Pharoah Sanders - 1972 - Black Unity

Pharoah Sanders

1972

Black Unity

01. Black Unity [37:21]

Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone, balaphone
Hannibal Marvin Peterson - trumpet
Carlos Garnett - tenor saxophone
Joe Bonner - piano
Cecil McBee - bass
Stanley Clarke - bass
Norman Connors - drums
Billy Hart - drums
Lawrence Killian - congas, talking drums, balaphone

Recorded at A & R Recording Studios, New York City on November 24, 1971

During the 1960s, many new and exciting musical movements emerged. Psychedelic rock is of course the first that comes to mind, but it was also the decade of a new kind of jazz music, where the musicians tried to get rid of the old rules of the genre to create transcendental sounds: free jazz.

Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders is one of the most well-known representatives of this genre. Originally playing for John Coltrane, most notably on his masterpiece Ascension, Sanders then created his own band to bring to the world his vision of a universal black music, expressed through the form of free jazz.

Keep in mind that free jazz was not only a new free music, but also a way to convey a political statement, that is the affirmation of black people’s rights. Many free jazz musicians used this theme of Black Unity and underlined the necessity of a shared identity in every black man to finally get the rights they deserved.

Musically, Black Unity is one long improvisational piece that revolves around a single bass lick. The formation here is extended, as there are two drummers (as well as a percussionist) and two bassists who offer an incredible groove throughout the whole album. The presence of two bassists allows both of them to offer variations of the riff and punctuation of the phrase, and it gives an impression of stillness and movement at the same time that structures the piece. The theme is repeated through a cacophony of drums and percussions, adding to this impression of movement as the rhythm is always evolving. The African percussions such as the lovely balaphone add a tribal feel to this senses-overload. We are in the middle of a sacred African ritual.

The layered sounds of the melodic instruments (two saxophones, one trumpet and a piano) do the rest of the job, with each element coming and going, reminding me of the pop side of the avant-garde (namely the 1960s experimental bands like White Noise or The United States of America). It sounds almost like a trip, with new things always happening around you and much information’s continuously going to your brain.

The intensity of the music is not one-directional, as it is slowly moving, going to peaks, and then coming down to reach a new phase. The furious soloing of the trumpeter and the saxophonists punctuate those peaks. Pharoah Sanders tenor solos are, as usual, completely out there, very aggressive and yet very beautiful and full of spirit. It reeks of devotion to the music and the cause.

It is most definitely the rawest I know of him, and probably the less prepared. It is an example of the power of improvisation and the liberty it gives to the performers. It definitely favors a transcendental music, that get rids of the brain to just let emotions and energy lead. Black Unity is a collective mystic experience and a trip back to the roots of Humanity. This is not only an African music, but also Universal music, Human music, a chant that takes the listener back to the roots of the world.

The only comparison I see with another album is Free Jazz by the Ornette Coleman Double Quartet: it is also one improvisational piece with an extended formation, very brilliant all the same but with very different inspirations and aspirations.

Alice Coltrane - 1970 - Ptah, The El Daoud

Alice Coltrane

1970

Ptah, The El Daoud

01. Ptah, The El Daoud 13:58
02. Turiya & Ramakrishna 8:19
03. Blue Nile 6:58
04. Mantra 16:33

Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Ben Riley
Piano, Harp, Written-By – Alice Coltrane
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Flute – Joe Henderson
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Flute, Bells – Pharoah Sanders

Sometimes written off as an also-ran to her more famous husband, Alice Coltrane's work of the late '60s and early '70s shows that she was a strong composer and performer in her own right, with a unique ability to impregnate her music with spirituality and gentleness without losing its edges or depth. Ptah, The El Daoud is a truly great album, and listeners who surrender themselves to it emerge on the other side of its 46 minutes transformed. From the purifying catharsis of the first moments of the title track to the last moments of "Mantra," with its disjointed piano dance and passionate ribbons of tenor cast out into the universe, the album resonates with beauty, clarity, and emotion. Coltrane's piano solo on "Turiya and Ramakrishna" is a lush, melancholy, soothing blues, punctuated only by hushed bells and the sandy whisper of Ben Riley's drums and later exchanged for an equally emotive solo by bassist Ron Carter. "Blue Nile" is a case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; Coltrane's sweeping flourishes on the harp nestle in perfectly with flute solos by Pharoah Sanders and Joe Henderson to produce a warm cocoon of sound that is colored by evocations of water, greenness, and birds. Perhaps as strong as the writing here, though, are the performances that Coltrane coaxes from her sidemen, especially the horn players. Joe Henderson, who can always be counted on for technical excellence, gives a performance that is simply on a whole other level from much of his other work -- freer, more open, and more fluid here than nearly anywhere else. Pharoah Sanders, who at times with John Coltrane seemed like a magnetic force of entropy, pulling him toward increasing levels of chaos, shows all of the innovation and spiritual energy here that he is known for, with none of the screeching. Overlooked and buried for years in obscurity, this album deserves to be embraced for the gem it is.

OK, it’s not a Sanders album, but he is fundamental to its success. Musically and spiritually, singly or together, Sanders and Alice Coltrane, were on the same page and between them laid down the astral-jazz paradigm. Ptah, The El Daoud is one of three Impulse! albums released under the harpist/pianist’s leadership on which Sanders is featured (the others are 1968’s A Monastic Trio and 1971’s Journey in Satchidananda). On Ptah, The El Daoud, Sanders, on tenor saxophone, alto flute and bells, is heard alongside Joe Henderson, also on tenor saxophone and alto flute. A jewel of an album.

Pharoah Sanders - 1969 - Karma

Pharoah Sanders

1969

Karma

01. The Creator Has A Master Plan
02. Colors

Bass – Reggie Workman, Richard Davis (2) (tracks: A, B1), Ron Carter (tracks: B2)
Drums – William Hart (tracks: A, B1), Frederick Waits (tracks: B2)
Flute – James Spaulding (tracks: A, B1)
French Horn – Julius Watkins
Piano – Lonnie L. Smith Jr.
Tenor Saxophone – Pharoah Sanders
Vocals, Percussion – Leon Thomas

John Coltrane left behind a legacy of experimental and extremely spiritual work whose timeless quality still reverberates today. After his untimely death many poseurs came out to stake their claim as the next Coltrane. Many tried and many failed. Then in 1969 a former sideman of Coltrane's, Pharoah Sanders, stepped out from the shadow of his mentor and recorded Karma, which bore the soul of Coltrane's musical and spiritual passion.

Karma was released four years after his first record as a leader, Pharoah's First (1965). While working with Coltrane, Sanders began to develop an aggressive tone that ripped into an anarchaotic passion owing as much to Coltrane as Albert Ayler. His records as a leader did not always reflect the raw energy that would show up on Coltrane classics such as Ascension. His 1966 Impulse! debut, Tauhid, is a great example of this. Sanders let the work take on a generalized groove that worked with the mood created in each piece. In doing so, he created not only his best pre-Karma record, but one of his finest overall. After Coltrane's death, Pharoah worked with his widow Alice before setting to work on what would become Karma.

As with many records of the mid to late-'60s/early '70s, Karma is based primarily around the first of two album tracks, "The Creator Has a Master Plan." The track is one of the finest and best-executed and edited jams ever caught on record, though many critics would and will argue with that statement. The master plan of tracks on contemporaneous Miles Davis records like In a Silent Way or Bitches Brew was created by the editing and production efforts of Teo Maceo. Recordings like Free Jazz or Ascension, in contrast, worked by virtue of the way they tore down sonic and musical boundaries. Sanders incorporates these values into "The Creator," making it more than just a loose jam; no matter where Sanders goes, he is in total control. Even as the piece peaks into volatile eruptions roughly sixteen minutes in, he saddles the passion and works the track back into the initial groove that was comprised its first movement.

"Creator" comes in at 32:47 and wastes not a single note. Opening with a virtual rush of sound, it then quiets down and drops a brief riff from A Love Supreme. The tune then works itself into a groove that would later be known as acid jazz, working with Eastern percussion and allowing the bass to float close to the front of the mix. This first section relies on a modal two-chord structure that keeps the tone bouncy and meditative. At eight minutes Leon Thomas begins a chant-like vocal that varies lines from the mantra "The creator has a master plan, peace and love for every man." The vocals drop and the third movement becomes an unrelenting Coltranesque blitz that tears the mellow mood apart, only to combine the angst and mellowness in the next movement and settle back into a reprise of the first fourteen minutes.

"Colors," on the other hand, is a shorter and more structured piece that features some solid and well-executed chops. Again Leon Thomas sings, and Ron Carter takes over the duties of Richard Davis and Reggie Workman.

Love or hate the music of Pharoah Sanders, you cannot deny the man's vision after hearing this record. His is an absolute genius approach to arrangement and performance. Though Sanders would release many great records and even mellow his distinctive tenor sound down, Karma is a record that deserves to be heard by any serious jazz fan.

If Tauhid is Sanders’ best Impulse! album, Karma is his best known, thanks to the 33-minute track ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan,’ featuring vocalist Leon Thomas. In truth, Thomas’ chanted iterations of the track title tread too fine a line between the hypnotic and the monotonous, but it’s a small price to pay for the richness of everything else that’s going on, including the contributions of another new recruit, pianist Lonnie Liston Smith. Like Tauhid, Karma benefited from being produced by Impulse! house producer, Bob Thiele, then on the cusp of leaving the label, and has an audio quality sometimes missing from Sanders’ later Impulse! discs...

Pharoah Sanders - 1967 - Tauhid

Pharoah Sanders

1967

Tauhid

01. Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt 17:00
02. Japan 3:29
03. Aum / Venus / Capricorn Rising 14:52

Bass – Henry Grimes
Drums – Roger Blank
Guitar – Sonny Sharrock
Percussion – Nat Bettis
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Piccolo Flute, Vocals – Pharoah Sanders

Original stereo pressing with orange & black labels, "A Product of ABC Records Inc.", and VAN GELDER stamp in runouts.

This album has been enormously influential and important over the years to not only jazz-lovers as a whole but also to many musicians/arrangers/producers from across many genres. It is also an excellent example of the results of complete artistic freedom. Such was the context given to the artists that Impulse producer Bob Theile afforded them, when they came to do their thing in the studio for this ABC/Paramount label in the 60's.

This album has a feel of confidence and charge which allows it an accessibility and artistic integrity that shines through immediately upon each listening some 44 years after its original release. Sublime arrangements and playing abound it in it. From the swooping and ritualistic blowing of Sanders horn to the grooves in the double bass to the beautifully placed guitar of Sonny Sharrock and multifarious percussion this is just one mighty recording.

It is clear to understand how it pushed and enlivened the creativity and exploration by the Detroit scene of the late 60's a la MC5 and Stooges, let alone the countless other artists and players who have heard it since. One special note to be made is that of the piano used to brilliant counterpoint usage with its delicate opening to the the calm from the storm of 'Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt'. The chordal placements of the piano are used with much grace and restraint and amply demonstrated in the dynamics and voicings used throughout. 'Tauhid' is a true classic with a beauty, import and urgency that shines as clearly now as it did in 1967.

Conventional wisdom has it that saxophonist Pharoah Sanders' signature, late-1960s astral jazz recording is "The Creator Has A Master Plan" from Karma (Impulse!, 1969). But conventional wisdom is rarely to be trusted. Clocking in at an unhurried and mesmerising 32:45, "Master Plan" is certainly definitive Sanders of the time; yet "Upper Egypt And Lower Egypt," from Sanders' own-name Impulse! debut, Tauhid, recorded in November, 1966, is arguably the finest statement in his astral oeuvre.

At a relatively brief 16:16, "Egypt" has all the elements which characterised Sanders' astral excursions—explicit spiritual references, vocal chants, a rolling bass ostinato, "exotic" percussion, out-there but lyrical tenor saxophone, and extended vamp-based collective jamming—and crucially, was played by an edgier and more challenging band, including guitarist Sonny Sharrock and pianist Dave Burrell, than was assembled for Karma. The later album was made by a distinctly more blissed-out line-up, lacking Sharrock, in which the comfort-zone pianist Lonnie Liston Smith and vocalist Leon Thomas figured large.

With Tauhid, however, Sanders—at the time a regular member of saxophonist John Coltrane's band and revelling in his first album as leader since the sock-peeling Pharoah's First (ESP Disk, 1964)—was still stretching the envelope. Of all Sanders' Impulse! albums—he stayed with the label until late 1973, when he fell victim to cost-cutting imposed by corporate bosses ABC Records—Tauhid, produced by Bob Thiele, who also produced Karma before quitting Impulse! in the summer of 1969, also has the best sound.

"Egypt" takes a long time to get to the point, and therein lies much of its charm. Divided into two distinct sections, "Upper Egypt" and "Lower Egypt," the first part is a long, teasing introduction, always seemingly on the brink of resolving itself and giving way to the main theme, but avoiding doing so for almost 9 minutes. Henry Grimes' propulsive post-"Love Supreme" bass ostinato enters at this point, the tempo picks up and the vamp changes—but it's another 3 minutes before Sanders, previously heard only on piccolo, enters on tenor with the unfolding-sunrise main theme, which he reiterates, reconfigures and improvises around for the final 4 minutes, over a fat piano and percussion groove and Sharrock's raggedly crystalline chord work.

"Upper Egypt And Lower Egypt" is so perfect that the rest of Tauhid tends to get forgotten, but the four shorter tracks which complete the album, totalling another 18:08, are also magnificent. "Japan," inspired by Sanders' tour of the country with Coltrane's band in the summer of 1966, is as pretty as pink lotus blossom. "Aum" and "Venus," the first with Sanders on alto, are tougher and further out, before the concluding "Capricorn Rising" re-establishes the album's peaceful opening vibe.

Over the next few years, Lonnie Liston Smith, already worryingly jazz-funkish on Karma, played a key role on Sanders' albums, which became increasingly codified and formulaic. In retrospect, the first cut was indeed the deepest, and for many devotees Tauhid remains Sanders' astral jazz muthalode, and "Upper Egypt And Lower Egypt" his finest (quarter) hour.

With Coltrane, Sanders continued to explore the outer limits of saxophonics. But on Tauhid, recorded in 1966 and the first of 11 albums which Sanders released on Impulse! before leaving the label six years later, he shifted into a mellower gear. From Tauhid onwards, Sanders tempered his multiphonics and high harmonics with catchy tunes, serene vamps, exotic wind and percussion instruments, a meditative vibe and a gruff rather than paint-stripping tone. Tauhid remains the best of Sanders’ Impulse! recordings, largely for the exquisite beauty of its opener, the 16-minute ‘Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt’. Free-jazz guitar pioneer Sonny Sharrock shines on what, sadly, was to be his only Sanders date other than 1969’s rambling Izipho Zam (unreleased until 1973, when Strata-East picked it up).

Pharoah Sanders - 1964 - Pharoah's First

Pharoah Sanders 

1964

Pharoah's First

01. Seven By Seven
02. Bethera

Recorded in New York City, September 10, 1964

Bass– William Bennett
Percussion– Marvin Pattillo
Piano– Jane Getz
Saxophone, Composed By– Pharoah Sanders
Trumpet– Stan Foster

Perceived by many as the inheritor of John Coltrane’s revolutionary mantle after Coltrane’s passing in 1967, among those who looked to Sanders for leadership was Coltrane’s widow, Alice, who featured Sanders on three remarkable albums released between 1968 and 1971.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Farrell Sanders began playing tenor saxophone professionally in rhythm-and-blues bands in the San Francisco Bay area in 1959, before moving to New York, then the unchallenged centre of the jazz world, in 1962. By 1964, he was gigging with Sun Ra, Don Cherry and John Coltrane, with whom he continued to collaborate right up until what proved to be Coltrane’s final live recording, The Olatunji Concert, posthumously released decades later.

Sanders has never entirely abandoned the abrasive, screaming free-jazz that characterised his work with John Coltrane, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s he was a prime mover, along with Alice Coltrane, in the creation of a gentler and more structured aesthetic which became known as cosmic or astral jazz. During the last 30 years, Sanders has also woven elements of retro rhythm and blues, swing and bop into his music – much as his near-contemporary Archie Shepp, another leading iconoclast of the mid 1960s, has done – but astral jazz remains his umbrella style.

It was practically a rite of passage for avant-garde jazz musicians in mid-1960s New York to make their debut recording for the tiny, succès d’estime label ESP-Disk. Some ESP alumni, including Sanders, then progressed to the heavier hitting Impulse! label – most of them, like Sanders, were recommended to the company by its biggest-selling artist and unofficial talent spotter, John Coltrane. The steaming intensity of Pharoah drew Coltrane to Sanders, and the two went on to record frequently together over the next three years, notably on Coltrane’s free-jazz manifesto, Ascension, in 1965. This early, uncompromisingly harsh Sanders approach – which he was soon to moderate – can also be heard on Sun Ra & His Arkestra Featuring Pharoah Sanders/Featuring Black Harold, recorded live in 1964 (but not released on Ra’s El Saturn label until 1976).

People are shaped by events in their lives-- and indeed, you can pinpoint single moments in your life that after which nothing was the same. No doubt for Pharoah Sanders, playing in JOhn Coltrane's band was one such moment. Sanders joined Coltrane's band early on, and the influence Coltrane had on Sanders was huge (likewise, the influence that Sanders had on Coltrane was equally huge). But while there's a wealth of material out there from Coltrane before Sanders joined, there's precious little from Sanders beforehand. "Pharoah's First", recorded in Setpember of 1964, around the time Sanders first starting playing with Trane, is probably the only such example.

The album consists of two extended pieces-- "Seven By Seven" and "Bethera", performed by a quintet of Sanders, trumpeter Stan Foster, pianist Jane Getz (who burst onto the New York scene before moving to California and pretty much leaving jazz for other music forms), bassist William Bennett and drummer Marvin Pattillo. Each piece follows the same formula-- a brief, Monkish theme statement (written by Sanders in both cases) followed by solos from Sanders, Foster and Getz and either a brief collective improv (on "Seven by Seven") or rhythm section solos ("Bethera"). The music is more in the adventerous hard bop vein than anything else, akin to Coltrane's early '60s quartet work-- Sanders is remarkably restrained, playing melodic, rhythmic lines and only occasionally diving into the extended technique for which he's largely known. Foster plays in the Don Cherry school-- that sort of less-is-more from Miles Davis fused with a substantial amount of inventiveness. Getz is intriguing-- her style is agressive in the vein of a McCoy Tyner, but has that wide voicing that Alice Coltrane had. While these pieces are well performed, they're just not particularly attention getting-- it's decent advanced hard bop, but that's about it.

Salty Dog - 1976 - Salty Dog

Salty Dog

1976

Salty Dog

01. Fast
02. Mama
03. See The Storm
04. Down In My Shoes
05. Try A Little Harder
06. Tisauke
07. Sunshine In My Hair
08. Have You Got It
09. Doggy Rock
10. Lullaby

Bass – Norman Muntemba
Drums – Alex Mwilwa
Guitar – Jackie Mumba

Leornard Koloko (Zambian Music Legends):
The name may not be very appetising, but this was one of the most enterprising bands of their time. They specialised in classic rock and released one self-titled album under Teal. Norman Muntemba, who was a member of the outfit, also designed the cover depicting a a cartoon dog salivating and licking its lips. The three-man band was formed at Zambia National Service Camp in Kabwe and featured Jackie Mumba on lead guitar.

Strawberry Rain Music:
One of the most obscure albums of the Zamrock period, this self-titled psychedelic long-player from Zambia was recorded privately without any pressure from the record label. Modelled after the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with a name that is slang for “sperm,” the three-piece band recorded the album at dB Studios in Lusaka in 1976. Full of killer guitar, English vocals and great songwriting.

SHARP-FLAT Records:
Strawberry Rain joins the ranks of Shadoks and Now-Again in coaxing the evasive coelacanths of Zambian rock from the murky depths of the Zambezi River. This time it’s the face-melting fuzz of Salty Dog (circa 1976) that breaks the surface of forgetfulness to wreak havoc on unsuspecting tympanic membranes. A trio of army boys from Kabwe put the LP together and bassist-stroke-designer Norman Muntemba slapped artist Trevor Ford’s iconic hairy-eyeball mutt on the cover. Tighten your paisley tie to keep from drooling.

The Platano Group - 1971 - Paris Soul

The Platano Group

1971

Paris Soul

01. Platano Split 4:40
02. Salute To Santa 2:54
03. Black Waders 3:13
04. Woluwe Strip 2:32
05. Cabaret 2:43
06. Paris Soul 4:00
07. Culzean 3:12
08. Castill Battle 2:47
09. Hang Out 2:19
10. Art Pino Pasta 3:55

Ben Ahmed Zoubert [Ben sa tumba et son orchestre]
Evaristo Nata [Roger Lecussant] — piano, arranger
J. Menez — guitar
Georges Arvanitas — organ
Platano Group — percussions

This is an oddity: a very, very good album recorded by the less auspicious band possible. Ben and the Platano Group were the arranger Evaristo Nata with the Lido band. What is the Lido ? A tourist trap of Paris, were Japanese tourists and executive are brought in to see topless and feathered dancers give them a poor idea of French eternal good taste. What is this album ? A monster jam which mix Afro Cuban Jazz, Jazz Rock, Hammond Organ,wah-wah in multi-layered arrangements. Shortly after this album Nata was interned in a mental hospital. Like if it has been to much to bear to play cheap easy listening when he was able to conceive such a masterpiece.

Recorded in 1970 and issued by Barclay in 1971, Paris Soul is an album that wears the test of time well. The steaming orchestral arrangements by Evaristo Nata's steaming orchestral arrangements blends some Afro-Cuban flavors (such as the Santana tribute "Salute to Santa," on which they bite a chunk from "Oye Como Va" and bend it into a near salsa jam), some Brazilian samba, Memphis soul, and post-bop jazz soloing to achieve a smoky, sexy, funky groove. There are 120 tunes here, and all of them are deep, fat, and greasy with groove. The band members, apart from their arranger, are anonymous, but it hardly matters; this isn't the kind of record you're going to put on to analyze what's happening musically. While it's complex and beautiful, you'll be throwing this on either at home or the party in order to move on the dance floor. Whether it's easy, shuffling, like "Black Waders," with its entwining organ and horn lines that sound like they could have come from some underground club version of the Alfie soundtrack, or the Brazilian-tinged "Culzean," with its flowering guitars and reeds turning through one another in a simple airy melody embossed by some serious polyrhythms, the result is the same: this is one of the finest recordings of pure groove music made on either side of the Atlantic during the early '70s. Try to picture the group War with Buddy Richs big band and you'll get the idea.

A mythical want by hard core funk collectors for many years now, the Ben & The Platano Group ‎– Paris Soul album is considered one of the strongest rare groove releases to come out of France in the 1970s. An all instrumental LP by a crew of nameless session musicians, the album touches on a myriad of styles including latin, funk / soul, rock, and jazz. Highlights include the Santana-esque Chicano low riders "Salute To Santa" and "Paris Soul", the punchy library-style euro hammond funker "Black Waders", the latin funk rocker "Culzean" (complete with sleazy flutes), and the percussive b-boy killers "Arte Pino Pasta" and "Platano Split". If you are strapped for cash (the album has changed hands for over $400) there are various reissues floating around that will keep you at bay.

The Mystery Kindaichi Band - 1977 - The Adventures of Kindaichi Kosuke

The Mystery Kindaichi Band 

1977

The Adventures of Kindaichi Kosuke

01. Kindaichi Kosuke No Theme 3:30
02. Yatsuhakamura 4:34
03. Kamen Butokai 4:08
04. Honjin Satsujin Jiken 3:59
05. Gokumontou 3:36
06. Akuma No Temariuta 4:35
07. Meirosou No Sangeki 4:44
08. Akuma Ga Kitarite Fue Wo Fuku 3:28
09. Mitsukubitou 4:34
10. Inugamike No Ichizoku 4:30

Alto Saxophone – Shuzo Sunazuka (7)
Alto Saxophone – Takeru Muraoka (7,9)
Bass – Hideaki Takebe (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9)
Bass Clarinet – Noboru Yoshimura (2)
Bassoon – Yoshihiko Yamashita (7)
Biwa [Chizuken Biwa] – Masako Hirayama (2)
Chorus [Female Chorus] – Corporation Three (1)
Contrabass - Hiromi Kawabata, Yoshio Watanabe (6,9,10)
Drum [Okawa] - Hiromitsu Katada (8)
Drum [Tsuzumi] - Hiromitsu Katada (5)
Drums – Hideo Yamamoto (1)
Drums – Jun Moriya (2,4,5,7,8)
Drums – Kiyoshi Tanaka (3,6,9)
Flugelhorn - Shin Kazuhara (8.9)
Flugelhorn - Susumu Kazuhara (7)
Flute - Michiko Sakabe, Takashi Asahi (7.8)
Flute - Takeshi Shinohara (9)
Flute [Noukan] - Kohei Nishikawa (8)
French Horn - Koji Yamaguchi , Yasuhiro Okita (8)
Guitar – Kimio Mizutani (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1)
Gut Guitar – Sadanori Nakamure (6,9,10)
Harp – Keiko Yamakawa (10)
Keyboards – Kentaro Haneda (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
Koto – Kimiko Yamauchi (4,8)
Percussion – Tadaomi Anai (2,3,4,5)
Percussion – Younosuke Segami (1,6,7,8,9)
Piano - Hideo Ichikawa (6,9,10)
Saxophone - Takeru Muraoka (6)
Shinobue - Tahachi Mochizuki (2)
Solo Vocal - Kayoko Ishu (2)
Solo Vocal - Kazuko Kawashima (6)
Strings - Akira Nishiya Group (6,7,9,10)
Strings - Tadaaki Ohno Group (1,2,3,5)
Trombone - Eiji Arai Group (1,2,3,5, 6,7)
Trumpet - Akira Miyashita, Koji Hadori, Masanobu Arao (1,2,3,5)
Trumpet - Koji Hadori, Masanobu Arao, Yasuhiro Okita (6,7)
Tuba - Shuhei Kubo (7)
Vibraphone - Teiko Koshino (10)
Vocals - Kayoko Ishu (3)
Whistle - Takashi Kodama (9)
Xylophone - Isao Kanayama (7)
Yo - Hiroshi Imafuji (5)

The Mystery Kindaichi Band's The Adventures of Kindaichi Kosuke, originally released in 1977. The "imaginary" soundtrack to the cult detective book series by writer Seishi Yokomizo is on many DJ want-lists. Arranged by soundtrack master Kentaro Haneda and featuring a mysterious group of the best '70s Japanese Funk musicians, the album is pure undiluted disco funk. Writer Seishi Yokomizo is an institution in Japan. He could be compared to Agatha Christie with his series of novels based on the adventures of detective Kosuke Kindaichi. The fictional character was born in 1946 with Yokomizo's first novel in the series and solved mysteries until the late '70s under Yokomizo's pen before the death of the writer in 1981. Yokomizo' s novels have been a prime source for film and TV scenarios, so when, in 1977, Japanese label King Records decided to record a concept album based on the Kindaichi novels, it made complete sense. The writer was slightly surprised though. The concept album was arranged by pianist Kentaro Haneda, a key TV and film composer who has worked on many anime films and is also famous outside of Japan for composing the music for the video game Wizardry. For the album, he assembled a supergroup of some of the best Tokyo funk and city pop musicians. The long list includes jazz pianist Hideo Ichikawa who played on the 1971 Joe Henderson In Japan album, drummer Jun Moriya, who is on Joe Hisaichi's cult Wonder City Orchestra album (1982), percussionist Tadaomi Anai who played with disco singer Eri Ohno, trumpeter Koji Hadori who' s featured on Haruomi Hosono's Pacific album (1978). Also present on the album are saxophonist Takeru Muraoka who plays on many Tatsuro Yamashita cult albums including For You (1982) and Spacy (1977), Kimiko Yamauchi (koto) who's on Akiko Yano's landmark 1976 album Japanese Girl (WWSCD 017CD/WWSLP 017LP) , and last but not least, French hornist Koji Yamaguchi who plays on Yazuaki Shimizu's Kakashi (1982). Together they lay the funk on ten instrumentals filled with pure disco and funk breakbeats, making the album one of the highly-coveted Japanese LPs on international cratedigger scene. Remastered from the original tapes. Faithfully reproduced original artwork; Artwork by renowned illustrator Ichibun Sugimoto. New introduction by Anton Spice. Also present on the album are saxophonist e LPs on international cratedigger scene.

A captivating listen from beginning to end, this imaginary soundtrack by extremely talented session musicians, each one a master at his or her craft, evokes mystery straight from the pages of the cult detective novels which served as its main source of inspiration. The unmistakable flair of each disco drenched funk track, with hooks reminiscent of grindhouse blaxploitation and police detective serial scores, are all performed with skill and detail that can only come from mid 70s Japan. With engaging and tight arrangements, this soundtrack stands as a unique document of cultural fusion that is an absolute joy. Very highly recommended!

Toshi Ichiyanagi - 2006 - Music For Tinguely

Toshi Ichiyanagi 

2006

Music For Tinguely
Edition Omega Point

Obscure Tape Music Of Japan – Vol. 5

01. Music For Tinguely 10:01
02. Appearance 20:36
03. Music For Living Space 8:52

Music For Tinguely was composed in 1963, Appearance in 1967, Music For Living Space in 1969.
Limited edition of 1000 copies.

Toshi Ichiyanagi is a well-renowned Japanese avant-garde composer who made brilliant pieces of tape music. This release consists of three of his obscure tape works. "Music for Tinguely" (1963) was made from the junk objects by kinetic sculptor Jean Tinguely. "Appearance" (1967) is the artist's first live electronic performance, also featuring John Cage and David Tudor -- very noisy and hardcore! "Music For Living Space" (1969) was composed for the inner "Future Section" of the Sun Tower at the World Expo in Osaka. A computer-generated voice reads Sun Tower architect Kisyo Kurokawa's artistic manifesto. Strange!

Joji Yuasa - 2006 - Music For Theatrical Drama

Joji Yuasa 

2006

Music For Theatrical Drama 

舞踊劇のための音楽
Edition Omega Point 

Obscure Tape Music Of Japan – Vol.4

Oen (A Woman Named 'En')
01. Pt. 1 2:00
02. Pt. 2 1:21
03. Pt. 3 2:00
04. Pt. 4 2:06
05. Pt. 5 7:02
06. Pt. 6 2:31
07. Pt. 7 1:15
08. Pt. 8 5:02
09. Pt. 9 1:35
10. Pt. 10 3:17
Mittsu No Sekai (Three Worlds)
11. Mittsu No Sekai 21:42

Oen (A woman named En) composed 1963 for tape.
Mittsu no sekai (Three worlds) composed 1959 for orchestra and tape.

This is volume 4 of Omega Point's newly reissued Obscure Tape Music of Japan series, featuring two early works of music concrète composed for theatrical drama by legendary Japanese composer Joji Yuasa. The sounds on this recording, especially of "Oen" is so experimental and strange, but this music was not for avant-garde theater. "Mittsu No Sekai" contains elements of a mechanical beat (suggestive of a machine civilization) that could be the precursor to industrial music. Composed for the Tokubei Hanayagi Dancing Troupe for the play Three Worlds (1959), the piece was constructed from orchestral composition and tape sound: music concrète. As the composer explains, "While my engagement in the work of music concrète started in 1953 in the earlier time of tape music, the instrumental section of this work is my first composition for orchestral music. Most of the section was composed with the twelve-tone technique; however, one may find some shadows of Edgard Varèse and Olivier Messiaen." "Oen" was composed for A Woman Named "En" (1963) and is a work of music concrète for a theatrical drama with choreography. "All the metamorphosed sound made from concrète sounds are used and combined for the tragic story of a woman in the Edo era, named 'En' who was put in prison for forty years. This work aims not only at depicting the situation, but also at lighting up the heroine's dark passion, her conscious and subliminal mind, and the psychological dimension."

Makoto Moroi + Koubou Abe - 2005 - Music Drama Akai Mayu

Makoto Moroi + Koubou Abe

2005

Music Drama Akai Mayu
Edition Omega Point

Obscure Tape Music Of Japan – Vol. 3

01. Makoto Moroi / Koubou Abe– Akai Mayu (A Red Cocoon) 25:56
Arcana 19 15:25
02. Kuniharu Akiyama– Untitled 2:24
03. Kuniharu Akiyama– Untitled 3:19
04. Kuniharu Akiyama– Untitled 2:19
05. Kuniharu Akiyama– Untitled 1:45
06. Kuniharu Akiyama– Untitled 5:35

Akai Mayu (A Red Cocoon) is based on the short fiction by Koubou Abe (1924-1993).
Akai Mayu & Arcana 19 composed in 1960 and broadcast live by the Japan Broadcasting System NHK the same year.
Limited edition of 300 copies.

This is volume 3 in Omega Point's newly-reissued Obscure Tape Music of Japan series. Akai Mayu is a short work of fiction by Japanese writer Koubou Abe (aka Kobo Abe pseudonym of Kimifusa Abe, 1924-1993). This musical drama version was broadcast by the Japan Broadcasting System NHK in 1960 and composed by Makoto Moroi, a pioneer of Japanese electronic music. He composed the music with a chamber ensemble, mixed chorus and electronic sound. This piece was performed at Sogetsu Art Center as a part of a concert program of Moroi's works. This version included a pantomime by Mamako Yoneyama, an abstract image projection and stage-setting by Hiroshi Manabe, as well as a performance by Kuniharu Akiyama with his work "Arcana 19." This work consisted of text, object sounds, piano and pre-recorded tapes, and was also broadcast live by NHK in 1960. This CD includes only some tape parts because the original live recording source of this performance was lost.

Joji Yuasa / Kuniharu Akiyama - 2005 - Music For Puppet Theatre Of Hitomi-Za

Joji Yuasa / Kuniharu Akiyama 

2005

Music For Puppet Theatre Of Hitomi-Za
Edition Omega Point

Obscure Tape Music Of Japan – Vol. 2

01. Joji Yuasa– Moment Grand-Guignolesques 5:21
02. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 1:44
03. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 5:03
04. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 1:08
05. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 1:29
06. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 2:32
07. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 2:40
08. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 5:54
09. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 1:41
10. Kuniharu Akiyama– Noh-Miso 1:34

Recorded At – Sogetsu Hall, Tokyo

Piano – Yuji Takahashi (tracks: 2 to 10)

Hitomi-Za is an experimental puppet theatre group. They had performed in February 13-17 in 1962 at Sogetsu Kaikan Hall. This program was consisted of three parts, and Joji Yuasa, Kuniharu Akiyama and Naozumi Yamamoto composed background sound for each parts. This CD contains two works made from magnetic tape from among them. Both works are world première issue.

Limited edition of 500 copies.

Moment Grand-Guignolesques (1962)
Noh-Miso (1962)

This is volume 2 of Omega Point's Obscure Tape Music of Japan series. Hitomi-Za is an experimental puppet theater group that still exists today in Japan. This recorded performance took place from February 13-17th in 1962 at Sogetsu Kaikan Hall. The program consisted of three parts, and Joji Yuasa, Kuniharu Akiyama and Naozumi Yamamoto composed background sound for each part. This CD consists of two works made from magnetic tape from among the performances. This is the world premiere release of both works. Music for "Moment Grand-Guignolesques": "...all the puppets were made of cutting out thin and filmy paper, which gave me an idea of using all kinds of sounds out of various kinds of paper for this composition musique concrète. The sound of tearing newspaper, of crushing brown paper and of shutting a thick telephone book, etc., were used as sound materials. --Joji Yuasa. "Noh-Miso" (A Brain) was composed by Kuniharu Akiyama (1929-1996), well known as a modern music critic, but also a composer of tape music (for example, soundtracks to experimental films and animation, tape music for John Cage's 75th birthday and more). "Noh-Miso" was the second part of this Hitomi-Za performance -- a combination of music concrète and the modulated sound of inside-played piano by Yuji Takahashi.

Joji Yuasa - 2005 - 葵の上 (Aoi No Ue)

Joji Yuasa
2005

葵の上 (Aoi No Ue) 

Obscure Tape Edition Omega Point

Obscure Tape Music Of Japan – Vol. 1

01. Aoi No Ue 29:29
02. My Blue Sky (No.1) 15:57

Produced At – NHK Electronic Music Studio
Aoi no ue composed 1961 for voice and tape and based on The tales of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu in 11th century.
My blue sky (No.1) composed 1975 for tape.
Tape parts realized at NHK Electronic music studio.

Limited edition of 500 copies.

Joji Yuasa, born on August 12, 1929, in Koriyama, Japan, is a self taught composer. He first became interested in music while a pre medical student at Keio University, and in 1952 turned to music full time when he joined a young artists’ group, the Experimental Workshop in Tokyo. Since then, Yuasa has been actively engaged in a wide range of musical composition, including orchestral, choral and chamber music, music for theater, and intermedia, electronic and computer music.

His works, including film and television scores, have won several prizes; among them the Jury’s Special Prize of the 1961 Berlin Film Festival, the Prix Italia (1966, ’67), the San Marco Golden Lion Prize (1967), the Otaka Prize (1972, ’88, ’97, 2003), Grand Prizes at the Japan Arts Festival (1973, ’83), the Hida-Furukawa Music Grand Prize (1995), the Kyoto Music Grand Prize (1995), the Suntory Music Prize (1996), the Medal with Purple Ribbon (1997), Education Minister’s Art Encouragement Prize (1997), the Imperial Prize (1999) and the Japan Art Academy Prize (1999), etc. Yuasa has received a number of scholarships at home and abroad: a Japan Society Fellowship (1968–69), Composer-in-Residence at the Center for Music Experiment UCSD (1976), Berlin Artist Program by DAAD (1976–77), the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney (1980), University of Toronto (1981) and IRCAM (1987), Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2002), among others.

He has won numerous commissions for his orchestral, chamber, chorus and electronic compositions including commissions for orchestral works from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Saarländischer Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic hony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Canada Council, Suntory Music Foundation, IRCAM and National Endowment for the Arts of the U.S.A., among others.

As a guest composer, lecturer and judge, Yuasa has contributed to the Festival of Arts In This Century in Hawaii (1970), New Music Concerts in Toronto (1980), the Asian Composers League in Hong Kong (1981), a concert tour for Contemporary Music Network by the British Arts Council (1981), the Asia Pacific Festival in New Zealand (1984), Composers Workshop in Amsterdam (1984, ’87), Internationale Ferienkurse Für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (1988), Lerchenborg Music Tage (1986, ’88) and Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo (1990), COMPOSIUM 2002 in Tokyo, Romania Contemporary Music Festival (2009), Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie (2009), Stanford University (2009) among others. In 2005 his Responsorium from Requiem of Reconciliation, commissioned by Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart as a commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II, was premiered.

His music has been widely performed throughout the world at such festivals as the ISCM World Music Days (1971, ’74, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’83–’86, ’91, ’93, ’95, 2005, ’08), Warsaw Autumn (1969, ’76, ’78, ’81, ’84, ’86), Horizon ’84, ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival (1995, 2005) and Venice Biennale (2005).

From 1981 to 1994, Yuasa was actively engaged in music research and education at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Presently, he is professer emeritus at UCSD and Nihon University and a honorary menber of ISCM.

Volume one of Omega Point's Obscure Tape Music of Japan series, featuring Joji Yuasa's "Aoi-no-Ue" (1961) and "My Blue Sky" (1975). Joji Yuasa (b. 1929) is one of most important composers in Japan after World War II. "Aoi-no-Ue" was composed for experimental theater at Sogetsu Art Center. The sound of this work is made from the chants of Japanese traditional "Noh" theater. "The text is recomposed by me keeping the original words. And it was sung in the style of Noh-chant by three brothers ... This work is composed mainly based on the metamorphosed sound of Noh-chant. The other sound is concrete sound such as bird songs, water drops, glasses, the warped sound of a vibraphone, some generated electronic sound and others. These sound sources are diversely changed, metamorphosed through all the possible electronic techniques at that time, and finally mixed and reconstructed on stereophonic tape. This piece had taken almost half a year to complete, working with the excellent sound engineer Zyunosuke Okuyama at the Sogetsu Art Center." --Joji Yuasa. This package also includes his final electronic music piece "My Blue Sky No.1," made at NHK electronic music studio. This studio was the '60s and '70s mecca of Japanese electronic music. Yuasa explains: "In this work only clicks, pulses and the various kinds of beats induced from them -- varying pitches, width and their frequency of pulse -- are adopted. For example, I controlled successively occurring pulses of low frequency sine wave by means of triggering with the frequency of the square wave."

Bob Harris - 1986 - The Great Nostalgia

Bob Harris

1986

The Great Nostalgia

01. Ageless Love (Remix)
02. The Great Nostalgia
03. Message From The Shore
04. The Flower
05. There's Still Hope
06. Autumn In Nepal (Steve Vai Remix)
07. The Blue Gazebo
08. Nobody Wins In A War
09. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Live At Zappanale 13)
10. Magnet And Iron
11. White Bird / Ancient Wish
12. There's Still Hope (Steve Vai Remix)

Tracks 1,7,8,9,10 previously unreleased
Originally released in 1986 as Mastahna Records LP (MA-419)

Bob Harris: vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, trumpet, instruments
Suzannah Harris: vocals (1,4), backing vocals (1,4), munchkin vocals (8)
Ronnie Sweeting: backing vocals (1,4)
Jeremy Barber: violin (1)
Billy James: tablas (1,2,4), snare drum (1), percussion (1,2,3,6), brushes (5,12)
Martin Schwartz: guitar (1), acoustic & electric guitars (4)
Ric Cunningham: alto sax (4)
Stuart Hamm: bass (4)
Corinne Larue: backing vocals (4)
Steve Vai: electric sitar (6,12)
Tommy Mars: recorder (6)
Nathan Harris: munchkin vocals (8), backing vocals (10)
Ian P. Gilchrist (8)
Blake Eberhard: bass (11)
Christian Teele: percussion & tablas (11)
Mario Lehmann: tibetan tingshaws (11)

All songs composed by Bob Harris except 9. (Harold Arlen & Isidore "Edgar Yipsel (E.Y.) Harburg" Hochberg) and 11. (David LaFlamme & Linda LaFlamme)

Tracks 1-7 and 12 recorded at Present Time Studio, engineered by Bob Wurster
Track 9 recorded live July 26, 2002 at Zappanale 13, Galopprennbahn, Bad Doberan, Germany
Tracks 7,8 recorded and/or overdubbed at The Church Of Rock And Roll, Denver, CO
Tracks 7,8,11 edited and mixed by Ian P. Gilchrist
Track 9 mixed by Hugo Moller at ASH Sounddesignery, Kuhlungsborn, Germany
Track 10 recorded at Dancing Dragon Studios, Grand Junction, CO
Track 11 tracked by Scott (Gusty) Christensen at NEH Studios, Denver, CO
Tracks 6 and 12 remixed by Steve Vai
All songs produced by Bob Harris except 8 and 7, which were produced by Bob Harris and Ian P. Gilchrist

Bob Harris, keyboardist/vocalist of the 1980 Frank Zappa band with guitarists Steve Vai, Ray White and Ike Willis, keyboardist Tommy Mars, bassist Arthur Barrow and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, will soon have his 1986 album The Great Nostalgia released in an expanded format by Crossfire Publications. The Great Nostalgia, originally a self-financed release on his Mastahna label, has been remastered (and in some cases remixed) from the original session tapes.

More than twenty-one years after its first release, The Great Nostalgia has been expanded by six additional tracks. Frank Zappa heard the album in 1986 and thought that the track “Ageless Love” was outstanding and should kick off the album. Bob Harris, who is currently working with '80s rock legends Axe, wanted to change the song order because he highly valued Zappa’s opinion, but the album had already been pressed. Out of respect for Frank Zappa, “Ageless Love” is now the first track on Crossfire’s reissue, and Jeremy Barber’s violin has replaced the original keyboard emulation of that instrument.

Suzannah (Thana) Harris, known to Zappa fans for her vocals on the revised Sleep Dirt album, can be found throughout The Great Nostalgia on the tracks “Ageless Love,” “The Flower” and three of the bonus tracks. Of the additions to the album, Thana and Bob’s duets on the standard “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (live at the Zappanale 13 festival) and It’s A Beautiful Day’s “White Bird” (from Thana’s album Thanatopsis) are obvious highlights.

Guitar legend Steve Vai played electric sitar on “Autumn In Nepal,” presented here in Vai’s remixed version. He also played lead guitar on a remixed version of the bonus track “There’s Still Hope.” Fellow FZ band member Tommy Mars played on “Autumn In Nepal,” and noted bassist Stuart Hamm contributed to the track “The Flower.” Billy James, known to music fans as the Ant-Bee, played percussion on the entire album. James’ tasteful use of percussion instead of drum machines is a very important asset to the longevity of The Great Nostalgia, as it sounds fresh without the usual ‘80s trappings.

One instrumental track recorded at the original sessions, “The Blue Gazebo,” has been included on this edition. Two more recent tracks complete the album: the brilliant piano ballad “Magnet And Iron” and “Nobody Wins In A War,” featuring sped-up vocals from Bob, Thana and son Nathan Harris.

Jothan Callins & The Sounds of Togetherness - 1975 - Winds of Change

Jothan Callins & The Sounds of Togetherness

1975

Winds of Change

01. Prayer For Love and Peace
02. Winds Of Change
03. Sons And Daughters of The Sun
04. Triumph

Cecil McBee, bass
Jothan Callins, trumpet, bells
Roland Duval, congas, percussion
Norman Cooners, drums, percussion
Joseph Booner, piano, tambourine

A lost spiritual jazz treasure from the 70s – one of the only records we've ever seen to feature trumpeter Jothan Callins in the lead – a musician who's best known for his work in the Sun Ra Arkestra during the 70s! Here, the vibe is very different – as Callins blows alongside a very Strata East-like group – with Joe Bonner on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Norman Connors on bass – all playing percussion as well, with more work on percussion from Roland Duval! The set is superb – all original material by Callins, at a level that makes us wonder why he never gave us another record like this at all.

The four page insert that came with the original (and the reissue) of this fabulous lost album of energetic spiritual jazz declares that this is music of hope, music that "does to people things they need". It is music meant to uplift, and it certainly accomplishes that. The cover and even insert are all classic mid seventies independent album stuff, and the sound sure could be Strata-East (perhaps it should've been?), but somehow Triumph Records appears to be a real thing, not just a private press label. There was once a Triumph Records in the US and the UK, but this clearly isn't either one of those, and good luck finding out more information on what they released. What we know is that this was the sixth release, and that Callins, who made his living as a teacher in Birmingham, AL, can really play the trumpet. Somehow, he even got a very busy at the time Cecil McBee on bass and Norman Connors on drums. How he got to a place of recording and releasing this goes unexplained in the booklet, which prefers to wax philosophical about spiritual matters and the unfortunate history of slavery but doesn't describe much about the recording.

And truthfully, the music speaks for itself, easily revealing its inner workings, its hope, its searching for the spirit in its sounds. Yes, there's a good degree of Charles Tolliver here, but just how many trumpet virtuosos were there at this point? Callins embraces the idea of Coltrane on the trumpet, and he concocts his own sound. Just listen to his command of the horn on "Sons and Daughters of the Sun". It is fully confident and never lets down a note, blending into the perfect rhythm section (especially McBee, who is on fire all through here). The tracks, starting with the bells and slow entrance of "Prayer for Love and Peace", are all energizing and apt to start a smile creeping across the face. The deepest track for such theatrics is definitely the title track, which rides out a crazy rhythm for fifteen minutes without losing its audience even once.

One of the greatest frustrations to collectors, clearly more so than people at the time, was how great musicians could just vanish in the seventies. What happened to Callins after this? It's known that he started a choir in Alabama and presumably continued to teach there, but why weren't there more recordings? Was balancing this too difficult with home life? We'll never know. Callins is lost to the annals of time and has left only this timeless document to remember him by. There's no follow ups, no guest spots on other records, nothing. But what is here is enough.

The approach greatly changes for the last song, "Triumph", which is in two parts. The first introduces some soul balladry and a very different direction. It's lovely, and Callins holds his tones well, never slipping once. The build to the second part earns a release, and Callins is happy to give it to the listener, though the tropical sounding piece may come is as surprising as it is breezy and likable. And then, it ratchets up again, moving into double time and showcasing the great band all over again. Altogether, this album should've made a dent, should've catapulted Callins up the loft scene and got him a follow up on a significant label. But it didn't. It vanished, and only collectors of the scene have kept it alive all these years. But alive it is.

John Gordon - 1978 - Erotica Suite

John Gordon

1978

Erotica Suite

01. 1st Movement - Desire 6:54
02. 2nd Movement - Fulfillment 6:13
03. 3rd Movement - Aftermath 1:28
04. 4th Movement - Consequences 8:06
05. Ora Lee Tingle 4:26
06. Neleh 6:30
07. Blue Na 8:19

Bass – Lyle Atkinson
Drums – Frank Derrick III
Piano – John Miller
Saxophone – James Spaulding
Trombone – John Gordon
Trumpet – Waymond Reed

John Gordon's Erotica Suite, originally released in 1978. One of the rarest albums on Strata-East Records. a great later label effort under the leadership of trombonist John Gordon -- with work by James Spaulding on alto and flute, John Miller on piano and keyboards, Waymond Reed on trumpet, Lyle Atkinson on bass, and Frank Derrick on drums and bells; The whole thing has a very spiritual feel, and it features the long "Erotica Suite", plus "Ora Lee Tingle", "Blue Na", and "Neleh". Licensed by Strata-East Records.

Pete La Roca - 1967 - Turkish Women At The Bath

Pete La Roca

1967

Turkish Women At The Bath

01. Turkish Women At The Bath 5:14
02. Dancing Girls 5:50
03. Love Planet 5:28
04. Marjoun 3:34
05. Bliss 4:53
06. Sin Street 7:00
07. And So 1:21
08. And So 1:45

Bass – Walter Booker
Percussiony – Pete La Roca
Piano – Chick Corea
Saxophone – John Gilmore

Recorded in New York, May 25, 1967.

A "lost" classic of spiritual free jazz, Turkish Women is a charming session inspired by the decadent Ingres painting of the same name. This late 1960s session brought together the fiery, refined tenor sax of John Gilmore; the ruminative acoustic piano of (pre-fusion) Chick Corea; the heavy, hefty-duty bass of Walter Booker; and leader Pete LaRoca. LaRoca, who left music shortly after this 1967 session to devote his time to the art of law, is a contrapuntal percussionist who's even credited in The Rough Guide to Jazz as "the first person to record a totally free-tempo drum solo." It's an ensemble effort, but longtime Sun Ra sideman Gilmore delivers a rare non-Arkestra performance that demonstrates why Coltrane was so clearly influenced by Gilmore's tightly-controlled, sonic whirlwinds. --Mike McGonigal

This album has a strange history. As Joel Dorn reminds us in the liner notes, it was originally produced by Alan Douglas in 1967 with the current title. The quartet is led by drummer Pete LaRoca, and features the talents of pianist Chick Corea, bassist Walter Booker, and tenor saxophonist John Gilmore. However, the album was later sold to Muse Records, who subsequently released it with a different title, Bliss! (MR-5011), listing Chick Corea as the leader. "Pete took umbrage, sued Muse and won," Dorn writes. "Unfortunately, when Muse took it off the market as a Chick Corea record, it was never re-released as a Pete LaRoca record and consequently hasn't been available for much too long a time." This CD reissue comes over thirty years since it was recorded; the world has changed some since then, but Art is timeless.

Turkish Women at the Bath is based on the painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, offering inspiration for each of LaRoca's seven compositions. The drummer, as leader, drives the rhythm and surrounds his quartet with shimmering cymbals. Walter Booker performs accompanying walking and running duties for the largely hard bop session, and offers a lyrical bass solo on "Bliss." Behind the bass solo, Corea repeats a one-measure descending motif tirelessly for over two minutes. LaRoca borrowed that pattern from a Pakistani tune; the modal harmonies throughout the session lend an authentic Middle Eastern mood. Gilmore and Corea share the solo spotlight; at the time of this recording, the tenor had only recently left Art Blakey's tutelage, and Corea had recorded his first albums as a leader: Tones For Joan's Bones and Inner Space, both on Atlantic. "Marjoun" is a Corea feature, showing the pianist's churning motion at the keyboard, while Gilmore rolls with contrasting waves of sound. This being the late sixties, the session includes some intentional reverberation with the saxophone on "Turkish Women at the Bath," and with the piano on "Marjoun." Stepping into the spotlight on "Dancing Girls," LaRoca punctuates clearly while Corea repeats the same one-measure phrase for almost three minutes. LaRoca's extended unaccompanied drum solo takes place in "Sin Street," another hard bop number laced with postmodern elements. Highly recommended.

If you're anything like me and get a thrill from finding great music and artists who have for some reason or another gone obscure or out of print, records like this are what you live for. I actually found this album re-packaged as a Chick Corea date (entitled Bliss), issued by Muse (not the original label) in the late '70s, but despite Corea's incredible performance, this is Pete LaRoca's gig all the way. Not only did he compose every piece on it, but his urgent, cymbal-slicing style (which would seem to have been a major influence to Jack DeJohnette) is its focal ingredient throughout.

The first side of the record simply cannot be improved upon, it is perfection. The title track opens the album with Corea's reverbed piano brilliantly insinuating the melody and LaRoca's cymbals loosely jutting the rhythm around Walter Booker's strong, anchoring bass line; John Gilmore completes the group's tremendous cohesiveness with a measured tenor sax interpretation of the song's foreign intrigue. "Dancing Girls" is next even more of a challenge to describe; it begins and ends with a feverish, piled-on attack of alternating chords, and in between there is an extended section of mesmerizing repetition and intensity. As Corea suddenly transforms his playing into a real-time piano loop, LaRoca intermittently bashes away on his kit (which here gets the reverb treatment as well), creating a aural soundtrack for a trippy, frenetic dance you can't help but begin to visualize through strobe lights in your mind. Gilmore doesn't contribute much here and generally shows very little indication of his Sun Ra Arkestra leanings on the session, but he must have felt right at home while this was going on, space indeed being the place.

"Love Planet", "Sin Street", and "Marjoun" feature the band continuing in peak form. Corea, whose acoustic work from this period of time was probably never equaled in the course of his long career, is an ideal compliment to LaRoca, a pairing of powerful dynamics which (while perhaps not stylistically similar) provides an effect not unlike that of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones; particularly in "Marjoun", one is struck by the sheer forcefulness and vitality of Corea's playing. On "Sin Street", Gilmore moves more to the forefront and LaRoca unleashes a long and furious solo. "Bliss" is an eerily atmospheric piece in which Corea again plays an odd, repeating sequence of zig-zagging notes (if ever there was a sequence ready-made for sampling, this is it) while Booker's throbbing bass contributes the bulk of accompanying improvisation. And the all-too-brief final track, "And So" - a mere fragment of funk - offers yet another glimpse of territory which this group had set out to conquer.

Turkish Dancers is an outright exceptional album, replete with inspired, original music, impassioned performances and a wide range of creative forms. That LaRoca would not record for decades after this approximates the realm of tragedy; according to a recent interview with the drummer (who now uses the surname of Sims), he didn't so much choose to "drop out" of music so much as he was "blacklisted" by record companies due to his staunch aversion to the compromises of fusion. Yet given the fact that such similarly uncommercial peers like Andrew Hill, Archie Shepp, and Sam Rivers (to name a few) were eventually able to regain their bearings and record according to their own dictates on smaller labels in the seventies and beyond, it would appear that LaRoca (who had been reduced to driving cabs to earn a living) simply threw up his arms at one point and opted out of the music industry altogether and practice law rather than hold fast to his artistic vision while in the indefinite throes of poverty. Certainly Pete LaRoca wasn't the only jazz musician driven into no-man's land by the demands created by the more commercial successes of R & B, rock, and fusion in the late 1960s (God only knows what he came to think of Corea's career choices!); while his decision to change professions in light of this is certainly understandable, however, it does make the sustained commitments of those who survived this implosion of the jazz scene with their integrity in tact all the more appreciated.

"Turkish Women At The Bath" is a wonderful rediscovery. Drummer Pete La Roca made only three albums as a leader during his heyday in the 1960's and now this long forgotten session is available once again. Although best known for his Blue Note debut "Basra" in 1965, La Roca recorded two albums for Douglas Recordings in 1967, the previously released "Bliss!" and this obscure date. This session is a fascinating slice of late-60's modally influenced jazz featuring an especially welcome solo spot from John Gilmore, who was rarely able to record outside of Sun Ra's grasp.

Hearing Gilmore free of the Arkestra is reason alone for celebration, but to combine that event with an early appearance by Chick Corea elevates the session well beyond mere historical curiosity. Gilmore is more restrained here than with his regular employer, but it is a delight to hear him elucidate with a sense of subtlety that was sometimes lost in the ecstatic throes of the Arkestra. Gilmore's resplendent tone is in full force here, like an otherworldy cousin of Paul Gonsalves, he brings an authoritatively timeless air to these pieces. Corea's cascades of precise linearity contrast nicely with Booker's rock solid bass vamping and La Roca's splashy cymbal work. "Bliss" leaves Gilmore out of the mix and highlights Corea's gorgeous descending melody.

Considering the albums' 1967 vintage, the session never sounds dated, despite the typical modal vibe, so much the rage at the time. The only real complaint is the sound of the recording. A studio recording, it still has a distant quality in regards to the placement of the drums and piano. During La Roca's solos he sounds like he is out in the wings, while Gilmore sounds front and center. This is a minor flaw however, as the band's performance more than makes up for this lack of fidelity. Considering it was La Roca's last record before deciding to take a long hiatus from music to become a lawyer before his eventual come-back, we are fortunate to have it, despite its mere half hour duration.

This album was a Pete La Roca inspired, composed and led project for DJ Alan Douglas' short lived record label, Douglas 6. The album was recorded with Pete's sometime working band of 1967 which included Walter Booker, John Gilmore and Chick Corea. Flash forward to 1973, the Douglas catalog was acquired by Muse and this session was scheduled to be reissued. Of course by now Corea was a sure seller and it is unlikely that anyone at Muse knew the history of the session, or why it was under La Roca's name so it gets re-released..... under Corea's name as Bliss, Muse 5011!....The problem with this scenario, of course, was that no one had bothered to consult La Roca who just happened to be a lawyer in his day job! Pete immediately demands that the reissue be pulled and sues to enforce his will. The record is quickly pulled and then vanishes until the 32 Jazz era when Joel Dorn has the good sense to have it released with the proper title and leader credit. The record is a lovely modal excursion that is a must for any Gilmore fan in particular.

Ken McIntyre - 1962 - Year Of The Iron Sheep

Ken McIntyre

1962

Year Of The Iron Sheep

01. Say What 5:00
02. Arisin' 10:10
03. Laura 3:25
04. 96.5 4:10
05. Cosmos 5:15
06. Someday 8:47

Tracks 1–4
Ken McIntyre – alto sax, flute
Jaki Byard – piano
Ron Carter – bass
Ben Riley – drums

Track 5
Ken McIntyre – alto sax
Jaki Byard – piano
Ron Carter – bass
Louis Hayes – drums

Track 6
Ken McIntyre – flute
Ed Stoute – piano
Ahmed Abdul-Malik – bass
Warren Smith – drums

Sound Mixers, NYC, June 11, August 31, September 4, 1962

After making something of a name for himself on his two New Jazz records (especially his one with Eric Dolphy, "Looking Ahead"), Ken McIntyre moved over to United Artists to record a few albums with Alan Douglas producing. The music moved forward some from the 1960 sessions, but those wanting the McIntyre on Cecil Taylor's "Unit Structures" or "Wildflowers" may not be as pleased. Try not to take that away from McIntyre, though, who is a splendid player no matter what he's playing, and the curious title at least alludes to some direction towards the avant-garde, even if the results are mostly pleasant post-bop.

There were three sessions to this album, and many extras are on "the Complete United Artists" double CD which paired this with his other United Artists album, "Way, Way Out" from a year later. For this album, only the song "Someday" was chosen from a session with trombonist John Mancebo Lewis. The songs with him, however, are only on that compilation; Douglas chose to keep this a quartet album. The next session produced only "Cosmos" and featured a different backing band entirely, but it all seemed to come together for the last sessions, which is featured on the opening four tracks. Of those, "Say What" is a terrific opener, all bopping heads and modal energy. It leads into a somewhat overlong but still lovely ballad, "Arisin'". McIntyre plays methodically here, never pushing the boundaries. Much the same is true on "Laura", the only cover on the album, which is tastefully played for its first half before it turns on a dime to a speedy tempo and lets McIntyre really show off. Byard is ideal for this record, and his energy combines with Carter's bass and Riley's always swinging drums. It shows that the band could certainly head "out" if it wished, but instead it slows back down to a quick end.

Moving to side two finds McIntyre on flute for what is without question the most challenging track, "96.5". Byard plays some unique notes throughout, though he often returns to block chords after a bit. Again, the band is on it, though Byard really owns this one and seems totally attuned to McIntyre, even prodding him with some mild dissonance at one point. The next track, "Cosmos" really stretches out, featuring the most challenging playing of the day and some masterful drum work by Louis Hayes. The song lets McIntyre take his alto into slightly overblown territory. Carter, as he did with Dolphy, keeps his elastic bass setting the foundation for the band whilst always exploring. This might be a good track to try just to hear a sampling of what McIntyre could do in 1962. Few were actually following Ornette Coleman at this point, though many were listening. McIntyre keeps his own sound but isn't afraid to explore, and that exploration would go on to define his seventies music in particular. After that rush, "Someday" returns to flute and is a cool down for the album's end. Byard is in good form again, as is the rest of the band. Again, this isn't an album that will blow minds or seem like a brilliant, lost find, but it is very well done and at least two tracks are really worth digging into. One to give a chance on a cool fall morning.

Year Of The Iron Sheep, originally released in 1962. Recorded intermittently between June and September 1962, Year Of The Iron Sheep was Ken McIntyre's third album, the fruit of various studio sessions featuring three different personnel line-ups. Here the great multi-instrumentalist, mostly known for his collaborations with the likes of Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, and Charlie Haden, is heard on alto sax and flute.

Donald Alexander Strachan And The Freedom Ensemble - 1975 - Soul Translation

Donald Alexander Strachan And The Freedom Ensemble

1975

Soul Translation

01. Temptation 4:43
02. The Word 4:34
03. Song Of Searching 7:01
04. Spiritual Travelers 8:20
05. Masters Of The Bourchakoun 3:35
06. Silent Jubilation 7:42
07. Tenth Door 1:28
08. Aquarian Voices 8:31
09. Soul Release 2:56

Lee Rozie - tenor sax
Lee Henderson - bass trombone
Carl Viggianni - flute
John Thompson - cornet
Jay Hoggard - Vibes
M. Malik Jackson - piano
Ray Newton - drums
Archie Delerme - congas, dawrro
Wes Brown - acoustic and electric bass
Susan Rapunzl Findlay - vocals
Donald Alexander Strachan - guitar, vocals, piano

Special thanks to The Center for Afro-American Studies, Wesleyan University, Judy Arce and Ron McMullen, without whom this project would still be a dream. 5/24/75

“Soul Translation: A Spiritual Suite" a superb lost USA deep jazz independent private-press album originally self-published by Donald Alexander Strachan and the Freedom Ensemble on Triad Music Concepts in 1975.

This great soulful/spiritual jazz album was the only album that Strachan released and consequently has become a lost rarity - a must for fans of Tribe, Strata-East and other conscious jazz from the 1970s and features in Gilles Peterson/Soul Jazz Records' Freedom, Rhythm and Sound book.

Donald Alexander Strachan is composer, conductor, guitarist, vocalist and more leading a large 11-piece line-up that includes Jay Hoggard on vibes.

Strachan studied in New York City in the 1970s with composer/saxophonist Sam Rivers and Ghanaian Drum-master Abraham Adzenyah as well as avant-garde guitarist/composer Bruce Johnson all of who helped shape his unique sound.

In the 1980s Strachan entered into the collaborative world of cinema by composing musical scores and has been involved in cinema ever since both musically, as a scriptwriter and director. Donald Alexander Strachan and the Freedom Ensemble’s “Soul Translation: A Spiritual Suite" is a unique product of Strachan’s multicultural and African-American heritage and aesthetic - polyrhythmically complex and spiritually intense.