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".

LISTEN SAMPLE

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

Norio Maeda Trio - Alpha Ray

Year : 1969
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Takt Jazz Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Contempory Jazz, Post Bop, Modal

The Norio Maeda's jazz masterpiece, among the best "Takt Jazz Series" albums ever recorded featuring bassist Tatsuro Takimoto & drummer Takeshi Inomata from The West Liners. "Alpha Ray" is played in up-tempo mode including Hard Bop, Modal (Fifth Column) & Avant-Garde Jazz (Infinite). Titles include four original compositions by Maeda, the jazz standards from Ray Henderson (Bye Bye Blackbird), Gene DePaul (Star Eyes), "Maria" taken from West Side Story played in the samba mode and the explosive opening track "Alpha Ray", which was included in the Shibuya Jazz Classics (Sleep Walker Collection - Columbia Issue), compilation gathering the influences of the japanese avant-garde Nu-Jazz band, Sleep Walker. All tracks arranged by Norio Maeda.

LISTEN SAMPLE

Ace 7 - Latin Rhapsody

LISTEN SAMPLE

   

Year : 1968 

Label : RCA 

Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz 

Style : Easy Listening, Afro Cuban Jazz

"Ace 7" was formed by the japanese jazz giant pianist, Hachidai Nakamura, former member in the late fifties of the first incarnation of legendary jazz quartet led by drummer George Kawaguchi, "The Big 4", featuring Hidehiko Matsumoto & Mitsuru Ono. The Ace 7 are among legends of japanese jazz musicians including "Sleepy" Matsumoto (sax), Isao "Jazz Godfather" Suzuki (b), Shungo Sawada/Sadanori Nakamure (g), Akira "Count Buffalo" Ishikawa (ds), Akira Nakano (tp), Takashi Onodera (per) & Seiji Hiraoka (vibes). Their singularity is to produce showcase albums highlithing cinema ("Ciné Jazz", "Memories Of American Movie Themes") or jazz standards ("Modern Jazz Best"). "Latin Rhapsody" is a tribute to Latin music and its own declinations like Bolero (Quizas, Quizas, Quizas, Besame Mucho), Tango (El Choclo), Rumba (Rumba Rhapsody), including classics from Cuba, Mexico passing by Argentina & Spain. All tracks arranged by Hachidai Nakamura.

M. Sato + J. Inagaki & His Big Soul Media - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Year : 1971
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Master Sonic Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock, Free Rock

Masahiko Sato started as professional musician in the sixties joining the Masaaki Fujita Quintet  and  the Toshiyuki Miyama's New Herd Big Band, before to enter in the Berklee College of Music in order to become arranger. From 1968 to 1971, he formed his most famous jazz combo, the Masahiko Sato Trio with the bassist Yasuo Arakawa & drummer Masahiko Togashi (the trio won the Japan Jazz Award in 1970, in the best debut album category for "Palladium"). Prolific pianist, Masahiko Sato has left his indelible mark on the japanese jazz history, with various experimental iconic projects ("Amalgamation", "Tri-Piano" with Norio Maeda), Free Jazz albums such as "Holography" or "Astorama" (with french violinist Jean-Luc Ponty) and soundtracks as "Belladonna" for Tezuka Productions. "Astorama", recorded in 1970, opens the way to his future international collaborations, as composer & arranger, in considerable recordings from Nancy Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Gary Peacock, Art Farmer, Hank Jones passing by his fellow countryman Yohsuke Yamashita. Satoh enrolled the Jazz Rock band "Soul Media", in joint project with Jiro Inagaki featuring Ryo Kawasaki, Yasuo Arakawa plus Tadayuki Harada, Shunzo Ohno & Takeshi Inomata from the Sound limited. Titles include the killer groove "Sniper's Snooze", the psychedelic soul tune "Love & Peace", the pop ballad "Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Simon & Garfunkel & the bluesy "Somethin Goin On" from Al Kooper. All tracks arranged by Masahiko Sato.

MUSICIANS : Masahiko Sato - piano & electric piano - Jiro Inagaki - tenor saxophone - Tadayuki Harada - baritone saxophone - Shunzo Ohno - trumpet - Tadataka Nakazawa - trombone - Ryo Kawasaki - guitar - Yasuo Arakawa - bass - Takeshi Inomata & Hajime Ishimatsu - drums - Seiji Tanaka - percussion

LISTEN SAMPLE

George Otsuka Quintet - Go On

Year : 1972
Label : TBM
Genre : Jazz
Style : Hard Bop, Modal 

The first steps on the Three Blind Mice label by the great japanese drummer George Otsuka featuring Mabumi Yamaguchi, Takashi Mizuhashi, Toshiyuki Daitoku & the soulful expressions of Shunzo Ohno. After evolved in the Toshiko Akiyoshi's Cozy Quartet and the Hidehiko Matsumoto Quartet from 1961 to 1964, George Otsuka formed with Hideo Ichikawa & Masaoki Terakawa, his first legendary trio, actives from 1965 until 1969, with whom he recorded the famous trilogy "Page 1", "Page 2" & "Last Summer - Page 3", all released on the Columbia Takt Jazz Series. In 1968, he recorded "Groovin' With My Soul Brother" alongside Roy Haynes & Ichikawa, later evolved in the Mabumi Yamaguchi Quintet and was recruited by Isao Suzuki for his "Blow Up" in 1973, also on the TBM catalogue. During the seventies, George sharing stage with Elvin Jones or Nana Vasconcelos, and was sideman for various frontmen such as Hampton Hawes, Jack Dejohnette, Phil Wood or Miroslav Vitous. Titles include the jazz standard "Here's That Rainy Day" by Jimmy Van Heusen, the cover song "Isotope" from original composition of Joe Henderson, the title-track by Shunzo Ohno and two original compositions by Mabumi Yamaguchi.

MUSICIANS : Shunzo Ohno - trumpet & flugelhorn - Mabumi Yamaguchi - soprano & tenor saxophone - Toshiyuki Daitoku - piano - Takashi Mizuhashi - bass - George Otsuka - drums

LISTEN SAMPLE

Nobuo Hara And Sharps & Flats - Double Exposure

Year : 1970
Label : Liberty
Genre : Jazz
Style : Big Band, Modal, Funk/Soul, Folk

A project mixing Jazz with Oriental expressions by the most famous Japanese Big Band featuring the great "Lady of Jazz", pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi as arranger and composer. As the Count Basie Orchestra, "Sharps & Flats" has been a springboard for many outstanding japanese jazz musicians like Hiroshi Suzuki (tb), Takao Naoi from The Count Buffalos (eg), Toshihiko Ogawa (p), Hiroshi Takeuchi (b), Koji Suzuki (as) or Teruyuki Fukushima (tp), all playing on "Double Exposure". Toshiko brings her contribution with four own compositions : "Let's Roll In Sake" including dynamic drums breaks, the oriental piece "Sumie", "Fool" & the extended bluesy tune "Double Exposure". Titles also include "Ostinatism" & "Lonely Girl Of East" composed by Eiichi Fujii.