Wayne Shorter - Second Genesis (Vee Jay, 1960)

This is the first CD I have posted. There won't be many but this is a great album and I've yet to come across it on vinyl. Really beautiful, melodic stuff. Check it out here.

George Benson Quartet - It's Uptown (Columbia, 1965)

Here's a nice album of early George Benson in a mostly straight ahead jazz style but with a couple vocal tracks thrown in to round it out. Honestly, the vocal tracks are the highlights for me here, but that's not to say the instrumental tracks are anything short of excellent. The playing is superb as you'd expect but I found a few of the arrangements to be pretty stock. It is, at any rate, a good listen. Check out the great version of Summertime below and grab the rest here if it's up your alley.

Kenny Burrell - Out Of This World (Prestige, 1968)

This session was originally released as Bluesy Burrell on the Prestige sub-label Moodsville in 1962, featuring Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone. Considering there is little info to be found on this reissue, we'll have a look at the AMG review for the orginal release (minus the parts that concern the CD reissue).

Review by Jim Todd
This session is valuable for the majestic playing of tenor great Coleman Hawkins, who performs on half of the eight tracks. While originally released on the Prestige subsidiary Moodsville -- a label that specialized in recordings with an intimate, reflective atmosphere -- the Moodsville sound doesn't sit comfortably on Hawkins. His playing is brilliantly relaxed, but it's not mood music. Leader Kenny Burrell's playing is much more in line with the Moodsville groove. The guitarist is not amplified as much as he is on his Prestige dates from this time. In fact, he performs on a nylon-string instrument almost as much as he does on his hollow-body electric. Unlike Hawkins, Burrell's subdued contribution is made to measure for this date. Listeners expecting to hear Burrell the hard bopper won't. The key moments come during the interaction between the guitarist and tenor player, especially during their exchanges on Burrell's "Montono Blues." The rhythm section, Hawkins' working band from this period (pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Major Holley, and drummer Eddie Locke), provide impeccable, sublime support.

Have a listen and then peep the rest here if you like.

Yusef Lateef Plays for Lovers (Prestige, 1957)

I couldn't find any information on this particular record, but basically it's a compilation of love songs culled from the Prestige releases; Cry! Tender, Eastern Sounds, Other Sounds, Into Something and Meditation. Sorry for the shitty picture, the sleeve is one of those laminated types that is the worst for photographing.

Here's a bio from AMG:

Yusef Lateef has long had an inquisitive spirit and he was never just a bop or hard bop soloist. Lateef, who does not care much for the name "jazz," has consistently created music that has stretched (and even broke through) boundaries. A superior tenor-saxophonist with a soulful sound and impressive technique, Lateef by the 1950s was one of the top flutists around. He also developed into the best jazz soloist to date on oboe, an occasional bassoonist and introduced such instruments as the argol (a double clarinet that resembles a bassoon), shanai (a type of oboe) and different types of flutes. Lateef played "world music" before it had a name and his output was much more creative than much of the pop and folk music that passes under that label in the 1990s.

Yusef Lateef grew up in Detroit and began on tenor when he was 17. He played with Lucky Millinder (1946), Hot Lips Page, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie's big band (1949-50). He was a fixture on the Detroit jazz scene of the 1950s where he studied flute at Wayne State University. Lateef began recording as a leader in 1955 for Savoy (and later Riverside and Prestige) although he did not move to New York until 1959. By then he already had a strong reputation for his versatility and for his willingness to utilize "miscellaneous instruments." Lateef played with Charles Mingus in 1960, gigged with Donald Byrd and was well-featured with the Cannonball Adderley Sextet (1962-64). As a leader his string of Impulse recordings (1963-66) were among the finest of his career although Lateef's varied Atlantic sessions (1967-76) usually also had some strong moments. He spent some time in the 1980s teaching in Nigeria. His Atlantic records of the late '80s were closer to mood music (or new age) than jazz but in the 1990s (for his own YAL label) Yusef Lateef has recorded a wide variety of music (all originals) including some strong improvised music with the likes of Ricky Ford, Archie Shepp and Von Freeman.

This is one of my favourite tunes off this record, previously released on Eastern Sounds.

I ripped my original Prestige vinyl record @320 for you here.

Tyrone Davis - I Had It All The Time (Dakar, 1972)

For whatever reason, this record has been sitting in a pile since I got it. I think I maybe gave it a cursory listen the day it came home but didn't give it a fair shake. It's actually pretty good! There's no obvious hit that jumps out at you, though according to AMG, the title track was in fact a hit:

Tyrone Davis scored another smash R&B hit with the title track, although it wasn't a chart topper. Davis was about to exit the Dakar label and did only one more album for them before signing a big money deal with Columbia. This is prototype early '70s soul, sparsely produced and wonderfully performed.



You can give it a tear here if you like.

I mean it, for real this time.

I'm going to record some records tonight and hopefully have at least one posted before bed.

New Posts Coming Soon!

I have been very busy with work and have not had much time for records lately but hopefully this weekend will allow some time to post a couple.

Yusef Lateef - A flat, G flat and C (impulse!, 1966)

Here we got another great Impulse release, also from 1966. On this date, Yusef plays alto and tenor sax, flute, oboe and theremin. Please do yourself a favour and listen to this excellent jazz record. 320k rip of my original impluse LP here.

Gabor Szabo - Spellbinder (impulse!, 1966)

I got nothing to say that isn't said ten times better by Thom Jurek at Allmusic. Hope they don't mind us borrowing.

Released just six months after Gypsy '66, Gabor Szabo's second album as a leader (after leaving a sublime Chico Hamilton band that also included Charles Lloyd) remains one of his finest moments in the studio. Szabo utilized the tales of bassist Ron Carter and his old boss Hamilton on drums, as well as a pair of fine Latin percussionists -- Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja. The groove quotient was very high on Spellbinder, maybe even higher than on later albums such as Jazz Raga or Sorcerer. This set is all Szabo, drifting, wafting, and soaring above all that rhythm; the track selection provides ample space for Szabo's highly individualized Eastern modal style to shine. The set opens with the title track, a snaky guitar masterpiece with plenty of droning strings and pinched chords that are followed by open string flourishes. Carter holds the entire band together as Hamilton plays in counterpoint to the percussionists. This is followed with two nuggets from the pop book of the day, the Coleman/Leigh classic "Witchcraft" and "It Was a Very Good Year." From the performances here, it's apparent that Szabo was deeply influenced by singers, and Frank Sinatra was at his pinnacle during this time. There's the emerging '60s psychedelic sound in Szabo's playing, but it is underlaid with bossa rhythms and swells. These tracks, while flavored with Latin and pop stylings, are gorgeous guitar jazz. Szabo gets back into his own mystic thang with "Gypsy Queen" (the opening droning moments of which the Doors lifted entirely for "The End"). Here the Latin rhythms and guitar go head to head, point to counterpoint. A pronounced yet elusive melody line propels a series of polyrhythms forward into an abyss of melody, mode, and frighteningly intense legato phrasing, leaving the listener breathless. He takes the edge off with Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang (She Shot Me Down)." Szabo sings here in his plaintive Hungarian-inflected English, and the tune becomes something other than a pop song, but a tome on despair and loss. The funky "Cheetah" follows with gorgeous arpeggios, pointedly turning into chords of distinction as Hamilton rides the crash cymbal into territories unknown and double-times the band until it notches up the intensity. This set follows with one more Szabo original ("Yearning") and a trio of standards, with a heartbreakingly beautiful read of "My Foolish Heart" and a medley of "Autumn Leaves" and "Speak to Me of Love." Szabo's read on jazz in the '60s was brilliant. He embodied all of its most popular aspirations with a genuine spirit of innovation and adventure. Spellbinder is a masterpiece.



Check out a 320k rip of my mono impulse! vinyl here. It's a beauty.

Junior Mance - That Lovin' Feelin' (Milestone, 1973)

This record, aside from being a decent piano-driven jazz album, has a kind of interesting story to it. According to the notes on the back of the sleeve, this is the same set of songs that appear on the LP The Good Life, issued on Tuba records in 1965, but these are different versions featuring drums and percussion that were overdubbed long after the original session. I noticed when I first got this that the drums sounded pretty amazing and more upfront than usual for this type of album but the overdubs are very well done and you probably wouldn't know without reading the sleeve.

Anyway, have a listen below and if you want to check out the rest, grab it here.

Boomp3.com

Review from Alex Henderson at Allmusic here:
As a rule, people who appreciate Ray Bryant and Gene Harris have an easy time getting into Junior Mance. That's because Mance is, like Bryant and Harris, a very lyrical and blues-minded soul-jazz/hard bop pianist -- and he has never been one those elitist, myopic jazz snobs who believes that rock, R&B, and gospel have no right to exist. In fact, Mance makes an effort to attract rock and R&B fans on That Lovin' Feelin', a 1972 project that finds the pianist joined by Bob Cranshaw, Aaron Bell, or Bob Cunningham on bass; Harold White, Oliver Jackson, or Jimmy Lovelace on drums; and Ralph MacDonald on percussion. Gratefully, Mance doesn't reach out to rock and R&B fans by running away from his jazz background. That Lovin' Feelin' is essentially an album of acoustic-oriented jazz, but it is acoustic-oriented soul-jazz/hard bop that grooves in a funky, churchy, down-home fashion. Thankfully, That Lovin' Feelin' is not the sort of album that finds the artist playing note-for-note covers of rock and R&B hits and calling it "jazz" -- when Mance tackles Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," he brings a real jazz mentality to the table. Mance is as swinging on major rock and soul hits as he is on Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" and bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "Mean Old Frisco Blues," which is an interesting choice for a jazz instrumentalist. Originally released on vinyl in the early '70s, That Lovin' Feelin' was reissued on CD in 2002 -- that year, Fantasy reissued That Lovin' Feelin' and 1961-1962's orchestral The Soul of Hollywood back-to-back on a 69-minute Milestone CD. Although not quite essential, That Lovin' Feelin' is an enjoyable, swinging effort that deserves credit for having an interesting variety of material.

Sarah Vaughan - A Time In My Life (Mainstream, 1971)

Here's a neat Sarah Vaughan record from the early seventies. It's mostly fairly uptempo but there's some mellow numbers too. That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be is I think my fave cut. Usually I want to put my favourite tune as the preview track but this time I'm going for a shorter track just for a taste. On Thinking It Over is the second song on the album and it's a beauty.

Boomp3.com

If that strikes your fancy then you should peep the rest of it here. 320k rip from my original Mainstream vinyl.

Here is what they say about this LP at Dusty Groove:
Sarah Vaughn's looking pretty groovy on the cover of this album, and she's sounding pretty groovy too -- thanks to some sweet 70s backings from Ernie Wilkins! The style isn't exactly funky, but it's got some fully soulful sounds, and some great electric moments too -- modes that almost feel more like some of the best Kudu Records vocal sets from the time, instead of the usual Mainstream Records groove. Sarah really fits well in this sort of setting -- stretching out into groovier territory than before with the same sense of change that Ella Fitzgerald or Marlena Shaw were bringing to their music at the time. Players include Jerome Richardson on saxes, Buddy Childers on trumpet, Benny Powell on trombone, Jimmy Cobb on percussion, and Earl Palmer on drums -- and titles include "Inner City Blues", "Magical Connection", "Universal Prisoner", "Tomorrow City", "That's The Way I've Always Heard It", "Imagine", "On Thinking It Over", and "If Not For You".

Les McCann - Talk to the People (Atlantic, 1972)

This here is my favourite Les McCann record and it is some funky, soulful shit. The title track is especially uplifting but the whole thing is just good, positive music. I hope that you can get as much good out of it as I have.

Here's what Richard at AMG has to say about it.
While Invitation to Openness was Les McCann's progressive statement of 1972, this was his populist sermon, with a title to match. With four vocals among the seven tracks, Talk to the People preaches earthily in the funky soul/jazz and R&B languages of the time, with some social comment besides. Having gone completely over to the Rhodes electric piano and Hohner clavinet, McCann became a fervent convert -- indeed, he and Stevie Wonder were the funky-butt champs of the clavinet in the 1970s -- and he could beat on them with the rhythmic snap of a conga drummer. "Shamading" may be the funkiest, hip-shaking thing Les has ever recorded; the cool, swaggering funkathon "North Carolina" runs a close second; and the best of the vocals is a very gritty and convincing treatment of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Although there are some weak links in this chain of tunes, the highs are sky-high, and they represent some of Les' peak studio performances.

Preview Talk to the People with this vid while you link up with a 320 rip of my original Atlantic vinyl here.

Lionel Hampton - There It Is! (Brunswick, 1972)

There It Is! is the only Lionel Hampton record I have but it's an interesting one so it's coming down as post number two. It has some pretty nice beats, cool backup vocals on about half the tracks and of course very nice vibes courtesy of Lionel himself. Happiness is for sure the jam here but there's some other nice numbers too.

Here's what they have to say about it at Dusty Groove:
A great little set of instrumental tracks from Hamp -- set to some hipper-than usual Brunswick soul arrangements, by the likes of Eugene Record, Willie Henderson, Sonny Sanders, and Hamilton Bohannon! Bohannon turns out the best track on the album -- the slow funky sample cut "Happiness", which steps along at half pace, and sounds like one of the killers from his own Stop & Go album! Other tracks are all pretty great, too -- and titles include "Without You In My Life", "I Never Had It So Good", "There It Is", "Wrapped Up In Your Warm & Tender Love", and "Sing A Little Song".

Check out Happiness here while you read Lionel's bio from Scotty down at AMG.

Boomp3.com

Lionel Hampton was the first jazz vibraphonist and was one of the jazz giants beginning in the mid-'30s. He has achieved the difficult feat of being musically open-minded (even recording "Giant Steps") without changing his basic swing style. Hamp started out as a drummer, playing with the Chicago Defender Newsboys' Band as a youth. His original idol was Jimmy Bertrand, a '20s drummer who occasionally played xylophone. Hampton played on the West Coast with such groups as Curtis Mosby's Blue Blowers, Reb Spikes, and Paul Howard's Quality Serenaders (with whom he made his recording debut in 1929) before joining Les Hite's band, which for a period accompanied Louis Armstrong. At a recording session in 1930, a vibraphone happened to be in the studio, and Armstrong asked Hampton (who had practiced on one previously) if he could play a little bit behind him and on "Memories of You" and "Shine"; Hamp became the first jazz improviser to record on vibes.

It would be another six years before he found fame. Lionel Hampton, after leaving Hite, had his own band in Los Angeles' Paradise Cafe, until one night in 1936 when Benny Goodman came into the club and discovered him. Soon, Hampton recorded with B.G., Teddy Wilson, and Gene Krupa as the Benny Goodman Quartet, and six weeks later he officially joined Goodman. An exciting soloist whose enthusiasm even caused B.G. to smile, Hampton became one of the stars of his organization, appearing in films with Goodman, at the famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, and nightly on the radio. In 1937, he started recording regularly as a leader for Victor with specially assembled all-star groups that formed a who's who of swing; all of these timeless performances (1937-1941) were reissued by Bluebird on a six-LP set, although in piecemeal fashion on CD.

Hampton stayed with Goodman until 1940, sometimes substituting on drums and taking vocals. In 1940, Lionel Hampton formed his first big band, and in 1942 had a huge hit with "Flying Home," featuring a classic Illinois Jacquet tenor spot (one of the first R&B solos). During the remainder of the decade, Hampton's extroverted orchestra was a big favorite, leaning toward R&B, showing the influence of bebop after 1944, and sometimes getting pretty exhibitionistic. Among his sidemen, in addition to Jacquet, were Arnett Cobb, Dinah Washington (who Hampton helped discover), Cat Anderson, Marshall Royal, Dexter Gordon, Milt Buckner, Earl Bostic, Snooky Young, Johnny Griffin, Joe Wilder, Benny Bailey, Charles Mingus, Fats Navarro, Al Gray, and even Wes Montgomery and Betty Carter. Hampton's popularity allowed him to continue leading big bands off and on into the mid-'90s, and the 1953 edition that visited Paris (with Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, Jimmy Cleveland, Gigi Gryce, George Wallington, and Annie Ross) would be difficult to top, although fights over money and the right of the sideman to record led to its breakup. Hampton appeared and recorded with many all-star groups in the 1950s including reunions with Benny Goodman, meetings with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Stan Getz, Buddy DeFranco, and as part of a trio with Art Tatum and Buddy Rich. He also was featured in The Benny Goodman Story (1956).

Since the 1950s, Lionel Hampton has mostly repeated past triumphs, always playing "Hamp's Boogie Woogie" (which features his very rapid two-finger piano playing), "Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop," and "Flying Home." However, his enthusiasm still causes excitement and he remains a household name. Hampton has recorded through the years for nearly every label, including two of his own (Glad Hamp and Who's Who). Despite strokes and the ravages of age, Lionel Hampton remained a vital force into the 1990s. In January 2001, a vibraphone he had played for 15 years was put into the National Museum of American History. On August 31, 2002, at age 94, Lionel Hampton suffered major heart failure and passed away.

You can peep a 320k rip of it here.

Rotary Connection - Songs (Cadet Concept, 1969)

For my first full album post I've got this terrific album of covers by experimental soul group Rotary Connection. The arrangements are pretty out-there as per usual for this group, but on the whole it's got more big chamber choral parts then on some other albums.

Respect is the first tune on here and it's got to be one of my favourite songs. I first heard it on a mixtape by local rare groove DJ Paul E. Lopez back in the mid-nineties. That tape was crammed with dope shit but this particular track really stuck with me. Check it out:

This brief rundown from AMG also focuses on Respect more than anything else.
The daring covers returned for Songs. In fact, the record is nothing but covers, including drastic re-castings of three songs from Cream's Disraeli Gears. So the creative well was surely drying up for Rotary Connection, right? Wrong. Despite the complete absence of original material, this is a proper Rotary Connection album as much as any other. Their version of Otis Redding's "Respect," like many of their covers, is rendered nearly unrecognizable; slowed to a crawl and stripped of its punctuative chorus of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T/I know what it means to me," Charles Stepney's string arrangement is a subdued but effective smear and Minnie Riperton and Sidney Barnes trade lines, emote in tandem, and twist around each other like they've never done before or since. The song has never sounded more steamy. The slightly eerie tone of the strings that encased "Respect" pop up again for "We're Going Wrong," one of the three Cream covers. The foreboding feel is carried forth with wordless co-ed background vocals that combine with escalating strings. But what really puts a cap on it is the moment when Riperton's voice shoots into a pitch that no theremin can approximate. It's moments like this one that make wading through the group's lapses (a dull, bungled look at "I've Got My Mojo Working," for instance) so worth it. As for those who view the group as blasphemers? Let them cringe.

Still, it's a pretty good record with plenty of other stand-out moments. Check it out here if you like.

Phase Two

I've decided that in addition to posting DJ mixes here once every few months, I will begin to post records from my collection. I've got a few things that I haven't seen on any of the other blogs that I think are worth sharing. I mean, I'll be listening to them anyway, seems reasonable enough to record them at the same time.

For my rips I'll be using the following set-up:

Technics SL 1200MK2 with Shure M44-7 cartridge -> Technics SA-EX110 receiver/phono preamp -> Presonus Firebox -> Logic Pro 7

I've opted to not use my Vestax mixer unless doing a DJ set because it's phono preamps sound pretty crap compared to the Technics. Depending on how into doing this I get, I may look at upgrading some of the components...but they're getting converted to MP3 anyway so I don't know how much difference it would really make in the end.

I'm looking forward to getting this started!

Record Blog Appreciation

In the last few months since I got my new computer, I have been lurking music blogs pretty much constantly and I am truly amazed at the amount of them dedicated to rare soul, jazz, rock and whatever else. Yes, I am way behind.

These people are doing high quality rips of records that are not cheap or easy to acquire, and posting them for anyone to take. Talk about generous! Some places are more adamant about leaving comments than others, and honestly, it never really occurred to me until one blog in particular made it very clear that it is only polite to at least say thanks. Put in that light, I've since made it part of my download process to pop in and say something, anything...but most times I'm genuinely thrilled to be getting what is being offered so it ain't no chore to say something nice.

Anyway, I was just marvelling at the wealth of music I've downloaded courtesy of these blogs and wanted to make a post to say:

Thank you! All your work is truly appreciated!

Spring Feva

I recorded this a few weeks ago after coming home with a pile of new records. Spring was definitely in the air and I think that really comes through in the selections. There's a couple supremely shitty mixes but I didn't want to re-do it so please excuse. I thought about not sharing because it turns out I don't really like one of the new acquisitions...but whatevs, it's 90% good. Hope ya dig.

Tracklist
Wings - Tomorrow
Booker T & The MG's - Chicken Pox
Otis Redding - Happy Song
Candi Staton - Heart On A String
Ann Peebles - Come To Mama
Bobby Womack - Woman's Got To Have It
Ayatolla - Lonely
Madlib - Steppin' In To Tomorrow
Jaylib - Starz
Toni Braxton - Let Me Show You The Way
Skillz - Off The Wall (inst)
Rebtuz - Merenda
Charles Wright & The 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Must Be Your Thing
Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman
The Dells - Hallways Of My Mind
Sandra King - Leave It Up To The Boys
Mar-Keys - After The Affair
William Bell & Mavis Staples - Strung Out
Aretha Franklin - A Change Is Gonna Come
Al Green - Have You Been Making Out Ok
Otis Gayle - I'll Be Around

Check it!

Songs of Love and Heartbreak

A little late for V-day I guess, if you're into that kind of thing...here's a bunch of soul records I recorded on my day off this Friday past (a great way to spend a vacation day, imho).

I wanted some tunes with lots of harmonies and stuff to listen to for walking around that afternoon so I plugged in my trusty minidisc recorder and this is what got played. I think it turned out pretty okay so I'm putting it up here to share. Hope ya dig.

Tracklist
Percy Sledge – My Adorable One
Archie Bell & The Drells – I Don’t Want To Be A Playboy
Bettye Swann – (My Heart Is) Closed For The Season
The Impressions – Loves Happening
Little Anthony & The Imperials – Summer’s Comin’ In
Marlena Shaw – California Soul
The Spidells – Don’t You Forget That You’re My Baby
Candi Staton – That’s How Strong My Love Is
Joe Tex – Funny How Time Slips Away
Al Green – One Woman
Julius Brockington – Since I Fell For You
Billy Preston – I Want To Thank You
Margie Joseph – Same Thing
Merry Clayton – Love Me Or Let Me Be Lonely
Curtis Mayfield – Keep On Trippin’
Motherlode – When I Die
Renaldo Domino – Not Too Cool To Cry
The Sweet Inspirations – Why Marry?

Listen here.