB King sound and style. (8.6667/10) 

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)

7. "Ain't This" (5:02) thick, chunky rolling bass from composer John Lee is sandwiched between multiple funky keys and rhythm guitar tracks before being covered by the horn section and Larry's loud guitar. Of all the sounds Larry's used on the album up to this point, this is my favorite: it's quite raunchy but clear, like something between Jeff Beck, Ernie Isley, Hiram Bullock, and Dickie Betts & Duane Allman. Those "in-between" tracks from clavinet, electric piano, and very active and "talkative" rhythm guitar are quite amusing--make me want to come back to listen again. The horns are sharp and well-arranged, John's bass solid and tethering throughout, and Larry's guitar is some of the most enjoyable (for me) on the album. A very well developed and realized song. (9.25/10)

8. "Aspects" (4:24) back to a kind of early Kool & The Gang R&B (think "Hollywood Swingin'"). At the one minute mark everyone kind of shifts into Drive but then they hit thick highway traffic and have to make accommodations. I like the funk-R&Bness of this syncopated section. But traffic clears and smooths out and the band starts cruisin' down the highway giving Randy Brecker, Larry (using a Jan Akkerman-like guitar voice), and Mike Mandel plenty of excuses to shout out their enthusiasm for the speed and open top convertible. Definitely a top three song. (9.33333/10)

Total Time 41:31

A lot of the music on this album took many listens in order to capture all of the layers of sophistication being conveyed--an occupation that I very much enjoyed (despite the fact that R&B funk is not as much my jam as much as Jazz-funk is). Though this album may not be quite as enjoyable as its predecessor, it may offer a more mature and fully-developed selection of songs to the listener than Level One.    

89.53 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of very tight, fully-formed R&B Funky Jazz-Rock Fusion.

McCOY TYNER Fly with the Wind

Recorded January 19-21, 1976, remixed, and mastered at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA. Released by Milestone Records in May of 1976.

Line-up/Musicians:

- McCoy Tyner / piano

- Ron Carter / double bass

- Billy Cobham / drums

- Hubert Laws / flute [alto], flutes

Conductor – William Fischer

- Daniel Kobialko / violin

- Edmund Weingart / violin 

- Frank Foster / violin

- Mark Volkert / violin (tracks: B2, B3)

- Myra Bucky / violin (tracks: A1 to B1)

- Peter Schafer / violin

- Stuart Canin / violin

- Daniel Yale / viola 

- Selwart Clarke / viola

- Kermit Moore / cello

- Sally Kell / cello

- Linda Wood / harp
- Raymond Dusté / oboe
- Paul Renzi / piccolo flute, flute

- Guilherme Franco / tambourine (A2)

A1. "Fly With The Wind" (8:27) a fine, orchestrated tune in which Billy Cobham's Phil Collins-like speed fills feel over-the-top, a criticism that I feel is something I have rarely (if ever) issued on Billy's behalf before. The song opens with cello, strings, and winds creating a pastoral cinematic backdrop for the rest of the band to build upon--something they begin to do in the second minute, proposing a melody line that feels like some variation(s) on some more famous lines from other songs/shows. In the third minute McCoy's leadership on his piano begins to drive the music into the upper echelons of the atmosphere as Billy and the rest try to keep up. McCoy's piano play feels so Chick Corea-like: so dynamic and so completely in the leadership role. After five or six minutes the orchestral inputs begin to overstay their welcome but we are luckily soon distracted by Hubert Laws' wonderful flute play and then some of Billy's (and Ron's) better drum work and McCoy's piano coming through the walls of sound. It is a bit disappointing how loudly the orchestra is allowed to be in the mix and how much McCoy and bassist Ron Carter seem to be drowned out.  I LOVE the bridge at 7:15 that seems as if it's going to start prepping us for the song's dénouement and demise. But then it comes to a surprising end with a fadeout! By the final minute I'm really tired of the repeating cinematic melody line carried by the orchestra from the start. (17.75/20)

  
A2. "Salvadore De Samba" (12:12) another great, uptempo, powerful fusion song with dynamic pacing and orchestral support (which confuses me at times for feeling like a different take on the previous song), only this time Ron and McCoy can be heard pretty well, Billy is off-the-charts amazing with his massive drumming and McCoy's dynamic piano riffing remind me of both Chick Corea and Don Pullen, two pianists that I've been familiar with for the majority of my lifetime (as opposed to McCoy, which whom I've only just become acquainted). The "re-start" at the end of the second minute is amazing--especially for the way it tightens and structures the band to make enough space for some awesome flute soloing by Hubert Laws. Awesome! Here Ron Carter really shines! The suggestive bridge by the strings players in the fifth minute (which obviously serve to notice Hubert that McCoy is ready to step into the spotlight) is awesome! Then McCoy's amazing piano work--in which he has me tricked (every time) that there are two piano tracks/players on tape here: his chords and fills are so full! The speed with which this song is being played reminds me of some of the iconic Return To Forever jams from Romantic Warrior: they're so good! And it just keeps going--McCoy keeps on driving the music/musicians on with his frantic Chick Corea-like play. How everyone following the charts can keep up and stay mostly synchronized is nothing short of astonishing. I love how the ninth minute allows for the lights to go down on the rest of the room while Ron and Billy entertain the house. They're both amazing--more for their symbiotic nature than one's skill over the other's (Billy is amazing). At the ten-minute mark the orchestra re-enters forcing Ron and Billy to bring their dueling duet to a close. The rest of the band re-ignites their considerable fires, here letting Hubert Laws in for some lead time--though this time the orchestra is following and backing him as Hubert responds to the quick shifts and turns of the sophisticated (Chick Corea-like) pattern being repeated by the rhythm section. (22.875/25)

B1. "Beyond The Sun" (5:31) opening with harp and then oboe, a very lovely melody helps create the feeling of either pre-sunrise dawn or post-sunset afterglow while Ron, Billy, the orchestra join in to back it. McCoy enters at the two-minute mark with some excellent Chick Corea-like panache, picking up the main melody and twisting and turning it in the most beautiful ways possible. The melodies and phrasings feel so familiar--as if drawn from some famous piece of Classical music: part Satie, part Debussy and Chopin, part Mahavishnu, Narada Michael Walden and Moody Blues. Gorgeous! I would not change one note! (10/10)

B2. "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" (6:42) there is a little Jean-Luc Ponty revolving theme in the bass lines and drumming here over which McCoy explodes with some fantastic frenzied piano playing while the orchestra does the kind of accent work in support that I love. Hubert gets a turn in the fourth and fifth minutes, confining the first half of his solo to the lowest ranges of his flute. As McCoy supports rather dynamically by throwing in his syncopated accents here and there I am again forced to bring out the Chick Corea comparisons. (I am beginning to comprehend why McCoy's name is mentioned with the same kind of reverence and awe that Chick's always receives.) (9/10)

B3. "Rolem" (5:42) opening with another weave of frenzied musicianship, top to bottom, I am amazed that Ron Carter and Billy Cobham can keep up: it just seems too fast for jazz musicians, even the best of them! The dextrous flow of piano notes coming out of McCoy's piano in the third and fourth minutes is nothing short of jaw-dropping and Billy's drumming seems to reflect this same awe and disbelief (as Ron seems to struggle to fit in or keep up with his upright bass walking lines. Even his solo in the fifth minute seems of a different speed and nature than the playing we were just hearing from McCoy--a speed and that seemed to drive the song despite Ron's lagging slightly behind. (9.25/10) (The rating would have been higher had Ron's bass playing felt more fitting.)

Total Time: 38:56

Some fine theatric song arrangements for jazz combo and small orchestra, which is an avenue of Jazz-Rock Fusion that I like and wish there were more of but, here, I'm feeling After hearing this album I can't help but wonder how much McCoy and Chick Corea knew of each other's work--if there was a kind of mutual admiration/competition going on between them--and wondering how much the two were inspired and/or motivated by the other. It feels so foreign for me to come up with criticisms of shortcomings of the musicianship of Billy Cobham and/or Ron Carter but I felt them here: there are times when their choices or their pacing feels incongruous with that being established by the band leader and the orchestral inputs.

Another odd occurrence that hangs with me as I listen to this album for the third and fourth times is how there is an almost-monotonous "sameness" to the songs that make up the overall album: as if the composer and band leader have one or two rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic "tricks" to play with instead of a broad spectrum of ideas and styles. I mean this as no disrespect--especially since these represent some of what seem to me as the most difficult compositions I've heard trying to be rendered by humans in real time--but, perhaps they could've used a few more practice run throughs before putting it all to tape. 

91.83 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of amazing piano-led Jazz-Rock Fusion.

STEELY DAN The Royal Scam

Though I consider the band to be progressing with this album (from 1975's Katy Lied toward 1977's Aja), this album never really connects with me like Can't Buy a Thrill, Pretzel Logic, or Aja--this despite the album's opener, "Kid Charlemagne" its closer, "The Royal Scam," being two of my favorite Dan songs of all-time. The sound here is great, much better than their first three albums, but their reliance on lyrical content is too great and not enough room given to inputs from the amazing lineup of highly-accomplished studio jazz musicians. The Royal Scam was released by ABC Records on may 31, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Donald Fagen / lead & backing vocals, keyboards, horn arrangements
- Walter Becker / bass, guitar, horn arrangements
With:
- Denny Dias / guitar
- Larry Carlton / guitar
- Dean Parks / guitar
- Elliott Randall / guitar
- Paul Griffin / keyboards, vocals
- Don Grolnick / keyboards
- Bob Findley / trumpet, horn arrangements
- Chuck Findley / trumpet
- Jim Horn / saxophone
- Plas Johnson / saxophone
- John Klemmer / tenor saxophone (2 solo)
- Richard Hyde / trombone
- Chuck Rainey / bass
- Rick Marotta / drums
- Bernard Purdie / drums
- Gary Coleman / percussion
- Victor Feldman / percussion, keyboards
- Timothy B. Schmit / backing vocals
- Venetta Fields / backing vocals
- Clydie King / backing vocals
- Sherlie Matthews / backing vocals
- Michael McDonald / backing vocals

Five star songs: "Kid Charlemagne" and "The Royal Scam."

Four star songs: "The Fez"; "The Caves of Altamira"; "Sign in Stranger", and; "Haitian Divorce".

A 3.5 star album rated down for lack of jazzy- or proggy-ness.

June

BRAND X Unorthodox Behaviour

The debut album from Britain's answer to Return To Forever. The album was recorded at Trident Studios in London in September and October of 1975 and then released by Charisma (UK) and Passport (US) on June 18, 1976. 

Line-up / Musicians:

- John Goodsall / electric, acoustic (7) & 12-string acoustic (2) guitars
- Robin Lumley / piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Moog
- Percy Jones / fretless bass, marimba (5), acoustic bass (7)
- Phil Collins / drums, percussion, tambourine, vibes (2)
With:
- Jack Lancaster / soprano saxophone (7)

1. "Nuclear Burn" (6:20) Percy Jones inimitable fretless bass couples up with Phil Collins' extraordinary jazz drumming and Robin Lumley's tempering Fender Rhodes to lay down the foundations for John Goodsall's explosive John McLaughlin-like guitar shredding. Yet it's Robin's Moog that takes the first official solo--two minutes into the song. Phil takes Robin's fiery solo as a challenge and ups his chops to "duel" Robin before the John returns to recapitulate the main theme. Then things get really crazy as everybody tries sledding down the mountain together, barely keeping their balance and unity. Another main theme repeats before the upper end instruments quiet down so that Percy and Phil can really show their stuff. Amazing! Yes, it's all a show of "We can do Return To Forever, too" machismo, but it works: they do not fail to match all of the fire and skill, top to bottom, and even manage to show a little of their own uniquity along the way. (9.5/10)

2. "Euthanasia Waltz" (5:39) great 12-string acoustic guitar chords open and modulate the song while the dynamics shift according to which instrumentalist they wish to showcase. Percy and Phil impress the most, up front, but underneath it all both John and Robin impress as well. (9.125/10)

3. "Born Ugly" (8:13) a journey into mega-funk with the amazing Percy Jones leading the charge. (We KNOW he can play the funk from his sessions with Brian Eno.) The other boys in the band may just have a touch too much white in them to keep up with the Joneses, but they do put together an impressive and fairly enjoyable song. Robin Lumley's keyboard work is particularly interesting. Also, the in the dreamy middle section is very cool for its latent potentialities--as well as for the awesome Larry Coryell-like guitar shredding that rises out of it. You can certainly get the feeling that the four musicians are definitely putting their all into the creation and performance of this music--and Phil does finally get into his full funkiness with the final third of the song. (13.375/15)

4. "Smacks of Euphoric Hysteria" (4:26) melodically and structurally this one might just be a little too close/imitative of Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, and Al Di Meola's collaborations, but it stands up well side by side with the band that they are doppelganging. (9/10)

5. "Unorthodox Behaviour" (8:25) using band-mate Bill Bruford's snare sound can be advantageous, thinks Phil Collins, as he and Percy "Alphonso Pastorius" Jones play "straight men" to the quirky idiosyncratic play of the other two (as well as Phil's track on the vibes and Percy's on the marimba). A little too much playful experimentation might be good for practice, but for a studio album we like to have more meat and potatoes. (17.5/20)

6. "Running on Three" (4:37) fast paced with some solid rock forms and styllings (often reminding me of THIN LIZZY with the twin playing of John's guitar and Robin's keyboard). Phil is an animal on this one--making me totally think I'm listening to Lenny White--and Percy gets to run fast melodic à la Doug Rauch, while Robin settles into some excellent Chick Corea-like support work on the Fender as John's guitar plays some awesome Ray Gomez-Doug Rodrigues-like guitar leads. Wow! These guys can play! (9.33333/10)

7. "Touch Wood" (3:03) now for the acoustic side à la "Romantic Warrior": blazing acoustic guitar ceaselessly running, bowed acoustic bass and Danny Thompson-like stand-up with nimble piano riffing and acoustic guitar strumming with a little bit of Jack Lancaster's soprano saxophone before fading out. Interesting! I am most impressed by the instrumental sounds I hear that I rarely ever get to hear from these particular musicians. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 40:43

There is no place for fluff or tame/smooth jazz here as this band launches with every intention of proving themselves to belong in the same conversations with RTF, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Eleventh House, Nucleus, Tony Williams and Billy Cobham. Listening to this album makes one wonder how Percy Jones and Phils Collins aren't in the general discussions of the greatest jazz musicians of their respective instruments.

90.10 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of imitative high-powered jazz rock fusion; definitely an album every prog lover should own.

AL DI MEOLA Land of the Midnight Sun

Guitar phenom Al Di Meola's debut album as a bandleader. The album was recorded in July and August of 1975 at CBS' Electric Lady studios in New York and Patrick Gleeson's Different Fur studio in San Francisco and then released on June 20, 1976 by Columbia Records.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Al DiMeola / 6- and 12-string electric & acoustic guitars, synth & chimes (4), gong (6), vocals (4), arranger & producer
With:
- Mingo Lewis / keyboards (1), percussion (1,2,4,5)
- Barry Miles / electric piano & Mini Moog (2,5)
- Chick Corea / piano & marimba (6)
- Anthony Jackson / bass (1,2)
- Jaco Pastorius / bass guitar (5)
- Stanley Clarke / bass & vocals (4)
- Steve Gadd / drums (1)
- Lenny White / drums (2)
- Alphonse Mouzon / drums (5)
- Patty Buyukas / vocals (4)

1. "The Wizard" (6:46) a song that is forever burned into me brain for the way it blew me away upon first hearing it in 1976. Now, almost 50 years later it still stands up well: for both freshness in sound and power and proficiency as a strong composition. Nice drumming from Steve Gadd but even better percussion work from Mingo Lewis. Great build-up to the five-minute mark but then the crescendo and dénouement don't really live up to the hype until the very end. (14/15)

2. "Land of the Midnight Sun" (9:10) a great whole band groove with great starting melody coming from Al's smooth electric guitar, but then at the 0:45 mark we start the stop and staccato punching that Al becomes so known for before recapitulating the opening theme for the second verse. His playing is so clean and crisp! At 2:03 there is a motif switch into a gorgeous little Latin swing dance piece over which Al's muted soloing and Barry Miles' MiniMoog trade solo shots back and forth three rounds before moving into the stop and staccato punching for some Mingo Lewis conga display. Then we move into a different-key variation of the opening melody, another staccato divertimenti this time extended with some serious lead guitar and backing electric piano. Al does what Al Di does best at 6:20, soaring to Icarus' heights. The motif goes on just a bit too long before finally showing teasing signs of coming out in the final minute. Masterfully done! (18.75/20)

3. "Sarabande from Violin Sonata in B Minor" (1:20) a nice little display of classical feel and restraint for Al on this Bach piece. (4.75/5)

4. "Love Theme from 'Pictures of the Sea'" (2:25) obviously an excerpt from something else Al and company were recording that he liked but not enough to rework or re-record the piece in its entirety. Al's first display of his vocal talents (with Patty Buyukas and axe-buddy Stanley Clarke). It's nice, innocuous with nothing to really fault. (4.5/5)

5. "Suite - Golden Dawn" (9:49) a suite that is sometimes challenging to find connections between the parts, but the sum is nice. All in all it's good but not great (except for the work from the rhythm section). (17.75/20):
- a. "Morning Fire" (1:15) opens sounding like Todd Rundgren's "Utopia Theme" only a little more refined.
- b. "Calmer Of The Tempests" (1:11) a gentle tropical breeze from Mahavishnu land.
- c. "From Ocean To The Clouds" (7:18) a funk-rock piece with liberal percussion and Alphonse Mouzon on drums. Nice trade offs in the duel between Al and Barry Miles' MiniMoog.

6. "Short Tales of the Black Forest" (5:41) an all-acoustic duet between Al and Chick Corea. Makes you comprehend how much of the RTF stuff comes from the keyboard maestro. Still, Al excels at playing with and off of other masters--filling those spaces with his magical flourishes and trilling runs. Chick's piano is recorded a little too far back--as if it's only Al's guitar that's getting mic-ed and all of Chick's piano sound is only being recorded by the grace of what Al's mic can pick up. (9.25/10)

Total Time: 35:11

The impressive debut album from prodigious guitarist Al Di Meola, fresh off of his first three albums with Chick Corea's Return to Forever project. While Al had undoubtedly the pick of the jazz and jazz-fusion worlds from which to use as his studio musicians on he could easily have just used all of his RTF band mates to display his singular compositional ideas. But his did not. While Chick, Stanley and Lenny all made contributions to Land of The Midnight Sun, Al also employed the support of such stalwarts as bassist Anthony Jackson and Jaco Pastorius, drummers Steve Gadd and Alphonze Mouzon, and keyboardist Barry Miles. As was becoming known throughout the music world at the time, a musician had to be highly proficient bordering on virtuosic to hang with Al; what would become evident in the years to come was that there were other challenges to working with the demanding, self-absorbed maestro. While Midnight Sun does not stand up as well as Elegant Gypsy or some other later Al Di releases (I rarely listen to it, choosing 1977's Elegant Gypsy, 1978's Casino, or his 1980s releases over it), it represents an incredibly impressive display of instrumental and compositional skills though I feel a slightly cold arrogance creating some distance between the music and me, the listener. It's hard to argue with Al's virtuosity; the issue, as the years will bear out, is with his ability to engage his audience with something more than his skill and prowess.

4/20/24 addendum: With all the grief over Al's "soul-less" technicality, I have to say that I disagree: there is plenty of heart and emotion here, even in those blistering runs. The true test, for me, is the feel the listener gains from listening to the artist perform on an acoustic instrument and on Land of the Midnight Sun I think Mr. Di Meola accounts for himself in spades.

92.0 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of multi-dimensional Jazz-Rock Fusion--a rather brilliant display for one's first foray!

IL BARICENTRO Sconcerto

Il Baricentro was an Italian band from Bari whose previous incarnation was FESTA MOBILE. Their album Sconcerto was recorded in Roma in December or 1975 and January of 1976 at Chantalain Studio and then released later in 1976 by EMI Records.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Francesco Boccuzzi / keyboards, guitars, percussion
- Vanni Boccuzzi / keyboards, percussion
- Tonio Napolitano / bass, percussion
- Piero Mangini / drums, percussion

1. "Sconcerto" (4:58) using a sound and instrumental palette that definitely comes from the more electronically-enhanced Third Wave of Jazz-Rock Fusion, the band jumps right into a smoother RETURN TO FOREVER-like groove grounded in some nice funky bass and clavinet with solid near-Disco fusion drumming. The Fender Rhodes solo in the third is quite good, reminding me a bit of the work of both DONALD FAGEN and JOE SAMPLE. I love the use of harpsichord in the latter half but the highlight for me is definitely the bass. (9/10)

 
2. "Lido Bianco" (10:04) the longest song on the album, it starts out with some pastoral/faerie synth sounds and wind chime like percussion before synth and harpsichord-like synth bring in chords and melody. Piano and a whole host of other keyboard sounds take over in the third minute. At the three-minute mark the drums and bass slowly, almost trepidatiously enter, slowly establishing a somewhat Billy Preston-like synthetic funk over which a Casiotone-sounding synth solos. This goes on for a couple minutes before the band eschews this motif for a more pregnant military one over which fluid piano and more deliberate synth solo in different channels at the same time (the piano more in the background). At the very end of the sixth minute the rhythm section and guitarist show signs of wanting to break into something more power-oriented. A minute later, they kind of convince the rest to do so but then it is sidetracked by an insistence to chaos and cacophony--which sets the band up for a reset. The new motif is more pensive and deliberate with cinematic melody and undertones. Overall, the song is nothing to really write home about--and made less so by the almost-cheesy synth and keyboard sounds employed (not to mention the poor sound rendering of such). (17.25/20)

3. "Meridioni E Paralleli" (6:15) pregnant jazzy-prog with some CAMEL-, SPYRO GYRA-, and PASSPORT-like instrument sounds and melody-making. It's nice but it's definitely more Smooth Jazz than Jazz Fusion. (8.875/10)

4. "Afka" (6:11) funky clavinet opens this with drummer and percussionist trying to make something of the odd syncopation being elicited from the keyboard lead. Eventually it all begins to make sense, everybody gets in line, to provide a rather fascinating and fun percussive event. Fender Rhodes adds its chords and flourishes to the fore and we have a nicely-filled song over which solos can occur. The first one is a lyricon (Tom Scott)-sounding synth. The song really grows on you despite the fact that it feels like it should be the theme song to some 1970s television show. Plus, the sound engineering on this is wonderfully done. (9/10)

5. "Pietre Di Luna" (4:29) rich and warm keyboard play from both Boccuzzi brothers at the some time. (It sounds MIDI-ed but I don't think MIDI was a thing back then). The song forms and twists and turns--especially dynamically--giving it a kind of BOB JAMES feel: at times melodic and pretty, at others jazz-like. I like the way this band uses (and is fond of) syncopation. (8.75/10)

6. "Della Venis" (4:16) another gentle, melodic, and smooth electric piano intro (recorded in a very dated sounding mute effect) is soon joined by second keyboard playing a smooth-horn-like synth, interweaving with the increasingly active Stevie Wonder/Joe Vannelli-like keyboard play of the other brother. Some cymbal play from drummer Piero Mangini is the only other contribution to this rather pretty, almost gut-wrenching song. The future of some New Age music makers? (8.875/10)

7. "Comunque... (Todo Modo)" (5:27) bass and clavinet team up with Fender Rhodes and drums to debut a more rockin' funk piece--one that goes the way of quirk and pop-sentiments the further the song travels.  More impressive and whimsical keyboard play from the piano player while the other brother sticks to his Smooth Jazz Fender Rhodes. Bassist Tonio Napolitano gets some well-deserved time in the spotlight in the fourth and fifth minutes before settling into a heavy funk-disco pattern for the final motif. Interesting but a little too loose and uncentered to be believed. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 41:40

One of the Boccuzzi brothers (Francesco) is listed as the guitar player, but this album is really dominated by the two acting as keyboard players--something they do very well, very beautifully.

88.125 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice addition of Fourth Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion to the prog lover's music collection. If you're not a fan of Smooth Jazz, you may not be inclined to like this one more than as elevator music. 

JANNE SCHAFFER Katharsis

Swedish guitarist extraordinaire's third album release as a bandleader and principle composer, Katharsis was recorded at Marcus Music (London) & Europa Film Studios in Stockholm, Sweden between December 1975 and March 1976 and released by CBS Records, probably in the Summer.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Janne Schaffer / guitars [electric & acoustic], Talkbox; composer & producer

- Stefan Brolund / bass (A1, A2.a, A2.b, B1, B3, B4), acoustic bass (B2, B5) 
- Malando Gassama / drums (A1, B1 B3, B4), whistle (A1), congas (A1, A2.a), percussion (B3)

- Björn J:Son Lindh / electric piano (A2.a, A2.b), clavinet (A2.a, A2.b, ), piano (B1), flute (B2)

With:

- John "Rabbit" Bundrick / electric piano (A1), clavinet (A1)

- Peter Sundell / drums (A2.a, A2.b, A3)

- Matz Nilsson / bass (A3)

- Lars Jansson / clavinet (A3), electric piano (B3)

- Lennart Åberg / saxophone [soprano] (A3)

- Mats Glenngård / electric violin (B1)

- Lars Beijbom / drums (B2)

A1. "Bromma Struttin'" (5:30) opening with an easy-going American Southern Rock feel, the entry of Janne's tracks as soloist offer a glimpse at the rock virtuosity this man possesses as well as his amazing vision for song construction (multi-layering, multi-tracking). There are guitar skills on display that conjure up comparisons to the greatest of American Southern Rock guitarists: like Dickey Betts and Duane Allman; Roy Buchanan; Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, and Gaines (Lynyrd Skynyrd); Tommy Crain (Charlie Daniels Band), Toy Caldwell (The Marshall Tucker Band), Derek Trucks, and Barry Bailey (The Atlanta Rhythm Section)--and then he'll slide into some amazingly nuanced, dextrous, and creative volume-control note play and then talk box playing à la Joe Walsh or Peter Frampton! And then he finishes with some awesome Roy Buchanan-like work! Amazing. (9.25/10)

A2. "Strumpan Suite" (9:28) (18.75/20)

     a. "Allegro" - some power fusion, Funk-Jazz (grâce à the clavinet) and pop music blended perfectly together--until the third minute when Janne moves into some pure Jeff Beck territory followed by some legato playing that reminds me very, very much of Dutch virtuoso Jan Akkerman (which spawns yet again the question: who came first: Janne or Jan?). Well into the fifth minute this latter style pervades before some temporary divergence. Did I mention the amazing work of the clavinet, bass and drum players? There incredibly tight and creatively-nuanced performances are so polished and pristine that one can only gush words like "virtuosic" and "consummate professional" at them.

      b. "Adagio" - The "Adagio" section begins with a rather sudden stop and pause at 5:55 and then picks up with a surprisingly dramatic shift into that which feels like a totally different song (but does, in fact, carry forward some of the melodic and chordal sense of the previous section, only slowed down and spaced out rather dramatically). Janne's guitar soloing in this section is far more similar to the amazing sound manipulations of Roy Buchanan that Mr. Beck (though the two are in the same fraternity). I'm not sure I concur with the tying of these two songs into one--as a suite--so distinct are the two, but here we have it. 

A3. "Den Blå Porten" (7:09) throughout the course of this great song I keep hearing what I think is the work of Shakti-John McLaughlin, violinist Shankar, and Jan Hammer! (Nice work keyboardists!) The Power Fusion influences are also fairly strong as are those of Funk-Jazz as Janne leads a parade of virtuosic performers with his Jeff Beck, Lee Ritenour, and super-Jan Akkerman skills and nuances. Big shout out to Lennart Åberg for some awesome soprano sax work in the third and fourth minutes, but whoever is playing the clavinet and percussion in the fourth minute is doing the work of magicians! Janne's soloing in the final third sounds more like the work of a combination of studio maestro Larry Carlton and Jeff Beck but then the music switches up to a slower funk/R&B motif for final 90 seconds, over which Janne continues his rock emanations. (14.125/15)

  
B1. "Dimbaa Jullow" (5:04) this one gives me strong vibes of early "classic" (1976-83) Jean-Luc Ponty as Mats Glenngård's electric violin leads the way, pairing up with Janne's guitar to provide the Power Fusion melody lines for the first 90 seconds before being giving the first lead solo. The heavy-reverb and delay effects being employed on Mats' violin is so similar to those used on Ponty's! At 2:35 it's Janne's turn and this time he's pumping out shredded legato lines with the style and tone usually attributed to Neal Schon/Steve Lukather. Did I mention the amazing job Janne's rhythm corps is doing throughout this?! The drummer is especially awesome (whomever it is: Lars or Peter). Powerful song! (9.333/10)

B2. "Ramsa" (2:37) the influence of World Music is here felt very strongly (even though the idiom has not been very well developed outside of bands like Jeremy Steig, Oregon, Paul Winter Consort and the East-infatuated Kosmische Musik bands from Germania) (even though there is a little Crosby, Stills & Nash feel to parts of this). The uncredited flutist (Lennart Åberg?) and Janne on his acoustic guitar garner a lot of my attention on this one. (9.25/10)

B3. "Atlanta Inn 2419" (8:37) this one blows away anything Steely Dan or any American pop-rock or Pop-jazz band ever did. Like "Hey Nineteen" or "I.G.Y." with more to say! (and Janne is years ahead of those L.A./West Coast trends). The music's pensive funk foundation has the feel of a search and find soundtrack passage television police drama or Blaxploitation film while Janne's searing electric guitar is expressing the persona of the motivated private detective. During the electric piano solo in the sixth minute Janne can be heard playing around in the background with his guitar's talk box effect. Man! These musicians are so talented: so on point! You could/would never know they weren't L.A.s finest or New York's baddest! At 6:54 there is a return to Janne taking the lead with his West Coast touch and emotion (like the great Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Danny Kortchmar, Lee Ritenour, Tommy Tedesco, or even Eric Gale or Jay Berliner. Just a great song to have playing in your house at any time! (19.5/20)

B4. "Den Röda Porten" (4:20) twangy guitars, multiple, played within a weave of bass, percussion, and drums eventually come together behind a Jan Hammer/Mahavishnu Orchestra-like melody line but it's not until 1:10 that things have congealed enough for anyone to go off on a solo--and Janne does, using each of his three tracks--each with their own twangy Southern Rock/West Coast style to weave a charming little Joe Walsh or Player type of weave. In the fourth minute one of Janne's guitars breaks off into something more akin to a classic rock guitarist from The Outlaws, James Gang, or Buffalo Springfield. The song is faded out at the end, connoting a longer jam that went on and on. It's good--with excellent performances across the board (of course) but not my favorite kind of music. (8.875/10)

B5."Skogsstjärnan (Hymn)" (2:07) acoustic guitar (steel stringed) with bass and second (and possibly third) acoustic guitars strumming occasionally into a field of reverb as Janne holds the spotlight as if he were Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, or Al Di Meola. Excellent and totally virtuosic. I think Janne has even managed to sneak some Rodrigo "Concierto de Aranjuez" (and John McLaughlin?) references in there. (4.875/5)

Total time: 42:52

I don't know why I so errantly (and consistently) feel surprised whenever I hear sounds and musicianship equal to if not better than those of the Anglo-American world that I grew up hearing. Beyond the Jeff-Beck-, Roy Buchanan-, and Lee Ritenour-like virtuosity of Janne, there are amazing skills being displayed in many of the individual instrumental performances throughout this album: the basses, the keyboards, the drumming, violin, percussionists, even the saxophone performances here are so skilled, idiosyncratic, and creative that they become noticeable each in their own right--often so markedly so that I am totally distracted from the whole of the music going on and find myself going back, time after time, to try to hear and appreciate the whole. I can quite soberly state that I don't think I've ever heard an album of more skillful and individually-creative performances in my life. Ever! With this album Janne Schaffer has firmly secured his position as one of the greatest guitarists I've ever heard: somewhere between John McLaughlin and Jeff Beck. (Alien/not-from-this-planet Allan Holdsworth doesn't count.)

I don't now why I get so siloed into forgetting the influence that mainstream radio/pop music hits have on Jazz, Jazz-Rock, and Fusion artists, but with this album I am reminded often that artists (like Janne) draw inspiration from other more famous songs.

93.96 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a fully-certified masterpiece of Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion of the very highest quality. I don't know if I've ever heard a better much less more complete instrumental Jazz-Rock Fusion album from a guitarist ever!


July

SECRET OYSTER Straight to the Krakenhaus

The former Burnin' Red Ivanhoe and Hurdy Gurdy members' fourth album as Secret Oyster was released in July of 1976 despite having been recorded in the Autumn of 1975 (except for "Lindance" which was recorded in 1974). I suppose this delay might have something to do with the tapes having to be sent by snail mail across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City where they were mixed down into their final sound format (and then having to be returned to Denmark for pressing and distribution). 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Claus Bøhling / guitar
- Kenneth Knudsen / keyboards
- Karsten Vogel / saxophone
- Jess Staehr / bass
- Ole Streenberg / drums
With:
- Kasper Winding / percussion (2)

1. "Lindance" (1:14) What a great intro! This band obviously wants the listener to be prepared for some powerful, sophisticated music! (Let's hope they live up to the hype the just pulled off.) (5/5)

2. "Straight to the Krankenhaus" (2:50) funky and quirky with some awesome percussion, sax, clavinet and synth strings and guitar work, the song almost feels like one of those novelty sensations that Herbie Hancock or Eumir Deodato might surprise the world with. The frenetic pace helps the band's sense of fun/enjoyment come shining through. (9.333/10)

3. "My Second Hand Rose" (4:18) smooth yet-unusual saxophone opens this one with some sensitive gentility, but then the thick-bass and hard-banging drums join in to propel it into the kind of bombastic medium that prog and even classic rock are all about. I keep expecting vocals in this ballad-like structure but it's all sax and effected lead guitar that lead the way up top. Though the sax feels more in the domain of shlocky players like David Sanborn and Kenny G, the guitar is more akin to something one might hear from Player or Journey. Overall, however, the song doesn't really work for me: the dichotomy of the two styles (heavy, thick, murky classic rock and David Sanborn/Hall & Oates like pop shlock) feel at odds or inappropriately matched. Plus, the synth strings are too second rate. (8.6667/10)

4. "High Luminant Silver Patters" (5:38) some more interesting Deodato-like pop fusion that is structured a bit too simplistically--and which, unfortunately, is dominated through the first half by overly-sustained synth strings chords that are too-prominent, too-loud, and, as I said before, feeling "second rate." The guitar work is pretty good though nothing to write home about. The keyboardist's ability to tandemly match Claus' guitar work is admirable--even more so when his multiple keys take over for the guitar toward the song's end. An okay song. (8.75/10)  

5. "Delveaux" (7:57) pulsating bass, background synth strings washes provide the backdrop for sensitive electric guitar note play while Kenneth Knudsen takes off on his MiniMoog with some soloing for the first two minutes. After that the pulsating bass and strings background remains to support Karsten Vogel's saxophone meanderings--which are soon joined by Claus' continued sensitive guitar note play. Everybody kind of congeals to recite and support the main melody at 3:45 together. This is nice. And it unveils some really nice, emotional guitar soloing thereafter while Kenneth's electric piano support excels (and fits much better than the strings and MiniMoog). Around 5:25 the ensemble returns to another round of whole-group recapitulation of the main melody line and then allow for a return of Kenneth's MiniMoog in tandem with Claus' continued plaintive guitar note play. Not a particularly sophisticated tune but one that is constructed well so that the individual soloists have ample space and time to express themselves fully--in both feeling and skill. (13.5/15)  

6. "Stalled Angel" (3:57) built around a funked-up blues-rock structure, this one offers more shine time for Kenneth Knudsen's wide variety of keyboard sounds. Lots of rich, meaty, and easily-engaged melodies and chords, the song has an easy accessibility that is not unlike that of a lot of the music that came from the British band CAMEL. (8.875/10)

7. "Rubber Star" (4:18) yet another simple, almost Smooth Jazz soft ballad-like music--the kind that the world will become more familiar with through artists like Bob James, Kenny G, Narada Michael Walden, Camel, and even Weather Report. It's very pretty, almost symphonic but also almost Quiet Storm Late Night Adult-Oriented Rock. (8.875/10) 

8. "Traffic & Elephants" (6:11) built over an ascending four chord progression and a train-like drum pattern there is some nice instrumental work and whole-band coordination here to support Karsten's sensitive yet impassioned saxophone work. I love how the song feels as if it just keeps building and building as the intensity (and individual and collective volumes) grow--seeming to egg Karsten on to more daring displays of emotional intensity. The guitar and electric piano arpeggi are essential but the loud high-end strings do not seem so--could, in fact, be diminished or eliminated, in my opinion. Still, a kind of cool study and/or collective exercise. (9/10)

9. "Leda & the Dog" (5:51) ioening with some ominous guitar, bass, and keyboard arpeggiations that seem to conjure up shades of The Mahavishnu Orchestra (as well as Al Di Meola-era Return To Forever)--even bringing in some of the Weather Report's Zawinul effect with Kenneth's MiniMoog play--but the weave is so perfect, so balanced and convincing in its mood dictation that I can't help but love this. (But then, I am a true lover of the Power Fusion realms of the Jazz-Rock Fusion evolutionary path). Even Claus' guitar tone and solo in fourth and fifth minute--at first alone and later paired with Kenneth's Jan Hammer-like MiniMoog as a duel--is right in line with the Mahavishnu/RTF/Eleventh House branch of J-R F Power Fusion. A great song to send us off with (paired with the awesome bookend of the album's two opening numbers). Easily my favorite song on the album (due to my bias toward all things Mahavishnu & RTF). (9.5/10)

Total Time 42:14

While I am able to appreciate (and enjoy) the immediate accessibility of this album's music I find myself wishing, wanting, hoping for something a little more sophisticated. I'm not suggesting that this is a display of Smooth Jazz or even crossover instrumental prog rock but I would not call this top tier Jazz-Rock Fusion either. 

89.375 on the Fishscales = B+/four stars; an excellent display of wide-spectrum Jazz-Rock Fusion that doesn't quite produce enough "serious" sophisticated music for my tastes and interests but is still eminently enjoyable (and pretty).

MÚSICA URBANA Música Urbana

Produced by Raphael Móll at Estudios Gema 2 in Barcelona in April of 1976, the band's debut album was released by the Zeleste label, a subsidiary of Barcelona-based company E.D.I.G.S.A. (Editorial General Sociedad Anónima), later in the year.

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

1. "Agost" (6:54) the Return To Forever approach to Jazz-Rock Fusion is without doubt, but band members' foundations in and proclivity for classical music can neither be ignored. The virtuosity of these young musicians is at times jaw-dropping. The fact that they apparently have some kind of visceral need for frequent time and stylistic shifts has also been noted but it is still so striking to experience first-person. (13.5/15)

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)

3. "Vacas, Toros Y Toreros" (4:41) more quirk and circumcision--like a slightly more Latinized continuation of the previous song. Some of the melodies are like tongue-in-cheek pop riffs, others aborted and or "fake" forays into serious J-R Fusion. The whole time, however, I find myself smiling at all of the references being made (and being lampooned). Very interesting. At the same time, there is no doubt as to the skill and talent possessed (and expressed) by these musicians. (8.875/10)

4. "Font" (4:47) more musical ideas that seem to be purposefully making light of the seriousness of other people's music. The band is showing off their talents for imitation but in way that seems to show A) how stupidly easy these famous riffs and motifs are to make as well as B) how silly they are when put into other contextual fields or when contrasted with other equally classic riffs or phrases. I actually like this one. (9.125/10)

5. "Caramels De Mel" (5:24) opening with an edgy pseudo-cool, pseudo smooth jazz motif, the band then moves in and out of other equally-saccharine motifs. It's like listening to a Todd Rundgren album from the early 1970s knowing how NOT seriously he's taking himself with his music (whereas Frank Zappa, I think, took his music very seriously). Every note, every weave, every phrase just seems so tongue-in-cheek sarcastic! (9/10)

6. "El Vesubio Azul" (8:24) a piece that is a little less focused on exposing the perceived idiocy of others and, perhaps, more about expressing their own personal ideas for modernizing classical music--or for just expressing their own true musical ideas as a whole: I feel much less offended, embarrassed, or uncomfortable with the music coming out of this song than that coming out of the previous four songs. (17.5/20)

Total time 38:30

A quartet of classically-trained multi-instrumentalists from Spain have their first album released to minor acclaim, produce one other, more classically-oriented album two years later, and then disappear into the æther. Too bad! These Todd Rundgrens of instrumental Jazz-Rock Fusion are so very gifted! Such an unusual collection of music! I have to admit to feeling quite confused as how to respond to this album. Part of me is quite entertained by the band's irreverent poke at music in general (it would seem that NO artist or style is off limits from their jabs) as well as to their exceptional command of musical style and instrumental prowess, yet, at the same time, part of me is a bit put off by their unapologetic, almost cruel and nihilistic opinion of the artists they lambaste. I seriously wonder if there would be any fun to be had by hanging out with these always-critical, very cynical human beings or if any- and everyone in their circle of attention was equally subject to such unabated bullying. But upon reading further and discovering the political fervor swirling around in España after the December 20, 1975 death of dictator Francisco Franco, and then taking into consideration how extra-sensitive the Catalans are anyway, I was able to find more empathy for the emotional overload of this album.

89.12 on the Fishscales = B+/four stars; an extraordinary work of partly-satirical art that some will love and others might feel put off by. Highly recommended for your own personal experience.

CALDERA Caldera 

A debut record from a band of West Coast (California) musicians that was recorded and mixed at Hollywood Sound in Los Angeles in July of 1976 and then released by Capitol Records later in the year.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Jorge Strunz / guitars [acoustic & electric], percussion, principle co-composer
- Eduardo Del Barrio / piano, electric piano, synthesizers, clavinet, percussion, principle co-composer 
- Dean Cortez / electric bass, co-composer (A2)

- Raul De Souza / bass, trombone

- Mike Azevedo "Baiano" / congas, percussion
- Carlos Vega / drums, percussion
- Roberto Da Silva / percussion
- Steve Tavaglione / saxophone [soprano]. flutes [alto, bass]

- Carolyn Davis / vocals 

- Eduardo Del Barrio / vocals

A1. "Guanacaste" (6:31) a song that seems to say "Disco is here so you might as well enjoy it--in the instrumental form as well". The band produces a very nice, tight weave of the entire ensemble with catchy, if pedestrian, melodies and great engineering and production. (8.875/10)

A2. "Coastin"' (4:42) bass, drums, novelty rubber duck synth notes, female vocalese, clavinet, guitars and saxophone are all added, almost one at a time, until a break at 1:40. When the band returns their fun-funky motif is used to support a searing electric guitar solo from Jorge Strunz (the same Costa Rican guitarist who would, in the 1980s, become one half of the acoustic guitar duo that would become one of the globe's most popular/famous World Music bands, Strunz & Farah). I like this unusual song. (9/10)

A3. "Exaltation" (6:52) there are some really great parts to this (like the awesome bass, rhythm guitar, and percussion lines in the fourth and fifth minutes) but there area also some passages that really drag (like the third minute). I like the pairing of the synth and female vocalese in the final minute to create a kind of Michal Urbaniak-Ursula Dudziak effect. (13.125/15)

B1. "Synesthesia" (7:45) the only song the album that is attributed to only one composer (Jorge Strunz), the guitarist is prominent but gives up the lead shine to his sax, electric piano player, and trombonist in lieu of himself, which is admirable, and Steve Tavaglinoe, Eduardo Del Barrio, and Raoul De Souza, respectively, do not disappoint. In the sixth minute Jorge finally takes his turn, supplying a solo that reminds me quite a bit of Cervello and Nova lead guitar phenom Corrado Rustici, which is quite impressive. It's a fine song; if only it had more hooks and earworms. (13.25/15)

B2. "Out Of The Blue" (4:46) a more laid-back Smooth Jazz piece of Funk Lite that sounds as if it could have come from Bob James's production studio or the Laws family: finely crafted, extremely well performed and engineered, rolling the listener through some great hooks that have become staples for the Pop Jazz world. (9/10)   

B3. "El Juguete" (8:31) the album's final song has an awesome racehorse start straight out of the gate: cruising along until the band has to reign things in with a bridge to show off its whole band unity and precision, flute and guitar mirroring one another in the lightning fast melody line that ends the long bridge. At this point the band settles into a slow tempo as trombonist Raoul De Souza takes the lead but then about 15 seconds into his solo the band ramps up into fifth gear with bass, percussion, drums, and electric piano really flying along beneath Raoul's 'bone! At 3:30 there is a tag to hand off the lead to Steve Tavaglione and his flute as the rest of the band retools and gradually regains its high-speed momentum. This is awesome! So fun! So rollicking and carefree! It's almost like being on a train or rollercoaster! And Steve is an awesome flutist! In the sixth minute the band slows things down again to a trot while Jorge solos frenetically with a mean distorted guitar tone. Again the band slowly rebuilds its tempo to breakneck speed and full breadth of participation from everybody on board until they bring the party to a raucous close together at the end. My favorite song on the album--one that deserves the highest praise for its representation of top quality Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. (19.125/20)

Total Time: 38:40

90.47 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of mostly high quality Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion.

August

JACO PASTORIUS Jaco Pastorius 

The first solo studio album produced of the legendary bass innovator's performances of his own compositions. When one takes into consideration the young master's "tender" age of 25 on this record, one can begin to contemplate what the world was being exposed to. The album was released by Epic Records on August 3, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jaco Pastorius / bass, horn (2) & string (4) arrangements
With:
- Don Alias / congas (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11), bells (3), bongos (4), percussion (6, 7)
- Sam & Dave / vocals (2)
- Herbie Hancock / keyboards (2), piano (4, 8-10), Fender Rhodes (3, 6, 11)
- Narada Michael Walden / drums (2)
- Randy Brecker / trumpet (2)
- Ron Tooley / trumpet (2)
- Peter Graves / bass trombone (2)
- David Sanborn / alto sax solo (2)
- Michael Brecker / tenor sax (2)
- Howard Johnson / baritone sax (2)
- Alex Darqui / Fender Rhodes (3)
- Lenny White / drums (3, 6, 8, 10, 11)
- Bobby Economou / drums (4)
- Wayne Shorter / soprano sax (6)
- Othello Molineaux / steel drums (6)
- Leroy Williams / steel drums (6)

- Peter Gordon / French horn (7)
- Hubert Laws / piccolo flute (8, 10)

And:
- Michael Gibbs / strings conductor (4,9) & arranger (9)
- David Nadien / violin & concertmaster (4)
- Violins: Harry Lookofsky (4), Paul Gershman (4), Koe Malin (4), Harry Cykman (4), Harold Kohon (4), Matthew Raimondi (9), Max Pollikoff (9), Arnold Black (9)
- Violas: Selwart Clarke (4), Manny Vardi (4), Julian Barber (4), Al Brown / viola (9)
- Cellos: Charles McCracken (4), Kermit Moore (4), Beverly Lauridsen (4), Alan Shulman (9)
- Double Basses: Richard Davis (9), Homer Mensch(9)

1. "Donna Lee" (2:26) Jaco takes on this Charlie Parker song with solo bass and Don Alias' congas acting as his lone support instrument! The man was a genius! What imagination! What even flow! (4.625/5)

2. "Come On, Come Over" (3:50) full R&B funk: complete with vocals (from no less than Sam & Dave!), active multi-part horn section, and bouncy rhythm guitar-sounding clavinets and other electronic keybaords from no less than the one and only Herbie Hancock. A great tune! I'm very surprised I'd never heard this one before. (9.25/10)

3. "Continuum" (4:31) using Stevie Wonder's melody lines from his 1972 hit "Superwoman" as well as similar Fender Rhodes support from Alex Darqui, Jaco expresses himself quite eloquently, even romantically. Lenny White's drums are suspiciously muted/compressed on the high end--maybe to let the harmonics of Jaco's play stand out or to let Herbie Hancock's electric piano sound shine. (9/10)

4. "Kuru / Speak Like A Child" (7:38) strings open this announcing a dynamic adventure into James-Bond-like cinematic music. Herbie Hancock's piano play is given the first solo while Jaco, Don Alias, and Bobby Economou hold down the rhythm track. Strings only make appearances in the first two minutes as minor accents or breaks between solos, but then in the third minute they're given a rather central place for over a minute with Herbie performing the role of providing accents. At the very end of the fourth minute there is an exciting sped up bridge with Jaco and Herbie momentarily displaying something extra, but then this moves into a more lounge-jazz-like section in which Herbie's piano performs At 5:20 the music speeds up again as the strings re-enter and take over the lead again: slowing and smoothing things out until the next sped up section (which starts at 6:10 and lasts for over a minute). Weird to hear Jaco serving only as a rhythmatist and Herbie and the strings occupying 100% of the solo/front time! (13.5/15)

5. "Portrait Of Tracy" (2:20) gorgeous and mind-blowing solo electric bass. The man was a mind-blowing genius! How can a bass create such a lovely melody by using only harmonics? (4.75/5)

6. "Opus Pocus" (5:25) two steel drums players performing with Jaco, Don Alias and Lenny White holding down a spacious low end while Wayne Shorter takes on the lead with his soprano saxophone. In the third minute Lenny and the steel drummers finally regulate themselves with a forward moving albeit still rather slow groove as Jaco, Wayne, Herbie Hancock's Fender Rhodes, and the steel drums take off each in their own directions. I love how well they five play off of each other while still remaining loyal to the foundational groove and melody line. (9/10)

7. "Okonkole'y Trompa" (4:21) A song co-composed with percussionist Don Alias, the two take off on a hypnotic journey into African rhythmic minimalism (with Jaco only using bass harmonics for his contribution to the weave)--all the while French horn player Peter Gordon provides a kind of distant future-MARK ISHAM-like dirge. Brilliant! Maybe I've been giving too much credit to KING CRIMSON for their "ground-breaking" polyrhythmic song "Discipline"--which won't reach the public's ears until 1981! (9.75/10)

8. "Used To Be A Cha-cha" (8:52) this Latin groove comes across as something light and upbeat--like a  Chick Corea song--as the acoustic jazz instrumentalists contribute more traditional-sounding (albeit, Latin-infused) jazz structure and solos to the top. Hubert Laws' piccolo flute, Herbie Hancock's impeccable piano play, Lenny White's masterful drum play, and Don Alias' fearless percussion play all serve immeasurably to help Jaco express this one: a song for the ages. I'm sure this one has been studied and copied and practiced with by anyone who wants to be anything. Just, Wow! They're all working so hard, I hope they were having fun, too! (19/20)

9. "Forgotten Love" (2:12) just Herbie's piano chord play with support of full strings and Jaco's simple support on bass. Very surprising to see that Jaco is the sole author of this composition. A beautiful study in odd chord progressions. (4.75/5)

Total time 41:35

I remember picking this album up while I was in college (late 1970s) and having great trouble connecting with anything in it. (My young and inexperienced ears and brain were not yet able to comprehend what I was hearing.) Now I finally am able to appreciate--with gratitude--(some) of the genius being put on display for the world to see/hear with this album. It's a humbling yet inspiring. We are so fortunate to have had this man and his talents on the planet--and to have some of his performances and compositions preserved for posterity!

92.36 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of stunning performances rendered of ground-breaking compositions and ideation. Highly recommended: but only when you're ready to receive ideas and performances well out of the basket of comfort and "normalcy." 

HERBIE HANCOCK Secrets

Yet more evolution in the HH line-up of collaborators: only horn player Bennie Maupin remains from the Mwandishi lineup, and bassist Paul Jackson from the Head Hunter days. Besides the new sounds, the work of Melvin "Wah-Wah" Watson as both multi-instrumental performer and co-composer of five of the seven songs is particularly notable. The man was a creative force! Recorded in 1976 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, the album was released in August 1976 by Columbia Records. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Herbie Hancock / piano, electric piano [Fender Rhodes, Yamaha Electric Grand Piano], synthesizers [Arp Odyssey, Arp String Ensemble, Micro-Moog, Oberheim Polyphonic], clavinet [Hohner D6], effects [Echoplex]

- Paul Jackson / bass (A2 to B4)

- James Levi / drums A2 to B4)
- Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin) / guitar, synthesizer [Maestro Universal Synthesizer System, Maestro Sample & Hold Unit], talkbox [Voice Bag], bass, vocals (A1)

- Kenneth Nash / percussion (A2 to B4)

- Bennie Maupin / soprano saxophone, tenor sax, saxello, lyricon, bass clarinet

With:

- James Gadson / drums and vocals (A1) 

- Ray Parker / guitars; vocals (A1) 

- Art Baldacci / vocals (A1)

- Chris Mancini / vocals (A1)

- Don Kerr / vocals (A1)

- Fred Dobbs / vocals (A1)

A1. "Doin' It" (8:00) funky rhythm guitar, bass, and "Voice Bag" all performed by Wah Wah Watson while the James Gadson and Ray Parker team helped out on the sides. Herbie's Fender Rhodes sounds pretty standard but the clavinet, organ, and synthesizer work alongside the "Just keep on doin' it" vocal chant is wild and definitely mega-funky. Do they think their Sly & The Family Stone? or the Ohio Players? Great funk tune that is especially notable for all of the advanced sound technologies used (and how they're used). (13.5/15)

   
A2. "People Music" (7:07) cool Bob James-like funk-lite tune within which Bennie Maupin plays some weird horn (most likely the lyricon though it could be the saxello) to smooth effect. The song has many twists and turns, stops and starts, including a complete change in direction around the three-minute mark into a really cool spacey synth section over which Herbie helps re-establish the funk with his Fender Rhodes solo. I love Paul Jackson's bass play as well as the sophisticated compositional structure and spacey synth presence--and the fact that it just keeps getting better the further you get into it. (14.5/15)   

A3. "Cantelope Island" (7:06) there's nothing like the revisitation to an old classic (now a "standard") from one's own repertoire and compositional legacy. I actually love how Herbie and Billy Cobham have been unafraid to "update" their popular/iconic compositions as there is so much to be said for the technological (and stylistic) progressions presented in each successive decade. While I like this version--it's pretty wild on the sound and solo side--but there's something that feels a bit like drag or a "too cool for your own shoes" attitude coming through. It's also difficult when you love the original. (13.333/15)  

B1. "Spider" (7:20) dramatic like a film soundtrack song (think Shaft), this one harkens back to the Fat Albert Rotunda album in its urban soundtrack feel; one can just picture the montage of scenes as Huggy Bear, Bootney Farnsworth and/or Biggie Smalls walked through the streets of Harlem or Chicago's South Side. Cool, fun song with lots of virtuosic-though-understated individual work. (13.75/15)

B2. "Gentle Thoughts" (7:01) more gentle Pop-Funk with Wah-Wah and Herbie laying back while Bennie solos again on lyricon (and/or saxello). Nice melodies and interesting sounds being melded together, but, again, the similarities to the music Bob James was now making are not unnoticed. (13.5/15)
 

B3. "Swamp Rat" (6:25) back to some really complex (and, I would think, demanding) funk that somehow still manages to come across as smooth and laid back. I love the syncopation being demanded of all performers--with Paul Jackson, Herbie and Wah Wah Watson particularly stepping up to the task. Interesting that Bennie's sax solo starts out far in the background but then slowly, gradually moves to the front and center. Was that an engineering choice or due to Bennie's distance to/from the recording microphone? The song becomes much more animated as it goes, even threatening to derail--but not if drummer James Levi can help it! (9.3333/10)

B4. "Sansho Shima" (4:50) Bennie Maupin's lone composition on the album, the song definitely brings the band back into some of the more jazz-oriented super-funk that was being explored by the more jazz-dedicated purists of the time (and beyond). Very demanding hyper-speed jazz performances are herebeing demanded of the musicians. Well met! Not as engaging of a tune as the previous ones but definitely impressive (9.125/10)

Total Time: 48:01

The performances are all loose and relaxed though tightly-synchronized: this band feels well-oiled and all on the same page. The compositions are all sophisticated and interesting, requiring virtuosic skills to perform, though some fall into the Bob James vein of Smooth Jazz that is beginning to take over and will soon dominate the Jazz-Rock Fusion idiom. 

91.62 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of funk-leaning Jazz-Rock Fusion that covers the spectrum of both hard-core jazz as well as the insidious pull of the more commercially enticing and easy listening movement toward Smooth Jazz.

SINTESIS Sintesis

A group of musicians with varying degrees of experience who met and formed a band through associations at the University in Rosario, Sintesis came from pre-military regime Argentina, a promising band of adventurous, even visionary creatives, whose progress and development was brought to a sudden end by the 1976 military overthrow of the Péron regime in Argentina and the successive "Dirty War" in which thousands of Argentines were killed, disappeared, and/or subjected to torture during a period of military oppression and authoritarian rule. The military junta engaged in a campaign of violence and repression against suspected political opponents, including left-wing activists, students, intellectuals, and even artists. Though the band members of Sintesis were able to avoid violence by fleeing to other places on the globe, some may recognize the name of violinist Sergio Polizzi for his contribution to BUBU's 1978 release, Anabelas. The self-titled album Sintesis, by the Argentine jazz-rock group Sintesis, was recorded on March 24 and 25, 1976, at Sound Centre Studio in Buenos Aires and was released in 1976 on the Profeta Records label.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Luis "Chachi" Ferreyra / saxophone
- José A. Migoya / guitar
- Juan C. Ricci / bass
- Julio Cusmai / drums
- Mariano Zarich (La Pesada) / saxophone
- Oscar Tissera (Alberto Favero, Piero, Oscar Alleman con Jorge Anders Y Son Orquestra, Heloisa Raso con Sebastião Tapajos) / flute
- Santiago Aldana / clarinet
- Sergio Polizzi / violin

1. "Lo Obvio Según Yo" (3:50) obtuse and angular music of high degree of difficulty, especially in terms of shifting, changing time signatures and suddenly-changing stylistic modalities. Though this still feels like some rudimentary whole-band practice exercise, the skill levels on display--especially in the first motif, are quite remarkable (even in the bluesy second motif, the longest, but more in the final one). (8.75/10)

  
2. "Sin Nada" (5:26) this one adds violin and flute to the mix, resulting in something much more jazz-classical in sound and nature--like something from Québecois band CONVENTUM, American band HAPPY THE MAN, Japanese proggers KENSO and MR. SIRIUS, or even some of AFTER CRYING's 1990s material. Again, the band has chosen to merge three different motifs into this one "song"--most of which really puts on display Sergio Polizzi's violin prowess, though flutist Oscar Tissera's talents are also to be noted. Guitarist José Migoya has the last turn in the spotlight but doesn't quite wow me as much as the previous two. (8.875/10)

3. "La Necesidad De Amar...A Veces" (3:42) a great song to display the talents of (and dispel my previous low estimation of) drummer Julio Cusmai and bass player Juan Ricci. Here the saxophonists (Chachi and Mariano Zarich) do a remarkable interweave of their two dynamic and soloing instruments: definitely the song's highlight and one of the more impressive displays on the album. (9.125/10)

4. "Algunas Maneras De Expresarme" (3:27) a guitar-centric song on which José Migoya gets the chance to "show off." Nice drum work in support by Julio Cusmai but my favorite parts are the interplay (and feeding off one another) of bass player Juan Ricci with José. (8.875/10)

5. "Todo Lo Necesario Para Lo Necesario" (2:21) a cool little centerless avant garde tune with bass, two saxes and clarinet opening the song before drums and, later, guitar join in. Several time shifts lead to different feeling motifs, all of which are pretty fascinating for the three-part weave being enacted over the top. (4.75/5)

6. "El Final" (8:02) in interesting start evolves into a song motif that sounds as if it came from a 1960s Beatnick-turned-Rock 'n' Roll band. The solos from sax, flute, and guitar are good--they almost succeed in distracting the listener from the very rudimentary rhythm tracks, but in the end it's just a two-chord vamp existing solely for as a vehicle for the veterans to show off their At 4:10 there is a little bridge that tries to get the listener's blood going which serves to make a break for the electric guitar to take a turn with a distorted fuzz sound. At 5:20 there is a stoppage to all rhythm instruments to allow for a two-flute and bass trio. At 6:05 drums and sax rejoin, making for a nice weave with the flutes and bass before falling into a 1960s game show theme song and then an uncalled-for (and, frankly, undeserved/unearned) drum solo to bridge us into yet another 1960s game show theme song. (13.125/15)

7. "Reminiscencias" (bonus track on 2016 CD release) (5:30) a smoother, more groove-oriented and different, more synthesized and modern sound palette than the band's other pieces (which might explain how and why this song was not among the songs on the original release: it's more of a Smooth Jazz vamp over which guitarist José Migoya was able to play around on his new guitar synthesizer. Sounds more like something from the experimental period of Allan Holdsworth's SynthAxe period in the 1980s. (8.875/10)

Total time: 32:43

An album of boundary-pushing creativity by a band of highly skilled, highly-disciplined musicians who had a musical vision that ranks among the greatest creatives in the world. The bass and drums are well-skilled, they are definitely not in the same league as the lead instruments. One of my problems with this collection of songs is how each and every song sounds as if performed and recorded by a totally new ensemble: some have violin, most don't; some have sax, some don't; some have guitar, some don't; none have keyboards(!); some songs feel free and loose, some feel restricted and like someone pushed "record" during a practice session. Most of the songs feel disconnected from one another 

I do have to comment on the fact that other music reviewers before me have praised this album to what I think are rather excessive ends; I do not think that the products on this album stand up next to any level of top tier albums or songs from the lauded and honored Masters of J-R F, Avant/RIO, or prog, and nor do I think that any of the six songs on this 27-minute long EP (32:43 if you count the seventh song, "Reminiscencias" that was tacked on to the end for the 2016 CD re-release from BlueArt Records) represent polished or "finished," much less fully-developed, songs: they all could use a ton more work before they rise out of the "demo" level into public release level renderings. Yes, these are talented, spirited and ambitious men--especially the two seasoned veterans (flute player Oscar Tissera and sax player Mariano Zarich), but think about it: if music was really in the blood of these men, don't you think we would have heard more from more of them in the years after stability and artistic and intellectual freedoms were restored to their native country?

89.167 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an intriguing albeit brief album of unfinished, unpolished songs that leave the listener wondering, "What if?"

THE NEW TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME Million Dollar Legs

Recorded at Caribou Ranch, Neder Land, Colorado in June of 1976 for an August 20 release by Columbia Records. Who is Jack Nitzsche and for whom (on this record) does he make string and horn arrangements?

Line-up / Musicians:

- Tony Williams / drums & percussion

- Allan Holdsworth / guitars
- Tony Newton (Motortown Revue) / bass, vocals
- Alan Pasqua / keyboards

A1. "Sweet Revenge" (6:04) definitely a hard-rock-oriented tune with a five chord repeating power motif within which Tony and keyboardist Alan Pasqua fly around while Allan and bassist Tony Newton hold down the fort until the 1:35 mark when the musicians shift into a spacious funk groove that is led by Tony Newton's bass line and Tony Williams' steady straight-time drumming while Alan and Allan add little of their spice to the mix. By the three-minute mark Allan is back to providing the five power chords while Tony Newton remains fixed to the funk bass lines as band leader Tony and the keyboardist begin to add their spicey flourishes and riffs. Guitar gets some solo licks in during the sixth minute but really nothing more: it never becomes a song for solo set ups; the musicians are each responsible for working their own creative ideas over and above the mainline they are each charged with. Very interesting! Once again "Jazz Drummer" Tony Williams surprises me with his firm rock orientation and commitment. (9/10)

A2. "You Did It To Me" (3:50) is this where DEVO got the ideas for their hit "Whip it"? Tony Newton's vocals (multiplied with some tracks effected with heavier reverb) is rockin' funky R&B in a kind of Jazz-Rock AVERAGE WHITE BAND form and sound. (The uncredited horn section leads me to surmise that all of those extraordinary horn lines can be attributed to keyboard genius Alan Pasqua and his familiarity with the very latest of keyboard technologies--perhaps the Yamaha CS-80 or ARP Omni or even Mellotron.) Though Jack Nitzsche is listed as contributor of arrangements, not artist/musician/or group is ever credited, which makes the employment of a horn section suspect. Rated up for the extraordinary work of Alan Pasqua. (8.875/10)

A3. "Million Dollar Legs" (6:36) using JIMMY CATOR BUNCH's bass line from "Troglodyte," Billy Preston's "Outa Space"-style clavinet, plus some gorgeous ARP strings, more keyboard-generated horns, Disco drumming, and horn-like lead guitar work from Allan gives you this interesting . By this time, the third song in line, I am coming to feel that band-leader Tony Williams had a very diverse and comprehensive plan for this album, for these musicians--a plan for which his enlisted musicians would have to be fully-attentive to.  (9.125/10)

A4. "Joy Filled Summer" (5:51) the melodic offerings of this song almost make it guilty of sliding into the realm of Smooth Jazz (especially with Tony's anchoring it all in his souped-up Disco drumming) but there is just too much nuance and complexity going on here to ever call this "Smooth"--and too much rock infusion to call it "Jazz"--and yet, Jazz-Rock Fusion it is in all it's perfect if decadent glory. (SO sad to see/hear J-RF go this route.) At the end of the fourth minute the band deigns it possible (and perhaps permissible) to clear out for some Holdsworth pyrotechnics but it's short-lived as the other three exceptional musicians all are suddenly flooding the pool with their own extraordinary offerings: all at the same time! Amazing! I mean, musically this isn't that enjoyable, but instrumentally it's quite a show! (9/10)

 
B1. "Lady Jade" (3:59) gentle Fender Rhodes and, later, ARP Strings and Moog synth from Alan P. that sound as if they could be coming from or BRIAN JACKSON or JOE SAMPLE (or Richard Clayderman!): it's like an overture or intro to something much bigger, much more grandiose. With this song I've finally begun to understand how and why Allan Holdsworth treasured his two year stint with Tony Williams as the most formative and transformational of his lifetime: the music here is so creative, the ideas so fresh and boundary-pushing (and eclectic). While the end results, as polished and incredibly-well-executed as they are, may not be to everybody's liking, they are, each and every one, displays of extraordinarily complex, extraordinarily difficult pieces to play. What an adventure! What an apprenticeship for any musician! As a matter of fact, I would go so far to say that any musician who is hired, mentored, and then launched out into the world after being part of a Tony Williams project has been given the finest "finishing school"--or, better yet: "graduate school"--experience available on the planet.  (9.25/10)

B2. "What You Do To Me" (7:06) beautiful and melodic "smooth" Alan Pasqua-decorated funk with deceptively hard to play music  in which each of the band members has to keep devoutly disciplined as well as ego-lessly focused in order to add their own idiosyncratically-generated "more" on top. The execution of this song reminds me of the stories that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis tell of Prince's demands of them during band practice/rehearsals for THE TIME: always adding more to what he wanted from his musicians: dexterity, syncopation, polyphony, harmony with and over the melodies, but then movement (dance moves), looks and facial expressions and other theatricals, vocals, costuming, attitude, etc. The point is: by asking/expecting more from his musicians (multi-tasking), Prince was able to help his musicians grow: to help them realize that they are capable of so much more than they themselves ever thought themselves possible. I imagine that this is exactly how Tony Williams made his collaborators feel: as if they were helped to re-imagine themselves as much better, much bigger, much more capable musicians (and humans) than they had ever imagined of themselves. (13.875/15) 

B3. "Inspirations Of Love" (9:48) Opening with a rather bombastic full band "orchestrated" motif that feels like an opening overture or intro to a Broadway musical, but then after 90 seconds everybody just kind of quits: going on a walkabout as Tony Newton and Alan Pasqua wander off into a stunned space-filling spacey space filler with spacious bass notes and swirling Rainer Brüninghaus-like waves of piano runs that feels like part Pharoah Sanders, part space interlude. At 3:45 the full band/orchestra chords signal the entry into a new motif (reminding me of The Soft Machine's "Hazard Profile") which then turns into a funk-rock Mahavishnu--like vehicle for some stellar new-era Allan Holdsworth soloing until Tony asks for a clear-out in the sixth minute to make room for a beautiful and impressive (for being so incredibly smooth) extended drum solo, the echoing cavernous tom-tom play extending well into the eighth and ninth minutes even as Alan Pasqua's Chick-Corea-like waves of piano runs begin to rejoin and fill part of the field. At 8:20 Tony Newton's big bombastic bass re-enters and leads the band into an "orchestrated" outro that feels like a bookend match to the song's rockin' Broadway musical opening. An unusual song that feels like a response to some of the more symphonic and proggy pieces of recent Lenny White, Chick Corea, and Return To Forever albums (Venusian Summer, Leprechaun, and Romantic Warrior, respectively). I found this particular song so surprising, so wildly unexpected yet so uncommonly creative and mystifyingly enjoyable (for the cinematic and melodramatic journey it takes one one) that I found myself listening to it over and over for several hours before I finally felt that I could finally get a grasp on it. One of the best musical listening experiences I've had in a long time. (20/20)

Total time: 43:14

The technical and keyboard wizardry of Alan Pasqua really comes shining through for me throughout this album. Tony's drumming are dependably flawless and Allan Holdsworth guitar playing feels very restrained and constrained while Tony Newton's contributions feel spot on top-notch quality for whatever Tony Williams is asking of him (which is considerable--but which the 15+ years Motown/James-Jamerson-trained bass player is well prepped and suited), but, in my opinion, it's really the keyboardist's album to show off on despite the exceedingly high demands Tony has placed on his band mates. As for my assessment on Tony's performances and accomplishment: I am awed at his ability to play at multiple levels of technical prowess: playing flawlessly on the timing front while spicing things up with his endlessly-creative flourishes and embellishments that wow and impress without taking anything away from the rest of the song or his collaborators. To listen to six songs over 43 minutes in which not a second is wasted, not a second is "coasting" or moving along rotely, without having to work, not a second goes buy without the listener being able to find a "resting" place for any of the musicians, this is such a rare feat in the world of music that I have endless respect and admiration for this album. 

93.09 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a purely unique masterpiece of incredibly well-rendered and well-played performances of intensely-creative and highly-sophisticated musical ideas unlike any other album from Jazz-Rock Fusion's "peak era" that I've heard. For those listeners and critics of this album who fail to see its redeeming qualities--the way it stands up to either the standards set or the expectations provided by Tony's previous albums (or Allan Holdsworth's future potential), I will stand up mano à mano to them and ask them one single question that should serve to settle any dispute as to whether or not this album is great: I want you to show me that you can play one minute of any part of any of these musicians' parts in any one of the songs on this album. If you can do that without flaws or overdubs, then only then will I let you get away with trashing this album as a "sub-par" sellout illustrating the crumble and demise of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement. Instead, I choose to hold this album up as one of the most remarkable peaks and apogees of the entire Jazz-Rock Fusion scene. 

ÉDITION SPÉCIALE Allees des Tilleuls

The debut album from my favorite French Jazz-Funksters, Allée des Tilleuls was recorded at Studio Frémontel in Normandy and mixed in Paris during 1976 before being released later in the year.

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)

7. "Mr Business" (2:58) more great funky melodic hypnotic Jazz-Rock Fusion funneled into the form of a pop song. (9/10)

8. "Allée des Tilleuls" (3:45) now here's the Jazz-Rock Fusion! A skillful, rollicking instrumental that offers a sneak preview of things to come! Great "underwater" bass solo from Josquin Turenne Des Prés in the fourth minute. From there out it speeds along like something from a Mahavihsnu or RTF album. (9/10)

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. 

DONALD BYRD Caricatures 

Donald and the Mizell Brothers pull together another high-powered all-star band around them including three full-time guitarists, three full-time keyboard masters, two full-time percussionists, a strings orchestra with conductor, and no less than six a-lister horn players. And they deliver! Caricatures was recorded between April and May 1976 in Hollywood, California, and then released by Blue Note Records in August.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Donald Byrd / trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals 
- James Jameson / bass (A1)

- Harvey Mason / drums (A1)

- Scott Edwards / bass (A2 to B4)

- Alphonse Mouzon / drums (tracks: A2 to B4)

- Bernard Taylor / guitar

- David T. Walker / guitar

- John Rowin / guitar

- Jerry Peters / keyboards

- Patrice Rushen / keyboards

- Skip Scarborough / keyboards

- Mayuto Correa / percussion

- Stephanie Spruill / percussion

Horns – Ernie Watts, Fonce Mizell, Gary Bartz, George Bohanon, Oscar Brashear

- Wade Marcus / conductor [strings], arranged by [strings]

- Mildred Lane / vocals (A2, B1)

- Kay Haith / vocals (A3, B3)
Backing Vocals – Donald Byrd, Fonce Mizell, Larry Mizell, Theresa Mitchell, Vernessa Mitchell

A1. "Dance Band" (6:09) opens like a funky pop song with banked horn accents until Donald steps up to the microphone to sing. He's got quite the voice! One that reminds me of or Morris Day. The singing section is brief, only really an introduction, cuz what follows is a lot of solos: trumpet, saxophone, . "Who-up!" choral vocals arrive in the fourth minute with the alto sax, then drop off when the PARLIAMENTarian vocals and scatting return. Thereafter, the girls appear here and there while the male lead continues to jive and Donald injects his solo trumpet. Quite the party funk tune! High marks for musicianship and enthusiasm. (Not quite the Jazz-Rock Fusion direction I was hoping for.) (9/10)

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)

A3. "Caricatures" (5:08) another Mizell Brothers composition (this one actually being credited to Larry alone), this one using a variation of the bass 'n' drum rhythm track of Kool & The Gang's "Hollywood Swinging." Male-dominated vocals work their group-chant throughout the song with accents and incidentals coming from female background vocalists and a variety of horns, percussives, and percussive keyboards (clavinet, et al. Having three highly skilled keyboard players on board for every song sure does help enrich the sonicsphere!) Some smooth flugelhorn in the fifth minute before the men's final run-through of the main group vocal line. (8.875/10)

A4. "Science Funktion" (4:49) Mizell Brothers have a lot of ideas! They're feeling like the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis of the 1970s! This rich and fulfilling mostly-instrumental is a more spacious composition still using their brief one-measure motif to build a song around there are pre-CAMEO synths snaking around in front and back. I really like the way this inventive sonic field is constructed. Choppy trumpet up front is joined by male choir chant vocals for the final 90 seconds. Man bassist Scott Edwards can roll around on that bass! (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)

B2. "Return Of The King" (4:50) a Rodney Mizell composition, it sounds like a precursor to KajaGoogoo's monster hit (ten years later), "Too Shy" before taking a slight turn (or two) into a nice FREDDIE HUBBARD-like song. Male group vocals take up the repeat chant of the title in the third minute. (8.875/10)

B3. "Onward 'Til Morning" (3:45) a smoother tune that sounds like something Barry White might have composed for his Love Unlimited Orchestra. Awesome piano, rhythm guitar, clavinet, orchestral arrangements, and horn performances over and a part of the smooth rhythm section. Donald's own solo in the middle is definitely a highlight of this Larry Mizell-penned song. (9.3333/10)

B4. "Tell Me" (4:18) the only Donald Byrd composition on the album, it sounds quite similar to the two-chord, one measure motifs so common to those of the Mizell Brothers. Donald enters, speaking the lyrics of his daily-nightly search-walks for his loved one for more than a minute while the horns and rhythm instruments play around him, then around the 90-second mark he reaches back to sing his request for his baby's answer to where she's been, what's on her mind, is she all right. Interesting diary entry type song over great music). (8.875/10)

Total Time: 39:58

As far as the funk goes, the Mizell Brothers are among the best there was! As far as the music goes, there are some very fine and tightly-coordinated performances from a group of top notch, highly-refined musicians--a lot of it channeled through filters and processes that were quite popular at that time in the Motown, Philly, Jersey/NYC, and D.C. music scenes. 

89.95 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of very high quality Funked-up Jazz-Rock Fusion--a lot of it with R&B vocals as were popular in the American Black music scene at the time. This is an sadly unheard and underappreciated contribution to that niche of music--some of the finest you might ever hear!

EXTRA BALL Birthday

The debut album from Cracow's leading Jazz-Rock Fusion band. The album was recorded in April 1976 at Polskie Nagrania Studio in Warsaw, Poland and then released in the late Summer.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jarosław Śmietana /guitar, leader
- Władysław Sedecki / electric piano, piano, synthetizer
- Andrzej Olejniczak / saxophones [tenor, soprano]
- Jan Cichy / bass
- Benedykt Radecki / percussion

1. "Narodziny" (10:05) beautiful, lush keys, bass, and cymbal play open this almost like a NOVA Vimana song. Soprano sax joins in to lead us down the country garden path. At the two-minute mark the band reshapes the Deodato-like electric piano lushness into something that sounds more like Klaus Doldinger's PASSPORT. I am in love with the mutually-respectful spaciousness of each individual musician's play: it's as if everyone is so in-tune with the others that they are all playing this game of turn-taking. While I am impressed and enjoying each and every band member's skill and prowess on their respective instruments (as well as the engineering choices to put the bass and electric piano far forward and the drums, sax, and electric guitar [mostly] back) I find myself really attracted to the Elio D'Anna-like melodic choices (and sounds) of Andrzej Olejniczak on his soprano sax (which is very odd as I'm usually quite nauseated by the sound and play of saxophones). (19/20)

2. "Taniec Maryny" (3:30) two bouncy electric piano chords open this one, repeated until guitar, bass, and drums join in after about ten seconds. The production is very warm and inviting while the style is jazzy over a "Smooth Jazz" rock 'n' roll two chord vamp with regular deviations into a bar or two of "chorus" chords. The melodies are often shared, presented by the guitar, sax, and Władysław Sedecki right hand. It's simple and mathematical--like an étude--and yet offered with admirable precision and clarity. (8.875/10)

3. "Bez Powrotu" (2:40) this one is much more aligned with traditional jazz stylings: walking bass, nuanced syncopated drum play, whole-group presentations of melodies in harmonic weaves with electric piano chords bridging the middle ground. (8.75/10)

4. "Podróż w Góry" (3:50) very quiet and delicate electric guitar with rich electric piano support opens this one for the first minute before the guitar, sax, and synthesizer jump out front with a very high-speed motif which gattling gun bass and frenzied drums try to keep up with. The overall sound is quite modern--like the music to an early video game or pinball machine. Impressively disciplined synchrony from the lead instruments with the poor capture of the drum sound making it sound as if Benedykt is having trouble keeping up. (8.875/10)

5. "Siódemka" (6:55) more impressive machine gun whole-group spitting and spraying of harmonically-composed melodies over another rhythm track that sounds and feels very much like the uptempo hard bop jazz of late 1960s. The musicians are each quite impressive with their skill and dexterity, and the melodies are quite clear and, I'm sure, impressive from a jazz and classical music perspective, but this is exactly the kind of pre-fusion jazz that I find myself unable to follow, understand, much less enjoy. The Bob James-like electric piano and jazz guitar solos in the third and fourth minutes, respectively are my favorite part of the song after the impenetrable music of the first two minutes. Then, at 4:31, a fast-tempo Mahavishnu-like motif ensues that is much more funky, spaced and broken up, with short burst solos that are much more accessible and digestible to my puny little brain. This part I love, so I'll not let the first two-and-half minutes spoil what turns out to be quite a great song. (13.625/15)

6. "Szczęśliwy Nieszczęśliwiec" (4:05) built over a very comforting rhythm and harmonically-rich jazz-rock base with more humanely-paced bass, drums, and melodically-sensible this one My favorite song on the album because it is both beautiful but also cuz it allows my the time and space to get inside (and feel comforted by) the music. My favorite song on the album. (9.25/10)

7. "Blues For Everybody" (5:45) piano and jazz guitar open this one with some truly blues-based music as the two dance around and within each other's melodies and chords. The one-minute intro is awesome and then the two lock into a more uptempo and more structured blues motif so that they can each solo off of one another. The two musicians sound very mature, relaxed, and confident--as if they're really enjoying playing off one another. A master class in two-person blues-based jazz very much akin to the stuff Scott Joplin and Django and Stéphane Grappelli did together. (9/10)

8. "Hengalo, Almelo, Deventer" (3:20) what a weird sound the engineer-production team have given to the drums! And they've pretty much isolated the bass from everybody else in the mix as well. As a matter of fact, all of the instruments sound and feel boxed/cordoned off from one another--as if they were each in their own little sound room while the recording was going on. Weird! Makes me wonder if this was a preview of modern music in which the musicians do not even play along side one another, recording their "parts" for their own separate tracks, in the studio while the rest of the band is not even present--all from charts! The musicianship is impressive, as usual, but the overall effect of such separation in the final mix makes me feel as if this is just a presentation of someone's composition as rendered by hired studio musicians--compiled over, perhaps, weeks or months! Me no like! (8.75/10) 

A lot of this album feels like a lot of jazz to me: harmonically and confusing, overwhelming, and coming from extremely-highly skilled musicians whose brains live and work in an universe that is totally foreign to me. Obviously, bandleader-guitarist Jarosław Śmietana and his keyboard counterpart Władysław Sedecki have a very special relationship--one that is founded much more in the esoteric domains inhabited by the great jazz musicians--but their impressive play does not always translate into enjoyable music for me.

Total time: 40:10

90.66 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of diverse, highly-skilled, but-more jazz-oriented jazz-rock fusion. Because of its borderline rating score and slightly "out of the box" (rather eccentric) relationship to the more stereotypic sound and styles of progressive rock music, I'm going to only give this four stars; it is not a masterpiece of what I would call progressive rock music but more of a minor masterpiece of electrified jazz and jazz-rock.

September

JACK DeJOHNETTE's DIRECTION Untitled

Recorded February 1976 at Talent Studios, Oslo, Norway, and released by ECM Records on September 1.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Jack DeJohnette / drums, tenor saxophone (B1)

- Mike Richmond / bass, electric bass
- John Abercrombie / guitars [electric & acoustic]
- Warren Bernhardt / piano, electric piano, clavinet, cowbell
- Alex Foster / saxophones [tenor, soprano]

A1. "Flying Spirits" (13:50) the unmistakable virtuosity of bandleader drummer Jack DeJohnette is presented to the listener from the opening notes of this one and does not stop until the song's end. Brilliant contributions from all the musicians listed above with Alex Foster, Warren Bernhardt, and Mike Richmond really impressing me early (John Abercrombie's two guitar tracks are, for some odd reason, relegated to the background for the first minutes). It is such a privilege to hear such virtuosi weave around Maestro DeJohnette's impeccable drumming. The song has quite the dreamy Paul Winter Consort/Eberhard Weber-like feel to it--one that John McLaughlin would replicate on his song "Zamfir" from his gorgeous 1981 masterpiece, Belo Horizonte--one of my favorite "beautiful" songs of all-time: I love it! The band does such a great job of maintaining that feel throughout the many directional and formatic changes--even in the slightly-chaotic 11th minute. Just brilliant! (28.625/30)

A2. "Pansori Visions" (2:20) John Abercrombie messing around on some Indian stringed droning instrument while Jack messes around on Indian hand percussion instruments. Interesting but nothing Earth-shattering to warrant writing home about. (4.333/5)

A3. "Fantastic" (5:52) another drumming display opens this one, paving the way for the joinder of John Abercrombie's guitar sqeaks, Warren Bernhardt's cowbell play, and, eventually, Mike Richmond's funky flange-wah-ed electric bass and Alex Foster's tenor sax squeaks. By the time we get into the third minute everybody is squeaking, squawking, and jerking together, weaving into a farmyard-like chicken funk. Clavinet, microtonal guitar note play, and sax screaming become the more interesting tracks to follow though Mike and Jack are quite impressive as well. Not my favorite kind of music but quite impressive from a creativity perspective. Adrian Belew, I'm sure, would've been highly impressed. (8.875/10)

B1. "The Vikings Are Coming" (6:43) a song that sounds like a cross between the 1970s Kosmische Musik of POPOL VUH, the meditative music of HAROLD BUDD on his 1976 album Pavillions of Dreams (which ws not released until 1978), and the 1980s spiritual music of JAN GARBAREK. No drums, two saxophones (Jack's tenor and Alex's soprano), underwater bass, rolling waves of Rainer Brüninghaus-like piano, and very little electric guitar. Lovely! (9.125/10)

B2. "Struttin'" (6:30) Jack, John, and Alex playing off one another in a stark kind of jazz weave; no bass or keys. Impressive free jazz--and fairly melodic and woven--but not really my cup of tea. (8.75/10)

B3. "Morning Star" (7:22) Warren's grand piano and John's acoustic guitar try to match one another's speedy riffs with John usually lagging a bit behind (purposefully?). I find myself really liking Warren's melody lines (as I usually do) but somewhat resenting John's picking style (as I often do when he's playing acoustic guitar) and the fact that his flourishes constantly lag behind those of Warren's. At the two-minute mark the piano and guitar move into support background roles as bass and drums arrive. Alex's tenor sax picks up the melody from Warren's piano and the song turns into something quite lovely. I like the points of separation between each of the musicians' melody lines, often finishing out of kilter with one another. I also like that Warren finally gets some shine time. (He's so talented!) But, then, this is his compositional contribution to Jack's album. At 5:42 they all slow down to leave Warren and John alone to pick up where the song started--only this time the two are not trying to mimic or follow each other--at least, not until the final minute. I could do without the awkward bookends but the center five minutes is quite lovely. (13.75/15)

B4. "Malibu Reggae" (3:03) sounds more like a quirky, more-sophisticated version of the fun circus-like soundtracks that have been coming from jazz musicians to serve as themes for popular television shows (The Streets of San Francisco, The Six Million Dollar Man, Sanford & Son, Starsky & Hutch, Barney Miller, Taxi, et al.) There is some Reggae here--mostly in the keyboard--but the rest doesn't really hit the nail on the head. Too bad to spoil a whole album with one song. (8.70/10)

Total time: 45:40

With less focus on his own experimentations with other instruments and solo performance we get a wonderful exposition of Jack at his collaborative (and inspirational) best. Plus, we get to hear the master doing what we all want to hear him do: create unbelievable beauty on his drums!

91.29 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion--an album that continues to use quite a bit of experimentalism in its musical explorations.

NOVA Vimana

Gone is the domineering blues-rock effect of Corrado Rustici's older brother, guitarist Daniele Rustici (Osanna), Corrado, Renato, and Elio are now partnering with seasoned British prog-rockers Phil Collins, Percy Jones, and the spiritually-illuminated Mahavshnu Orchestra alum, Narada Michael Walden (the album's producer) and the band is able to soar into unprecedented territory! Recorded in July and August of 1976 at Trident Studios, London, Arista Records released Vimana on September 7, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Corrado Rustici / lead vocals, lead guitar, 6- & 12-string acoustic guitars, marimba
- Renato Rosset / Fender Rhodes, piano, Minimoog, String Ensemble, clavinet
- Elio D'Anna / soprano & tenor saxophones, flute, synthesized flute (6)
With:
- Percy Jones / bass
- Narada Michael Walden / drums, Fender Rhodes (6)
- Phil Collins / percussion
- Zakir Hussain / congas (6)

1. "Vimana" (7:18) the great 12-string guitar opening of this song and album I remember so well from 1977 for the way in which it fed my soul. Then add the soaring flute, Phil Collins-like drums, RTF second motif and out-of-this world bubbling Percy Jones bass lines and I was in heaven. Renato Rosset's keyboard work is so crucial to the whole sound that it sometimes gets overlooked but don't It's amazing! And Phil's percussion work is also not to be ignored. But the real star, for me, was the incendiary guitar play and runs of guitar phenom Corrado Rustici (who was now a whole 20-years old!) The song as a complete "finished" composition doesn't always flow or make sense but the instrumental prowess and sound palette on display are superlative. (14/15)

2. "Night Games" (9:37) acoustic guitar opening that sounds like it could come from Al DiMeola or John McLaughlin, floating Fender Rhodes chords and arpeggi and more bubbling bass popping in and out of the void fill the first 90-seconds of this as subtle cymbal and percussion play also sneak in here and there, but then Elio D'Anna's insistent soprano sax enters and announces its leadership in establishing a melody--one that is matched note for note by Corrado's dextrous electric guitar. The music stays surprisingly spacious even up to the point at the end of the fourth minute when Corrado's treated-voice breaks through in song. Renato's four/five chord keyboard progression paces the song slowly forward until something seems to break loose at 5:18. Thereafter we return to a spacious void in which Narada Michael Walden's intermittent staccato drum flourishes and Renato's clavinet chord play provide the only solid steady backdrop over which Elio, Percy, and Phil add their occasional inputs. Corrado returns to front and center around the seven-minute mark with another foray into singing just before unleashing an ungodly barrage of machine gun guitar runs--some of my favorite obtuse lines ever. It's over before the start of the ninth minute, the band returning to the spacious main theme for more lyrics and more sax, drum, and bass displays before Corrado and Percy take us out with their rapid fire artifice. Very interesting song--again expressing a very unusual compositional style. (18/20)

3. "Poesia (To a Brother Gone)" (5:11) all acoustic fare like the opening of RETURN TO FOREVER's "Romantic Warrior." Steel-string acoustic guitar, flute, and piano--the band's core--all displaying their lightning speed skills. Impressive (especially Renato Rosset!) but, once again, failing to feel like something concrete and "finished" has been displayed. (8.875/10)

4. "Thru the Silence" (5:43) the drummer gets to open this one. Funky bass, clavinet, and fast-picked guitar chords with Narada Michael Walden's driving drumming provide the base for Corrado's singing. At 1:45 the band switches into. a more Latinized motif with all kinds of percussion work, wild screaming saxophone and bouncing clavinet Probably my least favorite song on the album, there's nothing really wrong with it--and it's one of the few songs that actually feels "finished"--but it lacks the melodic or astonishing hooks. Plus Narada's able drum play is close to being on the disco spectrum. The instrumental fifth minute (to close) is the best part with Percy's bass play, Narada's drum play feeling more Lenny White-straight ahead, Renato's clavinet and Minimoog and Corrado and Elio spitting out the same machine gun lines. (8.75/10)

5. "Driftwood" (10:03) my favorite song on the album--one that haunts me in the best way--opens with some very atmospheric slow-played, volume-pedaled, "distant" guitar play while cymbals, synths, and tenor sax flit in and out of the spacious mix for the first two minutes. In the third minute, things setttle into another spacious, atmospheric pattern over/within which Corrado's odd voice gives his best, most impassioned performance backed by some extraordinary flanged strummed acoustic guitar. As he concludes that "I must destroy you" his love all hell breaks loose at 5:40 with sax and guitar absolutely shredding the skies with the army of band mates following the charge. But then calm is restored around the seven-minute mark despite the fact that Corrado's surprisingly Zen Buddhist lyrics assurance that the destruction is inevitable. A small squall of whole-band cacophonoy precedes a rather beautiful and wholly-ambiguous exit. Such a fsacinating song! The detachment toward such underlying existential violence and is extraordinary!  (19.25/20)

6. "Princess and the Frog" (7:44) a rather simply-structured ABACAB song with straight time and straightfoarward piano chord construction turns out to be a convenient vehicle for some more fiery displays of guitar and drums as well as some silly Minimoog play rather disappointingly dull percussion play (from Phil and Zakir Hussen, no less!) The two-part song is halved at the five-minute mark by a bleed over into riverside birdsong and gentle Fender Rhodes arpeggi over which some guitar, synth strings, and light-hearted male laughing occur. The motif feels lifted from Minnie Ripperton's "Lovin' You" and seems to be just waiting for her bird-like vocals to step in. I also think that Andreas Wollenweider must have heard this song (and album) before he set forth the composing and recording of his 1981 classic, Behind the Gardens - Behind the Wall - Under the Tree . . . . (14/15)

Total Time 45:36

I have to admit that Vimana is one of my secret favorites from back in the day. There was a time when I was trying to collect anything and everything that fretless bass virtuoso Percy Jones touched. Thus, I stumbled upon this one. Boy! was I sucked in by the entirety of this excellent album. Corrado Rustici's guitar work astounds me to this day (and to think that he would go on to production Hall of Fame with his work with Whitney Houston and others!) Narada Michael Walden is awesome and I, for one, love the "cheesy" Sri Chimnoy-inspired music, titles, and lyrics of he, (Devadip) Carlos Santana, and (Mahavishnu) John McLaughlin. Each song presents atmospheric sections of heavily treated guitars and keyboards which then invariably build into fiery soli from either sax man Elio d'Anna or axe man Rustici. The only straightforward song is the finale, "Princess and the Frog," which is quite catchy. "Driftwood" and "Vimana" are among my all-time favorite songs from the 70s. Not a masterpiece but definitely one that I'd recommend to any prog lover!

92.08 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a minor masterpiece of proggy jazz-rock fusion. One of my 20 Favorite Jazz-Rock Fusion albums from the "Third Wave" of prog's "Classic Era."

HERBIE MANN & The FAMILY OF MANN with The MINORU MURAOKA AND NEW DIMENSION GROUP Gagaku and Beyond

Recorded at Mori Studio in Tokyo, Japan, in 1974, released by Finnadar and Atlantic Records in 1976, possibly in September.

Lineup / Musicians:

- Herbie Mann / flutes, composer 
For Herbie Mann & The Family of Mann (A1, A2, B3):

- Herbie Mann / flutes 

- Tony Levin / bass 

- Steve Gadd / drums 

- Sam Brown / guitars 

- Pat Rebillot / keyboards 

For The Modern Shomyo Study Group (A1):

- Junsen Kitani / chanter

- Junsho Matsumoto / chanter 

- Kenei Muramatsu / chanter

- Ryusho Tsurutaka / chanter

For The Minoru Muraoka And New Dimension Group (A to B1):

- Minoru Muraoka / shamisen

- Yosei Sato / sho, woodwind

- Somei Sasaki / shamisen

- Eriko Kuramoto / koto

- Kazuko Tsubamoto / koto

- Harumi Nakamaru / koto, kodo [modern]

- Kisaku Katada / taiko [o-daiko]

- Hiromitsu Katada / taiko [wa-daiko]

For Ono Gagaku Society (an ensemble founded in 1887 by Ryodo Ono, the chief priest of Onoterusaki Shrine in Tokyo, Japan) (B2):

- Ryoya Ono / leader, drum [kakko]

- Akihiko Ue / flute [gaku-biwa]
- Kiyohiko Yamaya / flute [riu-teki] 
- Tkashi Ono / gong [shōko] 
- Yoshio Togi / hichiriki

- Goro Ikebe / koto [gaku-So]

- Shigeru Iwanami / sho 

- Kiichiro Togi / taiko

A1. "Shomyo (Monk's Chant)" (14:12) as performed by the Modern Shomyo Study Group, Minoru Muraoka And New Dimension Group and Herbie Mann & The Family of Mann presents more of a blending of Western artists with two traditional music groups and the chanters of a religious society. What results is more of a contemplative religious event akin to the work of German Kosmische Musik group POPOL VUH.

A2. "Mauve Over Blues" (12:50) as performed by Herbie Mann & The Family of Mann together with Minoru Muraoka And New Dimension Group, it opens with some sustained-yet-shifting organ chords over which Japanese flute plays for over a minute before a koto and, later, gong join in. At the two-minute mark Family of Mann keyboardist Pat Rebillot switches to fast-panning reverberating Fender Rhodes while Tony Levin's bass joins and more players of traditional Japanese instruments join in.

B1. "Kurodabushi (Sake Drinking Song)" (5:20) as performed by Herbie Mann and the Minoru Muraoka And New Dimension Group, we find flutes galore, playing in tandem and weave, with traditional Japanese instruments in support. It almost sounds Middle Eastern or even Irish! 

B2. Ono Gagaku Society – "Etenraku" (8:42) as performed by the Ono Gagaku Society a totally traditional musical piece from this group of musicians who have served for almost 90 years to try to preserve Japanese musics from the 19th Century. Nice to have this historical evidence. 

B3. Herbie Mann – "Gagaku And Beyond" (7:20) as performed by Herbie Mann & The Family of Mann, this is the only song on the album that feels as if it has Western roots and yet it still serves as kind of a tribute to the experience that the band has had working with these masters of Japanese culture and tradition. The song reminds me a lot of some of the East-West compositions MARK ISHAM came up with in the 1980s for some of his soundtracks (Never Cry Wolf, The Moderns). (13.25/15) 

Total time: 48:24

Not really a Jazz-Rock Fusion album so much as a brilliant cross-cultural collaboration with some eminent musical groups of Japanese traditional music, thus, an example of early World Fusion.

SLOCHE Stadaconé

The upbeat funksters from Québec produce their second (and, unfortunately, final) studio album. It was recorded in July of 1976 at RCA's Studio "B" in Montreal and then released by RCA Victor in September.

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.

JAN HAMMER GROUP Oh, Yeah!

After "cleansing his palette" during the previous year with his prog rock space soundtrack The First Seven Days, Jan returns to the funk power fusion music which provided him with his first notoriety. Oh, Yeah! was released by Nemperor Records in September of 1976. 

1. "Magical Dog" (6:43) opens with a bass and keybaord blues-rock chord variation before stopping to shift into something more rock and Jazz-Rock oriented within and over which violinist Steven Kindler takes as prominent a role as that of bandleader Hammer. Sophisticated--almost classical in its orientation--it's a good example of the continued exploration of the different directions that Jazz-Rock Fusion can go. I love the inclusion of "harpsichord" in the third minute as well as the sophisticated syncopation of the bass, drums and percussion work. High praise from the compositional perspective, not nearly so for the engagibility factor. (9/10)

2. "One To One" (3:32) a funky synth-dominated pop-oriented fusion song that is constructed for the exhibition of drummer Tony Smith's lead blues-rock vocal. Interesting (and unusual) weave of sounds used to form the music beneath Tony's vocal. (8.75/10)

3. "Evolve" (4:45) driving fusion rhythm lines from bassist Fernando Saunders, Steven, and Tony--as well as Jan's electric piano--over which Jan offers a Moog extravaganza. As worried as I was about Jan's "over-the-top" aggressive synth solo play, he remains wonderfully restrained and understated throughout this song. (8.875/10)

4. "Oh, Yeah?" (4:30) an unexpectedly smooth and controlled romp through a public park (when I was expecting a wild rampage across the Sahara or a four-wheelin' mudbath racing through the two-track trails of a wilderness forest). I even like the little Afro-pop reprise at the end. (8.875/10)

5. "Bamboo Forest" (5:24) opening with some heavy, ominous Mahavishnu-level chords coordinated among the quintet (which includes the conga work of David Earle Johnson). Jan's soloing after the protracted 90-second intro sees his Moog emulate the searing lead guitars of contemporary peers (like John McLaughlin). I can see why people like this one but for me it never really rises to the heights that it seemed to insinuate from its opening. (8.875/10)

6. "Twenty One" (5:05) an impressively complex weave of drums, bass, and percussion provides the background for Steve Kindler to shine--for the first half of the song! Then Jan steps up to take his turn with his signature Moog--this one a larger synth more capable of expressing both low and high end notes. The Moog-violin interplay in the fifth minute is a lot like the East-West collaboration John McLaughlin was doing with Zakir Hussain in the Shakti format. Nice exhibition of instrumental prowess! (9.125/10)

7. "Let The Children Grow" (4:50) a song that seems to be constructed to emulate the music of GENTLE GIANT--even vocal-and lyrically--until, at least, the Beatles/George Harrison-like chorus that takes over at the 2:50 mark. The song then returns to the GG form and style for the rest of the fourth minute until the band jumps back into the chorus again for the final minute. (8.875/10)

8. "Red And Orange" (6:44) a set up for some J-R Fusion jamming that somehow lacks the collective power of the Mahavishnu Orchestra/Return to Forever "traditions." It may be the lack of electric guitar but seems more attributable to the slightly weaker (quieter) rhythm section. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 41:33

Once again I find myself surprised at the gentleness and melodic sensibilities of an artist that I (mistakenly) thought was too bound to showy noodling.

B/four stars; an excellent but by-no-means rousing contribution to the lexicon of Jazz-Rock Fusion's power milieu.

JAMES "MINGO" LEWIS Flight Never Ending

The one and only attempt by young percussion virtuoso of SANTANA fame to produce an album as a bandleader. Recorded and produced by Mingo, it was released by Columbia Records in September of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Mingo Lewis / Congas, Percussion, ARP Odyssey synthesizer, MiniMoog, Clavinet [Hohner D6], ARP Pro Soloist, Yamaha Acoustic Piano, Gong 

- Eric McCann / Bass

- David Logeman / Drums

- Randy Sellgren / Guitars [Electric and Acoustic]

- Michael Kapitan / Synthesizers [MiniMoog, ARP Odyssey, ARP String Ensemble, Oberheim 4 Voice, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Organ [Yamaha YC-30] arrangements, writing

With:

- Kincaed Miller / Synthesizer [ARP Pro Soloist], Clavinet (6)

- A. Louis Bramy / Hand Bells (5,7,8)

1. "Aba Cua" (1:36) a drum circle of hand percussionists expressing with vocal chant/call (with no response). (4.33333/5)

2. "Frankincense" (7:02) a high-flying if loosely-conjoined hydra of instrumentalists moving along as if in the same direction yet without many constraints. Sounds very much like something that could have come from Al Di Meola's first two albums except the drummer is trying too hard, the bass line too monotonous, and the sonic field too disparate and incongruous despite all staying admirably on the same pace, the solos too repetitive and monotonous. (13/15)

3. "Heartsong" (8:20) great performances with excellent engineering and effects of a nice composition. Though there is more cohesion in sound and more variation in tempo and motif here, unfortunately, the song uses the same weird, slightly-flanged drum sound from the previous song--which might work with a less-frenetic drummer but this guy must think he's Keith Moon. I do, however, like the guitar solo of Randy Sellgren: he blazes with great consistency and "real" feeling fire. The motif change at 4:30 is perfect: from racing to regal and beautiful, everybody fully engaged with this one (except the drummer who starts flailing away beneath the guitarist's in the sixth minute. The fully-rock motif that starts at 5:50 is okay, very Jan Hammer-like, which supports a sweltering ARP Odyssey synth solo over the seventh and eighth minutes before everybody comes together for the finale--which is cheesy and poor. (17.75/20)

4. "The Wizard" (7:35) a song that is familiar to us all from Al Di Meola's cover of it on his debut album, Land of the Midnight Sun. A great song for racing along the highway, packed with memorable melodies and musicianship, but this version is more percussion dominant and contains a rather annoying high-pitch droning synthesizer note for a big chunk of its more dynamic sections. Overall, it's a little too loose and chaotic for my ears and brain. (13.25/15)

5. "Visions Of Another Time" (6:30) opens with what sounds like an Egyptian melody theme as introduced to them by the Anunnaki, again percussion and fast-pacing are the two predominant elements though there are some melodic elements worth pursuing that are led by multiple synths while the rhythmatists go crazy beneath. It's just a little too much chaos for my puny little brain. Then, lo! and behold! the music suddenly shifts into a "All Along the Watchtower" kind of chord progression with clavinet and harpsichord leading while someone (probably Mingo) sings a NewAge-y message over the top. The new Latin-based motif is okay--at least taming the percussionists into a more refined crew--but the vocal and guitar lead are only okay. (8.75/10)

6. "Trapezoid" (4:46) funk of the Parliamentary kind with multiple instruments dripping with funk in a pretty perfect weave of funkiness: bass, clavinet, multiple synths, drums, rhythm guitar, and congas all propelling this monster of a song forward in "Space Race" way that Billy Preston would be proud if not envious of! I only wish there was a more catchy melody to hook everybody in. (9.5/10)

7. '"Maginary Monsters" (1:02) experimental synth play. They must be drunken monsters. (4.33333/5)

8. "Flight Never Ending" (8:30) though this album is teeming with similarities to AL DI MEOLA's Land of the Midnight Sun album of the same year, none more than this somewhat cinematic suite: of its 8:30 about eight minutes and 29 seconds feel as if they are straight out of Al Di's world. How could this be possible, you might ask--especially when this album was released to the public a full month before Al's? Well, James had toured with Al's previous band, RETURN TO FOREVER (as well as Santana) and been a major contributor to the recording sessions for 22-year old Al's debut solo album which occurred in July and August of 1975 (sic [?!] More likely July and August of 1976). "Mingo" was surely inspired to try to replicate the energy and sound of the wave he'd been riding for the past three years and quite possibly was able to finagle the support from Columbia for this album--which became a "one-off" despite his playing on four other Al Di albums (as well as Billy Joel, The Tubes, and Todd Rundgren) over the next decade. But who are these no-name musicians? As alluded to in my opening statement, this would have been a worthy inclusion to any Al Di Meola album--even with "Randy Sellgren" playing guitar. (18/20)

Total Time 45:21

This much attention and volume given to frantic percussionists is Al Di Meola sound-alike Randy Sellgren is rumored to have been a psuedonym for another artist who had to stay hidden due to conflicting contractual obligations. That would help explain the fact that guitar phenom Randy appears on no other albums in music history--though there are Randy Sellgren's mentioned in the engineering/production credits to a few albums over the years--nothing else as a guitarist. Weird, hunh?   

88.92 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a worthy album of inclusion in one's Jazz-Rock Fusion collection--though not necessarily for the light of heart; an album that contains many moments of individual virtuosity as well as a bucketload of memorable moments is somewhat weighted down by the "Emperor Joseph II Syndrome": sometimes there are just "too many notes"--and not always coherently arranged. The album also suffers slightly, in my opinion, from some questionable sound engineering choices.

CHARLIE MARIANO Helen 12Trees

Recorded on May 6–8, 1976, at Union Studio in Munich, Germany and then released by MPS Records in September.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Charlie Mariano / saxophones, nagaswaram, flutes
- Zbigniew Seifert / violin
- Jan Hammer / piano, electric piano, synthesizer [Moog] 
- Jack Bruce / bass
- John Marshall / drums
- Nippy Noya / percussion

A1. "Helen Twelvetrees" (4:42) Jan Hammer, I'm finally getting used to you: finally learning to enjoy some of your solos even though I still dislike the fact that you're so reliant on your right hand dominance. And, funnily enough, I'm starting to hear your influence on other contemporary keyboard players of yours. On this Charlie Mariano composition the band present a heavier, more mysterious RTF/Mahavishnu Orchestra like harmonic palette for the first minute before the surprise isolation of drummer John Marshall for a whole minute of the display of his syncopation skills. When everybody returns it's Jan Hammer with one of his Moog sounds that takes off while Jack Bruce's prominent distorted bass occupies some of the higher octaves of his axe. The song's structure is kind of interesting with flat passages of syncopated rhythm section supporting the soloists (of whom Charlie is the second and final--on both his soprano and tenor saxes) but then there are resetting bridges ever couple measures or so to allow breathing space and, as I said, to reset the whole band. Unusual! And cool! Great work from percussionist Nippy Noya but I wish John Marshall's work really showed his tremendous talent better. (8.875/10)

A2. "Parvati's Dance" (7:32) Charlie plays nagaswaram over synthesizer bass drones and a little bass and drumming before 1:55 when the band finally converges on one theme. Interestingly, it is a theme that sounds far more fitting of a progressive rock song--perhaps a space/psychedelic or Kosmisches Musik tune--than something Jazzy--and this nothing near the other artists dabbling in Eastern sounds and influences. Maybe it's my prog-loving history but I really like this song: it's almost contemplative. (13.75/15)

A3. "Sleep, My Love" (2:51) Violin! Flute! Both soaring into the sky like Icarus and Dædalus. But it's really just Zbigniew and Charlie: behaving as if they're taking practice of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Lark Ascending." Cool! Beautiful! (8.875/10)

A4. "Thorn Of A White Rose" (4:30) the only non-Charlie Mariano composition on the album (attributed to Jan Hammer) is a song built on two separate motifs glued together in a circular structure that sounds as if Jean-Luc Ponty is playing one of his songs against one of Elton Deans. In the third minute Jan Hammer's electric piano is given the green light to supplant Zbigniew's violin but Charlie still takes his turn in the Soft Machine motif. Then it's back to Zbigniew but he doesn't stop this time when the band transitions to the next Soft Machine section. Interesting song: like a Jeckyll and Hyde song. Must have been challenging for the band. (9.125/10)

B1. "Neverglade Pixies" (7:10) an interesting bed of four descending chords of electric piano arpeggios and blues-rock rhythm section patterns supports soloists Charlie Mariano on soprano sax, Zbigniew Seifert on his melodic violin, Jan Hammer with his dynamic Moog riffs and runs while percussionist Nippy Noya and Zbigniew add their quirky 1970s animal funk noises. The jam obviously went much longer as it is slowly faded out to end it. Solid with interesting solos throughout. (13.5/15)

B2. "Charlotte" (6:33) piano and soprano sax duet, each playing dynamically as if in their own medium while following a prescribed order of Charlie's design. I can't get past my surprise whenever I hear Jan Hammer play anything but a Moog cuz that's all I ever heard him play in my youth (even in the one concert I attended of his he only walked around with his shoulder-strapped MiniMoog during the whole concert, never even spending much time at the rack of keys he had set up at the side). He is actually a pretty decent pianist with good instincts for melody and support of his co-performers! (8.875/10)

B3. "Avoid The Year Of The Monkey" (5:30) another song built over electric piano arpeggios but this time over a syncopated one-chord vamp for Charlie, Zbigniew and Jan to solo over. The solos are, again, prime, but this time I find myself hearing the work of both John Marshall and Nippy Noya as well. My favorite parts of the song are the smooth weaves of all the soloists in the bridges they create as transitions between each soloist's move to the spotlight. (9/10)

Total Time: 38:48

I'm a bit disappointed that neither legendary Jack Bruce nor one of my favorite drummers of all-time, John Marshall, rarely take my attention away from the soloists. I know that this observation exhibits how good the soloists are--and how solid the rhythm section is--but I guess with a lineup of all-stars like this you always hope for more. 

90.0 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; an album of very solid performances of solid, mature compositions that exudes confidence and maturity but rarely achieves mind-blowing inspiration or innovation--something this stellar lineup makes one hopeful of. Still, this is without hesitation an excellent addition to any Fusion lover's record collection.

SBB Pamiec

Had I heard this or any SBB album in the 70s I might not have favored FOCUS/JAN AKKERMAN and RETURN TO FOREVER/AL DI MEOLA/CHICK COREA/STANLEY CLARKE/LENNY WHITE so much. This is perhaps the best match of emotion and virtuosic jazz fusion I've ever heard--and I do like this album more than the other three highly acclaimed SBB studio albums (1981's Momento z banalnym triptykiem and 1978's "Slovenian Girls"). Not so complex or complicated as to lose listeners but by no means simple or uniform, these songs are well composed and extremely well performed.

     The band's third album, released by Polskie Nagrania Muza on September 27, 1976, it contains three masterfully-constructed and rendered songs that show off their newly-found freedom and inspiration to express themselves in the long megalithic forms that progressive rock and jazz-rock fusion bands had been routinely using to fill whole sides of vinyl albums.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jozef Skrzek / grand piano, Fender electric piano, Hammond organ, Moog synth, bass, vocals
- Antymos Apostolis / guitars
- Jerzy Piotrowski / percussion

1. "W Kolysce Dioni Twych (Ojcu)" (9:07) the album's opener sucked me in from the opening notes like a PFM or RTF classic. Just beautiful music! And then it matriculates into an absolutely AWESOME groove at the 5:20 mark. (I love the subtle but masterful interplay of the instrumentalists during the minute before the guitar and vocal solos begin.) The switch at the seven minute mark saddened me, but then I was able to relax into it and enjoy. The drums are so tight! Keyboard work is fun! It segues back into a recapitulation of the beautiful intro section for the final 45-seconds with guitar and voice(!) leading the high register melodic notes. (19/20)

2. "Z Ktorych Krwi Frew Moja" (10:14) had almost the same effect on me as the opener: sucking me right into its emotional, melodic weave. The vocal, electric guitar, and background vocals at the one minute mark bring forth a beautiful hook. This B section returns until at 2:37 we have a subtle bass keyboard solo. The hypnotic mid-section supports an adequate guitar solo before everything slows down to a spacey FOCUS-like section at 6:55. RPI-like vocals at 7:35. Still AKKERMAN/VAN LEER-like guitar & organ background throughout. This one didn't reach the heights nor sustain it as dramatically as the opener (though the ending two minutes is stronger vocally) but it's still an excellent, emotional song. (18.75/20)

3. The album's side-long epic, "Pamiec w Kamein Wasta" (19:48) opens with synth "waves" and some very slow, subtly developing space music. It sounds like a prelude/interlude piece from the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey--the part where the evolutionary chimps are figuring out the use of weapons (leading up to Ricard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra"). Eventually the song evolves into a "Court of the Crimson King"-like song (especially the Michael Giles-like drumming). At 10:15 an ELP "Tarkus"-like section starts up before evolving into what sounds (incredibly) like a cross between EUMIR DEODATO's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and a JEAN-LUC PONTY classic. Great fun following the drums, bass, keyboards, and volume pedal controlled guitar both separately and stepping back to hear the effect of the woven mix. AT 14:55 there is an shift into a more funky rhythm section to support a three-minute electric guitar solo. Not quite AL DI MEOLA but a very nice solo anyway. The next shift is into another chorale-led section (nicely displaying the drummer's prowess) that brings me back to a familiar PHAROAH SANDERS/GINO VANELLI feeling. Fade out is as it started: spacey keys and synth waves. Great song despite the divertissement section to support the lengthy guitar solo. (38/40)

Total time: 39:30

My CD version has two bonus songs, "Niedokonczona Progresja" (6:24) (9/10) and "Reko-reko" (4:31) (7/10), the first a slow piano-based song that builds slowly into a kind of TONY BANKS/ANTHONY PHILLIPSian piece (with some awesome frenetic synth soloing), while the second song starts out with the melodrama of a great GINO VANELLI song. Later the presence of a mouth organ makes it take on a little bluesy feel. I can see why theses songs did not make the cut for this album as they don't have the development of the other songs--they are in fact kind of one-dimensional, though still very melodic.
     Based on the material presented on the original album this is in my opinion a very important 4.5 star contribution to the prog catalog. Essential, as it is, IMHO, the first SBB album that I would recommend to the curious listener.

94.68 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of jazz-rock infused progressive rock music; one that has earned its place in my Top 10 Jazz-Rock Fusion Albums of the "Second Wave" of prog's "Classic Era."

LOCKWOOD Jazz-Rock

 

The Lockwood brothers--20-year old violinist, Didier, and his older keyboard-playing brother, Francis--who had just left MAGMA--here team up with monster bass player Bunny Brunel and recent Zeuhl artist Patrick Gauthier to produce an album that was inspired by Jean-Luc Ponty's work (especially his collaboration with Frank Zappa for King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa) and probably that of Michal Urbaniak, and perhaps even Italian fusion artists Arti E Mestieri, David Cross (King Crimson, Clearlight), and Darryl Way (Curved Air). Though this album's original vinyl release was listed under Didier and Francis' surname, "Lockwood," later reissues (as early as 1980) tend to list the band as "VOLKOR"--though I know not why. The album was recorded in July for Music-Zag and then released a few months later.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Bunny Brunel (CAD) / bass
- Kirt Rust / drums
- Francis Lockwood / acoustic piano, electric piano
- Patrick Gauthier (Heldon, Magma, Wiedorje) / Moog synthesizer
- Didier Lockwood (Magma, Synthesis, Zao, Gong) / electric violin

1. "To-Morrow" (2:15) opens with some super funky bass from Bunny Brunel--deep water bass, I have to call it. With the establishment of the main motif dueling solos ensue between Didier's electrified violin and Patrick Gauthier's Moog. This felt like a complete song despite being only two minutes long! (9.375/10)

2. "Astral Trip" (5:30) a great foundation presents fecund ground for Didier and to fly--while drummer Kirt Rust and, to a slightly lesser extent, Bunny Brunel also seem to fly underneath. Francis gets the  next solo on his electric piano in the fourth minute and then Bunny in the fifth (which merely magnifies the prowess of power drummer Rust's extraordinary skill). Cool song with some great things accomplished with tempo changes over just two chords rotating over and over! (9.25/10)

3. "Elbow" (7:00) opening with some super-funky effected-bass establishing both the melody and pace before distorted Moog synthesizer starts to squawk its way into the groove. Drums and echo- and delay-treated-electric violin are next, the former playing a straight-time near-Disco beat while Didier provides melodies to counter Patrick's squawking synth. In the fifth minute Bunny and Kirt slow things down as Francis' Fender Rhodes stabilizes things with regular chords played in a Zeuhlish progression while Didier really goes to Jean-Luc Ponty town with his screaling violin. Cool shift--which allows Kirt to show more of his skills and creativity on the batterie. Patrick re-enters with that saw-squawk Moog for the final 30 seconds as the engineers give the song a slow fade. (13.75/15)

4. "What's The Matter" (2:15) multiple tracks given to Francis' distorted Fender Rhodes while Patrick puts on display another of the highly-unusual sounds that he's discovered on the Moog--this one sounding as if a calypso steel drum were filtered through a garbage disposal. An unique little novelty piece. (4.375/5)

5. "Volkor" (6:05) a Jazz-Rock Fusion piece that is structured and paletted like a Zeuhl song with a fairly constant/rigid Fender Rhodes four-chord progression and deep bass line towing the line while Kirt's drums race frenetically-along and Patrick's Moog and Didier's reverb-violin trade barb's up top. A shift in motif (but not sound palette) occurs at 5:30 but this just leads to a slow fade-out from the production crew. Cool song with great play from Bunny, Kirt, Patrick, and Didier. (9.125/10)

6. "Yellow Faces" (3:35) sonosphere-dominating underwater bass and spacious time-keeping rock drums  provide the fertile medium for Didier to solo on his ever-increasingly-reverberated electric violin. It's cool, with a great sound palette, but ultimately a little monotonous in its one dimensionality: like another experimentation or étude. (8.75/10)

7. "Green" (3:50) another cute, quaint, and yet interesting little sound experiment (more in palette--due to another one of Patrick's sonic discoveries on his Moog) that ends up never changing, never developing into a full song, always feeling like another étude. (8.875/10)

8. "Naita" (4:20) the Lockwood brothers performing a spacious duet: Francis' dirty Fender Rhodes more supporting and reactive to his brother's wonderful soaring, plaintive work on the heavily-treated electric violin. In the fourth minute Francis picks up his involvement--almost sounding as if he's providing structure and pace for the rhythm section to join in--but it never happens. The song dies with Didier's last sad note as Francis' last echoed-chords filling the sonosphere. (8.75/10)

Total Time 34:50

Some amazing experimentations with sound and sound textures are occurring throughout this exciting, inventive album but there are two tendencies that render my overall impression one of words that are not all superlatives: 1) the clear Jean-Luc Ponty-ness of Didier's sound and stylistic approach to his violin play and 2) the fact that so many of the songs (three of them) feel incomplete--as if the brothers were so enamored of their sound creations that they figured a little blurb of these rather unique (and entertaining) sonic experiences was deserving of public preservation.

90.31 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of innovative and experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion that never seems to reach its fullest potential.

October

TERJE RYPDAL After the Rain

Recorded in August 1976 at Talent Studios in Oslo, the album was released on the ECM Records label on October 1, 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Terje Rypdal / electric & acoustic guitars, String Ensemble synth, piano, electric piano, soprano sax, flute, bells, tubular bells
With:
- Inger Lise Rypdal / vocals

1. "Autumn Breeze" (4:36)
2. "Air" (4:28)
3. "Now & Then" (2:53)
4. "Wind" (1:25)
5. "After The Rain" (6:08)
6. "Kjare Maren" (4:11)
7. "Little Bell" (1:38)
8. "Vintage Year" (3:49)
9. "Multer" (2:55)
10. "Like A Child Like A Song" (6:01)

Total Time: 38:04

An album of quiet, meditative music that borders on the beautiful but more often, in my opinion, on the Plutonian due to the stark "large" sonospheres the endless reverb allows the listener to experience. The guitar tone Terje seems fixated on when using his electric guitar in these stark intergalactic spacescapes feels to me as if he and Mike Oldfield had either been hanging out in the same music store, picking up the same gear, or else the two had been corresponding in a society of mutual admiration, honing their guitar tone choices together. And, since this is 1976, and young Mr. Oldfield had by now released three rather successful albums while zeroing in on this, one of his signature guitar tones, I can't help but feel a little biased against some of Terje's work on this album. (But then, due to my acculturated Anglo-American bias, perhaps Terje, the elder of the two, deserves the credit for developing and honing in the tone and I should consider Mike the pirate!?)

BTW: Vocals? What vocals? 

C+/3.5 stars; an interesting and demanding listening experience (as opposed to one that creates a natrual desire to listen) of low-structured sound and noodling experiments. 

RETURN TO FOREVER Romantic Warrior

Recorded in February of 1976 at Caribou Ranch in Aspen, Colorado, and then released on October 7, 1976 by Columbia Records, this marks the third and final album with the "classic" Corea / Clarke / White / Di Meola lineup.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Chick Corea / Yamaha organ, piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner clavinet, Polymoog, Minimoog, Moog 15, Micromoog, ARP Odyssey, marimba, percussion, producer
- Al DiMeola / guitars (electric, acoustic & soprano), percussion
- Stanley Clarke / basses (Alembic, acoustic & piccolo), percussion
- Lenny White / drums, congas, cymbals, timbales, timpani, hand bells, snare drum

Though the opener, Chick's 1. "Medieval Overture" (5:14), doesn't capture much of a medieval vibe to me (no nods to medieval music that I can hear), it is no less impressive (8.75/10).

The next offering, the funky Lenny White composition, 2. "Sorceress" (7:34) has some real ear candy in spacious, melody slapping rhythm roles and smooth, emotional soli. Chick's piano solo is vintage Chick--just awesome! Al throw's his weight around, Lenny's percussion play off the drums is breathtaking, and Stanley! Well, Stanley just kind of sneaks in his mastery on this one. (13.5/15)

Then comes 3. "The Romantic Warrior" (10:52), an all-acoustic affair that just happens to be one of my all-time favorite fusion songs. (20/20)

4. "Magestic Dance" (5:01) opens like it's going to be a Led Zeppelin rock'n roll song--which might be explained by the fact that it's a Di Meola composition. The second section--a bit of circus cheese, and the weak repetitious keyboard bass line make this not quite up to par with the rest of the album's songs. (8.6667/10)

But then comes Stanley's tune, 5."The Magician" (5:29) which is pure prog heaven--ushering in stunning performances (if sometimes subdued and quirky) by all four performers--including a piccolo bass harmonics duet with a "micro" mini Moog piccolo! (9/10)

The incredibly well-produced album closes with it's most dynamic and in-your-face tune in the form of an eleven minute epic, 6. "The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" (11:26) There are soli by each and every one of the artists on this one that are without doubt hailed in Prog Heaven in the "How is this humanly possible?" sound room. One of the most incredible songs you are likely to ever hear. (19/20)

Total Time 45:36

An incredibly seminal album in my formative musical education: if not THE PEAK of the "First Wave" of Jazz-Rock Fusion then the Gateway into the "Second Wave." On Romantic Warrior, the four virtuosi involved are all at the top of their game both technically and creatively--all giving stunning performances throughout. It still stuns me that Al was only 24 or so when he made this album with, by now, seasoned veterans Chick, Stanley and Lenny. It also stupifies me that drummer Lenny White has received so little due over the years. To my ears, he is incredible! He is so smooth, so "melodic"--if a drummer can be said to be so (which is probably why his solo projects and self-penned compositions are so likable/memorable.) Rather than go into detailed song-by-song review as I often do, suffice it to say that the music and performances here are stellar.

92.25 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; overall this is a minor masterpiece of prog-infused jazz-rock fusion, so well engineered, with performances unsurpassed in terms of skill level. There are two epic-length songs that deserve to be in Prog's Hall of Valhalla. An album that earns its way into the bottom of my Top 20 Favorite Jazz-Rock Fusion Albums from prog's "Classic Era."

STANLEY CLARKE School Days

Stanley's highly-regarded sophomore release, his second as a band leader and principal composer, serves well to continue to cement his legacy as one of the greatest bass players of all time. Recorded in New York at Electric Lady Studios and A&M Studios in June of 1976, the album was released on Nemperor Records on October 8 of the same year.

• 
  

Line-up / Musicians:
- Stanley Clarke / acoustic, piccolo & electric basses, piano, gong, handbells, chimes, vocals, arranger, conductor & co-producer
With:
- Raymond Gomez / electric guitar (1,3,5)
- John McLaughlin / acoustic guitar (4)
- Charles Johnson / electric & acoustic guitars (6)
- David Sancious / keyboards (1), Mini-Moog (2,3), organ (3), electric guitar (5)
- George Duke / keyboards (6)
- Gerry Brown / drums & handbells (1,3)
- Steve Gadd / drums (2,5)
- Billy Cobham / drums & Moog 1500 (6)
- Milt Holland / percussion (3), congas & triangle (4)
- String Section: 

David Campbell, Dennis Karmazyn, Lya Stern, Thomas Buffum, Janice Adele Gower, Marcia Van Dyke, Karen Jones, Robert Dubow, Ronald Strauss, Rollice Dale, Gordon Marron, John Wittenberg, and Marilyn Baker 

- Brass Section: 

Jack Nimitz, Buddy Childers, Lew McCreary, Dalton Smith, Robert Findley, Gary Grant, George Bohanon, William Peterson, Stuart Blumberg, and Albert Aarons 

1. "School Days" (7:51) drums and bass chords open this one before Ray Gomez' horn-like treated electric guitar solos. Interesting in a very heavy RTF/rock 'n' roll way, but there's something missing: it all feels like an (over-)extended intro until the bridge at the end of the second minute. David Sancious' synth play is rather unique. The scaled-down (bass chords removed) passage from 2:45 to 6:45 allows for Stanley to start up, escalate and realise a pretty impressive electric bass guitar solo (four minutes long!). Also, drummer Gerry Brown is a pretty good foil for Stanley's play. Interesting end with Stanley humming over the piano. (13.33333/15)

2. "Quiet Afternoon" (5:09) a gentler, more pop/radio-oriented tune that is based over Stanley's piano play and Steve Gadd's distinctive drum sound (soft toms and bass drum). Stanley uses his piccolo bass for some soloing despite the presence of his standard electric bass play in the rhythm track. David Sancious gets some extended time for some MiniMoog soloing in the third and fourth minutes. Interesting--and melodic in a Minnie Ripperton/Maria Muldaur way. (8.875/10)

3. "The Dancer" (5:27) nice percussion-rich song with Milt Holland, Ray Gomez, Gerry Brown, and David Sancious playing around within the busy weave. Nice but nothing extraordinary. (8.75/10)

4. "Desert Song" (6:56) John McLaughlin on the acoustic guitar gives Stanley the inspiration to perform a SHAKTI-like bowed double bass solo within the first 1:45 of this acoustic duet. He then drops the bow for some amazing straight bass in the third minute. John finally gets his turn on his newly-created (by master luthier Mirko Borghino) scalloped-fretboard acoustic guitar around 3:15. Along with Milt Holland's congas and triangle, the song progresses very much like a Shakti song--but Stanley and John's rapport seems to really work: it seems very easy and sympathetic.

     Stanley takes back the lead again at 5:15, returning to his bowed bass for the rest of the song. I can't help myself: I'm such a sucker for this kind of music. (13.5/15)

5. "Hot Fun" (2:55) a little foray into funk-rock--including some extra support from strings and brass. Fun! Stanley can definitely play funk! (8.875/10)

6. "Life Is Just a Game" (9:00) orchestral support for a cinematic piece like a contemporary film theme song (one that would run through the credits at the end of the movie). Billy Cobham, George Duke, guest on this one with Charles "Icarus" Johnson on guitars. Something is missing from this song--from all of the performances: a kind of cohesive enthusiasm for the song. Some of the performances are impressive (though not Icarus Johnson, or Billy Cobham [his drums are recorded with some weird effects--perhaps through is Moog 1500], or even George Duke--and the orchestration seems excessive and perhaps unnecessary.) (17.5/20)

Total Time 37:18

I just don't connect with Stanley's musicality: his compositions, melodies, arrangements, and vision do nothing for me except augment my already-healthy respect for his virtuosity as a bass player.

88.54 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a nice album to continue our appreciation for Stanley Clarke, bassist extraordinaire.

JOHN ABERCROMBIE & RALPH TOWNER Sargasso Sea

Two guitar virtuosos blending their sensitive-yet-fluid styles for an album of duets. It's hard to imagine anything better. The album was recorded in Germany in May of 1976 and then released by ECM Records in October. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- John Abercrombie / acoustic & electric guitars, composer
AND
- Ralph Towner / 12-string & classical guitars, piano, composer

1. "Fable" (8:41) like a stripped down "Blue in Green." Absolutely beautiful in every aspect imaginable. (19.5/20)

2. "Avenue" (5:19) veering into the Spanish/Flamenco traditions. (And these guys aren't even Spanish! That's what I'm talking about when I use the word "virtuoso": an artist's ability to easily morph into a variety of styles while convincing the listener that that style is the one and only/best style that he/she plays.) (9.5/10)

3. "Sargasso Sea" (4:01) opening with discordant chords doesn't faze me: the sounds are too good. (It's kind of hard to make a 12-string sound discordant--unless it's out of tune.) Ralph's piano tinkers away beneath both 12-string and volume-pedal-controlled electric guitar. The construct is what I imagine a song made in which the musicians only play half of what is on the song charts: skipping half of everything in each measure. The sounds being produced the electric guitar in the second half, coupled with the discordant chords being played on the 13-string, are a bit weird and, to me, nonsensical. (8.75/10)

4. "Over and Gone" (2:51) four tracks, four guitars, starting with a classical guitar soloing over the gentle support of a second strummed classical guitar, but then the duo are joined by two steel-stringed acoustic guitars playing with and within the melody lines that make up the weave of this brief but beautiful song.   (9/10)

5. "Elbow Room" (5:11) strummed steel-string acoustic guitar supports a soloing twangy, echo-effected electric guitar. Not my favorite though I love listening to creative, reactive rhythm guitar play like this. (8.66667/10)

6. "Staircase" (6:25) the same instrumental sound palette as the previous song with much gentler playing styles to both the acoustic guitar support and the twangy-electric guitar soloing. The song definitely gets better in the second half when only acoustic guitars are being played (again deploying more of a Spanish chord and melody structure and style as in "Avenue"). (8.875/10)

7. "Romantic Descension" (3:17) as suggested by the title, this is a duet of stunning beauty, supple interaction; two musicians expressing while on the absolute same wavelength. Even prettier than anything on John McLaughlin's tribute to Bill Evans, Time Remembered. (10/10)

8. "Parasol" (5:24) a song that sounds like something that might come from Pat Metheny: brilliant, erudite chord phrasing from Ralph's gentle and respectful acoustic guitar while John solos up top with his slightly twangy electric guitar. Piano joins in around the half-way point while the support guitar continues, eventually moving to the front for some Chick Corea-like soloing while the two guitars support with uncommon elegance. I'm not as much a fan of the melodies in this one, but the structure and respectful interplay is gorgeous. (9.333/10) 

Total Time 41:09

What I appreciate the most about this album is the way the artists seem to prize beauty over flash and flair: the egos never became more important than the emotional inputs and elegant results of every song. I feel as if this is such a rare achievement in the world of music. Perhaps this is one of the gifts that Manfred Eicher and his ECM label were able to bestow upon the world: a label that seemed to value the way their published product soared and resonated above money, time, and egos; where timeless beauty was prized over commerce and fame. The only negative of taking the time to get to know this album (and write its review) is the fact that I'm looking for Jazz-Rock Fusion, not so much straight folk-jazz like this.

92.92 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an album displaying the stunning connection between two guitar masters. It DEFINITELY doesn't get any better than this! 

FINNFOREST Lähtö Matkalle

The sophomore album from these Finnish jazz-rockers notes some lineup and directional changes, it was produced by Måns Groundstroem in Sweden's Marcus Music Studios and then released in October of 1976 by Love Records.

Line-up / Musicians:
- 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)

4. "Lähtö matkalle I" (8:36) beautiful symphonic orchestra opens before smooth jazz rock gets involved and takes over. Turns into a great jam with great keyboard and bass play from Julla Linkola and Jarno Hiekkala, respectively. Mahavishnu Orchestra's orchestrated album Apocalypse obviously had a huge impact on the band's composers. (19.25/20)

 
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

90.42 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece from a band that feels as if it still has room to grow despite their impressive musicianship and compositional skills. Highly recommended to any self-acclaimed prog lover. 

SONNY ROLLINS The Way I Feel 

Recorded on the West Coast (in Berkeley, CA) in August and October of 1976, Sonny is hoping to elevate his music into current public consciousness through both an attempt to get on the Jazz-Rock Fusion bandwagon but also through surrounding himself with fresh, young talent. The album was supposedly released by Milestone Records in October 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Sonny Rollins / tenor saxophone

- Charles Meeks / bass [electric]

- Patrice Rushen / clavinet, synthesizer

- Billy Cobham / drums

- Lee Ritenour / electric guitar

- Bill Summers / percussion, congas

With:

- Alex Blake / bass [acoustic] (A3, B2, B3)

Horn Section:

- Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone)

- Oscar Brashear (trumpet)
- Gene Coe (trumpet)
- Chuck Findley (trumpet)
- George Bohanon (trombone)
- Lew McCreary (trombone)
- Don Waldrap (trombone)
- Alan Robinson (flugelhorn)
- Marilyn Robinson (French horn)
- Bill Green (piccolo, flute, soprano saxophone)

A1. "Island Lady" (5:51) upbeat, happy-go-lucky music for public consumption. Sounds like some island's cabana band. Other than Lee Ritenour's electric guitar solo and Patrice Rushen's electric piano play, a pretty simple and dull song. I mean, Sonny is a solid, no frills sax player--the kind that were a dime a dozen (though he does start to let loose with those shrill dog whistles at the end). (8.667/10)

A2. "Asfrantation Woogie" (3:14) more rather plain, milk-toasty simple consumer-friendly jazz despite the admirable activity of Patrice, Billy Cobham, and Bill Summers. It's just so drab and mundane: like something you'd expect at the annual county fair--or something that existed as a failed theme song for a half-season television show in the 1960s. (8.667/10)

A3. "Love Reborn" (5:13) this is the first song on the album to sound as if Sonny is wanting/expecting something truly jazzy, not just pop/consumer-friendly schlock--even when Sonny stops playing the sax at 1:45 and the band suddenly leaps into a refreshing Latin romp for Patrice Rushen to soar on her electric piano. But then, rather oddly, everybody goes back to sleep for Sonny's return at 3:05. At 3:40, the band jumps back into Latin dancing and Sonny goes along: accommodates his playing from dirge to Tom Scott-like dynamic-melodic. Nice! (9.125/10)

A4. "Happy Feel" (3:53) at least we're in the 1970s with this near-Disco tune (have I launched on you my theory that Billy Cobham inadvertently invented Disco?) Here a play on the main melody from Philly band M.F.S.B.'s 1974 monster hit, "T.S.O.P." Some great drumming from Billy, great electric bass play from Alex Blake, and awesome Fender Rhodes play from Patrice almost messes up Sonny's plan for lame and mundane--even serve to inspire his old ass to rev up for his second go round in the third and fourth minute. Hmm! I guess maybe the man can play. (8.875/10)

B1. "Shout It Out" (5:45) super funk that also sounds like it could fit in well as a soundtrack song for a Sesame Street sketch or some Saturday morning kids cartoon (other than Bill Cosby's Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids). (8.875/10)

B2. "The Way I Feel About You" (5:34) a seductive late night beauty. I guess Sonny knows what he's doing--though he's no Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, or Cannonball Adderley; he's more like Tom Scott--and he's not as corrupted as Dave Sanborn or Kenny G. (8.875/10)

B3. "Charm Baby" (7:25) schlocky smooth jazz that sounds rooted in the melodies of the early 1960s. More nice jazz guitar work from Mr. Ritenour through the fifth and sixth minutes. Even Sonny is solid and engaged (and engaging). (13.125/15)

Total Time: 36:54

One of the most challenging J-R Fuse albums I've ever tried to review due to all of the shlocky melodies and Sesame Street-friendly songs. Still, I commend the respect he's earned: respect that allowed him to either earn the money to recruit hungry, hot young musicians to his studio (and stage) sessions or for the thrill (and honor) of playing with a legend. Billy, Lee Ritenour, and the tremendously under-appreciated Patrice Rushen and Bill Summers perform quite admirably throughout, often elevating the songs to unthinkable heights when considering the base melodies and chord progressions they were all based on.  

88.61 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a collection of songs that are based on some rather saccharine melodies and chord progressions is elevated by the spirited contributions of the young musicians Sonny hired.

November

MARION BROWN Awofofora

Recorded: July 8, 9 & 14, 1976 at Sound Ideas Studio, NY. Released in Japan by Discomate Records in November of 1976.

Line-up/Musicians:

- Marion Brown / alto saxophone
- Fred Hopkins / bass
- Billy "Spaceman" Patterson / bass guitar, guitar, textures 
- Chris Henderson / drums
- Rene Arlain / guitars
- Ed Blackwell / percussion

- Juuma Santos / percussion 
- Ambrose Jackson / trumpet

A1. "La Placita" (6:42) a song that sounds like a the Herb Alpert-like Cubano-Caribbean music that might serve well for a dance party of those constituents. (8.875/10)

A2. "Flamingo" (4:30) after the bass guitar solo that bridges the end of "La Placita" to this one, the song "Flamingo" feels like a continuation of "La Placita," only one that is slowed down and turned into a bit of a rondo among the horns. The rhythm guitar sound (attributed to one Rene Arlain) are quite unusual with their heavily-processed, almost-keyboard-like sound. More bass guitar soloing from either Fred Hopkins processed double bass or, more likely, Billy "Spaceman" Patterson's heavily effected electric bass. (17.875/20)

A3. "Pepi's Tempo" (8:59) opening like a MIAMI SOUND MACHINE working man's percussionists' extravaganza for the first minute, two parts, before the bass, wah-wahed electric guitars and untamed horns enter and add their own animal-like contributions to the mix. In the third minute the electric guitarist is allowed to step into the spotlight for a minute before trumpeter Ambrose Jackson gets turn (sounding like he's playing from behind the stage). Nice jam! The Mwandishi and Caravanserai lineups would be proud (as would The Jimmy Castor Bunch)! (17.875/20)  

B1. "Mangoes" (8:13) a song with some attitude over which Marion finally takes the full lead, really letting loose with his sax. There is still an unmistakable Caribbean flavor to this one though it is closer, this time, to something Jamaican (Reggae) than Cuban, Calypso, Salsa, Samba, or Bossa Nova. After the stripped down centerpiece of percussionists tinker-time keeping around the five-minute mark the full band returns with a kind of cacophonous onslaught of real New Orleans second line brass band flare to it. Multiple tracks are occupied by Marion's saxes as the percussionists and guitarists have a field day, straight up to the gradual scale down at the end. (17.875/20)

B2. "And Then They Danced" (6:19) opening with a devolution into just a few horn tracks (all played, I'm assuming, by Marion since they all sound like alto saxes), each walking his own very personalized walk--as if off into the night in three different directions, each moving away from the other, from the French Quarter. Parts are good and cool, others are just experimental. (8.667/10) 

B3. "Vista '76" (9:09) effected electric guitars picking and warbling as rustling cymbals open this before the bass, percussionists, and sax arrive. The band settles into a cool jam that sounds like something from WAR or perhaps Freddie Hubbard. I really love how the two electric guitars satisfy all longings for keyboards due to the heavy use of effects on their chord strumming. Marion and trumpeter Ambrose Jackson present some truly great solo material and Rene's solo in the fifth and sixth minutes is quite reminiscent of some of the work of legendary studio guitarist Larry Carlton or even the great Roy Buchanan. Such a nice WAR-like groove to get into even though it's really only a two-chord vamp. (18.75/20)

Total time: 44:12

This Latin-flavored, almost Cubano-feeling jazz album was recommended to me as a candidate for J-R Fusion--probably due to the effects used to warp and oscillate the signals of the horns and guitars (electric bass included). In the end, though I appreciate (and even enjoy most of) the experimental work, I find little on the album other than "Vista '76" and parts of "Flamingo" and "Pepi's Tempo" that really fits the mainstream of J-R F; it feels like one of those fringe albums that is teasing and testing, pulling and pushing the amorphous boundaries of that-which Jazz-Rock Fusion can accomplish yet finding a side street that very few (and perhaps not enough) J-R F artists chose to explore.

89.42 on the Fishscales = B+/four stars; an excellent collection of wild and experimental percussion- and Latin-dominated Jazz-Rock Fusion.

JEAN-LUC PONTY Imaginary Voyage

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 Records 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)

6. "Imaginary Voyage" :
- 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

My introduction to the world of Jean-Luc Ponty, I am still a huge fan of the opening two songs, "New Country" and "Gardens of Babylon"--the latter being one of the most gorgeous and emotional songs from the classic era of progressive rock and a progenitor of the Smooth Jazz movement while the former represents pure fun and unadulterated joy. The side-long "Imaginary Voyage" suite on Side Two was always a bit inaccessible to me until I recognized the tremendous similarities to the music of one of my favorite 1970s prog albums, 1974's Todd Rundgren's Utopia, as well as a melodiousness similar to the same period's work of WEATHER REPORT. The album as whole offers great contributions from all of Jean-Luc's session men--especially keyboardist Allan Zavod, fledgling guitarist Daryl Stuermer, bassist Tom Fowler and drummer Mark Craney (who would go on to serve Jean-Luc, Niteflyte, PhD., Jethro Tull, Dana, Headpins, Tommy Bolin, and Gino Vanelli each on multiple over the next three decades and for whom Imaginary Voyage represents the 22-year old's first studio album). Then there is Jean-Luc himself: Really, folks, has there ever been anyone with a more beautiful, creative, and dynamic contribution to the place of violin in rock music much less jazz, jazz fusion, and progressive rock? I would argue that there is not.

91.43 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion and one of my all-time favorite Jean-Luc Ponty albums.

MATRIX Matrix

The debut album from this very-mature-sounding big band of Jazz-Rock Fusion enthusiasts from Wisconsin (where I live)--with six (!) full-time members of the horn section. It was recorded in May of 1976 at Vern Castle Studios, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and then released later in the year by Ultra Nova Records.

Line-up / Musicians:
Michael Bard / saxophones
Larry Darling / trumpet, flugelhorn, synthesizer, vocals
Kurt Dietrich / trombone, synthesizer, vocals
Randall Fird / bass, vocals
Mike Hale / trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion, vocals
John Harmon / keyboard
Jeff Pietrangelo / trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion
Fred Sturm / trombone, vocals
Tony Wagner / drums

1. "Earth And The Overlords" (3:42) an odd adventure into near-funky jazz-rock that tries to cross over into Jazz-Rock Fusion the way Don Ellis' orchestra pioneered it but comes up short. (8.875/10)

2. "Catalpa Complex" (6:29) a little more funking but a little more big band-like too. The best section is the funky synth solo in the third minute when the horns are silent and the bass and percussion can be heard. No wonder it's got some nice keyboard centricity to it: it's composed by keyboard player John Harmon--a member whose position in the band will move more toward leadership over the course of the next few albums. The choral vocals in the fifth and sixth minutes give the song even more of an AVERAGE WHITE BAND feel despite the more big band-sounding horn arrangements. Nice drum work in the final minute though it feels a little academic--rehearsed (and maybe charted). (9/10)

3. "Blue Snow" (2:36) quite cinematic in an ECM/Eberhard Weber-kind of way. Speaking of ECM, the sound quality of this album is so clean and pristine that it begs asking to know more about Ray Papai and his Ultra Nova Records in Lake Geneva! (9.5/10)

4. "Dark Riders" (5:52) a rather unique musical experience in that this song feels as if it was intended as a soundtrack accompaniment to something like the "Monkey Chant" from the film Baraka. Very interesting and visionary! (9/10)

5. "Clea" (10:05) more contemplative music that sounds like it could come from Paul Winter Consort, Weather Report, or maybe even Bob James. Soprano sax, gentle bass and electric piano and percussion play. In the middle the band collective provides wordless choral chants. Then it turns very dreamy with keys, gentle wind-like percussives, and sonorous trumpet soloing over the top. Worded choral vocals enter in the seventh minute. Such interesting and unusual music! I am truly impressed! And it ends like an ECM version of "Edelweiss"! (18/20)

6. "Geese "(1:42) horns working in a flock-like mathematical weave of individual honks. Pretty cool! (4.5/5)

7. "The Last Generation" (6:46) another odd song that seems to blend and bridge many styles and sounds--sometimes feeling conflicting, sometimes feeling perfect, at others purposely awkward and tension-filled while behaving as if perfectly intended to be exactly as provocative and ambiguous as it is. Like projecting/predicting a future jazz onto the soundscape of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Too bad the arrangement of the horn section and the drum play are so "standard" otherwise this would really work! (13.75/15)

Total Time 37:12

Definitely a surprising, haunting album of refreshingly creative, one might say innovative Jazz-Rock Fusion--unlike anything I've ever encountered yet in my deep dive into the history of J-R Fusion. I have to admit to liking future bass player Randy Tico's bold fretless work on Tale of the Whale more than Randall Fird's rather tame and unobtrusive work on this album. 

    Overall, I'm not sure whether I like all of this music despite the fact that I appreciate and greatly admire the quirky, unorthodox, "out of the box" compositions contained herein. 

90.78 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of innovative and eccentric Jazz-Rock Fusion.

MIROSLAV VITOUS Majesty Music

An album that was recorded at Todd Rundgren and Moogy Klingman's "Secret Sound Studio," produced by Miroslav, and released by Arista Records in 1976, quite possibly in November. This was Miroslav's first record made with Arista and perhaps his first encounters with--or, at least, use of, the MiniMoog (via Todd & Moogy's in-studio equipment).

 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Miroslav Vitous / bass, double bass, piano, electric piano, clavinet, guitar, synthesizers [MiniMoog, 360 System, string ensemble], producer 

- Jaroslav Jakubovic / saxophones [baritone, tenor, alto], flutes

- David Earl Johnson / percussion, congas

- Rimona Francis / electric piano, synthesizer [string ensemble], wordless vocalese 

With:

- Lenny White / drums (A1, A4, A5, B4)

- Gerry Brown / drums (A3, B1)

- Francesco Centeno / electric bass (A4, A5)

- Kenny Bichel / electric piano, synthesizers (A5)

- Bobby Goldman / drums (B3)

A1. "X Rated" (3:25) a catchy funk-jazz tune with some great musicianship--with the surprise inclusion of the Urszula Dudziak-like wordless vocalese coming from Israeli-born vocalist/keyboardist Rimona Francis. A great, solid song with some wonderful surprises (besides the delightful female vocalese): Lenny White's smooth yet syncopated drumming, Miroslav's funky, soloing electric bass play, the predominance of so many synth sounds, and the smooth yet not annoying sax play of Jaroslav Jakubovic. Yeah, it's Disco, but at least it's interesting--and progressive. (8.875/10) 

  
A2. "See You, November" (3:25) a gentle pop-jazz tune with wonderful conga-based music (great work from percussionist David Earl Johnson) and Jaroslav's breathy sax (double tracked--or chorused) played over some pretty extraordinary Latin Jazz bass playing and innovative synthesizer stylings from Kenny Bichel. Not only is it a mesmerizingly soothing, beautiful song, but Miroslav's bass playing is really something to behold. (9.75/10)

A3. "Majesty Music" (4:35) an edgier song that is dedicated to the late, great Duke Ellington (who passed on May 24 of 1974), this one veers more toward jazz and free jazz that has everybody kind of flying around like loose canons despite the fairly solid groove being laid down from Rimona Francis's droning string synth and Gerry Brown's (poorly recorded) drumming. Miroslav and Jaroslav seem to be having the time of their lives. Great musicianship doesn't automatically make for a great, listener friendly song--especially when there are deficiencies in the sound engineering department. (8.875/10)

A4. "New Orleans" (3:20) funky bass--coming from two different bass players, both playing at the same time! and Lenny White's wonderfully smooth and easy drumming supporting more wordless "vocalese" coming from not only Rimona but Miroslav's MiniMoog and Jaroslav's "distant" sax. Miroslav's work on heavily-effected super-funky clavinet and Fender Rhodes are also extraordinary. (9/10)

A5. "Do You, Don't You, Won't You" (3:00) a fun, disco-driving funk song that sounds like something straight out of a contemporary Michal Urbaniak album. Bowed bass, electric bass, layers of synthesizers (including bass notes/chords?), Lenny White's disco drumming, Jaroslav's three different saxophones and flute, all serve to make for a light and freeing little dance tune. The ABBA-like ending is a bit weird. (8.875/10) 

B1. "Best Friends" (4:10) high-speed guitar and double bass (both coming from Miroslav) with sensitive and highly-skilled and amazingly-nuanced drums from Gerry Brown, fast-playing congas from David Earl Johnson, while Jaroslav screams out with his tenor sax as if he's some kind of John Coltrane or Pharoah Sanders. Interestingly, the song kind of smooths out--especially with regard to Jaroslav's sax play--for the final 45-seconds. Wow! Let's hear that again! Not necessarily a favorite but such an impressive display of skills and interplay! And it just keeps getting better with each listen! (9.375/10) 

B2. "Streams And Fields" (3:04) two tracks of congas from David Earl Johnson with synth and bowed electric bass, Vangelis-like synth strings chord-washes, synth bass, and English boys choir-like vocalese from Rimona, and, later, sax from Jaroslav, this is really a carpeted interlude for Miroslav to play with his electronic effects on his bowed bass. But it is pretty cool! My favorite part is actually Rimona's almost-worded vocalese at the end. (8.875/10)  

B3. "Folks" (4:40) Miroslav's pensive electric piano is soon joined by Jaroslav's "Funny Valentine" melody from his alto sax as Miroslav adds some synth strings and, finally, some double bass. But that's just the intro: at 1:20 piano and drums (courtesy of Bobby Goldman) and congas establish a comfortably-paced convertible-cruisin' groove within which the piano and Rimona's uncredited vocalese present melodies before Jaroslav's delay/echoed alto sax enters to finish off the radio-friendly smooth groove. Nice tune. (8.875/10)

B4. "Mount Shasta (Part II)" (3:57) electronic animal and space sounds and Flintstones-like Beatnick drums and congas reads: Star Wars Cantina (though it also reads Michal Urbaniak and Herbie Hancock). Jaroslav's echoed baritone sax gets an increase on its volume in the second half of the second minute, making it the lead animal in the stampede. (8.75/10)

B5. "Requiem For My Mother" (5:04) like a musical ode for a sunrise or sunset, synth strings chords, bass notes, plaintive salivay sax, and piano make this song quite gentle, respectful, and contemplative if not as emotional as I'd expected (from the title). (8.875/10)

 Total time: 38:40

An album of very solid, consistent, mature and adventurous compositions of which two stand out head and shoulders above the rest. I love hearing Miroslav branching out: trying more instruments, incorporating more synths and electronic effects, while also showing how he is mastering the Latin and funk styles.

91.25 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a full-fledged minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion. Miroslav is moving forward: toward the funk and electronic--and it's working!

December

WLODEK GULGOWSKI Soundcheck

Polish keyboard master who had been super busy since 1972, apparently having played with some of Sweden's jazz-rock fusion stars, met Steve Gadd and Anthony Jackson while working on compatriot Michal URBANIAK (Jean-Luc PONTY, DZAMBLE, NEIMEN, Larry CORYELL)'s Fusion III and FUNK FACTORY albums in 1975. Recorded January 12 through 17 of 1976 at Stockholm's KMH Studios, Soundcheck was released in December by Polydor.

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)

3. "Manhattan Vibes" (5:24) playful keyboard play that almost feels like a child playing with the keyboard most talkie-voice-like synth sounds, all occurring over some simplified simple funk. I'll give Wlodek credit: his affinity for trying to recreate human voicings with his arsenal of keyboard sounds is nearly matched by his success at doing so. I can just see the animated robotrons interacting and conversing with so much of his musical antics. (8.75/10)

4. "Love Is Back" (5:06) sounds like a slowed down version of a RETURN TO FOREVER song--lifted straight from Chick's tapes. As a matter of fact, there are so many sound and structural similiarities on this song to the music on Al Di MEOLA's first two albums it makes one wonder why Al didn't just hire Wlodek as one of his keyboard players (though Jan Hammer is tough to top) or why Wlodek couldn't lure Al over for some guitar  (8.875/10)

5. "Pan-Jan" (3:29) this one feels like a reprise (or repeat!) of the "Manhattan Vibes" song with a little RTF-like bridge into a second, clavinet-supported motif and then back to the BOB JAMES-like Fender Rhodes-supported synth shlock. It's not bad--at least the rhythm track is solid and impressive--but there is this nervous feeling I'm getting that either I'm going to be brainwashed into liking this stuff or numbed into accepting it into the same world as the more serious jazz-rock fusion explorers like Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, or Herbie Hancock. (8.75/10)

6. "Lady G" (3:16) some slowed-down blues-pop rock shlock of the television theme song/soundtrack sort. Here Wlodek is almost debasing his talented rhythmatists (but, heck! They're getting paid, right?!) Playful in an almost-child-like way. (Did Mr. Rogers have a Fender Rhodes?) (8.375/10)

7. "Cosmic Strut" (3:20) Wlodek's favorite MiniMoog "child's toy that is almost a cute little voice" sound opens this before being joined by a simple, sparsely executed funk bass and drum rhythm. Nice melodies--especially in the chorus--but they're so Chick Corea-like! I do admire Wlodek's ability to take Chick's precedents and take them quite a bit forward (perhaps even helping to pave the way for the 1980s' Rap/R&B artists who use the synths for robot/alien voices). (8.75/10)

8. "One Time Sometime" (5:00) a decent if-at-times-disco rhythm track used to play with/expand upon multiple Chick Corea sounds and melody lines. The interweave of the three musicians' play in the third and fourth minute is most excellent! But then it goes downhill with a very annoying/cloying repetitive bass and drum Disco line locked in while Wladek messes around with silly sounds over the top--and then it fades out! Horrific! And the usurpation of the famous "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" melody line is almost sacriligious! (8.666667/10)

9. "Tribute To Frederic Chopin" (2:34) Solo piano opens this one (Pole to Pole, of course!)  before being joined by keyboard synth strings support. Then Anthony and Steve are invited in to provide structured forward motion to Wlodek's piano chord-supported play on multiple synths. It's pretty! But it's definitely shlocky and simple. (8.666667/10)

Total time: 38:30

While I enjoyed being exposed to the sound-making genius of this keyboard player, I found myself a bit turned away by the artist's obsession with expanding upon the MiniMoog sounds that Chick Corea had been elevating to popular consciousness over the past two years or so. The guy is obviously quite talented; I hope there is some forward movement in the near future--that he doesn't get stuck here.

 

87.73 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; some excellent keyboard experimentation that is often elevated by the support of an incomparable duo of accompanying rhythmatists but sometimes it's not enough (or he is too much). Highly recommended for the experience of hearing the masterful exploitation of the MiniMoog but probably not an album you'll want to return to very often much less own. 

ICEBERG Coses Nostres

The sophomore effort of eclectic prog from these still-green yet maturing artists from Barcelona, it was recorded in Madrid in September of 1976 and released by Bocaccio Records before the end of the year. 

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) 3. "L'acustica (referencia d'un canvi interior)" (9:10) opening with a sound palette and choatic playing style that reminds me of the early songs and albums of GONG, NOVA, and STEVE HILLAGE. At 1:45 a new motif starts with some out-of-tune reverb-guitar arpeggi and electric piano notes. At 2:45 the full band finally comes together into a gorgeous space-proggy motif that reminds me of one of the early Canterbury artists (like EGG) wherein acoustic guitar and piano take turns soloing over The music and performances are so simplistic compared to what will come ahead on Sentiments and Arc-en-ciel! And the sound engineering is awful compared to what's ahead. In the end this is a pretty prog song showing a band of ambitious young musicians on the rise. (17.75/20) 4. "La d'en Kitflus" (6:49) despite the cheesy synth strings and Fender Rhodes play, here is the first song that begins to encroach the possibilities of Jazz-Rock Fusion--though there are just as many symphonic elements employed: It reminds me of early FOCUS. Some very impressive guitar and synth synchronized runs here and there! The lumbering bass-centric motif in the fourth and fifth minutes is as mystifying as it is cheesy. Again: some brilliant ideas that the band (and producer) are just too young and inexperienced to turn into fusion (or prog) gold. The skills are impressive but they're still learning how to best display and express them. (13.125/15)

5. "La flamenca electrica" (5:56) sounds like a continuation of the previous song; as if the band is using these song ideas to figure how to best express their talents instead of trying to make the composition their primary focus of their expression. Interesting and very skillfully layered but lacking the sounds from their instruments as well as the engineering acumen (or equipment) to pull off some great sound. (I'm often wondering if these were demos that never reached the finishing/polishing stages.) Again, great skills in development and aspiration; they're just not there yet. (8.75/10)

6. "A Valencia" (8:45) a song that seems to be based on working on the mastering of a borrowed riff: like any student of classical music, you work with études and other practice vehicles in order to perfect your chops as well as your musical foundations. That is exactly what this song feels like--especially with its "Never Been Any Reason" HEAD EAST sound palette. There's even a couple more styles to work on in successive motifs within the song. Nice to hear Jordi's drum skills put on full display in the final motif. (17.25/20)

7. "11/8 (Manifest de la follia)" (6:54) the first of the band's songs on which I've heard a little of the Latin flavors that will continue to grow and take over their playing sound and style. Definitely a song reaching for RETURN TO FOREVER territory--and almost successfully doing so! You go, Guys! You'll get there! (13.375/15)

Total Time: 48:44

The band has definitely not evolved into its masterful RETURN TO FOREVER sound nor the incredible cohesion and synchrony of Arc-en-ciel yet; the band's engineering, compositional, and performative skills are just not up to the speed and skill level necessary to pull off those next couple albums. Give 'em a year!
B/four stars; an excellent tier-two contribution to the lexicon of progressive rock music from a band that is still finding its way, still experimenting with its preferences for style and sound (as well as still growing their skills). It's worth listening to, but if you want the peak of this band's output, seek out 1977's Sentiments or 1978's Arc-en-ciel.

ZAO Kawana

With this line-up of musicians such as this you really shouldn't go wrong. The addition of Didier Lockwood there seems to be yet another step further into the fold of true Jazz-Rock Fusion--I'm even hearing the funky stank entering into Gérard Prévost's bass style and sounds. The album was recorded in September of 1976 and then released by RCA Victor before the end of the year.

Line-up / Musicians:

- François Cahen / Yamaha acoustic piano, Fender electric piano, Korg synthesizer 

- Didier Lockwood / acoustic & electric violin, artianal bass violin 

- Gérard Prévost / Fender bass, hors phase bass, acoustic bass 

- Yochk'o Seffer / saxophones [soprano & sopranino], vocals, piano on "F.F.F." 

- Jean-My Truong / orange double drums

1. "Natura" (7:03) sounds so much like a modern Pat Metheny Group epic--but it pre-dates all that! Piano, chunky and jazzy bass, and nasal soprano (sopranino?) sax all sound good together. Jean-My is, for my tastes, a little quiet in the mix. (13.6875/15) 1.3125

2. "Tserouf" (8:59) a very tight funky jazz fusion song that could have come off of any of the American masters of the era--Miles, Chick, Stanley, Zawinal, even Jean-Luc Ponty, Area or Bob James! Great song. Very melodic. I particularly enjoy François Cahen's use of synthesizers in the middle section: he sounds so at home, so masterful (and so melodic--all the while pounding away on the piano beneath it all!) The third motif for the final third of the song sees Yochok'o and Didier trading solos like something straight out of Jean-Luc Ponty's greatest songs from the same period (especially from the Stéphane Grappelli, Aurora and Imaginary Voyage albums). (18.75/20)

3. "F.F.F. (Fleurs for Faton)" (2:34) ("Faton" is Fançois' nickname) A very nice little musical étude performed by piano, acoustic violin and bowed double bass--like a gift from Débussy or Fauré. (9.5/10)

4. "Kabal" (4:14) very tightly performed, fast-paced opening before stepping down to a slower tempo at 0:50 for some synth work--but then things ramp up again with EVERYBODY getting into the act, MAHAVISHNU style. The bass and drum work remain super tight and focused at the bottom throughout this display of whole-band virtuosity. Weird that I like Yochok'o's kazoo-like nasal horn (that sounds like a Middle Eastern surnai) much more than I do the soprano saxophone. There is, however, a little monotony with the hard repetition of the melodies in each motif that I find a bit irritating (not unlike some of the work in the songs of the Mahavishnu Orchestra). (9/10)

5. "Sadie" (3:43) opens rather loosely, as if the listener were walking by Jean-Luc Ponty performing as a street musician. The sopranino sax, bass, and electric violin melodies and harmonic support from the keys throughout this oft-shifting-tempo-ed song are gorgeous. At 2:40 we are even treated to an overdubbed solo track for a second and third violin. Nice. A creative, inventive song. (9.375/10)

6. "Free Folk" (10:44) there's a very relaxed vibe throughout this song--like a WEATHER REPORT song. As a matter of fact, there's very little here--or on this album--that harkens to Zeuhl music. It Feels and sounds like the Zao crew has shaken loose from the Vander clutches and moved fully into the jazz fusion fold. Nicely done. Probably the weakest song on the album--almost anti-climactic fill--but still good--and, weirdly interesting that I just commented on how much I enjoy Yochok'o's surnai-sounding nasal clarinet more than a soprano saxophone and yet on this song I find it almost cloyingly annoying. And then, right in the middle of the song, the band speeds up in a very Zeuhlish fashion (again, right after I'd pronounced the umbilicus severed!) Luckily this ends and is replaced by a vocal-only section for a minute or so before the whole band bursts out of the gate again for a frenetically celebratory final two minutes. Amazing construct and performances that seem a little mysteriously disjointed and haphazardly pieced together for my puny little brain to comprehend (much less accommodate). (17.625/20)

I like the direction the band is taking with this album: more fully into the fold of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement, less entrenched in the roots of the world of Zeuhl. My biggest question is: why is Jean-My Truong so sedated and/or mixed so low in the soundscape (especially when compared to how awesomely forward he was mixed into the Shekina tracks)?

91.75 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of complex and highly-skilled Jazz-Rock Fusion.

CHICK COREA My Spanish Heart 

Released in the USA by Polydor Records on December 15, 1976, Chick had been working on the material that turned up on this record for years.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Chick Corea / acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Yamaha electric organ, synthesizers (ARP Odyssey, Minimoog, Polymoog, Moog Model 15 modular synthesizer), percussion, vocals
With:
- Stanley Clarke / double bass, bass
- Steve Gadd / drums
- Narada Michael Walden / drums, handclaps
- Don Alias / percussion
- Jean-Luc Ponty / violin
- Gayle Moran / vocals
- Connie Kupka / violin
- Barry Socher / violin
- Carole Mukogawa / viola
- David Speltz / cello
- Stuart Blumberg / trumpet
- John Rosenburg / trumpet
- John Thomas / trumpet
- Ron Moss / trombone

A1. "Love Castle" (4:47) what a great sound. Takes me straight back to the 1970s (despite the fact that I had never heard this song until today). There's even a brief appearance from Chick's MiniMoog. I can hear RTF, Lepruchaun, and future Mad Hatter in this wonderful piece. (9.5/10)

A2. "The Gardens" (3:11) slow dirge like left-hand chords with accompaniment from Stanley's double bass and David Speltz' bowed cello. At 1:50 there is a slight shift in pace, dynamics, and motif as the trio move into more responsive interaction. Impressive if lacking a bit in catchy melodies. (9/10)

A3. "Day Danse" (4:29) with Narada Michael Walden's enthusiastic "flamenco" hand clapping and the support of a full string section, this lively tune feels both celebratory and serious. Chick's piano is so crisp and impassioned--which especially shows up in the solo work of the second half. (8.875/10)

A4. "My Spanish Heart" (1:37) Chick's solo piano here delivers a piece that is far more classical and Romantic than I ever expected--like something from a Chopin nocturne, Prokofiev ballet, or even Grieg's Peer Gint. (4.5/5)

A5. "Night Streets" (6:02) hearing this J-R Fusion song helps me to understand for the first time why some people don't take as much of a shine to Chick's masterful 1978 release, The Mad Hatter as I do: much of the palette and themes used hear find their way onto that album's material--and not in insignificant quantities or quantities! I guess the positive perspective one could use is that practice makes perfect: that is, nice that the ideas that fill this song were allowed to live and breath, grow and develop into the full-length jazz-rock opera that would become TMH (though a lot of this remind me more of the two long jams on Side Two of TMH). More of Narada's handclaps and Steve Gadd's wonderful drumming along with some great contributions from the brass section (as well as Chick's amazing MiniMoog play). (9.125/10)

B1. "The Hilltop" (6:15) sounds half like a Christmas carole (a combination of Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and  A Charlie Brown Christmas) and half like the inspiration for that which would define George Winston's debut album as well as his entire career of music. But this is cooler for its interlude motifs with Stanley's double bass and Chick's bridge-like flourishes injected here and there. (9.125/10)

B2. "The Sky" (5:01) now this solo piano piece feels definitely like something that is either classically-inspired or classically-minded (neoclassical?). Concise and complex piano playing. (9/10)
      i. "Children's Song No. 8"
      ii. "Portrait of Children's Song No. 8"

B3. "Wind Danse" (4:55) the electronic ensemble with mostly Chick cranking it out on as many of his electric keyboards as possible including full bass sounds being performed on a synth. Steve Gadd's drumming really shines and the continuous thread of Gayle's angelic "ah" vocalese is a nice touch. I have a feeling that Steve and Chick, alone, are all that is really necessary. (9.125/10)

C1. "Armando's Rhumba" (5:19) as much as this is supposed to be full-on Spanish music, I feel it has much more in common with the music of both Django Rhinehardt and Stephane Grappelli and the Romani/"Gypsy" traditions--that is, until the 2:30 mark when Stanley's double bass and Chick's piano peel off into their own world (despite the tireless [and relentless] workings of Narada Michael Walden on those flamenco-like, tap-shoes-sounding hand claps). The musicianship is excellent. I'd have left out the violin (even though this is THE Jean-Luc Ponty)--especially as it is recorded rather poorly (as if in the background). (8.875/10)

C2. "El Bozo" (11:32) a suite that is (now) obviously meant to be fun, playful, even funny--like the persona of a clown. (23/25)

     i. "Prelude to El Bozo" (1:36) solo piano with a couple familiar themes. (4.375/5)
     ii. "El Bozo, Part I" (2:49) electric keyboards seeming to be offering their renditions of famous/familiar Spanish themes--for a bit, with the organ, it feels like a bit of a parody as performed on a cheesy church organ, but then halfway through we jump into a whole-band motif that, while still retaining some of that tongue-in-cheek energy, at least offers us a more "professional" soundscape as a break from the weirdness of the kazoo-like organ lead. (4.75/5)
     iii. "El Bozo, Part II" (2:06) more slightly-off-center music--here sounding like something one might more likely hear from a young Todd Rundgren, experimental Herbie Hancock, or PDQ Bach (Peter Schickele). (4.625/5)
     iv. "El Bozo, Part III" (4:56) the culminating aggregation of the previous playful themes leaves us with something quite pleasant and enjoyable (if still amusing). This guy is so talented! (9.25/10)

D. "Spanish Fantasy" (19:42) (37.625/40)

     i. "Spanish Fantasy, Part I" (6:07) the opening part of the suite is the most freshly original music of the suite as I am reminded of no extant or previous themes, melodies, or motifs that sound similar to it (though the play of the horn section does remind me of the awesome work Chick uses them for in his The Mad Hatter concept album). Amazing music! Amazing piano playing! And I LOVE the performance of the strings ensemble (which includes Stanley) in the fourth and fifth minutes. Awesome! And beautiful! (10/10)
     ii. "Spanish Fantasy, Part II" (5:11) totally built over themes from Chick's 1976 RETURN TO FOREVER album Romantic Warrior, particularly the dueling section of "The Romantic Warrior" and "The Duel of The Jester and The Tyrant, Part I." I guess he felt that it needed reworking--or else it needed to be recorded tout seul for the sake of documenting more accurately his own personal idea for the composition. (I know: it has drums! And I swear I hear an acoustic guitar in there at the end.) (8.875/10)
     iii. "Spanish Fantasy, Part III" (3:09) taking themes from the same song and classicalizing and Spanishizing them quite bombastically. Chick is here radiating the aura of his self-imagined bullfighter persona. I love it! (9.25/10)
     iv. "Spanish Fantasy, Part IV" (5:04) the pitch-bending bass play is pretty cool but--correct me if I'm wrong--I think it's Chick's Moog, not Stanley's electric or piccolo bass. Again the "fantasy" must surely be that of Chick as a famous matador. Another great rendering to cap off an awesome musical suite. (9.5/10)

Total Time 72:34

12/24/25: I had never heard this album until today. What an awesome Christmas present to myself! I found my spirits lifting and a smile taking over my being with the very first notes: with the sound of Chick's piano, Steve Gadd's drums, and Stanley Clarke's bass (and, later, Gayle Moran's gorgeous "la-la-la" vocalese and Don Alias' percussion work).

I have to agree somewhat with the reviewers who downgrade the album for being perhaps too diverse and broad-spectrumed to the point of even being too flamboyant or bombastic. There are definitely a lot of ideas on here--and a lot of notes. (Here, again, we must invoke the (Austrian) Emperor Josef II Defense: "There are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in the course of an evening.") While I appreciate immensely the talent, skill, and genius that goes into making these amazing songs, this amazing album, I think Chick achieves a masterful consolidation of all that is here in the eminently-more-accessible form of The Mad Hatter's single album length (though it, too, is a rather extended 50-minutes long). 

P.S. Does anybody else wonder exactly what credentials Narada Michael Walden had accrued in order to be given the job of official (flamenco) hand-clapper? (I can't imagine how many indigenous Spanish or Latin American experts on the craft of flamenco hand-clapping were/are feeling disparaged by Chick by the fact of this selection.)

91.8333 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a stunning display of musicianship, design, and composition. (Chick was known to have detailed charts for all of his musicians parts throughout his career). Despite the aid of Steve Gadd, Stanley Clarke, strings and horn sections, and Narada Michael Walden's handclaps (and wife Gayle's vocalese), this almost feels like the product of a solo artist / one-man-band. 

GONG Gazeuse!

Now de facto Pierre Moerlen's Gong, the lineup has become nearly 100% French--with only Englishman Allan Holdsworth representing the empire and language of the band's founders. It was recorded at tThe Manor Studio in Shipton-on-Cherwell (Oxfordshire) in September of 1976 and then released in the UK by Virgin Records in December.

Line-up / Musicians:
- 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)

1. "Expresso" (5:58) this sounds so much like BRUFORD (or even UK) with a more Latin-ized sound palette (due, of course, to Allan Holdsworth's domineering guitar tone--which is getting very, VERY close to the one he will use predominantly with the aforementioned bands in the next couple years--the result of recommissioning a new neck and fretboard and overhauling the pickups of his '73 Stratocaster. This is the guitar he will use for the next three years--the Bruford and UK albums--until his move to California in late 1981.) You can hear Allan's new-found confidence spilling over across the tape. The recording sessions of Gazeuse! were 15 months after those for The New Tony Williams Lifetime: Believe It! album--an experience that Allan often cited as being the single most transformative for him over his long career. Aside from Allan's opening solo, the music is very good Jazz-Rock Fusion: funky, somewhat smooth and governed by mathematical rules, with some excellent bass play from ex-Magma bassist Francis Moze, great vibraphone support from Mireille Bauer (both of whom would soon be shacking up together and moving on to help strengthen J-R Fusion band Édition Special) and of course Pierre Moelen's flawless drum play. (9.75/10)

2. "Night Illusion" (3:42) a solid song (with some great drumming) that lacks any melodic enticements. (8.75/10)

3. "Percolations, Part 1 + Part 2" (10:00) Benoit Moerlen, Mireille Bauer, and Pierre Moerlen weave together their tuned percussion instruments into something quite beautiful and hypnotic while Didier Malherbe adds some breathy flute. (Is this what Mike Oldfield heard that caused him to recruit Pierre for his Incantations album and tour?) At 2:10 a rock drum beat enters for a short bit, signalling the percussionists to shift their weave. Thereafter Pierre and Mireille's percussion work expand to cover timpani and tom toms and, eventually, drums. Leave it to Pierre to perform one of the most enjoyable/listenable drum solos rendered to vinyl. I love mathematical music like this. Again, I think this music previews (inspired) Brand X ("...and so to F"). (18/20)

4. "Shadows Of" (7:48) a song that starts out a little lackadaisacle despite Pierre's dynamic drumming and Allan's introductory guitar melody, but then, at 1:05, slowly speeds up into a nice cruising speed with Benoit's accenting vibes and Didier's folk-feeling flute play up front. Then Allan takes over at 2:50 with some of the weirdest saw-like bent-note play. It sounds like he's playing through a muted synthesizer clarinet or a Native American drone flute. Eventually he turns back to his regular (new) sound as he's joined/twinned by Didier's flute. At 5:30 the song seems to end, but then, weirdly, it slowly picks back up, one instrument at a time--sounding as if "Ooops! We forgot a round!" Bass and acoustic guitar here are awesome, but then Allan and the band return to a more BRUFORD sound and feel for the song's finish. Solid. Worth many listens. (13.5/15)

5. "Esnuria" (8:00) an interesting percussion weave opens this one before bass, guitar, and sax join in to coerce some funky rock out of it. Quite an interesting blend of sounds and styles: funk, Latin, R&B, rock, blues, jazz-rock, prog, even a little Canterbury. I'm not quite convinced it all works but it is certainly interesting. In the song's second half the band seems to smooth out and cruise down an easy straightaway but then at the end of the fifth minute they move back into a kind of intricate FRANK ZAPPA hodge-podge weave. I must say that Didier Malherbe's sax play coupled with the rhythm section's cohesive play make for some astonishing music. In the eighth minute Allan's guitar "power chords" with Francis Moze's bass and Pierre's amazing drum play make for the most melodic and engaging music on the album. A song that is up and down for me but very impressive. (13.5/15)

6. "Mireille" (4:10) Mireille was, at the time, Pierre's live-in girlfriend and a very popular human among the band (later to fall into relationship with Francis Moze--with whom she would leave Gong in order to join Édition Spécial--helping to make them one of my favorite French Jazz-Fusion bands of the 1970s). The pretty jazz-bar melody offered up to Mireille is given several renditions and variations within this same song: the first a sparse, PAT METHENY-like acoustic guitar with Fender Rhodes treatment, then a Mr. Rogers/Vangelis Blade Runner-like Fender with Ralph Towner-like filigree-style acoustic guitar (Allan showing that his acoustic guitar playing style was quite different than that of his electric axes: his runs much more feathery, like a scurrying mouse, than the slithery stop-and-go large rodent runs of his electric. The final capitulation of the theme is left to Francis' expressive piano, tout seul. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 39:38

There is so much to this album: so many amazing ideas, such amazing musicianship, so many breath-taking riffs and runs, weaves and solos, so many stunning performances, individual and collective, and yet, at the same time, there are so many discordant and even contradictory or combative sounds and styles that I find myself reeling in kind of "wait and see" retreat. This is the first time I've ever been exposed to this album. While I find myself so often feeling exhilarated I  can claim almost equal instances of bewilderment and/or repulsion. In time I imagine that it will all become so familiar to me that it will all become accepted: "Oh. That's just Gazeuse!"

On another note, like The Soft Machine, I failed to ever give this band any credit or attention. This was due to their often-hard-to-take-serious first six albums. I never knew that so many of the Canterbury bands would outgrow their frivolous silliness to become quite serious jazz-rock fusion bands. So glad to be here, now! This is the first Gong album that I've heard that I can willingly call a masterful contribution to the elevation of prog and jazz-rock fusion.

90.47 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of highly entertaining Jazz-Rock Fusion from one of the most extraordinary ensembles you will hear.

 

LONNIE LISTON SMITH & The Cosmic Echoes Renaissance

The Echoes are crumbling: falling into the allure and trappings of the more commercially-successful but soulless musics of Earth, Wind & Fire, Bob James, and Freddie Hubbard. The recording and release of the music that reached Renaissance was supervised by Bob Thiele on behalf of RCA Records all within the calendar year 1976.

Line-up/Musicians:

- Gene Bertoncini / Acoustic Guitar
- Al Anderson / Bass
- Leon Pendarvis / Clavinet
- Lawrence Killian / Congas
- Wilby Fletcher / Drums
- David Hubbard / Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
- Donald Smith / Flute, Vocals
- Guilherme Franco / Percussion
- Lonnie Liston Smith / Piano [Acoustic], Electronics [Electronic Colorations]

 - Ken Bichel / Synthesizer [Moog]

A1. "Space Lady" (6:40) great heavily-processed electric bass coupled with the clavinet and keyboard-generated electronic bass. Lonnie has definitely mastered the strings (must be a new keyboard he's using to generate them). Flute, saxophone and Fender Rhodes are exemplary at adding the smooth textures while the song remains totally grounded in Jazz-Funk. Brilliant! (9.25/10)

A2. "Mardi Gras (Carnival)" (6:02) raucous celebratory music so fittingly titled. Here Lonnie moves back to his acoustic piano while the percussion team and rhythm section hold fast to a Latin motif start to finish. Great energy and, of course, get-up-and-dance motivation. Nice contributions from the flutes, too. (8.875/10)

A3. "Starlight And You" (5:21) rich, chorused Fender Rhodes with airy flute and percussives open this before the bass, drums, and synth strings set up a gentle NORMAN CONNORS-like motif for Donald Smith to sing over. The problem comes in that Donald is singing a sexy love song--something that feels icky/uncomfortable for we the listener after all of his hymns to the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and the Cosmos. Plus, the song has less jazz pinions and more pop-Soul/R&B foundations than anything I've heard before from Lonnie and the Echoes. (8.66667/10)

B1. "Mongotee" (5:44) back to some jazz-funk with percussion, bass and sax-and-flute providing the grist to the motif. Lonnie's synth strings take over the lead in the third minute, showing his skill at arranging and conducting for an orchestra. (8.75/10)  

B2. "A Song Of Love" (4:05) the band tries returning to their more universal themes of praise and gratitude within a song that feels like the band has finally gone fully over to the making of Easy Listening Elevator music. It's good--for that genre--but it just feels so strongly as if it is loosing its jazz-soul to something more commercially-oriented--as if the band is more invested in getting something out for the sales and radio play than the expression of their inner longings and spiritually-elevating mission. (8.75/10)

B3. "Between Here And There" (2:36) Lonnie soloing on his heavily-treated Fender Rhodes. Loveley. (4.5/5)

B4. "Renaissance" (4:53) A high-quality soul/R&B song more akin to the pop-successful music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Rick James, or Steely Dan--complete with female background vocalists. The band has lost their center: allowed it to drop from the heart and third eye to the pelvis. And Donald! I commend your past commitment to the attainment of higher planes while worrying about the giving in to the temptations of the carnal world. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 35:34

Too much of this album is dedicated to showing off Lonnie's new found string synthesizer--and the skill he has at working orchestral strings arrangements into his music. 

88.53 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a collection of very nice, smooth easy listening songs bordering on pop directed. Maybe Lonnie was converted by the success Earth Wind & Fire had with their cover of his own song, "Reasons."

AREA Maledetti

The last Area studio recording with Demetrio Stratos as part of the band, Maledetti  was recorded at Fono Roma Studios in Milano and then released by Cramps Records in December of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Demetrio Stratos / vocals, voice filter (4), Hammond organ (2-4,6), piano (6), bells
- Giampaolo Tofani / electric guitar, (Serge) Tcherepnin synth (3,4,7)
- Patrizio Fariselli / piano (4,6), electric piano (3,4,6), prepared piano (7), ARP Odyssey synth (3,4,6)
- Ares Tavolazzi / electric (3,4) & acoustic (2,3) basses
- Giulio Capiozzo / drums (3,4)
With:
- Eugenio Colombo / kazumba ? (1)
- Steve Lacy / soprano sax (2,3,7)
- Paolo Salvi / cello (5)
- Giorgio Garulli / contrabass (5)
- Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli / violin (5)
- Armando Burattin / viola (5)
- Hugh Bullen / bass (2,6)
- Walter Calloni / drums (2,6)
- Anton Arze /txalaparta (3)
- Jose Arze / txalaparta (3)
- Paul Lytton / percussion (6,7)

1. "Evaporazione" (1:45) a wonderful and powerful introduction to the crazed and unique mind and world of Demetrio Stratos. (4.5/5)

2. "Diforisma Urbano" (6:18) slightly discofied jazz-rock fusion of the funky kind being churned out in the second half of the 1970s by such bands as JAN AKKERMAN, SBB, STOMU YAMASH'TA's GO, JAN HAMMER, GEORGE DUKE, LENNY WHITE, and JEFF BECK. Excellent for that fare. (8.75/10)

3. "Gerontocrazia" (7:30) Demetrio, soprano sax, and an African marimba open this one with a very African folk feel until cello takes over at 2:40 as sole companion of Demetrio's singing. At 3:36 the full electrified contingent joins in though carrying a North African melody as its standard. Then at 4:20 we get another drastic shift into a more JAN HAMMER/MAHAVISHNU-like passage in which jazz-rock drums support multi-instrumental presentation of high-speed melody-noodling. A minute later the whole-group presentation breaks down to allow for singular soloists to present their interpretations. At 6:25 the passage ends and we are bridged back to the North African melody section for the song's finish. Interesting! (13.5/15))

4. "Scum" (6:30) piano-based WEATHER REPORT, JOE SAMPLE or even DONALD FAGEN-like jazz fusion with fretless bass in the initial lead and synths and electronic keys adding their voices after a minute. Nice, virtuosic DON PULLEN-like piano solo in the third minute continuing on until the ELP/YES-like 4:23 mark. Experimental synth noises take over, setting the stage for a Demetrio Stratos political vocal recitation (oddly, electronically treated). (9/10)

5. "Il Massacro Di Brandeburgo Numero Tre In Sol Maggiore" (2:20) a BACH string quartet with a little organ support from Demetrio. (4.5/5)

6. "Giro, Giro, Tondo" (5:55) Single note synth drops support a multi-track, multi-voice Demetrio onslaught before drums and keys smash their way into the song at the one minute mark. By 1:45 there is a full-band jazz-rock tapestry playing out over which Demetrio sings a fairly straightforward (for him) impassioned vocal. (8.75/10)

7. "Caos (Parte Seconda)" (9:00) a sonic free-for-all in which every band member is set loose in the studio with the intention, it would seem, to pluck and strike, clink and clank, wah and wang, fizzle and fazzle, strafe and staccato anything and everything they can A) come in contact with or B) imagine and invent. Methinks Demetrio, saxophonist Steve Lacy, and all percussionists had the most fun during this one. I'm guessing that only the most patient, most curious, or else detached and unexpectant listeners will find enjoyment in this one. (14/20)

Total Time: 39:18

84.0 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; another wonderful, well-produced display of the kind of politically-charged experimental music being done within the progressive rock movement in the mid-1970s.

  

Other Great Albums Released Sometime in 1976:

 

FERMÁTA Pieseň z hôľ (Songs from Ridges)

The Slovakian band's sophomore album disspells any worry about a "slump": instead, the band shows how serious they are--and how hard they've been working since their debut. The album was recorded in Czechoslovakia in the 1976 and released by Opus label at the end of the year or beginning of 1977.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Frantisek Griglák / guitar, vocals, Fender Rhodes & synth (5)
- Tomás Berka / Fender Rhodes, synth, percussion
- Anton Jaro / bass
- Cyril Zeleňák / drums, percussion
With:
- Milan Tedla / violin, Jew's harp

1. "Pieseň z hôľ (Song From Ridges)" (11:07) the use of a wide sonic field with this bass and guitar opening catches the listener a little off guard but quickly flows into quite an awesome display of music with breathtaking performances from all four of the musicians (though especially guitarist Frantisek Griglák: the virtuoso has arrived!)Anton Jaro's nuanced bass play is brilliant, drummer Cyril Zeleňák's play quite solid and in the pocket, while maestro Tomás Berka's play on Fender Rhodes and synth are as extraordinary and inventive as ever. But really, giving Frantisek Griglák's guitar playing two (or more) tracks to show off his new, near-Jan Akkerman skills is almost unfair to the others. At the end of the sixth minute Cyril is given an additional track for some interesting "background" conga play. Then the band moves slightly into a different Al Di Meola-like lane with new guitar sounds and new synth sounds--all the while with Anton and Cyril holding down the blistering pace from below with astonishing ease. Now this is some powerful Jazz-Rock Fusion on the level of RETURN TO FOREVER. Probably the best--and my favorite--song on the album. (19.5/20)

2. "Svadba na medvedej lúke (Marriage On A Bears Meadow)" (4:15) the band puts on display how closely they've been keeping up with the Anglo-American Jazz-Rock Fusion scene with some Billy Cobham-like drumming, smooth-yet-funky Stanley Clarke like bass playing, and dreamy, experimental synth and Fender Rhodes play. Excellent, excellent song. Love the Cobham-like drum intro! Probably the best--and my favorite--song on the album. (9.75/10)

3. "Posledný jarmok v Radvani (The Last Fair In Radvaň)" (4:31) simple drums and wildly inventive-yet-melodic bass play from Anton Jaro (the guy is a metronomic miracle!) The band gets their funk out! Listen to guitarist Frantisek Griglák's funky guitar plucking! Plus, there are some amazing whole-band riffs, bridges, and weaves. Definitely a very intricately constructed composition that required a lot of practice to perform as well as some extraordinary skill to pull off. Probably the best--and my favorite--song on the album. (9.75/10)

4. "Priadky (Spinning)" (7:37) a slow, spacious opening with Fender Rhodes chords and percussion sounds gradually start building up tension and speed until Tomás chord play establish a rhythmic pattern upon which the rest of the band jump on board around the 90-second mark, forming one of the most engaging, melodic and yet funky jazz-rock themes I've ever heard. Amazing! Tomás work has never been better! So creative! And, with a little maturity he's figured out how the use of space within his playing can be advantageous. Frantisek's guitar only sneaks in during the fourth minute, eventually taking the lead in the sixth minute with more of a rock-blues-rock staccato style. (not my favorite.) Then, in the sixth minute, things slow down for a Fender and synth reset before Anton and Cyril re-establish an amazing groove over which percussion and Frantisek's rhythm and background lead work contribute. The real stars of the show here, for me, are Anton and Tomás. Probably the best--and my favorite--song on the album. (14.25/15)

5. "Dolu Váhom (Downstream Váh)" (2:20) one-man band Tomás Berka presents a theme that funksters Anton and Cyril join. It turns out that Frantisek's absence is only due to the fact that he's also playing a synth, duelling with Tomás. It's nice, made great by the rhythm section, but nothing to write home about. (8.875/10)

6. "Vo Zvolene zvony zvonia (Bells Are Ringing In Zvolen)" (10:10) with a kind of DEODATO "Also Sprach Zarathustra"-like display of smooth melody-making the band here express their future goals of creating more accessible progressive rock/jazz-rock fusion. The addition of Milan Tedla's violin to the mix is quite nice--here taking the first solo in the third and fourth minutes. Next is one of Tomás' synths as well as some additional percussion sounds. The whole groove is just a little too laid back--even at 5:10 when the rhythm section shifts into a cutesy stop-and-go motif over which Tomás switches to a different synth sound for a solo. A minute later they switch back to the original smooth groove for another violin solo--this one turning into a bit of a duel between Tomás' array of synth (and Fender Rhodes) sounds and Milan's violin (as well as himself). (Who does he think he is? Jan Hammer?) Another thing that irritates me about this song is the slight/subtle shifts in tempo--are they trying to be cute or just showing off their astute skills?  Plus, I'm not really a fan of the rapid and frequent keyboard sound shifts--as if purely to show off the number of sounds he's found. The skills on display are undeniable; it's the effect that bothers me: as if entertainment is the only end worth working toward, not the skill of comaraderie and working out intricate weaves as a whole band. (17.5/20)

Total Time: 40:00

I don't know why I'd never been steered toward this album before (due to the super-high acclaim given to the sublime Huascaran, obviously) but from a purely jazz-rock fusion perspective THIS is my favorite Fermáta album! It's so perfect! And so funky!

93.68 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a veritable masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion! Were it not for the disappointing weaknesses of the final two songs, this might be among my top five J-R Fuse albums of all-time! 

LABORATORIUM Modern Pentathalon

Smooth yet-complex and very competent Jazz-Rock fusion from Poland. These musicians make it all seem so easy! The album was recorded in Warsaw in July of 1976 and then released late in the year by Polskie Nagrania Muza.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Janusz Grzywacz / piano, Fender Rhodes, Roland 2000 synthesiser
- Marek Stryszowski / vocal, alto sax, bass clarinet
- Paweł Ścierański / guitars
- Krzysztof Ścierański / bass guitar
- Mieczysław Górka / drums

1. "Pięciobój nowoczesny" (20:00) using lots of experimental sound-making from electronic and acoustic instrumentation, the band opens this song with some jungle-zoo-like giving the music a feel and palette not unlike something HERBIE HANCOCK might have been doing with the help of Patrick Gleeson. The faux-Gregorian chants taking over at 6:10 provide an odd bridge to the next motif, a very NOVA Driftwood"-like atmospheric passage. In the eleventh minute there is another motif change, this time into something sounding more like somethting from the Bitches Brew or Mwandishi sessions, though the motif gradually becomes dominated by first alto sax and then a drum solo. Unfortunately, drummer Mieczysław Górka is probably the weakest member of the quintet, so this is nothing so very exciting. The next motifi something quite crazed in a Daevid Allen/GONG way--like something straight out of the psychedelic craziness that pervades the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy of albums, only all echo-effected vocals from wind player Marek Stryszowski. The rest of the band begins to return in the 18th minute and then finishes the song out with a hard-driving guitar- (and voice)-led jazz-rock passage. Definitely a suite of totally different song themes sewn together rather arbitrarily, but it ends up being a rather fun and enjoyable journey. (36.75/40)

2. "Funky dla Franki" (4:46) funky-lite that just doesn't go deep enough into the bottom end but the synths, keys, and electric guitar do a great job of supporting the bass. Acoustic guitar is the first soloist, with Mieczyshaw's sax coming in at the end of the third minute and then taking over the lead during the fourth. A very decent if rather lite song. (9/10)

3. "Szalony baca" (6:00) opens with jungle bird noises accompanied by some solo voce African chanting. At the 0:30 mark the band slides smoothly into a hypnotic groove in which sax, Fender Rhodes, and chorused electric guitar present a very pleasant almost Caribbean melody while the drums and bass also carry forward a solid if loose and syncopated Carib rhythm track. Sax gets the first solo followed by electric bass before the chants rejoin far in the background, eventually mirrored by the electric guitar. The recording and play here is so chill, relaxed, and smooth. A wonderful song that definitely puts on display the cross-cultural bleeding that Jazz-Rock Fusion has become such a melting pot for. (9.5/10)

4. "ABZ" (4:58) part yacht rock, part Weather Report cool, part high energy Mahavishnu Orchestra, part celebration of jazz's recent history, mixed with a lot of funky joy and fearlessness. So fun! (9/10)

5. "Grzymaszka" (2:24) opens with some serious, melancholy, though very jazzy McCoy Tyner- or CHick Corea-like piano play that becomes more dramatic and Gershwin-dominated as it goes along. Excellent adaptive lounge piano play that one might find being played by a live musician in the foyer of a very exclusive club. (4.5/5)

Total time: 38:08

A wonderful album that definitely celebrates the fusion of international sounds and styles with one very-well produced album.

 91.6667 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a masterpiece and most excellent addition to any jazz-rock fusion-loving prog lover's music collection.

LARRY CORYELL Basics (Recorded in 1968 and 1969; released in 1976.)

The songs collected and packaged here were recorded in sessions that happened in 1968 and 1969 but the material for Basics was not compiled and released by Vanguard Records until 1976. The music here is predominantly blues and blues-rock with very little Jazz-Rock Fusion.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Larry Coryell / guitar, vocals
With:
- Michael Mandel / organ
- Ron Carter / electric bass
- Chuck Rainey / electric bass
- Bernard Purdie / drums
- Steve Haas / drums
- Ray Mantilla / percussion
- uncredited / saxophone (1, 7)

1. "Call to the Higher Consciousness" (5:17) a very basic blues rock song constructed from a very basic blues chord progression. Larry, an oddly uncredited saxophone soloist, and congas take turns playing over the basic blues rhythm track as provided by front-mixed bass, drums, Ray Mantilla's percussion play, and Mike Mandel's distant organ. Sounds like a garage practice session for a new high school "band" of 16-year olds (albeit, gifted 16-year olds). No disrespect to Larry, but Ray is the only one here on this recording that sounds like he's on a professional level. (8.66667/10)

2. "Slow Blues" (4:22) pure blues. Some top notch blues guitar play from the bandleader--and I've seen/heard a lot of the greats! And pretty well recorded (as opposed to song #1). A solid blues song with some praise-worthy lead guitar work. (9/10)

3. "Friday Night" (2:22) more blues rock, this time with a little more Swamp fell and a lot more Buddy Guy-like rock orientation to it. I can hear quite a bit of Stevie Ray Vaughn in this one. Great bass and drum play from Chuck and Bernard. (I'm assuming.) (4.75/5)

4. "Half a Heart" (3:30) a SANTANA-like song that has a melody to hook onto as well as some mature structure with multifarious chord sophisticated progressions and more stunning lead guitar work (though much more rock-oriented on this one) and vocals! In the second half of the second minute. (He's got a really good voice!) Is this the song that spawned Becker and Fagen's "Do It Again"? Sure sounds like it!   (9.33333/10)

5. "Sex" (4:32) a rock-sided blues rock tune with a looseness that reminds me of a Stevie Winwood song. Great percussion and bass work while Larry wows us yet again with his ROGER McGUINN/Byrds-like/inspired 12-string lead guitar work. (9.25/10)

6. "Tyrone" (3:00) Larry covering a Larry Young composition with the same lineup and sound palette as the previous song. There is a little "Walk on the Wild Side" feel coming from the bass players lines. Nice solid team of drums and congas behind Larry's impressive guitar phrasing and skills. (8.875/10)

7. "Jam with Albert" (2:55) could the uncredited saxophone player on songs 1 & 7 be none-other than ground-breaking musician Albert Ayler--a man who would be dead within two years of these recording sessions (at the ripe young age of 34)? Given Larry's ubiquitous and fearless full immersion into the New York City music scene since his arrival in 1965 my hypothesis would not be a far stretch--and with the way the musical performances unfold on this song, I would not put it past the two, either. Nice rock song that feels and sounds like something that could've come off of a Jeff Beck album of the same time (Larry is really cooking on that rock guitar--and the rhythm trio [bass, drums, and congas] are incredibly tight!) (8.875/10)

8. "Organ Blues" (5:19) the only song on the album in which an organ plays a significant role, the interplay between Larry and Mike Mandel feels very loose and comfortable: both very mutually respectful and supportive. (This song represents the birth of a long and very industrious collaborative relationship for the two.) Otherwise a very standard-sounding blues song--one that sounds as common as an I-IV-V or I-VI-IV-V progression is in rock music. (8.875/10)

Total Time 31:17

I don't know if the music on this album is ordered in chronological order according to when they were first recorded , but they almost play out like that: simplest first, most sophisticated/mature toward the end. Most all of my individual song ratings are higher than my musical tastes would have predicted. This is due to the fact of nice sound recording, great instrumental performances--especially from the often-jaw-dropping play of one Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III (aka Larry Coryell).

90.167 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars;a minor masterpiece of Blues Rock that might very well also be considered an example of proto-jazz-rock fusion--certainly an astonishing display of guitar pyrotechnics: each song a master class unto itself. HIGHLY recommended to any fan of the evolution of the electric guitar and for any fan of the highest caliber guitarists who ever wielded an axe.

NEIL ARDLEY Kaleidoscope of Rainbows

 One of the most obscure albums that I've discovered in my recent deep dive into the early Jazz-Rock Fusion scene comes from British intellectual Neil Ardley. Here he composes complex jazz-rock and then enlists the help of many seasoned musicians (many of whom had served in the ranks of Ian Carr's Nucleus). Recorded at Morgan Studios for Gull Records in London, England, with produced by Paul Buckmaster, the album was recorded and released in 1976. 

Line-up / Musicians:
Neil Ardley: director, synthesizer
Bob Bertles: alto, soprano, flute
Paul Buckmaster: acoustic & electric cello
Ian Carr: trumpet, fluglehorn
Geoff Castle: electric piano, synthesizer
Tony Coe: tenor, clarinet, bass clarinet
Dave Macrae: electric piano, synthesizer
Roger Sellers: drums
Ken Shaw: guitar
Brain Smith: tenor, soprano, flute, alto flute
Roger Sutton: bass guitar, electric bass
Barbara Thompson: alto, soprano, flute
Trevor Tomkins: percussion, vibraphone.

Side 1:
1. "Prologue/Rainbow One" (10:25) layers upon layers of minimalist arpeggi performed polyrhythmically in rondo form--until 3:05 when they all come together in an awesome kind of DON ELLIS/EARTH WIND & FIRE/AVERAGE WHITE BAND jam. And then, oddity of all oddities (especially for a Jazz-Rock Fusion song) is the fact that the first instrumental solos don't begin until the seventh minute! (Given to Ian Carr, of course.) Very interesting--and enjoyable! (18.75/20)

2. "Rainbow Two" (7:35) a gentle duet of acoustic bass and flute open this one before woodwinds join in. Though mathematically interesting, eventually, the gentle, plodding music becomes rather soporific. (13.25/15)

Side 2:
1. "Rainbow Three" (3:28) Jean-Luc Ponty-like cello gets the leadership role over a percussive, Afro-folk rhythmic weave from the drums, percussion, and funky electric bass. Everything slows down at the end for a very subdued dénouement. (8.875/10)

2. "Rainbow Four" (6:15) this one starts out sounding like a merger of old-style jazz with modern minimalism but then everything shifts into old style Sketches of Spain-like music for trumpet, flutes, and other wind instruments to solo and weave in and out of a gorgeous Spanish-sounding ballad. Absolutely gorgeous melodies performed with awesomely inventive "choral" weave. Soprano sax solos in the fourth minute. The pain and anguish of the soloist gets so overwhelmingly powerful in the fifth and sixth minutes! Music does not get much better than this! (10/10)

Side 3:
1. "Rainbow Five" (4:25) sounds like a modern melding of DON ELLIS' big band ORCHESTRA with a smooth Weather Report or Freddie Hubbard. Great clarinet play in the song's first and only extended solo. Ends with another odd separate whole-band horn motif. (9/10)

3. "Rainbow Six" (7:39) flutes and other winds trill around each other like butterflies before electric bass, vibes, hand percussion, and brass enter providing gentle waves of Kind of Blue-like textures. The bass and jazz guitar provide the only disruptors to the gentle waves of winds--the bass creating an EBERHARD WEBER-like feel. By the final third of the song the rolling waves of wind instruments begin to show a hint of a minimalist pattern. Nice tune. A very interesting composition. (13.5/15)

Side 4:
1. "Rainbow Seven/Epilogue" (14:58) sounds and feels like a kind of mélange of several (if not) all of the themes and styles of the other songs--the Epilogue portion definitely mirrors the opening in a re-oriented kind of variation. A little slower and more spacious than the opening side, there is some nice guitar and electric piano play involved (which was not so featured on previous songs). I love the rolling bass sound and the big band horn. Ken Shaw's extended guitar solo is a bit too jazz guitar-like and not so rock 'n' roll, and then Brian Smith's sax solo follows. With four minutes to go there is a full shift into a completely new and different motif with bass and drums leading the band into an almost-imperceptibly speeding up pace will horns et al. follow and embellish. (27/30)

Total Time 54:46

An album with wonderfully crisp and clean compositions performed and recorded with equal definition and clarity. With no side extending beyond 18 minutes--and three less than 15 minutes--in length I guess it should be no wonder that the sound quality is so great.

91.25 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of finely-crafted jazz-rock fusion--an album that I think every prog lover would love.

EX OVO PRO European Spassvogel (1976)

The debut album of a short-live ensemble of highly-skilled musicians from Ulm was released on the Amayana Label late in 1976 after being recorded and mixed at Scala Tonstudio in Munich on September 6, 1976.

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.

PAT MARTINO Starbright

Pat Martino's Starbright album was officially released sometime late in 1976 on Warner Bros. Records. The jazz fusion album was recorded in July 1976 at Media Sound in New York City.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Pat Martino / guitars, synthesizers

- Will Lee / bass
- Charles Collins / drums

- Michael Carvin / drums
- Al Regni / flute
- Gil Goldstein / keyboards
- Alyrio Lima Cova / percussion
- Michael Mainieri / synthesizer

- Warren Bernhardt / synthesizer
- Marty Quinn / tabla
- Joe D'Onofrio / violin

A1. "Starbright" (3:38) a single structured measure from his support cast provides the terrain for Pat to solo with his hummingbird-like flourishes on his acoustic guitar. I like the Asian nuances to the underlying melody presented by the violin, flute, synthesizer, and second (and third?) acoustic guitar(s). Nice. (8.875/10) 

A2. "Eyes" (2:36) a song that openly demonstrates Pat's genius for melody, touch, and emotion--on a par with some of the most beautiful instrumental guitar songs I've ever heard--e.g. with Terje Rypdal's "Sonority" and others from Bleak House, Roy Buchanan's "Fly … Night Bird," Earl Klugh's "Acoustic Lady, Part 1," Ray Gomez and Narada Michael Walden's "Oneness Cry," Hiram Bullock's performance on Sting's version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," Pat Metheny's "Tell Her You Saw Me," Jeff Beck's "Nadia," and so many from Jan Akkerman and John McLaughlin's acoustic guitars. Alyrio Lima Cova's creative work with unusual percussives is quite magical--adds so much to the song's ambiance. (9.5/10)

A3. "Law" (3:35) another somewhat one-dimensional, one-tracked, albeit satisfyingly funky and sophisticated, song that offers fecund ground for Pat to grow some nice electric guitar playing. Nothing too exciting; nothing urging me to write home. (8.75/10)

A4. "Fall" (2:04) Fender Rhodes and electric guitar are paired up for a duet of sensitive, pensive expression. (4.375/5)

A5. "Deeda" (3:43) Pat seems to be trying to imitate JEFF BECK here: in both overall sound palette and structure for his twangy electric guitar playing. I'm genuinely unsure of whether or not I like the very odd funk bass playing of Will Lee, the rest of the band is locked into some pretty-tightly proscribed routines which makes Pat and Will the only real musicians who get to shine a bit--which is not quite enough to win my praises. (8.75/10)

A6. "Starbright Epilogue" (0:31) bedtime piano lullaby play with acoustic guitar picking. (4.25/5) 

B1. "Masquerada" (2:53) nice though the highlight for me is Marty Quinn's tabla. Again, quite one-dimensional in its linear structure. (4.5/5)

B2. "Nefertiti" (2:51) a steadier Fender Rhodes plays slow shifting chord progressions as Pat solos gently and subtly on a electrically-miked nylon-stringed guitar. (4.375/5)

B3. "Blue Macaw" (3:03) another linear funk-lite vamp of full-band ensemble over which Pat solos with a little more aggression than usual on his distortion-effected electric guitar. The fade out ending connotes a longer jam from which this was culled. (8.75/10)

B4. "City Lights" (0:55) Fender Rhodes chords and conjoining riffs that are mirrored by Pat's jazz guitar from mostly the upper registers. (4.375/5)

B5. "Prelude" (6:30) excellent solo acoustic guitar play that seems to draw inspiration (or even borrow riffs and/or melodies) from Classical, Spanish, Jazz, and even Pop and Cinematic traditions. I love Pat's fast-changing chord progressions but am not really a fan of his fretboard slides or legato runs. (8.75/10)

B6. "Epilogue" (1:00) piano and high-pitched wind chimes, nothing more, nothing less. Sounds like George Winston or something from David and Steve Gordon's 1982 album, Peaceful Evening. (4.25/5)

Total time: 33:19

Unfortunately the most common flaws with the songs on this album are the stingily-singular dimensionality of the constructs that Pat had composed for his collaborators (a talented crew whose talents, in my opinion, are severely wasted on almost every song) and the severe handcuffs of restricted add-ons constricting his musicians. 

88.33 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a satisfying contribution to the Jazz-Rock Fusion lexicon that I selfishly wish would have offered both more sophisticated, multi-themed compositions and more freedoms for the participating musicians to collaborate and express their creativity individualities.  

JOE CHAMBERS New World

Recorded at Minot Sound Studios in White Plains, N.Y., and released by Finite Records some time in 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Joe Chambers / drums, marimba, Vibraphone

- Herb Bushler / bass
- Ray Mantilla / congas
- Eddie Martinez / electric piano
- Paul Metzke / guitars
- Omar Clay / percussion
- Dick Meza / saxophones [tenor, soprano]

A1. "New World" (9:00) I am truly impressed with the SANTANA-like sound palette and top notch, highly-creative performances of each and every one of the musicians involved: everybody! (18.75/20)

A2. "Chung Dynasty" (4:00) more like an exercize in Math Rock minimalist weave--one that predates and prepares us for the work of King Crimson 3.0, 1981-1984. The untuned wind chime percussion work is more valuable than anything else here (though Paul Mezke's maintenance of the high speed guitar riff that keeps this song going is quite admirable). (8.5/10)

A3. "Wayne Shorter's Bossa Nova" (aka "Rio") (8:00) walking bass, volume pedal controlled rhythm guitar chords, simple rim-shot drum play, and sax open this one before Paul Metzke is offered the lead in the third minute. Eddie Martinez' electric piano is next. Really the only person screaming out "bossa nova" is Herb Bushler's bass, but he often strays into more straight-forward be-bop walking. Dick Meza's soprano sax solo is next. There's really nothing so very exciting or unusual in this interpretation of Wayne Shorter's bossa nova style. (13.125/15)

B1. "Blow Up" (10:00) an interpretation of Herbie Hancock's theme song from the 1966 film soundtrack that he did for Michelangelo Antonioni's film of the same name. It's particularly nice to hear an interpretation rendered with instrumental and sound advances ten years after the original was put to tape, but in the end it does little to advance the Jazz-Rock Fusion idiom any further in any one direction.(17.875/20)

B2. "Rock Pile" (8:00) a solid, nicely structured and sophisticated Jazz-Rock Fusion song that finally displays some of Joe Chambers' drumming talents but suffers (as does the whole album) from a "thinness" and "quietude" of sound that I feel is both the fault of the engineers, producer, and, possibly, mix-master. Still, this is a nice display of skills and sophistication--the best on the album, in terms of jazziness; not quite as good as the opener for cool vibe. (13.625/15)

Total time: 39:00

I think the most surprising thing I feel from listening to this collection of fine songs is how "behind the times" they feel in terms of the advances mainstream Jazz-Rock Fusion had achieved by this year but also with how unimpressive legendary drummer Joe Chamber's drum performances are: until the final song, "Rock Pile," I had found myself much more drawn to the performances of his percussionists than he.

89.84 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of quality if-slightly-dated Jazz-Rock Fusion--one that satisfies on many levels if not sound quality and drum skill display.