Recorded on October 13, 1980 at Johnny, Rikuzen-Takata. Cojima Recordings
A tremendous live set from pianist Teru Sakamoto -- a session that soars with all of the life, soul, and imagination of McCoy Tyner at his 70s best! The record's got a feel that's quite open -- long tracks, with plenty of solo space for Sakamoto on the piano -- but the sound is always inside, rhythmic, and focused -- never too out or too experimental, just soaring up to the skies with a brilliant sense of expression. The trio features Takao Neichi on bass and Takeshi Watana
Bass – Eiji Aizawa, Eiji Nakayama Drums – Yoshimi Ueno Electric Guitar – Sadao Nishiwaki Guitar, Electric Guitar – Masato Okubo Piano – Keisaku Takahashi Tenor Saxophone – Yasuaki Shimizu
A laidback Japanese jazz set from the start of the 80s -- filled with warm piano lines, gentle guitar grooves, and some nice moments on tenor! There's a great mellow feel to the record -- a quality that's different than other records we've heard of this vintage -- still some of the soaring lyricism of the Japanese piano scene, but with a more spacious, contemplative feel overall -- one that really gives the record a lot of depth. The core group is a quintet -- with tenor, guitar, piano, bass, and drums -- and there's some guest guitar and bass on a few tracks.
Exactly the kind of record that's got us digging Japanese trio sessions from the 70s so much -- a set that's filled with lots of warm, soulful sounds, creatively compelling changes, and fresh rhythms that really keep the tunes interesting! There's a slight undercurrent of funk on most numbers, but never too much -- as the set still preserves all the best lyrical lines of pianist Kichiro Sugino, who steps beautifully around the bass of Kishio Kitahara and drums of Mitsaki Katayama -- a perfectly-hinged trio who soar plenty on the record -- more than enough to earn the "flight" in the title! This one's really a cut above -- filled with wonderful energy, and never a dull moment throughout -- a real gem that's waiting to be re-discovered by the 21st Century generation
This album opens and closes spectacularly. Something about that opening drum solo sets a certain expectation for the rest of the album and then once the double bass and piano drop in you realise how different the atmosphere will be. The closing track somehow lives up to the expectation of that opening drum solo, being a fairly rapturous track. Going on from that, this album being 3 musicians is impressive, it's a beautifully full sounding album, deceptively full in fact. It's fair to say that these performances are indeed stellar and do exactly what they need to do.
Don't expect anything too radical. Maybe aside from the aforementioned tracks, the album isn't crazy. It sets a certain vibe and sticks to it largely. Saying that, due to incredible performances, it pulls off this fairly relaxed feeling incredibly. It's an unfortunate comparison to make when it comes to jazz but this would very much fit in a cafe, but I mean that in the best possible way, it's just a very pleasant listening experience.
A brilliant bass-led trio session from Japan -- a perfect example of that scene's jazz greatness back in the 70s! Japanese piano trios definitely got their nod in the US and Europe, but at the time, the scene also had some equally wonderful combos who were led by bassists, not pianists -- put together in ways that were always unusual and creative, especially in the way they approached a groove! This album's a beautiful illustration of the bass trio when it's done right -- long-flowing, lyrical lines from leader Eiji Nakyama, accompanied by guitar and drums that dance along with equally great energy -- mixing up straight jazz moments with modal numbers -- really changing things up to keep things interesting, yet never in a gimmicky "hey, here's the bassist" kind of way.
Beautiful grooves from a cool Japanese group -- one led by bassist Eiji Nakayama, with some great electric piano and tenor sax in the lineup too! The tracks are long, and relatively open-ended -- kind of in the Three Blind Mice label style of the period, but with an even more contemplative feel -- especially on some of the piano lines, which get nice and blocky -- really feeling their way into space, as the tenor sax comes into the mix to carve out a few more edges!
I'd never had as much joy getting into samba as I have bossa nova (sorry Chico Buarque, sorry Luis Bonfa), but this here jazzthing takes everything strident and sensual I like about samba rhythms and pares it back to a relatively sparse jazz quartet arrangement without any of the florid melodic trappings that have imposed a low ceiling for me in the past. The bookending tracks explore this samba-jazz fusion most vibrantly, while the middle two are mellow jazz loungers. "See Sea Town" is the most ambitious piece of the two, culminating in a long, erratic solo from saxophonist Kenji Takahashi, but his playing across the "Misty"-esque slowburner "Yellow Living" might just be the greater highlight: this one's demure stylings accentuate the grit in his rather dry tone better than anything else on the record. Nakayama’s double bass is the star of the show, however: I love, love, love the way he carries these grooves but maintains such a vibrant melodic dialogue with his bandmates.
Anyhow, four substantive tracks in 35-minutes also gives this tremendous binge value that I’ve exploited with relish – I've explored a hell of a lot more jazz since first hearing this, but it remains an easy go-to. It was also reportedly the inspiration behind the Japanese jazz label Johnny's Disk, so chalk up a handful of legacy points if this is something that matters to you. Great record.
Katsuyuki Itakura (板倉克行, Itakura Katsuyuki, b. Taiwan, 1943 - January 10, 2014), nicknamed Katsu, is a Japanese free jazz pianist. He made his debut in 1962 and has made ten recordings. He has performed throughout Japan, as well as in the United States and in Europe. In 1995 he performed in London for the 15th anniversary of Leo Records. In 2000 he performed at the Florida Jazz and Blues Festival.
Itakura began studying classical music at the age of 7. His work combines composition and improvisation and is often humorous in nature. He has performed or recorded with Kenny Millions, Peter Brötzmann, Dave Holland, Scott Robinson, Bruce Eisenbeil and Stephen Flinn.
Percussionist Robin Jones was one of the earliest - and eventually longest-serving - exponents of Latin jazz in the UK. While he guested on hundreds of records and was still playing a couple of years before his death at 84 last year, Jones only ever released a handful of albums under his own name. Arguably the best - and certainly most popular amongst Britain's legion of jazz-dancers - was 1972's 'El Maja', credited to the Robin Jones Seven. A scintillating fusion of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazillian rhythms laden with sprightly woodwind and brass sounds, jaunty piano, jazz-funk Rhodes sounds and notable nods towards rhythm and blues, the hard-to-find album has now been reissued by legendary London jazz DJ Paul Murphy's Jazz Room Records imprint. It should be an essential purchase for anyone who loves Latin jazz.
Flute, Alto Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Olaf Vas
Percussion, Bongos – Simon Morton
Piano, Electric Piano – Ian Henry
Often affectionately referred to as the "Godfather of British Latin music" Robin Jones was truly one of the great performers on the international Latin scene.
Denga, his first recording from 1971 is a scintillating fusion of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian rhythms laden with heavy Fender Rhodes sounds and no less than three Afro-Latin Percussionists. The hard-to-find album has now been reissued by legendary London jazz DJ Paul Murphy's Jazz Room Records imprint. It should be an essential purchase for anyone who loves Latin jazz.
Feature's Robin's personal favorites including "Goodbye Batucada" which rightfully lays claim to be the first Brazilian Jazz Samba tune recorded in the UK and the Worldwide Sound standard setters "Denga" and "Africa Revisited".
A hell of a record of Latin Jazz – recorded in the UK, but with a vibe that puts the whole thing right up there with some of the most inventive American albums of a few years before – such as Latin jazz classics by Sabu Martinez, Cal Tjader, or Eddie Palmieri! Robin Jones is the leader, and plays drums and timbales here – and the group are a tight sextet who work with no vocals at all – just flutes and saxes from Olaf Vas, a great talent who really shades in the sound – plus piano and Rhodes from Ian Henry, bass from Percy Borthwick, and percussion from Simon Morton and Tony Uter. Given the lack of other instrumentation, there's a fantastic focus on the percussion, reeds, and piano – and the whole thing's a cracker through and through.
Bruce and Hanrahan hit it off on the basis of their working class backgrounds, left-wing politics, and experience with jazz. Hanrahan had formed a band based on Cuban percussion and the Afro-Caribbean rhythm known as "clave'" (clah-VAY), and Bruce jumped in enthusiastically.
The core band is Jack Bruce on vocals, bass, and piano, Steve Swallow on bass, Arto Lindsay on guitar, David Murray on tenor sax, Peter Scherer on synclavier and organ, and percussionists Milton Cardona (congas, bongos), Ignacio Berroa (trap drums), Puntilla Orlando Rios (quinto, congas), and Kip Hanrahan. Several other musicians including a horn section appear on certain tracks.
The lyrics are all included in the eight-page insert, but there is no attribution for the songs. I know Bruce and his lyricist Pete Brown wrote "Smiles and Grins," which was originally recorded on Bruce's "Harmony Row" album. Whether he wrote any of the others, I can't say.
"What Do You Think? That This Mountain Was Once Fire?"
God: "Hey, what do you think? ...that the life of a fly is as important as the success of the revolution?"
"Vertical's Currency" (what the heck does it mean) is a superb album and another impressive chapter in Jack Bruce's musical life.
Following the recording Bruce toured with the band for a time. After falling out over a misunderstanding, Bruce reunited with Hanrahan in 2001. At that point Bruce hired Hanrahan's band, which he renamed the Cuicoland Express, went on tour, and recorded two albums (Shadows In the Air/2001 and More Jack Than God/2003). They are both good, but I find "More Jack Than God" to be even better than the first.
Wonderful stuff -- one of Kip Hanrahan's unique albums recorded for American Clave during the mid 80s, a daring blend of jazz, vocals, and influences from various Latin sources. The players on the set are as diverse as the sounds -- and incluce Jack Bruce, Milton Cardona, Steve Swallow, Arto Lindsay, David Murray, and Hanrahan on percussion -- and although the album should just sound like a mess, it ends up coming across wonderfully, with some of the most daringly intimate vocal tracks recorded in the jazz field during the 80s.
The percussion is here on prominent role, which is good; it's frantic, on-going. Sometimes it's a bit like more jungle-groovy version of Joni Mitchell's The Jungle Line. Most of the jazz here doesn't feel stereotypical or immediately recognizable, only the slower and smoother pieces like India and Heart on My Sleeve are bad that way, quite weak pieces, but perhaps OK if you're fine with any relaxing jazz... I'm not. And not surprisingly, they are the only songs without Kip Hanrahan on percussion. So those are more like outlier interludes. Kip is the driving force on this album, and it's very coherent, comfortable, with a special feel. I think it's important that there are vocals though, and it works really well, it's delicate and intriguing. But the background rhythms keep going and going, their own way, and that's awesome.
A stylistically strange beast that begins to make more sense when you examine that incredible lineup of musicians and realize that on this album Hanrahan is primarily acting as a conductor/producer, assembling different groups at different times to do different things. I would argue that despite Fred Frith and Lisa Herman appearing on only a few tracks, it's the RIO influence that marks that spine of the album, with No Wave and Jazz Fusion sounds built upon that spine.
While a fascinating album to dissect, it's hard not to compare it to the work and genres of the musicians it's brought together. Arto Lindsay's guitar bites, but it's no DNA. Lisa Herman's vocals are well done, but nothing as interesting as Kew.Rhone, etc, etc.
After all that experimentation and fusion, I think the best thing here is Carla Bley, Billy Bang and Chico Freeman doing a straightforward cover of India.
Coup de tête blunts too many of the edges of its influences and contributors to be fully successful but is an interesting document of 1980 era New York and is compelling despite its issues.
Fittingly enough, the first sound heard on Kip Hanrahan's premier release is that of the conga and the first word sung is "sex," two leitmotifs that would appear consistently in his ensuing work. Coup de Tete burst on the scene in the early '80s as an entirely fresh, invigorating amalgam of Cuban percussion (much of it Santeria-based), free jazz, funk, and intimate, confrontational lyrics. Hanrahan had worked at New Music Distribution Service, a project run by Carla Bley and Michael Mantler (both of whom appear on this album), and had established contacts with numerous musicians from varied fields who he threw together in a glorious New York City melting pot. With the percussion and electric bass laying down thick and delicious grooves, the cream of the younger avant saxophonists in New York at the time wail over the top, accompanying some of the most brutally uncomfortable lyrics ever put to wax. The relationships Hanrahan details are turbulent to say the least, often intertwined with economic concerns as well as a general sense of the impossibility of understanding one's mate. After asking him for abuse and being refused, his lover (sung wonderfully by Lisa Herman) taunts, "When you could only sulk/I had more contempt for you than I ever thought I could have." Interspersed among the bitter love harangues and ecstatic percussion-driven numbers are two stunningly lovely pieces, Marguerite Duras' "India Song" and Teo Macero's "Heart on My Sleeve," both aching with romanticism. Coup de Tete is a superb record, an impressive debut, and, arguably, one of the finest moments in Hanrahan's career along with the following release, Desire Develops an Edge. Highly recommended.
This set was a change of pace for tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Backed by three trumpeters (Clark Terry gets some solos), a rhythm section (pianist Lloyd Mayers, bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley) and a percussion section led by Ray Barretto, Lockjaw performs four compositions by Gil Lopez (who arranged all of the selections) plus "Tin Tin Deo," "Star Eyes" and his own "Afro-Jaws." The Afro-Cuban setting is perfect for the tough-toned tenor, who romps through the infectious tunes.
A soul jazz Latin classic -- one that matches the searing tenor work of Eddie Lockjaw Davis with the hard-hitting conga of a young Ray Barretto! The core group of the set is a soul jazz one -- with Lockjaw blowing over rhythm by Lloyd Mayers on piano, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley on drums -- plus a small added trumpet section on a few tracks. Ray comes into the mix with some really tight percussion on the bottom, aided by a few other players at times -- kicking up the tunes and giving them a lot of fire -- something that Davis seems to really respond to in his horn. Thanks should also be given to arranger Gil Lopez, who put together the overall sound of the set -- and the album's a hard groover all the way through, filled with Latin jammers like "Wild Rice", "Jazz-a-Samba", "Guanco Lament", "Afro Jaws", and "Tin Tin Deo"
Recorded, mixed and mastered at The Automatt, San Francisco, CA in August and September, 1980.
A wonderful set that features plenty of tenor work from Joe Henderson – a really much-needed document of Joe's tremendous sound during this under-recorded period of his career – and very heavy in those sharp, dark tones he used on the Mirror Mirror album! The rest of the group is great – a core combo with George Cables on piano, Eddie Marshall on drums, and Kenneth Nash on percussion – augmented by some larger backings at times, but always in a relatively subtle way that preserves the energy of the core.
At this stage in his career, Gebhard Ullmann's concept as a performer was not fully developed, yet the seeds of the future were firmly planted. His muscular sound on tenor sax evidences a bold confidence that came to be characteristic of his playing, and his sense of humor and willingness to experiment can be found on a couple of tracks. Actually, this early album is largely a group effort, and the strong, exciting contributions of guitarist Andreas Willers and drummer Nikolaus Schäuble charge this power quartet with a dynamic rhythmic punch. Ullmann's "Minus One" opens by hooking the listener with the saxophonist's laconic, slightly behind-the-beat quarter tones announcing the catchy, woozy melody. The collectively improvised "No Way" and "The Crawler" keep up the appealingly sluggish pace, with varying degrees of intensity and superb musicianship. Ullmann is particularly fascinating in the upper register, occasionally intertwining with Willers' frenzied guitar, and girded by drums and electric bass. Given the freedom displayed as well as the radical musical proclivities of some of the members, this is a fairly tame set with a stronger jazz feel than might be expected from these performers. It is remarkable, though, in its use of the electric guitar and bass with hard-hitting drums, nominally led by a brawny in-your-face saxophone. As a soloist, Willers plucks with the intensity of hard bop, though he also sometimes soars freely with a rock-like sensibility. While Ullmann blows his soprano sax like a tenor, he is much more comfortable with the latter. The closer, written by Willers, is the most radical piece, with altered notes and free, collective improvisation: a precursor of the more expansive avenues followed by each of these performers in later years.
The intense and quite strong Out To Lunch is just about the earliest recording available on which multi-reedman Gebhard Ullmann is the leader, with his discography listing the LP, Playful (Biber, 1985), a duo with guitarist Andreas Willers.
That this release almost shares its title with the acclaimed Eric Dolphy album Out To Lunch! (Blue Note, 1964) is an indication of Ullmann's fondness for the album in particular and Dolphy in general. Musically the relationship to the earlier release is not clear, since the instrumentation is different (vibes, trumpet, bass and drums compared to Dolphy's bass clarinet, flute and alto saxophone), and the vibe here is cool rather than hot. However, Ullmann most definitely connects with Dolphy's attitude and clarity of purpose.
The atmosphere created by Ullmann, Willers, bassist Hans-Dieter Lorenz and drummer Nikolaus Schäuble is one of darkness and mystery, smoky and a bit dangerous. The band is very tight and the rather open tracks straddle the divide between pure improvisations and structured compositions.
Ullmann and Willers both contribute three tunes, and two ("No way" and "Crawler") are credited to the group, but feel more structured than free as is usually the case when the entire group gets credit.
The first tune, "Minus one," by Ullmann is essentially a blues with some harmonic extensions, and sets the stage for the album's mood of late night and cigarette smoke. Quite sexy and yet understated, the track introduces us to early Ullmann and Willers as they play inside and outside the expected.
"Concentration reiterates the connection to the tradition by sounding almost "normal" at times in the phrasing of sax and guitar and the rhythm set up by the walking (although electric) bass and drums. Its A-B-A structure of thematic introduction, solos and recap reinforces the sense of familiarity, which, however, is occasionally unsettled by some extended harmony.
"Feels," "No rags" and "No dinner" are all on the funky side with bluesy overtones. The bass lines are slinky and the themes sneak in and out of the harmonic structure, keeping the listener off balance. The music has a floating quality despite its rhythm due to the open-ended structures and dynamics used.
"No way" and particularly "Crawler," (the group compositions), are the darkest, most intense and complex tracks on the record, being much musical stories than improvised themes. Ullmann and Willers are particularly fine as the former plays long, twisting lines that end up wailing at the sky, while the latter answers with free, spacious and unpredictable solos.
Out To Lunch is the first appearance of what was to be the long-term partnership between Ullmann, Willers and Schäuble in his early years. The music is quite exciting and fascinating as it balances between the past and the future.
Dark progressive synth ambient meet Berlin–School sounds on this privately pressed, conceptual album which "tells the story of a world annihilation through nuclear war".
"Requiem" is full of delayed psychedelic electric guitar, effects, cold drum machines, waves of analog keyboards (Korg MS20, Casioton ct201, Crumar DS–2, Jupiter–4...) and cosmic atmosphere.
George Speckert is a conceptual electronic composer based in Hannover but of North American origin. Working as a music teacher in Germany in the 70s, he started to write and produce music in his spare time, inspired by the European rock and electronic scenes of the time (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean Michel Jarre, Emerson Lake & Palmer, etc). He met another American expat, David Cassidy (no, not THAT David Cassidy), who ran a small record label / studio. That’s when "Requiem" started to take form. A chance meeting with a terrific guitar player named Massimo Grandi, led to Massimo adding some amazing electric guitar to the album. After six months, "Requiem" was finally released in a private edition of 1000 copies on the small Daviton label.
Excellent all-instrumental prog rock! Angular, somewhat dissonant compositions that suggest inspiration came mainly from Red-era King Crimson, as well as minimalist composer Steve Reich. In their heavier moments (particularly on Side 1) you’d swear they were doing a sort of proto math rock style - something that Don Caballero made a career out of just 10 years later. They stray into other styles, as well… a couple tracks on side 2 made me think they were also into Zappa and Allan Holdsworth.
The first thing that stunned me after listening to this album was the place and time of its origin. The USA and 1983? Much more appropriate would be, for example, France and 1971.
However, I began to be surprised already when listening to the first composition "Intro". After all, this is 100% math rock, the origin of which almost all music publications date to the end of the 80s. Of course, this was only one of the first swallows, but, nevertheless, judging by "Intro", the birth of math rock occurred almost half a decade before the official (albeit somewhat vague in time) date.
Okay, let's start from the beginning. Mr. Euphoria is a trio consisting of Richard Rhodes and Tim Sanz, who periodically try on the roles of a guitarist, then a bassist, changing them with each other. In addition, the first is the author of five songs on the album, and the second three. I tried to understand the composer's style of each of them based on the authorship of the songs. Frankly, I couldn't. For example, out of three compositions composed by Sans, one is made in the style of soft fusion, the second is heavy prog, and the last is jazz fusion seasoned with elements of raga. In the third "Northern Castle" Sans also plays the harp, but it sounds like a sitar. Oh, I almost forgot - the third member of Mr. Euphoria is the excellent drummer Gordon Rhodes (a relative of Richard?). And I want to say that the group is a triumvirate of equal musicians, each of whom is not averse to improvising. All eight compositions are instrumental and made in the form of a rehearsed jam session. In terms of style, the compositions are located in the segment from jazz fusion to gloomy heavy prog. When listening to some of them, I had an analogy with the composition "Cannonball" by the group Sky (though the music performed by Mr. Euphoria looks more serious). But the closest association seemed to me to be the album "IOU" by Allan Holdsworth.
The only minus is a certain "rawness" of the recording. Alas, but Mr. Euphoria did not have its own George Martin.
Stephan Wittwer electric guitar, synthesizer, sequencer programming
Recorded November 1986, Soundville Recording Studios, Luzern
You will hear Christy Doran on the left and Stephan Wittwer on the right channel
If you think ECM release nothing but new agey chamber jazz then you`re in for a shock if you hear this album.Christy Doran and Stephan Wittwer on guitars with Fredy Studer on drums play wildly and are`nt afraid to let their guitars feedback,highly recommended.
The bulk of this set burns with some jagged, edgy twin-guitar interplay between Doran and Witwer, and were I to make a "best of Doran" sampler spread over, say, 2 CDRs, I'd probably wind up plucking a track off this one, but unfortunately it's an inconsistent album with some sagging energy levels and greyness in the timbres. Wittwer (who I actually saw play live a few times during the FMP festival in Chicago in 1995) is a much noisier and dirtier player than Doran in general, and on subdued pieces his edginess becomes greyness. At the same time, there's nothing weak on this album. It ranges from very good to stunning, but so much of Doran's work is stunning that it's necessary to make these distinctions. Doran's right hand man Fredy Studer uses a more stark, slightly robotic and 80s flavored drumkit style on here than usual for him and it works rather well overall, taking the music away from jazz references and into something idiosyncratic and novel. This is also one of the wilder moments in the ECM catalog. Doran has plenty of better albums, but this a killer disc that won't disappoint either casual or serious fans.
Two tracks from this trio project that didn't appear on this album were released on the essential, mind-blowing Doran/Studer retrospective Half A Lifetime.
Guitarist Christy Doran, who nowadays divides his time between teaching in Switzerland and recording,
is another in a line of unique guitarists on the ECM roster. For those new to this intriguing musician as I am, this seems as good a place as any to start, though one may also encounter swatches of his art flapping in the wind of the OM collective. For the Red Twist & Tuned Arrow project, he joins improviser extraordinaire Stephan Wittwer and OM founder Fredy Studer on drums and percussion. The product of this chemical reaction is a record of great ingenuity that has worn well. What first impresses about Doran and Wittwer is their delicacy. We find out right away in the Derek Bailey-esque vibes of “Canon Cannon” that both musicians are far less interested in powering their way through material than they are in uncorking a fine vintage of fermented logic. Moving from the synth ground lines here to the perpetuity of “1374,” again we are awash in the microscopy, which is only enhanced by Studer’s evocative colors. Like something out of a sci-fi film, it pulses with alien energy. On that note, “Quasar” might as well be called “Quaver,” for that it does in abundance, moving through a gallery of playing that is nocturnal yet blinding. Doran does much to admire here in the date’s crowning achievement, which is not without its more forthright moments in the oh-so-satisfying grunge of “Belluard.” Along with “D.T.E.T.,” “Backtalk” casts a jazzier, if more abstract, reflection onto the mix. The trio ends smashingly with “Messing,” a quintessential track for Doran, who takes his signature seizures to their greatest height yet. An acoustic breaks from its cage and runs rampant with its freedom cries, leaving the piece’s latter half to fend for itself electronically. Awesome.
Doran grists a pliable sound that never stays in one place or genre for very long. His quick costume changes ensure that we remain on our toes. Perhaps an acquired taste for some, but satisfying and ultimately joyful, with nary a pessimistic puddle to step in.
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Steve Grossman
Music to me falls into two main catagories. Music for the masses and music for musicians. This CD (originally on LP) contains music which is without any shadow of a doubt music for musicians. This is not to say a non musician would not appreciate it, its just that the music has been produced for one reason and one reason only:- for the sake of music-the best reason of all to produce music.
The musicians on this CD have an amaizing chemestry between them. They seem to be able to read each others mind, taking the solo sections into strange and wonderful places (track 6 is a great example of this). A lot of the playing sounds very free, but it never sounds like it's going nowhere. The improvisations always have purpose, direction, and incredible intensity.
Grossman is nothing short of being amaizing on this CD. Forget the barrage of mediocre saxophone players to emmerge out of media hype one month only to be forgotten the next. Grossman is part of the very few elite saxophone players that have something to say in a way that has never been said before. His playing reminds me of a musician whos concept of improvisation crosses that uncertain grayness between sanity and insanity, whilst never loosing musicality. No wonder Grossman is one of Mike Breckers favourite saxophone players.
But this CD is not just about Grossman. Hammer, Perla, Alias and Grossman work as a band should: together, in order to produce music which is greater than the sum of its parts.
If you get an oportunity to listen to this CD, don't do it whilst driving the car, or whilst cooking the Sunday roast. Take yourself into a darkened room, take the phone of the hook, and let Some Shapes into your mind.
Beautifully choppy jazz from Steve Grossman and his legendary 70s comrades Gene Perla and Don Alias -- one of the heaviest hitting American combos of the time! The trio have a tight fusion sound that's as full-on as it is funky -- and Grossman blows some amazing work on tenor and soprano sax that cut into the tunes with a really fierce bite -- while Perla delivers these round, powerful basslines -- and Don Alias alternates between free percussion and some driving funky drums! For this session, the group's joined by Jan Hammer on electric piano and moog, playing in a nicely restrained fashion that's not nearly as overblown as his later work, and which jams into the groove just perfectly -- making for a sweet electric set that's a real standout of the 70s.
01. Acrobat 5:37 02. Jazziz 4:15 03. Doc Holiday 4:52 04. Penumbra 4:10 05. Song For You 6:30 06. Up Start 4:45 07. Don Quixote's Hustle: A Disco Nightmare 7:31
John Serry: piano, keyboards; all instruments on the track, Jazziz Bob Sheppard: saxophones, woodwinds Mike Sembello: guitar Jimmy “Flim” Johnson: electric bass Gordon Johnson: additional electric bass
Carlos Vega: drums
Peter Erskine: drums (Upstart and Don Quixote’s Hustle: A Disco Nightmare) Gordon Gottlieb: percussion
John Serry has flown under the radar forever, but this old record is pretty special to me since it was the first I had heard him some 36 years ago. It is sophisticated and exacting, to say the least. There are some really talented musicians on this record.
01. Care To Dance? 4:27 02. Acting Up 4:05 03. Nicole 6:56 04. Sabotage 3:36 05. Exhibition 7:10 06. Just For Kicks 3:37 07. Mouse March 7:38
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Bob Sheppard Drums – Carlos Vega Electric Bass – Flim Johnson (tracks: A1), Gordon Johnson Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Barry Finnerty Piano, Keyboards, Synthesizer – John Serry Jr. Vibraphone, Xylophone, Bells, Chimes, Congas, Timbales, Percussion – Gordon Gottlieb Vocals – John Serry Jr. (tracks: B2), Nancy Shanx (tracks: A2)
Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, N.Y.C., additional recording at The Record Plant, N.Y.C., mixed at Devonshire Sound Studios, L.A.
First pressings have the Chrysalis "We've Got Music For Your Ears" inner sleeve, with thumbnails of other artists and their album titles.
Besides piano, John Serry Jr. also plays Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CS80, ARP Odyssey and Clavinet. On track B2, "Just For Kicks" he plays all the instruments.
Hyper-technical fusion from 1979, which could be a very good or bad thing, depending on your bias. Mine favors it, and to these ears, this is about as good as that stuff gets. Make no mistake, "that stuff" also includes Spyro Gyra, the "Charlie Rose" theme, and if you follow the fuzak ideology far enough, all the way into Kenny G.
John Serry's music ain't smooth jazz, though. The Eastman-educated pianist writes fusion charts like Kerouac wrote novels: up for days at a time on who knows what, running through phrases a mile a minute, and seemingly with an endless supply of kinetic licks and funky grooves.
His previous band Auracle played the same kind of stuff, and as a college-educated instrumental musician myself, I'm well aware of the proggy jazz culture this fits into, though I might add it fits just as well into a scene were professional session cats are allowed carte blanche in a recording studio to get out all their rocks before laying shit down for, say, Barry Manilow (for whom drummer Carlos Vega played a year after this album).
Nevertheless, this is pretty exhilarating in a shamlessly flashy kind of way, and Serry is a good enough writer that these tunes aren't merely about chops. Hell, he was nominated for Grammy (!) for "Sabotage", so you don't have to be a muso nerd to enjoy it. Doesn't hurt tho.
It's truly a shame that John Serry did not become a star. This is just further proof that technical skill has very little to do with popular appeal. He was the keyboardist for the other little known group "Auracle" back in the late 70's. His virtuouso playing is on full display on this album yet for reasons unfathomable to me, this is the only review of this masterful album.
For lite jazz fusion afficionados, do yourself a favor and pick this up (if you can find it).
01. Little City Slickers 4:08 02. Tied Shoes 5:13 03. Honey 5:07 04. Bombs Away Ballet 5:01 05. City Of Penetrating Light 4:39 06. Rotary Andy's Raggedy 5:23 07. Sambanana 5:48
Steve Kujala: saxophone, flute Rick Braun: trumpet Steven Rehbein: vibraphone, percussion, mallet, marimba Bill Staebell: bass Ron Wagner: drums Biff Hannon : keyboards Lee Ritenour : guitar Tim May: guitar Donna Delory: vocals Stacy Jo Clinger: vocals Gloria Goldsmith: vocals Steve Johnson: horn Gloria O'Brien: vocals Stacey O'Brien: vocals Robert Payne: horn Jeff Tkazyik: horn Afreeka Trees: vocals
Auracle's second and final LP is a fairly average affair with one great cut.
City Slickers sounds like a crate-digger's record: there are moments here and there that could quite easily be lifted and used to better effect, but the album as a whole is fairly plain. The sound here is a sort of slightly funky jazz fusion that feels very smooth and professional, which means it doesn't have much in the way of personality. The album is instrumental aside from backing vocals on "Little City Slickers" and "Rotary Andy's Raggedy"
The one standout here is the aforementioned "Rotary Andy's Raggedy", which is the only genuinely funky cut here – the rest tend to be too soft to be classed as funk. It's got some wonderful horns and a great funk guitar scratching throughout, and it just feels so much more alive than the rest of the tracks here. Everything else seems to be okay songwriting extended out by okay soloing and instrumental interplay. The one noticeably bad cut is the opener "Little City Slickers" which, with the childlike backing vocals, sounds ridiculous and even somewhat twee – quite an unsettling description for a jazz fusion song.
Apart from the moments that could and should be lifted and re-used (which are scattered throughout all the tracks) there is not a great deal of interest here. Too much of this album doesn't have much of any distinguishing features, and it doesn't seem like any of the players were really that interested in this – it's all too clean and covered in the dull sheen of unengaged professionalism.
Overall, this is not an especially great listening experience, although it is still quite passable and is a competent record. City Slickers probably won't appeal to anyone beyond dedicated jazz fusion listeners and DJs and producers searching for samples.
01. Columbian Bubblegum 3:35 02. Tom Thumb 4:20 03. Glider 6:05 04. Sno' Fun 3:39 05. Sleezy Listening 5:32 06. Kid's Stuff 3:54 07. Chez Amis 5:32 08. Sartori 4:16
Steve Kujala: saxophone, flute Rick Braun: trumpet Steven Rehbein: vibraphone, percussion, mallet, marimba Bill Staebell: bass Ron Wagner: drums John Serry : keyboards
Recorded at A&M Studios, The Record Plant, Los Angeles, USA
70's US Jazz Fusion band, reputedly based in Los Angeles.Their roots can be found in a similar group named Inner Vision, consisting of bassist Christian Kollgaard, drummer Ron Wagner, keyboardist/pianist John Serry Jr., flutist Steve Kujala, trumpetist Richard Braun and percussionist/vibraphone player Steven A. Rehbein.Inner Vision released a self-titled album in 1975 and they were renamed to Auracle around 1976, when Kollgaard was replaced by newcomer Bill Staebell.They signed with Chrysalis and released their debut ''Glider'' in 1978.
Auracle may sound a bit too lightweight and accesible for the average Jazz Rock and Prog Rock fan, but the main reason for exploring their sound was the band's incredible instrumental flexibility, which resulted to series of tight and confident interplays.With flutes, trumpet, horns, acoustic and electric piano in evidence they performed on the tropical side of Fusion, producing ethereal and dreamy atmospheres, but the density of the compositions, the sudden rhythm and mood changes and the professional level of the involved musicians offer a nice bunch of interesting arrangements, some of them containing hints of orchstral nature and sometimes reminding of compatriots REVERIE.There are sure some Latin-flavored atmospheres with a RETURN TO FOREVER color and the presence of ex-Miles Davis' producer Teo Macero secures the recording quality of the album.Some really hot, jazzy interplays are followed by laid-back interruptions and frequent sinking into more melodic tunes, but everything here is placed and executed properly.I think that some period echoes, from the late-70's production techniques to the commercial vibes, will be a bit annoying for more demanding listeners, but the music is always fiery and satisfying.
A second album followed in 1979, titled ''City slickers'' and featuring Biff Hannon in the place of John Serry Jr., but this is said to be more accesible and even poppy at moments.Stick with ''Glider'' though, which has proven to be a very good record of airy Fusion with lots of cool interplays.Recommended.
The members of Auracle were all youngsters at the time. Richard C. Braun played trumpet and flugelhorn; Stephen Kujala added woodwinds; Steven Rehbein handled mallets and percussion; John Serry, Jr. played piano and electronic keyboards; and the rhythm section consisted of Bill Staebell and Ron Wagner on bass and drums, respectively. No guitars. No vocals. But the music, as one might expect considering the involved producers and studios and label cachet, could fit easily into the burgeoning "smooth jazz" mindset of the era.
rtainly, the eight tracks on Glider were, for the most part, very lively and upbeat, but the virtuoso-level playing and keen compositional skills (Serry contributed four pieces) of the members of Auracle lifted the album several steps above mundane schmaltz. Side two was especially sharp, with the dizzying, Zappa-informed percussion of "Sleezy Listening" and the complex interplay and soloing of "Kids' Stuff" and "Satori" being particular highlights.
This is another "surprise" that turned up during my regular rounds of trolling in the used rekkid bins. Something about the cover said "Check this out!" and Glider has certainly turned out to be a pleasant discovery. A little smooth around the edges, yeah, but extremely advanced in the harmonic sense, and a great-sounding piece of vinyl.
Inner Vision were an American jazz-rock band that self-released an eponymous album in 1975. The band continued as Auracle for two further albums during the late 1970s. First recordings of John Serry Jr. son of Accordeonist John Serry
The band was mentioned in connection with our Pop Liisa / Jazz Liisa expedition. This quintet made one legit LP in 1975 with 3 long tracks, and I won't repeat my lack of patience with those. Note that the band did include the famed guitarist Jukka Tolonen who appeared in a few of the Pop Liisa / Jazz Liisas, and the quintet as well in the same year recorded for that radio series. He's rounded out here by bassist Kjell Jansson, percussionist Petur Östlund, flute and sax player Knut Riisnæs and pianist Ole Kock Hansen.
In fact, the long track on side a was played at least partly on the jazz liisa a side of things too. Here on the official 1975 released LP, the "Nordjazz Suite" includes only a few minutes of composed music, three at the beginning and three more at the end, with the remainder a long and boring series of improvisations, so if they are attempting to represent Scandinavia as boring, they've got me convinced. Specifically, there's a wonderful fusionary flute intro with ascending electric piano chords followed by some quick improvs, then, as if they were too excited to get back to noodling, or too stoned to realize they had to play a song, there are more and more drawn out improvs with bass for 4 minutes, a wailing sax for 4 more, a meanderingly aimless guitar like a drunkard's walk for another 4 and then the absolute abysmal torture of a several minute long percussion-only solo including a bunch of irritating grade-school triangles I wish I could have torn from his hands. Finally then an acoustic piano returns to save the day to close out the song with a more tender ballad. And that's the first side. The other two tracks were written by Tolonen and are altogether not too bad,
Great performance by the Nordjazz Quintet -- a cool mixed electric/acoustic combo that features sax and flute from Pekka Poyry, guitar from Nils Petter Nyren, keyboards from Ole Kock Nahsen, bass from Kjell Jansson, and drums from Petur Ostlund -- a combo who work on long tracks that are a nice extrapolation of some of the fusion modes explored by the Love Records label during the same time! The tunes here get especially soulful in the longer stretches -- especially when Poyry's playing soprano sax.
