Kenny Burrell - Guitar Forms (1964)

"I didn't want to put out an album with a variety of sounds and persuasions just as a showcase, without having depth to it." So Kenny Burrell, master of so many guitar forms, remembers. His caution -- as well as his choice of arranger, Gil Evans -- paid off with this classic record that integrates his vast array of techniques in a timeless, artistic whole.

"I'd like to play many types of music. Guitar Forms is probably the best reflection of that of any album I've done, in terms of the variety of things I truly love."

Track listing:

1. Downstairs
2. Lotus Land
3. Terrace Theme
4. Prelude #2 - excerpt
5. Moon and Sand
6. Loie
7. Greensleeves
8. Last Night When We Were Young
9. Breadwinner


personnel:

Kenny Burrell Guitar
Jimmy Cleveland Trombone
Jimmy Knepper Trombone
Steve Lacy Soprano Saxophone
Lee Konitz Alto Saxophone
Roger Kellaway Piano
Grady Tate Drums

Gil Evans Arranger




Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on December 4, 1964, December 15, 1964, April 6, 1965 and April 12, 1965.

Original recordings produced by Creed Taylor

(flac with scans)

The Mar-Keys - The Great Memphis Sound (1966)

The Mar-Keys, formed in 1958, were a studio session band for the Stax label from Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. As the first house band for the label, their backing music formed the foundation for the early 1960s Stax sound. The Mar-Keys was a play on the word "marquee" referring to the marquee outside of Stax studios (at the time called Satellite Records). They also recorded organ and saxophone oriented singles of their own, scoring a number three hit nationally with "Last Night" in 1961. Keyboard was played by Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith. Other singles of theirs from the early 1960s include "Philly Dog" and "Pop-eye Stroll." Members of this rhythm section later formed other nationally prominent Memphis studio session groups, including the Memphis Horns, the Packers, and Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Each of these offshoot groups also recorded popular instrumental albums of their own, in addition to serving as the backing band on albums by dozens of rock, r&b, and soul music stars on Stax, Volt and other national labels. The legacy of the Mar-Keys and later groups was that of having been key players in the development of soul music styles like Southern soul and Memphis soul. This 1966 out-of-print date is fun, feelgood music, perfect for those spring Sunday nights, enjoy.

Members

* Steve Cropper - guitar
* Donald "Duck" Dunn - bass
* Charles "Packy" Axton - tenor sax
* Don Nix - saxophone
* James Terry Johnson - piano
* Wayne Jackson - trombone, trumpet
* Jerry Lee "Smoochie" Smith - keyboards
* Booker T. Jones - keyboards
* Isaac Hayes - organ
* James Terry Johnson - drums
* Al Jackson - drums

Discography

* The Last Night!, 1961
* Do the Pop-Eye, 1962
* The Great Memphis Sound, 1966
* Back to Back, 1967
* Mellow Jelly, 1968
* Damnifiknow!, 1969
* Memphis Horns, 1970
* Memphis Experience, 1971
* High on Music, 1976

track listing

Honey Pot
Plantation Inn
Loving You Too Long
Cleo's Back
Grab This Thing
Philly Dog
Walking With The Duke
The Girl From Ipanema
In The Mood
"Dear James" Medley (Night Train, Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, I Got You, Good Loving, I'll Go Crazy)

rec. 1966

Bobby Enriquez - Wild Piano (1988)

Criminally underrated Philipino jazz piano great Bobby Enriquez (1943-96) in a set guaranteed to make your heart race. With bass ace Eddie Gomez and super drummer Al Foster successfully holding on, the exuberant pianist turns eight jazz standards inside out and takes "Classical Gas" as an unaccompanied solo. Highlights of this typically high-powered Enriquez date include "All Blues," "Bye Bye Blackbird," Thelonious Monk's "Four in One," and "Cherokee.

track listing:

1. All Blues
2. September Song
3. Classical Gas
4. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You
5. Bye Bye Blackbird
6. 'Round Midnight
7. Four in One
8. Pannonica
9. Cherokee

personnel:

Bobby Enriquez
Eddie Gomez
Al Foster


rec. 1988