Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Stillness

Year : 1970
Label : A&M Records
Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz
Style : MPB, Samba, Bossa Nova 

"Stillness" is the last album recorded by Sérgio Mendes with his famous Brasil '66 group, featuring guest saxophonist Tom Scott. The original band was created in 1966, based on initiative by Richard Adler, Sergio Mendes & Herb Alpert, to form a band ables to sing in English as well as Portuguese, cut for an international audience including pop, jazz and latin music. They quickly gained international recognition with their first success, the cover song of Jorge Ben "Mas Que Nada" released in 1966. Titles include various brazilian songs from Gilberto Gil (Viramundo) to Caetano Veloso (Lost In Paradise) by Oscar Castro-Neves (Celebration Of The Sunrise) and western pop songs songs from Joni Mitchell (Chelsea Morning), Blood Sweet & Tears (Sometimes In Winter). All tracks produced by Herb Alpert & Sérgio Mendes.

Isao Suzuki Trio/Quartet ‎- Blow Up

Year : 1973
Label : TBM
Genre : Jazz
Style : Contempory Jazz, Avant Garde, Progressive Jazz

Nicknamed the "Jazz Godfather" in Japan, Isao Suzuki is one of the most famous modern jazz bassist, versatile and avant-gardist, in charge of more 50 albums from Jazz to Samba by Hip-Hop & Electronic. Suzuki has gained experience playing alongside Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald or Ron Carter, before contribute to the development of the japanese Jazz Fusion and the Progressive Jazz movement, throughout the seventies. Many times awarded, the timeless "Blow Up" still remains a reference and an essential of Japanese Jazz, featuring two japanese jazz greats, pianist Kunihiko Sugano & drummer George Otsuka, as well as Takashi Mizuhashi, session bassist for TBM label, passing from the trio to a quartet formation when Suzuki plays cello. Titles include three compositions of Suzuki, the cello piece "Aqua Marine", the funky eponymous track, "Blow Up" & "Low Flight", the jazz standards "Everything Happens To Me", "I Can't Get Started"  & "Like It Is" played in the New Orleans style. All tracks arranged by Isao Suzuki, on tracks 1, 3, 5 & 6, Takashi Mizuhashi is added.

  

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Sadao Watanabe - Sadao Plays Bacharach & Beatles

Year : 1969
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Takt Jazz Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Pop, Soul Jazz, Jazz Rock,

As title suggests, "Sadao Plays Bacharach & Beatles" is a compilation album of their best known songs. It brings together three studio recordings and six live recordings from the Sadao Watanabe's 1968 performance at Sankei-Hall, Tokyo, featuring Terumasa Hino, Kazuo Yashiro, Yoshiaki Masuo, Hiroshi Suzuki & Yoshio Ikeda. Titles include some famous Burt Bacharach's pop songs (Look Of Love, Walk On By) and from The Beatles, including three tracks from their "Magical Mystery Tour" album, all played in the Soul Jazz/Rock styles. All tracks of the side B are studio recordings whose a over 14 min variation of George Harrison's "Blue Jay Way" including free rock expressions.

MUSICIANS : Sadao Watanabe - alto saxophone, sopranino - Yoshiaki Masuo - guitar- Yoshio Ikeda - bass - Isao Eto - electric bass - Fumio Watanabe - drums - Yuji Imamura - percussion- Kazuo Yashiro - organ, electric piano, hapsicord -  Terumasa Hino & Tetsuo Fushimi - trumpet - Hiroshi Suzuki - trombone - Yasushi Ichihara - baritone trombone

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Sadao Watanabe & Brazilian 8 - Sadao Meets Brazilian Friends

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Year : 1968 

Label : Nippon Columbia

Serie : Takt Jazz Series 

Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz 

Style : Bossa Nova, Samba

"Sadao Meets Brazilian Friends" is the first studio recording outside Japan for the main actor of the japanese Bossa Nova 'boom' during the sixties decade. Recorded in 1968 at Sao Paulo, it features the Brazilian 8 aka "Brazilian Octopus", in which evolved a famous brazilian latin jazz pianist, Hermeto Pascoal. Titles include the standards of Bossa Nova composed by its masters João Gilberto (Bim Bom), Djamel Ferreira (E Nada Mais), João Donato (Muito A Vontade), Chico Buarque De Hollanda (Carolina) and three original compositions of Sadao Watanabe whose the two samba "Ritmo". All tracks arranged by Sadao Watanabe.

Brazilian Tapestry ~ Bossa Nova And Other Favorites

Essential grooves from Bossa Nova, Psychedelic rock & others Samba beats of Brazil recorded between 1966-1971 and performed by Jazz musicians, main actors of the Tropicália movement, Samba Singers, the Kings & Queens of Brazilian Pop featuring Gal Costa, Erasmos Carlos, Elis Regina, Wilson Simonal, Chico Buarque, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil & many more... Compiled & mixed by Be Hard Bop.

Caetano Veloso - Caetano Veloso (Tropicália)

 

Year : 1968

Label : Philips

Serie : DeLuxe
Genre : Latin, Rock, Latin Jazz
Style : MPB, Bossa Nova, Samba, Psychedelic

After his debut Bossa Nova album, "Domingo" (1967), which launched Gal Costa's career in Brazilian Pop Music, the committed artist Caetano Veloso, gets involved into the Tropicália movement in becoming one of its famous leaders with among others artists such as Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Maria Bethânia or Tom Zé. This protest movement started in the late sixties, formed by a community of musicians, political activists, songwriters and poets who wanted revolutionize the brazilian culture involving an assertive social awareness against Brazilian military dictatorship (Gil & Veloso were held for several months in 1969 before to be forced to leave the country). They have searched in introducing largely some influences, spirit, writing style & attitude from the Beat Generation, folk & psychedelic music as performed by the Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Also called the "Tropicalia" album, it was recorded with the ambition to make it the equivalent of the "Sgt. Peppers" album for Brazil, co-written & composed with the poet José Carlos Capinan, his friend Gilberto Gil, Ferreira Gullar, the songstress Gal Costa and Rogério Duprat in charge of the arrangements (himself involved in several albums of the Tropicália movement),  Titles include the two anthems "Tropicália" & the freedom song "Alegria, Alegria" (often referred to as the Brazilian hymn of 1967), "Ave Maria" from the Franz Schubert version & "Clara" featuring Gal Costa.

George Otsuka Trio - Page 2

Year : 1968
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Takt Jazz Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Post Bop, Modal

Essential jazz record, volume 2 of three discs serie recorded between 1967-1969, by one of the most famous japanese jazz trio featuring pianist Hideo Ishikawa & bassist Masaoki Terakawa. The trio was actives from 1965 to 1969, recording the others jazz masterpieces that are "Page 1", "Last Summer - 3" and Akira Miyazawa's "Now's The Time". "Page 2" which received in 1969 the Grand Prix from the Japan Jazz Awards, is part of Sleep Walker's influences, a japanese Nu-Jazz quartet. Titles include the iconic dancing jazz tune "Hot Cha!" (Junior Walker) and the jazz standards "On Green Dolphin Street", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Blues By Five" (based on a version recorded in 1956 by the Miles Davis Quintet), "Lament".

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Groove Holmes - American Pie

Year : 1972
Label : Groove Merchant
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

"American Pie" is representative of influences to the British Acid Jazz movement in the nineties, whose the fatherhood could be return to Holmes. An album in the same way as his previous "Comin' On Home" released on Blue Note records, including stoned-soul grooves and heavy funk, his first recording for the label of Sonny Lester, "Groove Merchant". Titles include "American Pie" by Don McLean, the Sonny Rollins' standard, "St. Thomas", the demonstrative "Fingers" and a variation of the Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy Day". 

MUSICIANS : Richard "Groove" Holmes - organ - Larry Willis - electric piano - Gerald Hubbard - guitar - Jerry Jemmott - bass - Kwasi Jay Ourba - drums, congas, bongos

Lou Donaldson - Say It Loud !

Year : 1969
Label : Blue Note
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz

More pop language for Lou Donaldson, using the varitone process, an amplification system for saxophone. Lou Donaldson Quintet featuring Charles Earland, Blue Mitchell, Jimmy Ponder, and his sideman, Idris Muhammad, play under the Blues/Boogie mode, making of "Say It Loud!" one of his funkiest album. The first side is devoted to covers songs including the opening track, the iconic protest song of James Brown and two great jazz standards, "Summertime" revisited in a latin variation and "Caravan", while the other side consists on two originals (Snake Bone, Brother Soul) composed by Lou Donaldson.

MUSICIANS : Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone - Blue Mitchell - trumpet - Charles Earland - organ - Jimmy Ponder - guitar - Idris Muhammad - drums

Zito Righi E Seu Conjunto - Alucinolândia

 

Year : 2014/1969

Label : Superfly Records/Hot

Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz
Style : MPB, Bossa Nova

Zito Righi is an multi-instrumentalist, best known as saxophonist, arranger and band leader, in charge of three others albums known to date, recorded in the early sixties : "Sax De Ouro" (1961) ; "The Song Is You" ; "Ribamar & Zito Righi" (1963). Originally released on label Hot, this obscure gem from Brazilian Latin Pop Music was reissued by Superfly Records, itself based on a japanese re-press (Production Dessinée). "Alucinolândia" is a brazilian tapestry, not really an ode to psychedelia (as the title and the front cover suggest), than a sophisticated blend of versatile rhythms as well as Boogaloo, Bossa Nova, Samba & Mambo. Titles include instrumental tracks, various songs recorded in english & portugese featuring Sonia Santos, the classic of George Gershwin, "Love Here To Stay" and the djs favorites "Birimbau" (selected for Via Brasil compilation, 2001) & "Poema Ritmico Do Malandro"  All tracks recorded, led & arranged by Zito Righi.

Takehiro Honda & His Orchestra - What's Going On

Year : 1971
Label : Trio Records
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

"What's Going On" is the sixth studio album and the first recorded in the U.S.A. by jazz pianist Takehiro Honda with arranger Teddy Adams, his first incursion in the R&B genre. The Takehiro Honda's orchestra is based on japanese-american line-up featuring Ken Lawson, James Cheek, Kohsuke Mine & Tetsuo Fushimi. "What's Going On" includes iconic funk/soul gems from the Impressions (Check-Out Your Mind), James Brown (Ain't Funky Now), Marvin Gaye (What's Going On), Otis Redding (Dock Of The Bay), jazz covers from Eddie Harris (Sham Time) by the Crusaders (Greasy Spoon) and variation on "Ain't Tell You A Good Way But" composed by Takehiro Honda. All tracks arranged by Terry Adams.

MUSICIANS : Takehiro Honda - organ, piano & electric piano - Teddy Adams - trombone - Ken Lawson - guitar - James Cheek - drums - Tamio Kawabata - bass - Yuji Imamura - congas - Takuji Kusumoto - drums - Kohsuke Mine - alto saxophone - Kazunori Takeda - tenor saxophone - Tetsuo Fushimi, Shuzo Morikawa - trumpet