tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67071093329723426912024-02-01T23:32:04.182-05:00THE DIGITAL MASTERNicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-38060399016757074752014-12-12T00:00:00.000-05:002015-11-25T11:56:20.356-05:00Richard Tee "The Bottom Line" (1985)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Light listening and pop grooves with a slice of J-fusion from Tee across the sea, and <i>that's </i><b>The Bottom Line.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Richard Tee was certainly more respected and noteworthy among the New York jazz and session scene than he was by any popular fanbase. His solo success never took off here in the U.S yet was admired and respected deeply. In fact, until <b><a href="http://thedigital-master.blogspot.com/2014/10/richard-tee-inside-you-1989.html">Inside You</a>, </b>the Brooklyn-raised keyboardist hadn't much support for his solo efforts nor a release stateside of his discs, even though they were handled by Bob James' Tappan Zee label in the early 90's.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The Bottom Line </b>is a relative obscurity in Tee's solo catalog and another New York recording only released in Japan under King Records' subsidiary fusion label <b>Electric Bird Records</b> airs on the side of easier listening, pop-centric of Tee's releases to date. With a down-sized band of what would become his regulars <b>John Tropea </b>(electric guitar), <b>Steve Gadd </b>(drums), <b>Marcus Miller </b>(bass) and <b>Ralph McDonald </b>(percussions) with divided support by <b>Will Lee </b>(bass)<b> </b>and <b>Dave Weckl </b>(drums) with vocalists <b>Bill Eaton </b>and <b>Zack Sanders</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unlike his previous <b>Strokin' (1975) </b>and <b>Natural Ingredients (1980)</b>, no strings or horns this time around, and no Tee-related puns reflecting the sleeve arts. Scaled back musician support and soloing a la jazz leanings, Tee focused on a mostly pop-direction with some vocal-led pieces that mostly stray from his usual bluesy-gospel and southern influences of past. A different direction that may have been tailored to appeal to Japanese audiences and radio-friendly at that, further reflected by trimmed track lengths, tightly kept around 3 to 4 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In a way, The Bottom Line is Richard Tee's <i>first </i>solo album for the target audience (and on CD at this time for that matter).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Though Tee was most proficient for his elegant bluesy soul on piano with signature accompaniment by his unmistakable pioneered phaser Fender Rhodes, there's a satisfying plenty on here along with vocal pieces that ramped up on his solo efforts outside of <b>Stuff</b>, which are still lyrically awkward at times and simplistic, yet upbeat and feel-good even when Bill Eaton<b> </b>takes over on <b>Miss-Understanding</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As per tradition, there's a steady mixture of instrumental and vocal numbers on here with Tee's soulful and gospel cadence.<b> Nippon Lights </b>is the disc's real star instrumental, flavored for ethnic Japan, providing rich nightlife imagery with regard to cultural clashes of East and West, with some spikey electric soloing by Tropea. <b>What Can I Say </b>is a companionate instrumental to the former with like distorted guitar fills and obligatory Linn drum claps on each. Though the Linn drum was mostly retired if not defined and confined by the heart of 80's sound, it's accepted use on various tracks works despite its cheese, even on the disc's soulful opener <b>If You Want It </b>which may just have you clapping along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Faulted by lyrical blunder and staccato flow, which is just something you come to accept when admiring Tee's playing, some tracks fizzle out, seemingly hitting a wall while looped verses rove on on a few tracks including the title <b>The Bottom Line. </b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Soloing lacks in turn for vocals here by Tee himself, handled mostly by Tropea's well-placed guitaring, whose jazz-rock touches still only appetize jazz ears.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Bottom Line<b> </b>will mostly appeal to Tee fans only, there's no denying that there were some fine ideas here paired with a wealth of variation: prime fusion-styled hooks and melodies that were some his best yet that sadly wound up half-baked. Whether it's Weckl's cymbal taps and lead in on <b>Moving On </b>or the doorbell-like Rhodes melody on the bouncy <b>Spring Is You, </b>nothing has been repeated on any other releases. Album outliars <b>No Real Way </b>is a down-tempo tribute to doo-wop balladry, while a solo piano duel with Gadd's rhythmic support on a speedy take of Gershwin's <b>Rhapsody In Blue.</b> McDonald's percussions are just the right touches on each.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Bottom Line? A pleasing and catchy effort for enthusiasts that manages to invite repeat listens with its care-free appeal that shines on all Tee's works despite its desparate play to commercial radio.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">8.0 (B)</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>NOTABLE TRACKS:</b> Nippon Lights, Moving On, Spring Is You</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>GREAT </b>variation and approaches with regard to fusion, somethings are different while keeping the Tee sound richly intact</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>INTRODUCING: </b>guitarist John Tropea, whose balance of jazz-rock textures would become a regular Tee member throughout the 80's and beyond </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>LYRICS</b> are simplistic and often awkward sounding at times as if they were penned by/for Japanese audiences</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE ALBUM'S OBI</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>>>> About The Release</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Richard Tee's albums demand price tags of around $30 and up with the exception of <b>Inside You </b>which was his only official U.S. release. It can really only be explained by way of Japan's marketplace where releases don't lose their value as much as CDs anywhere else in the world. On that note... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Bottom Line was originally released by Electric Bird Records in 1985 on CD and LP. In 2002, re-issue label <b>Roving Spirits</b> was licensed to reprint the album (RKCJ-9001/RKCJ-6011) under its <b>Electric Bird Super Fusion Master Series</b>. The original is a little more difficult to find these days. The re-issue also demands a pretty hefty tag as well from around $35-50 used and higher for a sealed one, as it remains one of the most elusive of Tee's solo albums due to its Japan-only release. We managed to grab a copy of the re-issue direct from an Amazon Japan seller, which was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bottom-Line-Richard-Tee/dp/B00008KKX5">remarkably cheaper than Amazon U.S</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">REAR BOOKLET PRESERVES ORIGINAL LP BACKING</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Roving Spirits advertises this as a remaster, whose bassier mixing qualifies in the loudness-war variety</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The booklet's rear mimicks the original LP artwork. While missing some of the original musician portraits, inside the book contains a multi-page reflection of jazz-fusion, the album's production and Tee's biography sadly unintelligable without knowledge of Japanese. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The booklet credits are mostly bi-lingual, mirrored completely in English on the back of the orange-clad inlay, which is certainly more budget-oriented and different from the original print. </span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-8380396221957052592014-12-01T00:00:00.000-05:002014-12-01T00:00:02.269-05:00Super Funky Sax "Wazzup?" (1996)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Only for the sax hungry. That's Wazzup. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The third and final in David Matthews' obscure <b>Super Funky Sax </b>series, <b>Wazzup? </b>brings back more funked-up rhythms for this time around in a mostly fairweather set arranged by <b>David Matthews</b> for the pop side of saxophones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Where <a href="http://thedigital-master.blogspot.com/2014/10/super-funky-sax-mo-better-funk-1994.html">1994's Mo' Better Funk</a> came up short, 1996's <b>Wazzup?</b> sought to improve with only marginal results of more of the same generic, yet catchy Matthews' originals and covers with some impressive players that show off virtuosity on not only the sax but also guitars. Not without improvement, Wazzup? is really for completists of this unknown saga of saxophoning -- or just for people who love saxophones matched with guitars. When you pair the two together, waz not to love?! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wazzup?, like Mo' Better Funk on the Japan-only Swecca label, is a New York production only released to Japanese audiences (oddly enough), similarly plagued by a somewhat lusterless outcome yet still results in groovy, funkable albeit painfully mediocre arrangements by veteran jazz-funk-orchestra arranger David Matthews whose <i>far </i>greater capabilities aren't on display here. In fact, he likely poured more soul into other lesser known Japan-only productions like <b>Yamato 2520.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unlike the original 1980 <b>Super Funky Sax</b> (which is getting a long-overdue reprint this December), Wazzup? carries on with a goofy hip title, tightened but still prone to drawn-out runways for each soloist to display their signatures. Still sounding flat, the rhythm section is too polished and on-track as if each instrument were layered on-top of each other rather than organically played or masterfully mixed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So what's up err -- <i><b>Wazzup</b></i>? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The sax players: <b>Kenny Garrett </b>on alto, is back though not in the spotlight as before, <b>Gerald Albright </b>also on alto makes his presence well heard<b>, Tom Scott</b> as smooth as ever, <i>also </i>on alto, and lastly the high registering <b>Chris Hunter </b><i>also </i>alto, and in Sanborn's wake sounds more spastically tricky and haphazardly scaly than the previous, enough to break away from the inspiring altoist. Though so many altos, each player shows off their own profile well enough not to melt the horns together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Newcomer <b>Andy Snitzer </b>plays both alto and tenor in a rich style reminiscent of Steve Tavaglione while <b>George Young </b>on tenor, returns for only one solo op, disappointingly, fading to the background on most of these. <b>Roger Rosenberg </b>returns for lonely love for the baritone, to which he speaks well to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There's also nicely implemented rock-tinged guitar solos for the sake of balance on more than half the set list by <b>Ira Siegel </b>and<b> Ross Traut </b>-- two members of Matthews' sessions who never really get to flesh out their skills get to here. Rhythm is handled by bassist <b>Mark Egan </b>and drums by <b>Michael White,</b> who mostly go faceless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Line Drive </b>is an energetic album opener of T.o.P.-style boldness with Scott's alto at the helm, Chris Hunter playing electrifyingly, played out by Traut's rock guitar that begs for more upon fade out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Others bode well like a bouncy <b>Groove Alley </b>with Michael White's steady drum, Mark Egan's bass showing through to another crunchy guitar.<b> El Cumbanchero </b>is a take on</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Marin Rafael Hernandez's original, a speedy latin cover with a trick and slick alto solo by Albright. <b>After Sunset</b> takes the tempo down low with Andy Snitzer in the spotlight, whose balladry on sax turns a little boresome contrast to Wazzup's other fueled efforts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>The Cat </b>is a Lalo Schifrin cover which attempts to glitz with a drawn-out MIDI organ solo by <b>Jon Werking</b>, ending with Rosenberg's limited solo baritone. Title track <b>Wazzup? </b>is one that has its moments with Snitzer leading the pack </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">for a refreshing plush yet bold tenor sound against a tragically</span></span> stiff melody.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">M<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">usic is serviceably dull, yet simplistically upbeat and engaging amounts of energy, still slightly redundant and at times drawn out which was a bigger
problem on Mo' Better Funk. Even covers like EW&F's <b>Sing A Song</b> have a recognizable yet flimsy musak quality to it and will never distract from the soloists. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An enjoyable obscurity that Matthews' third Super Funky Sax is, is really only for Matthews' followers and/or those who just <i>really </i>enjoy saxophones. Can't quite put my fingering on this disc on why it's likably upbeat when not a little robotic, and just why it sounds so stiff -- which is really unusual for David Matthews' productions which typically dazzle in top-notch production values.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">7.0 (C-)</span> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>NOTABLE TRACKS: </b>El Cumbanchero, Groove Alley, Line Drive<b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>LISTEN FOR</b> Andy Snitzer's robust sound on tenor, Gerald Albright turns out his funky roots here (and away from smooth jazz), Chris Hunter <i>cooks</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WINNING SOLOIST</b><i> </i>goes to Gerald Albright on "El Cumbanchero"<i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>SURPRISINGLY</b> satisfying thick guitar licks and solo time by both Siegel and Traut</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>STILL </b>not that <i>Super </i>but mostly <i>funky</i>, if a little medicated, <i>sax</i> </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Wazzup?</b> was also re-released and remastered (</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PCCY-50052) in 2008 on HQCD (Hi-Quality CD), but demands a higher price. </span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We reviewed the 1996 original (PCCY-01072).</span> Both releases can still only be found in Japan. </i></span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-31819736679845680612014-11-23T00:00:00.000-05:002014-11-23T00:00:00.916-05:00Digital Double! "Warning", Billy Cobham 1980's GRP "Power Play"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">WARNING</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1986</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Drummer Billy Cobham's GRP debut is a fairly solid jam session: there’s no nonsense or kitchiness here. If you can imagine, Warning hearkens to Jeff Beck’s rock-edged fusion triad (Blow by Blow, Wired, There And Back -- before the godawful Flash) with a thick of bombast from the rhythm section.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Warning delivers a hard, raw sound as prescribed, as if Cobham and his band were rockin' out. At the same time, Warning sounds as if it could’ve used an uptempo, an added layer of polish, and/or rehearsal through an otherwise fully original material. Warning almost sounds as if it could've been recorded in the late 70’s, which is both good and bad: Good as this kind of fusion is disappearing by way of slicker production values, bad because it's not as clean, fluent or progressive as even Cobham's early-80's Glass Menagerie works.<br /><br />The disc, which spans eight cuts, features all originals penned by Cobham, with <b>Stratus</b> making yet another reprise, which at least tried to reinvigorate the bedrock Cobham classic, condensed and rocked-up a bit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />More than a few are synthesizer-led pieces which reminds us Cobham has joined the 80's: <b>Red & Yellow Cabriolet</b> a wild west bombast of faux-trumpet synths stand out with bandmates Gerry Etkins, who sticks to synthesizers mainly, often solos on pianos acoustic and Rhodes. Bassist Baron Browne also shines on more than one track with a distinctive, thick bass heard throughout and guitarist Dean Brown fills in with mostly grungy guitars, with a lengthy solo <b>Slow Body Poppin' </b>and his real showcase on <b>Unknown Jeromes</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Mozaik </b>enters with far-east flair and punchy finger bass by Browne, <b>The Dancer</b>'s express pace forecasts future jazz with touches of latin percussion by Sa Davis and Etkins exploring the organ as he plays the track out. <b>Go For It!</b> has a celebratory ease and by far the most fluid playthrough for the band with a rock-solid backbone. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Warning’s even
tempered set list manages to pull through though like a tranquilized Jeff Beck
album. </span>Cobham allows the band to flex a bit on each track even when solos seem compulsory and limited instead of crafted and fleshed-out like Cobham's 70's sessions. He himself finds himself disappearing in the background. At times, the band can’t help sounding tragically lethargic and too sluggish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">7.5 (C) </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">NOTABLE TRACKS : </span></span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Mozaik, Go For It!, The Dancer, Unknown Jeromes</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>THOUGH </b>Melodically accomplished, sounds too slow, lacks a needed layer of polish</span></span></span><span style="color: red;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvNUSBS_s9Df6oTgkrAHpmCoSq42obsaFY3_hKWKyRLoDTDz0bc64vrvKMGuwtplnDXCyiPr3BpKWz-OIb1B84-VzOYdQkZEhGRwHT_mYkPuSB2H8pCSsnbDL1bf3uYSSeLWwAdbZSYpy/s1600/00+Billy+Cobham+-+Power+Play.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvNUSBS_s9Df6oTgkrAHpmCoSq42obsaFY3_hKWKyRLoDTDz0bc64vrvKMGuwtplnDXCyiPr3BpKWz-OIb1B84-VzOYdQkZEhGRwHT_mYkPuSB2H8pCSsnbDL1bf3uYSSeLWwAdbZSYpy/s1600/00+Billy+Cobham+-+Power+Play.jpg" height="320" width="316" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>BILLY COBHAM</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">POWER PLAY</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1986 </span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /> Coming off the heels of 1985’s rough start for Cobham on the Grusin-Rosen label, 1986 plows through with Power Play. This time around, Cobham returns primed with a more focused package and even an old-school, epic 14-minute odyssey that calls right back to his roots as a more progressive fusion drummer. <br /><br /> The gang’s all here as well in a slew of original compositions by Cobham though in slightly different form to reflect a much more electronic set. Gerry Etkins back on synthesizers mainly, Baron Browne scaling back his pronounced basslines, Dean Brown tuning in-and-out of guitar synthesizers and an additional layer of synth by Onaje Allan Gumbs. Right off the bat, Power Play dazzles with much higher polish than the previous recording, where Cobham’s drums are remarkably fit and beautifully crisp, nakedly gimmick-free without effects -- what they should’ve been on Warning. <br /><br /> Power Play trips up when Cobham experiments with dreaded drum sequencing and results in flimsy era sap and redundant loops and crippled development on <b>Zanzibar Breeze</b> and the marginally better calypso-tinged <b>Dessicated Coconuts</b> towards the denouement of the disc. Thankfully, Cobham only has two stints with the drum machines, casting most of his band aside for these two ill-fitting, lame, drawn-out blunders that has the band sitting out.<br /><br /> Power Play becomes an otherwise tempest fusion workout from all sides of the band, beginning with the winning melodic opener <b>Times of My Life</b>, a preview of Power Play’s by-large tighter arranging than before. Energetic and more progressive, Cobham actually has a flurry of superb solos time this time around which dazzle in crystal clear production. His once dated sound on Warning sounds ahead of its time here with every minute detail of his flawless playing are captured in impeccable stellar, crisp sound. Make no mistake, this album still reminds us it’s still 1986 following a future jazz soundscape.<br /><br /> Power Play has more than a few infectious cuts on its increasingly synthesized backbone which never sounds soured even though Brown, Etkins and Gumbs all obscure into the synthy mass. Yet, it attains good balance unlike many other recordings during this time: the ethereal down-tempo groove <b>Light Shines In Your Eyes</b> but no more than the six-part <b>Summit Afrique suite</b>, peppered with lots of solos and flex by the band, an exhibit absent on Warning. <b>Dance of the Blue Man</b> explodes with a tight Jeff Baxter-mixed-Grant Geissman jazz guitar we didn’t hear from Dean Brown’s grungier full-ins on Warning. <b>The Little Ones</b> mystical imagery is laden with dueling keyboard scapes and even a little acoustic guitaring.<br /><br /> <b>Tinseltown</b> compiles dramatic movie-like fanfares with limited use of Linn claps and the more aggressive <b>Radioactive</b> follow manic drum-versus-synthesizer almost (video) game music-like ending with the tamer </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">tropics of</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b> Schmagofatz</b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /> While Power Play isn’t a conventional choice of fusion mastery for many critics who dismiss Cobham’s 80’s career on GRP, it makes the grade of some of the best energy without unnecessary fluff during this period with captivating, engaging set of arrangements that play well on repeat listens in each of the rhythm section’s contributions not seen before, poured into this session. Though not as flexible or progressive-jazz as Cobham’s Glass Menagerie, it's a logical link to the past without living in it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">9.0 (A-)<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>NOTABLE TRACKS : </b>Times of My Life, The Little Ones, Dance of The Blue Man, Light Shines In Your Eyes, Tinsletown</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;"></span></b></span></span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-33413025906799733822014-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:002014-11-19T10:53:27.611-05:00Ronnie Foster "The Racer" (1986)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRiNuwPVuB_B4wmw6bl7mwfrY3zk5BdXKz-0c4f213iCmdlnISL5Md73zZz7GLhrxlBCy5kBh364ssXFtkmnZAt_smB2cHpyRo0fh7u4YknyNgb4ntID6HPRvJR8iLtXjlfj-GbDIDV8L/s1600/00+Ronnie+Foster+-+The+Racer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRiNuwPVuB_B4wmw6bl7mwfrY3zk5BdXKz-0c4f213iCmdlnISL5Md73zZz7GLhrxlBCy5kBh364ssXFtkmnZAt_smB2cHpyRo0fh7u4YknyNgb4ntID6HPRvJR8iLtXjlfj-GbDIDV8L/s1600/00+Ronnie+Foster+-+The+Racer.jpg" height="320" width="314" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ronnie Foster built most of his success behind the veil of George Benson's CTI sessions. A session keyboardist, Foster had a few solo stints under his belt, mostly of the funk orientation. After a seven year hiatus, Foster joined up with <b>Electric Bird Records</b> (by way of <b>Pro Jazz </b>in the U.S.), a Japan subsidiary of King Records, to produce <b>The Racer. </b>It's another unmistakable era recording that has an 80's sound though remaarkably fresh even when looking back 30 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An entirely different recording than anything he's done prior, Foster's The Racer pits the project with an array of sequencers and synthesizers this time around, shelving the organ entirely for the acoustic piano amongst layers of electronics and other synthesizer keys and programs. In a nearly solo stage, Foster stands confidently without much audible musician support here either (reminiscent of a Jean-Luc Ponty recording around this time). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">That's not to say his vocal title cut <b>The Racer </b>couldn't have used more out of the guitar talents rhythmically supported by (Fowler Brothers regular) Mike O'Neill, but even the triple drum threat Ndugu, Harvey Mason and John Moffett's cymbal obscures in the jungle of synthesis. Fill-ins of acoustic pianos are a nice bridge to jazz and forecast the album's fuse of jazz elements mixed electronics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>The Racer </b>doesn't aim to sophisticate with its synthesizer indulgence of breezy, exotic streamline of Foster's soundscape through mountainsides, beaches, cities and other exotic imagery which grooves from start to finish line, with the occasional vocal for the self-title and <b>Love Will Last. Night Life </b>ends with slower, yet simple groove while <b>Squirt </b>may be a little too jovial in contrast to the rest.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Festival Do Brasil</b> fuses danceable rhythms and electrifyingly speedy light pianos, <b>Linne's Theme </b>pays celebratory balladry to the (<i>the 80s!)</i> Linn drum and <b>Impanema Walk </b>shakes with scratchy calypso video game-like groove. <b>Europe </b>invites some welcomed touches of latin percussions by <b>Paulina Da Costa</b> to complete the exotic voyage.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Racer may not have hit pole position with critics or listeners, falling under the radar of obscurity. Foster's fusion experiment with electronica fares well even though he made this his last and most different solo effort, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">making it an interesting listen and perfect companionate disc for the road as it segways easily track-to-track. Though musician support on guitars by </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Phil Upchurch </b>and <b>Mike O'Neil</b></span> went tragically faceless (as the worst of the 80's had its way),<b> </b>the album is freshingly aged far better than most of its ilk all these years later despite its undeniable underdevelopment by that same simplicity that drives <i>The Racer.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Racer will be <a href="http://www.kingrecords.co.jp/cs/g/gKICJ-2403/">re-released</a> on December 10, 2014 as part of <b>Electric Bird Records Best Selection 1000</b> in Japan, can still be found (inexpensively) widely on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001MQSDA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">Pro Jazz (U.S.)</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">8.0 (B-)</span></b></span></span></div>
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Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-30339134402239115632014-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:002014-11-14T00:00:02.812-05:00Steve Fowler "Captured" (1987)<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXA3uuTcZB3NoC0QCEihu-QwqHJOibRnMZOrG_coyfbkHyp6i7jDFht5cDVDRqsJZAcxDvJUnUcYbJ-79aMLuuPc-ZCUdp0PJEwOxSwc9_Pel_DoJSdJpy3a7xaFoJZEUXO6AWagxZYOFf/s1600/00+Steve+Fowler+-+Captured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXA3uuTcZB3NoC0QCEihu-QwqHJOibRnMZOrG_coyfbkHyp6i7jDFht5cDVDRqsJZAcxDvJUnUcYbJ-79aMLuuPc-ZCUdp0PJEwOxSwc9_Pel_DoJSdJpy3a7xaFoJZEUXO6AWagxZYOFf/s1600/00+Steve+Fowler+-+Captured.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
might as well just call this <i>Fowler Brothers, Captured</i>. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Not
to diminish Steve Fowler, the alto sax and flute playing brother of
the Fowler clan of musicians, who composed each track on his debut
and one in the mighty musical Fowler family, overcast on Steve's solo release. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Fowlers were
introduced to America by way of the late, brilliant and universally
maniacal musical genius Frank Zappa, who used each and every talent
of Fowler in his music since the 1970's, toured with mostly Tom,
Bruce and Walt in the 80's. No matter what Fowler you get, you're in
for something interesting, certainly doing things their own way, but
melodic, listenable fusion with avant-garde touches of class, complexity and progressive edge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The
Fowler Brothers started doing their own thing aside Frank Zappa in
the mid-1970s with their group<b> Air Pocket</b> before evolving into
The Fowler Brothers. Steve Fowler, along with trombonist Bruce, broke
away further and did their own albums in the Fowler style of music, occasionally tricky and progressive
melodic jazz-fusion. If you liked the jazzier material of Zappa sans
the lewd lyrical talent of the late mad genius and his Mothers, The
Fowler Brothers' independent work is right there for ya. Think of it
as instrumental Zappa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Like a Fowler album, they're all here: multi-instrumentalist brothers Walt Fowler, on trumpets and
flugelhorns but also electric and acoustic pianos and synthesizers,
Bruce Fowler on trombone, Ed Fowler on bass (not to be confused with
brother Tom Fowler, the Zappa Fowler bassist). Zappa's captured right
here in spirit too from the wonky time signatures, progressive and
souring sound of some arrangements to the silly, cryptic track
naming convention <b>Bikini Paralysis</b>, <b>H.H. for He Is Abnormal</b>
and so on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Steve
plays only the Alto [in the family of] Saxophones, but actually
surprises further on this album filling most of his airtime with the
flute, which keeps this album from saturating with soloing like the
later Breakfast For Dinosaurs (not a bad thing by any means, sorry
Albert Wing!). If anything, this album's real shine is Steve's flute
harmonies, with his sax mostly captured on the front cover of the
album...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Following
in the shadow of 1986's Hunter, the arrangements are solid, tight,
clean, original and melodic. Each cut begs another listen and it's
largely thanks to Steve deploying the Zappa sound through he and his
brothers. As with any Fowler Brothers' joint, Steve
couldn't get away without a lyrical track <b>They Hang Out</b> with his brother Marvin on
vocals, ominous prog-rock (about prostitutes?) with a flutter of
flutes amongst Mike O'Neill's riffs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It's
a shame not more people know of the Fowler Brothers' horns, there's
really only one group tried and tested by time to be good enough to
roll with Zappa for all these years and more. While they may not
smoke as hard as how they sounded on Zappa's (Make A Jazz Noise Here)
tours but they're just as extraordinary, just a little more tame but
not nearly numbed nor dumbed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">9.0 (A-)</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">NOTABLE
TRACKS: Bikini Paralysis, For H.H. He Is Abnormal, They Hang Out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">WHILE
THEY REALLY COULD HAVE: called it Fowler Brothers' second album, it
would've probably been one of the strongest of the bunch.</span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-19708668001078114432014-11-11T00:00:00.000-05:002014-11-12T23:34:48.465-05:00The Crusaders "Healing The Wounds" (1991)<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tR_w5-mm3R8ty6lZoeSYKhO-5_onyJuwojzKaPLJdu_6v6shXuXEsn9UiEZ127spq6kskcUbQjXct-_yJlOfKvy2YrLJCmWLrOMCgoYuAhKS5jBGtn8CPVKRkMMzdsXwROpAf-b1ZndM/s1600/Healing+The+Wounds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tR_w5-mm3R8ty6lZoeSYKhO-5_onyJuwojzKaPLJdu_6v6shXuXEsn9UiEZ127spq6kskcUbQjXct-_yJlOfKvy2YrLJCmWLrOMCgoYuAhKS5jBGtn8CPVKRkMMzdsXwROpAf-b1ZndM/s1600/Healing+The+Wounds.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Crusaders solely shadows the good ol' days.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Joe
Sample and his Jazz Crusaders started as friends in a band. In the
1960's, <b>The Jazz Crusaders</b> mirrored idols Jelly Roll Morton,
Fats Waller and other ragtime and swing inspirations. They even wrote a song about
it in 1980's Soul Shadows -- a band of jazz-funkers who slowly moved away from raw jazz of earlier recordings, before the advent of commercial fusion. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I had the pleasure of seeing the late Sample in concert by himself, expressing his direction to break free of The Crusaders in the late 70's to make Rainbow Seeker, then something intentionally different with Carmel based on his inspirational visit to the California getaway. Sample didn't <i>dismiss</i> nor disparage The Crusaders, instead was content in running his own show on the side and continued to play with them, on-and-off until his death in late 2014. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">After Sample hit it big with <b>The </b>(coveted)<b> Hunter</b>, the band's diverted attention from its captain of fingers coupled with the withering sound in the jazz-funk era a successfully developed solo career, The Crusaders had sort of been lost throughout the 80's,
until GRP brought them into the 90's with <b>Healing the Wounds</b>. </span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Wait,
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>this </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">is The Crusaders? </span></span>
</div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sample is by no means tired, in his early 70s, he lights up the stage with speed and finesse but maybe the band has out-lived its scope. While it says Crusaders on the cover, only Joe Sample and
Wilton Felder return to supply the heritage Crusade: no Pops Popwell, Wayne Henderson (whose actually doing his own <b>Next Crusade</b>) or
even the “fifth” Crusader, Larry Carlton at all. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sample, whose
about as iconic for his Fender Rhodes as he is on the piano has traded
the ol' electric piano for synthesizers.<b> Marcus Miller</b> takes over most composition and
basses, with <b>Michael Landau</b> on guitars and even a dubious appearance by
Toto's <b>Steve Lukather</b> on Stevie Wonder's <b>Cause We've Ended As Lovers</b>. Landau isn't given much room as Carlton once had, with Felder taking the stage alongside Sample. A lush backing of thick horns are now absent for layers of synth that often sound thin and tinny.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">While not without an adaptable outcome, Healing the Wounds is undoubtedly lame, overly-relaxed and under inspired radio fuzak. Sure, it supplies the funk in places, but the soul of The Crusaders ain't here -- and it's no surprise seeing as Sample has employed a like lite-funk sound package on his releases around this time. </span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The bipolar <b>Running Man</b> sees Sample's spectral temperament on piano as well as Felder's use of conveyed moods by soprano and tenor saxes, while the like penned tailored-for-radio <b>Healing the Wounds</b> is memorable only because it sounds like an supermarket adaptation of Olivia Newton-John's Let's Get Physical. <b>Pessimistism </b>conveys more darker tones with <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">contrast </span>and another successful Sample composed contribution.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Marcus
Miller's screamy, sax-fueled <b>Maputo</b>, which had previously been covered by
Bob James & David Sanborn, comes off as a contemporary cheese as
its best that worked better in the 80's. Slappin' bass sounds at home on <b>Shake Song </b>and a throwback from the old days but a flimsy, gimmicky redundant chorus by Felder's sax. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The rest slip
by as listenable background music even though Sample and his new Crusaders give stellar performances with Sample elegant as ever. But Healing the Wounds doesn't <i>heal</i> -- doesn't reunite Sample with Henderson or anyone but Felder, resulting in what sounds like another Sample solo album instead of a distinctive Crusaders recording. Like a bandage on a sore wound, only a small sample of the sweat and passion of those 70's recordings is present here, and it doesn't bridge as it should have with the soul of the band.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">DIGITAL VERDICT : </span>7.0 (C-)</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>NOTABLE TRACKS:</b> Running Man, Pessimisstism</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>NO</b> Wayne Henderson, Pops Popwell or even Larry Carlton to remind us of <i>The Crusaders </i>sound, even just after Henderson left in the mid-70s.<i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>MINE AS WELL </b>just be billed as another Joe Sample album (of this era)</span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-72375604148787433832014-11-08T00:01:00.000-05:002014-11-11T15:41:27.680-05:00David Benoit "Shadows" (1991)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9IqI20kziqmnBpk1-98dKSGxPtN0_KwoQ4OcYXeI2ZTzaeZAR_tKFDpWesvq1vDOuMRolEg5IkmRfD_QE5aAkxw6J2rM9l0P_wH3ALTD-vfRDG6eO55Ya8yXV6N3ddb-_VHdeUV79va-/s1600/00+David+Benoit+-+Shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9IqI20kziqmnBpk1-98dKSGxPtN0_KwoQ4OcYXeI2ZTzaeZAR_tKFDpWesvq1vDOuMRolEg5IkmRfD_QE5aAkxw6J2rM9l0P_wH3ALTD-vfRDG6eO55Ya8yXV6N3ddb-_VHdeUV79va-/s1600/00+David+Benoit+-+Shadows.jpg" height="316" width="320" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> That's quite a tie, got great hair and you've got a lot of class!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now long before I began exploring the backlog of GRP’s releases from the 80’s and early 90’s, David Benoit’s name came up more than a few times on local FM jazz circuit. He’s since been graced with said crown of <i>smooth jazz,</i> a somewhat nasty moniker with genre purists that dismisses today’s overproduced, sequenced soft or light commercial radio jazz. But if you look far enough in anyone’s discography, you’ll find some gems in there, and <b>Shadows</b> could be considered one, and a high point of his time at GRP. <br /><br />Benoit quickly established his sound while at GRP through his signature elegant, graceful grand piano sound against a curtain of strings. The album cover of Benoit in monochrome, sports a luminous paisley tie forecasting insight to the content of the album’s color within. The separate worlds here display your template GRP jams of this time or contemporary pop-jazz on one end and cinematic Grusin-style jazz on the other, which will appeal to those who disparage commercial jazz. That’s probably why Benoit fits in nicely at GRP, whose released a good amount of albums up until his stint on 1991’s Shadows, he’s able, like Dave Grusin, to pull off both with much class, grace and elegance. <br /><br />Unlike before, Benoit calls in Earth, Wind & Fire’s mighty<b> Marcel East</b> to collaborate on a few of Shadows strongest numbers on keyboards and drum sequencing, enough not to lose the premise of the album. Basically, East’s involvement here punches up what typically makes Benoit’s jazz a little less commercial friendly, throwing in some saxophones, guitars and iconic 90’s synth that gets Shadows on its feet. Benoit’s light piano touches mesh well with dancin’ grooves and horn support on <b>Over The Edge</b>, strings interlope from the get-go on <b>Standing Still</b>, with styles remaining gulfed on the latin-tinged <b>Saudade</b> and <b>Already There</b>, as if they were recorded these on an entirely different album. <br /><br />Impressively, Shadows calls in more star power with the legendary <b>Freddie Hubbard</b> soloing on a few tracks, most namely his explosive solos on Saudade and Still Standing. <br /><br />The title Shadows namesake more ominous though drawn-out piece with a soprano saxophone within from <b>Michael Paulo</b>, a trumpet solo from <b>Michael Stewart</b> while vocalist <b>Valerie Pinkston</b> suprises with a soulful vocal on <b>Moments</b>, some background touches on the aforementioned Over The Edge. <br /><br />Benoit attempts a preface of sorts with various filler interludes that hardly do much without sequential listening, bogging the number of listenable tracks down to the standard 8-10. Any beginner to Benoit’s style ought to start here (especially for a $2 thrift shop find), look to (or past) the tie and embrace surprises that lay beneath those shadows. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT :<span style="color: red;"> 7.5 (C)</span></b></span><br /><br /><b>NOTABLE TRACKS: </b>Over The Edge, Standing Still, Saudade, Moments </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>MUCH WELCOMED</b> vocalist Valerie Pinkston’s touches</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>STILL</b> some snoozers on here that has plagued Benoit’s discography in the past</span>Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-30107597731173010902014-11-05T00:01:00.000-05:002014-11-05T00:01:00.185-05:00John Klemmer "Touch" (1975)<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXUrO1uyhlhtjEH5yDel5k1_UO96faLyNzYd13_b1eBzbcfX_guKc_mYMUeNOd3FH9wLermIPVZVr4siQyqHBFx09bBQtGpEPrf_Wca32hslfySBZgSC9hFFjE4vzsJnjhVD48pySHY3h/s1600/00+John+Klemmer+-+Touch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXUrO1uyhlhtjEH5yDel5k1_UO96faLyNzYd13_b1eBzbcfX_guKc_mYMUeNOd3FH9wLermIPVZVr4siQyqHBFx09bBQtGpEPrf_Wca32hslfySBZgSC9hFFjE4vzsJnjhVD48pySHY3h/s1600/00+John+Klemmer+-+Touch.jpg" height="316" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sometimes
the recording industry just isn't fair. The music industry as a whole
can't reward all the players out there, especially in a world
inundated with pop music icons and images to sell music. But even in
the jazz field, guys like John Klemmer fall into that netherworld. The kind of sound he played in his heyday of the
1970's fusion boom was more technical, somber and prescribed to mood. Touch was one of those albums that defined his
brand as a saxophone player.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
may have seen Klemmer's name in <i><b>Steely Dan's Royal Scam</b></i>,
playing his signature repeat scaled notes on <i>Caves of Altamira</i>,
a track whose theme was perfect for Klemmer's unique, entranced style of sax. John
Klemmer kind of fell off the face of the earth by the mid-1980's after a few chained solo efforts -- a
saxophone player different from the rest in that he plays a more
ethereal, mystical kind of sax instead of, say, Tom Scott, David
Sanborn or Wilton Felder funky sax. Klemmer made wonder with the
saxophone, unlike many musicians of the time just playing fusion,
Klemmer made soundscapes, all with the help of his own style but
also the echoplex, or a tape delay effect that helps convey that
mystical wonder of trailing of notes.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>Touch</b>
is a <i>real</i> chill kind of album, you're not going to be funkin' to this
like you might a Crusaders' recording or even the aforementioned Tom Scott & The L.A. Express. Perhaps this kind of jazz is more
definitively <i>trippy </i>err, mood jazz but more raw than the
commercialism fusion brought by way of disco and pop influences. Klemmer's Touch is a storybook with a glimmer of a far-off fantasy world
on tracks like <b>Tone Row Weaver</b> and the George Duke (er, “Deorge
Guke”) contribution on <b>Waterwheels</b>. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Touch
lured a slew of impressive fusion players behind-the-scenes: the pre-GRP <b>Dave Grusin</b>, a
still Crusadin' acoustic <b>Larry Carlton</b>, with whom also defined Steely
Dan's Royal Scam, though his playing is more serene here, less strung out. You've even got L.A. Express' <b>John Guerin</b> on drums, the always in-demand <b>Harvey Mason</b>,
too.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The
album's sound throughout is consistent, tranquil but interesting -- with a primer of Fender
Rhodes and solos (yes, a real treat for Rhodes fans) on each, Klemmer
almost exclusively on tenor sax, some flutes here and there, and
vocals kept right where they should be: brief. That last track <b>Walk
With Me My Love And Dream</b>, Klemmer drops the sax for one-man
instrumentation on layered flutes, rhodes and narration, which is hypnotic
lullaby of flutism.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Touch
may not have hit mainstream ears but was Klemmer's step-forward into his solo career long before slipping into oblivion after funk-fusion took a backseat to a
vastly electronic age of fusion by the 1980's. For my ears, I've not heard anything quite like Touch or for
that matter John Klemmer's free-form fusion (maybe Norihiko Hibino follows his work), which will take you to a far
away land.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">9.0 (A-)</span></b></span></span><br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>NOTABLE
TRACKS:</b> Tone Row Weaver, Body Pulse, Sleeping Eyes</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>COOL
TO HEAR: </b>“Deorge Guke” George Duke, Larry Carlton and Dave
Grusin' guest spots</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>IT'S
LIKE: </b>stepping into a storybook fantasy world from the<i> foggy</i> 70's</span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-54282406528093176872014-11-02T00:01:00.000-04:002014-11-02T00:01:00.202-04:00Ronnie Laws "Mirror Town" (1986)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gkGN1GBeU3DfxRNml8bAt7ZzBvFC-lGD_Q64FhdqfKv9bSq-oOWmIaowNo6phiGI1RYpp8PDl-E5o2veMtw6GAqQtA143iGK73hD91m1afskys6ucxXxH-dwqD3NPuftX5iVFLQ73eIu/s1600/00+Ronnie+Laws+-+Mirror+Town.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gkGN1GBeU3DfxRNml8bAt7ZzBvFC-lGD_Q64FhdqfKv9bSq-oOWmIaowNo6phiGI1RYpp8PDl-E5o2veMtw6GAqQtA143iGK73hD91m1afskys6ucxXxH-dwqD3NPuftX5iVFLQ73eIu/s1600/00+Ronnie+Laws+-+Mirror+Town.jpg" height="314" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The 80's were about mirrors -- and there's mirrors all over the walls and ceiling! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ronnie
Laws may not be the first “Laws” in the jazz version of Match Game. That honor might go to his flautist older brother, Hubert Laws, whose
got that title locked down pretty tight even to Herbie Mann and Dave Valentin as the go-to guy for session flute in the 70's. Meanwhile, Ronnie mastered the sax and even began a vocal career by the early 80's, fusing both into most of this era releases including <b>Mirror Town.</b> </span>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ronnie
began playing with Earth Wind & Fire in the early 70's, and
thankfully, he met the legendary Larry Dunn, the band's former
synthesizer wizard. Both Ronnie Laws and Dunn
collaborate often, and even a good decade plus, they're still playing on
each others albums, including the vastly different pop-jazz outing,
Mirror Town.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Mirror
Town is </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>not </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">jazz,
but then that's not what Ronnie set out to do since 1980's <i>Every
Generation</i> and 1983's<i> Mr. Nice Guy</i>. The light sensibilities of the album reflect the 80's trend with often dancable rhythms fused with elements of jazz, friendliest with mainstream commercial pop.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Seeing as he was one of EWF's sax
players, he became accustomed to doing mainly funk orientations, but
like EWF, jazz was in the soul of the band as it still is on his
works. Here's where I come in and excuse many jazzers crankin' fusion
in the 70's with a heavy emphasis on Rhodes-led, bouncing and
slappin' bass to drum machine and synthesized, vocal-led madness of
the 80's. Laws was en route to selling his image as an R&B
vocalist much like George Benson.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Every
track on Mirror Town is heavily sequenced, drum-machined electronic
as his previous two, with his or a disc produced in the heart of the
80's, stylized to personify the era of electronic orchestras,
synthetics with much use of the Yamaha DX-7 -- or <i>the </i>keyboard of the 80's. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
saw this disc on the shelf at a Savers, immediately catching my eye as a rarity. Not many things have been written about Mirror
Town, which was likely a forgotten release as too many 80's
discographies are for artists. There's some impressive guests here: the
aforementioned <b>Larry Dunn</b>, who sadly meshes into the final product of
the album as well as <b>Jeff Lorber</b>, who shines through a bit on <b>Tell
Me</b>. Lorber, who had a tight fusion group which disbanded in 1982,
wandered into the same realm of lighter substance and sequencing of
the times, even using Laws on his 1984 <i><b>Heat of the Night.</b></i> </span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Mirror
Town doesn't age well -- it's a true 1986 sound -- love it or
hate it. Not without pomp, energy and the occasional silly lyric and
otherwise overproduced pop-fluff, it </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>really</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
works. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Instead of putting the sax down for machines or Laws sole interest
in becoming a pop icon, his injections of saxes on soprano, alto and
tenor are accompanied and companionate to each tune as you've come to know his sound -- bright,
sharp, sophisticated and tricky solos that never stray too far nor
too close to jazz saxophone -- just perfect, superbly funky for the
lighter whip of Mirror Town. Within the layers of
electronics and vocals, Laws' soulful and smooth vocals still remind us he's still a sax player above
all, soloing a little more than your average pop record as a former
fusion-jazzer ought to -- and </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">he can carry a tune, too. </span></span>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">After doing a little
research, it seems the original CD print contends to be the only one
out there among a sea of vinyls thus being hard to find, no less a
gem for a thrift store pick-up. A fun disc it is, not to be taken as
jazz nor too seriously -- this is the fancy free Reagan-era 80's
after all! </span>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT :<span style="color: red;"> 8.0 (B-)</span></b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>NOTABLE
TRACKS: </b>Tell Me, Take A Chance, Come To Me, Misled, Cold Day</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>COULD
NOT: </b>pass up an album with Larry Dunn on board, even if
he doesn't make his presence enough here</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>NOT
ONE:</b> but two creepy trench-coated Laws on the
cover...</span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-64930992203047040722014-10-30T00:01:00.000-04:002014-10-30T16:41:36.453-04:00Tom Schuman "Extremities" (1990)<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYxin8SPRFsq5mzem-XsSyo-rw-iPOu9-k7VjpymFrk323PrFjg9IZr2tGmcOFnDMK0g9U4JCDYh3X-ptgod4TnoI63MejUmPCJLlpAxc2tojTm-6E30MsVkXxy43G0iS9Tva2M3RVnxZ/s1600/00+Tom+Schuman+-+Extremities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYxin8SPRFsq5mzem-XsSyo-rw-iPOu9-k7VjpymFrk323PrFjg9IZr2tGmcOFnDMK0g9U4JCDYh3X-ptgod4TnoI63MejUmPCJLlpAxc2tojTm-6E30MsVkXxy43G0iS9Tva2M3RVnxZ/s1600/00+Tom+Schuman+-+Extremities.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Schuman's debut, mostly without Spyro alum, sets in a standard of enjoyable "GRP sound" and surprise </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">After
a much celebrated decade, Spyro Gyra's leading keyboardist <b>Tom
Schuman</b> gets his time to shine without fellow mate, Jay Beckenstein
(well, sort of) on his 1990 GRP release. Extremities, lets Schuman go
a little more freely without the tropic of marimbas and
Beckenstein's brightly sax drowning out all of the spotlight. Apart from
composition, most of the performance is led by Schuman and his full
array of synthesizer keyboards but also acoustic piano with a flurry
of results. Though his solo effort may have come out a decade too
late, landing in the heart of 90's fusion, the result isn't muted,
more than a trumpet or two.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">As
the trend of 1990 goes on, GRP came to stick with a safe formula for its sound for the early decade: eight-to-ten tracks, a
cover (or two), airy voice-imitating synth (a la Lyle Mays), maybe a vocal and, yes, a mute trumpet. Mute trumpets
and jazz-pop came trending and buzzing on more than a few releases
and it's here as well, by way of harolded composer and session player
Jon Faddis (see: Clint Eastwood's trumpet player). That doesn't mean
Extremities doesn't woo and surprise around some bends...</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">On
board is a strong band: always exciting <b>Dave Weckl </b>on drums, longtime Spyro guitarist <b>Steve Love</b> on guitars, and the everywhere man <b>Will Lee</b>
on bass, Schuman has a few surprises including a cameo from Jay
Beckenstein on soprano sax as well. He guests on only one cut here, a
cover of the soul classic <b>Loving You</b>, which by this time has
been covered umpteenth times over, is given a fully syrupy sax
treatment that leaves this as the album's skipper.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>Palisades
Parkway </b>dazzles on the album with an instant hook for the radio,
though losing focus a bit within, follows with funky bass and guitar
and one of two tracks Steve Love breaks out a bluesy electric sound
on <b>Front Seat Reservation</b>. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>Crystal
Lane</b> and its use of sequenced drum machines, even at this time is
sounding dated and exhausted but still shows off more of Schuman's
keyboarding. Taking a break from the upbeat omnibus is <b>Mood Swing</b>, a
campy, creeping tune with Faddis on, yes, a mute trumpet in the
intro.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>Skywriter</b>
is of the album's more interesting: a clash of contemporary sting of synths over a traditional jazz trio of brushing drums, thick
upright bass and a solid horn from Bob Berg delivering a sharp solo
on his tenor. <b> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>To B.E.</b> pays tribute to Bill Evans with a heartfelt
acoustic trio -- no synthesizers, no horns here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Extremities
greatest success is Schuman's array of fresh synthesizers that
defined 1990's fusion sound (that, yes, aficionados dismiss as light
jazz in “G”, Kenny G, that is) and a unique sound GRP favored in its catalog, a
sound akin to that of Ricky Peterson around this time.
While this was Schuman's only stint on GRP and an album is mostly
overlooked and somewhat obscure today was a strong effort coming
off the heels of the commercially successful Spyro Gyra and it's 14th
release <b><i>Fast Forward</i></b>. </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">7.5 (C+)</span></span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>NOTABLE
TRACKS:</b> Palisades Parkway, Skywriter, Front Seat Reservation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>COULD'VE
DONE WITHOUT</b> “Loving You” -- off-the-chart cheese.</span></div>
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Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-5557646189978787632014-10-27T09:50:00.000-04:002014-10-27T09:50:08.703-04:00Mark Egan "A Touch of Light" (1988)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8hZr3rhyphenhyphenBa3zOCc-52VhSPwlGx52ClIbxsWwobNNdnEYSBhwQ7FGGosfNDCZYGh5F97p9LZIs-jmqps8xMse44edVOZH6hce_CPxkdANx3dGqsNFHS43f6t0d6FoX6MNpEOZ2aJm-s3T/s1600/00+Mark+Egan+-+Touch+Of+Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8hZr3rhyphenhyphenBa3zOCc-52VhSPwlGx52ClIbxsWwobNNdnEYSBhwQ7FGGosfNDCZYGh5F97p9LZIs-jmqps8xMse44edVOZH6hce_CPxkdANx3dGqsNFHS43f6t0d6FoX6MNpEOZ2aJm-s3T/s1600/00+Mark+Egan+-+Touch+Of+Light.jpg" height="320" width="317" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Only
a </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>touch of light </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">upon
the vibrance of the bassist's spectrum...</span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Mark
Egan has been Pat Metheny's sideman for a good long time and his
ability and unique style has been demonstrated over again with the
masterclass fusion guitarist. The towering, skeletal statuesque Egan
wields a double electric bass on the cover of </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>A
Touch of Light, </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>
</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">doesn't
follow inline with other FM-friendly GRP productions with an
atmospheric new-age temperment, into far-depths of science class
exposition about exotic sealife has a place for sure. That's what
makes Egan an inordinary creature and what baffled critics about the
mostly smooth jazz pushing label, which is why A Touch of Light is
oddly found if obscured in the GRP catalog.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Very
little does the program depart from mostly borderline psychedelic
fantasia a la Dan Siegel style new-age, where Egan is entirely
fretless synthesizer bassin' for his 1988 outing and debut for the
label. A band of inconsistent coloring of underutilized talent is
accompanied by keyboardists </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Cliff
Carter </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>
Gil Goldstein</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
for various tracks fade lost into a swirl of Egan's soundscape.
Metheny bandmate </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Danny
Gottlieb </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lends
a cymbal of his kit to the smattering of tracks for an added touch.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Bombay
Way </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">predictably</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
draws indian sitar influences on the fretless and like ethnic
percussion while it's neighborly </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Eastern
Window</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
takes on a synthed and sequenced background of more worldly jazz
influence. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Waterfall
Cafe </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">does
as described, but won't distinguish itself merely by name.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>A
Touch of Light</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">'s</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>
</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">self-title,
most radio friendly attempt </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">features
Bill Evans fluttering midway through on the soprano sax, and the most
distinctive of the disc's mostly sauntering set.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">GRP's
gimmick here is for Egan's show off Egan's non-linear approach and an
impressive show as to what else can be done on the displayed double
four-eight-string electric bass, but A Touch of Light only casts a
glimpse of the shadowy tones of what Egan is capable of with his jazz
weapon. Aside from the title cut, the album departs the commercial
glaze of common GRP jazz but loses oneself in what often sounds like
a unfocused display of cool bass trick synthesis. Though the
fretlessness Egan is obsessed with on this album is psychotropic,
dazed and mildly progressive, it's directive ethereal outcome
languishes like a summer afternoon heatstroke; it's not terribly
captivating, mostly dozy and redundantly forgettable, boresome BGM
aside from a few of the deep sea crescendos where some jazz bandplay
emerges. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A
Touch of Light is no diorama of Egan's true prowess, instead, a
forgettable concept that only rewarded the Skeletor bassist one round
on the label and a collective yawn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">4.0</span></b></span><span style="color: red;"> (out of 10)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>NOTABLE TRACKS : </b>A Touch of Light</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>WHAT IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO</b> is atmospheric background music with little memorable value </span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-23807875188097127252014-10-21T09:59:00.000-04:002014-11-02T22:12:37.393-05:00Richard Tee “Inside You” (1989)<h1 class="a-size-large a-spacing-none" id="title">
</h1>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCOsIEh4embD_3pY14R8GVpyf0IoF3-aI5gaip_nBzYi_OnvG76pUsVY9BmdJRSActtDdvRRsDg2V4a3OtUx-rNbPtxHJcH824ZUQ0kgNo8WibIOXSCDCuzRqKE6a4vFehU5Na1ZTIDAx/s1600/Inside+You.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCOsIEh4embD_3pY14R8GVpyf0IoF3-aI5gaip_nBzYi_OnvG76pUsVY9BmdJRSActtDdvRRsDg2V4a3OtUx-rNbPtxHJcH824ZUQ0kgNo8WibIOXSCDCuzRqKE6a4vFehU5Na1ZTIDAx/s1600/Inside+You.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
tunes will get </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">inside
you... </span></i></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">think</span></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
that's the title of Richard Tee's fourth solo effort means... </span></span>
</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Inside
You</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
compiles the works of the late, great keyboardist Richard Tee from 1983 until its
release in 1989 though not a compilation, but an album that cooked for roughly six years in the studio(s). Though
it's unclear as to what was recorded when during the six-year span that
results in Inside You, the time span is seamless. While the longer recording span might invite the possibility of sounding dated by now with that 70's sound it has become Richard Tee's signature, though not as adaptable to the times as other keyboardists like George Duke to evolve from that era, Tee's comfortably rolling with it.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Most famous for his “reverb” or echoplex effect Fender
Rhodes (or to get more technical using a phase shifter), made famous in the 70's with hits like Grover Washington Jr's “Just The Two Of Us” and even mimicked
by Billy Joel on “Just The Way You Are”. That <i>Tee</i> <i>sound</i> was
ubiquitous in discofied funk throughout the 70's but the man behind it has gone largely obscure
as far as his own fame went. Even though his session work eclipsed his own band Stuff, a stretching resume in the wake of
his life, Tee's solo career never really <i>made it.</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />A
shame really, Tee was an icon who often employed vocals on his own works while mainly juggling keyboards on sessions, including 1985's Japan-only Bottom Line were a tad hollow and awkward. Tee even admitted
his vocal talents hounded him throughout his career, yet, challenged himself at
it until his final release. His successful run
in Japan of all places has made way for a skyrocket in out-of-print
prices for his recordings.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Inside
You </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">made
way to the U.S. by way of Columbia Records, as one his more successful,
commercial efforts with a mixture of mostly chill R&B, jazz, and funk with a setlist mixed with vocals and instrumentals the <i>Tee way</i>. This may not be the most balanced Tee you might find but the fairweather package for his stylings by this time, or until the 1992 release of <b>Real Time.</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tee
brings in a bevy of his closest sessioneers, including Stuff's </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Steve
Gadd</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> on drums</span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">, Marcus Miller </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">on basses</span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">, John Tropea </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on (mostly rhythm) guitar and
even former Tower of Power tenor altissimo king </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Lenny
Pickett</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
who by this time is leading his own show on Saturday Night Live. There's also a wonderful layer of separately recorded strings behind almost all the tunes that give it an elegant charm of an old-time movie (as Gordon Lightfoot once sang). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tee's triad of keyboards command and layer most tracks with acoustic piano, Rhodes and organ accompanied by
vocals not only the title </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Inside
You</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
come off as soulful and upbeat but also marred by some lyrical staccato and awkward delivery. Apart from the title vocal, which is all passable until the goofy chorus and dated use of the 80's pioneered Linn drum, Tee succeeds better with others </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So
Hard To Handle </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which has Pickett buzzing on sax and
</span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Changes, </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">featuring a haunting acoustic bass from Eddie Gomez</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. <b>Chalk It All Up, </b>penned by longtime collaborator Bill Withers has Tee supplying his Rhodes, Linn drums and a fair vocal to an otherwise catchy R&B chorus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Similarly
pitched yet more baritone Bill Eaton makes a return from The Bottom Line, lending his voice on </span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Crying
In My Sleep Tonight</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
a warming, melancholic ballad backed by plush strings and velvety Rhodes for agreeable adult contemporary radio play.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Single-handledly
bumping up the slump on the disc is by far saxophonist Lenny Pickett, who woos
with soulful, growling and just plain hot (alto and tenor) sax on five tracks, mostly in his tricky high notes and ad libbing, especially on the gospelish
</span></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Louisiana Sunday
Afternoon,</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
which not only has Pickett (rarely captured) on alto but additionally
has notable Patti Austin </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">disguisedly</span></span> supporting the chorus of the disc's most energetic piece.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Will
You Be There </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">is a soulful wedding-march style instrumental and one of a few tracks which allows the band
to flex a bit as well as the moody <b>Precious Thing. </b>Tee gets a chance to get more personal on the strings intertwined <b>Lullaby </b>and the disc closer, <b>Wishing</b>, which takes you by candlelight and up-close solo piano.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Following the wake of a mostly forgotten Japan-only Bottom Line, which was likely recorded during this time, is a more somber, ballad-centric disc, unlike his debut album Strokin' which had you bouncing on bass a little more. The focal is vocal, less on jammin' out and maybe a tad lighter on solo keyboarding than desired. Though the vocals may take a little warming up but when they get Inside You, it's a pleasing release that surprisingly kept reeling me back in despite a lack of some finer tee-uning.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">8.0 (B-)</span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
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Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-26426195547794588462014-10-17T14:05:00.001-04:002014-10-27T09:56:00.797-04:00Electrifying David Matthews Remasters To Be Reprinted <div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXwmdYxCcOrmTPHNavPIRetGMNkTq5SpoDSTHryN_j8DWk0zFG6VWUNg_-_V2iHwINb8w26xk1acDd6UKdEo_iaHQykxwJe1hq6H087jC9sMcKoPZKncN9T4kBm_fouzlMSVBV4ZhG4G-/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXwmdYxCcOrmTPHNavPIRetGMNkTq5SpoDSTHryN_j8DWk0zFG6VWUNg_-_V2iHwINb8w26xk1acDd6UKdEo_iaHQykxwJe1hq6H087jC9sMcKoPZKncN9T4kBm_fouzlMSVBV4ZhG4G-/s1600/27.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Exciting news for David Matthews jazz and fusion fans: many of his and other <b>Electric Bird </b>releases will be reprinted in a selected collection of mostly early-to-mid 1980's material beginning December 2014. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let's start with the <b><i>bad news</i>: </b>they're imports, of course, mostly Japanese releases for Japan only<b>.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But, the<b> <i>good news</i> </b>is that they'll be "priced-down" limited edition re-issues at roughly 1,000 yen. The even <b><i>better news</i> </b>is that internet is here to help with retailers like <b><a href="http://www.cdbanq.com/A-Jazz_c_34.html#sthash.KozrIEQi.dpbs">CDBanq</a>, <a href="http://www.hmv.co.jp/en">HMV</a> </b>and<b> <a href="http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/">CDJapan</a> </b>charging just under $10 for albums that are been scarce for many years under a limited reprint. Once the run is over, typically two years, these prices tend to jack up on the reseller sites until another, seemingly once-per-decade reprint.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As part of Electric Bird's birthday, King Records Japan will be re-releasing a select 50 releases as part of <a href="http://www.kingrecords.co.jp/cs/r/r4074/"><b>Electric Bird Best Selection 1000</b></a> on December 14. In addition to the reprint, all releases have been "remastered" but is unclear as to whether they're additionally (<i>re</i>-remastered!) 24-bit remastered or previously remastered from the earlier CD pressing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Electric Bird</b>, under the umbrella of <b>King Records,</b> is reprinting most of its jazz-fusion 75-release catalog by year's end. But enough, the list! </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">David Matthews & The Electric Birds - Digital Love (1979)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">David Matthews & The Electric Birds - Cosmic City (1980)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">David Matthews presents The Grand Cross (1980)</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="l_title">David Matthews Orchestra featuring Earl Klugh - Delta Lady (1980)</span></span> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Super Funky Sax (1980) </span> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">New York Liner (1981)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jim Hall & David Matthews Orchestra - Concierto De Aranjuez (1982)</span> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="l_title">David Matthews Orchestra featuring Earl Klugh - Grand Connection (1983)</span></span></span> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fuse One - Ice (1984)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">David Matthews & First Calls - Speed Demon (1984)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Most exciting out of this set is are these rarer releases: 1981's <b>New York Liner, </b>which features<b> </b>guitarists <b>Eric Gale</b>, <b>John Tropea</b> and <b>David Spinozza</b> and is a predecessor to another rarity, 1996's <b>Guitars on Fire</b>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1984's <b>Ice </b>by <b>Fuse One </b>is another, the second/last release of the Fuse One fusion project which had been previously reprinted in 2002, whose prices have locked around $50 used. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The jazz-funk masterpiece <b>The Grand Cross </b>has an all-star cast carried by <b>The Brecker Brothers </b>and a slew of guitarists including <b>Larry Carlton </b>will see a release after a decade-plus of scarcity. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Most of the others including both <b>Earl Klugh</b> guest spots and <b>Speed Demon</b> have seen a few runs and even been released stateside under the GNP Crescendo label.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Super Funky Sax, </b>which is a series of three albums highlighting <i>the saxophone</i> will only see the long out-of-print debut album reprinted. The third <b>Wazzup? </b>got a remastered reprint while the <a href="http://thedigital-master.blogspot.com/2014/10/super-funky-sax-mo-better-funk-1994.html">recently covered </a><b><a href="http://thedigital-master.blogspot.com/2014/10/super-funky-sax-mo-better-funk-1994.html">Mo' Better Funk</a> </b>remains never to be reprinted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Additionally, many Matthews' band interlopers on the label including <b>Steve Gadd, Ronnie Cuber,</b> <b>Lew Soloff </b>and<b> George Young</b> are seeing long overdue reprints of their albums as well, some of which feature Matthews on keyboards. I have yet to see the 1985 <b>Richard Tee's </b>(Japan-only) <b>Bottom Line </b>on there amongst their nearly 70+ albums reprinted this and last year from Electric Bird.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The legendary <b>CTI Records</b> producer, arranger and keyboardist <b>David Matthews </b>isn't discussed much and has been a little obscured due to his success in Japan, eclipsed by those like him including Bob James.<b> </b>Best known for his 1977 <b>Dune </b>album under CTI, whose reigned to a cult-like status,
has yet to see another reprint on a very limited compact disc run from
the early 90's in Japan. The spacey album, which contains funked-up
sci-fi centric jazz contains a few Star Wars tracks and even a David
Bowie song, are possibly cause for licensing hurdles though it was once explained by Matthews' himself as CTI being centered for the rights limitations to Matthews' himself.</span></div>
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Conc </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Sadly, <b>Dune</b> isn't on any list...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dune's<b> </b>1993
King Records Japan CD pressing is extremely rare and has never seen
another run on CD and has been in demand for a while, seeing prices of
over $400 on reseller sites, worldwide. Here's hoping I can discard my
scratchy LP rip soon...</span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-11024144349817547032014-10-06T23:28:00.003-04:002014-10-27T10:03:02.468-04:00Super Funky Sax "Mo' Better Funk" (1994)<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExaQvT5bcVTWx2m1lFRF_zeRR0YKVH1Zwuf4PEC9X0pOpZnsSjonyUPws3HW6m5fkTdA7Hpekyltc_AkABlGyxEJPuboWUY0TsdkMzQmUBRy4IIFrsGg1DZfoyx2vCbNTJR-hfePgkuvi/s1600/Mo'+Better+Funk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExaQvT5bcVTWx2m1lFRF_zeRR0YKVH1Zwuf4PEC9X0pOpZnsSjonyUPws3HW6m5fkTdA7Hpekyltc_AkABlGyxEJPuboWUY0TsdkMzQmUBRy4IIFrsGg1DZfoyx2vCbNTJR-hfePgkuvi/s1600/Mo'%2BBetter%2BFunk.jpg" height="320" width="317" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Would
you settle for </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">just</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><i>Funky
Sax</i>?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">1994's
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Mo'
Better Funk</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
is the 14-years later follow-up to producer David Matthews' Super
Funky Sax project, accentuating the musicianship of saxophones, and,
well, funk. There's no doubt this project launched in 1980, at the
helm of a zenith crescendo in funk, fusion and disco-laced jazz. But
14-years have past, and it's interesting to see how Matthews' planned
to inject this bygone era into the 90's, which isn't always an easy
feat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">It's
no surprise nobody's heard of the cheesy title and like magenta, clip artsy hues of </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Super
Funky Sax</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">...</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Like
most of his other works, Matthews' works are recorded in New York and produced in
Japan though almost all of his participants are regularly New York
musicians -- and some of the best he's kept close all these years.
Most comparatively mirroring Bob James' in his arrangement style of
delivering lofty production values, bombastic orchestras, horns and star-studded instrument
solos, Matthews' has also been around long enough to know how to
fuse commercially successful jazz, funk, even rock and strings. For
unknown reasons, the American-born, incognito David Matthews' has had much
notoriety and success in Japan, more so than his homeland. Most of
his releases and projects have gone Japan-only, including the
bizarrely titled and the out-of-print/non-reprinted Mo' Better Funk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Unlike
many other Matthews' productions, Super Funky Sax gives up most of
the auxiliary bells and whistles of previous works, focusing on a
jazz-rock set with four saxophonists at the spotlight by way of <b>Kenny
Garrett</b>, <b>Chris Hunter</b>, a Sanborn doppleganging pitch on altos and
band regulars <b>George Young</b> on tricky scaled tenor and <b>Roger Rosenberg</b> on (never boring) baritone. </span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Ironically,
Super Funky Sax's second release has everyone in their place,
strictly roled and seemingly statuesque at times, almost instructed
not to play anything out of turn. </span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">But
nothing's off on the saxophone quartet, sometimes trio, all the solos
are expertly manned and balanced though the crown has been given to
guest Kenny Garrett, whose sometimes bright alto is uncompromised in
signature to heartiness and passionate notes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Mixing
it up, Matthews' has appointed a specifically designated rhythm
section comprised of veteran drummer <b>Steve Gadd</b>, <b>Anthony Jackson</b> on
bass (you can really feel), rhythm and cutting guitars from <b>Ira Seagal</b> and <b>Ross Traut</b> with
<b>David Spinozza</b> at the frontline, adding the jazz-rock flavors
inbetween saxophones. Keyboardist <b>Gil Goldstein</b> sifts into the
background mostly, whose organ presents itself on Mayfield's cover and that's about it.
If only Matthews' appointed solos for other non-winds players than guitarist Spinozza,
the band wouldn't have sounded mechanical, programmed and imprisoned
to just play for the saxes. Such talent seems wasted, stamped to the
background, especially for a round-up of legendary session players
here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Mo'
Better Funk's programme is seven polite, even-tempered and tempo but
sanitized and heavily controlled on-rails, post-era jazz-funk; mostly
robotic and seemingly medicated, yet accomplished in groove
and bounciness. What each tune fails to deliver by way bordering on
uninspired background music, earns points for being yet another
quality sound design production Matthews' is no stranger to, making
this disc highly listenable and toe-tapping, if not fresh.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Of
the seven cuts, all were composed and arranged by Matthews with the
exception of Curtis Mayfield's </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>People
Get Ready</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
and one of the liveliest numbers on the disc that feels most oiled, constantly trading
solos on sax and guitar.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Air</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">,
which mimicks MJ's Billie Jean bassline keeps a bounce between
solos mostly by Garrett until Spinozza breaks it up with some cool
guitar, ending on an exciting baritone by Rosenberg. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Smooth!
</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">adds
on a smokey aire of detective jazz that begs for a mute but gives
with mid-tempo and a surprise opening solo given to Spinozza's
guitar, ends on Young's eclectic tenor soloing.</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Super
Groove II </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reprises
from the original Super Funky Sax with homage to the original, having
the understudy-in-sound Chris Hunter scream the echoes of Sanborn's
tight alto. An almost nine-minute track desires to be the disc's jam
session, impaired by an on-rails loop of melodic chorus, which ends
up a plaguing arrest to most cuts on Mo' Better Funk here on out. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Sweet
As Honey </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">wants
to be much more as demonstrated by a strong opening and a strong
saxophone backbone but droops down to yet another syrupy paced
circuit. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Snake
In The Grass </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">turns
up some attitude, most specifically with one of the most impressive,
electrifying and spastic solos played out by George Young, who continually wows
with an unpredictable tenor and Matthews' under utilized secret
weapon on this release.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mo'
Better Funk could have been a Mo' Better disc if only David Matthews'
could've been mo' himself: unchaining himself and the band a little bit, making those meandering moments on too many tracks filled with more soloing. Seems unnecessary for some of these tracks to trail on
as long as they do with some saxists sitting backgrounded to mostly
forgettable funk that seems to have been absent Mo' Soul.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Matthews' would go on to do a third (and final) Super Funky Sax <b>Wazzup? </b>in 1996. Let's hope they get it mo' right and tight next time.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE DIGITAL VERDICT : <span style="color: red;">6.5 (D) <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /> </span></span></span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6707109332972342691.post-75074649331074099362014-09-30T23:38:00.003-04:002014-10-01T00:10:33.736-04:00Dawn of THE DIGITAL MASTER<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I was probably about 16 years old</b> listening to XM's Watercolors in my dad's 'old' Jetta. On a rainy night, the prominent fretless bass of something I quickly adhered to from Dave Grusin's cover of Ronnie Laws' <i>Friends And Strangers </i>came on and I was mesmerized. The cool Rhodes reminded me of Bob James' <i>Westchester Lady</i>, one of my earliest contemporary jazz favorites on drives home on I-95, along with Chuck Mangione's radio standard Feels So Good. Haven't heard that on the radio in ages... I guess John Mayer, One Direction and Lady Gaga are more popular on that 'Lite' station now...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What's the <b>DIGITAL MASTER</b> anyway? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I started</b> this site as a project dedicated to the founders' Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen's GRP label, a label which pioneered a promise to high-quality jazz-fusion in an exclusively digital recording philosophy. It seems while the label has touched many, GRP has been much dismissed by genre purists and snobs who, at times with kernels of truth, refer to GRP as the smooth jazz progenitor and 'jazz-lite' label for the <i>Sunday Brunch</i> crowd. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">OK, some of that may be true. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't love the <i>entire</i> GRP catalog, but I'm not here to draw its faults. Instead, I want to focus on how influential GRP is and how its legacy has remained strong all these years by celebrating its vibrant catalog. Though GRP still exists today, its only a shadow of its former self after the 'GR' left the 'P', the label launched many greats and believed in them as well. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Most importantly</b>, Mr. Dave Grusin, who in large part established GRP, is a composer, arranger, producer and master class of the piano (and very early on, many synthesizers and Rhodes). His passion and belief in not only modern jazz and eyeing talent but also delivering it in the highest presentable fashion (on compact disc before the dawn of the consumable media) was unheard of. I'm sure it wasn't easy in the beginning though GRP's goal quickly became a headline in 'commercial' jazz, jazz artists never look to make it as easy as Billboard Pop-Rocks. </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">GRP's vision was from this passion, an honest label for jazz, music lovers and audiophiles. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I noticed</b> apart from Amazon.com and some here-and-there jazz 'zines, there's no place nor individual who's discussing GRP or any other jazz. Mainly, I wanted to have a forum and haven for contemporary jazz-fusion enthusiasts to share ideas in addition to my own.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I've been a fan </b>of many kinds of jazz for most of my life and now I'm delving into GRP's extensive catalog and it has already introduced me to hundreds of melodies and artists I've not heard before. But I'm not going to focus solely on GRP, I'll be looking at anything that crosses my path whether it be what I find in a thrift store, f.y.e., internet-obtained or a small town music shop. </span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So yes, most of what you see here are my own CDs, almost all second-hand, GRP has an extensive list of CDs that were never reprinted in almost 25 years under the current leadership. Many of them still sound excellent but may need some current technological attention. After all, most of these are mastered to decades old standards. Some of these were found randomly and some obtained through curiousity. There's a small exception you may find -- if it's highly unattainable or only in vinyl, generously passed on by another, I may discuss it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So please, with coffee (or tea) in hand, enjoy <b>THE DIGITAL MASTER</b> and <i>welcome</i>.</span></span></div>
Nicholas M. DiMaiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063999916020250354noreply@blogger.com0