Ouverture Éclair

Michel Herr Trio - Ouverture Éclair (1977)
MD 014

Still very active on the music scene, I hope Monsieur Herr won't mind my posting this relative obscurity put out a year after the fusion bomb Solis Lacus in '76. Recorded at Michel Dickenscheid Studio and released in small quantity. Beautiful & timeless Belgian trio jazz.

Michel Herr - piano
Freddie Deronde - double bass
Félix Simtaine - drums

Danny Long

Danny Long - She's Here At Last (1971)
Hark 28

Obscure privately pressed LP out of Chicago by singer/songwriter/pianist Danny Long. A quirky album of breezy tunes effortly blending jazz with folk. These indulgent albums sit uncomfortably in any one genre, which only adds to the appeal for me. He cut a double LP around the same time called 'Four Sides Of Love' - anybody?

1) She's Here At Last
2) Come To The Country
3) Our Happiness In Love
4) Guess I'll Have To Go Away
5) What Have They Done To The Moon
6) Looking Love To Me
7) Peaceful
8) New Child
9) Spartacus

Bryony James

Bryony James - Feeling Good (1969)
Mercury 20139SMCL

Moderately unknown American songstress on a UK only pressing - backed by an incendiary Laurie Holloway Quartet, who after Harry Stoneham was the man who led the band and traded quips with Michael Parkinson on his BBC chat show.
A solid listen but her motoring version of 'Our Day Will Come' and the bongo-driven 'Summertime' immediately leap out at you.

1) Feeling Good
2) I Got It Bad
3) Our Day Will Come
4) Sunny Gets Blue
5) Soon It's Gonna Rain
6) Look Of Love
7) Come Back To Me
8) Goin' Out Of My Head
9) Summertime
10) If You Go Away
11) How Insensitive
12) La Bamba

Love and Fantasy

Dieter Reith - Love And Fantasy (1978)
Intercord 160116

A wonderfully slinky set of grooves from ubermensch Reith with tracks originally recorded for the German thriller series 'Die Kette', in his own modest words "the waste-product of the soundtrack". I don't hear much waste product here, lots to be had in fact but the dreamy down-tempo funk of ''Uschi' complete with those slick ethereal backing vocals does it for me every time - then of course that 'Beams' track!

1) Pace-Maker
2) Transmitter
3) Beams
4) Uschi
5) Lift-Off
6) Love And Fantasy

genießen...

Vacances

Guess where I'm going for a fortnight? I leave you with a batch of French recordings suitably compiled for my journey. See you soon...

Henny Vonk

Henny Vonk - Vonk's First!
Philips 855838 XPY (1969)

A great little album by songstress Henny Vonk on Dutch Philips. Her name crops up regularly for those Chris Hinze, John Lee/Gerry Brown albums of the 70s but she's hardly what I'd call prolific and you never see this one, her debut.

What lifts this for me is the slick backing of the Rob van den Broek Trio and the arrangements of Tony Vos who guests on sax. Cracking stuff!

Dany Montano Interpreta Bossa Nova

Music Hall 60011 (mid 60s?)

Been a while since I posted some bossa so (atrocious artwork aside) here's a rare Argentine EP of a subtly alternative vintage. Nothing earth-shattering but an authentic, laid back & cool listen.

1) Solo
2) El Barquito
3) Ten Pena De Mi
4) El Pato

Waldo De Los Rios

Waldo De Los Rios y su Quinteto ''Los Waldos'' - En Europa
Hispavox/Music Hall MH-12.653 (1967)

Altho' listed as a solo effort this LP features the Argentine band Los Waldos which was formed by and included Waldo de los Rios. Based in Spain they appear to have disbanded in the late sixties when Waldo started his solo career.

Waldo de los Rios (arranger, piano)
Cecar Gentili (keyboards)
Willy Rubio (guitars)
Roberto Stella (drums)
Alberto Carbia (Bass)

Not entirely sure what compels me to listen to this occasionally 'cos it's a strange beast. Modal jazz meets easy exotica, avant-garde meets lounge... all peppered with groovy electronics. Definitely a curiosity.

1) El Hacha Y El Quebracho
2) Zamba En Nueva York
3) Tero Tero
4) El Algarrobo Que Hablará Con Los Pájaros
5) Metamorfósis Folkórica Sobre...
6) Así Nació El Carnaval
7) De Dónde Vienen Las Guitarras
8) Fuera De Ritmo
9) El Último De Los Matacos
10) Tertulia

Memphis Jackson

Milt Jackson with The Ray Brown Big Band - Memphis Jackson Impulse AS-9193 (1969)

Here's a very groovy big band outing from Milt Jackson & Ray Brown, off the top of my head I can't think of another release by either of them that matches the sheer good-time funkiness this LP manages to generate without losing their jazz sensibilities.

Featuring an all-star line up including Ernie Watts, Harold Land, Mike Melvoin, Wilton Felder, Earl Palmer, Joe Sample, Howard Roberts, Paul Humphries & Victor Feldman amongst many others.

1) Uh-Huh
2) One Mint Julep (One Way)
3) Oh Happy Day
4) Memphis Junction
5) Queen Mother Stomp
6) Braddock Breakdown
7) A Sound For Sore Ears
8) Enchanted Lady
9) One Mint Julep (The Other Way)
10) Picking Up The Vibrations

Vocal Ease

B.J. Ward - Vocal Ease Catfish 5C 062-24323 (1974)

Solo outing from Ms. Ward of 'Inner Dialogue' fame. A melange of jazzy, funky soft-rock musings out of Holland, highly sought after and fetching crazy money for an original - I'll let you believe the hype or otherwise. That said, what we do have are some groovy, upbeat covers of the likes of Neil Young, Tom Jones, Gerry Rafferty, The Beach Boys & Rachmaninov! along side groovy originals and lushly arranged jazzy ballads. All odd but it works very well.

The Dutch band feature Henny Kluvers - Flute, Frank van Luin - Bass Trombone, Richard Pullin - Trombone, Carl Schultze - Vibes, Donn Trenner - Piano & Organ, Thijmen Hoolwerf - Guitar, Frank Noya - Bass, Eric Ineke & Cor van den Berg - Drums, George Souto - Percussion with a string section comprising Sem Nijveen, Bennie Behr, Lex Cachet, Lucien Grignard, Ronald Kok, Guus Valten, G. Gerritsen & Carlo Carcassoia.

1) Vocalise
2) Keep It To Yourself
3) Earth Child - Moon Child
4) Here We Are
5) The Loner
6) Try To Remember
7) That's How The World Is Made
8) The Music Of Love
9) Billy's Blues
10) I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
11) Words On Words
12) I Don't Know Where I'm Going

Il Killer

Gianni Ferrio - Il Killer CAM SAG-9012 (1969)
Colonna Sonora Originale

Here's a kookie but infinitely groovy score to the Italian TV comedy "Il Killer". Here Ferrio blurs the edges of jazzy cool to sixties cheese and everything in between. Take some uptempo jazz, elegant lounge, soothing bossa, a hint of psychedelia - serve liberally with Hammond and horns and sprinkle with sitar. Voila, Molto Hip!

Finnish Big Band Jazz

Finnish Big Band Jazz - No Comments! Polarvox KJL-030 (1977)

Hold on to your seats! The cream of Finland amass to lay down one hell of a big band outing with the support of The Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Music.

At the helm we have such luminaries as Heikki Sarmanto, Eino Virtanen, Kaj Backlund, Seppo Paakkunainen and Esa Pethman. Soloists include Juhani Aaltonen - saxophone; Olli Ahvenlahti - keyboards: Markku Johansson - trumpet & flugelhorn; Pentti Lahti - baritone sax; Pentti Lasanen - alto sax and Nono Soderberg - guitar.

Superb groovy seventies jazz of the highest order throughout culminating with the stone cold and break-heavy monster "Ufology". The text on the cover though plentiful is all in Finnish so I can't tell you any more so I'll let the music do the talking. Kindly enjoy...

1) No Comments
2) Something Keeps Us Busy
3) Balladi Savonlinnalle
4) Albright
5) From One To Twelve
6) Ufology

Geraldine de Haas

Geraldine de Haas - Self Titled Elsa Progressive Records 5804 (1978)

Geraldine de Haas, "The Jazz Lady" was born in Newark, New Jersey on January 16, 1935. As a young woman, de Haas sang and toured with her brother and sister as Andy and the Bey Sisters, initially starting out in the Miami club scene in 1958. When they returned to New York after several months, they went to several auditions that promised them a few weeks of club dates in Spain and London. However, their music proved wildly popular, and they went on a whirlwind tour all across Europe that lasted a year and a half. While the trio was in Europe, they became the featured act at the world famous Blue Note in Paris, and were featured in a jazz film directed by Roger Vadim. De Haas and her siblings returned to the United States in 1960, and began performing at jazz clubs and festivals across the country, and made several recordings, as well. The trio finally disbanded in 1966.

The early 1970s found de Haas joining the Free Street Theater in Chicago, and her theater career continued over the next two decades, with performances in Hair, Showboat and To Be Young, Gifted and Black, and numerous jazz performances, as well. She also began producing events during the 1970s, and in 1983, she presented the first Jazzfest at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago, which continues on to this day. De Haas also earned her B.A. in music education in 1980 from Chicago State University, and has taken other courses to continue her education since. In 1981, de Haas founded Jazz Unites, Inc., to further the growth and appreciation of jazz, and to educate people through the use of jazz. Since 1993, she has served as the president, CEO and artistic director. Over the course of her career, she has shared the stage with such jazz legends as Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and her favorite, the late bass player Ray Brown.

I rediscovered this recently languishing in my collection and found myself really enjoying it - I hope you're the same.

1) Summers Of My Life - Summer's Gone
2) Love Is A Lonely Song
3) Wheels Of Life
4) Everything's Been Changed
5) How Can Anything Be Beautiful After
6) Your Love
7) Keep On Walkin'
8) We Made It Happen
9) While We're Still Young
10) My Way

Chicken Feathers

Monica Zetterlund - Chicken Feathers Sveriges Radio SR-1151 (1972)

OK so we all loved the last Steve Kuhn album - a hard act to follow. So let's stick with the majesty of Steve Kuhn and an LP that matches the previous post in quality with a groove quotient off the scale!

Swedish songstress Monica Zetterlund and her finest hour in my opinion. All tracks written and arranged by Kuhn on a Swedish only release featuring a veritable who's who of Swedish jazzers.

Arne Domnérus - Clarinet, Sax (Alto); Lennart Åberg - Flute, Sax (Tenor); Claes Rosendahl - Flute, Sax (Tenor); Erik Nilsson - Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Baritone); Jan Allan - Trumpet; Bosse Broberg - Trumpet; Bertil Lövgren - Trumpet; Sven Larsson - Trombone (Bass); Hakan Nyqvist - French Horn; Rune Gustafsson - Guitar; Bengt Hallberg - Piano; George Riedel - Bass; Alex Riel - Drums.

Easily one of my favorites and soon to be one of yours I have no doubt.

1) Chicken Run
2) The Baby
3) The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers
4) Raindrops Raindrops
5) Silver
6) Till Monica
7) The Thoughts Of A Gentleman
8) The Real Guitarist In The House
9) Pearlie's Swine
10) Ulla
11) Till Steve

Killer Kuhn!

Steve Kuhn - Steve Kuhn Buddah BDS-5098 (1971)

This album is just so damn good - it hurts. Kuhn's tour de force and definitely his hardest to find - this deserves a huge audience and warrants a sorely needed reissue.

Beauty, depth and weight in equal measure. Monster washes of fender rhodes, tender and soulful lyricism supported by a heavyweight cast which includes pumping bass by none other than Ron Carter, funky but never overpowering drums by Billy Cobham - in fact I've never heard him play better and percussion by Airto Moreira. Add to this already mouth-watering line-up a small string section arranged by Gary McFarland and we have a very special LP indeed.

I believe this was Gary McFarland's final recording date before his untimely and mysterious death but what a way to go..! Saying that though, this is all about Steve Kuhn and it's plainly his show - a handful of his finest compositions delivered in definitive fashion. I envy your first listen.

1) Pearlie's Swine (aka The Zoo)
2) Silver
3) Time To Go (aka Tomorrow's Song)
4) The Heat Of The Moment
5) The Baby (aka Saharan)
6) Hold Out Your Hand (aka The Drinking Song)
7) The Meaning of Love
8) Ulla (aka Remembering Tomorrow)

Melodia Ensemble Part II

Melodia Ensemble - The Works Of Duke Ellington Melodia C60-09261-2 (1978)

More hip Russian big band nuttiness for you - and one that may well have The Duke spinning in his grave! A first rate LP of funky and progressive arrangements of evergreens with real stings in their tails - a real surprising play throughout. All killer... etc.

I'll keep it short and sweet and let the music do the talking.

1) Take The 'A' Train
2) In A Sentimental Mood
3) It Don't Mean A Thing
4) Daydream
5) Cotton Tail

Melodia Ensemble

Melodia Ensemble - Concert In Bombay Melodia C60-14933-34 (1980)

Russian State label Jazzers in India - whatever next!

A killer LP of funky big band grooves. As is so often the case with Eastern European releases in the 70s & 80s, musical trends tended to lag behind their western equivalents, both technologically and stylistically and this release is no different - so don't let the year fool you.

The Jazz Festival in Bombay is one of the most exotic in the world. Unusual combinations of musical cultures from Africa, America, Asia and Europe, the presence of many distinguished masters of jazz and a sensitive and sympathetic audience - all of which made the festival "Jazz Yatra-80" an extremely happy and colourful one.

The brochure issued by the organizers of the festival - National Jazz Committee of India, Secretary General Committee Narayan Dzhaverm quotes Mahatma Gandhi and has become the motto of the festival: "I want the windows and doors of my house to be wide open. I give the cultures of all countries free entry into my house". Bulgaria, Germany, England, Sweden, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia, Finland, the Soviet Union - this is far from a complete list of participating countries in the festival.

So, back to the album... Original compositions, funky basslines, tight jazzy horns and plenty of Moog. Completely delicious and further proof, should you need any, that exceptional music can have the most unusual origins.

1) Holiday
2) Opus N° 2
3) The Old Fort
4) Whirlpool
5) Remembering A Friend
6) Birds In The Window

Cross Dressers!

Rolando & Luiz Antonio - Meu Coração É Um Pandeiro Ou... RCA Victor FPL-1 0117 (Fra) (1976)

Luiz Antonio was born in Tatui in the state of São Paulo and was in such bands as Pigalle, Som Okey 5 and Biriba Boys. Most notably, in 1972, he left for Barcelona and cut the immortal 'Brasil Aquarius y Luiz Antonio' LP. It was there in 1974, he met Rio born singer Rolando Faria, at that time in the group 'Ronie & Central do Brasil' (already posted on this blog).

France became their home and together they toured as Les Étoiles, adopting transvestite personas on stage as they brought Brasilian music to European concert-goers. From the 3 studio albums they recorded in France - this is their debut and what a belter.

Lots of great party-driven samba inflected tunes - the funky 'Chica-Chica-Boom-Chic' and 'Alô, Alô' were lifted for the single and amply demonstrate this. Other highlights for me include their beautiful harmonising on 'Você' and a killer rendition of Joyce's 'Nacional Kid'.

1) Chica-Chica-Boom-Chic
2) Você
3) Viola-Violar
4) Côco Verde
5) Estão Batendo
6) Antes Que Eu Volte A Ser Nada
7) Sol Negro
8) Nacional Kid Ou Brasileiro
9) Jeanne, La Française
10) Alô, Alô

Eliana Pittman

Eliana Pittman - Estrela É Lua Nova RGE XRLP-5.334 (1969)

Born Eliana Leite da Silva in Rio, 1945 and step-daughter to the great Saxophonist Booker Pittman. Eliana Pittman was not only a great beauty in her day but singer, actress and dancer who had an extraordinary rapport with her audiences, compared with the likes of Josephine Baker, Lena Horn and Carmen Miranda. She even hosted her own TV specials such as 'Eliana em Tom Maior', 'Positivamente Eliana' & 'Eliana Cravo e Canela'.

In 1969, Booker Pittman dies and Eliana starts to sing alone, the result is this cracking album produced by Joao Araujo, the highlight for me being a majestic cover and sublime arrangement of Tiempo de Verano (Summertime) and the incendiary Se Você Pensa. The rest of the album is varied combination of swinging Sambas, groovy Bossas and slow burning ballads.

1) Olelê... Cheguei Agora-Enxuga A Tristeza Do Olhar-Peixe Vivo-Bahia De Todos Os Deuses-Pra Que Dinheiro
2) Que Maravilha
3) Tiempo De Verano
4) Estrela É Lua Nova
5) Fim De Tarde
6) Viva A Vida!
7) Na Baixa Do Sapateiro
8) Se Você Pensa
9) Vou Morrer De Rir
10) E Você Nem Viu
11) Iá Ia Do Cais Dourado

The self-titled Argentine Fermata release of this LP the following year featured an additional track 'El Globo Rojo' or 'The Red Balloon'.

Fabiano Orchestra

Fabiano Orchestra - Butterfly Island Franck R Records 8.8002 (1979)

Cracking jazz fusion by the Jean-François Fabiano Orchestra out of Guadeloupe on a French only pressing. Deep spacey keyboard noodling and Rhodes solos courtesy Dominique Bérose, lively melodic horn lines, lyrical guitar licks and worldless females interspersed with tracks of a more West Indian bent. Top draw..!

1) Half Moon Bay
2) Fo Ça Changé
3) Créole
4) Rastaman Rock
5) West Indian Meditation
6) Butterfly Island
7) Fusion (Manahattan Pulse)
8) Pointe Des Chateaux