Wednesday, January 15, 2014

NEW RELEASES - GATO BARBIERI 3-CD COLLECTION, EDDIE PALMIERI IS DOIN' IT IN THE DARK, BOMBAY DUB ORCHESTRA REMIXES

GATO BARBIERI - GATO...PARA LOS AMIGOS / QUE PASA / CHE CORAZON

Overlooked later genius from Gato Barbieri – a trio of albums served up in one nicely priced package! Gato Para Los Amigos is some of Barbieri's best work of the 80s – an excellent live set from 1981 that's kind of a return to the drawn-out intensity of his years at Impulse! The group's got a good mixture of percussion, keyboards, and guitar – and the tracks on the set are mostly Latin-tinged numbers that offer a perfect foil for Gato's soulful and exploratory blowing – those haunting long lines we first fell in love with on his records for Impulse and Flying Dutchman! Titles include "Bolivia", "Carnavalito", "Brazil", "Viva Emiliano Zapata", and "Latino America". Que Pasa is a surprisingly nice late 90s effort from Gato Barbieri – at the time, his first new album in over a decade – and a set put together with a nicely contemporary feel with help from keyboardist Philippe Saisse! Saisse produced the set, and he really gives the record some of the warmly soulful moments of his own great music – an approach that's somewhat deeper than smooth jazz, and which makes more than enough space for Gato's well-blown saxophone solos. There's a bit of backing vocals on the set, and the approach here is definitely soul-based – but it's got a solid bottom that hearkens back to some of Gato's best R&B-inspired work of the 70s. Titles include "Mystica", "Dancing With Dolphins", "Straight Into The Sunrise", "Indonesia", "The Woman I Remember", and "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Che Corazon is one of Gato Barbieri's most ambitious albums – a record that mixes core jazzy grooving with some larger orchestral parts – but all at a level that still moves along nicely! Sweet keyboards glide alongside Gato's reed lines – which come out strongly in the lead, with that sharp-cutting sense of soul that we've always loved so much. The overall sound is smoother than the early days, but no less soulful – and titles include a great remake of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You", plus "Eclipse", "The Woman On The Lake", "1812", "Encounter", and "Sweet Glenda". ~ Dusty Groove.

EDDIE PALMIERI - IS DOIN' IT IN THE DARK THE EP

Some of the best work we've heard in years from the legendary Eddie Palmieri – sounds recorded especially for a film on pick-up basketball in New York City, and done with a style that really takes us back to Eddie's best records from years back! The music is very jazzy – with long passages that feature strong solos on piano from Palmieri, vibes from Joe Locke, and baritone sax from Ronnie Cuber – played with a freewheeling intensity that goes way beyond any scene-setting need of a film score, and which is filled with the mix of spontaneous energy and sophisticated ideals of Palmieri's best compositions. The percussion is wonderful, too – very rootsy, and beautifully recorded – and the whole thing is punctuated by a few short spoken bits from the film. A true treasure to file next to your Fania classics – with tracks that include "Jibarita Y Su Son", "Bata 2nd & 3rd Movement", "Give The Drummer Some", "Coast To Coast", and "More Moves/The Chef". ~ Dusty Groove


BOMBAY DUB ORCHESTRA - BOHEMIA JUNCTION REMIXES

Bombay Dub Orchestra released their critically acclaimed third studio album, Tales From The Grand Bazaar, on Six Degrees Records last year.  Praise poured in saying, “A masterpiece which lovers of all sounds Exotic, Eclectic, Electronica & Classical will adore!!!” (Globetronica) and “Tales From the Grand Bazaar flirts with a host of unique sounds and instruments that blends the electronic with the traditional, and is effortlessly combined and mixed in such a way that is extremely listenable, and easily enjoyable (Black Grooves).  The album also appeared on notable year-end lists including tastemaker radio show Echoes. “Bohemia Junction,” the lead single from the album gets the remix treatment on the aptly titled Remixes EP, out January 14, 2014.  Remixers include Punk A Wallah’s, Vlastur Dub, Nutritious & Commodore, and Bombay Dub’s 70’s dub mix.  Vlastur Dub from Athens, Greece treats us to a reverb and effects laden interpretation that is dubby, pulsing and danceable.  The Punk-A-Wallas, DJ Pathaan, assisted by Andrew from Bombay Dub Orchestra, go for a storming electro approach, which is guaranteed to please.  NYC’s Nutritious and Commodore go for a stripped down driving electro approach with lots of space.  Rounding out the EP is Bombay Dub Orchestra's Old school dub remix that reflects their affection for classic Jamaican 70s dub with the middle eastern elements of the original track. ~sixdegreesrecords.com


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