For the first time EVER on 7" single come two of Don Blackman's most classic tracks from the 1982 album "Don Blackman" for GRP. multi-keyboard wizard Blackman played with the biggest names in fusion music including Lenny White & "Twenny-nine". As a leader and featured recording artist Don's keyboard, vocal and composing talents all came to shine on the debut LP from which these two songs are taken.
Don has toured the world with his band and "The Marcus Miller Band", "The World Saxophone Quartet", with jazz and bassist Tuero Nakamura.. His work on the acoustic piano and other keyboards was recorded on Mary J. Blidge's, "Feel Like A Natural Woman" and Janet Jackson's "That's The Way Love Goes"
quête:marcus miller
- 1
It's with great pleasure that we present the 100th release of Quintessentials! Happy 100! Started in 2008, Quintessentials` slogan was and still is "deep, raw and real". On the way to the 100th release, we discovered talents like (just to name but a few...) Anton Zap, Baaz, Ugly Drums, Mat Chiavaroli, Simon Hinter or The Black Fan, as well as featuring established producers like Luke Solomon (as Lukatron), Borrowed Identity, Alton Miller, Simoncino, Soul of Hex, Felipe Gordon, Javonntte, KRL, Andy Ash or Ralph Session. Quintessentials has never just released stricly one type of music, but put together cool tunes from the House spectrum: Deep House, NY House, Detroit House, Acid House, Chicago House....or do we wanna call it just "House music"? This classic old school 6-track compilation features again a multi house culture and fuses present and past! Quite essential we think!
- A1: Beirut
- A2: Free Spirit Feat Jon Batiste
- A3: Red & Black Light
- A4: All I Can't Say Feat Sting
- A5: Kalthoum (Movement I)
- B1: Harlem Feat Marcus Miller
- B2: True Sorry
- B3: Les Quais Feat Kronos Quartet
- B4: Happy Face
- B5: Shadows Feat M
- B6: All Around The Wall
This autumn, on the occasion of his fortieth birthday, Ibrahim Maalouf will release his 12th studio album named "40 Melodies". Maalouf has teamed up with his longtime friend and collaborator Belgian guitarist François Delporte for an intimist duet album. The duet revisits Ibrahim's most memorable melodies, through his albums, to the soundtracks, including a few exclusive new tracks.
This album includes many renowned surprise guests (Sting, Matthieu Chedid, Alfredo Rodriguez, Richard Bona, Trilok Gurtu, Hüsnü Senlendrici, Jon Batiste, Arturo Sandoval, and others). Ibrahim gets back to his roots, and to the basics: a trumpet, a guitar, and 40 melodies to celebrate his fortieth anniversary.
This 1998 album compiles unreleased sessions from the late 70s featuring Weldon Irvine, Don Blackman and a young Marcus Miller. Known for his rare groove classics like Spirit Man in 1975 and Sinbad in 1976, Irvin's work shines here and highlights come thick and fast. They include the soulful 'Morning Sunrise' which was famously sampled by Jay-Z and Drake, the jazzy funk of 'The Sisters' with Miller's bass and Tom Brown's trumpet and the smooth 'Heard It All Before' which mixes urban sophistication with mellow fusion. Toni Smith's dynamic vocals on the funky 'Think I'll Stay A While' is another doozy which makes this masterpiece rich with jazz, soul and funk goodness.
Kirk Degiorgio is back on Neroli with a follow up of his acclaimed 2023 ‘Robe Of Dreams’ album. In this new record, aptly entitled ‘The Statement’, Kirk widens the jazz/modern jazz palette and it almost feels like an extension of the previous one, but this time exploring more unbeaten paths. Free-jazz drums meet ambient pads, soaring vocal harmonies from Beauty Room vocalist Jinadu meet funky breakbeats, some channeling of classic Lonnie Liston Smith/Marcus
Miller era jazz-funk all adds up to another feast of sonic delights from
Degiorgio.
Earl Lindo production from 1984... TIP!
Teenage twins Ruffy & Tuffy deliver an apocalyptic slab of synth drenched Rub a Dub with what could be the first use of Vocoder in Reggae for 1982’s If The 3rd World War Is A Must. This release draws from both the original 12” and the master tapes combining the best vocal cut and dub versions.
Though not prolific musicians, many may recognize the twins sparring in matching red Pony track suits in Ted Bafaloukos’ iconic 1978 film Rockers. Ahead of its time in almost every way, the lyrics dealing with global war and the nefarious use of technology, sadly seem as relevant now as they did in 1982 though some of the actors may have changed. Surrounded by elite reggae musicians from childhood it was nothing unusual for the brothers to be in the presence of elders like Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear, Augustus Pablo, Jacob Miller and especially Bob Marley at recording sessions and in daily life.
If The 3rd World War was their first venture into the studio as solo artists in 1982 first at Channel One and then Tuff Gong where Wailers alumni Earl Wire Lindo and Tyrone Downie (keys and Vocoder) laid down their space age additions to the track creating a genre bending Reggae /Electro/ Dub concoction that still sounds fresh 41 years later. Wire Lindo & the twins took the mastertapes to Texas based mechanical engineer and producer Stephen “Iya” James who ran Marcus Garvey Records and the label African Unity Productions in the unlikely Reggae hub of Austin Texas. The track was not released until two years later in 1984 as a 12” which had a run of only 500 copies and is no easy find these days.
- A1: Wake Me When It's Over
- A2: Get Funky
- A3: I.l.u
- A4: Chains
- A5: Tommygun
- A6: September
- A7: Jazz It's Me
- A8: Upstairs
- A9 2: Miles
- A10: I'll Still Be Looking
- A11: Funkyness
- A12: Big Girl
- A13: Capone
- A14: Wake Me When It's Over
As one of the Netherlands' most famous saxohonists and the daughter of Hans Dulfer, Candy needs no introduction.
Big Girl is Candy Dulfer's third album and marks her transition to a sound more informed by funk, hip hop and R&B.
The album includes a collaboration with Trijntje Oosterhuis before she became widely known as a singer and features the single "Wake Me When It's Over", written by bass virtuoso Marcus Miller.
Big Girl is available as a 30th anniversary edition on white coloured vinyl and includes an insert.
Elations Recordings presents "Return of the Airpoets", an exploratory recording from longtime collaborators Reuben Lewis (I Hold The Lion's Paw) & Adam Halliwell (Mildlife, IHTLP), occupying a unique space between contemporary experimental music and avant jazz. Engineered and mixed by Reuben Lewis in 2023, and featuring guest appearances from acclaimed Australian drummer Ronny Ferella.
"Return of the Airpoets" continues a conversation begun with 'Cygon Dance', an extended duo between Lewis and Halliwell from Halliwell's 2023 LP "Freedom Lapse"; a dialogue that stems from a shared love and respect for Jon Hassell's Fourth World music. Sonic pioneer and adventurer, Hassell's futuristic vision advocated possible musics, stressing plurality and multiplicity. Faithful to his vision, Adam and Reuben, as trailblazers rather than imitators, delight in boundless musical possibilities, adopting Hassell's futurism as stock-in-trade, making it their own while augmented with neo noir hues and hints of the tilted electro-funk of Miles Davis' collaborations with Marcus Miller.
These nine tracks flow together as a unified suite, their shadowy presence stitched from fractured narratives: imaginary crimes, murders, dreams, the unspoken. At the same time, you can detect the artists' meticulous attention to sonic detail, feel the undercurrents, the complex layering. This music has been distilled, winnowed, from extended improv sessions, with the artists - as producers - zeroing in on offcuts, shards, and splinters, seamlessly patching together fragments in post-production to construct intricately layered sound collages, taking a leaf out of Tao Macero's book, building from the ground up.
Who are these airpoets? Their mystifying trial suggests the travails of Joseph K, sentenced for unspecified crimes. But I prefer to see them as fugitives escaped from Robert Bolaño's novel, "Savage Detectives". In Bolaño's book, poet Juan Garcia Madero is granted admission to the shadowy group of poets, the Visceral Realists, whose movement has no clear aims, and whose members "walked backward . . . gazing at a point in the distance, but moving away from it, walking straight toward the unknown." Like the visceral poets, these airpoets, Reuben Lewis and Adam Halliwell, set their sights on a point on the distant horizon, setting off without map or compass, drawing nearer and moving away, towards the unknown.
Strolling through the world by Biboul Darouiche & The Bantu Jazz Connection marks the first vinyl release on Crispy Water and is a vibrant fusion of African rhythms, jazz improvisation, and soulful storytelling, blending ancestral rhythm with contemporary jazz expression. Recorded with an ensemble of outstanding musicians, the album moves effortlessly between groove, spirit, and freedom — connecting continents through sound.
BIBOUL DAROUICHE is a singer, percussionist, composer and head of the ensemble. By playing the conga, djembe, calimba and - the African treetrunk drum (also called nkul or tam-tam, which by the way should not be missing at any concert!) Darouiche brings a very special color to his music. He works mainly in Europe, but his engagements also take him to the Middle East, the countries of the CIS, Brazil and the USA. Since1995 he has been a member of Klaus Doldinger's Passport. He has also worked with musicians such as Al Di Meola, Pee Wee Ellis, Roy Ayers, Graham Haynes, Paquito D'Rivera and the Jazz Baltica Ensemble.
The Austrian multi-instrumentalist and producer MICHAEL HORNEK, who is part of the permanent cast of Klaus Doldinger's Passport as a keyboardist, plays keyboards, percussion and sings. His free-jazzy percussive playing inspires every listener. Hornek's keyboard skills can be heard on over 750 music productions, and the trend is of course increasing!
Mauritian bassist LINLEY MARTHE is one of the world's best bassists. He was a long time permanent member of the band Joe Zawinul Syndicate,worked with musicians like Dave Liebmann, Richard Galliano, Omar Hakimand many more. Zawinul said of Linley Marthe in an interview: “Linley is a phenomenon. I don't know if anyone can match him in terms of bass playing."
ROGER BIWANDU, french musician born and raised in Bordeaux/France, with roots from Congo (DRC) is an artist resident at l'Apollo bar in Bordeaux since june 1997, he plays there one time per month. He played with a lot of great musicians all over the world, with some heavy weights too, like Joe Zawinul, Salif Keita, Marcus Miller, Lee Ritenour, John Beasley, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Franck McComb, to name a few.
Bryan Ferrys gefeiertes Album „Avonmore“ aus dem Jahr 2014 ist eine meisterhafte Mischung aus anspruchsvollem
Songwriting, eleganter Produktion und atmosphärischem Charme – von Kritikern als sein bestes Werk seit
„Avalon“ gefeiert. Mit Kollaborationen mit langjährigen Bandkollegen von Roxy Music und Gastauftritten
von Johnny Marr, Nile Rodgers und Marcus Miller liefert das Album einen modernen und doch klassischen
Ferry-Sound. Herausragende Tracks wie „Loop De Li“ und „Driving Me Wild“ zeigen seine charakteristische Mischung aus Eleganz und Melancholie, während Coverversionen von Stephen Sondheims „Send in
the Clowns“ und Robert Palmers „Johnny and Mary“ für zusätzliche Tiefe sorgen. Ein Muss für Fans von
Bryan Ferry und raffnierter Pop-Kunst und eine fesselnde Ergänzung für jede Sammlung.
Das Album erscheint zum ersten Mal seit 2014 wieder auf limitierter roter Vinyl-LP und CD. Bryan Ferry
hat auch das aktualisierte Artwork für beide Formate gestaltet.
The Man With The Horn is the 1981 album by Miles Davis, which he recorded after persuasion by his nephew Vince Wilburn, a drummer in a Chicago group that played music that combined funk, soul, and fusion jazz. Miles also met the saxophonist Bill Evans, the bass guitarist Marcus Miller and called the drummer Al Foster. The studio result was a hybrid record, divided between the Chicago group’s pieces that he himself referred to as “bubble gum music” and a very free jazz-rock. However, it's less somber and dense than the damp jungles he wandered through without direction during the 1970s. The hit “The Man With The Horn” and its sugary-sweet refrain received a lot of airplay on FM stations. Jazz lovers, rejoicing in Miles’ return, delighted in the rest of the repertory. But it was Mike Stern’s incandescent solo on “Fat Time” that everyone relished. The Man With The Horn is available as limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on gold and black marbled vinyl.
Star People is a 1983 album by the famous jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis. It is the first to feature electric guitarist John Scofield, who was recommended by saxophonist Bill Evans, and the last to be produced by long-standing collaborator Teo Macero. Bassist Marcus Miller plays on five of the tracks. Electric guitarist Mike Stern features on most of the pieces, and drummer Al Foster and percussionist Mino Cinelu round out the rhythm section. Davis played trumpet and Oberheim synthesizer simultaneously (without using overdubs), and on separately recorded interludes for the over-18-minute-long blues composition ""Star People"". Star People is available as limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on orange and white marbled vinyl.
- A1: No! Now? Never! None!
- A2: We Got A Deal
- A3: Just Take One Step; He'll Take Two
- A4: Sermon ? Dialogue
- A5: Comin' Home
- A6: Benediction
- A7: Singing For God In The City
- A8: Musical Interlude (Instrumental)
- A9: Black Lightnings' Song
- B1: Pity For The Man
- B2: Karate Dancer (Instrumental)
- B3: Ego
- B4: Only Yesterday
- B5: Ghetto Lament
- B6: Again
- B7: Tight Rope
- B8: I Count It Joy
The musical "Young, Gifted and Broke", written by Weldon Irvine as writer, musical director, and full lyricist/composer, was originally released in 1977. The musical was inspired by the Black Civil Rights anthem "Young, Gifted and Black," which Weldon wrote with Nina Shimone. The recording session brought together a group of talented musicians, including Marcus Miller, whose name had not yet reached international prominence, to breathe new life into Weldon's distinctive inserts. The recordings were discovered in the early 2010s and released on CD in 2012, and P-VINE is proud to be the first in the world to release them on vinyl!
Wir sind mit Groove-Jazz groß geworden, mit Marcus Miller, David Sanborn oder den Brecker Brothers, das ist unsere DNA“ sagt der Altsaxofonist Jakob Manz „aber wir wollten für das zweite Album von The Jakob Manz Project auch neue Inspirationen, die uns herausfordern und weiterbringen.“ Diese lieferten vor allem ein Aufritt beim Papjazz Festival auf Haiti. Die Lebensumstände und die Musik des Landes, sowie die dortige Begegnung dem Pianisten Meddy Gerville aus La Réunion bewegten die Band zutiefst. So hören wir auf „The Answer“ wieder Jakob Manz atemberaubende Virtuosität, die jedoch immer im Dienst der Musik steht. Wir hören von amerikanischem Soul- und Pop-Jazz geprägte Grooves und Melodien. Aber auch neue Farben und Schattierungen, welche die Beschäftigung mit Musiken jenseits der westlichen Welt mit sich gebracht hat. Diese neuen, erweiterten Klangräume erobert sich Manz mit seiner Band bestehend aus Hannes Stollsteimer am Piano, Frieder Klein am Bass und Paul Albrecht am Schlagzeug, nun erweitert um Perkussionisten Karl Degenhardt. Dazu kommen Gäste aus den unterschiedlichsten Richtungen: Lionel Loueke steuert mit Gesang und Gitarre eine faszinierende westafrikanische Note bei, Alexandra Stollsteimer einen klassischen Geigenklang und Matthias Schriefl Trompete und Alphorn - letzteres sicher ein Novum im Groove-Jazz-Genre. Wie so oft ist Jazz auch auf „The Answer“ vor allem ein Vokabular, mit dem Musiker:innen auf der ganzen Welt ausdrücken, was sie bewegt und beeinflusst und ihr Publikum dies miterleben lassen.
Opaque Pink Coloured LP Vinyl - M.E.B. (formerly Miles Electric Band) led by Vince Wilburn, Jr collects a progressive All-Star ensemble featuring Miles Davis alumni and the players Miles inspired. This brand new, never-released studio recording captures a multi-generational who’s who of acclaimed artists performing new Miles-inspired compositions. Two tracks of the five on the album include unreleased trumpet performances by Miles and the album, produced by Miles' alumni Lenny White and Wilburn, features music legends including Ron Carter, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, Donald Harrison, Darryl Jones, Vernon Reid and John Scofield. This album is dedicated to the memory of Wallace Roney and Bernard Wright and contains some of their final recordings. The cover is an original painting from artist and Miles’ associate Mikel Elam. Pressed on hot pink vinyl, this is the exclusive vinyl release.
The one arm keyboard luminary is well known in the entertainment circle of Western Jamaica. Born on the 2nd of March 1954, the accomplished singer and musician hails from Hayes, Clarendon. In 1969 he went to live in Kingston until 1973. Ancel's first effort in a recording studio was inside the popular Randy's in downtown Kingston. He did a single called 'Riding On' on the Musical Barber label out of Mandeville.
In 1977 he joined a group called Solid Foundation and stayed with them for two years. After that he moved to Montego Bay to sing with Stamma and the Sounds of Mobay, with who he appeared on Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1980.
Johnny made the move for the United States in 1982, and formed his first own band 'Uprisers' in Pittsburgh city.
One of the things he likes to talk about is how he once reunited the famed Clarendonians with Peter Austin and Ernest Wilson. Both pioneer icons were at irreconcilable odds with each other for quite some time. When he came back to Jamaica in 1985, he invited Ernest Wilson to do back-up vocals for him. For the same studio session, he also invited Peter Austin for the same back-up duties, and that was how the reunion came about. Inside famous Aquarius studio, there was Burning Spear's personal Band called Burning. The songs recorded there were 'Moving Out' and 'True Love' with top musicians : Tony Green on the saxophone, Bobby Ellis on the trumpet, Dwight Pinkney on the guitar, Calvin on percussion, Nelson Miller on the drums and Maurice Gordon on bass. This was not the first time Ancel was working with Peter Austin. When the split came in the ranks of the Clarendonians, Ancel was asked to fill the breach. He thus teamed up with Peter Austin and their first single together was entitled 'Out Of Sight'. They later entered the annual Jamaica Festival Song competition in 1975. Their entry was entitled 'Paradise On Earth' which Ancel said was quite popular. However, it was not popular enough to prevent the late Roman Stewart from copping the award with 'Hooray Festival'.
After the release of 'Moving Out', Johnny moved to Miami and continued his career as a solo artist, singing with different local bands. He did a number of singles, notably were 'Faith, Patience and Love' and 'Stand Back' for a producer called Jolly in Miami. In 1988 Powell formed his second band Benja, a band which gained increasing popularity in the time in South Florida. They have performed on several festivals, played in most major clubs and were a big success in Andros Island in the Bahamas for an audience who not necessarily consider Reggae their prime choice of music.
The saddest part of his life was when he lost his left hand to what doctors termed as a cancerous situation in 1977. This did not, however, stop him from learning how to play keyboards. Initially he was taught by the late Bobby Vaugh in Montego Bay and also got further teaching from jamaican saxophinist Reuben Alexander.
Now approaching 70 years old, Ancel is still very active in his music. In previous years he performed at the Marcus Garvey Celebration and is currently working with the “Synergy Band” at Royalton Hotel in Negril under the stage name “Ancel P.” Let the one arm keyboard luminary life and music live eternally !
Produced by Ancel "Johnny" Powell & Patricia Wallace
Engineer: Melvin Williams
Recorded at Aquarius Studio (Kingston, JA) in 1985
Bass: Maurice Gordon
Drums: Nelson Miller
Guitar: Dwight Pinkney
Saxophone: Tony Green
Trumpet: Bobby Ellis
Percussion: Calvin
Keyboards: Winston Wright
Backing vocals: Ernest Wilson & Peter Austin from the Clarendonians
Now available at a new lower price. Pressed On Opaque Yellow Vinyl With Japanese Stylized Insert And Deluxe Obi Strip. Remastered From The Original Analog Tapes. The first live Miles Davis electric band release since 1977’s very dark and heavy Dark Magus. The album features live performances from shows at Boston’s Kix Club. The double vinyl release contains reimagined versions of songs from The Man With the Horn (1981), tunes from the pre-electric Gil Evans collaboration Porgy and Bess (1959), and a dedication to the Boston venue called Kix. While this was one of the first live Miles Davis performances in over half a decade it certainly did not show!!! This album features R&B legend Marcus Miller on bass, Mike Stern on guitar, Bill Evans on saxophone, Mino Cinelu on percussion, and electric band alumni Al Foster on drums. Produced and edited by long time Miles collaborator Teo Macero
- A1: John Coltrane & Art Blakey's Big Band - Pristine
- A2: Cécile Mclorin Salvant - One Step Ahead
- A3: Serge Gainsbourg - Black Trombone
- A4: Marcus Miller Feat Corinne Bailey Rae - Free
- A5: Anne Paceo - Smile
- B1: Neue Grafik Ensemble Feat Brother Portrait - Hedgehog
- B2: Mel Tormé - Comin' Home Baby
- B2: Michel Legrand Feat Bill Evans, John Coltrane & Miles
- B4: Yaron Herman Trio - Heart Shaped Box
- B5: Miles Davis - Générique (B O.f "Ascenseur Pour L'echafa
- B6: I | Brahim Maalouf - True Sorry
- C1: Melody Gardot & Seth Kallen - My Sweet Darling
- C2: Norah Jones & Joel Harrison - Tennessee Waltz
- C3: Laurent De Wilde - Misterioso
- C4: Mélanie De Biasio - Afro Blue
- C5: Ella Fitzgerald - How High The Moon
- C6: Quincy Jones - Soul Bossa Nova
- D1: Térez Montcalm - Sweet Dreams
- D2: Biréli Lagrène & Sylvain Luc - So What?
- D3: Sandra Nkaké & Jî Drû - Always The Same
- D4: Youn Sun Nah - Jockey Full Of Bourbon
- D5: Nina Simone - Love Me Or Leave Me
- D6: 2Charlie Parker & Miles Davis - A Night In Tunisia
PRESSED ON OPAQUE YELLOW VINYL WITH JAPANESE STYLIZED INSERT AND DELUXE OBI STRIP
Remastered From The Original Analog Tapes
The first live Miles Davis electric band release since 1977’s very dark and heavy Dark Magus. The album features live performances from shows at Boston’s Kix Club. The double vinyl release contains reimagined versions of songs from The Man With the Horn (1981), tunes from the pre-electric Gil Evans collaboration Porgy and Bess (1959), and a dedication to the Boston venue called Kix. While this was one of the first live Miles Davis performances in over half a decade it certainly did not show!!! This album features R&B legend Marcus Miller on bass, Mike Stern on guitar, Bill Evans on saxophone, Mino Cinelu on percussion, and electric band alumni Al Foster on drums. Produced and edited by long time Miles collaborator Teo Macero.
- A1: Clarence Reid - Get Back
- A2: Spanky Wilson - Sunshine Of Your Love
- A3: Incredible Bongo Band - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
- A4: Pretty Purdie & The Playboys Feat. Norman Matlock - Funky Mozart
- A5: Redd Holt Unlimited - I Shot The Sheriff
- A6: Dennis Coffey - Never Can Say Goodbye
- B1: The Mighty Mocambos - The Next Message
- B2: Electro Deluxe - Staying Alive
- B3: Marcus Miller - Girls & Boys
- B4: Lenny White Feat. Donald Blackman & Foley - Kashmir
- A1: Hungry & Ready (Feat Melvin Taylor)
- A2: Can't Take No More (Feat Marcus King)
- A3: I'm As Good As Gone (Feat Buddy Miller)
- A4: Got To Find A Better Way (Feat Scarlet Rivera)
- A5: One Special Lady (Feat Jake Shimabukuro)
- B1: Chills & Thrills (Feat Mike Campbell)
- B2: A Quitter Never Wins
- B3: Deep Blues Sea (Feat Scarlet Rivera)
- B4: Driving Wheel (Feat Melvin Taylor)
- B5: The Sun Is Shining Down (Feat Carolyn Wonderland)
On his latest album, 'The Sun is Shining Down', Blues legend John Mayall
teams up with a stellar cast to deliver a funky soulful affair punctuated by
brass, violins, harmonica and electric ukulele
Special guests include, The Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell, fast rising roots rocker
Marcus King, Americana icon Buddy Miller, Scarlet Rivera of Bob Dylan's Rolling
Thunder Review, Chicago blues guitar mainstay Melvin Taylor and Hawaiian
ukulele star Jake Shimabukuro. Also on hand are Mayall's longtime dynamic
Chicago rhythm section of Greg Rzab on bass guitar and Jay Davenport on drums
with Austin's multi-talented and charismatic Carolyn Wonderland on guitar.
Recorded at Robby Krieger's (The Doors) Horse Latitudes studio with Grammy
nominated Producer Eric Corne, 'The Sun is Shining Down' is Mayall's 5th studio
album for Forty Below Records, a fruitful partnership that began with 2014's A
Special Life.
"I couldn't be happier with the new record," exclaims Mayall. "I can't wait to share
it with my fans. Each one of these special guests brings something unique to the
album and our team works so well together. I think you can hear that chemistry in
the music," raves Mayall.
The album explores a range of styles and eclectic instruments with guests
Scarlet Rivera's violin, Jake Shimabukaro's electric ukulele and Mike Campbell,
Marcus King, Buddy Miller and Melvin Taylor on guitars. As significant as each of
these guest turns is, however, they can't overshadow Mayall's own spirited vocals,
iconic harmonica and lyrical keyboard work.
By All Means (Feat. Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard,
Lee Ritenour, Seawind Horns)
Reissue of Alphonse Mouzon's killer 1981 album 'By All Means', featuring
Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Lee Ritenour - the album is a
classic of the period, blending funk, disco, and improvisational creativity
At the time of his death in 2016 at the age of 68, drummer, composer and multiinstrumentalist Alphonse Mouzon had for decades been a major force within the
jazz, fusion, R&B and pop arenas. The early eighties was a time when Mouzon
toyed with disco and channelled funk. His musical amalgam was a far cry from
the Saturday Night Fever brand – he brought more funk, more soul, more
spontaneous creativity into the mix.
For 'By All Means', Mouzon brought together musicians who were masters in
virtually any musical style. The rhythm section belonged to the who's who of the
LA studio scene. Electric bassist Scott Edwards had worked with such stars as
Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & Aretha Franklin. 21- year- old guitarist Paul
Jackson Jr. was just beginning his stellar career, had recorded with Aretha
Franklin and within a few years he would participate in Michael Jackson's Thriller
and Bad and would go on to work with the likes of Elton John, George Duke, Al
Jarreau, and Marcus Miller. Lee Ritenour began playing and recording with
Mouzon in 1974. At the age of 17, Ritenour first worked with Tony Bennett. He
was also brought in to put a little more rock in the rock 'n roll of a couple of takes
on Pink Floyd's seminal "The Wall". Over the years he has recorded with many of
the giants of pop, rock, and jazz, and his own recordings have had a slew of
Grammy nominations.
Herbie Hancock stands beside Mouzon as the other major presence on the
recording. Like Mouzon, at the beginning of the eighties he delved into disco,
adding danceable grooves to the mix. During this period Mouzon was Herbie's
drummer on four of Hancock's albums, so it seems appropriate that these two
like- minded musicians came together for this recording. The Seawind Horns
provide the last needed ingredient in this tasty musical concoction. Guesting on
the title track, trumpet great Freddie Hubbard's contributes a flashy solo.
By All Means, get out on your private dance floor and get up with it.
With the release of their first two albums and live shows supporting Snarky Puppy, Roy Ayers, Marcus Miller, Larry Mizell & the Blackbyrds, Butcher Brown, Yellowjackets and more, Resolution 88 have already established themselves as one of the UK's leading exponents of funk jazz. Their music is synonymous with the silky, buttery sound of the Fender Rhodes. They're also a bona fide band, a refreshing change in a musical world increasingly occupied by online collaborations and viral videos. They're best mates who love to hang out, play together and make their own music - that sincerity is evident in their songs and their chemistry on stage.
'Revolutions' represents a lot of firsts - the first time Resolution 88 have recorded to multi-track tape, the first time that they've included a real string and brass section, the first time they've included special guests on record and the first time they've pressed an album on vinyl. Imagine a combination of an undiscovered Herbie Hancock album from the mid' 70's, rare-groove samples from the golden era of hip hop (ATCQ, Pharcyde etc) and the new London sound of bands like Yussef Kamaal.
Every track on'Revolutions'represents an aspect of music on vinyl. On'Pitching Up'you hear the DJ pitch the record up from 33rpm to 45rpm.'Out Of Sync'simulates a clumsy attempt at beat-matching. The hypnotic, circling sax line that opens the title track'Revolutions'(echoed by the strings at the end) evokes the mesmerizing sensation of watching the record label artwork whirling as it spins on the platter.'Runout Groove'fades in and out; the drum beat mimics the distinctive, perpetual rhythm tapped out by the stylus as it reaches the runout groove. On the second side,'Sample Hunter'unexpectedly deviates from the main section into Rhodes-drenched interludes; the type of moment that producers searched high and low for back when hip hop was great.Marcus Tenney's (Butcher Brown) lyrics on 'Dig Deep'are all about the thrill of digging for records and'Matrix'is inspired by the hidden messages sometimes left in the matrix markings on record pressings. On'Tracking Force', you can hear the beat twist and morph as the stylus skates over the record. Finally,'Warped Memories'closes out the album with a wistful, melancholy melody. Sit back with a glass of Japanese whisky and a Cuban cigar (or whatever your chosen poison is), stick the album on and enjoy it from start to finish - although if you're listening to it on vinyl, you'll need to get up to turn it over to the B-side ;)
- A1: Birth Of The Sparkchild (Ft. O. Watson & S. Novsky)
- A2: Schizophrenia (Ft. H. Feraud & J. Jt Thomas
- A3: We Play What We Want (Ft. The Insane Vocal Society, No Dfinition+Brother P.)
- A4: Bobby Sparks Sr.s Famous Chili (Ft. M. Miller, K. Anderson & M. Letteri)
- A5: The Comanche Are Coming (Ft. R. Sput Searight & Mononeon)
- B1: Girls From Tahiti (Interlude)
- B2: So Fine (Ft. J. Rob, I. Sharkey & E. Gales)
- B3: I Miss U (Ft. F. Mccomb)
- B4: Black Man Running From The Police (Ft. S. Novsky, M. Mitchell & T. Parsnow)
- B5: Stono River (Ft. L. Peterson & M. Simmons)
- C1: Lio Is Weird As Hell (Ft. M. Letteri & Mononeon)
- C2: All Mine (Ft. Mental Chaos & Damascus)
- C3: Lets Take A Journey (Ft. S. Novsky & G. Maret)
- C4: Too Late Now, Boss Man!(Interlude)(Ft. C.sweet Thang Sparks & B.r. Sparks S
- C5: Islam (Hadjdj From India) (Ft. S. Novsky & Dj Ernie G.)
- D1: Take It! (Ft. R. Hargrove & Rev. H.l. Stegar)
- D2: Zelin (Ft. D.g. Bonaventure & Y. Edorh)
- D3: Black Change (Ft. J. Rob, Verb & S. Carrol)
Bobby Sparks II ist vielen ein Begriff. Sei es als Keyboarder bei Snarky Puppy, Marcus Miller, Prince oder Liz Wright, Bobby hat überall markante musikalische Spuren hinterlassen. Und nun ist es endlich soweit: Mit "Schizophrenia - The Yang Project" steht Bobby Sparks Debutalbum (2CD Set) zur Veröffentlichung bei LEOPARD an. Es hat gedauert, um diese außergewöhnliche Sammlung unterschiedlichster Songs zu produziern. Aber es hat sich mehr als gelohnt: zeigt sich darin doch das breite musikalische Vokabular und der schier unerschöpfliche Schaffensdrang des Keyboarders. Vom slammenden Funk bis zu langsamen, groovigen Soul-Balladen und Streifzügen in die Genres Straight-ahead-Jazz, Fusion, Orchester- und Weltmusik: das sehr passend betitelte Album "Schizophrenia - The Yang Project" vereinigt eine Vielzahl verschiedener Musikstile in sich, ohne dabei das Gesamtbild aus den Augen zu lassen. Mit an Bord auf dieser außergewöhnlichen musikalischen Reise sind eine Reihe seiner alten Freunde aus Dallas, sowie viele Stars des Genres - etwa die Bassisten Marcus Miller, Pino Palladino, MonoNeon und Hadrien Feraud, der Trompeter Roy Hargrove, die Sänger Frank McComb und James - J. Rob' Robinson, Snarky Puppys Michael League und Jason - JT' Thomas, die Gitarristen Lucky Peterson und Eric Gales sowie die Drummer Mark Simmons, Brannen Temple und John - Li'l John' Roberts.
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