02-02-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1970-1982

 

02-02-2021 JAZZ.MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1970-1982 # John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Harry Beckett, Manfredo Fest Brazilian, Hailu Mergia and The Walias,Al Di Meola, Urszula Dudziak, John Scofield,Carla Bley, Don Cherry, Latif Kahn

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1970-1982

A titan of the 20th century, the saxophonist pioneered many of the jazz revolutions of the post-hard bop era. A towering musical figure of the 20th century, saxophonist John Coltrane reset the parameters of jazz during his decade as a leader. At the outset, he was a vigorous practitioner of hard bop, gaining prominence as a sideman for Miles Davis before setting out as a leader in 1957, when he released Coltrane on Prestige and Blue Train on Blue Note...

John Coltrane 

Transition (John Coltrane)

Suite: Prayer and Meditation - Day/Peace and After/Prayer and Meditation - Evening/Affirmation /Prayer and Meditation - 4 A.M. (John Coltrane)

from Transition 1970 

Recorded in June of 1965 and released posthumously in 1970, Transition acts as a neat perforation mark between Coltrane's classic quartet and the cosmic explorations that would follow until Trane's passing in 1967. Recorded seven months after the standard-setting A Love Supreme, Transition's first half bears much in common with that groundbreaking set. Spiritually reaching and burningly intense, the quartet is playing at full steam, but still shy of the total free exploration that would follow mere months later...McCoy Tyner's gloriously roaming piano chord clusters add depth and counterpoint to Coltrane's ferocious lyrical runs on the five-part suite that makes up the album's second half. In particular on "Peace and After," Tyner matches Trane's range of expression...

A leading bop trumpet stylist with biting, dynamic lines and a crackling sound, later a champion of jazz/R&B crossover during the 1970s. Donald Byrd was considered one of the finest hard bop trumpeters of the post-Clifford Brown era. He recorded prolifically as both a leader and sideman from the mid-'50s into the mid-'60s, most often for Blue Note, where he established a reputation as a solid stylist with a clean tone, clear articulation, and a knack for melodicism. Toward the end of the '60s, Byrd became fascinated with Miles Davis' move into fusion, and started recording his own forays into the field. In the early '70s, with the help of brothers Larry and Fonce Mizell, Byrd perfected a bright, breezy, commercially potent take on fusion that was distinct from Davis, incorporating tighter arrangements and more of a smooth soul influence...

Donald Byrd 

The Emperor (Donald Byrd)

The Little Rasti (Donald Byrd)

from Ethiopian Knights 1971

Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens "The Emperor," it's immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk -- not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety -- than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his group work the same driving, polyrhythmic grooves over and over, making rhythm the focal point of the music. Although the musicians do improvise, their main objective is to keep the grooves pumping, using their solos more to create texture than harmonic complexity... in truth, even though Ethiopian Knights did move Byrd closer to R&B, it's still more jazz than funk, and didn't completely foreshadow his crossover... Byrd again leads a large ensemble, but with mostly different players than on his recent sessions; some come from the group assembled for Bobby Hutcherson's Head On album, others from the Jazz Crusaders. That's part of the reason there are fewer traces of hard bop here, but it's also clear from the title that Byrd's emerging Afrocentric consciousness was leading him -- like Davis -- to seek ways of renewing jazz's connection to the people who created it... Ethiopian Knights is another intriguing transitional effort that deepens the portrait of Byrd the acid jazz legend.

Remarkable tenor saxophonist whose passionate ballad playing and often fiery solos made him one of the most influential tenors in jazz. Joe Henderson is proof that jazz can sell without watering down the music; it just takes creative marketing. Although his sound and style were virtually unchanged from the mid-'60s, Joe Henderson's signing with Verve in 1992 was treated as a major news event by the label (even though he had already recorded many memorable sessions for other companies)...

Joe Henderson 

Tress-Cun-Deo-La (Joe Henderson)

Turned Around (Joe Henderson / Dave Holland)

from Multiple 1973

Multiple is a bellwether album for jazz fans. You can tell a lot about listeners' ear and where their tastes reside based on whether they're big fans of Multiple, indifferent toward it, or don't like it at all. Joe Henderson's career arc has three major nodes -- his hard bopping '60s era, his '70s fusion stint, and his later reincarnation as a Grammy-winning, critically acclaimed, standard-blowing sage. Of these three, Henderson's '70s run is often underappreciated or, in some cases, dismissed and even mildly maligned. The detractors are usually those with more traditional and, at times, stodgy ears. Hip cats -- "with-it cats," as they said in the '70s -- loved Multiple Joe, Afrocentric Joe, semi-militant Joe, grooving Joe, burnin' Joe. Multiple is probably Henderson's greatest album from this era and its fans share a cult-kinship. Whereas most fusion artists of the day were spiking their jazz with rock guitar and "elements" of funk, there was a certain set (Gary Bartz, for example) who offered concentrated, pungent funk. You won't find a bassline like Dave Holland's "Turned Around" on a Return to Forever album. It's the Multiple rhythm section (Holland, a maniacally drumming Jack DeJohnette, and pianist Larry Willis) that makes it such a nasty set. The album's classic cut, "Tress-Cum-Deo-La," doesn't walk or bop; it struts with a pronounced limp, like the fellas who swaggered up urban avenues with tilted fedoras... 

Leader of the Modern Jazz Quartet who also revolutionized the vibraphone with his floating solos, sustained notes, and darting rhythms. Before Milt Jackson, there were only two major vibraphonists: Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo. Jackson soon surpassed both of them in significance and, despite the rise of other players (including Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton), still won the popularity polls throughout the decades. Jackson (or "Bags" as he was long called) was at the top of his field for 50 years, playing bop, blues, and ballads with equal skill and sensitivity.

Milt Jackson 

Olinga (Dizzy Gillespie)

Lost April (Eddie DeLange / Emil Newman / Herbert W. Spencer)

The Steel Bender (Milt Jackson)

from Olinga 1974

Originally out on the CTI label, this set features vibraphonist Milt Jackson with some of his favorite musicians (pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Mickey Roker, and Jimmy Heath on tenor and soprano) along with an occasional string section. The performances are pretty straight-ahead for CTI, with Bags and company performing the ballad "Lost April," Dizzy Gillespie's "Olinga," a Walton original, and three recent songs by Jackson. Although Cedar Walton does not sound as formidable on electric piano as on acoustic and the other solos overall are a bit safe, this is a nice album.

The "always smiling" Barbados-born trumpeter emigrated to the U.K. in 1954 to become a pivotal figure in the development of British jazz. As fierce and fiery as any trumpet and flügelhorn stylist yet capable of stirring lyricism, Harry Beckett was an integral part of Britain's jazz community following his arrival from Barbados in 1954 when he was 19 until his death in 2010.

Harry Beckett

No Time for Hello (Harry Beckett)

Changes Are Still Happening (Harry Beckett)

Bracelets of Sound (Harry Beckett)

 Joy Unlimited 1975

Trumpeter and flugelhornist Harry Beckett was a Barbados-born British émigré whose gorgeous tone almost always put him in historic company. He played with Mingus and the leading lights of the '60s, '70s, and '80s British jazz scene, including Graham Collier, Mike Westbrook, John Surman, Stan Tracey, Courtney Pine, and Django Bates. He also worked with rock musicians and electronic, dub, and reggae producer Adrian Sherwood, who helmed Beckett's final album in 2008. 1975's Joy Unlimited is Beckett's classic... Produced by John Jack for Cadillac Records, Joy Unlimited's title aptly reflects its creator's always cheerful persona. Its six Beckett-composed tracks offer an indelible portrait of his hearing and playing of jazz, as well as where he wanted to take it. He's backed by a quintet that includes guitarist Ray Russell, bassist Daryl Runswick, pianist/synthesist Brian Miller, drummer Nigel Morris, and conguero Martin David. "No Time for Hello" kicks off with a fleet pizzicato run from Runswick's upright, establishing a bluesy, minor mode that draws heavily on rock and Latin rhythms. Beckett's solo reaches for high notes immediately atop fat Rhodes piano chords and crisp, accelerated interplay from the drummers. Russell's scorching wah-wah guitar break underscores Beckett's own solo before Runswick moves his bass into arco territory, meeting the band in the outro...  "Changes Are Still Happening" is brief, elegiac ballad, with Russell playing acoustic guitar and Beckett's warm, expressive horn. "Bracelets of Sound," with its spooky, spacy, electric guitar introduces the band, who erase the vibe with a midtempo funk vamp. Russell's soulful solo trades fours with Miller's punchy Rhodes..

One of the better-kept secrets among Brazil's bossa nova pioneers, Manfredo Fest's popularity and profile rose dramatically in the 1990s. Legally blind since birth, Fest's greatest early influence was George Shearing, but he developed his own approach apart from Shearing and other Brazilian jazz pianists, unleashing relentlessly flowing streams of bop-flavored notes against a Brazilian pulse, occasionally letting his classical roots show.

Manfredo Fest 

Brazilian Dorian Dream (Manfredo Fest)

Jungle Cat (Manfredo Fest)

Brazilian No. 1 (Manfredo Fest)

from Brazilian Dorian Dream 1976

German-Brazilian composer, producer, keyboardist, and arranger Manfredo Fest issued more than a dozen albums during his lifetime. 1976's pioneering fusion work Brazilian Dorian Dream along with 1978's jazz-funk dancefloor classic Manifestations are widely considered classics... The set's title reflects Fest's obsession: To build on the principle of modal diatonic scales in Dorian mode through Brazilian rhythms, electric jazz, emergent funk, and the lyric influences of European Baroque and Romantic music. Combining with vision and a technical command of electric keyboards and effects units, he delivered a startling, privately released slab of global musical futurism... Accompanied by electric bassist Thomas Kini, drummer Alejo Poveda, and American vocalist Roberta Davis, Fest delivers a kaleidoscopic exercise in groove as he weaves banks of keyboards through a modal samba structure. Davis wordlessly expands the melodic idea with triple-time percussion and a lanky bass line, shifting its breezy feel toward a tight, glossy samba. Had "Jungle Cat" been released as a 12" single, it would have been a dancefloor smash in Europe (and almost was when pirated copies began surfacing in the '80s). ..  The nine-minute closer, "Braziliana No. 1," juxtaposes Baroque and jazz harmonies. Fest's knotty solo synth and Rhodes interludes -- complete with dazzling arpeggios -- meet punchy vamps, sweeping Brasil '66-esque vocals, rubbery bass, and skittering breaks. It's a jam aimed squarely at the dancefloor -- at least until a bit later when it gradually boils down into burning Latin jazz. Few records live up to the "holy grail" hype, but Brazilian Dorian Dream does as a fusion classic that belongs in a category of its own.

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An innovative Ethiopian keyboardist, accordionist, and bandleader, Hailu Mergia rose to prominence in the early '70s fronting the Walias Band, an instrumental funk and jazz ensemble and fixture of the Addis Ababa hotel circuit. Immigrating to the U.S. in the early '80s, Mergia issued a series of homemade solo releases while working as a taxi driver, later rediscovered by the Awesome Tapes from Africa label, whose reissues in the 2010s helped him mount a successful late-career surge...

Hailu Mergia and The Walias 

Tche Belew

Lomi Tera-tera

Ibakish Tarekigne

from Tche Belew 1977

Hailu's classic early recordings--Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument; Tche Belew; and, Wede Harer Guzo--3 CDs for a great price.

Spellbinding jazz guitarist who is revered for his blazing, complex fretwork in the vein of jazz fusion, Latin fusion, and acoustic styles.

Al di Meola 

Egyptian Danza (Al Di Meola)

Dark Eye Tango (Al Di Meola)

Casino (Al Di Meola)

from Casino 1978

Following up the superb Elegant Gypsy was no mean feat, but Al di Meola gave it his best shot with the similarly styled Casino, released in 1978. Featuring a core band of Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, and Barry Miles (whom di Meola came up with before the guitarist was invited to join Return to Forever), the playing is sharp and fiery, matching the youthful intensity of the leader... His trademark staccato phrasing and high-velocity improvisations are what is noticed upon first listen, but di Meola does have an excellent sense of phrasing that is undeniably present. Contrary to popular opinion, he knows how to use his technique to good effect. Casino is not as strong as either Elegant Gypsy or Romantic Warrior, but is nevertheless well worth picking up for fans either of di Meola himself or of the entire 1970s fusion scene.

The former wife of Polish jazz violinist Michal Urbaniak, Urszula Dudziak has established her own legacy as a vocalist. Gifted with a four-and-a-half octave voice, she was dubbed "jazz singer of the year" by the Los Angeles Times in 1979.

Urszula Dudziak 

Kasia's Dance (Michał Urbaniak)

Future Talk (Urszula Dudziak)

The Cats

from Future Talk 1979

The unusual singer Urszula Dudziak is heard on this set performing four unaccompanied solos, a duet with Michal Urbaniak's lyricon and six group pieces with such players as altoist Zbigniew Namyslovski, guitarist John Abercrombie, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland and bassist Marcus Miller. Although her backup crew is strong, Dudziak is the dominant force for few other singers could create with the sounds that she can. The eccentric avant-garde music (last out on this out-of-print LP) takes several listens to absorb.

A dazzling electric guitarist with a steely tone and fluid lines to mark his distinctive post-bop style. Known for his distinctive, slightly distorted sound, guitarist John Scofield is a masterful jazz improviser who has straddled the lines between straight-ahead post-bop, fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. One of the big three of late-20th-century jazz guitarists (along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), Scofield's influence grew in the '90s and continued into the 21st century.

John Scofield 

Beckon Call (Gary Campbell)

Never (Steve Swallow)

Fat Dancer (John Scofield)

from Bar Talk 1980

1980's Bar Talk features a young John Scofield already showing the virtuosity on guitar that subsequently made him a giant in his field. Scofield -- who honed his chops with artists like Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Chet Baker, and Charles Mingus -- displays his talents here as both a player and composer. Scofield is joined in the venture by Steve Swallow on bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums -- a perfectly balanced trio...  The album was well received at the time of its printing in 1980. Its influence has grown, becoming a jazz guitar classic, often listed as a favorite recording by professional critics, other musicians, and fans alike...The musician likes to joke around and have fun, but make no mistake, John Scofield is serious about his music.

Genre-bending jazz pianist and composer, known for her avant-garde work, whose writing style is unique and highly regarded.

Carla Bley 

Reactionary Tango (In Three Parts) (Carla Bley / Steve Swallow)

Útviklingssang (Carla Bley)

Walking Batteriewoman (Carla Bley)

from Social Studies 1981

Not everything Carla Bley has done has been artistically successful, but much of it has -- and the imaginative, good-humored pianist/organist/composer certainly deserves credit for daring to take so many risks. Bley's risk-taking serves her quite well on Social Studies, an unorthodox and adventurous pearl that is as rewarding as it is cerebral. Highlights of this LP range from "Reactionary Tango" (an abstract take on Argentinian music) to the melancholy "Utviklingssang" to the angular quasi-hard bop number "Walking Batteriewoman." This time, Bley leads a nonet, and the star soloists include Carlos Ward (soprano and alto sax), Tony Dagradi (tenor sax, clarinet), Gary Valente (trombone), and frequent allies Michael Mantler (trumpet) and Steve Swallow (electric bass). Bley doesn't allot herself much solo space, but the results are appealing when she does.

One of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century, thanks to his imagination and passion for exploration. Imagination and a passion for exploration made Don Cherry one of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century. A founding member of Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking quartet of the late '50s, Cherry continued to expand his musical vocabulary until his death in 1995.

Don Cherry, Latif Kahn 

Untitled / Inspiration from Home

Air Mail

Sangam

from Music / Sangam 1982

Awesome trippy slow pulsing space jazz with electronics, spacey vocals, and Indian percussion! This is a great reisue of a little known Don Cherry album that was recorded in collaboration with Indian master percussionist Latif Khan. Recorded in 1978 and released in the early eighties on a small European label, this is the nearest thing to a follow-up to Don Cherry's essential Brown Rice album. Like that album, it fuses cosmic electronics, hypnotic percussion, and spacey vocals to create a kind of forward-looking worldbeat jazz that sounds fresher than ever!