Tuesday, April 14, 2015

NEW RELEASES: TOWER OF POWER – EAST BAY GREASE / BUMP CITY (ORIGINAL RECORDING MASTER LIMITED EDITION); TOM TALLITSCH – ALL TOGETHER NOW; TIM BERNE’S SNAKEOIL – YOU’VE BEEN WATCHING ME

TOWER OF POWER – EAST BAY GREASE / BUMP CITY (ORIGINAL RECORDING MASTER LIMITED EDITION)

For over four decades, Tower Of Power have been the one of the premier soul, funk and rock bands of our time. Captivating audiences all over the world, the mighty Bay Area ensemble continues to tour extensively and release great music but it all started with the two classic soul masterpieces you now have in your hand…1970’s East Bay Grease and 1972’s Bump City. East Bay Grease reigns as one of the most notable debuts in funk history. With six super long jams from the pens of founders Emilio Castillo (alto sax/vocals) and Stephen Kupka (baritone sax/vocals), the album was a perfect vehicle for the band to be one of the first artists to get signed to the late Bill Graham’s San Francisco Records label. It also did well on the underground radio format as well as r&b outlets across the country. Solid champions like Knock Yourself Out, Back On The Street Again and the soulful ballad groove of Sparkling In The Sand and the James Brown vibe of The Price made this album truly memorable. While only a member for this one Lp, Rufus Miller does a stellar job on vocals. Long time members David Garibaldi debuts his awesome TOP drum sound on this masterwork, along with the incredible five horn attack of Castillo and Kupka, with co-horts Greg Adams, Skip Mesquite and David Padron. Bump City was their debut release for the Warner Bros. label and it also included their first hit single You’re Still A Young Man. The band changed things up a bit for this fine album including a new lead singer with Rick Stevens as more success materialized for this hardworking band. Radio was more receptive as tunes like Down To The Nightclub and You Got To Funkifize made this the funk album of choice for many programmers in 1972. Frequent touring at larger venues and more exposure on major market radio stations and television made Tower Of Power a very popular entity in a very short time, which would reward their hard work with over forty years of success. Friday Music is no stranger to the soulful and funk sounds of the legendary superstars Tower Of Power. Therefore it is with much honor to continue our Tower Of Power & Friday Music Original Master Series with their first two albums in a first time two-fer collection East Bay Grease & Bump City (2 Lp’s on 1 CD). Impeccably mastered by Joe Reagoso (Tower Of Power, Isley Brothers) from the original San Francisco Records and Warner Bros. tapes, we’ve also included the original Lp cover graphics to further enhance your Tower Of Power experience. Knock Yourself Out! ~ Amazon

TOM TALLITSCH – ALL TOGETHER NOW

A great one from tenorist Tom Tallistch – a player we love more and more with each new record! Tom's not just a hell of a player, but a great writer too – and his compositions here are filled with a sense of life and soul that's much deeper than you might expect from the album's cover – that kind of subtle brilliance that's really making the Posi-tone label one of the best in contemporary jazz these days – especially with artists like Tallistch on their roster! The group also features work from other great labelmates – Mike DiRubbo on alto, Michael Dease on trombone, and Brian Charette on piano and organ – on a set of excellent tracks that include "Passages", "Slippery Rock", "Big Sky", "Border Crossing", "Curmudgeon", and "Dunes".  ~ Dusty Groove

TIM BERNE’S SNAKEOIL – YOU’VE BEEN WATCHING ME


Tim Berne really seems to have found his great energy of old while working with his Snakeoil group – that richly-expressive sense of tones and timings that made him such a powerful force at the start, and which has really gotten us listening to his music all over again these days! Berne's on alto, but that's only part of the equation here – as the group also features these amazing lines from Oscar Noriega on clarinet and bass clarinet – used at a sharper level, to bring out even more edge than Tim's instrument. The group also has some excellent piano from Matt Mitchell – whose acoustic lines are a masterpiece of space and strength – sometimes balanced by his own electronics, and use of vibes, timpani, and other percussion by Ches Smith, the group's drummer. The guitars of Ryan Ferreira are used selectively, but in a way that only increases their power – and titles include "Lost In Redding", "Angles", "You've Been Watching Me", "Semi-Self Detached", and "False Impressions".  ~ Dusty Groove


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