Monday, October 07, 2013

NEW RELEASES - RAY BRYANT TRIO, BOBBY CALDWELL, MOREIRA DA SILVA

RAY BRYANT TRIO - CON ALMA

Pure genius from Ray Bryant – the kind of a record that few other players could ever hope to cut, and a fantastic demonstration of Ray's extremely soulful approach to the trio format! Bryant's working here with Bill Lee on bass and Mickey Roker on drums – in a triple-burning setting that has all players contributing equally to the groove – and often working strongly to create a great sense of counterpoint in the rhythms. Roker's drums are magically playful throughout – snapping and skipping along the top of the snare in a way that only furthers the rhythmic agenda of Bryant's piano. And Lee's bass has a laidback and mellow delight – one that rings out alongside the keys of the piano, and fleshes them out with some additional depth and color. The title track is a brilliant reading of "Con Alma", and the set also features Bryant's famous tune "Cubano Chant" – as well as the titles "Autumn Leaves", "Milestones", "Ill Wind", and "C Jam Blues". (Blue Spec CD.) ~ Dusty Groove

BOBBY CALDWELL - LIGHT MELLOW

The title certainly gets it right – and the set's way more than a "greatest hits" collection of work by Bobby Caldwell – and a massive batch of some of his best numbers of the 70s and 80s, all flowing together beautifully with a sweet little Free Soul vibe! The 20 track package features a few familiar Caldwell numbers, but also includes some really wonderful gems pulled from the deeper catalog of his albums over the years – tracks that are often eclipsed next to the hits, and which show the depth of his talents in a blue-eyed soul mode, and how strongly his work kept on going well into the 80s! There's a warmly compressed sound to most numbers that perfectly fuses jazz and soul – and titles include "Come To Me", "All Or Nothing At All", "Mazatlan", "In The Name Of Love", "Don't Ask My Neighbor", "Never Loved Before", "Open Your Eyes", "Coming Down From Love", "Sherry", "Love Won't Wait", "Words", and "Jamaica". ~ Dusty Groove

MOREIRA DA SILVA - ANOS 50

A great collection of vintage work from Brazilian singer Moreira Da Silva – including a fair bit of tracks originally only issued as 78rpm singles! The collection features two CDs' worth of material from 78s, plus the full album O Tal from later in the decade – but even that is presented with a whole heck of a lot of bonus tracks too! The package is an excellent counterpart to the 60s box of Moreira's music – and shows an even more charming, more compelling version of the singer – working in lively samba arrangements that are heavy on percussion, and really illustrate the raw energy of Brazilian music in the pre-bossa years. The set features 48 tracks in – remastered with a sound that's as colorful as the image on the cover! ~ Dusty Groove 


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