Roger Glenn - Reachin' (1976)

EU import

MIZELL BROTHERS MONTH (APRIL 2026)

From the back CD insert: "Sought-after jazz funk rarity from reed-master Roger Glenn. Produced by the Mizell brothers and featuring Bill Summers and Paul Jackson from the Headhunters." I recognized Glenn's name from his work with Mongo Santamaria and Donald Byrd, but I had no idea he ever released an album as a leader until I started my Mizell Brothers deep-dive. Disco was all the rage in 1976 but this thing is a jazz-fusion/Latin-funk gem.

Glenn is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind and percussion instruments; on this album he focuses on flute and vibraphone. The music has a Latin flair, especially when compared to other Mizell Brothers albums. Great grooves are present, the bass lines are pumpin', and the Hohner Clavinet is making the funk funkier. There's an overall relaxing feeling like you're sitting on the porch, cool breeze blowing, cold drink in hand, and the sun is permanently setting. I'm not normally a fan of jazz flute, but I'll make an exception for Glenn and Bobbi Humphrey.

This 2010 CD reissue includes liner notes from Dean Rudland.

Press of the time:

• DownBeat (★★★½): "This pleasing, danceable product is hopefully only a first step."
• Walrus: "hot R&B fusion music which features near relentless rhythm"

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

Tracks: The album didn’t have a clear hit single for commercial radio, but my top picks today are the appropriately titled Rio, and Kick (co-written by Sheila E.), and the title track. The final track, Rezo Chango, just doesn't fit in with the rest of the album and, not coincidently, is the least Mizell-sounding track here.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Donald Byrd - Stepping Into Tomorrow (1975)

Japanese import

MIZELL BROTHERS MONTH (APRIL 2026)

As the weather warms, I lately find myself drifting towards '70s jazz-funk albums such as Music Is My Sanctuary and the sort found on the Capitol Rare compilations. Then friend o' the blog Dirk Digglinator pointed out that many of those "summery" grooves I dig come from the writing and production of brothers Larry & Fonce Mizell who, in my vivid imagination, always wore sunglasses when seated at the studio's mixing console. And since we've already got high temperatures in the 90s here in San Antonio, let's get out the sunscreen and spin some Mizell Brothers discs while throwing some well-seasoned brisket in the smoker.

I don't know exactly what it is about this stuff that makes it summer music for me. Lots of tight, hypnotic, infectious, shimmering mid-tempo grooves featuring wah-wah pedals, silky keyboards, and basslines that refuse to sit still. Grooves are tight but never in a hurry. I can imagine I'm cutting through the morning fog into the sunshine as I drive my convertible along the coast. It all sounds the same yet it all sounds different. So what if DownBeat gave it a "tepid quasi-funk" label? We like what we like and judging by chart positions, I'm far from the only who enjoys these grooves.

There's not much playing from Byrd on this one; many tunes could just as easily been credited to saxophonist Gary Bartz. Then again, this album is all about feel, not blistering solos or virtuoso flexing. The occasional, wordless, high-flying whistle register vocals from Lorraine Kenner are impressive but often distracting. There I go nit-picking again. The vocals must not have bothered younger generations as the album became a sampling goldmine decades later, proving that sometimes a song’s true destiny is to be chopped up by DJs who weren’t even born when Byrd recorded the thing.

Reviews/ratings:

• Record World: "Byrd's best set yet"
• Billboard: "Producer Larry Mizell has himself in for additional points by contributing five tunes, so the LP really carries his imprimateur [sic]."
• DownBeat (no rating): "faceless tepid quasi-funk"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #42
• Billboard Jazz: #2
• Billboard R&B: #7
• CashBox: #42
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks: Think Twice was released as a single and bubbled under the Hot 100 at #104. Shoulda charted higher but you already knew that. It's fantastic along with Makin' It and the mixed-meter Design A Nation. But really, you should just sit back and let this whole thing simmer as you catch some rays out back while minding the smoker. 😎

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, other than the summer vibes mentioned above.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Love Byrd (1981)
A New Perspective (1964)

Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer (1999)

Around the turn of the century, I went through a brief "Cuban phase" during which I listened to a lot of Afro-Cuban music and became a wannabe cigar aficionado. Oddly, I didn't drink much rum at the time. Go figure. Anyway -  even though he then lived about 80 miles away, my high school friend Jim went through a similar phase along with me. I would travel to his place a few weekends a year where he had set up his back porch as a place to drink beer, smoke cigars, and listen to Afro-Cuban CDs. He dubbed it "Jaime's Cantina" and it was a great place to relax (my stressors around 1999 included grad school, teaching middle school, raising two sons ages 6 & 2, being webmaster for my church, and guess what? Everything turned out ok despite my worry.).

Admittedly, I haven't listened to much Afro-Cuban music since those days but I found this Ibrahim Ferrer CD among my father's belongings and it's got me grooving once again. No cigars this go round as they now make me nauseous for some reason (getting old is hell).

Ferrer was famous for his bolero vocals, but this disc has a variety of styles, including my personal favorite, son. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Tropical Latin Album. Plus, after the release of this album, Ferrer - at the age of 72! - was named Best New Artist at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards. And now I need to dig out my Buena Vista Social Club DVD and give that another watch this afternoon.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "delightful solo debut"
• DownBeat (★★★★½): "his voice is as inspiring as his personality"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #137
• Billboard Top Latin: #2
• Billboard Tropical: #1

Tracks: It's all good, but if I had to pick my favorites today, they would be Bruca Maniguá, Guateque Campesino, Qué Bueno Baila Usted, and the dreamy Silencio.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was honored to see Ferrer perform not long after this CD was released.

The Man From Snowy River (1982)

Soundtrack for an Australian film starring Kirk Douglas. Music composed, arranged, and conducted by Bruce Rowland. I don't think I've ever seen the show, but my high school buddy Scott somehow discovered the movie back in early '80s, loved the soundtrack, bought the album, and made us listen to it quite a bit. The soaring main theme is quite lovely and I'm 90% sure I played an arrangement of said theme with one of my junior high bands back when I made a living teaching in the public schools in the early 1990s. Scott's LP was also my introduction to the Varèse Sarabande label. I really wasn't looking for a copy of the soundtrack, but when you can buy a bit of nostalgia for 50¢ in a thrift store, you do so.

The soundtrack won prizes for Rowland in the category of best score from the Australian Film Institute as well as the Australasian Performing Right Association.

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

Tracks: 14 tracks, 34 minutes. As with many soundtracks, you get two or three themes and then variants of those themes in all sorts of instrumentation and tempi.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above

Charlie Haden/Jan Garbarek/Egberto Gismonti – Magico (1980)

This one's not for me. By the end of the album, I was wondering to myself if my personal "ECM season" had passed and I should no longer look for ECM CDs in the used bins. But then I read the reviews that were less than favorable (save for the folks at Stereo Review) and now I'm thinking this one was simply a swing-and-a-miss. After all, nobody can bat 1.000. (Baseball analogies provided in honor of the opening of the 2026 MLB season.)

Reviews/ratings:

• Stereo Review: "ought to send you scrambling for the nearest record shop"
• Musician: "like gazing at a tree, knowing every leaf and branch is there for a reason, yet unable to trace the whole chain of consequence back to the trunk and the roots."
• High Fidelity: "Putting these three world-class jazzmen together was a great idea that somehow never ignited."
• CashBox: "There is nothing obvious about the music"
• DownBeat (★★½): "it is imbued with a studied hush and false intimacy that ultimately cloys and bores."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000):★★★
• 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:

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Rick Braun Plays Chuck Mangione (2026)

The title pretty much says it all. If you want more info, here's a bit from Braun's Bandcamp site:

Sparked by Mangione’s passing in July 2025, this project is deeply personal; Braun performs every track using the cherished Giardinelli mouthpiece gifted to him by the legend himself during a meeting at the 2007 Long Beach Jazz Festival. This beautiful sense of continuity is further enhanced by Braun’s use of the same Couesnon flugelhorn he played as a student at the Eastman School of Music

Hell, if Chuck Mangione gave me one of his mouthpieces, I'd not only use it, I'd probably figure out a way to wear the thing on a chain around my neck. The album is a well-polished tribute, mostly showcasing Mangione's writing skills. Braun is better on the flugelhorn than Mangione was, so Braun upstages the honoree on the playing side of things. Braun brought in guests on saxophone (Richard Elliot & Tom Scott) as well as onetime Mangione sideman, guitarist Grant Geissman. All in a tri-fold digisleeve with playing and production credits but oddly void of writing and publishing credits. Judging from the number of times I've listened to this CD since it hit my mailbox earlier this month, I greatly enjoy this effort. Recommend for fans of Mangione, for sure.

Album chart peaks:(to be determined)

• US Billboard 200:
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz:

Tracks:

1. Land Of Make Believe (originally from the 1973 album of the same name)
2. Doin' Everything With You (originally from the 1976 album, Main Squeeze) featuring Grant Geissman
3. Feels So Good (originally from the 1977 album of the same name) featuring Richard Elliot
4. Long Hair Soulful (originally from the 1988 album, Eyes of the Veiled Temptress)
5. Give It All You Got (originally from the 1979 album, Fun & Games) featuring Tom Scott
6. Do I Dare To Fall In Love (originally from 1983 album, Journey To A Rainbow) featuring Richard Elliot
7. Bellavia (originally from the 1975 album of the same name)
8. Love Wears No Disguise (originally from the 1984 album, Disguise)
9. Children Of Sanchez (originally from the 1978 album of the same name) featuring Grant Geissman

So most of the "hits" are here, plus a couple of deep cuts - it's a nice mix. I would have liked Chase The Clouds Away, but you can't have everything, right? For the most part, the arrangements aren't much different from the original tunes; the exceptions are Land Of Make Believe and Children Of Sanchez. I've heard this version of Give It All You Got on the radio, so I'm guessing that's the single release and a good choice for one. And I'll have to wait a little longer before I'm treated to a recording of Feels So Good that features a vocalist and Mangione's lyrics.

Full lyrics available here

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Nothing with this particular album as it is a new release, but hearing Mangione tunes always takes me back to my junior high school and high school days.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Groovin' (2002) with BWB
Shake It Up (2000) with Boney James
Body And Soul (1997)
Beat Street (1995)

Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City (1985)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD.

I picked up this CD purely for nostalgia's sake and was quickly reminded what a great album it is (well, the first six tracks, at least). The music moves through funk, rock, hip-hop, and jazz without worrying too much about stylistic consistency; it’s less about cohesion and more about in-your-face urgency, which I guess was the point. If you're interested in the album's origin story, there's a great "making of" video available as well as an informative 2021 interview with organizer Steven Van Zandt.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone: "The Sun City project is about informing and motivating people. That we can dance while we're organizing is this record's greatest triumph."
• Musician: "If this project works at all, it will make you mad as hell at the way the world works when it comes to racial relations."
• Stereo Review: "I wish this record were better than it is."
• CashBox: "this is one of the most substantial social issue albums compiled."
• Billboard
• Robert Christgau: A-

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #31
• Billboard R&B: #28
• CashBox: #31
• Rolling Stone: #40

Tracks: The Sun City single is the best "supergroup" charity single ever released, easily besting Do They Know It's Christmas, We Are The World, Hands Across America, etc. It was named the best single of 1985 in the Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. (I ranked it slightly lower, #37 for the year.) It's so choice, in fact, that we're treated to two different mixes of the thing. So many good parts: the Miles Davis intro, the aggressive drums, the chanting, and how coolly Lou Reed delivers the line, "Look around the world, baby, it cannot be denied." We're also treated to a wordless Peter Gabriel track that is better than it should be for something created on the spot (No More Apartheid), an attempt to capitalize on the success of the Paul Hardcastle single "19" (Revolutionary Situation), Gil Scott-Heron speaking truth to power (Let Me See Your I.D.), and an all-star jazz group supporting Miles Davis (The Struggle Continues). The only stinker is the last track, Silver And Gold. These days, the subject matter of apartheid is historical, but Scott-Heron's spoken word poetry about having to have papers to prove that you're a citizen continues to be timely, unfortunately.

And they were telling me that when you walk around in South Africa
You gotta carry this little black book with you
Tells everyone whether you're supposed to be in a given area or not
Damn thats about like my life 'cause I got to do that when I go Philly

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I bought the album not long after it was released and it got plenty of playing time in my private(!) dorm room during my sophomore year as an undergrad. Oddly, I don't remember any of my peers ever listening to it or discussing apartheid with me.

More recently, I had a pastor who had grown up in South Africa and immigrated to the US as an adult. An Afrikaner, he would occasionally share stories of growing up during apartheid. They were eye-opening at best, horrifying at worst.