‘A Love Supreme’ is arguably the pinnacle of the famous John Coltrane Quartet. Its four parts take you on a spiritual and musical journey that John Coltrane travelled to find the creator and in effect the meaning of life. This sound very intense and whilst the music has moments of great intensity, there is moments of great tenderness and beauty too. ‘Acknowledgement’ is hailed as its defining piece, but ‘Resolution’, ‘Pursuance’ and ‘Psalm’ should be given due reverence too. See all John Coltrane titles here
Guitarist Kenny Burrell alongside Grant Green became Blue Note’s stable guitar man. ‘Midnight Blue’ recorded on January 7 1963 is arguably Burrell’s finest work. His playing is relaxed and fluid and the Latin backdrop provided by percussionist Ray Barretto give the album a Bossa feel. Add the soulfulness of Stanley Turrentine’s meaty tenor sax and you have an album that is a complete delight. The material is sublime as tracks like ‘Chitlins Con Carne’ and ‘Wavy Gravy’ are ample proof. ‘Soul Lament’ is brooding and soulful. Six of the seven tracks are composed are co-composed by Kenny Burrell including the...
Sax player Kamasi Washington arrives with this ambitious concept album, aptly entitled ‘The Epic’. Washington hails from South Central LA and is complimented by a fantastic group plus a 32 piece orchestra and 20 people choir. There are 17 tracks and it is superfluous to pick out individual parts/ tracks. If Spiritual jazz is your thing and you find the music of the Strata East, Tribe or Nimbus labels inspiring then this set is a wonderful journey. That journey encompasses Bop, Jazz Funk amongst other styles along the way. Yet despite the music of ‘The Epic’ being in those traditions,...
Ground breaking album from 1973, one of the first jazz-funk albums and the biggest seller on Blue note at that time. Produced by Larry Mizell this introduced a new sound featuring an all star cast Inc Harvey Mason, Joe Sample, Wilton Felder etc topped by Donald’s brilliant trumpet playing. ‘Flight Time’, ‘BlackByrd’, ‘Love’s So Far Away’ and ‘Mr Thomas’ have that ‘Mizell’ stamp all over them, and are brilliant early jazz funk groovers. The mellow ‘Sky High’ and ‘Where Are We Going’ are equally good. One of the all time great jazz funk albums.
‘Crosswinds’ dates from 1974 and is Billy Cobham’s second solo album. It features the Brecker Brothers in the horn section, keyboard legend George Duke and guitarist John Abercrombie. It is a Jazz Funk gem that features four tracks. The first ‘Spanish Moss – A Sound Portrait’ comprises the whole of side one of the vinyl and is divided, like a symphony, into four segments, two of which are superb – the foreboding yet serene ‘Quiet Before The Storm’ and the fast ‘Flash Flood’. The classic Jazz Funk of ‘Pleasant Pheasant’ starts side two in rapid and vibrant form. The lovely...
‘Kind Of Blue’ is probably the greatest Jazz album of all-time, and almost certainly the biggest selling. The all-star line-up features a horn section of Davis, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. Drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassist Paul Chambers are joined by Bill Evans on piano in the rhythm section, except on ‘Freddy Freeloader’ where Wynton Kelly is in the piano seat. Davis brought the musical scores to the two sessions as little more than sketches of ideas and written just a few hours beforehand. In the best improvisational Jazz tradition, the band had little or no rehearsals and (though disputed)...
Herbie Hancock is one of the most prolific jazz pianists of the 20th century. A child prodigy, he played with the greats such as Donald Byrd and Miles Davis. As he was a bit of a geek, he enjoyed gadgets & buttons and he was one of the first to embrace and master the electric piano, but he always stayed true to the acoustic sound. In fact, he always bounced back and forth between his electronic and acoustic sound, touching upon almost every development in R&B, Funk and Jazz while retaining an original and distinctive voice. Head Hunters (1973) was...
Carmen Lundy has established herself as one of the leading contemporary female jazz singers,she possesses a rich tone which oozes class and sassiness. ‘Soul To Soul’ is another great album with 13 mainly self composed captivating songs featuring an amazing cast of musicians. Patrice Rushen contributes a major part playing keyboards on most tracks, Bennie Maupin on Sax, Randy Brecker on Trumpet and Warren Wolf on Vibes compliment the tight core band on key tracks. ‘Grateful Pt 2’ is a superb uptempo groove track, ‘Life is a song in me’ a Soul/Jazz mid tempo and ‘Everything I Need’ and the...
Leon Thomas was one of the most unique Jazz vocalists. His influence can be heard in the Spiritual Jazz of modern times especially in Dwight Trible. This anthology contains 12 of his best recordings, mainly for the Flying Dutchman label from 1969 to 1973. ‘Prince of Peace’ and ‘The Creator has a masterplan” are simply beautiful Spiritual Jazz masterpieces. ‘Just in time to see the Sun’ , ‘Shape your mind to Die’ and ‘It’s my life I’m fighting for ‘ are incredibly intense fusion with powerful lyrics. Leon gives another dimension to the jazz classics ‘Song for my father’ ,...
