Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Mecca And The Soul Brother


Year : 1992
Label : Elektra
Genre : Hip-Hop
Style : Funk/Soul, Jazz Rap


Debut album from iconic old school Hip-Hop duo featuring DJ Pete Rock & MC CL Smooth including their massive rap hit "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"."Mecca And The Soul Brother" is a big classic of rap that features in the Hip-Hop best album record list of all time, including amazing collaborations with keyboardist Nevelle Hodge (Lots Of Lovin), rappers Grand Puba from Brand Nubian (Skinz) and Heavy D from Heavy D. & The Boyz (The Basement). Pete Rock uses various samples extracted as well as from Jazz (Grant Green, Lou Donaldson) to Funk/Soul (Kool & The Gang, James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone), making of this album a great inspirations source for many rap artists nowadays.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Insight - The Blast Radius


Year : 2004
Label : Brick Records
Genre : Hip-Hop
Style : Conscious, Abstract, Jazzy Hip-Hop

After "The Maysun Project" released in 2002 and before "Targeting Zone" (2007), the DJ, MC and producer Andre Toddman aka Insight from Boston, presents us the same good recipe including fast and insane flow. Titles include featurings with Dagha ("The Method Of Madness" & "Visual Audio"), Edan (Unexplained Phenomena), A.G. & Edo.G (Strategy) and DJ Real from Martiangang (Daily Routine). All cuts, beats & lyrics, all tracks produced, composed and mixed by Insight. "Visual Audio" is credited as Midnight Shipment aka Insight, Dagha & Demitrius Barry.

Grant Green - Visions


Year : 1971
Label : Blue Note
Genre : Jazz
Syle : Fusion

Great crossover jazz album from Grant Green Sextet featuring, as always, his sideman Idris Muhammad, Emanuel Riggins, Chuck Rainey, Billy Wooten, Ray Armando plus additional musician, Harold Cardwell, who plays drums & percussions on Blues for Abraham. Titles include Mozart Symphony #40 in G Minor, K550, Hancock's standard "Cantaloupe Woman", pop & soul covers We've Only Just Begun & Never Can Say Goodbye

Grant Green_guitar
Idris Muhammad_drums
Emmanuel Riggins_electric piano
Chuck Rainey_bass
Billy Wooten_vibes
Ray Armando_congas

01. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
02. Maybe Tomorrow
03. Mozart Symphony #40 in G Minor, K550, 1st Movement
04. Love On A Two-Way Street
05. Cantaloupe Woman
06. We've Only Just Begun
07. Never Can Say Goodbye
08. Blues for Abraham

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Jimmy Takeuchi - R&B Drumming


Year : 1969
Label : Union
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock, Funk/Soul

"R&B Drumming" is a Funk/Soul covers album including the greatest hits of Soul music released on legendary labels such as Stax or Motown by Otis Redding (The Dock Of The Bay, Respect), The Supremes (Love Child, You Keep Me Hanging On), James Brown (I Got The Feelin'). Professional drummer since 1948, Jimmy Takeuchi started in the Nobuo Hara's Sharps & Flats big band under the Wasaburo Takeuchi name. In the late 1950s, he played in a big combo including two others iconic drummers George Kawaguchi & Hideo Shiraki, joined the Yuzuru Sera's Modern Playing Made and the Kazuo Yashiro Trio in the late sixties, and later played with Hidehiko Matsumoto, Shoji Suzuki, Sadao Watanabe and Teddy Wilson

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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Akira Ishikawa Trio & R&B All Stars - Soul Session Jazz Goes R&B


Year : 1969
Label : Philips
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Funk/Soul

"Soul Session" is a crossover jazz album recorded by the Akira Ishikawa Trio featuring bassist Masaoki Terakawa and pianist Masahiko Sato, themselves supported by the R&B All Stars including Kiyoshi Sugimoto and Hiromasa Suzuki. Akira Ishikawa takes over some famous massive hits of the western pop music (I Say A Little Prayer, Day Tripper), Funk and R&B standards coming from the kings & queens of Soul such as Otis Redding (...The Dock Of The Bay), Eddie Floyd (Knock On Wood), Sam&Dave (Hold On, I'm Comin') or Aretha Franklin (Chain Of Fools). "Day Tripper", "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" & "Sunny" are exclusively performed by the Akira Ishikawa Trio. All tracks arranged by Hiromasa Suzuki, Masahiko Sato & Kunihiko Murai.
   
MUSICIANS : Akira Ishikawa - drums - Masaoki Terakawa - bass - Masahiko Sato - piano, electric piano - Hiromasa Suzuki - electric piano - Kiyoshi Sugimoto - guitar - Hiroshi Suzuki - trombone - Tetsuo Fushimi & Koji Hatori - trumpet


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Janko Nilovic - Rythmes Contemporains

 
Year : 2010/1974
Label : Vadim Music/Montparnasse 2000
Genre : Jazz, Stage & Screen
Style : Jazz Rock, Modal, Big Band

Big-Band Jazz masterpiece of Janko Nilovic composed in the Jazz Rock style, performed by a great orchestra featuring violinist Catherine Lara, drummer André Ceccarelli, percussionist Jean Schultheis and including some singers from Broadway rock musical "Hair". Janko Nilovic is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger & conductor from France. As eminent producer of Montparnasse 2000 (a french music library label), he composed numerous soundcapes for TV documentaries. As pianist/composer, he worked with Davy Jones (founder member of The Monkees) for a singles serie recorded between 1967-1969, and was an arranger in demand for french artists such as Michel Jonasz. All tracks composed by Janko Nilovic, except "Giant Locomotion" by Jean-Pierre Alarcen. Originally released as "Giant" in 1972, "Rythmes Contemporains" was edited in 1974 by Montparnasse 2000 Editions with additional bonus track "The Savage Rose".

Monday, April 18, 2011

Jimmy McGriff - Groove Grease


Year : 1971
Label : Groove Merchant
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Funk/Soul

Released the same year as Soul Sugar featuring the same band except Everett Barksdale who replaces Larry Frazier and Wyne Bennet in addition. Some great organ grooves and more Soul Jazz instrumentals than Jazz Funk with Jimmy's interpretations of standards as Canadian Sunset or There Will Never Be Another You.

Cliff Davis_ flute & tenor saxophone
Murray Watson_trumpet
Johnny Board_baritone saxophone
Horace Ott_electric piano
Everett Barksdale & Wyne Bennet_guitar
Richard Davis & Richard Evans_electric bass
Lawrence Killian_conga & tambourine
Marion J. Booker_drums

01. Groove Grease
02. The Bird
03. Plain Brown Bag
04. There Will Never Be Another You
05. Canadian Sunset
06. Mr. Lucky
07. Moonglow
08. Red Sails In The Sunset
09. Secret Love

Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Steve Stills - Super Session


Year : 1968
Label : CBS
Genre : Rock, Blues, Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock, Psychedelic, Blues Rock

Super Session is a psychedelic Rock 'n' Soul album directed, arranged and produced by multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper featuring Mike Bloomfield (from Electric Flag group) and Stephen Stills on guitar. Several kind of music such as Rhythm & Blues (Stop), Soul (Man's Temptation), Blues (Albert's Shuffle) and Jazz (His Holy Modal Majesty).

Al Kooper_vocals, piano, organ, ondioline, electric guitar
Mike Bloomfield_guitars
Stephen Stills_guitars
Barry Goldberg_electric piano
Harvey Brooks_bass
Eddie Hoh_drums, percussion

01. Albert's Shuffle
02. Stop
03. Man's Temptation
04. His Holy Modal Majesty
05. Really
06. It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry
07. Season of the Witch
08. You Don't Love Me
09. Harvey's Tune

Monday, April 11, 2011

Jazz Liberatorz - Clin D'oeil


Year : 2007
Label : Kif Recordings
Genre : Hip-Hop
Style : Jazzy Hip-Hop

Jazz-influenced album combining Jazz Rap, samples and instrumentals sessions by parisian Hip-Hop producers trio, Jazz Liberatorz. The record cover and their emblem is a wink to the famous independant american spiritual jazz label "Black Jazz Records" founded by pianist Gene Russell in 1971. "Clin D'oeil" is an absolute classic recorded in the Jazzy Hip-Hop style including big names of the U.S. Hip-Hop among Sadat X from Brand Nubian, Tre Hardson & Fat Lip from The Pharcyde and the independant scene like Rashaan Ahmad from Crown City Rockers, Apani B Fly, J.Sands, Buckshot or Tableek from Maspyke. Titles include all their tracks originally released on various EPs between 2003-2007.

TRACKLIST : Clin d'OeilEase My Mind feat. Tre, Fatlip & Omni I Am Hip-Hop feat. Asheru When The Clock Ticks feat. J.SandsGenius At Work feat. Fatlip & T-LoveIndonesia feat. Tableek - The Process feat. Apani B Fly - The Return feat. Sadat XU Do feat. Stacy EppsCool Down feat. Raashan AhmadTake A Time feat. BuckshotVacation feat. J Live Speak The Language feat. Lizz FieldsQidar feat. Soul Clan

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Akira Ishikawa & His Group - Drum Classic Drum


Year : 1971
Label : Crown
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock, Fusion

Akira Ishikawa revisits the great works of classical music in a jazz-rock symphony with orchestral music from the XIXth century including ten popular compositions. Titles include symphonies composed by Beethoven (Symphony N°5, Symphony N°6 'Pastoral', Symphony N°9 'The Choral'), Schubert (Symphony N°8 'Unvollendete'), Dvorak (Symphony N°9 'From The New World'), concertos by Tchaikovsky (Concerto N°1 For Piano, Concerto For Violin OP. 35), Mendelson (Concerto For Violin OP. 64), Beethoven (Concerto For Piano 'Emperor') and the "Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), OP. 20" composed by Sarasate.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Shunzo Ohno - Quater Moon


Year : 1979
Label : King Records
Serie : Electric Bird
Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz
Style : Fusion, Jazz Funk, Smooth Jazz

"Quater Moon" was recorded at the famous Electric Lady studios in New York featuring american musicians including Marcus Miller, Carter Jefferson and Kenny KirklandShunzo Ohno is a japanese trumpeter who played, recorded and toured with various renowned jazz figures such as Gil Evans, Herbie Hancock or Wayne Shorter. In the late sixties, Shunzo was enrolled by drummer Takeshi Inomata in his Jazz Rock band, The Sound Limited, he has only 19 years old. In the early seventies, Shunzo evolved in various groups like the Soul Media of saxophonist Jiro Inagaki, was sideman for drummer George Otsuka, and formed in 1972, his first jazz quartet featuring pianist Mikio Masuda. Settled in New York since 1974, after a tour throughout the US with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, he regularly played alongside others american musicians among drummer Roy Haynes, bassist Reggie Lucas, and within the Machito & His Afro Cuban Orchestra on stage. Shunzo recorded his first US leader album "Something's Coming" in 1975, and gains visibility from the Jazz Funk album "Bubbles" in 1976. Titles include only compositions arranged by Shunzo Ohno.

MUSICIANS : Shunzo Ohno - trumpet, flugelhorn & mini moog - Carter Jefferson - trumpet & saxophone - Kenny Kirkland & Onaje Allan Gumbs - keyboards - Marcus Miller - electric bass - Jeff Laton - guitar - Sue Evans - congas, percussion -  Victor Louis - drums

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