Steps Ahead - Live In Tokyo 1986 (1994)

I thought I'd check out live versions of tunes with which I am very familiar. Sawite. And somehow, these live versions sound more dated than the studio versions I've been listening to for many decades.

By this time, Steps Ahead was Michael Brecker and Mike Mainieri supported by other fine musicians. In this case, we've got Mike Stern on guitar (fresh off his gigs with Miles Davis), Darryl Jones on bass (just after leaving Sting's backing band and, since 1993, with The Rolling Stones), and drummer Steve Smith (who I always associate with Journey). They work together well, but the only bit here that varies much from the studio versions is a nice segue from In A Sentimental Mood to Trains. This isn't one of those albums I'll seek out, but I won't skip a track should it come around on a shuffle.

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★★★): "packed with catchy jazz-pop melodies and plenty of invigorating stretches of harmonized playing."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Of the eight tracks here, 3 originally appeared on Modern Times, the remaining 5 on Magnetic.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Magnetic (1986)
Modern Times (1984)
Steps Ahead (1983)

Grant Green - Born To Be Blue (1985)

These tracks were recorded December 11, 1961 & March 1, 1962, but not released until 1985 on LP and cassette, 1989 on Compact Disc. While revitalizing the Blue Note record label in the 1980s, Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna started rereleasing classic Blue Note albums while also clearing the vaults of previously unreleased recordings by Blue Note artists. That last part is where this album comes in and the late release explains the uncharacteristic album cover they chose instead of a Reid Miles-inspired classic Blue Note design. This 1985 article in CashBox magazine suggests that Alfred Lion didn't release some '60s albums because the material was "just not up to Blue Note standards." I will note that the article is vague about which recording Lion was referring to. But this collection of standards and pop songs features Green, Sonny Clark, and Ike Quebec, so I can't figure out why the label sat on it for over twenty years.

Grant Green - guitar
Ike Quebec - tenor saxophone
Sonny Clark - piano
Sam Jones - bass
Louis Hayes - drums

CD liner notes by Richard Seidel.

Reviews/ratings:

• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★ "best of all [Green's] Blue Notes"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

1. Someday My Prince Will Come - from Walt Disney's 1937 animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
2. Born To Be Blue - 1946 jazz standard written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells.
4. If I Should Lose You - from the 1936 film Rose of the Rancho.
5. Back In Your Own Back Yard - popular song from 1928 with lyrics by Al Jolson & Billy Rose with music by Dave Dreyer.
6. My One And Only Love - 1953 jazz standard written by Guy Wood and Robert Mellin.
7. Count Every Star - 1950 pop song written by Bruno Coquatrix and Sammy Gallop.
8. Cool Blues - jazz blues written in 1947 by Charlie Parker.
9. Outer Space - Green original

I'm hard-pressed to pick a favorite here, but today I'm leaning toward the beautiful ballad My One And Only Love. Quebec steals the show on many of the tracks, most notably on the swinging Someday My Prince Will Come.

Included is an alternate take of track 2, Born To Be Blue, which is almost as good as the track ultimately used so I have no problem with it. My problem is the sequencing: the alternate take immediately follows at track 3, ruining any kind of flow to the album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Talkin' About (1965)
Idle Moments (1965)
Feelin' The Spirit (1963)
Green Street (1961)
Sunday Mornin'/Grantstand/Grant's First Stand/Green Blues

Various Artists - 50 Years Of Como MS Blues (2019)

Austrian import

According to my parents and confirmed by my birth certificate, I was brought into this world in Batesville, Mississippi, 14 miles south of Como and spent the first five months of my life (June - October, 1966) in Sardis, about 5 miles from Como. This is all in Panola County, which is located just east of the Delta in an area commonly known as the North Mississippi Hill Country.

So for me, this CD of blues music from Como is more of an educational tool than anything. I'm trying to learn more about that area, its history, and its musical legacy. To that end, we're treated to 19 mostly acoustic tracks from 6 blues artists associated with Como. Three of the six have Mississippi Blues Trail markers in Panola County: Jessie Mae Hemphill, Fred McDowell, and Othar Turner

Until recently, I was unfamiliar with the difference between Hill Country Blues and Delta Blues. If you're in the same boat, here's a rudimentary breakdown of the two main differences:

1. Hill Country Blues emphasizes hypnotic grooves, repetition, and rhythm; Delta Blues emphasizes chord changes, song structure, and storytelling.
2. HCB often stays on one chord or riff for long stretches, while DB usually follows recognizable 12-bar or related blues progressions.

More on this particular compilation can be found online at: Blues Blast Magazine and Wolf Records International.

Recommended for the back porch on a hot summer day with some mosquito repellent, a 3 speed oscillating fan, and a tall cold beverage of your choice.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, with my favorites marked with an asterisk:

1. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Go Back To Your Used To Be*
2. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Shame On You (Take 2)
3. Fred McDowell - Frisco Line
4. Fred McDowell - You Gotta Move*
5. Ranie Burnette - I Wonder Why
6. Ranie Burnette - I Call My Baby*
7. R.L. Boyce - Gonna Boogie/Poor Black Mattie
8. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Train, Train*
9. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Eagle Bird
10. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Shake It, Shake It
11. Eli Green with Fred McDowell - Brooks Run Into The Ocean*
12. Eli Green with Fred McDowell - Bull Dog Blues*
13. Ranie Burnette - I'm Goin Away
14. Ranie Burnette - Moonshine Blues
15. Ranie Burnette - Come On Baby
16. Othar Turner - Rooster Blues
17. R.L. Boyce - Child of God/One Of These Days
18. R.L. Boyce - Baby Please Don't Go/Lonesome Road*
19. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Shame On You (Take 1)

Many of these tracks sound like they were recorded on somebody's front porch and it's so doggone authentic you can't help but be captivated by the hypnotic repetition mentioned above.

Jessie Mae Hemphill (1923-2006) tracks recorded September 1991 near Como. Note: I was previously introduced to Jessie Mae Hemphill via the Deep Blues movie/soundtrack.
Fred McDowell (1904-1972) tracks recorded July 1965 in Berkeley, California
Ranie Burnette (1913-2000) tracks recorded September 1991 near Como.
Eli Green (190?-1966) tracks recorded March 1965 near Holly Springs, Mississippi.
Othar Turner (1907-2003) track recorded July 1975 near Senatobia, Mississippi.
R.L. Boyce (1955-2023) tracks recorded January 2017 in Como.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Of course I don't remember anything about being an infant, but my wife and I did pass through Como in October 2025 as part of our trip down parts of the Mississippi Blues Trail. Continuing my research on the area, I've tried to read Politics of Southern Equality: Law and Social Change in a Mississippi County (1970) by Frederick M. Wirt, Ph.D., a mixed methods study of how federal civil rights laws reshaped race relations in Panola County during the 1960s. Unfortunately the book was too academic and dry for my tastes plus it didn't delve into the rich musical culture of the county at all. It's an eye-opening piece of political research, but I simply couldn't finish it. Is there a CliffsNotes available?

Your humble blogger, a true Texassippian,
on the Mississippi Blues Trail, 2025.

For another (more interesting) story about my family's history during the civil rights era in the Mississippi of the 1960s, check out this previous blog post.

Bill Conti - Rocky: Original Motion Picture Score (1976)

I spent most of the first 12 years of my life in Odessa, Texas, which is situated on the Eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. So, when sharing stories of my childhood with family, I often start with the phrase, "When I was growing up in the desert..." And here ya go:

When I was growing up in the desert, my friends and I went to the movies quite a bit. In my mind, we went every Saturday, but it was probably closer to twice a month. Our mothers were probably thrilled to have us out of their way and we were thrilled to see some entertainment in an air conditioned building. (At the time, my house as well as my school used swamp coolers instead of air conditioning.)

In addition to the drive-in places (which we never attended for whatever reason), there were four movie theaters in town. Two were downtown: the Ector theater and the Scott theater. Closer to my house were the Grandview Theater and the two screen cinema in the new Winwood Mall out on East 42nd Street.

So if there was a movie we truly enjoyed, we were limited in terms of options:

1. If the movie was "held over" at the theater, we could pay to see it again.
2. We could wait a few years for it to appear on television (for Rocky, the first broadcast was on CBS, Sunday, February 4, 1979).
3. We could possibly find a novelization of the movie.
4. Buy a copy of the soundtrack album.

That's it. No VCR, no DVD, no PPV, no streaming, no on demand. And Rocky wasn't on HBO until 1986.

Of course, me and my friends absolutely loved Rocky and probably saw it more than once at the theater. My friend Troy also picked up a copy of the soundtrack album and we would listen to it over and over when I was at his house. Until I picked up this CD, I had forgotten how often we listened to the thing because I remember almost all of it.

The album was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best Sound Track Album – Background Score from a Motion Picture or Television, losing to Star Wars (the first of John Williams's six consecutive wins in that category, 1978-83). The album was also nominated for an Oscar for best soundtrack plus Gonna Fly Now was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Performance, both also losing to Star Wars.

Press of the time:

• RPM: "powerful and exciting"
• CashBox: "short pieces that stand on their own even if you have not seen the movie"
• Billboard: "includes a couple of vocal cuts that are right-on contemporary"
• High Fidelity: "the main part of Bill Conti's score proves quite listenable and varied"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #4
• Billboard R&B: #32
• CashBox: #5

Tracks: 13 tracks, 31½ minutes. Gonna Fly Now, the lead track here, was released as a single, peaking at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in July 1977 and #20 on the adult contemporary chart. It remains highly motivational at sports events a half-century later. There's an a capella doo-wop track written by Frank Stallone called Take You Back which may have been my first exposure to doo-wop and I'm amazed at how much of that one that I remember. I also recall Going The Distance and Fanfare For Rocky. Although I didn't know what a fugue was when I was 10 years old, I now recognize the counterpoint that closes the album, simply titled Rocky's Reward. The other tracks are brief cues from the movie that perfectly capture the mood of particular scenes and, like any good soundtrack, recycle a few leitmotifs. I had completely forgotten about You Take My Heart Away which features melodies from Gonna Fly Now and vocals from DeEtta Little & Nelson Pigford.

Gonna Fly Now also hit the Hot 100 in contemporary cover versions by Rhythm Heritage (peaked at #94, March 1977), Current (#94, April 1977), and most famously, Maynard Ferguson (#28, June 1977).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

Roy Ayers Ubiquity (2024)

UK import

2024 box set of five albums by vibraphonist Roy Ayers - sometimes known as the "Godfather of Acid Jazz" - released in the years 1975-1977. I almost didn't buy this set because I already had two of the five albums, but I wanted to hear Vibrations and this set was the cheapest way to pick up a (legitimate) copy. At $30 ($6 per album), it's a hard to pass up this shining set. I mean, everybody loves the sunshine, right?

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A TEAR TO A SMILE (1975)
10 tracks, 40 minutes

In which Ayers moves from his early '70s funky jazz to a funk-jazz-soul-R&B-disco mix while maintaining his bona fides as one of the best vibraphone players in the land. There's a new focus on vocal tracks that sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. There's some great grooves and performances to be had throughout. With this album, Ayers begins his slow transition from jazz player to conductor/producer/arranger as he inches toward the smoother, more commercial sound of his late '70s peak.

I love how he adds descriptors for each performer in the credits.

Reviews/ratings:

• Record World: "The feel flows throughout"
• CashBox: "a low keyed approach to funk, sprinkled ever so lightly with the essential life juices of jazz and rhythm and blues."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• CashBox: #181
• Record World Jazz: #11

Tracks: I enjoy 2000 Black, Show Us A Feeling, The Old One Two (Move To Groove), and A Tear To A Smile. My current favorite cut is the ethereal ballad, Miles (Love's Silent Dawn). The only track that plays it safe is a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's The Way Of The World, but just because it's safe doesn't mean it's not extrememly enjoyable. (And quite frankly, that song is just begging for jazz covers.) Ayers hits the vibes more on this album than a few of the subsiquent releases, especially on tracks like Ebony Blaze, Time And Space, That's The Way Of The World, Miles (Love's Silent Dawn), and the title track.

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MYSTIC VOYAGE (1975)
10 tracks, 43 minutes

Previously appeared on The CD Project. Note: the 7" version of Evolution is included in this box set as a bonus track.

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EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE (1976)
10 tracks, 40 minutes

Previously appeared on The CD Project.

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VIBRATIONS (1976)
11 tracks, 42 minutes

Following up the success of Everybody Loves The Sunshine, so we've got more of the same. I'm not complaining. Rather than trying to reinvent himself, Ayers doubled down on the formula he had been refining all decade: warm vocals, sophisticated jazz harmonies, and irresistible funk grooves. This album also marks the beginning of a shift to utlizing disco/dance grooves on a few tracks. While not having the commercial success of Everybody Loves The Sunshine, Vibrations did quite well on a variety of charts.

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★½): "I've been known to walk out of restaurants for no other reason that stuff like this coming over the loudspeaker."
• Billboard: "elements of jazz and soul that fuse together for a varied array of mellow and upbeat compositions."
• CashBox: "Roy Ayers Ubiquity is a classy jazz/rock/funk aggregation that, on each album, gets better and better."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #74
• Billboard R&B: #11
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• CashBox: #94
• CashBox Jazz: #4
• Record World Jazz: #4

Tracks that could have fit on Everybody Loves The Sunshine: Baby I Need Your Love, The Memory, Better Days, Searching, Vibrations, and Baby You Give Me A Feeling.

Tracks embracing the disco trends of the time: Domelo (Give It To Me), Come Out And Play, and Moving Grooving.

Too funky to fit neatly in either of the above categories: Higher and One Sweet Love To Remember.

Bonus track: 7" version of Domelo (Give It To Me)

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LIFELINE (1977)
10 tracks, 43 minutes

I bought this box set because I dig the albums Mystic Voyage and Everybody Loves The Sunshine and wanted more of the same. That's just what we're treated to here. (I also recommend the 2003 compilation, Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981, which I recently discovered at my local library). To say I am pleased with this box set is an understatement.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "There are some subtly cooking gems on this set"
• CashBox: "shines with fresh vitality and as much variety as you'll hear pressed in vinyl"
• Record World: "Ayers has disco-fied his sound as never before and the results should reach a much wider audience."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #72
• Billboard R&B: #9
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• CashBox: #74
• CashBox Jazz: #3
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks: my favorites are This Side Of Sunshine, Gotta Find A Lover, Lifeline, and Sanctified Feeling.

Bonus track: 12" version of Running Away, which peaked at #19 on Billboard's R&B chart and #14 on Billboard's dance chart

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Previously revisited for the blog:
Everybody Loves The Sunshine (1976)
Mystic Voyage (1975)

Brenda Russell - Two Eyes (1983)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2002 Spy reissue.

In 2020, I picked up a copy of Brenda Russell's 1981 album, Love Life, quickly fell in love with it and announced it as "the best new-to-me album I heard in 2020" and bluntly stated "I love the thing." For the record, both statements still hold true. Soon after, longtime friend o' the blog Dirk Digglinator let me know that if I liked Love Life, I absolutely needed to check out its follow-up, Two Eyes. And he was most certainly correct. Russell's brand of smooth soul-pop goes down easy, plus there's plenty of recognizable names in the credits: Bill LaBounty, James Newton Howard, David Foster, Michael McDonald, Don Grusin, Nathan East, Jeff Porcaro, Jerry Hey, and Stevie Wonder.

The good news: the album is produced by Tommy LiPuma.
The bad news: after Love Life, the A&M label dropped Russell; this was Russell's only release on the Warner Bros. label and WB did almost nothing to promote Two Eyes.
The best news: it's a dang good album.

Detailed liner notes from the 2002 reissue by David Nathan.

Press of the time:

• High Fidelity: "Brenda Russell's voice is so fine...that it's a crime her songwriting isn't better." [note: I'm guessing the reviewer was having a bad day when he wrote this review as he later refers to Jeff Porcaro's playing as "inimitably boring."]
• Billboard: "[Russell] finds crossover connections strengthened under producer LiPuma"

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Two singles were released from the album, I Want Love To Find Me and the title track. Neither charted, although they should have and either single would have been equally at home on the Hot 100, R&B, or Adult Contemporary charts. Dirk told me the highlight of the album was the tribute to Al Jarreau, simply titled Jarreau. It's plenty good for sure, but my favorite track is Hello People, co-written by Michael McDonald. I recognized track 2, It's Something, from Leslie Smith's recommended 1982 album, Heartache. I'll See You Again isn't the greatest, but it features a harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder, so it's a keeper. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the album closer, Look Down Young Soldier.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

Previously revisited for the blog:
Get Here (1988)
Love Life (1981)

Johnny Mathis - The Island (1989)

Note: the CD I listened to was 2020 CD release

This album was recorded in August 1989, but not released at that time. The compact disc I purchased is the first standalone-CD release of this album, but not its first time on CD. The album made its debut on CD in 2017 as Disc #55 in the mammoth 68(!) CD box set titled The Voice Of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection (MSRP $499.98, currently reselling for at least twice that price).

I was gifted a Mathis promo CD sampler and it contained the title track from this album. I wrote the following: "I wouldn't mind hearing more tracks from that album." Produced by Sergio Mendes, this album is full of a soft rock blend that lies somewhere between música popular brasileira and WestCoast/Adult Oriented Rock. More on the release from these 2 posts:

• Johnny Mathis’ Brazil-Themed “The Island” Arrives From Second Disc Records, Real Gone Music
• The Island

Anyway, I bought this copy back in November 2021 and I really want to like the thing, but I just don't think the right material was chosen to suit Mathis's immediately recognizable voice. While listening, I can't help but wonder what Al Jarreau or Joe Pizzulo would have done with a few of these songs. Another problem with the album is a lack of variety; I'd like an upbeat tune every now and then to offset all the slow-to-midtempo romantic material. To be brutally honest, some of this stuff is downright boring. So maybe the album wasn't released back in '89 for good reason?

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I'm already familiar with other versions of three songs on the disc, so of course I compare these to the first I heard. The tracks that work better than others are Who's In Love Here (co-written by Brenda Russell) and Wanting More. And I'll ignore the unintended irony of that title for now.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Music of Johnny Mathis: Your Personal Sampler (1993)