Bobby Hutcherson - Medina & Spiral

Bobby Hutcherson - Medina

  "Medina" & "Spiral" were 2 albums from jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson finally released as part of 1998's blue note connoisseur series.   It was originally released in 1980 on Blue Note Records not at the time it was recorded (1968) . This CD reissue adds five tracks also recorded in 1968, previously released on vinyl in 1979, under the title Spiral.
   Musically this album is a heavy mix of vibes and jazz modes with some outstanding passages and bits along the way.  I love the sound of the vibes and with the great musicianship this album almost takes on a space feel.......a very cool album that never gets too hairy for the listener...well at least not for me. 

Donald Byrd - Kofi (1969)

Donald Byrd - Kofi , 1969 Rare Groove Series 

  The 70's was a creative time for music and jazz started to change with the dawn of fusion. Miles was breaking new ground with "Bitches Brew" and Donald Byrd was doing the same as you can hear on Kofi! This is a superb album with some amazing musicianship and killer beats and grooves. In fact this is from Blue Notes' rare groove series ( which is one my personal favourites) so you just know that it must really groove baby! On "Kofi" Byrd is very concerned with sound and space.... Musically this is fusion era Hancock meets Miles Davis. I love the heavy use of the echoplexed, Herbie Hancock-like Fender Rhodes on "Perpetual Love" provide lush and vivid backdrops for Byrd and tenor saxophonist Frank Foster (who is absolutely fantastic on this record) to undertake some of the best soloing of their respective careers. Keyboardist Duke Pearson, bassist Ron Carter, Byrd, Foster, and drummer/percussionist Airto who makes his debut appearance on this album!!!!! The title epic song which opens the albums song features the standout flute of Lew Tabakin who sounds like Jethro Tull meets Miles Davis.... A fantastic album that I would highly recommend to all lovers of space jazz or for those who are willing to step out of the ordinary.

Buddy Rich - The Roar Of '74 (1973)

Buddy Rich - The Roar Of '74, 1973

  Wow....perhaps the chessiest album cover of all his albums BUT the music contained within will blow your lips off !   This IS THE Big band jazz/rock fusion album you have longed for !  Lots of heavyweights on this album kids .......King Crimson's Tony Levin (bass) with jazz giant Joe Beck (guitar), Duke Ellington drummer Sam Woodyard and Jimmy Maeulen, (percussion) and Buddy Budson (organ),.

Lonnie Smith - Afrodesia (1975)

Lonnie Smith - Afrodesia 1977
 
  Lonnie Smith (not to be confused with Lonnie Liston Smith who also played the organ) released a number of very cool funk -jazz albums of few of which remain on my top list of this genre to this day!  Afrodesia is a very groooooovy album that still carries a lot of jazz influences and surprisingly is less keyboard dominated than his other albums in this genre.   But having said that there is still lots of great keyboard work along with some great jazz fusion-soul instrumentation.
    

Miles Davis - In Concert (1972)

Miles Davis - In Concert , Remastered

  If you loved "Big Fun", "Pangea" , "Dark Magus" or "On The Corner" then you will adore this 1972 Concert from New York's Philharmonic Hall.   With a huge ode to "On The Corner" this is Miles doing the funk psych Electronic fusion thing.    Complete with electric piano, synthesizers, electric sitars this album is a stunning live 2 CD set that will change your life !    Very trippy and very grooovy, In Concert carries all the Davis-isms with huge sonic breakouts, trumpets a plenty fed thru a wah-wah pedal and tons of deep dark rhythms and beats.  This is one of only a few live snippets from the funk era-Miles Davis.  Clearly here he has totally moved away from the jazz influences and totally goes into the depths of the beats.
   If you are not really all that familiar with Miles Davis post jazz era then this may not be the best place (or easiest) to start with but this IS an album you must hear.     

Donald Byrd - Stepping Into Tomorrow (1974)

Donald Byrd - Stepping Into Tomorrow (1974) Blue Note Remaster

    Stepping into Tomorrow is a funk-chill groove album that while softer in composition still carries Byrd's wild approach.   This album is full of Davis-like trumpets and flugelhorns with a huge mix of electro-funk bass and supporting percussion.   The funk era of Byrd is some of my personal favourite albums and "Stepping Into Tomorrow" is one of em!    The song "Think Twice" is the killer track on this album with is dirty groove and soft chill esoteric vibe.    Byrd calls on some old friends too to help out with drummer Harvey Mason, bassist Chuck Rainey, keyboardist Jerry Peters, and guitarist David T. Walker.  
  The end result is a killer jazz-funk -fusion album that compliments yet differs from "Black Byrd" and "Street Lady".
  Simply essential funk groove..............

Miles Davis - Big Fun (1974)

Miles Davis - Big Fun , 1974 Remastered

   I have been a huge Miles Davis fan for years....especially the 70's era albums and live memories.  Big Fun was pretty much interpreted as just yet another freaked out Mile Davis album that largely went unnoticed back in 1974!   Big Fun has been a prized album in my collection for a long time and today as I re-listen to this album I just can't get over how huge this album still is.   At about the time of Bitches Brew Miles wrote "Great Expectations" and "Lonely Fire" which are 2 of the GREAT track on this album.
    This is pure Jazz Fusion !   An album that you need to listen to without distraction and without the "Toronto Maple Leafs" playing in the background :).

Donald Byrd - Street Lady (1973)

Donald Byrd - Street Lady (1973) Rare Groove Blue Note Remaster

  Byrd's "Street Lady" draws heavily from the spirit of Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes and even Sly Stone while building a creative funky jazz album that simply oozes with pizazz....and a bit of prostitution.  Not sure what the album cover art has to do with the music unless Byrd was trying for the urban-thang.....but the music is kind of "loungie"...kind of jazzy...and kind of funky......
    The line up is pretty dense with of course the creative genius of Donald Byrd (trumpet),  Roger Glenn (flute), Jerry Peters (piano, electric piano), Fonce Mizell (clavinet, trumpet, vocals),  Fred Perren (synthesizer, vocals), David T. Walker (guitar), Chuck Rainey (electric bass), Harvey Mason (drums), King Errisson  (congas), Stephanie Spruill (percussion) and Larry Mizell (vocals, arranger, conductor).
I love Blue Note's "Rare Groove" series which is now kind of hard to track down many of the titles to...and this one was no exception.   I love Donald Byrd and "Street lady" is a splendid journey of all another kind.

Grant Green - Live At The Lighthouse (1972)

Grant Green - Live At The Lighthouse , 1972 Rare Groove Series Remaster Blue Note
 
  Live At The Lighthouse is one of the great live jazz fusion albums of all time and is some of Grant Green's finest moments captured on his albums.   This would also be Green's final album for Blue Note which is too bad cause he was really kicking in 1972 !
  What makes this double LP set so convincing is that 4 of the 6 songs are like 15 mins long so they are given lots of room to get into some pretty cool grooves and wind out in the vastness of the Lighthouse.  His band are amazing and I love the hand percussion on these songs!  a very cool album and very groovy !

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights Rewhipped (2006)

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights Rewhipped (2006)

  Ok who didn't have the original Herb Alpert whipped cream album ?   Well I still have I am sure a vinyl copy kicking about somewhere likely fairly battered up !   Well this isn't quite what you might be expecting.... but man what a great album.   This is a re-recording of the original album with Herb at the helm with plenty of samples of the original tracks from that classic LP tossed in with some nice heavy Trip Hop influences throughout. 
   Herb Alpert himself actually lays down some new trumpet solos as well . The entire "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" album is presented here and has been "re-whipped" by a variety of the top remixers and Hip Hopsters.  A dreamy album with some real funky and psychy bits.    Brilliant album

Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (1971)

Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (1971)

  This album aint what u thinkin' there dude !   Alice Coltrane's music IS an experience as much as it is music.  Imagine an extraterrestrial voyage into the organic polyphony organ chased down with tons of jazz and soft fusion bits and you might be gettin close.

Ok so lets start with the last name...yes she is John Coltrane's wife.......ok lets move on please.......

This album is a very hard album to grasp at first......in fact it took me about 3 listens before I could honestly say I got it .....and now I can't stop playing it.

Alice was a highly spiritual personal and brought deep tones and emotions into her music which really emerge as you get more and more into this gem !

Musically it is a cross between fusion and symphonic jazz with a heavy emphasis on tonality.

Dont come into this album looking for sir John Coltrane......you better bring your bong and your religious doctrines along

Eddie Henderson - Sunburst (1975)

Eddie Henderson - Sunburst (1975), Rare Groove Series - Blue Note

  My first introduction to Eddie Henderson came via Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi triple trilogy (Mwandishi, Crossings and Sextant) albums that I adore.  In 1975 after leaving Hancock, Henderson grabbed his fellow mates and together they assembled "Sunburst" ....and album that plays like the 4th album in the Mwandishi series to my ears with a bit of Miles Davis (for obvious reasons tossed in).   This album "Grooves" and really offers some great musicianship with some great trumpet and fluegelhorn from Eddie with some nice space keyboards from George Duke and some great drumming of Billy Hart and sex of Bennie Maupin!  

Marc Moulin - The Placebo Years (1971 - 1974)

Marc Moulin - The Placebo Years (1971 - 1974), Blue Note Records

   Between 1971 and 1974 Jazz-Fusion Pioneers Placebo released 3 albums all of which are some of my favorite fusion bits ever !  Balek (attention! in Arabic) opens up this wonderful compilation marking one of the great fusion songs of all time.   I first hear Placebo back in the late 80's and followed Moulin solo too until his untimely death.  Fusion Prog fans will love Placebo and so too will jazz fans as they cover quite a wide territory...from influences of Soft Machine to that of the Temptations.  Without question Placebo should have received more notice than they have ..which remains only the DJ scratch groove crowd and ardent fusion lovers (like me!).  Heavy grooves and tons of great instrumental funk-soul-jazz. 

Jimmy McGriff - Electric Funk (1969)

Jimmy McGriff - Electric Funk (1969), Rare Groove Series, 

  Hammond B-3 monster Jimmy McGriff`s 1969 masterpiece Electric Funk is one of the all time funk albums you need to hear !   In contrast to his other funk masterpiece `The Worm`, this album is more laid back but still groovy and worth of you pulling out the old suede suit .....
  Jimmy McGriff is just way too cool.....his grooves are amazing and this album is nothing short of stunning from start to finish.   The album is full of heavy organ riffs, deep grooves, heavy drum grooves, lite fuzz guitars, elastic bass, and some harmony horns to add color.  Overall just a killer album and one of the best jaxx-soul -funk albums you will ever hear.

Lonnie Smith - Move Your Hand (1969)

Lonnie Smith - Move Your Hand , 1969 Blue Note Records

  A fews years back I totally got into Lonnie Smith after hearing live at Club Mozambique which totally blew me away.  Recorded live in New Jersey's Club Harlem on August 9th 1969 this album totally grooves and grooves with a funky jazz that few live album can hold a candle to.  This album was kindly remastered and released on the limited run of Blue Note's Rare Groove Series which are worth hunting for.   Lonnie Smith is a jazz organist who loved funk as much as jazz and on "Move Your Hand" you will definitely need to move your feet . 

Parliament - Osmium (1970)

Parliament - Osmium (1970)

  This is the one that kick started the whole Funkadelic and Parliament family.   Osmium is absolutely a barn burner funk fest !  Psych- Funk may be the best way to describe this album ,.........heavy full of deep grooves to keep you little toes tapping this summer...  Also a ton of fun to listen to......some humorous parts and some heavy thunder going on ....

Billy Cobham - Total Eclipse (1974)

Billy Cobham - Total Eclipse, Atlantic Records (1974)

  Although for many his prized album was Spectrum (1973), ``Total Eclipse` would be a toss up for me personally.  Having grown up again under the influence of Miles Davis and a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham has clearly emerged as one of the great fusion drummers with his power and technical virtuosity.  Total Eclipse is really a space fusion funk album like you have never heard before.  The Epic suite `Solarization`is just simply unforgettable as is the fine guitar work of John Abercrombie , with the combined talents of the Brecker Brothers.   Simply a killer album for the fusion lovers out there.

Herbie Hancock - Crossings (1972)

Herbie Hancock - Crossings, Warner Bros Records (1972)

  For many their only exposure to the great Herbie Hancock was the 1980's hit "Rockit" but it was his early jazz and fusion days where you really see just how talented and creative this guy was.   Crossings was released right afterthe critically acclaimed  Mwandishi (1971) which really was the effect of having spent a lot of time under the guidance of Miles Davis.  Best to describe this album as space fusion with its electronic jazz vibes and cerebral focus.   Typical of this era there are 2 epic tracks (Sleeping Giant - 25 mins and Water Torture (14 Mins)  and give Hancock and his space-jazz troubadors lots of room to explore the outer reaches of music.  In many ways these next 3 albums in this trilogy for Hancock remind me of classic 70`s Sun Ra. 

Brother Jack McDuff - Moon Rappin' (1969)

Brother Jack McDuff - Moon Rappin' ,Blue Note Records - (1969)

  Organ driven space funk at it's finest ! "This is a goose bumpin thumpin tune in classic B3 Hammond jazz style" for sure.  Get ready to tap your toes and air drum all night long casue it's time to "Moon Rap" kids !   Moon Rappin' is another in the series of rare jazz grooves by Blue Note carefully remastered in 24 bit high def sound enabling the best sound you can get off these old acetates. 

Herbie Hancock - Flood (Live)

Herbie Hancock - Flood , Sony / BMG Japan (1975) SACD

  I must admit that I still love fusion rock and funk and Hancock's "Flood Live" gives us a lot of both !  With heavy emphasis on "Thrust" and a bit of "Head Hunters" Hancock and his crew deliver a live album of epic magnitude !  I have always loved both Head Hunters and Thrust but clearly this live album takes us into a whole different world and makes these songs come to life in a very different way .   Opening the album is the sole piano solo of Herbie and his opus "Maiden Voyage" which then switches to the funk space fusion material and where we really take off.