Friday, June 30, 2017

NEW MUSIC: INNERPEACE – RARE SPIRITUAL FUNK AND JAZZ GEMS: THE SUPREME SOUND OF PRODUCER BOB SHAD; TOO SLOW TO DISCO: MORE LATE 70s WEST COAST YACHT POP YOU CAN ALMOST DANCE TO: ART PEPPER / LEE KONITZ – WEST COAST SESSIONS VOLUME 3

INNERPEACE – RARE SPIRITUAL FUNK AND JAZZ GEMS: THE SUPREME SOUND OF PRODUCER BOB SHAD

That's reedman Hadley Caliman on the front cover – looking mighty righteous, and really setting the vibe for the music on the collection – a far-reaching, deeply-soulful batch of tracks from the Mainstream Records label in the early 70s! Mainstream's maybe not as well-remembered as a spiritual jazz outlet as other imprints from the time – like Impulse or Strata East – but this set more than corrects that fact, by showing off some of the hippest, most unbridled cuts on the imprint – work that's different than some of the straighter jazz or more funk-based tracks the label also issued at the time. The presentation makes us give an even greater nod to producer and label owner Bob Shad than before – and you may well do the same, after hearing gems like "In The Back In The Corner In The Dark" by Harold Land, "Cigar Eddie" by Hadley Caliman, "Inner Peace" by Buddy Terry, "Iron Jaws" by Charles Williams, "Requiem For Dusty" by Frank Foster, "Mebakush" by Pete Yellin, "Senyah" by Roy Haynes, "BC" by Dave Hubbard, "Love Song" by Sonny Red, "Libra's Longing" by Lamont Johnson, and "Infinity" by Shelly Manne.  ~ Dusty Groove

TOO SLOW TO DISCO: MORE LATE 70s WEST COAST YACHT POP YOU CAN ALMOST DANCE TO (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

Mellow fusion, jazzy soul, and lots of warm 70s pop currents – all coming together in a great third installment of this wonderful series! The collection goes way past the familiar "yachtpop" material you might expect from the title – less top 40 AOR than the kind of more obscure album cuts that folks on the scene have really been digging up in recent years – often music issued on bigger labels, but which never fully got its due at the time – even though endless studio genius went into the creation of the tracks! Titles include "I Love You" by Weldon Irvine, "Is It You" by Lee Ritenour, "Don't Let Me Fall" by Bob Welch, "Inside You" by Cornelius Bumpus, "Quand Tu Te Laisse Aller" by Dwight Druick, "I Believe In Miracles" by Mark Capanni, "Do The Bossa Nova" by Vapour Trails, "Silky" by David Gates, "Whachersign (ext version)" by Pratt & McClain, "Special Delivery" by Billy Mernit, "Where Did You Come From" by Larry Carlton, and "Cool Breeze" by Jeremy Spencer Band.  ~ Dusty Groove

ART PEPPER / LEE KONITZ – WEST COAST SESSIONS VOLUME 3

A mighty meeting of two modern alto giants – a set cut under the leadership of Lee Konitz, but which also features some great work from Art Pepper too! Both Pepper and Konitz were two of the most distinctive players to emerge in the 50s – both in the generation after Charlie Parker first set the horn on fire with his bebop creations – but both very individual, distinct players who took the music in fresh new directions. That distinctness really comes through here – as both Lee and Art blow together wonderfully, crossing lines and taking off on solos with a gentle swing that comes from the support of Michael Lang on piano, Bob Magnsusson on bass, and John Dentz on drums. Most tracks are very alto-heavy – in a great way – and the session was originally only ever issued in Japan, as part of the Atlas Records "West Coast Today" series. Titles include "Minor Blues In F", "Whims Of Chambers", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", and "This Can't Be Love". CD features two bonus alternate takes, too!  ~ Dusty Groove


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