Monday, April 13, 2015

NEW RELEASES: JOE FARRELL - ORIGINAL ALBUM CLASSICS: JOE FARRELL QUARTET / OUTBACK / PENNY ARCADE / UPON THIS ROCK / CANNED FUNK; JOSE FELICIANO - THAT THE SPIRIT NEEDS / MEMPHIS MENU / COMPARTMENTS; HAMILTON DE HOLANDA - WORLD OF PIXINGUINHA

JOE FARRELL - ORIGINAL ALBUM CLASSICS: JOE FARRELL QUARTET / OUTBACK / PENNY ARCADE / UPON THIS ROCK / CANNED FUNK

A CTI powerhouse – five full albums from reedman Joe Farrell, each packaged in a tiny LP-styled sleeve! First up is Joe Farrell Quartet – a stellar session that's easily one of the early high points for the legendary CTI label! Farrell bursts forth as one heck of a soulful cat – working on these great modal grooves that slide out wonderfully and really have a sense of flow – a style that's different than Joe's later material, but equally powerful! Part of the strength of the record comes from the lineup – a key quintet of like-mined up-and-comers that includes Chick Corea on keyboards, John McLaughlin on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – players who definitely know the farther reaches of jazz, yet hang just on the inside here with Joe – providing some amazing accompaniment for his lines on soprano, tenor, and flute. Titles include "Molten Glass", "Song Of The Wind", "Motion", "Follow Your Heart", and "Circle In The Square". Next is Outback – a drawn-out quintet side, with Chick Corea on electric piano, Buster Williams on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and Airto on percussion. Farrell was playing with Jones at the time, and the album's got some of their strong choppy reed/percussion interplay – but with a sharpness and focus that you don't always hear on Elvin's records! Tracks are all long – and titles include "Outback", "Sound Down", and "Bleeding Orchid". Penny Arcade has grooves so sharp you could cut your trousers on them! Farrell's angular reed style is in perfect form here – grooving with a small group that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Joe Beck on guitar, Steve Gadd on drums, and Don Alias on percussion – a combo that's got a harder, tighter feel than most CTI groups – a key reason why Joe's records of this time are so legendary! The album features a fantastic version of Stevie Wonder's "Too High" – one that breaks all over the beginning with these riffs by Farrell, then grooves into a CTI electric funk mode for about 13 minutes. All tracks are long – and other tracks include "Hurricane Jane", "Geo Blue", "Penny Arcade", and "Cloud Cream". Upon This Rock is wonderful – and there's a lean, edgey groove to the set that's totally great – a lot more bite than usual for CTI, thanks to these wonderfully angular lines from Joe on tenor, soprano sax, and flute – backed up with some wicked guitar work from Joe Beck, who really matches Farrell's energy – in a core quartet with Herb Bushler on bass and Jim Madison on drums. One cut features a guest group – with Herbie Hancock on piano, Steve Gadd on drums, and Don Alias on percussion – and the album includes the massively break-heavy title cut "Upon This Rock", plus "Seven Seas", "I Won't Be Back", and "Weathervane". Last up is Canned Funk – a record that's as fresh and freaky as the classic image on the cover! The riffing rhythms get going right from the start – some amazing lines from a rhythm combo that includes Joe Beck on guitar, Herb Bushler on bass, Jim Madison on drums, and the mighty Ray Mantilla on percussion – adding in these extra changes and fills that really get the tunes moving wonderfully – providing a perfect platform for Joe Farrell's wonderful work on tenor, soprano, baritone, and flute! The sax lines are as angular as the rhythms – tight, choppy, and completely funky – no wonder the record's a CTI classic that folks have dug for years! Tracks are all nice and long – and titles include "Canned Funk", "Animal", and "Spoken Silence".  ~ Dusty Groove

JOSE FELICIANO - THAT THE SPIRIT NEEDS / MEMPHIS MENU / COMPARTMENTS

A trio of wonderful albums from Jose Feliciano – all brought together here in a single set! First up is That The Spirit Needs – a sublime one from Jose! The record pushes past the easy Latin pop style of the late 60s, and features Jose working through hip rock tunes – both of his own creation, and by writers like Elton John and Cat Stevens. The real highlight of the album is an incredible reading of "Wild World" – done with a mix of fast guitar, strings, and even a bit of Brazilian-tinged scatting that breaks down in the middle and always makes us stop cold! The rest of the record's almost as good, and titles include "Daytime Dreams", "Mellow Feeling", "Come Down Jesus", "Pay Day", and "Only Once". Memphis Menue is an excellent album from Jose Feliciano – recorded with a lot of Memphis soul influences, as the title indicates, but still with that beautifullly jazzy style that he was using in his earlier LA recordings. Steve Cropper helped produced and arrange with Jose, and the Memphis Horns back up the group on a number of tracks. The real charm, though, is Jose – whose breezy vocals and sweet guitar work is right up there with his best work of the time, a sublime mix of soul, strings, jazz, and Chicano grooves. Titles include "River Song", "Magnolia", "One More Mile", "Never Leave You", "It Doesn't Matter", "Where Is My Woman", and "Movin". Compartments is sparklingly soulful work from Jose Feliciano – a key early 70s effort, and one that shows the growing sensitivity in his music – the move way past simple covers of other people's songs, even though those were pretty great too! Jose's voice has gotten even more compelling in the process, and he's also developing a bit as a songwriter too – most notably on the album's title track, which was co-written with Bill Withers. Steve Cropper helped produce, but the album's way more in Jose's bag than Cropper's – and titles include a great version of "Yes We Can Can", plus "Simple Song", "Compartments", "Sea Cruise", "I'm Leavin", "Things Are Changin", "Peace Of Mind", "Hey Look At The Sun", and "Don't Fail". ~ Dusty Groove

HAMILTON DE HOLANDA - WORLD OF PIXINGUINHA

A gorgeous tribute to the genius of the great Pixinguinha – headed by bandolim player Hamilton De Holanda, and featuring a top-shelf array of guests that includes Richard Galliano, Chucho Valdes, Omar Sosa, Stefano Bollani, and Wynton Marsalis! Given Pixinguinha's more familiar expressions on reeds – the approach here is a really nice change, and quite different than other tributes to his music over the years – very personal and poetic in the way that Hamilton approaches the tunes, and given extra special inflections by the guests. Most numbers are just duo tracks, without any larger instrumentation – which takes the choro form to its roots, on titles that include "Naquele Tempo", "Ingenuo", "Rosa", "Seu Lourenco No Vinho", "Capricho De Pixinguinha", "Cancao Da Odalisca", and "Um A Zero".  ~ Dusty Groove



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