Thursday, July 31, 2008

"O Passarinho" at MusicRailways

The Tom Novy "house" remix of "O Passarinho" (the dancefloor hit co-written by Gazzara, Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Ithamara Koorax) is now available for mp3 download at "Music Railways"

http://www.musicrailways.com/Jul_2007_House_-_Gazzara_-_O_Passarinho_Tom_Novy_Remix_mp3.html

Jul 2007 House - Gazzara - O Passarinho (Tom Novy Remix).mp3 ...Info: GAZZARA - O Passarinho ... Released: 2 July, 2007. Price: £5.95. ... 28 Gazzara - O Passarinho” (Tom Novy rmx) 29 Mystic Diversions feat. ...

"7 Single of the Day - "Deodato: Super Strut"

Single of the Day
Eumir Deodato: "Super Strut / West 42nd St." (MCA) 1974

Produced, Arranged & Cobducted by Deodato
Featuring: John Giulino, Nick Remo, Rubens Bassini, John Tropea, Bob Mintzer, Billy Cobham, Gilmore Degap et al.

R.I.P.: Flammarion Gimenez Netto

Flammarion Gimenez Netto
(born August 6, 1851, in São Paulo, SP;
died July 14, 2008)

I have met Flammarion briefly, in the early 80s, when he was the house bassist for Osmar Milito's band at "Club 21" in the Lagoa area of Rio de Janeiro. My condolences to his widow, Rosélia Marques Gimenez.
May he rest in peace.

Hiram Bullock - NY Times

Hiram Bullock's obituary published today, July 31, in the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/arts/music/31bullock.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

Hiram Bullock, 52, Soulful Guitarist, Dies
By NATE CHINEN
Published: July 31, 2008


Hiram Bullock, a soulful and adaptable jazz and rock guitarist who was a member of the original band for “Late Night with David Letterman,” died last Friday in Manhattan. He was 52.

The cause is pending, said Jennifer Armstrong, his partner of 16 years. Mr. Bullock was found to have cancer of the tongue last fall, she said.

Mr. Bullock played on some blockbuster pop albums, including “The Stranger” by Billy Joel, Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” and the soundtrack to “A Star is Born” by Barbra Streisand. His best-known solo was on the 1987 Sting album “Nothing Like the Sun,” in a version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.

But Mr. Bullock was always more than a session ace. He made his biggest impact in the realm of jazz-rock, funk and fusion, and his own albums, which often featured his singing and songwriting, never strayed far from that base. His last one, released on BHM in 2005, was “Too Funky 2 Ignore.”

He had substantial and productive relationships with other jazz musicians, including the composer and arranger Gil Evans, who served as a kind of mentor, and the bassist Jaco Pastorius, who taught him and employed him in multiple bands.

Born in Osaka, Japan, to parents serving in the United States military, Mr. Bullock grew up mainly in Baltimore, where he studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He played the saxophone and bass guitar before switching to guitar at 16. Then, at the University of Miami, he studied with the guitarist Pat Metheny and Pastorius, supporting himself with steady work in local clubs. One of his gigs was with the soul singer Phyllis Hyman, who took him with her to New York.

Mr. Bullock caused a stir almost immediately. The alto saxophonist David Sanborn said he first heard him in 1975 when they were working across the street from each other. “He was the cornerstone of my band for a long time,” Mr. Sanborn said.

Mr. Bullock appeared on 10 of Mr. Sanborn’s albums, starting in 1976, and on the eclectic late-night music showcase of which Mr. Sanborn was host on NBC from 1988 to 1990.

Another important early advocate was the record producer Phil Ramone, who brought him in on sessions for “The Stranger” and Paul Simon’s “One Trick Pony,” among others. “He was kind of the talk of the town,” Mr. Ramone said.

In the late 1970s Mr. Bullock started the 24th Street Band with the bassist Will Lee, the keyboardist Clifford Carter and the drummer Steve Jordan. The group made three albums.

“At the beginning of the Letterman show, when I needed a band, I just co-opted the 24th Street Band,” the keyboardist Paul Shaffer said, referring to “Late Night with David Letterman,” which began broadcasting on NBC in 1982. The World’s Most Dangerous Band, as Mr. Shaffer billed the group, brought particular attention to Mr. Bullock, who became known as the barefoot guitarist.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Bullock was earning a reputation for unreliability, one byproduct of a serious drug problem that persisted for years. “The relentlessness and regularity of the schedule just proved to be a little bit too much for Hiram,” Mr. Shaffer said.

He left the show after two years but occasionally returned, notably in 1986 to celebrate his Atlantic release “From All Sides.”

Mr. Bullock was largely open about his struggle with substance abuse. “It’s not hard to spiral down,” he sang on a song called “After the Fall,” released in 2003.

In addition to Ms. Armstrong, Mr. Bullock’s survivors include two stepsons, known as Sansho and Niko; and four sisters, Jackie Lewis, Carmen Bean, Brenda Canterbury and Margene Williams. On Monday night “Late Show with David Letterman” included a special tribute to Mr. Bullock.

“As I said on the show,” Mr. Shaffer said, “I think he was the greatest guitar player ever, with the exception perhaps of Jimi Hendrix. Nobody was ever better.”

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mike Longo live, tonight, in NY!

You'll groove on some exciting new compositions and arrangements with straight ahead, burnin', foot stompin' jazz when Mike Longo's swingin' 18-piece Big Band, the NY State of the Art Jazz Ensemble with vocalist Miss Hilary Gardner, returns to "Jazz Tuesdays" tonight, July 29 in the Gillespie Auditorium at the New York Baha'i Center at 53 East 11th Street (between University Place & Broadway). There will be 2 shows at 8:00 and 9:30.

This is the big band that thrilled a sold-out house this past October at Dizzy Gillespie's birthday celebration and was voted "Band of the Year" in the 2004 Jazz Station Poll. You will be delighted by the NYSAJE's repertoire from their latest CD "Oasis", that topped the charts at # 7 in December 2004 and remained in the top 20 for an unprecedented 16 weeks. And you won't want to miss Hilary Gardner’s renditions of some jazz classics as well as some new compositions and arrangements.

Mike Longo has performed with a list of jazz legends that include saxophone great Cannonball Adderley, Henry Red Allen, Coleman Hawkins, George Wettling, Gene Krupa, Nancy Wilson, Gloria Lynn, Jimmy Witherspoon, Joe Williams, Jimmy Rushing, James Moody, Astrud Gilberto (on the "Astrud Gilberto Now", reissued on DVD-Audio) and many others.

It was in the mid-60s when Longo’s trio was playing at the Embers West, that Roy Eldridge told Dizzy Gillespie about this new pianist he had heard. Dizzy came to hear him play and soon asked him to become his pianist. This started a life-long musical relationship and friendship. From 1966 through 1975, Longo worked exclusively as Dizzy’s pianist and musical director. Mike left the Gillespie group officially in 1975 to venture out on his own, but continued to work for Gillespie on a part-time basis until his death in 1993.

Since that time Mike has recorded numerous albums and CDs on various labels with some 45 recordings with artists such as Gillespie, James Moody, etc. At present he has over 20 solo albums to his credit. He is sought after as a music instructor and is in demand for jazz clinics and concerts at universities and music schools throughout the world, and has appeared at the Lincoln Center’s new jazz room “Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.” Longo is founder and President of Consolidated Artists Productions (CAP), an independent recording label, dedicated to allowing artists to pursue the types of projects that are in line with their career objectives. All of the artists represented by CAP (over 70) are extraordinarily talented, both as composers and performers. Longo’s latest venture, Jazz Tuesdays, is dedicated to allowing artists to retain creative control of their work and providing students and the general public with an opportunity to hear “world class jazz at affordable prices.”

Admission is 15.00, 10.00 for students.
Tickets will be sold at the door, or call 212-222-5159 for reservations and information.
********
Jazz Tuesdays
in the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium
The New York Baha'i Center
53 East 11th Street (between University Place & Broadway)
Two shows: 8:00 and 9:30 p.m.

International Who's Who in Popular Music, 2002

http://books.google.com.br/books?id=gZIjT8PgJMEC&dq=%22De+Souteiro%22+%2B+%22Jo%C3%A3o+Gilberto%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0

Arnaldo DeSouteiro is featured in the best-selling book "International Who's Who in Pop Music: 2002", by Andy Gregory and published by Routledge

International Who's Who in Popular Music: 2002 - Resultado da Pesquisa de livros do Google
de Andy Gregory - 2002 - Biography & Autobiography - 594 páginas DE SOUTEIRO Arnaldo; b. 23 June 1963, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ... Specials for Globo and Mánchete networks including Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim, ...books.google.com.br/books?isbn=1857431618...

The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 offers comprehensive biographical information covering the leading names on all aspects of popular music. It brings together the prominent names in pop music as well as the many emerging personalities in the industry, providing full biographical details on pop, rock, folk, jazz, dance, world and country artists.

Over 5,000 biographical entries include major career details, concerts, recordings and compositions, honors and contact addresses. Wherever possible, information is obtained directly from the entrants to ensure accuracy and reliability. Appendices include details of record companies, management companies, agents and promoters. The reference also details publishers, festivals and events and other organizations involved with music.

International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002: 2002
Andy Gregory(Routledge, 2002)
ISBN 1857431618, 9781857431612
594 pages

João Gilberto, Bossa fora da cápsula


Story about João Gilberto printed in the May 30, 1990, of "Veja" magazine
Wriitten by Ruy Castro
Arquivo VEJA: Bossa fora
da cápsula

Hiperdetalhe, definitivo: o artista em questão era João Gilberto Prado Pereira de .... Arnaldo DeSouteiro, uma ou outra namorada, além de Bebel e Miúcha. ...vejaonline.abril.com.br/notitia/servlet/newstorm.ns.presentation.NavigationServlet?publicationCode=1&... - 74k -

30 de maio de 1990
Bossa fora da cápsula
Chega de saudade: depois de dez anos sem gravar em estúdio, o misterioso e genial João Gilberto sai do apartamento para fazer um novo disco

Ruy Castro

Mayrton Bahia, diretor artístico da Polygram, comportou-se como se a gravação do disco fosse a coisa mais corriqueira do mundo. Já em abril, Mayrton afixou no quadro-cronograma da gravadora o aviso com o dia e a hora do comparecimento do cantor e violonista ao estúdio, sem dar-lhe qualquer destaque. Nos corredores da Polygram, no entanto, a confiança do produtor em que se tratava de uma gravação normal era motivo de risotas entre os funcionários devido a um detalhezinho e a um detalhezão. Primeiro, o artista marcara a gravação para o horário pouco ortodoxo das 11 da noite e não requisitara nenhum outro instrumentista para acompanhá-lo. Hiperdetalhe, definitivo: o artista em questão era João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, um baiano de Juazeiro que completa 59 anos no próximo dia 10, é reconhecido mundialmente como um músico genial e, cercado por uma aura de excentricidade, continua a ser um mistério para os próprios brasileiros. Como em 32 anos de carreira João Gilberto só gravou doze discos, três deles ao vivo e o último em estúdio há mais de dez anos, havia motivo de sobra para se duvidar que ele aparecesse na Polygram, na Barra da Tijuca, no Rio de Janeiro.

Às 10 da noite da quarta-feira, dia 16 passado, um misto de apreensão e cuidado com o conforto de João Gilberto fez com que um radiotáxi fosse enviado da Polygram ao apart-hotel em que o cantor mora, no Leblon. Cuidado desnecessário. Meia hora antes do horário combinado o cantor chegou ao estúdio, ele mesmo guiando o seu Monza grafite 1987, vestindo um paletó impecável. João Gilberto cumprimentou a equipe de gravação, brincou com o técnico Celinho Martins, um velho amigo com quem gravou vários discos, e começou a dedilhar seu violão com preciosos 25 anos de uso - um Tarrega da Di Giorgio, de boca ovalada, equipado com cordas La Bella 850-B pretas, de náilon (semitensas, para que as notas se prolonguem). A partir daí, gravou como se não fizesse outra coisa na vida.

CONQUISTAS - Na primeira noite, tocando e cantando até as 4 da manhã, João Gilberto gravou quatro canções. Na noite seguinte, foram outras sete - um recorde em sua carreira. Na sexta-feira, última noite, João Gílberto gravou mais duas músicas e refez algumas das anteriores. No total, cerca de dezoito horas de gravação para treze canções - um ritmo a jato para qualquer músico - registradas em oito fitas digitais que Mayrton Bahia guarda como as jóias da Coroa e não se cansa de ouvir. Do repertório do disco fazem parte preciosidades como Ave Maria no Morro, de Herivelto Martins, Rosinha, de Jonas Silva (integrante do extinto conjunto vocal Garotos da Lua e que depois teve seu lugar no grupo ocupado pelo próprio João Gilberto), Sampa, de Caetano Veloso, Há Quem Sambe, de Janet de Almeida, o bolero italianado Malaga e a americana You Do Something to Me, de Cole Porter. Os poucos e felizes que escutaram trechos das fitas garantem que João Gilberto está melhor do que nunca: os arranjos estão repletos de novas harmonias, a batida do violão é como sempre uma aula de ritmo, a voz está límpida e cheia de suingue e a interpretação de Sampa ficou um deslumbre, um hino de amor à cidade onde ele estourou em 1958, antes que no Rio.

O repertório do novo disco pode parecer eclético, mas na raiz de todas as músicas está um certo jeito de cantar e tocar violão inaugurado em julho de 1958. Foi naquele mês, há mais de trinta anos, que João Gilberto lançou um disco em 78 rpm contendo a sua voz e o seu violão em Chega de Saudade, de Tom Jobim e Vinícius de Moraes, e Bim Bom, dele próprio, em que sintetizou as conquistas musicais de sua geração num estilo que ficou conhecido como Bossa Nova. O resto é história. Especialistas em números, como André Midani - hoje presidente da gravadora WEA e em 1958 um dos responsáveis pela gravação de Chega de Saudade na Odeon -, estimam que apenas de 1962 a 1969 a Bossa Nova rendeu, a preços de hoje, 4 bilhões de dólares no mercado internacional - um dinheiro que foi pulverizado no exterior e do qual só uma poeira chegou ao bolso de suas estrelas.

Astro absoluto da Bossa Nova, João Gilberto deixou o Brasil em 1963 e tornou-se um rosto quase invisível, mesmo para seus fãs mais apaixonados. No final daquele ano, depois de passar alguns meses na Europa, ele foi para os Estados Unidos, onde viveu até 1970. Em seguida, passou dois anos no México e voltou aos Estados Unidos, morando sempre em Nova York ou nas suas imediações. Mesmo com diversas viagens ao Brasil, pouco se sabia de João Gilberto em seu próprio país.

Em 1980, ele se estabeleceu silenciosamente no Rio. Seus shows são raros - e, quando se apresenta, o suspense sobre se ele vai aparecer ou dar o bolo só se encerra no momento em que entra no palco. Tudo contribui para esse suspense. Muitas vezes é o som, que não o agrada. Em outras, o organizador do evento desrespeita a proibição de vender camisetas com a sua estampa na porta do show. Mas pode ser também um fato mais trivial, como o que atrasou durante horas um show seu na Bahia, em 1978: João Gilberto ficou indeciso entre vestir uma calça azul e outra verde - se escolhesse uma, a outra poderia ficar "triste".

ARRANJOS - Na gravação de seu novo disco no Rio, o cantor de Desafinado não teve nenhum momento de indecisão, já que se preparou longamente para fazê-lo. "Há pelo menos três anos João vinha conversando sobre a sua vontade de gravar um disco no Brasil", conta Carmela Forsin, empresária do cantor há quatro anos e peça-chave para que o LP fosse finalmente gravado. "Tínhamos duas alternativas internacionais para a gravação, uma delas na Suíça, mas ele se inclinou cada vez mais a fazer algo brasileiro, do início ao fim da produção." Convite para se apresentar no exterior, aliás, é o que não falta. "Recebemos solicitações de todos os lugares para o João fazer shows, mas os campeões continuam sendo o Japão, a Itália, a França e os Estados Unidos", diz Gil Lopes, marido e sócio de Carmela. João Gilberto se apresenta em salas de concerto de Roma e Paris, é quase uma atração fixa no festival anual de Montreux, na Suíça, e faz regularmente o circuito de verão dos clubes da Côte d'Azur.

No momento, o cantor não tem shows marcados e se dedica a finalizar o novo disco. É preciso primeiro escolher, entre as dezenas de interpretações, quais serão selecionadas para compor as faixas do disco. Depois, algumas das músicas serão enviadas aos Estados Unidos, onde outros instrumentos serão mixados ao violão e à voz de João Gilberto. Entre os arranjadores cogitados para realizar essa tarefa estão Johnny Mandel (que fez a mesma coisa para algumas faixas de Brasil, o último disco em estúdio de João Gilberto) e Claus Ogerman (especialista em arranjos com cordas). Nas sessões na Polygram, o cantor falou como gostaria que determinadas canções fossem arranjadas, e Mayrton Bahia gravou tudo. Ele pretende usar essas orientações como guia quando preparar a mixagem do disco. Outra idéia acalentada na gravadora é a de lançar um disco com dez faixas e um compact disc com treze, mas a decisão depende da palavra final de João Gilberto.

"Fico feliz com o João ter feito esse disco em tranqüilidade, pois sei o quanto ele trabalha até ter tudo planejado e entrar no estúdio para gravar", diz a cantora Miúcha, irmã de Chico Buarque, que se casou com João Gilberto há 25 anos, pouco depois de se conhecerem em Paris, durante um show da chilena Violeta Parra, no La Candelaria. Depois, o casal teve a filha Bebel, hoje com 24 anos, se separaram em 1971 e continuaram bons amigos. "Como ele é perfeccionista, às vezes as coisas se complicam, mas, além de ser o melhor produtor de música que conheço, o João é um sedutor irresistível. Ele fala diretamente ao coração das pessoas." O perfeccionismo e os poderes encantatórios do arauto da Bossa Nova se estendem por domínios extramusicais. Que o diga Garrincha, ex-maître da churrascaria Plataforma e hoje baseado no Buffalo Grill. Há dez anos Garrincha prepara o almoço de João Gilberto - só que sempre às 11 horas da noite, pois o cantor funciona num fuso horário que os relógios normais desconhecem.

DENTISTA A DOMICÍLIO - "João é detalhista, repara em tudo e reclama se acha que o prato não está bom", diz o maître. A rotina de Garrincha e de seu cliente especial é invariável. O cantor telefona meia-hora antes, pergunta se há alguma novidade no cardápio e pede como sempre um steak ao sal grosso, alternando o complemento entre salada verde e arroz com batata palha. Garrincha providencia a comida e encarrega o copeiro Antonio Francisco, o "Toninho", de levá-la ao apart-hotel do cantor. Toninho liga da recepção do hotel-residência para o apartamento do 29º andar, recebe autorização para subir, toca a campainha e entrega as bandejas pela porta entreaberta. Em troca, recolhe o pagamento (em dinheiro), uma gorjeta (generosa) e as bandejas e pratos da véspera. Há dois anos nessa rotina, Toninho nunca viu João Gilberto. Já Garrincha é comparativamente íntimo do homem. Houve uma época em que ele fazia pessoalmente as entregas e até hoje o cantor manda-lhe seus discos. "Ele sabe a data do aniversário de meus filhos e sempre pergunta por eles", conta o maître.

São quase compadres, mas Garrincha, assim como Toninho, só "viu" João Gilberto nas rápidas passagens de bandejas pela porta. Não há nada demais nisso, já que pouquíssimas pessoas conseguem adentrar o confortável quarto-sala-banheiro-cozinha em que o cantor vive há nove anos e pelo qual desembolsa cerca de 100.000 cruzeiros por mês, com direito a roupa lavada. Nem a faxineira do apart-hotel tem permissão para entrar. Uma vez por mês, o próprio João Gilberto enverga um avental, mune-se de balde, rodo e espanador e faz a faxina - evitando lavar os copos, com receio de cortar as mãos. Uma eventual amiga ou namorada cuida dos copos. O lustre de sua sala está adernando perigosamente e, um dia desses, pode despencar porque o cantor não admite que um eletricista desconhecido entre nos seus domínios para consertá-lo. Em compensação, ele recentemente se submeteu a um trabalhoso tratamento dentário a domicílio. Não foi idéia sua. O dentista, seu antigo companheiro de violão e ex-catedrático da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, insistiu em transferir parte do seu consultório para o apartamento de João Gilberto.

Histórias como essas parecem ser apenas mais algumas contribuições ao folclore sobre João Gilberto, que, em volume de casos, já deixa no chinelo o do Saci-pererê e o do Curupira. Ele detesta as histórias que correm a seu respeito, mesmo as verdadeiras, porque elas são mixadas ao tal folclore e o fazem passar por excêntrico. Nenhuma delas o irrita mais do que a do gato que teria pulado de uma janela do 10º andar, depois de ficar trancado doze horas com ele dentro de um apartamento ouvindo-o repetir infatigavelmente um único acorde. Na realidade, o gato - um siamês preto chamado Gato - não se suicidou, e sim cochilou no parapeito e despencou. João Gilberto, que gosta muito de bichos, nem estava no apartamento na hora do desastre.

A LENDA DE ELBA RAMALHO - "Vejo pelo meu caso que pelo menos metade das histórias que se contam sobre o João é mentira", opina a cantora Elba Ramalho. "Todo mundo comenta que um dia eu arranjei um baralho para jogar com ele e o João fez com que eu o passasse para ele por debaixo da porta, carta por carta. Só que isso nunca aconteceu." Elba conta que certa noite, num hotel em São Paulo, João lhe pediu pelo telefone que deixasse uma determinada encomenda na porta do seu quarto e desse três batidinhas na porta. "Ele se desculpou por não poder receber-me pessoalmente porque não estava se sentindo muito bem", diz a cantora.

João Gilberto tornou-se de tal forma um prisioneiro de lendas, como a de Elba Baralho, que teria de ficar ainda mais recluso para que as pessoas parassem de considerá-lo esquisito, ou coisa pior. Acontece que ele não teria como ficar mais recluso - em comparação com o cantor de Desafinado, alguns monges tibetanos levam uma vida social digna de sair na coluna do Zózimo. Ele não almoça ou janta fora, não freqüenta bares, não vai a shows ou ao cinema, praias nem pensar, não caminha em calçadões e só aparece na casa de alguém com a garantia de que não encontrará estranhos. Também não dá entrevistas, só posa para fotógrafos amigos e não aceita fazer comerciais. Seus especiais para a TV são uma operação tão angustiante, para todos os envolvidos, que cada rede só consegue produzir um no espaço de uma vida - ainda que, espantosamente, João Gilberto tenha sido apresentador de um programa chamado Musical Três Leões, na falecida TV Tupi, em 1960.

Ao mesmo tempo que economiza saídas à rua, o cantor praticamente não é visitado. De supetão, no entanto, ele convida alguém para ir ao seu apartamento - e o faz de forma tão charmosa que, não importa a hora da madrugada, a pessoa vai correndo, com receio de que ele mude de idéia. Alguns dos poucos privilegiados atuais são um seu velho amigo, o pianista João Donato, o produtor teatral Otávio Terceiro, o crítico de música do jornal carioca Tribuna da Imprensa Arnaldo DeSouteiro, uma ou outra namorada, além de Bebel e Miúcha. (A primeira mulher dele, a cantora Astrud Gilberto, vive nos Estados Unidos com o outro filho, o contrabaixista João Marcelo, 30 anos, de quem João Gilberto sempre fala com carinho.) Dito assim, parece que há uma multidão na sala do cantor. Mas ele recebe um visitante de cada vez, os convites são raros e nenhum dos freqüentadores tem direitos adquiridos - nem mesmo a namorada. A recepção do hotel-residência tem instruções suas para brecar qualquer um que queira subir sem o salvo-conduto dado pelo interfone.

PASSEIOS À PEDRA - Quem quase se tornou detentor de um salvo-conduto fixo foi o musicólogo e professor de violão Almir Chediak, autor do recém-lançado Songbook da Bossa Nova. Nos últimos três anos, Chediak falou pelo menos uma vez por semana com João Gilberto, na preparação de um songbook todo dedicado a ele, que promete ser espetacular. Seu trabalho consistia em ouvir todos os discos de João Gilberto e transformar em partituras aquelas complexas harmonias ao violão. Depois, Chediak levava as partituras ao apartamento do cantor para que ele as corrigisse. Uma semana depois, pegava-as de volta, para passar a limpo as emendas, e deixava outras. Numa dessas idas e vindas, João Gilberto até lhe confiou seu precioso violão, para que Chediak trocasse as cordas e o afinasse. Com toda essa intimidade e afinação profissional, Chediak também nunca viu o cantor. O vaivém de partituras era feito pela fresta da porta, e o violão, depois de apanhado na recepção do apart-hotel, teve de ser deixado na porta do apartamento. Chediak ficou de tocaia no corredor e, minutos depois, pôde contemplar a mão de João Gilberto recolhendo o instrumento com rapidez.

Nem tudo é reclusão monástica na vida do cantor. Às vezes, ele liga para um amigo, ou para a namorada, e o acorda para fazerem juntos um belo programa: dar um pulo, cada qual no seu carro, à Pedra de Guaratiba, na distante Baía de Sepetiba, a quase duas horas do Leblon. Há um consenso entre os seus amigos de que João Gilberto dirige mal, talvez motivado pelo fato de que, quando vê uma longa reta pela frente, ele goste de dirigir de olhos fechados, "guiado pelas estrelas", como diz - ou por um santo muito forte, como dizem os outros. À beira da praia deserta, de paletó e a salvo da areia, ele divaga, canta e toca violão, contempla o céu, fala de astrologia (é um perito no signo de Gêmeos - por acaso, o seu) ou apenas medita. Já aconteceu de, numa dessas meditações, perder-se do amigo, distrair-se e voltar para casa sem avisá-lo como aconteceu com o violonista e maestro Waltel Branco.

Seu atual Monza foi uma aquisição conveniente. Até comprá-lo, há três anos, João Gilberto usava carros de locadoras. O automóvel era estacionado na garagem do apart-hotel e lá ficava, dias a fio, com o aluguel correndo. Até que o cantor mandava a locadora retirá-lo, e, às vezes, coincidia que naquela mesma noite ele sentia vontade de ir à Pedra de Guaratiba. Amigos o convenceram a comprar um carro, mas seu meio de transporte predileto para as curtas distâncias é o radiotáxi. Com isso, o Monza pode ficar um tempão sem uso na garagem, a ponto de descarregar a bateria. Há poucas semanas, Almir Chediak encarregou-se de trocar a bateria do carro. Nada, absolutamente nada, falta a João Gilberto. Nada que queira ou precise, bem entendido, porque há sempre um amigo disposto a providenciar o desejado. E todos eles fazem o impossível para evitar o mínimo risco de contrariá-lo. "Tenho uma relação tão boa com meu pai que prefiro não falar dele, para evitar qualquer problema", diz Bebel, filha e amiga.

Essa maneira de viver protege João Gilberto do mundo e até das coisas de que gosta. Até há pouco, por exemplo, como o então candidato Fernando Collor, ele não tinha um aparelho de som mesmo com todo o seu amor pela música brasileira. Isso porque João Gilberto prefere tocar, cantar e reaprender o seu estilo a ficar ligadão nas últimas modas musicais. Tanto é assim que só recentemente ele comprou um aparelho portátil com laser, rádio e gravador. No disc laser ele escuta seus discos antigos, que estão sendo relançados em compact disc. No gravador, ensaiou músicas que depois cantou no estúdio da Polygram. O rádio ele escuta pouco. Tem um toca-fitas no Monza, mas a única fita cassete vista no porta-luvas contém o disco novo do conjunto vocal Os Cariocas, seus camaradas nos anos 50.

TELEFONEMAS EM LONGA METRAGEM - João Gilberto transformou seu apartamento numa cápsula, tendo como únicos meios de contato com o mundo exterior o telefone e a televisão. Boa parte do tempo, com o aparelho de TV sem som, ele dá uma olhada em tudo: gosta de Pantanal e Rainha da Sucata, assiste a programas ultramatutinos de música sertaneja, de esportes, telejornais, Documento Especial, o que for. Tem predileção pelas competições esportivas, com o futebol à frente, já que é um especialista no assunto e um expert em seleção brasileira. Costuma acompanhar alguns jogos ao violão, com a televisão silenciosa, para ter a impressão de que os jogadores estão se movimentando através de sua música. Mas quando um jogador erra um passe ou perde um gol, João Gilberto o fulmina com um acorde dissonante: no peito dos superafinados também bate um coração de torcedor.

Ele gosta de Cid Moreira e de todos os locutores, mas tem uma queda por Boris Casoy. Entusiasmou-se com a notícia de que o TJ Brasil mudaria de horário, passando a concorrer diretamente com o Jornal Nacional, mas decepcionou-se com o jornalista do SBT de Silvio Santos: "No dia da estréia, às 8 da noite, lá estava eu ligado na televisão do Silvio, prestigiando, dizendo 'vai, Boris!', mas tudo deu errado". O motivo da frustração foi uma simples mudança no arranjo da música de apresentação do TJ Brasil. Pois é, eles não contavam que haveria João Gilberto para percebê-la... Através de um intermediário, o cantor de ouvidos implacáveis conseguiu que seus protestos chegassem a Boris Casoy, que por sua vez tentou voltar ao arranjo antigo. Mas a marcha a ré emperrou e a interpretação antiga não voltou ao vídeo, para desgosto do cantor.

O telefone, para João Gilberto, é uma espécie de cordão umbilical com a vida - real ou irreal. Nesse departamento, ninguém o bate em poder de sedução. É capaz de falar horas seguidas com pessoas que nunca viu e nunca verá, convencê-las de que elas têm poderes de que jamais haviam se tocado e encantá-las até a exaustão. Com doses generosas de simpatia e charme, João Gilberto as deixa tão hipnotizadas que elas enfrentam maratonas noturnas de até sete horas ao telefone e nem se incomodam em esperar do outro lado da linha enquanto ele faz um intervalo para jantar, digamos às 4 da manhã. Essas pessoas desmentem enfaticamente a lenda de que ele não fala. "Mas ele só fala", espanta-se uma jovem que há dois anos troca telefonemas em longa metragem com o cantor e que até hoje, como é de praxe, também nunca o viu. Mas ele fala de quê? "Ele fala de tudo, ué!", responde ela.

Por tudo entenda-se que João Gilberto fala de estilos de violão, antigos conjuntos vocais, técnicas de respiração iogue, religiões orientais, táticas de futebol, filmes eróticos a que assiste em vídeo, da vida depois da morte, da cidade de São Paulo, de poesia, da natureza, do seu amor pelo Brasil, de Bossa Nova e critica meio mundo. Também imita sons de navio e trem, finge-se de locutor de futebol, brinca que é argentino e conversa em castelhano, pergunta com interesse como vai a família, recita de cor o poema A Morte do Leiteiro, de Carlos Drummond de Andrade, e descreve uma luta de boxe dos anos 60 como se tivesse acabado de assisti-la. Às vezes, espicha-se no sofá, recosta o aparelho numa almofada e canta e toca violão ao telefone, só para você.

Com essa vida de asceta, o homem que transformou O Pato, dos desconhecidos Jaime Silva e Neusa Teixeira, num standard do repertório internacional, vai muito bem. Sua principal fonte de renda continua a ser o desempenho fora do Brasil de seus velhos LPs, contendo os clássicos da Bossa Nova. Os discos podem não freqüentar as paradas desde 1964, quando Garota de Ipanema foi um acontecimento nos Estados Unidos, mas estrelam há quase trinta anos o catálogo permanente de gravadoras em quatro continentes. Vendem em gotas, mas em dólares, e a torneira não seca nunca. E se há um brasileiro para quem o Plano Collor foi uma pluma que o vento vai levando pelo ar, tinha de ser João Gilberto. Pioneiro do investimento no colchão-ouro, ele não fazia aplicações financeiras, não rolava dívidas, não tinha dinheiro na poupança para comprar casa própria mesmo porque nunca se interessou em ter uma.

Mas não o incluam, por favor, entre descamisados de qualquer espécie, até por uma questão de elegância: seu guarda-roupa abriga uma coleção de camisas azul-celeste, com o monograma Y.S.L. bordado com retroses franceses, alinhados ternos da Brooks Brothers de Nova York, gravatas italianas e sapatos de verniz. Esse guarda-roupa pode parecer excessivo para um homem que raramente é visto em público, mas as verdadeiras estrelas de seu armário são os pijamas: às dezenas, e nenhum deles de mangas ou calças curtas. Noblesse oblige, ele usa pelo menos três pijamas por dia.

De pijama, seu uniforme de combate, João Gilberto se refugia no apartamento e faz o mundo e os amigos girarem ao seu redor. Em troca, ele oferece doses precisas e preciosas de seu gênio - como agora, quando grava outro disco. O incrível é que o mundo ganha com a troca, com a infalível arte de João Gilberto.

CD of the Day - "Chris Joss: Dr. Rhythm"

CD of the Day
Chris Joss: "Dr. Rhythm" (Irma La Douce) 2002
Excellent groovy album composed and performed by Chris Joss, a French producer & multi-instrumentalist heavenly influenced by the 70s sound of such mythical (why not say "mystic" too?) labels as CTI, Kudu and Blue Thumb. But Monsieur Joss proves to able to recycle all those inspirations in a sound of his own, creating a fascinating sonic landscape. My personal favorite tracks are "The Gnomes" (Azymuth and Herbie Hancock would be proud of signing it), "The Sequel", "Bakara" (featured on the "Lounge Mon Amour" compilation) and the joyful "Wooly Waltz" (echoes of Lalo Schifrin - from his Dot years - and other soundtrack heroes).

Monday, July 28, 2008

CD of the Day - "Hiram Bullock: Carrasco"

CD of the Day
Hiram Bullock: "Carrasco" (JVC/Fantasy 9679-2) 1997
Originally produced by Todd Barkan for the Japanese market, it was later licensed for release in the USA through Fantasy Records. The album features delightful versions of "Can't Hide Love", "A Night in Tunisia", "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing", Hugo Fattoruso's "Montevideo" and even João Donato's "Amazonas". Bullock himself contributed with several "latin-tinged" themes like "Bean Burrito", my personal favourite.
Hugo plays on the album, alongside his son Francisco Fattoruso plus Katreese Barnes (from Juicy), Steve Berrios, Dario Eskenazi and Sergio Brandão, among many others.

DVD of the Day - "David Sanborn: Love & Happiness"

DVD of the Day
David Sanborn: "Love & Happiness" (Columbia COBY 91286)
Besides the stunning Hiram Bullock performance on a Sanborn LaserDisc from the "Purely Music" series, released in 1991 here in the USA by the Image label, and yet to be reissued on DVD (Bullock takes a long walk out of the stage and the audience goes crazy!), this "Love & Happiness" DVD (available only in Japan) is the second best example of Hiram as a top-class entertainer. Barefoot, dressing jeans and a small t-shirt, near the end of his second abrasive solo on the track "Smile" - a magic moment where "Eric Gale meets Jimi Hendrix" - he suddenly "appears" playing between Sanborn's legs!
He plays superbly throughout the set, alongside Marcus Miller, Buddy Williams, Hamish Stuart and another guy I miss a lot, Don Grolnick.
Filmed in 1986 in black & white at "SIR", a famous reharsal studio in Manhattan, in front an invited audience, it's only 41-minute long but it's strongly recommended for both Bullock and Sanborn fans, featuring songs mostly from the best-selling "Straight To The Heart" album.

Tonight, in NY, a tribute to Junior Mance

A PJS Jazz Society
Tribute to JR Mance
with Antoinette Montague
Houston Person, Winard Harper, Tommy James, Bill Moring & Eric Johnson


Antoinette Montague will be swinging into Summer with a hot set of sessions presented by Jazzmobile — in Brooklyn; Mt. Vernon, NY; and Newark, NJ. She'll also be appearing in Yonkers in their Jazz and Blues at Dusk Series and at New York City's famous The Kitano.

Monday, July 28, 2008
Jazzmobile -
Summer Breeze Concert Series
6:00 pm
City Hall Plaza,
Mt. Vernon, NY
**********
A PJS Tribute to JR Mance
Junior Mance

Junior began playing the piano at the age of five, but did not begin formal training until the age of eight. He started playing professionally during his early teens.

In 1947 Junior left Roosevelt College to join Gene Ammons' band and began his recording career with Gene. He joined Lester Young in 1949 for almost two years, and rejoined Ammons several months in 1951 before being drafted into the U. S. Army. After his discharge from the Army in 1953, Junior became part of the house rhythm section at the Bee Hive Jazz Club in Chicago for a year, and accompanied jazz greats such as Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Sonny Stitt, and many others.

In 1954 Junior joined and toured with Dinah Washington. Among the numerous recordings he made with her, there are two that really stand out in his memory: Dinah Jams and Jam Session. They are two live albums featuring Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Clark Terry, Maynard Ferguson, Herb Geller, Harold Land, Keter Betts, George Morrow, Richie Powell and Junior.

In 1956 Junior reunited with Cannonball Adderley, becoming a member of Cannonball's first organized working band. The band did a series of recordings on Mercury Records.

Junior joined Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1958, a period Junior considers one of the highlights of his career.

In 1961 Junior decided to form his own trio, following the release of his first recording as a leader. (Junior, Verve Records)

In 1988 Junior became a member of the faculty at the The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. He teaches classes in Blues, Ballads, and also private lessons.

During the 1990's Junior has been part of a very elite group called "100 Gold Fingers". This is a group which tours Japan every other year, consisting of ten outstanding jazz pianists. On various tours the group has included people such as Hank Jones, John Lewis, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Ray Bryant, Roger Kellaway, Gene Harris, Marion McPartland, Barry Harris, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Lynn Arriale, Cyrus Chestnut, Benny Green, Duke Jordan, Joanne Brackeen, Monty Alexander, Dave McKenna, Renee Rosnes, Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern as well as Junior and a rhythm section consisting of bassist Bob Cranshaw and either Alan Dawson or Grady Tate on drums.

On November 21, 1997, at Tampa, Florida, Junior was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, an honor Junior is extremely proud of, being in the elite company of many of his heroes, both past and present.

Sabores variados na série "Jazz Club"

Sabores variados na série “Jazz Club”
Lalo Schifrin e Kai Winding estão entre os destaques

Arnaldo DeSouteiro

Los Angeles (EUA) - Atualmente a série de maior sucesso comercial no mercado jazzístico internacional, e a campeã absoluta de vendagem na Europa, a “Jazz Club”, da gravadora Universal, coloca nas lojas uma nova safra de títulos. Além de antologias do arranjador argentino Lalo Schifrin, do trombonista dinamarquês Kai Winding e do violinista alemão Helmut Zacharias, reaparece um cultuado disco do maestro (também germânico) Kurt Edelhagen dedicado ao songbook do compositor americano Jimmy Webb. Entre as compilações temáticas, as atraentes “Sampled!” e “Psychedelic jazz”.

Arranjos eletrizantes

Um clima frenético predomina ao longo de “Mission: Impossible and other thrilling themes”, organizado por Sergej Braun com a ajuda do historiador Doug Payne, a maior autoridade em matéria de Lalo Schifrin. São dezoito faixas, cobrindo o período 1962-1971, de gravações realizadas para os selos Verve, Dot, Paramount e MGM, todos atualmente pertencentes ao acervo da Universal. Logo na abertura, claro, o grande sucesso da carreira de Lalo, o tema do seriado “Missão impossível” em sua versão original de 1967, com Carol Kaye no baixo, Adolfo Valdes nos bongôs e Emil Richards na percussão. Aliás, um dos méritos da coleção é trazer as fichas técnicas completas, muitas vezes não encontradas nem mesmo nos discos originais, e aqui divulgadas graças ao esmero da equipe “Jazz Club”.

“Lalo’s bossa nova”, “The wave” (não confundir com o tema de Jobim) e “Silvia” pertencem ao disco “Piano, strings & bossa nova”, de 1962, mais tarde relançado com o nome de “Insensatez”. Na percussão, a presença da cantora brasileira Carmen Costa e de seu marido José Paulo, então residindo aqui nos EUA. E na guitarra um tal de Jim Hall, substituído por Kenny Burrell em “The man from Thrush”, safra 65, com Freddie Hubbard, Phil Woods e James Moody nos sopros. Do célebre LP “Marquis de sade” (66), também produzido por Creed Taylor, foi escolhida “Bossa antique”, enquanto a adaptação da ária das “Bachianas brasileiras nº 5” saiu do disco “New fantasy”, de 64, com uma inacreditável seção de trombones: Urbie Green, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Jimmy Cleveland e Tony Studd.

Da obra-prima de Lalo em sua fase na Dot, “There’s a whole Lalo Schifrin goin’ on” (relançado ano passado somente no Japão e comentado neste espaço), aparecem nada menos que cinco faixas impecáveis. Há ainda o tema de outro seriado de TV muito popular nos anos 60, “Mannix”, e faixas dos encontros com o vibrafonista Cal Tjader (“The fakir”), o trombonista Bob Brookmeyer (“Just one of those things”) e o organista Jimmy Smith (“Theme from Joy House”, do Grammyado álbum “The cat”). Vale citar ainda “Agnus Dei”, captada em 67 para o LP “Rock requiem”, com participação do grupo Mike Curb Congregation.

Mestres em ação

Consagrado pelo até hoje insuperável duo de trombones formado com J.J. Johnson, o dinamarquês Kai Winding registrou ótimos discos individuais para a Verve, todos de pouca repercussão. Novamente graças ao comando de Creed Taylor, é vasta a presença brasileira no repertório. “Amor em Paz” (Jobim), “Recado bossa nova” (Djalma Ferreira & Luis Antonio) e “Lugar bonito” (Carlos Lyra & Chico de Assis) estão entre as vinte faixas da coletânea. Sem falar da batida de bossa nova aplicada a vários standards e a um tema do próprio líder batizado “I’m your bunny bossa nova”.

Ótimo arranjador, altamente influenciado por Henry Mancini – de quem interpreta “Night side”, “Hatari” e “Days of wine and roses” –, Winding obtém expressivos resultados ao combinar seu trombone aveludado a uma seção de flautas em faixas como “Um homme et une femme” e “A time for love”, reforçadas pelas contribuições sempre elegantes do baixista Ron Carter, do batera Grady Tate e do guitarrista Bucky (pai de John) Pizzarelli. A sedutora atmosfera de intensa sofisticação permanece em “Stella by starlight”, “Laura”, “April showers” e “Playboy’s theme”, do grande Cy Coleman, que inspirou o apropriado título do CD, “Jazz for playboys”, compilado por Matthias Kunnecke.
Voltando no tempo, “I got rhythm” recupera vinte e quatro faixas registradas entre 1949 e 1956 por Helmut Zacharias, que merecia figurar na lista dos melhores violinistas de jazz de todos os tempos. Mas sua posterior adesão ao easy-listening, quando passou a liderar uma conservadora orquestra de apelo comercial, praticamente colocou o início de sua carreira em total esquecimento. Atenção: favor não confundir com o Maestro Zaccarias, brasileiríssimo, de São José do Rio Preto, e manda-chuva da RCA nos anos 50, em cuja orquestra estagiaram arranjadores como Lindolpho Gaya.

Nesta coletânea, o Zacharias alemão (que, diga-se de passagem, chegou a fazer uma gravação de “Ave Maria no morro” nos anos 70) manda brasa em faixas tipo “Swing 48”, “Little white lies”, “The man I love”, “Whispering” (adorada por Luiz Bonfá), “What is this thing called love?” e “Embraceable you”, liderando um quinteto essencialmente jazzístico, com destaque para Rudi Bohn (órgão, cravo e até mellophon), Kurt Grabert na bateria e vibrafone, e Coco Schumann na guitarra. “C jam blues”, “Blue moon” e “I got rhythm” estão entre os temas gravados com uma big-band. E “How high the moon” conta com a orquestra de Kurt Edelhagen.

Kurt assume a liderança no CD “Up up and away: Kurt Edelhagen plays the hits of Jimmy Webb”, originalmente lançado em 1970 pelo selo Polydor. O nome de Quincy Jones constava na capa como único arranjador. Porém, de acordo com elucidativo texto de Doug Payne adicionado ao livreto desta reedição, Tio Quincy teve a assessoria de J.J. Johnson, Tom Scott e Pete Myers na elaboração das orquestrações. Doug revela ainda a importância de Claus Ogerman para o projeto, ao sugerir que seu antigo patrão (sim, Claus havia integrado a orquestra de Kurt antes de rumar para New York) desse um tratamento jazzístico aos temas de Webb, então com apenas 24 anos mas já no auge do sucesso.

Um hit-maker do mesmo nível de Burt Bacharach, a quem nunca superou em termos de popularidade, Webb teve “By the time I get to Phoenix”, “Evie”, “Wichita lineman”, “MacArthurPark”, “Up up and away” e mais seis outras pérolas do pop dos anos 60, recriadas por um timaço. Entre os solistas, nomes como o trombonista Oliver “Jiggs” Whigham (ainda em plena atividade), o trompetista Shake Keane e o saudoso pianista Bora Rokovic, que atuou na “Missa Espiritual” de Airto Moreira. Curiosamente, o disco não alcançou o êxito esperado na época do lançamento, sendo retirado de catálogo e transformando-se num cult-item até então disputado em leilões na internet. Agora em CD, custa menos de 10 dólares.

Coletâneas didáticas


A nova safra “Jazz Club” se completa com duas coletâneas bem interessantes. “Psychedelic jazz” traz um subtítulo gigante: “The best mindblowing spaced-out jazz grooves”. No recheio, performances em climas viajantes, lisérgicos, alguns fazendo uso de instrumentações exóticas. Exemplos? A mistura da harpa de Dorothy Ashby com flautas e kalimba em “The moving finger”. A junção do vibrafonista Dave Pike (pois é, aquele mesmo que gravou o primeiro songbook de João Donato em 1962) com a cítara de Volker Kriegel em “Mathar”. Okko Bekker se desdobrando na tabla, cítara e sintetizador Moog. Rolf Kuhn estraçalhando no clarinete elétrico. Ah, a cítara de Larry Coryell também era eletrificada no cultuado tema “Guru-vin” de Don Sebesky, um jazz-funk oriental.

Por conta da enorme influência de Ravi Shankar naquela época, até o húngaro Gabor Szabo revezava guitarra e cítara no registro original de “Mizrab”, em 1966, para o LP “Jazz raga”. Cultura indiana e trips de LSD também moviam Mike Nock, Brian Auger (“foi por causa desse cara que eu comecei a tocar Hammond”, me revelou José Roberto Bertrami) e Roy Ayers, na matadora “The fuzz”. Jimmy Smith entrou na festa via “Britney Spears”, perdão, “Burning spear”, estimulado pelo arranjo de Oliver Nelson. E o que dizer do tão emblemático quanto inclassificácel “Psyque rock” criado a quatro mãos por Pierre Henry & Michel Colombier, em 1968, para “Messe pour le temps present”?

O fato é que a geração hip-hop anda consumindo e reciclando aquela aparente loucura. Duvida? Então cheque o CD “Sampled! The original jazz classics, rare grooves & breaks”, compilado por Sergej Braun. A ficha técnica lista quem sampleou as dezoito faixas escolhidas. E entrega o nome das “novas” músicas. Por exemplo: “Mathar”, de Dave Pike, foi sampleada pelo japa Towa Tei em “Son of Bambi”. “Enchanted lady”, de Milt Jackson & Ray Brown, pelo grupo De la Soul em “Dinninit”. “Jim on the move”, de Lalo Schifrin, ressurgiu através dos Wiseguys em “Oh l ala”. Gerando alguma receita e muita confusão.

Nem os brasileiros escaparam. A baladaça “Who can I turn to?”, na voz de Astrud Gilberto, foi usada em “Like that” do Black Eyed Peas. A batida do violão de Luiz Henrique (“Listen to me”) aumentou o faturamento dos DJs alemães do Jazzanova em “Another new day”. “Oba lá vem ela”, de Jorge Ben, reforçou o caixa do Folk Og Roevere. Nomes que parecem vindos de outro planeta para os jazzófilos que vivem acorrentados ao passado, mas são manjados por qualquer fã de rap. Detalhe: “Sampled!” traz as gravações originais e fornece as pistas para quem quiser ir atrás das transformações. Alguém ainda duvida que o tempo não pára?

Legendas para as ilustrações
Capa do BIS – capa do CD de Lalo Schifrin
“As missões impossíveis do maestro argentino Lalo Schifrin”
Página interna – capa do CD de Kai Winding
“Kai Winding: trombone dinamarquês em clima de sedução”
Página interna – capa do CD de Helmut Zacharias
“Violino alemão arrepiando no jazz”

12" EP of the Day - "Idris Muhammad"

12" EP of the Day
"Idris Muhammad" (Kudu KUC 116) 1977
Side A: "Turn This Mutha Out"
Side B: "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This"
Featuring: Hiram Bullock, Rubens Bassini, Cliff Carter, David Matthews et al.

Vinyl of the Day - "Idris Muhammad: Turn This Mutha Out"

Vinyl of the Day
Idris Muhammad: "Turn This Mutha Out" (Kudu 34) 1977
Produced & Arranged by David Matthews
Featuring: Hiram Bullock, Jeremy Steig, The Brecker Brothers, Dud Bascomb, Cliff Carter and many others.
Pictured below is a 21-year old Bullock on his way to become of the most-in-demand studio cats in the NY area. On this Muhammad LP, he plays funkfied solos on such tracks as "Tasty Cakes", "Turn This Mutha Out" and the disco classic "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This", which eventually became a dancefloor jazz anthem.

R.I.P.: Hiram Bullock

Hiram Bullock - top guitarist, top entertainer, top showman
(born September 11, 1955, Osaka/Japan;
died July 25, 2008, New York, NY, USA)
I'm very schocked and extremely sad with the news about the passing of Hiram Bullock. In my record collection, I own over a hundred albums on which he appears. And I had the privilege to attend many of his live performances both as a leader (mostly in New York clubs, including the last gig at Zanzibar the night the club was closing in 1991) and as a "star sideman" all over the world with Gil Evans, David Sanborn, Bob James and many more.
Among my personal favorite sessions on which he took part are: "Dune" (David Matthews), "Turn This Mutha Out" and "Boogie to the Top" (both by Idris Muhammad), "Hanalei Bay" (Lew Soloff), "Carla" (Steve Swallow), "Night-Glo" (Carla Bley), "Something You Got" (Art Farmer with Yusef Lateef), Airto's "Killer Bees", Bob James' "All Around the Town", John Blair's "We Belong Together", many albums by Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Franks, Gil Evans' Monday Night Orchestra etc etc.
IMHO, his best live performance ever is documented on the track "Smile" from David Sanborn's "Love & Happiness" DVD (see details above)
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Over the course of his career, from his mid ‘70s run with The Brecker Brothers to his various stints as a “hired gun” for everyone from Gil Evans and David Sanborn to Billy Joel and James Brown, Hiram Bullock earned his reputation as a bona fide guitar hero. But all along, Hiram has also been developing his skills as a singer/songwriter and charismatic live performer. His style is not easily categorized, since his playing was a creative blend of rock, funk, blues, and jazz. It is easy to say, however, that his music was fun!

Hiram Bullock was born in Osaka, Japan and came to America at the age of 2. As a child, he studied piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, playing his first recital at the age of 6. He learned to play the saxophone at age 11, and began playing the bass guitar in junior high school rock bands as a teenager. He switched to guitar at age 16, admittedly “to meet more girls”. Hiram attended the University of Miami music school, where he studied with Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius, and where he met many of the musicians that he would play with throughout his professional career. One of his steady nightclub gigs was with the singer Phyllis Hyman, and this eventually led him to New York.

Almost immediately after arriving in the Big Apple, Hiram’s international career began. He first played with David Sanborn, meeting producer Phil Ramone and playing on many gold and platinum albums. His credits include: The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, Pete Townsend, Bob James, Sting, James Brown, Miles Davis, Kenny Loggins, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Burt Bacharach, Roberta Flack, Spyro Gyra, Eric Clapton, Al Green and James Taylor. He has worked with many others; a full discography can be found on http://www.allmusic.com/

Hiram gained a huge following as the barefoot guitar player on Late Night with David Letterman. From the inception of the show until 1984, he was a regular member of the World’s Most Dangerous Band, led by Paul Shaffer. Other television work includes being a member of the house band on Saturday Night Live, and working as the musical director on David Sanborn’s critically acclaimed Night Music show. He was also seen acting the part of a musician in Under Siege (starring Steven Segal); he wrote 6 of the internal songs in the film.

Hiram’s career as a solo artist began in 1983. He produced all of his albums, which include many of his own songs. His albums span many different genres of music, from the contemporary jazz of “From All Sides” to the rock of “World of Collision”; from the latin-influenced “Carrasco” to the organ-trio jazz of “Late Night Talk”. The style that Hiram’s fans have come to expect in live performances is exemplified by the group-oriented funky rock of “Color Me”, and continued with “Try Livin’ It” and his latest release, “Too Funky 2 Ignore”. He was also known as a dynamic performer, who gives his all for the sake of the show. His last touring was with the "Gil Evans Orchestra" (aka "The Miles Evans Orchestra", since it's led by trumpeter Miles Evans, Gil's son) in Europe, where they performed at Rome's "House of Jazz" on July 13.
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/hiram-bullock-charismatic-jazzrock-guitarist-878716.html

Hiram Bullock: Charismatic jazz-rock guitarist
Monday, 28 July 2008
Chris Salewicz

Hiram Bullock was a talented and charismatic guitarist, a rock'n'roller with a jazz head who bridged the world of sophisticated pop and the avant-garde New York jazz scene.
A super-session player, Bullock was mentored by the producer Phil Ramone, and his work can be heard on Steely Dan's Gaucho (1980), Paul Simon's One Trick Pony (1980), Sting's Nothing Like the Sun (1987), Billy Joel's The Stranger (1977) and Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born (1976). He also played with the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, James Brown and Al Green, among many others. He was a member of one of Miles Davis's last touring groups, and his guitar graced countless jazz albums. Hiram Bullock also put out over a dozen records under his own name.
Bullock was a consummate showman: his live performances were enhanced by his habit of wandering deep into the crowd whilst soloing. "Rock'n'roll guitarists might do that," said the promoter John Cummings, "but it wasn't common at jazz shows. You'd find a sedate jazz audience in Switzerland where the uptight burghers would be surprised by Hiram sitting on their daughters' laps whilst continuing to play. He invented himself as a jazz-rock guitarist and entertainer."
Did such live ostentation from the guitarist reflect the origins of his choice of instrument? "I played bass in my high school rock band (like a million other teenage boys)," Bullock said. "One day our guitarist, who was slightly older and looked like Eric Clapton, passed out while in the middle of the solo on 'Mississippi Queen' (he said later that he was 'tired'). Immediately, 10 girls jumped up onto the stage, stroking, consoling and otherwise 'reviving him'. At that precise moment I decided to switch to guitar."
Hiram Bullock was born in 1955 in Osaka, Japan to parents serving in the US military. When he was two the family returned to the United States, where they settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Hiram studied piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in the city, playing his first recital at the age of six. He also became a fluid saxophone player, and finally made the switch from bass to guitar at 16.
At the celebrated University of Miami music college, Bullock studied alongside Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius and Will Lee, discovering musical soul-mates. He paid his way at university by playing nightclub gigs in Florida, and hooked up with the singer Phyllis Hyman. When she landed a recording deal and moved to New York, Bullock went with her.
In Manhattan he made an immediate impact. 'He was a phenomenon,' remembered Jamilla Samuels, a sound engineer at the Mix Studio. "All the players were talking about this new cat in town with this great guitar style. If you had a buzz like that amongst the musicians, it meant you were good. But I noticed that straightaway he fell in with the fast crowd."
Soon Bullock was playing with the master saxophonist David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers band. He then formed the 24th Street Band with the drummer Steve Jordan, the keyboardist Clifford Carter and bassist Mark Egan, later replaced by Will Lee. Very popular in Japan, the 24th Street Band released two records there, with the keyboard player Paul Schaffer producing the second. Schaffer recruited Bullock, Jordan and Lee for his group the World's Most Dangerous Band, which played on the talk show Late Night With David Letterman from the programme's début in 1982, bringing to national attention the guitarist's habit of performing barefoot.
Other habits also revealed themselves. Bullock was known to suffer from an occasional "attendance problem" on the Letterman show, a consequence of the drug binges associated with the crowd he was hanging out with. He was no stranger to heroin and cocaine, but found his drug of choice when the crack epidemic swept the United States in the mid-1980s.
Most of the time, however, he kept it together. Tour managing him with Carla Bley's group and then with the Gil Evans Orchestra, John Cummings recalled his energetic extroversion: "He used to really tear it up playing with Carla, and even managed to persuade Van Morrison to perform Hiram's own arrangement of Moondance at Gil Evans' 75th birthday concert. He was a great player and a fantastic guy, and he was completely clean."
Yet the effects of Bullock's recreational pursuits soon became evident in his physical shape. From having once seemed the thinnest man on the planet, his body ballooned unflatteringly. His work did not suffer, and he continued to make great records, notably Late Night Talk (1996), an organ session featuring Lonnie Smith on the Hammond B-3, and Try Livin' It (2003), a funk-rock record that highlighted his songwriting skills.
In the autumn of 2007 Bullock was diagnosed with cancer. But his cast-iron constitution pulled him through, and he made a full recovery, setting off immediately on a lengthy tour with the Miles Evans Orchestra. There were no signs of post-operation fatigue; Bullock was playing at his peak. But the old problems remained. The attempt to maintain the post-performance high after the tour's end resulted in another crack binge, one that his depleted body was simply no longer able to endure.
Hiram Law Bullock, guitarist and songwriter: born Osaka, Japan 11 September 1955; married (two stepsons); died New York 25 July 2008.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Ted Nash live, tonight, at MoMA Summergarden 2008

Free Outdoor Concert Tonight!
MoMA Summergarden 2008: New Music for New York presented with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, Museum of Modern Art

Entrance to Summergarden is through the Sculpture Garden gate on West 54th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. (In the event of rain, concerts will be held in The Agnes Gund Garden Lobby, and the Museum's 54th Street entrance will open at 7:30 p.m.)

July 27, 2008: Ted Nash Quartet
Garden Opens: 7:00pm
Concert: 8:00pm
Ted Nash, reeds; Frank Kimbrough, piano; Ben Allison, bass and Michael Sarin, drums.
Click here for more information or call 212.708.9491.

R.I.P.: George Russell

George Russell
(born February 7, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois;
died July 19, 2008, in Laguna Beach, California)

Many people used to do a big confusion between arranger/composer/band-leader revolutionary and jazz "Lydian Concept" theorist George Russell, LA-studio guitarist George Russell, and NY-based (now settled in LA) bassist Russell George, whose name was often mispelled George Russell in some albums.


Well, the George Russell that passed away last week was brought to my attention through my dear friends Luiz Bonfá and João Palma. He was a subtle and highly skilled guitarist who was a member of the Nelson Riddle Orchestra for many years, recorded many TV and movie soundtracks, worked with such singers as Helen Merrill and Johnny Matthis (with whom he delevoped a long collaboration), and released a couple of solo albums.


His "Birthstone Suite", performed by the Royal Philharmonic Ensemble conducted by John Keating, came out on CD in 1988, mastered by Bernie Grundman for the USA Music Group.


The CD "George Russell, His Guitar & Music", released in 1992 also by the USA Music Group, comprised two different sessions. The first ten tracks assembled as "Phase One", reveal the big influence of acoustic guitarists like Bonfá and mainly Laurindo Almeida, who also was a big inspiration as a composer. Just check the many bossa nova-influenced tunes on the album, arranged and conducted (at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood) by Jimmie Haskell, who played keyboards too.

Russell is backed by a stellar cast which includes Victor Feldman on piano and "quica" (sic - the "cuica" being heard on the tracks "Talk'n Talk'n Talk" and "Brazilian Bus"), Shelly Manne on drums, Dennis Budimir on rhythm guitar, and two Brazilians who were members of the original incarnation of Sergio Mendes & Brasil 65: João Palma and the late José Soares (Suarez).

"Phase Two", the second part of the CD, was recorded in London with the Ted Heath Orchestra and arrangements by John Keating, often featuring a singer simply credited as "Sylvia", whose wordless vocals are very similar to Mary Mayo's performances on Dick Hyman's "Moon Gas" album.

George Russell also developed a successful career as a record promoter.
Here follows the obituary published today in the LA Times:
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http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-russell27-2008jul27,0,6641137.story

George H. Russell, 89; guitarist and composer also promoted records
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 27, 2008


George H. Russell, a veteran record promoter, guitarist and composer, died of a heart attack July 19 at his home in Laguna Beach, said Sandra Gillard, his companion. He was 89.

Russell was commissioned to write the music for "Encounter Near Venus," a children's story ballet presented by Ballet Pacifica in Orange County in 1975. He also composed music for two other ballets, "Birthstone Suite" and "Mah Jong."

Russell recorded two solo guitar albums, which were combined in 1994 as "George Russell: His Guitar and Music" and included 20 original compositions.

Russell, whose sister was actress Gail Russell, was born in Chicago Feb. 7, 1919. He formed his own band at 16called the Hyde Parkers, which appeared on Major Bowes' "Original Amateur Hour" and toured with one of Bowes' traveling companies.

He attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music before joining the Army in 1942 and studied guitar and musical composition at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music after the war.

In the late '40s, he helped form an instrumental and vocal trio called the Bachelors, which recorded for MGM Records and Palace Records before disbanding in the mid-'50s.

Russell, who played guitar in recording sessions with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, among others, launched his career as a record promoter in the late '50s. He worked first for Mercury Records, then for Capitol and Columbia before becoming an independent record promoter.

Among the artists he promoted were the Platters, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson. Until his death, Russell continued to promote Johnny Mathis through a professional relationship that began in 1961.

12" EP of the Day - "Freddie Hubbard/Hubert Laws"

12" EP of the Day
"Freddie Hubbard/Hubert Laws" (CTI OJ 124) 2008
Side A - Freddie Hubbard: "Gibraltar" (12:08)
Side B - Hubert Laws: "Family" (7:35)
None of these tracks were produced by Creed Taylor... So, it seems to be a bootleg.
Released on July 14, 2008, it's already on sale on Ebay and in various webstores such as Juno
http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/320815-01.htm
Hubbard has not recorded any "studio version" of "Gibraltar" during his days (1970-74) at CTI.
And this is a "studio" take - an all-acoustic version, with acoustic piano, acoustic bass, and at least two percussionists (one of them playing bongos).
The two "Gibraltar" versions that Hubbard did for CTI are "live" takes issued on the two "Hubbard/Turrentine In Concert" LPs recorded at the Chicago Opera House and Detroit Ford Auditorium in 1973. They are all-electric, with Hancock playing Fender Rhodes, and there's no percussion. Other "Gibraltar" versions, all done during CTI All-Stars concerts in 1971, 1972 and 1973, still exist and remain unreleased on Sony vaults (in the USA) as well as on King Record's archives (in Japan).
The only studio take of "Gibraltar" officially released by CTI is on Stanley Turrentine's "Salt Song" album, on which Hubbard doesn't plays.
Regarding "Family", it's the title track from Hubert Laws' 1980 album for Columbia. It reached # 5 in the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and # 133 in the Billboard Pop Albums chart. A funk-pop-jazz tune with a lush brass arrangement a la Earth Wind & Fire. I doubt that Laws is aware of this bootleg reissue.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

CD of the Day - "Flora Purim: Everyday Everynight"

CD of the Day
Flora Purim: "Everyday Everynight" (Milestone/Victor VICJ 61020) 2002
The original LP was released, in 1978, for contractual reasons, by Warner Bros. (in the USA) and by Milestone (in Europe, Asia and Brazil)
Produced by Bob Monaco & Airto Moreira, magnificently arranged & conducted by the late French maestro Michel Colombier, it stands out as one of the highlights in Flora's discography.
A very high budget allowed Flora, Michel and the producers to assemble an unbelievable all-star cast: Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Michael & Randy Brecker, Raul de Souza, Harvey Mason, Alphonso Johnson, Chester Thompson (then the second drummer of Genesis), George Duke, Lee Ritenour, Oscar Castro-Neves, David Sanborn, Byron Miller, Michael Boddicker, David Foster, Jon Faddis, Jim Pugh, Laudir de Oliveira and many others.
People like Lani Hall, Marcos Valle and Yana Purim are heard on the backing vocals.
All the basic tracks were cut at the Conway Studio in Hollywood, with the strings (performed by the London Symphony Orchestra) added at CTS Music Center in Wembley, and the horns overdubbed at George Klabin's Sound Ideas Studio in NYC.
My personal favorite tracks are Pastorius' "Las Olas", Jean Hancock's "Why I'm Alone", the electrifying "Samba Michel" and the haunting ballad "The Hope", two of the several tunes written by Michel Colombier, Airto & Flora specially for the album.
Colombier also collaborated with Yana Purim (writing the song "Blue Ballad" based in a poem by Flora's sister) and Hugo Fattoruso/George Fattoruso/Nicole Croisille (on "Walking Away", also released as a single).

Flora Purim Memorabilia - "Everyday Everynight" ad

A full-page advertisement of Flora Purim's "Everyday Everynight" LP published, by Warner Bros., in Billboard, Cash Box, Record World and other magazines

Flora Purim Memorabilia - "The Voice of Americas"

Advertisement of Flora Purim's "Everyday Everynight" album published in several magazines in the USA

R.I.P.: Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin
(born in Chicago, USA, on April 24, 1928;
died in Availles-Limouzine, France, om July 25, 2008)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/arts/music/26griffin.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=arts&adxnnlx=1217109625-U1KfUWYAoLCtG4MeCtD+Uw

Johnny Griffin, 80, Jazz Saxophonist, Dies
By BEN RATLIFF
Published: July 26, 2008, NYT


"Johnny Griffin, a tenor saxophonist from Chicago whose speed, control and harmonic acuity made him one of the most talented American jazz musicians of his generation yet who spent most of his career in Europe, died Friday at his home in Availles-Limouzine, a village in France. He was 80 and had lived there for 24 years.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Miriam, who did not give a cause. He played his last concert on Monday in Hyères, France.

Mr. Griffin’s modest height earned him the nickname the Little Giant; his speed in bebop improvising marked him as the Fastest Gun in the West; a group he led with his fellow saxophonist Eddie (Lockjaw) Davis was informally called the Tough Tenor band, a designation that was eventually applied to a whole school of hard-bop tenor players. And in general, Mr. Griffin suffered from categorization.

In the early 1960s, embittered by the critical acceptance of free jazz, he stayed true to his identity as a bebopper. Feeling that the American marketplace had no use for him (at a time when he was also having marital and tax troubles), he left for Europe, where he became a celebrated jazz elder.

“It’s not like I’m looking to prove anything anymore,” he said in a 1993 interview. “At this age, what can I prove? I’m concentrating more on the beauty in the music, the humanity.”

Indeed, Mr. Griffin’s work in the 1990s, with an American quartet that stayed constant whenever he revisited his home country to perform or record, had a new sound, mellower and sweeter than in his younger days.

Johnny Griffin was born in Chicago on April 24, 1928, and grew up on the South Side. He attended DuSable High School, where he was taught by the famed high school band instructor Capt. Walter Dyett, whose other students included the singers Nat (King) Cole and Dinah Washington and the saxophonists Gene Ammons and Von Freeman.

Mr. Griffin’s career started in a hurry: at age 12, attending his grammar school graduation dance at the Parkway Ballroom in Chicago, he saw Ammons play in King Kolax’s big band and decided what his instrument would be. By 14 he was playing alto saxophone in a variety of situations, including a group called the Baby Band with schoolmates, and occasionally with the blues guitarist and singer T-Bone Walker. At 18, three days after his high school graduation, Mr. Griffin left Chicago to join Lionel Hampton’s big band, where he switched from alto to tenor. From then until 1951 he was based in New York City but mostly on the road.

By 1947 he was touring with the rhythm-and-blues band of the trumpeter Joe Morris, a fellow Chicagoan, with whom he made the first recordings for the Atlantic label. He entered the United States Army in 1951; stationed in Hawaii, he played in an Army band.

Mr. Griffin was of an impressionable age when Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie became forces in jazz. He heard them both with Billy Eckstine’s band in 1945 and, having first internalized the more balladlike saxophone sound earlier popularized by Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster, became entranced by the lightning-fast phrasing of bebop, as the new music of Parker and Gillespie was known. In general his style remained brisk but relaxed, his bebop playing salted with blues tonality.

Beyond the 1960s his skill and his musical eccentricity continued to deepen, and in later years he could play odd, asymmetrical phrases, bulging with blues honking and then tapering off into state-of-the-art bebop, filled with passing chords.

In the late 1940s he befriended the pianists Elmo Hope, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk; he called these friendships his “postgraduate education.” After his Army service he went back to Chicago, where he worked with Monk for the first time, a job that altered his career. He became interested in Monk’s brightly melodic style of composition, and he ended up as a regular member of Monk’s quartet in New York in 1958. In 1967 he toured Europe with a Monk octet.

Mr. Griffin joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers for a short stint in 1957. The following year he began recording a series of albums as a leader for the Riverside label. On “Way Out!,” “The Little Giant” and other Riverside albums, his rampaging energy got its moment in the sun on tunes like “Cherokee,” famous vehicles for testing a musician’s mettle.

A few years later he hooked up with Davis, a more blues-oriented tenor saxophonist, with whom he made a series of records that act as barometers of taste: listeners tend to find them either thrilling or filled with too many notes. The Griffin-Davis combination was a popular one, and the two men would sporadically reunite through the ’70s and ’80s.

Mr. Griffin left the United States in 1963, settling in Paris and recording mostly for European labels — sometimes with other American expatriates, like the drummer Kenny Clarke, and sometimes with European rhythm sections. In 1973 he moved to Bergambacht, the Netherlands. He moved to the Côte d’Azur with his second wife, Miriam, in 1980, and then in 1984 to Availles-Limouzine, near Poitiers in midwestern France, where he lived thereafter.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Griffin’s survivors include four children: his daughters Jo-Onna and Ingrid and a son, John Arnold Griffin, all of the New York City area, and another daughter, Cynthia Griffin of Bordeaux, France.

Mr. Griffin stayed true to the small-group bebop ideal with his American quartet, including the pianist Michael Weiss and the drummer Kenny Washington. The record he made with this group for the Antilles label in 1991, “The Cat,” was received warmly as a comeback.

Every April for many years, Mr. Griffin returned to Chicago to visit family and play during his birthday week at the Jazz Showcase. During those visits he usually also spent a week at the Village Vanguard in New York, before returning home to his quiet house in the country. "

Friday, July 25, 2008

This weekend at Bypass

If you like "dancefloor jazz" and wanna dance all night long, don't miss these 2 parties at "Bypass" (Genève), my favorite dance club in Switzerland.
As usual, the indescribable "Fashion Girl" party happens every Friday.
And, this Saturday, there'll be a special show by the one and only percussionist/singer/DJ Miss Ketty, the Saint-Tropez muse. Enjoy!
EVENEMENT CE W-E AU BYPASS !!!!
VENDREDI SOIR: FASHION GIRLSAMEDI SOIR: WELCOME TO ST-TROPEZ : GUEST DJ : MISS KETTY
Bypass Genève 2008
Carrefour de l’Etoile 1 ,
1227 Les Acacias Genève
Ph: 0022 300 6565

Joe Beck's "Beck" reviewed on All Music Guide

Review of the Japanese reissue of Joe Beck's "Beck" (reissue supervised by producer Arnaldo DeSouteiro) written by renowned jazz historian Thom Jurek for the http://www.allmusic.com/ website.
Rating: *****

This 1975 Kudu album by Joe Beck was never reissued on CD in the United States but available only as a Japanese import on the King label. Beck is a masterpiece of mid-'70s funky jazz and fusion. Beck retired in 1971 to be a dairy farmer. He returned to make this album his opus. Featuring David Sanborn, Don Grolnick, Will Lee, and Chris Parker, all of the album's six tracks were recorded in two days. Overdubs were done in another day and the minimal strings added by Don Sebesky were added on a third day. "Star Fire" opens the set and features the interplay of Beck's riffing and lead fills with Sanborn's timely, rhythmic legato phrasing, and the communication level is high and the groove level even higher. On "Texas Ann," another Beck original, Sanborn hits the blues stride from the jump, but Beck comes in adding the funk underneath Grolnick's keyboard while never losing his Albert Collins' feel. On "Red Eye," Beck's two- and three-chord funk vamps inform the verse while Sebesky's unobtrusive strings provide a gorgeous backdrop for Sanborn, who stays in the mellow pocket until the refrains, when he cuts loose in his best Maceo Parker. The deep funk of Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin's "Café Black Rose" showcases the band's commitment to groove jazz with a razor's edge. The composition is full of nooks and crannies and syncopated intervallic elements for the rhythm section. Steve Khan's slide guitar adds electric Delta feel to a Sly Stone funk groove along with a Jack McDuff riff makes the whole thing feel like a greasy good time. Beck is essential listening for anyone interested in mid-'70s commercial jazz. The chops are there, but far more than that, Beck leads a band into a soul-deep blowing session with killer charts, nasty tunes, and killer vibes.