Tuesday, October 14, 2014

NEW RELEASES: CANDIDO – THE MASTER; GIL SCOTT-HERON – VILLAGE GATE NEW YORK 1976; ROB MAZUREK AND BLACK CUBE – RETURN THE TIDES: ASCENSION SUITE & HOLY GHOST

CANDIDO – THE MASTER

It's hard to imagine anyone making music for as many years as the legendary Candido – nor anyone who might still sound as great after so many decades in music! This set's definitely well-titled – as the congolero works here with a gorup of Latin jazz musicians, on an album that's one of his best in many years – a record that has maybe even more traditional Afro-Cuban elements than even Candido's work of the 50s, but which also brings in some strong jazz elements as well. Ray Santos arranged the set, and heads up the group – and the lineup includes tenor, flute, trombone, and trumpet – as well as some other percussionists next to Candido, and even a bit of tres and guitar as well – which further the rootsier side of the music. Candido's not totally on fire – maybe not a thousand-finger man here – but is still amazingly rock-solid, and really helps ground the whole record with his work on congas. Titles include "Arcason", "Salsibiri", "Conga Descarga", "Mulatacha", "Conga Blues", and "Lagrimas Negras".  ~ Dusty Groove

GIL SCOTT-HERON – VILLAGE GATE NEW YORK 1976

Gil Scott-Heron like we've never heard him before – working live at the Village Gate, with a style that's even more open and personal than some of his other live records at the time – given the small, intimate setting of the club! The group is very jazzy – with plenty of keyboards from Brian Jackson, and some sweet flute lines that really help warm up the tunes next to the vocals – and the whole performance was captured for a radio broadcast, so the overall quality is nice and strong – and the tracks have a long, open flow that's mighty nice! Titles include "17th Street", "It's Your World", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "Must Be Something We Can Do", and "Johannesburg" – plus a nice "Intro Jam" too. ~ Dusty Groove

ROB MAZUREK AND BLACK CUBE – RETURN THE TIDES: ASCENSION SUITE & HOLY GHOST

Rob Mazurek just keeps stunning us more and more over the years – growing way way past his earlier straight jazz roots, and even his key work in the Chicago underground – to a level where he's easily encompassing many different styles and genres at once – then finding a way to make the sounds all his own! This project has Rob furthering the electronic sounds of recent records, while still holding onto a core element of jazz with his work on cornet – an instrument he uses here with wonderfully rich acoustic tones, and hardly at any sort of easy Miles electric modes, or anything like that. The players here are all part of his scene in Sao Paulo – including Mauricio Takara on drums, Guilherme Granado on keyboards, Thomas Rohrer on electronics and soprano sax, and Rogerio Martins on percussion – but all players also take on other instruments, add in bits of voice, and work with the production and processing to really create some amazing sonic energy throughout. All tracks are long – and titles include "Let The Rain Fall Upwards", "Return The Tides", "Oh Mother", and "Reverse The Lightning". ~ Dusty Groove


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