Kenny Burrell - God Bless The Child

Year : 1971
Label : CTI
Genre : Jazz
Style : Fusion, Jazz Guitar

The beautiful crossover jazz album "God Bless The Child" is an essential of jazz guitar, the only one recorded for CTI by american jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Freddie Hubbard and Ray Barretto. Influenced by the legendary jazz guitarists Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, Kenny Burrell started in the early fifties alongside Oscar Peterson before to become a session musician in demand, playing for numerous prestigious musicians among Dizzie Gillepsie, Paul Chambers, Milt Jackson, Louis Amstrong or James Brown, and was a regular sideman, in particular, for Jimmy Smith on over twenty albums. All titles are recorded with the support of a strings orchestra under the Don Sebesky direction. Recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder and produced by Creed Taylor.

MUSICIANS : Kenny Burrell - guitar - Ron Carter - bass - Hugh Lawson - piano - Richard Wyands - electric piano - Freddie Hubbard - trumpet - Billy Cobham - drums - Ray Barretto - percussion

Deodato - Prelude

Year : 1973
Label : CTI
Genre : Jazz, Latin
Style : Jazz Rock, Smooth Jazz

Originally recorded in 1972, "Prelude" is the first of three jazz rock albums (including a recording live) released on CTI by brazilian keyboardist Eumir Deodato. The album is best known for the iconic track "Also Sprach Zarathustra", an arrangement of the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey", it-self first part of Richard Strauss' tone poem (Also Sprach Zarathustra op.30). "Prelude" is the most successful recording for Deodato and CTI Records, a great source of inspiration for many future jazz fusion musicians in particular in the latin funk style. It features best of the best CTI session musicians such as Ron Carter, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, Airto Moreira, Ray Barretto, John Tropea and Hubert Laws. Titles also include "Baubles, Bangles And Beats" exctract from the B'Way Show Kismet, "Prelude To Afternoon Of A Faun" by orchestral music french composer Claude Debussy and "September 13" by Cobham & Deodato.

Antonio Carlos Jobim - Stone Flower

Year : 1970

Label : CTI
Genre : Latin Jazz
Style : Bossa Nova

Considered as the forerunner of the Bossa Nova genre, Antonio Carlos Jobim was best known for having shaped Brazilian modern music and his contribution to famous Stan Getz's albums "Jazz Samba" and "Getz/Gilberto". Arranged by Eumir Deodato and recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder, "Stone Flower" is a highlight point of his career, a kind of own version of the Miles Davis' "Kind Of Blue" album. It's his only album recorded for the Creed Taylor label including the best of the best among CTI musicians : Joe Farrell, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Deodato and Airto Moreira. Titles include the Brazilian music anthem "Brazil" ("Aquarela Do Brazil" composed by Ary Barroso) and original compositions by Jobim.

Johnny Hammond - Breakout

Year : 1971

Label : Kudu/CTI

Genre : Jazz

Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

Another genious Hammond B-3 organ player also known under the name John Robert Smith started his solo career with Imagination in 1959. In he signed on Prestige label in 1961 and later, recorded several albums for Kudu (subsidiary of CTI Records). In the line-up feature some best CTI musicians as Hank Crawford, Grover Washington Jr., Billy Cobham, Eric Gale and the famous brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira. Titles include the super groove version of Carole King' It's Too Late and Never Can Say Goodbye popularized by the Jackson Five. Recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder and produced by Creed Taylor.

Johnny Hammond_organ & electric piano
Johnny Williams_bass
Eric Gale_guitar
Billy Cobham_drums
Hank Crawford_alto saxophone
Grover Washington Jr._tenor saxophone  
Danny Moore_trumpet
Airto Moreira_percussion

01. It's Too Late
02. Workin' On A Groovy Thing
03. Never Can Say Goodbye
04. Blues Selah
05. Breakout

George Benson - White Rabbit

Year : 1971
Label : CTI
Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz
Style : Fusion

A 'Gypsy' project with heavy orchestration conducted & arranged by Don Sebesky as on The Other Side Of Abbey Road. Titles include some Andalusian tunes (White Rabbit, El Mar) coupled with Straight Ahead Jazz, the trademark of CTI records. Great reprises of the standards pop' White Rabbit & California Dreaming. Earl Klugh & Jay Berliner are associated to george on accoustic guitar. The rest of the band including the finest Fusion Jazz players such as Ron Carter (bass), Herbie Hancock (electric piano), Billy Cobham (drums), Airto Moreira (percussions, vocals), Hubert Laws (flute).

01. White Rabbit
02. Theme from Summer of '42
03. Little Train (from Bachianas Brasileiras No.2)
04. California Dreaming
05. El Mar

Astrud Gilberto - Now

LISTEN SAMPLE

 

Year : 1972
Label : Perception Records
Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk, Samba, Funk/Soul

The second album of Astrud Gilberto with brazilian pianist/arranger Eumir Deodato featuring wellknown session musicians from CTI among Ron Carter & Bob Cranshaw (b), Billy Cobham (ds), Airto Moreira (per). As on her previous album (Gilberto With Turrentine - 1971), Astrud leaves Bossa Nova recruiting R&B arranger Boo Frazier and Stax/Volt songwriter, David Louis Jordan, to give to "Now" the typical sound of southern Soul music. The album alternates jazz samba, funk songs and pure pop/soul ballads including earliest compositions of Astrud Gilberto like samba song "Gingele", Jordan's collaboration "Touching You", the brazilian classics "Baiao" & "Take It Easy, My Brother Charlie" (Jorge Ben). All tracks arranged by Eumir Deodato.

Airto Moreira - Free

Year : 1972

Label : CTI

Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz
Style : Jazz Samba, Modal

First of four discs serie recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder for the famous Creed Taylor's CTI label by brazilian percussionist, Airto Moreira, former member of jazz fusion group "Return To Forever". Airto was a sought-after artist among the Creed Taylor's session musicians, he played with others latin artists such as Hermeto Pascoal, Eumir Deodato or Gato Barbieri, cantor of Free Jazz, but also jazz legend Freddie Hubbard. The line-up is based on the "Return To Forever" band featuring leader Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, Airto's wife Flora Purim, including others remarkable soloists such as George Benson, Hubert Laws & Keith Jarrett, all conducted by Don Sebesky. Titles include the tribute "Return To Forever" by Chick Corea, the "Flora's 'Purim' Song", the percussion suite "Free", "Lucky Southern" by Keith Jarrett and the jazz samba, "Creek (Arroio)" composed by Victor Brazil