Chico Buarque & Ennio Morricone – Sonho De Um Carnaval – Rym Musique, 1970/2000.
🇧🇷🫂🇮🇹 👁️🗝️ 📝:
This is a magical pairing, and also not an example of either man’s best music. Morricone had already done some of his most well known music for films at this point and many of the songs bear his signature Sound World. But it is startling to hear his Sound World dressing up Pop songs, even Brazilian ones. There are a variety of organs, keyboards, kid’s choirs, some signature Western Film sound design devices and then there is Chico’s luminous voice and his melodies which are a natural fit for Morricone’s palate. The opportunity for them to record, I believe, occurred when Chico left Brazil in political exile and had relocated to Europe. I’d love to know more about how the recording session was developed. Chico was Popular in Brazil, but I’m uncertain as to how influential he was internationally? “Funeral De Um Lavrador”
Overall = 6.3 (10) – There is a lot to listen to here.Get it!
Art Blakey Quartet – A Jazz Message – Impulse, 1963.
🎺 ⏺I! 🥁 🪄🎷🫂 🗝️👜:
An unusual Blakey album, despite the title. It seems like Blakey was taking a little break from his primary gig and did a swinging multi-generational pick up band with Sonny Stitt, McCoy Tyner and Art Davis for Impulse!. It works but everyone is kind of taking a break from their meat & potatoes gig, aside from Sonny Stitt. Stitt’s tenor tone feels a little fuzzy here and the alto tracks feel more vigorous. In general it is a fine listen without being something I would recommend to hear any of the musician’s styles for. More of interest than excellence. “Just Knock On My Door”
Overall = 5 (10) – Kind of strange session, but worth a listen. Get It!
Billy Bauer – Plectrist – Verve, 1956.
🎺 ⏺🎸 🪄:
It starts with gorgeous floating chord melodies, contains some interesting Standards and several Bauer originals – which all blend naturally with the Standards. Mr. Bauer was a thoughtful guitarist, who performed and recorded with Bird and Lennie Tristano. Typically I would go for one his originals for the PlayMix, but I found this song’s wonderfully bleary and drifting guitar sound instead. “It’s A Blue World”. The rest of the recording is colder and I enjoy it mostly to hear his guitar playing.
Overall = 5.2 (10) – Guitar Jazz.Get it!$$$
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – At The Jazz Corner Of The World – Blue Note, 1959.
🎺 ⏺ ♫🥁 🪄🎷 🎟️🗝️✪ 🎭:
Live Blakey is always welcome, the fire is alive in the recordings! This iteration of the band, with a front line of Hank Mobley & Lee Morgan is one of 8(!) distinctive “front line pairings of excellence” that I count in the Messengers history. In some cases these frontline pairs share members like Lee Morgan also appears with Wayne Shorter (also a great pairing!). These pairings are all important to the Messenger’s sound but its surprising how many of them seem iconic. I could see different fans arguing over which frontline is the best.
The Messenger’s sound = Blakeys Fire, great soloist and lead players, crafty & clean arrangements by various musical directors – occasionally experimental, but mostly condensing Big Band language into small group intensity and big fun! This album has all of those features, it is a moment capturing a maturing group sound and probably around the time the band began to become recognized as an iconic musical franchise. “Justice (Evidence)”
Overall = 6.4 (10) – Great music! Maybe overshadowed by a handful of other similarly well performed live Messenger’s recordings. Get it!
Ruben Blades – De Panama A New York – Fania, 1970/2008.
🌶️💃🏽🪘🇵🇦🗝️✪ 🎭🗣️ 📝:
Mr. Blades debut recording. And a solid one, I’m not sure it really portends the enormous influence he would have on Salsa music, but it is a good debut. I think he really shines later on in the Seventies when he starts some of his most famous collaborations (like with Willie Colon) and his writing becomes a little more seasoned. He actually released this album and then returned to Panama to finish his studies before embarking on his successful music career in 1975. “Descarga Caliente”
Overall = 5.6 (10) – Pretty good, but I like his later albums more.Get It!$$$$$
Rabih Abou-Khalil – Blue Camel – Enja, 1992.
🎺🇱🇧 🪄📣🔮 :
I think Mr. Abou-Khalil is one of “the” Modern Composers of our age. His earliest releases began a pattern of composing modern Arabic music. It featured his oud playing, usually with percussion and then a wide variety of guests from other cultures and musical styles joined the party. At a certain point the Tuba becomes part of his core sound conception. Here he has a great cast: Charlie Mariano, who embraces the sound world, Kenny Wheeler, who is vibrantly himself within the sound world and Steve Swallow, who sounds perfect, but possibly uncomfortable with the sound world (but Steve Swallow never plays uncomfortably, I just think he sounds unusually slightly restrained (restricted?) here). The combination forms an original sound that blends many different voices in a natural way. “Tsarka”
Overall = 6.7 (10) – Excellent! Get it!$$$
& Nafas – ECM, 1988.
🎺🇱🇧 🪄📣🔮 :
A random ECM release amidst a sea of About Khalil Enja discs. It’s an earlier recording and it feels like it is played a little closer to the vest. By ear I am not able to decipher if this is traditional Arabic music or newly composed pieces in a traditional style, the songs are mostly credited to Mr. Abou-Khalil. I find this recording less interesting than his more recent works and it could be that his concepts are less developed or it could be that ECM had a different approach to what they considered to be about-Khalil’s music? ECM has an aesthetic and a very identifiable recording sound: open and spacious, I hear that on these recordings. I also know, because I once considered a friend a good fit for their sound and wondered how one would be signed by the label, that ECM is very particular about their choices of artist. The label had a discouraging “please do not send us music” at one point when I was sniffing about. I find his later, larger ensemble work is my favorite. “Amal Hayati”
Overall = 3.9 (10) – Cool, but less interesting. Get it!
Curtis Amy – Mosaic Select 7 – Mosaic/Pacific – 2003/1960-1963. (includes: The Blues Message; Meetin’ Here; Groovin’ Blue; Way Down; Tippin’ On Through & Katanga!)
🎺⏺️ ⏺ 🪄🎷 :
Slick tippin’ West Coast Hot. The earliest of these records, co-billed with Paul Bryant, feature organ with bass, which is a bit of anomaly, but works here. Usually the organ player plays bass with their feet on the organ’s pedals, something I can’t actually conceptualize juggling while trying to perform. The drum kit and organ are the most physically choreographed playing instruments using all your limbs and sometimes juggling many roles, it’s a delicate balance. I wonder if this was a chosen for sound palate, player deficiency, budget? The result is a lovely bass solo accompanied by organ that I found profound and rare. “Goin’ Down, Catch Me A Woman”. The liners describe Bryant as a piano player who switched to organ, so that may answer the question and it possibly wasn’t as strong with the pedals. I think I would find it difficult to avoid playing them if I was used to being responsible for the Bass lines.
Frank Butler is co-leader on Groovin’ Blue. Sick band! Hutch, Carmel Jones, Frank Strazzeri, Jimmy Bond. I also like Mr. Amy’s compositions and thirst for chances to hear both Hutcherson and Jones. Mr. Amy’s got a tough tenor tone and plays from the Blues, but with Bop flashes. “Annsome”
Amy lead consistently excellent bands and recording sessions throughout these Pacific Jazz reissues. Katanga is the most legendary album probably based on its rare Dupree Bolton appearance, but all of them are swinging with intent and Mr. Amy pens some fine tunes. I believe he pops up on some quality R&B music throughout his career, beyond his Jazz playing.
Overall = 6.8 (10) – I love West Coast Hot/Hard Bop and this is some of the best.Get it! Good price there.
Billy C – The Warm Voice of Billy C – Alsut, 2010.
🗣️🎺𖫪:
*Note: this is not the same album cover and the recording I am reviewing here has different band members than the above picture.
I warned you about the Deep Voice coming on, in the last ItS, and here it is. I am a fan of the baritone/bass lead voices, it is sort of a mini collection of mine (Milt Grayson, Al Hibbler etc.). Billy C has a hard to find nonet recording with Bill Lee on Strata-East Records, which I would love to find. I got this based on my desires for the deep voice masters and it delivers with a swinging collection of standards. It is also a tribute album, I think (implied. not implicitly stated in the notes), to a place in Jersey called Sonny’s, where I believe the musicians performed regularly and so this is meant to capture that vibe. The songs are creatively arranged and the band sounds good, but the feature voice is why I am here and a fan. “I’ll Follow you”
Overall = 4.4 (10) – Resonate with that deep voice! Get it!$$$$
Black Heat – Declassified Grooves – Atlantic/Label M, 1971-72/2001. (Includes Black Heat & No Time to Burn)
🪨🫧 🪩 𖫪🪨 :
A somewhat forgotten Funk band that released 3 albums, 2 of which form this two-for. It features mostly instrumentals, but I enjoy the songs with vocals the most. The band sets a solid groove and I think the band could live off of instrumentals, because the groove was so danceable. They are probably more exciting live too, except that they haven’t performed much at all over the last 50+ years. “Street of Tears”. I think the second disc is better than the first. The feel, the groove and tighter parts played, but the first disc has the most memorable songs.
Overall = 4.6 (10) – Good, and I’m glad to know of it, but really only get it if you are a fan of this sort of thing. I wouldn’t go by the song I chose for their overall sound either. Get It!$$$$
Brook Benton – Greatest Hits – Evergreen, ?.
🔈 🗣️🎭:
For most people a “Greatest Hits” album is a way to get a sampling of the best of an artist, or Band, they have an interest in, but they don’t want to dig into their recordings individually. That is what this album is for me, and there are only a few recordings in my collection that are Greatest Hits, because they are also a way for a record label to sell something they already sold in a new package. I really only get them because of I have a passing interest or it has difficult to find materials (most Popular Artist’s music is not difficult to find). Mr. Benton has a sweet as syrup voice and he is well highlighted by some clean, simple arrangements on these recordings. “Rainy Night in Georgia”
Overall = 3.2 (10) – Classic material! Get it!
Found Sounds 