Kevin Eubanks - Guitarist (1983)

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

From the Eubanks website (gently edited for clarity):

His first album as a leader, Guitarist, was released on the Elektra/Musician label when Kevin was 25. It documented a sophisticated, nuanced voice on the instrument and was graced by the presence of some peers who are still performing with him today: tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore (Tonight Show Band member) and Kevin's brother Robin. Kevin’s cousins, the late bassist David Eubanks and the pianist Charles Eubanks, also appeared on the recording, which was so well received that it lead to a seven record recording contract with the GRP label, owned by Dave Grusin and the late Larry Rosen.

Not sure about "sophisticated" and "nuanced," but promotion is promotion. To me, the album is sort of a mixed bag of compositions with lots of flashy technique, but that's what I would expect from someone trying to find his voice. To my ears, he was heavily influenced by Wes Montgomery and I can't say as I blame any guitarist for listening to a lot of Montgomery's work. The playing is better than the writing on the Eubanks originals but he'd get better at both. Guitarist isn't something I come back to often, but we all gotta start somewhere.

Liner notes written by Eubanks himself.

Reviews/ratings:

• Musician: "enterprising, low-key hard bop"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #32
• Record World Jazz: #14

Tracks: 8 tracks, 4 of them Eubanks originals. My favorite tracks are the two on which Eubanks shines on solo acoustic guitar - the appropriately titled The Novice Bounce and the cover of Miles Davis's Blue In Green. Robin Eubanks shines on his arrangement of Jerome Kern's Yesterdays.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Clarke/Corea/Henderson/Hubbard/White - The Griffith Park Collection 2: In Concert (1983)

A 2 CD live version of the group's 1982 studio album, recorded Friday, April 3, 1982 at the Circle Star Theater, near San Francisco. The band performs 4 of the tunes from that first album and takes the opportunity to stretch out - everybody gets a solo! - doubling and sometimes tripling the length of the tunes: the shortest track clocks in at 12 minutes, the longest almost 20. As drummer/producer Lenny White writes in his liner notes, Freddie Hubbard steals the show and "reaffirms his claim to fame as the premier trumpeter in the world." I could use less saxophone, but think it's a better overall album than the earlier studio release. Plus we're treated to great cover art, a 1937 oil painting entitled "Sheridan Theatre" by one of my favorite artists, Edward Hopper.

Stanley Clarke - bass
Chick Corea - piano
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet & flugelhorn
Lenny White - drums

Press of the time:

• Downbeat (★★★★½): "It's great to hear these guys hitting their stride on some fiercely creative extended jamming."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• CashBox Jazz: #29

Tracks: The first four tracks are taken from the first album and includes what I think is the group's best original, Why Wait. The final two tracks are I Mean You, written by Thelonious Monk, and Here's That Rainy Day, a 1953 standard written by Jimmy Van Heusen for the short-lived, quickly forgotten musical Carnival In Flanders. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but on April 3, 1982, I was recovering from a bad case of the measles. More on those adventures here: Adventures in One Act Play - Spring 1982. But that really doesn't have much to do with this live album other than coincidental timing, so never mind. As you were.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Griffith Park Collection (1982)

Clarke/Corea/Henderson/Hubbard/White - The Griffith Park Collection (1982)

It's the old rhythm section from Return To Forever, but this time they've gone acoustic with the help of the addition of a couple of notable horn players. More post-bop and hard-bop instead of RTF's usual fusion. The same personnel on this album, plus singer Chaka Khan, recorded the throwback standards album, Echoes Of An Era, during the same recording sessions. The recording for The Griffith Park Collection was more spontaneous as the musicians played with minimal rehearsal. As described by the Elektra/Musician label:

and from the February 13, 1982 issue of CashBox magazine, p. 27:

I don't love it and that's because of the inconsistent material, not the performances (except when the musicians inexplicably try to coax nonidiomatic sounds out of their instruments). Maybe they should have stuck with standards?

Original album liner notes by Lenny White.

Stanley Clarke - bass
Chick Corea - piano
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet & flugelhorn
Lenny White - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Musician: "I for one would like to see more of this"
• Downbeat (★★★): "a good album that could be much better"
• Stereo Review: "An invigorating exercise in the arts of improvisation and teamwork." Also designated a Recording of Special Merit and received 'honorable mention' by the magazine in its Record of the Year Awards for 1982.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #35
• CashBox Jazz: #26
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #29

Tracks: The better cuts are Why Wait (written by Stanley Clarke) and Remember (written by Steve Swallow).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. This CD was purchased in an effort to collect all the releases on the Elektra/Musician label, 1982-84. Best estimates have me currently at 45 of 55 releases on either vinyl, CD, or both formats.

Eric Gale - Blue Horizon (1982)

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

A prolific studio musician, Gale also played with Stuff. This was his seventh solo album and his only release on the Elektra/Musician label. As described in promotional material:

The effort to blend blues and reggae is prevalent throughout the album, usually in the form of Gale playing blues licks over a reggae-lite groove. Sometimes successful, other times not, but A for effort. Still, it doesn't hold together as an album. Pleasant enough but nothing particularly memorable.

Original liner notes, written by Gale.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #20
• CashBox Jazz: #22
• Radio & Records Jazz: #29

Tracks: The title track features Hugh Masekela and there are a trio of tracks with vocals from guitarist Mark Mazur. My top picks are Blue Horizon, When Tokyo?, and the upbeat 97th & Columbus. The latter is the only track on the album that sounds anything like Gale's music with Stuff. The most daring track is Call Me At The Same number, which is a reggae tune which moves from 4/4 to 6/4 & 7/4 at the chorus. Doesn't work for me, but the band seems to like the groove.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ginseng Woman/Multiplication (1977)

Steve Morse Band - The Introduction (1984)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Morse was a founder of the Dixie Dregs and later played in Kansas then Deep Purple. This 1984 release finds Morse's sound more in line with the Dregs - as he writes in the liner notes: "it moves between the Dregs' sound and our slightly more guitaristic sound." I like the Dregs' sort of Southern rock-jazz fusion if I'm in the right mood; I was introduced to the band while in high school through their 1982 album, Industry Standard and I believe there's vinyl copy of Dregs Of The Earth (1980) on my shelves.

Billboard, November 10, 1984, p. 36

This brief (34 minutes) album is all Southern rock instrumentals and, naturally, sounds like many Dregs releases. The instrumentation is different than the Dregs as Morse has pared down to a power trio. Full of jazz influences with a dash of prog rock, some tracks remind me of Jeff Beck, others remind me more of .38 Special. Morse is such a talent: great grooves, riffs and shredding to be found here, the playing is impeccable; it's all enjoyable.

This album was one of the Elektra/Musician label's final issues and one its best sellers.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "instrumental mix of rock, blues, fusion and beyond"
• Downbeat (★★★★): "fine representation of one of the great guitar talents of our day"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #101
• Billboard Jazz: #15
• CashBox: #99
• CashBox Jazz: #6

Tracks: The lead track, Cruise Missile, was released as a single and even got its own video. It didn't chart, but did played in "Light Rotation" on MTV. It is one of my favorite cuts from the album, along with the title track, On The Pipe, and Huron River Blues.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

This wraps up Elektra/Musician Month here at The CD Project, but it's probably not the last time I'll write about one of those releases. Of the 56 releases during the label's 1982-84 lifespan, I currently own 45 in some physical form, either LP or CD or, in some cases, both. So I'll be on the look out for the remaining 11 and hopefully they'll appear in this space in the near future.

McCoy Tyner - Dimensions (1984)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

NEA Jazz Master McCoy Tyner released over 70 albums during his career, but this 1984 effort was the only one to appear on the E/M label. What is notable about Tyner is the fact that, while many keyboardists had abandoned the piano in the '80s in favor of the synthesizer, Tyner stayed true to his pianistic roots. Other than that, as noted in the reviews below, the music on this album is "comfortably familiar." And if you like Tyner's percussive approach to playing the piano rooted in hard bop origins, that is good news, indeed.

Caveat emptor! Unfortunately, the transfer to CD is not good. I'm guessing the master tape had stretched and by the time this version was pressed in 2005, maybe the technology to correct such things with a click of a mouse wasn't yet available? Whatever the reason, the final two tracks are unlistenable because the stretching leads to sliding variable pitch changes. Sadly, in a rush to collect all 56 Elektra/Musician releases, this emptor did not caveat. I suppose I'll keep an eye out for an original 1984 vinyl pressing.

Tyner - piano
Gary Bartz - alto saxophone
John Blake - violin
John Lee - bass
Wilby Fletcher - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "a return to form"
• Downbeat (★★★½): "unpretentious and accessible; with a mix of new tunes and standards "
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

E/M releases, March 1984

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #43
• CashBox Jazz: #18
• Radio & Records Jazz Airplay: #4

Tracks: Tyner briefly describes each track in the CD's liner notes. There's good band chemistry in the quintet throughout. Top tracks are a tasty solo piano take on Ellington's Prelude To A Kiss, the Latin-flavored Precious One and the straight ahead Just In Time. It's a shame the final tracks are "warped" as track 5, Understanding, would probably be my favorite on the album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Things Ain't What They Used To Be (1990)

Bill Evans - The Paris Concert , Edition Two (1984)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Hype from the label's PR dept:

More brilliant performances from Bill's historic 1979 Paris Concert. Our first edition was heralded as one of his finest recorded concert performances and was awarded an "Oscar" as Best Jazz Album of 1983 by The Association of French Jazz Critics.

Recorded in Paris, France on November 26, 1979, the same performance as Edition One. The main difference between the two editions is the fact that Edition One was exclusively covers while 4 of the 6 cuts here are Evans originals (some familiar), plus Nardis, a Miles Davis composition that became a signature tune for Evans. Of the two editions, I give this one a slight edge.

Ratings:

• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #37
• Radio & Records Jazz Airplay: #16

Tracks:

6 tracks, 48½ minutes. The CD's liner notes, written by jazz authority Burt Korall, outline each composition. My top picks today include the four tranquil ballads on the album, Re: Person I Knew, Gary's Theme, Letter To Evan, and Laurie. Guess I'm just in a mellow mood this morning.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Paris Concert, Edition One (1983)

Jimmy Smith - Keep On Comin' (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

In the '50s and '60s, Jimmy Smith was a prolific recording artist, sometimes releasing as many as five albums a year on various labels, including Blue Note and Verve. He slowed down only slightly into the '70s, but continued to average an album a year into the '90s. This is the second of his two releases on the Elektra/Musician label, recorded live at the Atlanta Free Jazz Festival, Saturday, September 3, 1983. (If I'm not mistaken, the term "free" refers to the price of admission to the festival, not the sub-genre of jazz to be performed.) Smith was pushing 60 at the time and could still deliver the goods. Judging from the liner notes, it seems like he had a great time:

Smith - organ, piano
Kenny Burrell - guitar
Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone
Mike Baker - drums

I almost always look to see who is playing bass on Smith records and then facepalm as I remember that Smith is playing the bass lines himself...with his feet! This album is a fun, bluesy, soulful listen and Burrell often steals the show - what a great pairing. Plus, one track features Smith on solo piano which is a very rare treat indeed.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard
• Musician: "as unadorned and funky a record as the organist has made in years."
• Downbeat (★★★): "Not a bad set, but not inspired, either."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #35
• Radio & Records Jazz Airplay: #10

Tracks: The title blues track makes for a smokin' opener and is followed by a beautiful Burrell cut, Be Yourself, which is my favorite track today.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but 17-year-old Mark certainly would have had a great time and learned a great deal had he been at the Atlanta show that evening.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Best of Jimmy Smith: The Blue Note Years (1988)
Back At The Chicken Shack (1963)
Houseparty (1958)
The Sermon! (1958)

Dizzy Gillespie - One Night In Washington (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

A release in the Elektra/Musician label's Jazz Master Series, a previously unreleased performance from the private collection of Bill Potts, recorded live on Sunday, March 13, 1955, at Club Kavakos, Washington, D.C., "The Home of the Largest Glass of Beer."

Liner notes from Dizzy Gillespie as well as producer/archivist Bill Potts and Dizzy describe the scene:

Click to enlarge.

Exactly as advertised, we're treated to Dizzy playing his signature Afro-Cuban bebop big band music featuring a 17 minute Afro Suite, originally titled Manteca Suite. Energy is high, Dizzy is in fine form, and the band is tight. It sounds like the place was packed and the joint was swingin' that evening. 

Including this album, Bill Potts also contributed three tapes from his archives to the Elektra/Musician Jazz Masters series. Potts also contributed posthumous releases from Bud Powell and Charlie Parker.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "Exhilarating."
• Musician: "never bolder nor more inspired"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

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

Tracks: 6 tracks and they're all smokin', but my top picks are the aforementioned Afro Suite and Caravan.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ken Burns JAZZ Collection (2000)

Endlessly (1988)

Mose Allison - Lessons in Living (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

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

Allison's live follow-up to Middle Class White Boy, recorded July 21, 1982 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland. I'll let him explain:

Indeed he doesn't "need to say a word about the personnel," this is a helluva group:

Allison - piano, vocals

Jack Bruce - bass

Billy Cobham - drums

Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone

Eric Gale - guitar

Mostly just a trio concert, both Donaldson and Gale are brought out later in the set to play blues solos on a couple of tunes. The performance is high-energy and it sounds like everybody had a great time in front of an appreciative audience. Of the two Allison albums released on the Elektra/Musician imprint, this one gets the nod.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "crack band, superb production"
• Downbeat (★★★½): "Mose Allison at his best"
• 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
Peak on Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay Chart: #16

Tracks: 9 tracks, 37½ minutes. If you like Allison's understated bluesy style, there's plenty here to enjoy.

1. Lost Mind (Percy Mayfield cover, originally on Allison's 1958 album, Local Color)
2. Wild Man On The Loose (originally the title track on Allison's 1965 album)
3. Your Mind Is On Vacation (originally the title track on Allison's 1976 album)
4. You Are My Sunshine (standard credited to Jimmie Dixon & Charles Mitchell, originally on Allison's 1968 album, I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin')
5. Seventh Son (Willy Dixon cover, originally on Allison's 1958 album, Creek Bank)
6. Everybody Is Cryin' Mercy (originally on Allison's 1968 album, I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin')
7. Middle Class White Boy (originally the title track on Allison's 1982 album)
8. I Don't Worry About A Thing (originally the title track on Allison's 1962 album)
9. Night Club (originally on Allison's 1971 album, Western Man)

According to setlist.fm, that's pretty close to the whole show that night.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Middle Class White Boy (1982)

David Amram - Latin-Jazz Celebration (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

I think of David Amram more as a composer than a multi-instrumental jazz performer (among many examples, none other than Leonard Bernstein chose Amram as the New York Philharmonic's first composer-in-residence back in 1966). Nevertheless, this album is a fun ride; described at Allmusic as "frequently explosive and always infectious music." A lot of credit goes to the supporting players here, including noted jazz names such as Paquito d'Rivera, Pepper Adams, and Fathead Newman.

Latin-Jazz Celebration was about 10 years ahead of its time. If this album - with its ocarinas, wooden flutes, loads of percussion, and a tune about the rainforest - had been released during the early '90s world music craze, it probably would have moved a few more copies. I like the thing, I just have to be in the right mood to enjoy it.

Ratings:

• 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: Included in the album package are notes on each piece from Amram himself and they are much appreciated. The music shows great knowledge of Latin music's instrumentation and styles, but the music is definitely a celebration, not clinical or academic. The album title is appropriate as the cuts celebrate many different types of Latin music, written in and/or about Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and indigenous peoples of North and South America - all composed with cultural appreciation and respect - plus a scorching cover of Take The 'A' Train. In addition to A Train, my picks for top tracks are New York Charanga and Brazilian Memories. The final track is a 2½ minute Amram monologue regarding his philosophy of music.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

John Klemmer - Fínesse (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by this Japanese import CD.

I am familiar with this 1983 reissue on the E/M label. However, the album was originally issued in 1981 as a limited edition half-speed mastered Nautilus Direct-To-Disc Superdisc with different album art.

Click image to enlarge
Liner notes for this Nautilus release available here.

The release found a wider audience beyond the audiophiles once re-released on E/M in 1983 as evidenced by the fact that the album's run on various charts (below) was during the winter and spring of '83.

Klemmer - saxophone
Roy McCurdy - drums
Bob Magnusson - bass
Russell Ferrante - keyboards
Steve Forman - percussion

The music is performed well and, as you might expect, the sound quality is fantastic. My problem with Klemmer always seems to be the milquetoast material of similar tempo and feel. It's not awful and goes down smooth enough, but tunes certainly don't stick with you after the CD plays.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "slanted towards the saxophonist's softer side."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #10
• CashBox Jazz: #4
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #16

Tracks: 8 tracks, 35 minutes, no interview tacked on to the end. Like I said, it's pleasant, but a lot of the same.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Touch (1975)

2013 CD liner notes here
(in Japanese)

Bill Evans - The Paris Concert, Edition One (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

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

Another release in the Elektra/Musician label's Jazz Master Series, this concert was recorded by Radio France at l'Espace Cardin in Paris, France on November 26, 1979, less than a year before Evans' death at age 51.

So relaxing and serene it's easy to slip from active listening into passive listening and forgetting that you're being treated to a master at work. What a delight. The young rhythm section is remarkably solid and they offer up some tasteful solos, but they seem to know their main role is simply to support what Evans is doing and get out of his way. In fact, they're not on every track, allowing for some solo piano improvisations as well.

Evans - piano
Marc Johnson - bass
Joe LaBarbera - drums

Liner notes

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "in excellent form"
• Musician: "graceful and seamlessly integrated"
• Downbeat (★★★★★): "should stand as one of the most touching and spiritual performances of the latter Evans legacy."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #19
• CashBox Jazz: #15
• Radio & Records Jazz: #16

Tracks: No Evans originals in this edition. Tunes selected from the concert are Evans's take on romantic tunes, old and new. From the first 8 tracks, pick 'em:

1. I Do It for Your Love (Paul Simon) - 6:18
2. Quiet Now (Denny Zeitlin) - 5:55
3. Noelle's Theme (Michel Legrand) - 4:20
4. My Romance (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 9:15
5. I Loves You Porgy (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) - 7:02
6. Up With the Lark (Jerome Kern, Leo Robin) - 6:41
7. All Mine (Minha) (Ruy Guerra, Francis Hime) - 4:05
8. Beautiful Love (Haven Gillespie, Wayne King, Egbert Van Alstyne, Victor Young) - 9:24
9. Excerpts of a conversation between Bill and his older brother, Harry Evans - 1:47

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Tom Scott - Desire (1982)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

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

As he explains in the liner notes, Scott and fellow musicians recorded this album live to two tracks on June 30 & July 1, 1982 in Hollywood. (The CD edition includes additional liner notes that were omitted from the vinyl packaging.) It's typical jazz/funk/pop crossover stuff that had been a successful formula for Scott over the previous decade: some funky originals, a pop tune cover, a ballad using Lyricon, and a crossover pop tune with guest vocals. While the material ain't the greatest, he rounded up some top-notch help in the studio:

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "predictably broad-based fusion"
• Musician: "This is a record to put in the bank, not to listen to."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #164
• Billboard Jazz: #5
• CashBox Jazz: #7
• Radio & Records Jazz: #2

Tracks: It's all pleasant enough except for Johnny B. Badd; my favorites may be the McCartney cover and the vocal tracks. (Scott was no stranger to McCartney as he provided the immediately recognizable soprano sax lick on the 1975 Wings chart-topper, Listen To What The Man Said.) Track 2, Sure Enough, sounds like it was lifted directly from a Pages album and that's a good thing, indeed.

• funky originals
  4. Stride
  5. Johnny B. Badd
  8. Chunk O'Funk
• pop tune cover
  7. Maybe I'm Amazed
• ballad using Lyricon
  3. The Only One
• crossover pop tunes with guest vocals
  2. Sure Enough (feat. Richard Page)
  6. Meet Somebody (feat. Stephanie Spruill)
• bland filler
  1. Desire

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I began my infatuation with the Elektra/Musician label with the purchase of The Bridge by former E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious - a bluesy, New Age-y solo keyboard release that, tragically, has never been reissued on CD (I've uploaded a vinyl rip to YouTube for your enjoyment). That fantastic find was quickly followed by the purchase of this album because of my love for Scott's 1981 album, Apple Juice. Both E/M LPs got plenty of spins on my turntable when I was in high school. Both also included inner sleeves like the one pictured below and young Mark, an emerging fan of jazz music and avid reader of liner notes, was very intrigued:

Over four decades later, as evidenced by this month's series of posts, I remain intrigued.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Smokin' Section (1999)
Night Creatures (1995)
Reed My Lips (1994)
One Night/One Day (1986)
Target (1983)
Apple Juice (1981)
Blow It Out (1977)/Intimate Strangers (1978)/Street Beat (1979)

Dexter Gordon - American Classic (1982)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Gordon's final album (not counting his soundtrack work on the 1986 film Round Midnight) is a throwback of sorts to the kind of music Gordon released 20 years prior: blues and hard bop cuts including a few standards and a couple of originals. Gordon doesn't play with the same abandon he did in the '60s - and I wouldn't expect him to - but his tone and improv skills were still top-shelf.

What we've got here is actually two different sessions originally split over the two sides of the LP. The first three tracks were recorded in Philadelphia on March 8, 1982 with Grover Washington, Jr. and Shirley Scott, "Queen of the Organ." Those tracks include a Gordon original, For Soul Sister, along with two standards from the '40s: Jumpin' Blues and Besame Mucho. It's fun to hear Grover play some straight-ahead solos and Scott is a delight, both as soloist and accompanist.

Side Two was recorded in New York City on March 16, 1982 with what was Gordon's touring band at that time. That side starts off with another Gordon original, Sticky Wicket, and includes another standard from the '40s, Skylark. Like the Bud Powell album featured last week, the last track is a brief interview with Gordon, where he is asked generic questions along the lines of "Where do you find your inspiration?" and "How much time do you spend on the road?"

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "it's still Gordon's laconic phrasing and big tone that will be the immediate lures"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Gordon - tenor saxophone
Grover Washington, Jr. - soprano saxophone
Shirley Scott - organ
Eddie Gladden - drums
Kirk Lightsey - piano
David Eubanks - bass

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #19
• CashBox Jazz: #17
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay Chart: #12

Tracks: Nothing skippable among the five music cuts. You'd think my favorite track would be one that includes Grover Washington, Jr., but it's actually the gorgeous 12½ minute take on Skylark. Of the tracks with Washington, the interplay between Gordon and Washington on the Gordon original For Soul Sister is a master class.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Round Midnight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986)

Mose Allison - Middle Class White Boy (1982)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Once he started up the label, Elektra/Musician head Bruce Lundvall signed Mose Allison and quickly released this album, the singer's first in five years; his 19th overall.  

Portrayed in Downbeat magazine as a "streetwise singer from the South," Allison was a singer/songwriter/pianist who, like your humble blogger, was originally from Mississippi. I've heard his music described as "hard to classify but easy to like." I am in full agreement with that statement and will readily admit I'm not as familiar with Allison's œuvre as I should be, especially considering I've enjoyed everything I've heard from him.

The music may be "hard to classify," but that's not gonna stop me from trying. My best vague description is a bluesy, Southern hipster cross between Dr. John, Randy Newman, and Bob Dorough with wry, sardonic lyrics that make you both laugh and think. And if you're in the right mood, it's absolutely perfect. My main beef with this album is the setting Allison chooses to use on the electric piano, which sounds like an early eighties attempt at sampling a banjo. It wouldn't be too bad if we only heard it once, but it appears on a majority of tracks. For what it's worth, the album was recorded in two days (February 2 & 3, 1982) and is half cover tunes, so the three star ratings (below) are spot on.

Allison - piano, electric piano

Joe Farrell - tenor sax, flute

Phil Upchurch - guitar

Putter Smith - bass

John Dentz - drums

Ron Powell - percussion

Brief liner notes written by Allison himself. I wish they would have included a lyrics sheet.

Ratings:

• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on Radio & Records Jazz Chart: #11

Tracks: Of the 11 tracks here, my top picks are the title track, a clever 4/4 take on The Tennessee Waltz, Kiddin' On The Square, and the lead track How Does It Feel? (To Be Good Looking) [response from your humble blogger: "It feels great! I've been coasting through life on good genes for decades!"]. Upchurch offers up a great solo on the Muddy Waters classic, Rollin' Stone while Upchurch's best take is on the Ellington tune, I'm Just A Lucky So-And-So. My least favorite track is a "redo" of Allison's 1970 tune, Hello There Universe. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Bud Powell - Inner Fires: The Genius Of Bud Powell (1982)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

When Bruce Lundvall started the Elektra/Musician label, his goals included not only promoting new signings, but also issuing some historical acquisitions, which were issued as "Jazz Masters Editions."

This is one such release, a set of previously unreleased performances from the private collection of Bill Potts, recorded live on the afternoon of Sunday, April 5, 1953, Club Kavakos, Washington, D.C.

"Known the World Over"

As one would expect, the recording quality isn't the greatest, but it ain't bad considering the circumstances, recording technology, and millieu. And the bop performances are first rate. A 28-year-old Powell flies all over the keyboard and it seems the rhythm section is just trying to keep up. Hell, it wears me out just listening. Mingus gets a couple of solos, but unfortunately sometimes gets lost in the rudimentary mix.

CD booklet includes liner notes, track-by-track annotations, an interview with Powell, and comments from Chick Corea. Plus original cover art from Marshall Arisman.

Powell - piano
Charlie Mingus - bass
Roy Haynes - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "some fleet, involving playing from Powell as well as a consistent ensemble interplay that's mesmerizing."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000) (★★★★): "simply masterful, a genius at the office."

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

Tracks: You can't go wrong with any of the tracks here, but my top two picks are Gershwin's Nice Work If You Can Get It and the bebop standard, Salt Peanuts (with a very tasty, lengthy solo from Haynes).

The final track, track 12, consists of two interviews from 1963, given as Powell was recuperating from tuberculosis at Bouffemont Sanatorium in France. Those brief interviews are transcribed and translated in the liner notes. Having artist interviews at the end of an album was a fairly common practice on early Elektra/Musician releases. It was an innovative and interesting idea, but ultimately hurts my enjoyment of the full album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Steps Ahead (1983)

Japanese import

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

liner notes

That's quite a pedigree: Brecker was a first-call session player and had formed the Brecker Brothers with his brother Randy, Peter Erskine had played with Stan Kenton and Weather Report, Gomez had spent over a decade with Bill Evans, and Mainieri was also a first-call session player who had previously gigged with Buddy Rich and Wes Montgomery. All this plus the guidance of Bruce Lundvall on the Elektra/Musician label.

I don't feel this fusion 'supergroup' really hit their stride until their next album, 1984's Modern Times. But that doesn't mean there's not some great stuff here. Mainieri started the collective and the group is at their best when the band is a vehicle for him and Brecker. All the performances are top notch - hall-of-famer Brecker always brought his A-game - the only problem with this album is a few instances of lackluster material.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "supple, coolly emotive debut of substance"
• DownBeat (★★★½): "an enjoyable LP"
• Musician: "not bad, just derivative"
• Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #24
• CashBox Jazz: #12

Tracks: The lead tracks on both sides of the LP are better than what follows. So my top picks are Pools, Islands, Both Sides Of The Coin, and Skyward Bound.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was a big Steps Ahead fan in college (1984-88) and owned this album then, but it didn't get as much playing time back then as Modern Times. Still doesn't.

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