Elvin Jones
- Merry Go Round
A gem of an
Elvin Jones session – quite different than most of his other work from the
time! The album's got Elvin working with a larger group of mixed electric and
acoustic players – with Chick Corea on piano and electric piano, Yoshiaki Masuo
on guitar, Gene Perla on electric and acoustic bass, Dave Liebman and Joe
Farrell on saxes, Steve Grossman on tenor, Don Alias on conga, and Pepper Adams
on baritone sax. The tracks are shorter and gentler than some of Jones' other
full-on work from the time – with some great light rhythms, sweet melodies, and
a slight bit of funk mixed into the grooves. All in all, the album's a
wonderful batch of tunes – really memorable, with plenty of great moments that
we might have missed otherwise! Titles include "Who's Afraid",
"La Fiesta", "A Time For Love", "Lungs", and
"Brite Piece". ~ Dusty Groove
Three Sounds
- Vibrations
A pivotal
album from the Three Sounds – one that has the group moving past the straighter
trio format of their initial Blue Note sides, really hinting at the funkier
sounds to come on their classic albums of the late 60s! Gene Harris is
definitely taking a page from the Ramsey Lewis bag at times – playing the piano
with a wonderfully heavy left hand, which makes for a killer groove, and a feel
that's a lot more soul jazz than usual. Plus, a few tracks also feature Harris
working on organ – which really changes up the sound nicely too, and almost
puts the album somewhere in the territory that Cadet and Prestige Records were
hitting at the time! Titles include "Fever", "Pavane",
"Charade", "Let's Go Get Stoned", and "Something You
Got", plus a nice original called "The Frown". ~ Dusty Groove
Gabriele
Mitelli & Rob Mazurek - Star Splitter
Some of the
darkest sounds in years from the great Rob Mazurek – a musician who's matched
perfectly on every front by Gabriele Mitelli – who does everything that Rob
does on the record, and also throws in a bit of soprano sax as well! The music
is all improvised, and in that very deep blend of electronic and acoustic
elements that Mazurek has explored over the years – with textures so intense,
it's often difficult to figure out what's coming from where – as Rob blows
piccolo trumpet, Mitelli blows cornet, and both artists served up a wealth of
sounds on electronics, voice, and other objects too. Titles include
"Venus", "Mercury", "Mars", and
"Uranus". ~ Dusty Groove
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