Thursday, September 19, 2013

NEW RELEASES - KILL YOURSELF DANCING, TOMMASSO CAPPELLATO AND ASTRAL TRAVELER, JAZZ SOUNDTRACKS

KILL YOURSELF DANCINIG: THE STORY OF SUNSET RECORDS INC. - CHICAGO 1985-89 (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

A killer look at one of the most compelling labels on the Chicago house scene of the 80s – a tiny imprint, but one that cut some mighty important music – especially sounds that would have great resonance in the global acid explosion at the end of the decade! The work here has edges that are often a bit sharper than those of more familiar house at Trax Records – and a rhythmic intensity that's very focused, very stripped-down, and very much distilled to the core essence of Chicago house – that harder punch that's informed by a lot of European work at the start of the 80s, but turned towards the decimated disco scene in the US – to rise up a whole new generation with a great burst of energy! The package is maybe the best we've seen so far from Still Music – and features these very detailed notes that tell the fascinating story of the label's rise and short history – really getting at the midwestern melting pot that made house music so great. Titles include "Kill Yourself Dancing" by Razz, "Lover Man" by Ben Mays, "It Could Be Acid" by White Knight, "Face The Music (dub mix)" by Boom Boom & Master Plan, "Persia" by Modern Mechanical Music, "Electric Baile (commercial mix)" by Master Plan, "I Want You (transcontinental mix)" by Hex Complexx, and "Rock The Nation (Kenny Jason rmx)" by Matt Warren. 2CD set features a whopping 21 tracks in all!  ~Dusty Groove

TOMMASO CAPPELLATO AND ASTRAL TRAVELER - COSMETHIC

A totally sweet set from drummer Tommaso Cappellato – a player who was mentored by legendary spiritual jazz maestro Harry Whitaker, and who works here in a groove that really recalls Whitaker's best music of the 70s! The album features a small group that's heavy on Fender Rhodes and moog – keyboards that really stretch out beautifully, in ways that are filled with soul and spirit – soaring out into space over Cappellato's tight drums, and mixed with these flute lines and voice that really add a heavenly quality to the set! The whole thing rests perfectly in a space between Strata East and some of the best of the Japanese releases of the 70s – including Whitaker's landmark Black Renaissance album – and there's even a bit of Lonnie Liston Smith elements to the record as well. Wonderful stuff throughout – with titles that include "Awakenings", "Consciousness", "Entering The Dream", "My Body Needs To Breathe I Doesn't", "Music Power", and "Cosmethic". ~ Dusty Groove


JAZZ SOUNDTRACKS / ATTILA ZOLLER - ORIGINAL MUSIC FROM THE ARTHOUSE FILMS OF HANS JURGEN POHLAND 1962-67

One of the greatest German jazz guitarists – heard here in some of his grooviest work of the 60s – an amazing batch of material recorded for the art house films of director Hansjurgen Pohland! Zoller already had a modern tone by the time of these recordings – a sublime sound on the guitar that rivaled that of Billy Bauer with the Lee Konitz group of the 50s, but which was also freer, and open to rich new ideas too – especially from a rhythmic and tonal standpoint, which always keeps Zoller's work compelling! Attila's way more than just another jazzy player on the instrument – and film material like this really lets him stretch his imagination – and unlock a whole whose of tones and colors that are quite imagistic in nature. Most tracks are played by a small combo led by Zoller – often working in front of the screen as images passed by – scenes from films that include Katz Und Maus, Tamara, and The Bread Of Our Early Years. This set marks the first release of the material actually recorded for those films on record – and titles include "Family Bricks", "Pilenz", "Road Song", "Minesweeper", "Cold Fusion", "Adam's Apple", "Hedwig's Departure", "Mousetip Strut", and "Mahlke. ~ Dusty Groove


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