Pockets —
So Delicious ... CD Columbia/Expansion (UK), 1979. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
Wonderful work from Pockets – a group who started out more in a jazzy mode, but who here have emerged as a fully-formed, soaringly soulful group that's a perfect fit for the Kalmiba Productions style of the late 70s! As you probably know, Kalimba's the production arm of the Earth Wind & Fire empire – and Pockets fit here right in tight with their groove – a nice little sidebar, definitely with their own spirit – but filled with that sense of perfection that wraps together funk, soul, and jazz with equal emphasis on all three styles! There's some great harmony vocals in the mix too – crafted with the care of contemporaneous groups like Side Effect or Creative Source – and titles include "Your Heart's In Trouble", "Bye Bye", "Catch Me", "So Delicious", "How Do You Think It Feels?", "Charisma", and "Baby Are You Coming Home With Me". CD
Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one went on to become a standard within a few short years in 60s jazz, it still sounds great here in the original – a very fresh take on the sound of soul jazz in the 60s – offered up here in a 7 minute version that has more sharp soloing than most other takes on the tune! The group here is great too – with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the tracks are all also originals by a young Herbie – including "Watermelon Man", "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets". CD features three bonus alternate takes! CD
One of the all-time great Rick James albums – a return to funkier sounds for Rick that worked both artistically and commercially – and actually got over far better than his more blatant attempts at crossover material on other records! The mix here is perfect – a true summation of all that made Motown great at the time, and the special sort of energy that made Rick one of the freshest mainstream talents at the end of the 70s! The record put a lot of money in Barry Gordy's pockets, and for good reason too – given that the set includes the classic hit "Super Freak" – plus "Give It To Me Baby", "Ghetto Life", "Make Love To Me", "Below The Funk (Pass The J)", and "Fire & Desire" – all done in that compressed pop-funky style that James kind of took from Bootsy Collins and manage to successfully soup up for the masses! CD also features the bonus tracks "Give It To Me Baby (12" mix)" and "Super Freak (12" mix)". CD
Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one went on to become a standard within a few short years in 60s jazz, it still sounds great here in the original – a very fresh take on the sound of soul jazz in the 60s – offered up here in a 7 minute version that has more sharp soloing than most other takes on the tune! The group here is great too – with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the tracks are all also originals by a young Herbie – including "Watermelon Man", "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets". CD
Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one went on to become a standard within a few short years in 60s jazz, it still sounds great here in the original – a very fresh take on the sound of soul jazz in the 60s – offered up here in a 7 minute version that has more sharp soloing than most other takes on the tune! The group here is great too – with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the tracks are all also originals by a young Herbie – including "Watermelon Man", "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets". CD also includes the Freddie Hubbard album Hub-Tones. CD
(2019 digipak pressing – still sealed.)
6
Peter Bernstein —
Signs Live ... CD Smoke Sessions, 2017. Used 2CD ...
Out Of Stock
A strong double dose live set for Smoke Sessions led by guitarist Peter Bernstein – in a quartet setting with Christian McBride on bass, Brad Mehldau on piano and Gregory Hutchinson on drums – reconvening the the line-up that recorded Bernstein's Signs album on Criss Cross back in the mid 90s! It's wonderful for several reasons – for one, in getting these amazing, incredibly busy players back together after all these years – and for fleshing out the material so greatly in a live setting! The Signs tunes really breathe here, with lots of air and space for each player to shine, most tracks running nice on long on the 2CD set. They're all Bernstein originals save for 3 Thelonious Monk numbers, and the titles include "Blues For Bulgaria", "Hidden Pockets", "Dragonfly", "Jive Coffee", "Pannonica", "Useless Metaphor", "Let Loose", "All Too Real", "Resplendor", "Crepuscule With Nellie/We See" and "Cupcake". CD
One of the most revelatory albums ever cut by reedman James Clay – a player who's often lumped into the "hard blowing" camp because of his Texas roots, but one who emerges here with a great deal of sensitivity and imagination! The record features Clay playing both tenor and flute – clearly a "double dose of soul" – and on the latter instrument, he's got a really wonderful style that's a bit like Yusef Lateef, still hardbop and swinging, but touched with a sense of exoticism that really makes for a unique sound to the record. And even on tenor, Clay's got a looser, more introspective sound here – one that catches the mood set by the rest of the group – with Victor Feldman on vibes, Gene Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – plus a bit of extra cornet from Nat Adderley on a few tracks. The album has a good modal feel in parts, and a stronger soul jazz groove in others – and it's one of the great sets put together as part of the "Cannonball Presents" series for Riverside in the early 60s. Tracks include "Lost Tears", "Pockets", "New Delhi", and "Linda Serene". CD also features 2 bonus tracks! CD
Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one went on to become a standard within a few short years in 60s jazz, it still sounds great here in the original – a very fresh take on the sound of soul jazz in the 60s – offered up here in a 7 minute version that has more sharp soloing than most other takes on the tune! The group here is great too – with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the tracks are all also originals by a young Herbie – including "Watermelon Man", "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets". Plus, this CD reissue features bonus alternate takes of 3 tracks on the album! CD
"Starting Time" is a great early 60s session by Jordan – who at the time of the recording, was one of a number of firey young tenor players from Chicago – all of them hard-blowing, with a nice soulful bottom that opened up a bop sound to more moods and emotions – but Jordan stood apart from most of them with an approach that was decidedly more complex and forward-thinking. As you'll hear on the album's tracks, he wasn't content enough to just blow off a riff – but had to twist things up a bit, working a tune for more shades and colors than it might yield with another player, pushing on the proceedings with an edge that's very strong. The great Wilbur Ware's on bass, and a young Cedar Walton's playing piano, and with warmth like that, Jordan and trumpeter Kenny Dorham sound great next to each other. Loads of original hard bop lines by Jordan, including "Extempore" and "Quittin' Time", plus "Mosaic" and "One Flight Down" by Cedar Walton. Even better is A Story Tale – a brilliant collaboration between Clifford Jordan and Sonny Red! Red's tone is excellent – a sharper one next to Jordan's more supple blowing – and the pair are a perfect team to lead off tunes like "Prints", "Hip Pockets", "A Story Tale", and "Defiance". CD
Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one went on to become a standard within a few short years in 60s jazz, it still sounds great here in the original – a very fresh take on the sound of soul jazz in the 60s – offered up here in a 7 minute version that has more sharp soloing than most other takes on the tune! The group here is great too – with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the tracks are all also originals by a young Herbie – including "Watermelon Man", "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets". CD also features 3 bonus alternate takes of tunes from the album! CD
One of the all-time great Rick James albums – a return to funkier sounds for Rick that worked both artistically and commercially – and actually got over far better than his more blatant attempts at crossover material on other records! The mix here is perfect – a true summation of all that made Motown great at the time, and the special sort of energy that made Rick one of the freshest mainstream talents at the end of the 70s! The record put a lot of money in Barry Gordy's pockets, and for good reason too – given that the set includes the classic hit "Super Freak" – plus "Give It To Me Baby", "Ghetto Life", "Make Love To Me", "Below The Funk (Pass The J)", and "Fire & Desire" – all done in that compressed pop-funky style that James kind of took from Bootsy Collins and manage to successfully soup up for the masses! CD also features the bonus tracks "Give It To Me Baby (12" mix)" and "Super Freak (12" mix)". CD
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