CD of the Day - "Johnny Hammond: Gears/Forever Taurus"

CD of the Day
Johnny Hammond: "Gears/Forever Taurus" (BGP 037) 1992/2008
This "two LPs on one CD" set, originally issued in 1992 by the London-based BGP label, was reissued last February due to popular demand.
Besides the cult album "Gears" (showed above), which includes the dancefloor hit "Fantasy" (now rediscovered through all the other releases detailed below), the BGP CD includes another complete LP: "Forever Taurus", recorded in 1976 as the follow-up to "Gears".
Produced by Wade Marcus & Ralph Marcus, features Lee Ritenour, John Abercrombie, Sonny Burke, Scott Edwards, Sheila E. (by then still known as Sheila Escovedo), Dorothy Ashby, Victor Feldman, James Gadson, Bill Summers and, among many others, Brazilian percussionist Mayuto Correa, who also does "scratch" on "Ghetto Samba".
Other highlights are a dance version of "Old Devil Moon", a beautiful rendition of the ballad "My Ship", and Hammond's own tunes "Cosmic Voyager" and "Walk in Sunshine", one of his best performances ever on the Fender Rhodes.
If you prefer to get a copy of the "Gears" album alone, on CD format, it's still possible to find in some stores the 1996 reissue by Milestone on its "Original Jazz Classics" series.