Material - Hallucination Engine (1993)

Praising Hallucination Engine as a postmodern Bitches Brew may seem mad, but Material bassist-composerguru Bill Laswell risks a maneuver akin to the one Miles Davis pulled off with his 1969 trailblazer: fusing disparate sounds into one groovy om of exhilaration and release. For sonic gorgeousness, funky trance states and technical bravado, this bid is the boldest.

In fact, the array of guest musicians is more diverse than ever: Trilok Gurtu, Jonas Hellborg, Zakir Hussain, Bootsy Collins -- the list goes on and on and even includes William Burroughs (who intones a hilarious list of "Words of Advice" over a churning mid-tempo funk groove). In his ambient mode, Laswell has been accused of turning too little music into too much track length, and there's some justice to those criticisms; here, "Black Light" and the unbelievably well-named "Eternal Drift" both plod along for far too long with far too little development. But that William Burroughs track kicks in just as you're about to fall asleep, and it's followed immediately by a very funky and very jazzy remix of "Cucumber Slumber." "The Hidden Garden/Naima" proposes an interesting juxtaposition of Arabic pop song and modal jazz, with dramatic and beautiful results, while "Shadows of Paradise" brings the album to a close with a gentle whimper, not a bang.

* Arranged By - Bill Laswell
* Bass - Bill Laswell , Bootsy Collins , Jonas Hellborg
* Chatan, Congas, Percussion - Aiyb Dieng
* Daff, Tambourine - Michael Baklouk
* Drums [Kit] - Sly Dunbar
* Engineer - Martin Bisi , Oz Fritz , Robert Musso
* Ghatam - Vikku Vinayakram
* Guitar, Sitar, Baglama - Nicky Skopelitis
* Mastered By - Howie Weinberg
* Ney - Jihad Racy
* Oud - Simon Shaheen
* Piano [Electric], Organ [Hammond B-3] - Bernie Worrell
* Producer - Bill Laswell
* Qanoum - George Basil
* Sampler, Programmed By [Beats, Loops] - Bill Laswell
* Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano] - Wayne Shorter
* Synthesizer - Jeff Bova , Nicky Skopelitis
* Tabla - Trilok Gurtu , Zakir Hussain
* Violin - Shankar , Simon Shaheen
* Voice - Fahiem Dandan , Liu Sola , William S. Burroughs

Bill Ware · Marc Ribot - Dir Duke (2001)

Vibraphone demon Bill Ware and guitar wizard Marc Ribot both have well deserved reputations as doyens of the downtown avant jazz scene, players capable of pushing the music into uncharted territory. Thus, it's doubly surprising when the pair decide to not only collaborate on a duet album of Duke Ellington tunes, but to honor the Duke's work with some of the most straight-ahead playing in either man's career. There are no radical deconstructions going on here, as Ware and Ribot take on some of the most beloved gems in the Ellington catalog. Instead, there's a respectful adherence to the original melodic/harmonic framework of the tunes. The most striking aspect of the arrangements comes from the strict duo format of the album, which necessitates use of space, subtle dynamics, and a modern kind of minimalism. After listening to SIR DUKE, no one ever need wonder again about the old-school chops of these two warriors on the edge of jazz.

Recorded at Studio 900, New York.

Personnel: Bill Ware (vibraphone); Marc Ribot (guitar).

Track listing:
1. C Jam Blues
2. I Got It Bad
3. In a Sentimental Mood
4. Mood Indigo
5. It Don't Mean a Thing
6. Solitude
7. Caravan
8. Come Sunday
9. Take the -A- Train
10.Sophisticated Lady


CMJ (10/1/01, p.21) - "...The feel is like a late-night jam between friends out to prove nothing....The choice of material is non-stop Ellilngton, but the tunes take on a new life of their own..."
Down Beat (1/02, pp.73-4) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A straight, down-the-middle homage to Ellington....a warm, very melodic and sympathetic collection..."
JazzTimes (5/02, pp.141-2) - "...A disc of bright, light music in the form of duets...it's all clever, pleasant music."

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the A. C. Jobim Songbook (1981)

Ella Abraça Jobim or Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook is a 1981 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, devoted to the songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim.

It was reissued on CD in 1991 (found here), although the CD version does not include the songs "Don't Ever Go Away" and "Song of the Jet".

Though it is subtitled as such, this album is not usually considered part of Fitzgerald's 'Songbook' series, the last of the 'Songbook' albums having been recorded in 1964.

It was Fitzgerald's first album of music devoted to a single composer since 1972's Ella Loves Cole, and it was her only album recorded entirely in the Bossa Nova style, though she had been singing Jobim's songs since the mid 1960's.

Fitzgerald never worked with Antonio Carlos Jobim, though she appeared alongside Frank Sinatra for a 1967 television special that also featured Jobim.

Ella Abraça Jobim translates (with a pun) as 'She Hugs Jobim' (Ela Abraça Jobim) in Portuguese.

Track listing

1. "Somewhere in the Hills" (Favela) (Vinícius de Moraes, Ray Gilbert) – 3:56
2. "The Girl from Ipanema" (de Moraes, Norman Gimbel) – 3:50
3. "Dindi" (Ray Gilbert, Aloysio Oliveira) – 6:37
4. "Desafinado" (Off Key) (Jesse Cavanaugh, Jon Hendricks, Newton Mendonça) – 3:41
5. "Water to Drink" (de Moraes, Gimbel) – 2:44
6. "Dreamer (Vivo Sonhando)" (Gene Lees) – 4:55
7. "Corcovado" (Lees) – 5:40
8. "Bonita" (Gilbert, Lees) – 2:50
9. "One Note Samba" (Mendonça, Hendricks) – 3:51
10. "Don't Ever Go Away (Por Causa de Voce)" (Gilbert, Dolores Duran) - 2:52
11. "Triste" – 4:07
12. "How Insensitive" (de Moraes, Gimbel) – 3:00
13. "He's a Carioca (Ele É Carioca)" (de Moraes, Gilbert) – 5:14
14. "This Love That I've Found (Só Tinha de Ser Com Você)" (Oliveira) – 5:17
15. "A Felicidade" (de Moraes) – 2:19
16. "Wave" – 5:22
17. "Song of the Jet (Samba Do Avião)" (Lees) – 3:40
18. "Photograph" (Fotografia) (Gilbert) – 3:49
19. "Useless Landscape (Inútil Paisagem)" (Gilbert, Oliveira) – 7:59

All songs composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with lyricists indicated.

Personnel

Recorded September 17-19, 1980, March 18-20, 1981 Hollywood, Los Angeles:

* Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals
* Clark Terry - Trumpet
* Zoot Sims - Tenor Saxophone
* Toots Thielemans - Harmonica
* Henry Trotter - Keyboard
* Mike Lang
* Clarence McDonald
* Joe Pass - Guitar
* Oscar Castro-Neves
* Paul Jackson
* Mitch Holder
* Ronald Bautiste
* Abraham Laboriel - Double Bass
* Alex Acuña - Drums
* Paulinho da Costa - Percussion

Pablo records, 1981

Danny Gatton - 88 Elmira St. (1991)

This album is nothing short of a complete celebration of the electric guitar. Danny Gatton (1945-1994) was part fierce monster and part teddy bear. His playing style suggests bits of Dick Dale, bits of Chet Atkins, and traces of everything in between. During up-tempo numbers, Gatton could rip the roof off. His ballads and quiet moments never failed to draw tears. 88 ELMIRA ST. marked his debut on a major label after a handful of small-label releases.

The half-dozen originals among 88 ELMIRA ST's eleven tracks are more than simple vehicles for Gatton's soloing. He is ably backed by his regular quartet, and each number shows sharp character and a sense of style. Gatton's rapid-fire runs on such pieces as "Funky Mama" are balanced by the subtler pleasures of his version of The Beach Boys' "In My Room." Sadly, Gatton was even more troubled than Brian Wilson, and the guitarist took his own life four years after the release of this album.

Live RecordingRolling Stone (4/4/91) - 3 Stars - Good "...Gatton is essentially a pre-rock-era guitarist...a glorious anachronism."
Musician (3/91) - "Gatton isn't interesting for what he plays, so much as the way he plays it. Meaning there's little on this album that you haven't heard done a million times before, and nothing you've heard done better."

tracklisting:

1. Funky Mama 5:41
2. Elmira St. Boogie 4:06
3. Blues Newburg 4:11
4. Quiet Village 4:52
5. Red Label 5:06
6. In My Room 4:50
7. The Simpsons 3:16
8. Muthaship 4:40
9. Pretty Blue 6:10
10. Fandingus 3:08
11. Slidin' Home 4:58

Luiz Bonfa - O Violao e o Samba (1962)

Luiz Floriano Bonfá (October 17, 1922 - January 12, 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus.

Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922 in Rio de Janeiro. He began teaching himself to play guitar as a child; he studied in Rio with Uruguayan classical guitarist Isaías Sávio from the age of twelve. These weekly lessons entailed a long, harsh commute by rail and on foot from his family home in the western rural outskirts of Rio de Janeiro to the teacher's home in the hills of Santa Teresa. Given Bonfá's extraordinary dedication and talent for the guitar, Sávio excused the youngster's inability to pay for his lessons.

Bonfá first gained widespread exposure in Brazil in 1947 when he was featured on Rio's Rádio Nacional, then an important showcase for up-and-coming talent. He was a member of the vocal group Quitandinha Serenaders in the late 1940s. Some of his compositions were recorded and performed by Brazilian crooner Dick Farney in the 1950s. It was through Farney that Bonfá was introduced to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, the leading songwriting team behind the worldwide explosion of Brazilian jazz/pop music in the late 1950s and 1960s. Bonfá collaborated with these and with other prominent Brazilian musicians and artists in productions of de Moraes' anthological play Orfeu da Conceição, which several years later gave origin to Marcel Camus' legendary film "Black Orpheus" (Orfeu Negro in Portuguese). In the burgeoning days of Rio de Janeiro's thriving jazz scene, it was commonplace for musicians, artists, and dramatists to collaborate in such theatrical presentations. Bonfá wrote some of the original music featured in the film, including the numbers "Samba de Orfeu" and his most famous composition, "Manhã de Carnaval" (translated to English as "A Day in the Life of a Fool"), which has been among the top ten standards played worldwide, according to The Guinness Book of World Records.

As a composer and performer, Bonfá was at heart an exponent of the bold, lyrical, lushly orchestrated, and emotionally charged samba-canção style that predated the arrival of João Gilberto's more refined and subdued bossa nova style. Jobim, João Donato, Dorival Caymmi, and other contemporaries were also essentially samba-canção musicians until the sudden, massive popularity of the young Gilberto's unique style of guitar playing and expressively muted vocals transformed the music of the day into the music of the future. Camus' film and Gilberto's and Jobim's collaborations with American jazzmen such as Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd did much to bring Brazilian popular music to the attention of the world, and Bonfá became a highly visible ambassador of Brazilian music in the United States beginning with the famous November 1962 Bossa Nova concert at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Bonfá lived in the USA from the early 1960s until 1975. He worked with American musicians such as Quincy Jones, George Benson, Stan Getz, and Frank Sinatra, recording several albums while in United States. Elvis Presley sang a Bonfá composition, "Almost in Love", in the 1968 MGM film "Live a Little, Love a Little". Bonfá remained well-connected in the US after returning to Brazil, but his profile receded into relative obscurity during his final decades. His last album, 1997's "Almost in Love", was a collaboration with Brazilian singer Ithamara Koorax.

Bonfá died in Rio de Janeiro on January 12, 2001 from prostate cancer complicated by ischemia. He was 78 years old.

In 2005, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings released an album of Bonfá's work, entitled, "Solo in Rio 1959", which included previously unreleased material from the original recording session.

In 2008, Universal Music France released a coffee table book containing two CDs which included previously unreleased material of "Black Orpheus" soundtrack, and a DVD. Also in 2008, Universal Music released "The Brazilian Scene" , "Braziliana" and "Black Orpheus" celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bossa nova.

Bonfá's major legacy continues to be his compositions from the "Black Orpheus" soundtrack, most notably the instantly recognizable bossa nova classic "Manhã de Carnaval." But Bonfá's huge discography also attests to his uniquely inventive mastery of Brazilian jazz guitar. Bonfá's guitar style was brassier and more penetrating than that of his major contemporary, João Gilberto, and Bonfá was a frequent and adept soloist whereas Gilberto plays his own suave, intricate brand of rhythm guitar almost exclusively. Bonfá often played solo guitar in a polyphonic style, harmonizing melody lines in a manner similar to that made famous by Wes Montgomery in the USA, or playing lead and rhythm parts simultaneously. As a composer and as a guitarist, Bonfá played a pivotal role in bridging the incumbent samba-canção style with the innovations of the bossa nova movement. (wikipedia)

Tracklisting:

01. Inquietação (2:27)
02. Nossos Momentos (2:35)
03. Meu Nome é Ninguém (1:45)
04. Lamento No Morro (2:10)
05. Pastorinhas (2:40)
06. Voce Chegou Sorrindo (2:26)
07. Murmúrio (2:31)
08. Liberdade Demais (1:56)
09. Amor Em Brasilia (2:19)
10. Saudade Da Bahia (Longing For Bahia) (2:30)
11. Copacabana (2:03)
12. Amor De Solidão (2:43)

amazing Japanese fan's link featuring Bonfa's prodigious recorded output can be found here:

John Mayall - Jazz Blues Fusion (1972)

Superb 1972 live offering from British blues legend John Mayall throwing in some Clifford Jordan-style jazz for good measure expertly aided by trumpet giant Blue Mitchell in one of their classic collaborations.

personnel:

john mayal
blue mitchell
clifford solomon
larry taylro
freddie robinson
ron selico

rec. 1972

John Zorn's Masada - Live in Middelheim (1999)

Every album by John Zorn's Masada seems better than the last, and this one is no exception. By the time of this recording the group was a tightly cohesive unit, performing at an extremely high and satisfying level, with Zorn and Douglas playing comfortably at a blistering pace. The songs are tinged with hints of Eastern European harmony, but the heat generated, while perhaps related to the raucous dancing at a Jewish wedding, is firmly rooted in the ways of Avant Garde Jazz. Zorn takes some of his best solos on disk, sounding like silly putty on speed, while the more proper Dave Douglas lags only slightly behind. With a recording time nearing eighty minutes, and substantial contributions from the entire quartet, the recording marks not so much a milestone in the life of the group as a symbol of its ability to constantly expand upon itself and draw on its not inconsequential roots, proving again that you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy Jewish-tinged culture. ~ Steven Loewy, All Music Guide

In addition to Mr. Lowey's very knowledgeable review, I have to say that this is one of the best jazz albums in recent years, it grabs you by the balls and never lets go, enjoy. ~d3lta

track listing:

1. Nevuah
2. Sippur
3. Hath-Arob
4. Kedushah
5. Ne'eman
6. Karet
7. Kochot
8. Piram
9. Paran
10. Ashnah
11. Tahah

personnel:

john zorn as
dave douglas t
greg cohen b
joey baron d

rec. 1999

Bobby Broom - Modern Man (2001)

Guitarist Bobby Broom has been playing profesionally for more than 30 years. He's worked, with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Dr. John, Art Blakey, Kenny Burrell, Charles Earland et al. Modern Man brings to mind the urgent, smoking energy of a young, unbridled George Benson, circa 1966's Cookbook. Indeed, fire-breathing baritone sax ace Ronnie Cuber and Hammond B-3 marvel Dr. Lonnie Smith - both key elements of that ferocious mid-60's Benson quartet - are both aboard here to ignite the fire beneath Broom's guitar in a set so diverse that it even includes pop-funk standards as Stevie Wonder's Superstition and Eric Clapton's rock anthem Layla. Great stuff.

Tracklisting:

1. Dance For Osiris
2. Ponta Grossa
3. Superstition
4. Mo'
5. I'll Never Fall in Love Again
6. Blues For Modern Man
7. Old Devil Moon
8. A Peck A Sec
9. After Words
10.Layla



personnel:

Bobby Broom - guitar

Dr. Lonnie Smith - Hammond B-3 organ

Ronnie Cuber - baritone sax

Idris Muhammad - drums

rec 2000

The Paul Bley Quartet w/J. Surman B. Frisell P. Motian (1988)

This 1988 release was the second by this quartet (Fragments, their first, was released two years earlier). The set features compositions written by each of the players, with two contributions from Bley. The ensemble is well matched and the absence of a traditional rhythm section allows the musicians to play in and around open spaces (an approach in keeping with the group members' own releases). Bill Frisell's long and lingering notes peek out from behind Bley's piano, while John Surman's reeds wrap the whole in a rich, gauzy cloth. All the while drummer Paul Motian plays his kit with the quiet majesty of volcanic ash settling onto horizontal surfaces. Recorded in Norway at one of the producer's preferred studios, the sonic clarity is gorgeous (a hallmark of ECM releases). The title of Bley's "Interplay" invokes the key word that makes this music work so well.

track listing:

Interplay
Heat
After Dark
One In Four
Triste

personnel:

Payl Bley piano
John Surman soprano sax bass clarinet
Bill Frisell guitar
Paul Motian drums

Recorded at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway in November 1987 ECM 1365

Paul Bley - Films · Jazz 'n (e)motion

Sumptuous out-of-print solo Bley offering from RCA France's 1997 Jazz 'n (e)motion series where this master of understatement takes a peek at favorite film themes that have entered the jazz canon in the form of standards. Exquisite stuff.

track listing:

Laura
All The Things You Are
As Time Goes By
I Got Rhythm
Someday My Prince Will Come
What Is This Thing Called Love
It Might As Well Be Spring
Married Alive

Paul Bley - piano

rec. Paris 1997