Wednesday, June 21, 2017

NEW MUSIC RELEASES: LATIMORE – TASTE OF ME: GREAT AMERICAN SONGS; MAX ROACH – AWARD WINNING DRUMMER; THE JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH – LET IT OUT

LATIMORE – TASTE OF ME: GREAT AMERICAN SONGS

Latimore looks surprisingly great after all these years – and he sounds surprisingly great, too – still very much possessed of that fantastically deep voice that made his 70s soul records so wonderful – but turned here towards a more jazz-based setting! We'll be honest in saying that we're always super suspicious of any record with "great", "American", and "songs" or "songbook" in the title – but this album's something very different than the rest – a way of finding one of the great soul voices of his generation find a way to hit newly mature work, and maybe re-launch his career in a wonderful way! There's plenty of bluesy phrasing in Latimore's vocals, and backing is by a small group that features lots of guitar work from Ish Ledesma, who also produced the record – acting as another old soul star finding a new path. Titles include "Dig A Little Deeper", "The Very Thought Of You", "A Taste Of Me", "At Last", "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", "You Are So Beautiful", "Let's Straighten It Out", and "Cry Me A River".  ~ Dusty Groove

MAX ROACH – AWARD WINNING DRUMMER

An obscure set from Max Roach – but right up there with his best work of the late 50s on Mercury and other labels! The album features the "award winning" drummer in a quintet with Booker Little on trumpet, Ray Draper on tuba, George Coleman on tenor, and Art Davis on bass – a cool piano-less group that hits some really unusual notes! Draper's horn provides a deep bottom to the record, mixing with Davis' exotic tones nicely – and the album represents Roach's increasing penchant for experimentation in the post Clifford Brown years – tunes with an offbeat edge that's really great. Titles include "Pies Of Quincy", "Tuba De Nod", "Milano", and "Sadiga".  ~ Dusty Groove

THE JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH – LET IT OUT

Jimmy Castor's a cat who's tried many styles in music – and handled them all surprisingly well – from sweet soul to heavy funk, to Latin grooves, and even the funky club style of this late 70s album for TK Records! The set has Jimmy giving a nod to the disco generation – no surprise, given that TK was a disco powerhouse – but the overall approach is maybe tied more to his mid 70s records for Atlantic – with all the warm humor and funk of those albums! On some tracks, it almost feels like Castor's trying to be a one man answer to the P-Funk army – but other tracks are more personal overall. Titles include "Time", "The Mystery Of Me", "Sweetooth", "The Real McCoy", "Future Place", "Let It Out", and "Bertha Butt Encounters Vadar".  ~ Dusty Groove


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