A Lark Ascending Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 This has probably been covered on long buried threads - direct me please, if you know of any! I've lived under the version of jazz history that has Blue Note and jazz in general selling out in the late-60s to commercialism; coupled with my own difficulties with 'funk'. But in recent weeks I've really been enjoying a few things in that area - especially the three Grant Green compilations put out a while back. Also some John Patton and Idris Muhammad and the Lonnie Smith Mozambique disc (Roland Kirk's 'Volunteered Slavery' would be another reference point). I especially like the stretched out tracks with lots of soloing. I know there are lots of people here for whom this is meat and drink. So what are the really strong records in this area in the late 60s/early 70s (pre- Mahavishnu/RTF era fusion)? (I'm familiar with the Miles/Herbie stuff of this era). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 I can't remember a similar thread, Bev. Not one concentrating on albums with long performances. Here's a list of albums from that period that have at least one side with only two tracks on it. Oh, good 'uns, of course Lonnie Smith - Think - BN (Lee Morgan, Fathead, Sparks) Lonnie Smith - Turning point - BN (Lee, Maupin, Sparks) Lonnie Smith - Move your hand - BN (live with regular band inc Cuber) (Lots of O members prefer this to "Mozambique") Lonnie Smith - Drives - BN (D Hubbard, Cuber) (I think this is in the BN deletions list for last month, but you should be able to get it.) Charles Earland - Living black - PR (G Washington Jr, M Parker) Charles Earland - Leaving this planet - PR (F & D Hubbard, Joe Henderson) Charles Earland - Intensity - PR (Lee, B Harper, M Parker) Charles Earland - Black talk - PR (Person, Sparks, Idris) (was on Ace as twofer with "Black drops" - might be gettable as single CD OJC) Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Higher ground - Kudu (Joe Henderson, H Crawford & usual suspects) Melvin Sparks - Sparks and Spark plug - PR (both on Legends of Acid Jazz OOP but you could get it, I reckon) Nat Addereley - Workin' - Timeless. (From '93 but entirely in the spirit - now on emusic?) George Freeman - Frantic diagnosis - Bam-boo (Von Freeman, Earland) (reissued on Ubiquity LP only - very hard to find but very, very, fantastic - I've got one on the way from Da Barstids!) Rusty Bryant - Fire eater - PR (Spencer, Longmire) (in Legends of Acid jazz vol 2) Rusty Bryant - Soul liberation - PR (Earland, Sparks, Idris)(in Legends of Acid jazz) Rusty Bryant - Friday night funk for Saturday night brothers - PR (Rusty's regular band) (only on CD in UK - Ace - but oop now - probably hard to get, but maybe easier here than US) Charles Kynard - Soul brotherhood - PR (Blue Mitchell, Newman, Green, Roker) (in CD twofer of same title OOP) Herbie Mann - Memphis underground - Atlantic (Sharrock, Ayers) Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Swiss movement - Atlantic (Benny Bailey) Idris Muhammad - Black rhythm revolution - PR (Mabern, Sparks, Clarence Thomas) Idris Muhammad - Power of soul - Kudu (G Washington Jr, Randy B, Bob James) Idris Muhammad - House of the rising sun - Kudu (Sanborn, Cuber, George Young, Gale) John Patton - Got a good thing goin' - BN (Green, Hugh Walker) John Patton - Accent on the blues - BN (Marvin Cabell!!!! James "Blood" Ullmer!!!) Jimmy Smith - Root down - Verve I thought you'd been playing some unusual material in the past day or two. Good luck with this lot. You're probably just about a year too late, because a lot of these went in Concord's clearout at the end of 2007. But you can probably grab copies from Amazon sellers. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Oh, I forgot Leon Spencer - Louisiana slim - PR (Grover W, Sparks, Idris) (in Legends of Acid Jazz - oop) MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Many thanks, MG, for such a comprehensive reply. I only know a couple there. 'Black Talk' is already earmarked when my e-music refresh happens in ten days. As It happens I picked up John Patton - Got a good thing goin' and Idris Muhammad - House of the rising sun today off Amazons mp3 site. Will be exploring! As for playing unusual material...well next week it'll probably be Swedish nyckelharpa music...and the following week kora music! But I always find my way back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel1969 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) I'd add : Grant Green "Alive" more funk soul than jazz maybe, but : the Headhunters... Patrice Rushen : "Prelusion", "Before the dawn" Eddie Henderson : "Sunburst" Edited January 17, 2009 by Michel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 As for playing unusual material...well next week it'll probably be Swedish nyckelharpa music...and the following week kora music! But I always find my way back! Ah, but those Grant Greens &c were very unusual for you, because they're not unusual MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Thanks Michel. Some of the music from 'Alive' is on the Green compilations so that works for me - might end up downloading the missing tracks an reassembling the original album. 'Sunburst' is one I've had in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 As for playing unusual material...well next week it'll probably be Swedish nyckelharpa music...and the following week kora music! But I always find my way back! Ah, but those Grant Greens &c were very unusual for you, because they're not unusual MG My odd musical path! Green passed me by for many years - I think partly because of the single line soloing, partly the rather spare support (I think I have a predisposition towards richer harmony). I just learnt to lie back and enjoy the music. This sort of music was in the background when I was first listening...I think I got put off by some very weak English attempts at it. Bands in university student's union halls urging us to 'Get down, old chaps, wot?' and the like. Yet it was always lurking there - I could hear a lot of where Steely Dan, for example, were building from in what I was listening to today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzjet Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 I'd add : Calling Out Loud by Nat Adderley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 Ah, as a Nat Adderley fan, it seems I've been remiss in not ever hearing this one. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Englewood Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 I would highly recommend this Charles Earland 2/for.. Living Black!/Live at the Lighthouse Some great performances on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Both of those splendid Earlands (I mentioned "Livin' black" earlier) have been issued differently in Britain and America. That's the British twofer you've illustrated. "Livin' black" has two long extra tracks on the US issue This edition is highly recommended. "Live at the Lighthouse" was issued as part of a twofer in the US with "Kharma", a Montreux job - but three and a half minutes was chopped off "Morgan" to get both LPs onto one CD. I hate it when they do that, but "Kharma" is, honestly, a bit weak anyway. Both of these CDs are still available from Concord. But the British BGP twofer was deleted soon after Concord took Fantasy over. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 How about the (Jazz) Crusaders? I'm only just getting started with the live Blue Note albums (excellent! Though I couldn't say which one's my favourite yet), next up might be the Mosaic or some of the early Crusaders (without the Jazz in the band name) albums now out in Universal's "Originals" series. The BN albums are all on the going-OOP list, by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzjet Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Ah, as a Nat Adderley fan, it seems I've been remiss in not ever hearing this one. MG I'd also recommend Nat's 'You, Baby' which has a similar feel to 'Calling Out Loud'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Ah, as a Nat Adderley fan, it seems I've been remiss in not ever hearing this one. MG I'd also recommend Nat's 'You, Baby' which has a similar feel to 'Calling Out Loud'. I had a poke around on all the Amazons in Europe and US and only found an LP of "You, baby" for $36 - so I thought I'd wait for a more propitious price to come along. But I'm glad to have these recommendations. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Down the same path, don't miss out on early Kool & The Gang, The J.B.'s, Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns, Maceo & All The King's Men, WAR, The Crusaders, Ballin' Jack, The Beginning Of The End, Eddie Fisher, Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, The Meters, Wild Tchoupitoulas, Magnum, The Sugarman Three, Stone Alliance, The Bo-Keys, LA Carnival, Ravi Harris & The Prophets, Marc Moulin, Azar Lawrence, Johnny Pate, some of those Isaac Hayes blaxploitation soundtracks (Three Tough Guys!), Jimmy Ponder, Serge Gainsbourg, David Axelrod, Leroy Hutson, The Bamboos, The Dynamites, Lee Fields, Lyman Woodard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 How about the (Jazz) Crusaders? I'm only just getting started with the live Blue Note albums (excellent! Though I couldn't say which one's my favourite yet), next up might be the Mosaic or some of the early Crusaders (without the Jazz in the band name) albums now out in Universal's "Originals" series. The BN albums are all on the going-OOP list, by the way! The Crusaders were my reference point - I've had the 3CD GRP best of for about 15 years or so. A couple of years back I started picking up the individual albums (both with and without 'Jazz') and the Mosaic (you won't regret that one, king ubu). There's a Steely Dan/Joni Mitchell connection that meant I had a reference point with them. Thanks for all the suggestions - I really appreciate the help. Will be following them up over the next few months (and, in a few cases, next week when my e-music credits refresh). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 I reckon the best Crusaders stuff is in their live albums for PJ: Lighthouse Lighthouse '66 Lighthouse '68 Festival album Lighthouse '69 was supposed to be coming out on CD last year, but didn't appear. Forgot about these, the other day. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 You might try the Three Sounds Soul Symphony, which came out in the summer should be easy to find. Side 1 is a single extended track (though Gene Harris solos throughout, it might not be ideal for what you are looking for, as the "Symphony" goes through many different themes so the soloing isn't quite as "extended" as you might want - still a cool tune though) and the album certainly fits in that era of "commercialization sell out". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 This may be obvious, but the Blue Note Rare Groove and Blue Break Beats compilations often show up for short dough. These may help to provide a direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 On a slightly more "experimental" trip... key tracks from Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band fit the bill... "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)" from MWANDISHI; "Hornets" from SEXTANT... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Lot's of stuff in this thread, and not just Herbie. Herbie: The Funk Period Charles Earland's Black Talk was the first thing to come to mind. The second was Grant Green's Live At The Lighthouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzjet Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Another long-form funk based track you should try and hear is 'Pain' by Houston Person ( the Ohio Players song ). Great band featuring Grant Green, Marcus Belgrave, Sony Phillips, James Jamerson, Idris Muhammad. It was originally on The Real Thing ( Eastbound ) ( 1973 ). It also appears on a UK compilation called Personality on the BGP label. It's a real killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyhersom Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 John Handy - Hard Work has always been a favorite, even though I've usually been slow to warm up to soul jazz. G-Man by Sonny Rollins is worth listening to in this context - it's actually my favorite thing by Rollins despite my purist tendencies. And I've enjoyed getting reacquainted with Tarika Blue - The Blue Path. Leon Thomas, Impulse era Pharoah Sanders and early Lonnie Liston Smith may also work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ep1str0phy Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Whoa--shoutout to Azar Lawrence from Noj. He's back playing Coltraney modal jazz as of late (and doing it well). Mention of Belgrave makes me think of the Tribe stuff, of which a few albums are more accessible than others. Phil Ranelin's Vibes from the Tribe is certainly as raw and funky as it gets, even with that modal edge. Speaking of Mwandishi, has anyone caught this youtube video yet? I was expecting them to bust into some hard free stuff, but they start playing a tune from Fat Albert Rotunda (I don't have the album here, so I can't recall which one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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