WES MONTGOMERY - IN PARIS: THE DEFINITIVE ORTF RECORDING
Beautifully-recorded material by the great Wes Montgomery –
some fairly open-ended tracks recorded for French radio in the 60s – with guest
work from tenorist Johnny Griffin on a number of tunes! The core group here is
great enough on its own – as Wes' guitar is backed by superb piano from Harold
Mabern – who's really opening his flow at this time in his career, and makes
for some really imaginative collaboration here with Montgomery – and the rest
of the combo features tight rhythm from Arthur Harper on bass and Jimmy
Lovelace on drums. The addition of Griffin is a nice surprise – especially as
Montgomery wasn't often playing with tenor in a small group setting by this
point – and titles include "Twisted Blues", "Blue N Boogie/West
Coast Blues", "Full House", "To wane",
"Jingles", "Impressions", "Four On Six", and
"Round Midnight". © 1996-2017,
Dusty Groove, Inc.
GIZELLE SMITH - SWEET MEMPROES / S.T.A.Y
Gizelle Smith announces her return on the music scene with
this fantastic double-A side single ahead of a new album slated for release
March 30th 2018. The record sees her moving on from the classic sound of her
debut album as she’s expanded her musical palette to incorporate more
psychedelic and jazzy progressions, bold arrangements and adventurous
instrumentation. This next level of artistic development in Gizelle is a joy to
discover and signals exciting times ahead. First track “Sweet Memories” announces the return with a
bang and really showcases Smith’s vocal range and control. Coupling her
beautifully layered harmonies and powerful topline acrobatics over a funky
backdrop of tasteful guitar, solid bass and tight drums the emotive lyrics and
charged up chorus capture listeners as she pours her heart out into the mic.
Flitting between honey dripped soul during the verses before a full on frontal
funk assault from the chorus it’s a treat from the first note to the last. The flipside is definitely one for the modern soul crowd –
the bouncing “S.T.A.Y.” boasts a bassline that does more walking than your
average Labrador and a groove that wouldn’t be out of place on an Isley
Brothers or Gil Scott Heron LP. Soul man extraordinaire and respected Stones
Throw Records alumni Eric Boss also gets in on the action contributing vocals
to accompany Ms Smith. The uplifting and positive message of this song is the
sunshine to “Sweet Memories” rainy day – there’s something in this single for
listeners whatever the weather. “Sweet Memories” / “S.T.A.Y” out Dec. 1st on 45/Digital via
Jalapeno Records.
JIM SELF & JOHN CHIODINI - FLOATING IN WINTER
Floating in Winter, is Jim Self’s new collaboration with
guitarist John Chiodini. Self is a Los Angeles-based freelance musician; his
primary instrument is tuba, but he also plays a large number of low-brass and
other bass instruments. Since l974 he has worked for all the major Hollywood
studios performing on the scores of over 1,500 motion pictures and hundreds of
television shows. His solos in major films appear on the John Williams scores
to Jurassic Park, Home Alone and and was the “Voice of the Mothership” in Close
Encounters of the Third Kind. He has also appeared on recordings by Cassandra
Wilson, Maynard Ferguson, Randy Newman, Bette Midler and Frank Sinatra. “This
recording was inspired by the musical connection between John Chiodini and
myself. We met playing in David Angel’s
13 piece jazz band, I loved John’s playing and he was complimentary about mine.
A tuba and guitar duo may seem odd but it turned out to be a beautiful sound,
so we decided to make this recording. John and I have a wide palate of musical
interests and these songs reflect our love of great melodies and interesting
chord changes. The pairing of guitar and tuba frees up the low part of my
instrument and the natural blend of the two instruments creates a warm and rich
sound.” - Jim Self
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