Jazz — LPs  

A great early album by this oft-overlooked spiritual avant group that included Lester Bowie, Oliver Lake, JD Parran, and Charles Bobo Shaw. Side one features the extended "Lover's Desire", a nice slightly-funky number that has a groove that's sort of modal. Side two of the album features "Hazrat The Sufi", a long creative avant piece, with insane ensemble playing that's very much in the AACM mode.

A real sleeper – and one of the treasures of the Arista Freedom series! The album's a rare meeting between Argentine tenor player Gato Barbieri and South African pianist Dollar Brand – a true global meeting of the jazz minds, and a recording that's stronger than most of the work either player was recording at the time! The format is incredibly spare – just tenor and piano, plus some occasional cello work by Brand – dark and angular, but also filled with small flowers of hope, flowering in the spontaneous presence of these two great minds. Tracks are long, with a free flowing quality that's infused with soul and spirit – and titles include "Hamba Khale", "Aloe & The Wildrose", and "To Elsa".

A key bit of jazz funk from trumpeter Tom Browne – still grooving strong here, with a sublime mix of modern soul, funky jazz, and some of the 80s groove touches that showed up on the best GRP titles from the time! The album's got a smooth compressed groove – kind of post-Donald Byrd, with Tom taking solos over the top of most tracks, and occasional vocals , wither from a backing group, or an assortment of different lead singers. Players on the set include Bernard Wright, Dave Grusin, Bobby Broom, and Marcus Miller – and tracks include "I Know", "Midnight Interlude", "Let's Dance", "Night Wind", "Making Plans", "Thighs Hihg", and "Magic".

Tremendous work from trumpeter Ted Curson – and one of the few records that shows up often in his oeuvre, but which is every bit as great as his rare and expensive albums! Side one features killer material from Curson's group with tenorist Bill Barron – three cuts recorded in Paris in 1964, all of them razor-sharp, and overflowing with modern ideas – tracks that include "Searchin For The Blues", "Desolation", and "Light Blue". Side two features Curson in another European mode – working as the bold soloist in front of a larger Yugoslavian big band – with searing readings of his classics "Straight Ice", "Flip Top", and "Quicksand".

Live solo work by Roland Hanna – a set that starts out kind of slow, as Hanna performs 2 Ellington crowd-pleasers – but which then really takes off as he moves into his own beautiful compositions! These really have Hanna unfolding on the keys, and playing with a rich lyrical quality that always marked his best work – and which makes him a compelling player that can really hold sway even in a solo set. Titles include "Wistful Moment", "Perugia", "Time Dust Gathered", and "A Child Is Born" – as well as versions of "Take The A Train" and "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good".

The second album by this legendary 70s funk combo – best known as Herbie Hancock's backing band, but sounding great here on their own. The album's much more of a solid soul effort than the first one – which was great, but felt more like Herbie had stepped out of the studio for a minute or two. The vocals are better, with more of a feel for the lyrics – and the songs themselves are a great mix of funk and smooth soul. There's still plenty of tight jamming and cool electronics – and the group still includes Mike Clark, Bennie Maupin,and Paul Jackson. Includes the sample cut "I Remember I Made You Cry", plus "Pork Soda", "Dreams", "Straight From The Gate", and "Mayonnaise".

A landmark bit of jazz funk – from one of the greatest backup groups of the 70s! Herbie Hancock first brought The Headhunters to light – working with the San Francisco-based combo that included Bennie Maupin, Mike Clark, Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers – using their sound to give his work the right dose of funk it needed to reach new audiences during the decade. This album's the first to feature the group on their own, without Herbie – and if we don't mind saying so, they sound even better without him! The whole thing's a wonderful mix of jazz funk grooves and very unusual rhythms – and the record contains the monster full length version of "God Make Me Funky", which is 9 minutes and 35 seconds of non stop funk, plus the cuts "If You've Got It, You'll Get It", "Magic", and "Here & Now".

A landmark bit of jazz funk – from one of the greatest backup groups of the 70s! Herbie Hancock first brought The Headhunters to light – working with the San Francisco-based combo that included Bennie Maupin, Mike Clark, Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers – using their sound to give his work the right dose of funk it needed to reach new audiences during the decade. This album's the first to feature the group on their own, without Herbie – and if we don't mind saying so, they sound even better without him! The whole thing's a wonderful mix of jazz funk grooves and very unusual rhythms – and the record contains the monster full length version of "God Make Me Funky", which is 9 minutes and 35 seconds of non stop funk, plus the cuts "If You've Got It, You'll Get It", "Magic", and "Here & Now".

A real classic from Jeff Lorber – the kind of record that crossed-over immediately, and had a huge influence on so many different scenes! The style is smooth sweet fusion – of a sort that Lorber virtually helped invent, and so many others helped to ruin in later years – but here, things are clean and lean, very focused on the groove – and coming off with a really soulful sound! There's a great mix of acoustic and electric keys that really makes the album cook – giving it a two-dimensional feel that really comes off nicely on every tune – and the core lineup includes Lorber on keys, plus electric bass, drums, and saxes. Titles include "Wizard Island", "Lava Lands", "Shadows", "City", "Rooftops", and "Can't Get Enough".

Easily the greatest album ever by funky drummer Harvey Mason – and quite possibly the only one to live up to the rhythmic complexity that Mason brought to countless other fusion sessions for other groups in the 70s! The tracks are all spacious and snapping with brilliantly funky touches – a sound that resonates with Mason's contributions to Johnny Hammond's Gears album, but which comes off slightly differently here, thanks to a stronger focus on the drums. Keyboards are still a prime element of the set – played here by Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, and Jerry Peters – the latter 2 of whom helped out on arrangements for the record – and other players include an all-star lineup of 70s jazz funk legends such as Blue Mitchell, Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Hubert Laws, and others. The title cut "Marching In The Street" is a bucketful of breaks – but all tracks are great too, and titles include "Modaji", "Wild Rice", "Fair Thee Well", "Building Love", "Ballad For Heather", and "Hop Scotch".

One of the last great albums that Rudd played on before going into retirement! The group features Rudd on trombone, Enrico Rava on trumpet, Dve Burrell on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Harold White on drums – and the overall feel is similar to some of the best ESP work of the 60s. The band is very nicely matched, and changed moods and modes together as one unit. Tracks include "Inside Job", "Mysterioso", and "Sacred Song".

Quite possibly the greatest Larry Young album of the post-Blue Note years – and a massive bit of funk that totally redefines his sound! Larry's working here with his hip group Fuel – an ensemble that features Laura Logan on lead vocals, giving the tunes a real focus through her lyrics – and letting them pack a bit more punch too, since her voice sounds a lot like Betty Davis at the time! Larry's keyboards are forceful, but never too over the top – and he's notched things down a bit to focus on the overall groove of the set – still keeping things adventurous on the keys, but also working in a mode that's much more heavily jazz funk! The album's one of THE essential electric jazz sets of the 70s – and features the classic break cut "Turn Out the Lights" – plus other great tracks that include "Floating", "Fuel for the Fire", "I Ching", "H+J=B (Hustle + Jam = Bread)" and "New York Electric Street Music".

Quite possibly the greatest Larry Young album of the post-Blue Note years – and a massive bit of funk that totally redefines his sound! Larry's working here with his hip group Fuel – an ensemble that features Laura Logan on lead vocals, giving the tunes a real focus through her lyrics – and letting them pack a bit more punch too, since her voice sounds a lot like Betty Davis at the time! Larry's keyboards are forceful, but never too over the top – and he's notched things down a bit to focus on the overall groove of the set – still keeping things adventurous on the keys, but also working in a mode that's much more heavily jazz funk! The album's one of THE essential electric jazz sets of the 70s – and features the classic break cut "Turn Out the Lights" – plus other great tracks that include "Floating", "Fuel for the Fire", "I Ching", "H+J=B (Hustle + Jam = Bread)" and "New York Electric Street Music".

The legendary AACM trio makes a memorable appearance at the 1978 Montreux jazz fest, captured live here by Novus. The trio of Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall are at their best here – and the set features 3 great original compositins ("Suisse Air", "Let's All Go Down To The Footwash", and "Abra"), all with the band's unique mixture of creativity, soulfulness, and sense of humor.

Prime late 70s AACM/loft jazz material, composed and led by Threadgill, and featuring groups that include avant players like Joseph Jarman, Douglas Ewart, Amina Claudine Myers, and Rufus Reid. Titles include "Sir Simpleton", "Celebration", and "Air Song" – and most tracks have some poetic vocals, sung by Myers.

An unusual record for Randy Weston – a freewheeling live set recorded at Montreux in 1974, with Billy Harper joining Weston's group on tenor and flute, playing long spiritual solos that work wonderfully next to Weston's spiralling piano lines! Harper's searching quality really opens up the set, and Weston's rhythmic pulse keeps him from overly blowing, as on some of his own albums from the time – and the rough edges of the group give the session a nice degree of bite! The rest of the group features William Allen on bass, Don Moye on drums, and Steve Berrios on percussion and tracks include "Mystery Of Love", "Tribute To Duke Ellington", and "Carnival".

A sweet bit of electric funky jazz from Tom Browne – a bit tighter and with more of an 80s groove than some of his earlier work, but still pretty darn nice! Tom's always great – blowing over the top in spare, but well-placed trumpet solos – and the backing on the album shifts between a number of different soulful fusion modes that are all handled pretty strongly, without the traps that other artists would fall into on a record like this. Lead vocals on some of the tracks are by Frank Floyd, Margie Barnes, or Keith John – and the album includes the sweet jazzy groover "Come For The Ride", plus "Fungi Mama/Rebopafunkadiscolypso", "My Latin Sky", "A Message", "Charisma", "Naima", "Lazy Bird", and "Bye Gones".

A beautiful little record by Pharoah Sanders – quite different than most of his other recordings of the 70s, and done in a smoothly jazzy mode that also features plenty of soul! Sanders did the set in collaboration with Norman Connors – and the style is in that same great mix of mellow soul and deeper jazz that Connors used on his own brilliant records from the time. Instrumentation includes some keyboards and guitar mixed in with Sanders' always-soulful work on sax – and a number of cuts have vocals, either by a chorus shading in the tunes, or by Phyllis Hyman in the lead. The whole thing's great – warmly soulful, and almost a tighter extension of the modes that Sanders was exploring on his last album or two for Impulse. Titles include "As You Are", "Everything I Have Is Good", "Got To Give It Up", "Love Will Find a Way", "Love Is Here", and "Pharomba".

Incredible first album from a player who would go onto become one of the major soul jazz talents of the 70's – and one of the owners of the Strata East label. Tolliver plays here with the original incarnation of his Music Inc group – which includes Stanley Cowell, Steve Novosel, and Jimmy Hopps. The tracks are all originals, with a brilliant spiritual groove that virtually describes the direction Tolliver and similar post-Coltrane musicians would take in the 70's. Titles include "The Ringer", "Mother Wit", "Plight", and "On The Nile".

A spacey album of keyboard duets between Joe Chambers and the great Larry Young! The album was recorded shortly before Larry passed away, and it features him and Chambers on a number of different keyboards – electric, acoustic, and organ – plus additional drums by Chambers on a few tracks. The overall sound is very spare – much more laidback than the hard-jamming fusion of Larry's Arista years, and a wonderful coda to Young's career. Titles include "Message from Mars", "Rock Pile", "The Orge", and "Mind Rain".

One of the first albums from guitarist Kenny Burrell as a leader – a date that has him working with players from his hometown scene in Detroit – in case you couldn't guess from the title! Kenny's style here is a bit different than on the Blue Note dates of the time – almost a bit more personal, and leaner – which is a surprise, given the usual heavier feel of a Savoy session. Other players include Pepper Adams on baritone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – and before you complain, we know that not all of these guys are from Detroit – but that's the way they titled the thing, so you'll have to write to the label! Adams is a bit down in the mix, so he never over-dominates Burrell's tone – but he still gets plenty of space to sparkle on his solos, working with those sharp edges that make his Savoy appearances so great. Titles include "Your Host", "Afternoon In Paris", "Apothegh", "Cottontail", and "Tom's Thumb".

Incredible stuff from the jazz underground of Newark! This is one of the rarest albums ever recorded by jazz organist Larry Young – cut for the tiny Perception label during the early 70s, and featuring some of the cream of the New Jersey jazz underground. The album's got playing that bridges a number of Young's different styles – from his straighter soul jazz work at Blue Note, to his harder jamming with Santana and John McLaughlin, to his more fusion oriented albums for Arista. James Blood Ulmer's on guitar, but there's also a large ensemble of excellent players, and lots of other percussion and cool instrumentation that really gives the album an "out there" sound! Titles include "Sunshine Fly Away", "Saudia", "Hello Your Quietness", and "Khalid Of Space".