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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