Janko Nilovic - Rythmes Contemporains

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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".

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

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'Oeil - Ease My Mind feat. Tre, Fatlip & Omni - I Am Hip-Hop feat. Asheru - When The Clock Ticks feat. J.Sands - Genius At Work feat. Fatlip & T-Love - Indonesia feat. Tableek - The Process feat. Apani B Fly - The Return feat. Sadat X - U Do feat. Stacy Epps - Cool Down feat. Raashan Ahmad - Take A Time feat. Buckshot - Vacation feat. J Live - Speak The Language feat. Lizz Fields - Qidar feat. Soul Clan

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.

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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 Kirkland. Shunzo 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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Teruo Nakamura - Rising Sun

Year : 1976
Label : Kitty
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk

"Rising Sun" is a typical Jazz Funk album, among best japanese productions reminicent of the Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters era, including Latin Jazz with samba beats (Rising Sun, Precious One), Electronic grooves (Red Shoes), Heavy Hancock's Funk (Cat), Smooth Jazz (Morning Mist / Steppin' With Lord) and Reggae (Sweet Pea & Collard Greens). Teruo Nakamura is a japanese producer, multi-instrumentalist and jazz bassist based in New York since 1964. He studied double bass alongside Reggie Workman and played for drummer Roy Haynes on "Hip Ensemble" released in 1971. Recorded at A&R Studio, New York City, "Rising Sun" is his second studio album introducing his new group "The Rising Sun Band" featuring special guest musician, the organist Dr Lonnie Smith, and including guitarist Shiro Mori, pianist Harry Whitaker, saxophonists Steve Grossman & Carter Jefferson, trumpeter John Mosley, drummer Art Gore.

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Jazz Liberatorz - Fruit Of The Past

  
Year : 2009
Label : Kif Recordings
Genre : Hip-Hop
Style : Jazzy Hip-Hop, Downtempo

Jazz Liberatorz is a french Hip-Hop trio formed in 1999 by french producers and beatmakers, consisting of DJ Damage, Dusty and Madhi. "Fruit Of The Past" is a tribute to the golden era of Hip-Hop, commonly called "Old School Hip-Hop" including session musicians and jazz samples. As on "Clin d'Oeil", their first LP, it features eminent rappers among Fat Lip from The Pharcyde, Mos Def from Blackstar, Aloe Blacc from Emanon, Wildchild or Declaime. Titles include instrumentals and featurings in particular "After Party (Jazz Liberatorz Remix)" feat Wildchild originally released in 2004 and "Music In My Mind Part 2" selected by DJ RYOW in his "Optical Axis" mixtape released in 2008.

Kimiko Kasai With Gil Evans Orchestra - Satin Doll

Year : 1972

Label : CBS

Genre : Jazz

Style : Vocal, Big Band, Smooth

Best Kimiko Kasai's album ever recorded with the Gil Evans Orchestra featuring some american and japanese jazz greats among Billy Harper, Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson, Kohsuke Mine, Yoshio Suzuki or Hiroshi Fukumura. The tracklist consists of jazz standards including "Satin Doll" by Duke Ellington, "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Willie Dixon or also "I'm Walkin'" by Fats Domino played in a jazz funk variation. All tracks arranged by Gil Evans, produced by Kiyoshi Itoh and recorded at Tokyo.

MUSICIANS : Kimiko Kasai - vocal - Gil Evans - electric piano - Masayuki Takayanagi - guitar - Yoshio Suzuki - bass - Yoshiyuki Nakamura - drums - Kohsuke Mine - soprano & Alto saxophone - Marvin Peterson - trumpet - Hiroshi Fukumura & Hiroshi Munekiyo - trombone - Billy Harper - flute

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Hiroshi Suzuki - Cat

Year : 1975
Label : Nippon Columbia
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk, Fusion

The masterpiece by japanese jazz trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki within the jazz supergroup "Freedom Unity" featuring drummer Akira Ishikawa, keyboardist Hiromasa Suzuki, saxophonist Takeru Muraoka & bassist Kunimitsu Inaba. With Hiroshi Fukumura and Shigeharu Mukai, Hiroshi Suzuki is the best known japanese trombonist who appeared in the front of the japanese jazz scene, when he joined the Sharps & Flats big band conducted by saxophonist Nobuo Hara. In 1969, he recorded his debut album, the Free Jazz/Modal masterpiece "Variation", a joint project with the Masahiko Togashi Quintet released on the famous Takt Jazz Series (the japanese 'Blue Note'), and the same year the big band album "Up Up And Away". From the late sixties Hiroshi becomes a sought-after musician playing as sideman for various japanese jazz artists such as Sadao Watanabe, Takeshi Inomata, Yuji Ohno or Shungo Sawada, joining up thereafter the top Jazz combo "Freedom Unity". Titles include the popular Jazz standard "Walk Tall" composed by Joe Zawinul, the jazz funk "Cat" by Takeru Muraoka, the ballad "Romance" by Hiromasa Suzuki and two original compositions by Hiroshi Suzuki, "Shrimp Dance" & "Kuro To Shiro" with the Kunimitsu Inaba's solo.

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Soul Media - Funky Stuff

Year : 1974

Label : Nippon Columbia
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk

From 1972, with the "Rough & Elegance" album saxophonist Jiro Inagaki takes turn to the Soul music. Since "In The Groove" released the following year, Jiro Inagaki renewed his "Soul Media" band recruiting new members featuring the master of Japanese Jazz Funk, keyboardist/arranger Hiromasa 'Colgen' Suzuki, bassist Akira Okazawa, trombonist Takashi Imai, guitarist Hiroshi Yasukawa and drummer Hazime Ishimatsu. "Funky Stuff" is a musical Funk joint project with Suzuki, in charge of all arrangements and six of the eight compositions what does the album contain. Close to the sound of a Groover Whashington Jr. or The Crusaders productions (One For Jiro, Four Up), it includes covers from Kool & The Gang (Funky Stuff), Wayne Henderson ("Scratch", composed for The Crusaders), the latin vibe "Gentle Wave" and "Funky Motion" with the heavy funk slapping-bass solo of Okazawa who has nothing to envy to Bootsy Collins.

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