NEW RELEASES: LEON SPENCER - LOUISIANA SLIM; SADAO WATANABE - PASTORAL; LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO QUARTET - 4 BLOKES

LEON SPENCER – LOUISIANA SLIM

Sublime Hammond from the amazing Leon Spencer – heard here at the height of his younger years, when he was cooking up as much magic in the studio as Johnny Hammond or Charles Earland – and really stretching things out, in ways that take the jazz organ format much farther than the giants of a decade before! The date's an all-out great one in the Prestige funky jazz mode – with Spencer on organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar, Grover Washington Jr on tenor, and Idris Muhammad on drums – a bit more subtle than before, but still plenty darn funky! Tracks are nice and long – and the record includes the originals "Louisiana Slim", "Our Love Will Never Die", "The Trouble With Love", and a cover of "Mercy Mercy Me".  ~ Dusty Groove

SADAO WATANABE - PASTORAL

A record as evocative as its title – part of a great flowering of talent from Japanese reedman Sadao Watanabe at the end of the 60s! Sadao started his career out as a hell of a bopper, then moved into some sweet Brazilian modes in the 60s – but by the time of this record, he was really emerging with a great vision of his own – a way of opening up in these longer, more lyrical ways on alto, soprano sax, and flute – with styles that were very different than any American or European players of the time! There's less of the echoes of the Japanese folk roots that Watanabe tried out a few years before – as his tone and timing is much more sophisticated, with a really tremendous sense of melody – and a way of bringing in rich feelings without ever getting too sentimental – almost at the best sort of soundtrack scoring level. All of the players here are equally sensitive to his needs – and include Hiroshi Matsumoto on vibes, Yoshiaki Masuo on guitar, and Kazuo Yashiro on Fender Rhodes – on titles that include "Gary Outro Samba", "Tokyo Suite", "Bridge", "Fandango", and "Ritmo Sabroso".  ~ Dusty Groove

LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO QUARTET - 4 BLOKES

Not just four blokes, but a killer quartet led by legendary drummer Louis Moholo – one that works at the same searing intensity as his Blue Notes group in the 70s! The combo is especially adept at quick-paced, fast-thinking creativity – and really leap forward with a great sense of cohesion on some of the album's most emotive tracks – but they also know how to balance things out with some more contemplative and soulful passages, too – showing the rich sensitivity to sound that Moholo has developed over the years. Louis plays only a drum kit – but with a depth of sound that makes you feel as if he's got other percussion instruments in the mix – and the group also features Jason Yarde on saxes, John Edwards on bass, and Alexander Hawkins – and titles include "For The Blue Notes", "Yes Baby No Baby", "Angel Nomali", "Tears For Steve Biko", and "Khwalo". ~ Dusty Groove