NEW RELEASES: THE GARY BURTON QUARTET - DUSTER / COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES; MADE TO BREAK - CHERCHEZ LA FEMME; GAROTAS SUECAS - FERAS MITICAS

THE GARY BURTON QUARTET - DUSTER / COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES

Classic work from the great Gary Burton – two sessions that forever established his place at the forefront of jazz! Duster is a really incredible record from the great Gary Burton – a key 60s set that definitely has him finding a musical voice that's all his own – a way of using the vibes that nobody else had ever attempted before! The instrument is a flurry of chromatic beauty – tones and light exploding at each new twist and turn – mixed here with superb work from a quartet that includes Larry Coryell on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums! The names of the players alone might be enough to give you a picture of the sound – but let us go onto say that the overall approach is amazing – angular, jagged, and more rhythmic than melodic – but equally swinging, in sort of a modal way. Tracks include "Ballet", "One Two 1234", "Liturgy", "Response", "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan", and "Sweet Rain". Country Roads & Other Places has a title that might be a reference to Burton's Nashville roots, and the music does have a slightly pastoral vibe – but the overall execution is extremely modern, and filled with the kind of bold tones and sharp turns that always made Burton so wonderful at the start! The group includes Jerry Hahn on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums – all very freewheeling, open players – with an equal balance between rhythm and melody. Burton, Swallow, and Hahn composed a good many of the tracks – and titles include "A Singing Song", "Wichita Breakdown", "Country Roads", "The Green Mountains", "True Or False", and "Gone But Forgotten".  ~ Dusty Groove

MADE TO BREAK - CHERCHEZ LA FEMME

Sharp improvisations with a decidedly sonic sensibility – music that bridges between free jazz and much more textural moments! The group features Ken Vandermark on reeds – sometimes blowing with forward-moving lines that are plenty bold – sometimes stepping back to merge with the more electronic passages of the group, handled by Christof Kurzmann. Drummer Tim Daisy is on hand to propel things forward at all the right moments – and the songs here are dedicated to a diverse array of inspirations – from Betty Davis to Helen Frankenthaler to Sleater Kinney! Titles include "Sans Serif" and "Capital Black". (Includes bonus download!)  ~ Dusty Groove

GAROTAS SUECAS - FERAS MITICAS

A contemporary group from Brazil, but one who've got a quirky ear for song styles that takes us back to some of our favorite artists of the 70s! Garotas Suecas work in a style that's a bit post-Tropicalia – almost like some of Tom Ze's music of those years, but maybe not as all-out wild – fused perhaps with a sense of the songwriting strengths of Caetano Veloso in his later years. Yet the work also has a contemporary vibe that's definitely the group's own, too – a sense of spirit that really marks these guys as a group to watch, already even more exciting on this second album than their first. Titles include "New Country", "Bucolismo", "Manchetes Da Solidao", "A Nuvem", "Bicho", and "Charles Chacal".  ~, Dusty Groove