An obscure mid 80s session from the former members of The Moments – recorded with a style that's a bit more electric and a bit more mellow than before – but which really lets their wonderful vocals still take center stage! The style here is almost in a smooth steppers mode, but the rhythms are sometimes more complicated – and although the electric keys and beats sometimes get in the way of the great harmonies we know the trio is capable of, there's still a fair bit more depth and soul going on here than most other mainstream soul of the period. Titles include "Celebrate Our Love", "Take It To The Limit", "Let's Make Love Tonight", "Why Must I Wait", "Waiting For Dawn", "We've Got Tonight", and "Someone's Missing Your Love". ~ Dusty Groove
Guitarist Cecil Alexander has a nice light touch here – not loose, but with a freely chromatic sort of vibe that really has his strings opening up with a heck of a lot of colors and brightness – set up next to the Hammond B3 of Will Gorman and drums of Steven Crammer! With that quality, the record's a bit different than most other organ/guitar trio sessions – in that the guitar is definitely first, and really setting the tune – never too overwhelmed by the Hammond, but nicely inspired by its actions to take flight, especially on some of Alexander's original tunes. Titles include a great reading of the Bobby Hutcherson classic "Till Then" – plus originals "Captain Bailey", "Bright Green", "Shug", "9th Round", "Talk Shop", and "Nansen". ~ Dusty Groove
Saxophonist Anthony Braxton has recorded famous duets with electronic musicians over the years – but here, Braxton handles the electronics himself, while also blowing a variety of saxes – as does his musical partner James Fei! The set features one long piece, recorded live in San Francisco – a performance of Braxton's "Composition 429", which, as with most of his creations, is more of a springboard for improvisation than a set of notes guiding the performers – which leaves both musicians plenty of space to really open up in all these amazing ways, often with a sense of harmony that makes for a really organic sense of creation! ~ Dusty Groove
A roaring quartet session from drummer Billy Drummond – one that starts with a great take on one of our favorite Jackie McLean tunes of all time, then continues to soar through a fantastic batch of material! Drummond is perfectly matched with drummer Dezron Douglas, and the two seem to pulsate as one – with Douglas' warmth bringing even more to Billy's drums than usual – cut through by the sharper saxophone lines of Dayna Stephens, as he mixes fire and soul – and punctuated in all the right ways by pianist Micah Thomas. This isn't a standard quartet session at all, and we mean that in the best way possible – as the group makes their way through tunes that include "Little Melonae", "Reconfirmed", "Clara's Room", "Valse Sinestre", "Never Ends", "Frankenstein", and "Changes For Trane & Monk". ~ Dusty Groove
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