LES MCCANN - HUSTLE TO SURVIVE
Sweet
funky soul from Les McCann – one of the best of his 70s albums that bring in a
lot of vocals with the keyboards – and served up in some tight tunes that
really pack a nice sort of punch! The album doesn't have the long jammers of
some of McCann's other records from the time – but the shift to shorter,
focused tunes is a nice one – thanks to Bert De Coteaux, who keeps things
carefully poised to bring out all the best in Les' talents – even his vocals,
which seem to sound even more moving on the mellow cuts here than the more
upbeat and righteous ones! McCann plays a range of different keyboards –
including Fender Rhodes – and the CD's got two great instrumental cuts,
"Us" and "Butterflies" – plus the tracks "Well Cuss My
Daddy", "Why Is Now", "Changing Seasons", "Says
Who Says What", and "Let Your Learning Be Your Eyes". ~ Dusty Groove
CARLOS NINO & FRIENDS - AURORAMUSHROOMTENDERNESSS
Dreamy
soundscapes from cosmic spirit Carlos Nino and a host of diversely talented
friends – including fellow Build An Ark alumni Dexter Story and Miguel
Atwood-Ferguson, Dntel, Daedelus, adventurous new age-r Iasos, Beachwood Sparks
strings player/sound designer Farmer Dave Scher, John Densmore of The Doors,
jazz pianist Nate Morgan and others! There a spacious, hypnotic vibe here
that's carried through with a very collaborative spirit – starting with
keyboards and percussion-rooted soundscapes and compositions by Carlos, who
sends his sketches out to the far-reaching roster of friends to freely
contribute their own distinctive magic. We really love the looser, sparer and
more hypnotic sounds, but there's some busier, more insistent material that
hold it all together nicely. Includes "Aurorasmushroomtenderness"
with Iasos, "Constellation Of Dancing Flutes" with Yaakov Levy,
"Rhodestargate" with Nate Morgan & Dntel, "Mellohtronn
Interlou" with Jim Lang, "Visionquest: Emergence" with Paul
Livingstone, "Enter The Nowosphere Spaceways Radio Mix" with Deantoni
Parks, Farmer Dave Scher, Cut Chemist, Kelsey Gonzalez, Dexter Story and Miguel
Atwood-Ferguson, "Meetor Shower" with Dntel, "Familyyy"
with Nate Morgan, "8 Moons Blue" with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and
more. (Includes code for digital download.)
~ Dusty Groove
RUSTY
BRYANT – FIRE EATER
A
monster – and one of the best jazz funk albums ever on Prestige! Rusty Bryant
blows his top off on this one – taking his tenor stylings out of the more staid
R&B mode of earlier years, working with some younger heavy funk jazz
players to craft a brilliant album of long searing tunes that's forever been
one of the must-haves of the early 70s jazz funk scene! Idris Muhammad's on
drums, Wilbert Longmire's on guitar, and the organ work is split between Leon
Spencer and Bill Mason, both monstrously great talents, with a propensity for
open-stopped hard-wailing playing! Titles include "Fire Eater",
"The Hooker", "Mister S", and "Free At
Last". ~ Dusty Groove
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