BLUEY - LIFE BETWEEN THE NOTES
Having
waited more than 30 years to record his debut solo album – 2013’s “Leap of
Faith” – INCOGNITO’s driving force Jean-Paul ‘BLUEY’ Maunick enjoyed the
experience so much that he returns with an impressive second solo set “Life
Between The Notes” Bluey displays an assured vocal performance on a wide range
of songs from the disco flavour of “Hold On” and the dancefloor-friendly title
track (Says Bluey: “I quote my record collection…the songs that have fanned the
flame of this long musical journey”) to the funky falsetto of “I’ve Got A
Weakness For Your Love” and the jazzy “Saints and Sinners” and “Columbus
Avenue”. The album shows a real development for Bluey, especially as he
ventures into more jazz-leaning vocal material. He feels the album has “a jazz
undertow that sweeps the whole thing along”. Of the album’s closing track
“Sunships On The Shores Of Mars”, he calls it “the deepest adventure I’ve
allowed myself to take into the world of jazz. It allows me to croon like I’ve
never crooned before.” ~ Amazon
THE
NOTATIONS – STILL HERE 1967-1973
From the
dawn of doo-wop to the death of disco, the Notations saw-and sang-it all.
Persisting through changing trends and technologies, on major labels and minor
ones, produced by both Syl Johnson and Curtis Mayfield, nothing could stop the
Notations from representing Chicago’s Southside for decades. The first overview
of their indie label golden age, Still Here 1967-1973 finds the Notations at a
musical crossroads, turning from simmering R&B ballads to
socially-conscious soul. Offering up a platter of golden-dipped harmonies,
inventive arrangements, and super-powered soul, the Notations survived as
unheralded legends in their own time. Includes: A New Day; I’m Still Here;
Trying My Best To Find Her; Just You And Me; This Time I’m For Real; What More
Can I Say; I Can’t Stop; That Girl; At The Crossroads; Leading Lady; Now I Know
How It Feels; Gonna Get Ready; I’ve Been Trying; and I Don’t Want To Be Late.
JERZY
MILIAN – SEMIRAMIDA: TRIO IN CONCERT FROM 1966 TO 1969
Seminal
sounds from one of the hippest vibists of the 60s – the great Jerzy Milian, who
was easily Europe's answer to Bobby Hutcherson at the time! The material here
comes from a few key performances by the Milian trio at the Jazz Jamboree
festival in Poland – sort of the Eastern European version of Newport or
Montreux – and the sound is very open and freewheeling, with this equal balance
between the vibes, bass, and drums that show a lot of "new thing"
tendencies in Jerzy's music at the time! Milian made plenty of great studio
records over the years, but these live sides may well be some of his most
revolutionary – a rare glimpse at a musician who should have had a much bigger
impact globally at the time, had it not been for the politics of the Cold War.
Titles include "Semiramida", "Ballada",
"Monument", "Summer Nights", "My Favorite Band",
"Serpent's Tooth", "Vales Ex Cathedra", and
"Program". (One thing – note that the title track "Semiramida"
has some technical issues – the recording quality ebbs and flows a bit,
although the music is great.) ~ Dusty Groove
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