Terumasa Hino - 1981 - Double Rainbow

Terumasa Hino

1981

Double Rainbow

01. Merry-Go-Round 14:58

02. Cherry Hill Angel 8:03

03. Yellow Jacket 4:40

04. Miwa Yama 6:18

05. Aboriginal 12:22

Bass – Anthony Jackson, Hassan Jenkins,Herb Bushler

Congas – Don Alias

Cornet – Terumasa Hino

Drums – Harvey Mason, Lenny White, Billy Hart

Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Herbie Hancock, Kenny Kirkland, Mark Gray

Guitar – Butch Campbell, Lou Volpe,James Mason,Barry Finnerty, David Spinozza

Keyboards,Piano – Masabumi Kikuchi

Percussion – Airto Moreira, Don Alias, Manolo Badrena,Terumasa Hino

Soprano Saxophone – Steve Grossman

Lyricon – Sam Morrison

Harp – Emily Mitchell

Didgeridoo, Conch [Shell Horn] – Steve Turre

Double Bass – Eddie Gomez, George Mraz, Reggie Workman

Synthesizer – Kenny Kirkland

1st thing. Don't let your son design your record sleeve. Especially if he can't focus a camera. The music is excellent if you're in the mood, but that cover comes back to haunt. I covered mine with creosote. Now I can enjoy the music. This is not Jazz Fusion, don't be scared. It's almost slowcore .... find the right time.

An early 1980s recording with an assortment of former Miles Davis sidemen playing music in the style of early-1970s Miles, but with Terumasa Hino in the role of Miles, and without most of the tension that Miles was able to generate. It's not really bad, but remarkably uninvolving, and the music feels a bit like an anachronism (although I guess one has to be thankful that they didn't do a 1980s-style record à la Decoy or Tutu). Still, while this can serve as a nice reminder of things past, everyone involved here, including Hino, is capable of doing better.

Altogether interesting set. arranged by gil evans, players include miles-alumini airto, steve grossmann, don ailias and herbie hancock. sounds a lot like a straighter, more dancefloor-oriented take on miles mid-seventies works. not quite the masterpiece it might have been with this kind of cast, but a rewarding listen nevertheless.

Beautiful work from trumpeter Terumasa Hino -- an early 80s date that was issued in the US, but one that's got as much bold power and freewheeling soul as his Japanese releases from a decade before! The album's surprisingly open for the time -- not in the slicker mode that Columbia was hitting as they crossed over some of their 70s fusion players, but in spacious territory that has Hino blowing cornet, in larger arrangements from keyboardist Masabumi Kikuchi and Gil Evans -- the latter of whom seems to contribute a strong sense of color and tone to the album!

Jeremy Steig - 1976 - Energy

Jeremy Steig

1976

Energy

01. Home 4:37

02. Cakes 5:00

03. Swamp Carol 4:12

04. Energy 4:47

05. Down Stretch 4:07

06. Give Me Some 6:49

07. Come With Me 8:00

08. Dance Of The Mind 2:07

Drums, Congas, Drums [Clay], Percussion – Don Alias

Electric Bass, Electric Upright Bass – Gene Perla

Electric Piano, Gong [Chinese] – Jan Hammer

Electric Upright Bass – Eddie Gomez (tracks: B1, B3)

Flute, Piccolo Flute [Alto], Alto Flute, Bass Flute – Jeremy Steig

Energy is a miracle of alchemy. Jeremy Steig transforms his flute from the ethereal to the elemental, forging a heavy, deeply funky jazz-rock record that defies gravity. Paired with keyboardist Jan Hammer, bassists Gene Perla and Eddie Gomez, and drummer Don Alias, Steig creates Technicolor grooves that float like butterflies and sting like bees; his music doesn't so much fuse jazz and rock as it approaches each side from the perspective of the other, exploring their respective concepts and executions to arrive at a sound all its own. If anything, the tonal restrictions of Steig's chosen instrument push him even farther into the unknown, employing a series of acoustic and electronic innovations to expand the flute's possibilities seemingly into the infinite.

The record takes up where Jeremy's LPs on Solid State left off -- adding Steig's hard-blowing flute to some groundbreaking beat-heavy backings by Gene Perla and Eddie Gomez on bass, Don Alias on drums, and Jan Hammer on electric piano. The sound is super-dope -- and the cuts feel like they fell off some lost blacksploitation soundtrack from the early 70s. All titles are great, and the record's a completely unified, fiercely funky set that should be in the collection of any fan of funky electric jazz

One of the earliest and finest jazz-rock flutists, Jeremy Steig is an outstanding soloist. He's mastered the entire flute family, including bass, and also plays piccolo well. He has a similarly rich, classically pure tone and timbre as James Newton or Hubert Laws, and uses almost as many devices, such as tongue fluttering, humming, and swirling lines. But he's not as blues- or swing-oriented, and his associations include working in the early '60s with Richie Havens and heading Jeremy and the Satyrs in 1967. Steig's father is the famous artist William Steig; he began playing recorder at six and took flute lessons at 11. Steig attended the High School of Music and Art. He played with Gary Peacock and Paul Bley in the early '60s, then led a jazz-rock combo in 1967 backing Tim Hardin before heading his own groups. Steig played with Mike Manieri and Eddie Gomez in the '60s, and Jan Hammer in 1970. He began using electronics and synthesizers in the '70s, and toured Europe both as a soloist and heading quartets and quintets. He recorded with Gomez and Joe Chambers in the late '70s, and did sessions with Mike Nock, Karl Ratzer, Nana Vasconcelos, Ray Barretto, Steve Gadd, and Jack DeJohnette in the '80s.

Montego Joe - 1964 - Arriba! con Montego Joe

Montego Joe

1964

Arriba! con Montego Joe

01. Fat Man 3:58
02. The Jinx 6:12
03. Too Much Saki 7:36
04. Maracatu 6:12
05. Dakar 6:37
06. Calling For The Angels In The Water 8:50

Bass – Edgar Gomez
Congas [Conga Drum] – Montego Joe
Drums, Timbales – Milford Graves
Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Al Gibbons
Percussion [Miscellaneous Percussion] – Robert Crowder
Piano – Chick Corea
Producer – Lew Futterman
Trumpet – Leonard Goines

Everything about this album, from the artist's name and album title to the rather cheesy cover photo of a smiling tuxedo-clad man on a beach surrounded by congas, suggests to a cynical eye that Arriba! Con Montego Joe is kitschy exotica on par with Martin Denny or Les Baxter. And while that style of music has its fizzy charms, it turns out that Arriba! Con Montego Joe is something much meatier. Collecting the entirety of the two albums Montego Joe (born Joseph Sanders) made for Prestige (1964's Arriba! Con Montego Joe and 1965's Wild and Warm), these 17 tracks are a uniformly excellent blend of swinging, groove-oriented Latin percussion against soulful hard bop horns and piano (played by some kid with the unlikely name of Chick Corea). This unlikely combination works a treat, especially on the tracks that take a while to unfold, like the sinuous "Bata Blues," which marries some excellent soloing by Corea and tenor saxophonist Al Gibbons to the pitter-pat of the African tuned drums of the title. There is little that's groundbreaking on these albums, but Miles Davis would attract quite a lot of attention several years later for his cross-cultural experiments in a very similar style, and this is an intriguing early indication of that direction.