ANA COSTA –
PELOS CAMINHOS DO SOM
A tribute to
the legendary Martinho Da Vila – served up in a sparkling samba mode that does
way more than just go back to the roots, and instead really opens up these
tunes with a fresh, personal sense of interpretation! The instrumentation
blends classic percussion with some sweet electric guitar lines – used
sparingly, but in a different way than acoustic strings – never commercial, but
with a nice edge that makes the music groove beautifully as Ana brings her
soulful vocals into play! The set features guest appearances from Mart'Nalia,
Marcelinho Moreira, Zelia Duncan, Alceu Maia, Agriao, and others – and titles
include "Meu Lairaira", "Fazendo As Malas", "Pelos
Caminhos Do Som", "Semba Dos Ancestrais", "Ex Amor",
"Canta Canta Minha Gente", and "Madalena Do Jucu". ~ Dusty Groove
CHICO
HAMILTON - PASSIN’ THRU / MAN FROM TWO WORLDS
Two Chico Hamilton
treasures – back to back on a single CD! Passin Thru is wonderful work from one
of Chico Hamilton's greatest groups! The record features Chico's quintet with
Charles Lloyd on tenor and flute, Gabor Szabo on guitar, the great (and
under-recorded) Al Stinson on bass and George Bohannon on trombone – and the
tracks have that spaced out, slightly-Spanish tinge that Chico was crafting
during his trippier years at Impulse. Szabo's guitar is a key element of this
sound – but you can't discount Chico's amazingly open approach to the drums,
and his freewheeling manner of spinning out a lively dancing rhythm. Titles
include "Lady Gabor", "El Toro", "Passin Thru",
and "Lonesome Child". Man From Two Worlds is a pivotal album for
Chico – one that has him working with his hip group that included Charles Lloyd
and Gabor Szabo, both of whom take Chico into a modal mode that would
completely transform his sound! Lloyd's the center star on the album's version
of his own "Forest Flower" – done here in "sunrise" and
"sunset" passages – but it's really Chico's increasingly offbeat
sense of rhythm that allows Lloyd and Szabo to develop their intense solos and
searching grooves. Other titles include "Mallet Dance", "Love
Song To A Baby", "Man From Two Worlds", and "Child's Play". ~ Dusty Groove
JOHNNY
HAMMOND – GEARS
One of our
favorite albums of all time – and a record that just gets better and better the
more we listen to it – and we've listened to it for years! Johnny
"Hammond" Smith began his career as a simple soul jazz organist – but
by the time of this album, he'd teamed up with the mighty Larry Mizell, the
genius arranger/producer who'd breathed new life into the careers of Donald
Byrd and Bobbi Humphrey. Mizell works with Hammond in the same way he does with
other jazz artists – by taking a groove that works best with their solo style,
and slowly layering other instrumentation and effects on top of it, so that
when the solo kicks in, it's supported on waves and waves of funky sounds and
soulful grooves. Mizell and his brother Fonce both play keyboards on the record,
and the rest of the group includes monster fusion players like Harvey Mason,
Roger Glenn, Hadley Caliman, and Jerry Peters. The real treat is Johnny, though
– as his solos are heavenly, the best of his 70s work, stripped mean and lean,
laid in at just the right points. Includes the breakbeat classic "Shifting
Gears", the house classic "Los Conquistadores Chocolates", and
funky numbers "Fantasy" and "Tell Me What To Do". This
stunning version adds in some killer bonus tracks – 6 never-heard cuts from the
Milestone vaults, including "Song For My Family", "Funky
Native", "Detroit Rainbow", "Can't We Smile (alt)",
and slow and fast versions of "A Child's Love". ~ Dusty Groove
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