Wednesday, July 02, 2014

NEW RELEASES: GUNTER BABY SOMMER – DEDICATIONS; BARRY GUY NEW ORCHESTRA – AMPHI: RADIO RHONDO; LEE RITENOUR - RIT

GUNTER BABY SOMMER – DEDICATIONS

One of the best examples of the drum skills of Gunter Sommer we've heard in a long long time – and a great return to his Hormusik format from many years back! The album's all solo – and has Sommer working in a haunting blend of percussion and drums – but with sounds that are beautifully melodic, and as much filled with a sense of tone and color as they are with rhythm! The record features a set of dedications to important drummers who've influenced Gunter over the years – Baby Dodds, Pierre Favre, Paul Lovens, Ed Blackwell, Max Roach, and others – each given a solo piece with a very distinct sound, and sometimes a bit of spoken introduction by Sommer. Titles include "Von Baby Zu Baby", "Art Goes Art", "A Letter To Paul", "Ed Blackwell", "Selfportrait", and "Von Max Fur Max".  ~ Dusty Groove

BARRY GUY NEW ORCHESTRA – AMPHI: RADIO RHONDO

Two great large group works from bassist Barry Guy – both with the sort of individual qualities we love in his music with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra! The players here are from a wider range of European sources, and all work together as a whole, but get plenty of space for personal expression – tones and voices that are initially most strong from the bass of Guy and violin of Maya Homburger – but which evolve to include Evan Parker and Mats Gustafsson on saxes, Hans Koch on bass clarinet, Johannes Bauer on trombone, and Paul Lytton and Raymond Strid on percussion. "Amphi" is a long work that begins with a more careful sense of presence – but "Radio Rondo" rolls in with much greater group force, and continues boldly for nearly 30 minutes. ~ Dusty Groove

LEE RITENOUR – RIT


Few people did soulful fusion better than Lee Ritenour back in the early 80s – and the guitarist always seemed to find a way to really link together all the different sounds of the electric genre – from heavy jamming to soulful grooving to a rock-like appreciation for a good hook! Harvey Mason provides some great heavy drums, and also helped Lee produce – which gives the record a sharp, soulful focus that's like some of Harvey's own great records of the time – an undercurrent of funk that more than helps keep the Ritenour vocals moving along! Titles include "Mr Briefcase", "Countdown", "Good Question", "Dreamwalk", "Is It You", and "Just Tell Me Pretty Lies".  ~ Dusty Groove



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