Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant - Out Of The Woods:The BBC Sessions - 1996 - Varese

Though never as commercially successful as some of their peers (like Yes and King Crimson), Gentle Giant was one of the greatest and most influential progressive rock bands of the 1970s. Their style was marked by a heavy classical influence and unique use of vocal counterpoint. Their early albums are among the most sophisticated and complex works in the genre. Their music is an acquired taste. The band had a hardcore following but their complex educated music did not lend itself to commercialism. Their unique musical style covered rock, blues, jazz, & even Renaissance madrigals.! An incredible live band, they would play guitar quintets, percussion quintets, recorder quartets, a cello/violin/bass/drums combo, and acoustic guitar duels. This album covers some of their work from 1970 - 1975, and is worth listening to. This is a 128 kbps, so please make allowances for sound quality. If you are aware of a higher bitrate issue of this album, please post info, Check out their albums, Acquiring the Taste, & Octopus

TRACKS

1.City Hermit (first time on record!) (4:58) [21 July 1970]
2.Isn't It Quiet And Cold? (4:36) [21 July 1970]
3.Knots (2:14) Excerpt from Octopus [4 December 1973]
4.The Boys In The Band (2:59) Excerpt from Octopus [4 December 1973]
5.Organ Bridge (1:55) Excerpt from Octopus [4 December 1973]
6.The Advent Of Panurge (5:42) Excerpt from Octopus [4 December 1973]
7.Way Of Life (5:58) [4 December 1973]
8.Proclamation (6:03) [12 December 1974]
9.Experience (5:40) [12 December 1974]
10.Aspirations (5:01) [12 December 1974]
11.Cogs in Cogs (2:58) [12 December 1974]
12.Just The Same (6:09) [16 September 1975]
13.Free Hand (6:20) [16 September 1975]
14.On Reflection (5:56) [16 September 1975]

KEY PERSONNEL

Derek Shulman
Gary Green
Kerry Minnear
Ray Shulman
John Weathers

BAND MEMBERS

vocals, sax, recorder, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion Derek Shulman
(b. 11 Feb 1947, Glasgow, Scotland)
vocals, sax, trumpet, clarinet, recorder, percussion Phil Shulman
(b. 27 Aug 1937, Glasgow, Scotland), left early 1973
bass, trumpet, violin, vocals, viola, drums, percussion, recorder, guitar Ray Shulman
(b. 8 Dec 1949, Portsmouth, England)
guitar, mandolin, vocals, recorder, bass, drums, xylophone Gary Green
(b. 20 Nov 1950, Stroud Green, England)
keyboards, vocals, cello, vibes, xylophone, recorder, guitar, bass, drums Kerry Minnear
(b. 2 Jan 1948, Salisbury, England)
drums, percussion Martin Smith
(b. 17 Dec 1946, Southampton, England, d. 2 Mar 1997, Southampton), left Autumn 1971
drums, percussion Malcolm Mortimore
(b. 16 June, 1953), Autumn 1971-Spring 1972
drums, percussion, vibes, xylophone, vocals, guitar John Weathers
(b. 7 Feb 1947, Carmarthen, Wales), joined Spring 1972
Note that the members of the group were multi-instrumentalists who also switched instruments and sang five-part harmony on stage.

REVIEW

First, the short review. Every Gentle Giant fan should buy this album. Now, the longer review. :-)
Culled from the vaults of the BBC, Out Of The Woods (OOTW) is both a historical document and a damn good album. Not only does it contain a previously unreleased track, City Hermit, but also for the first time, we have legitimate live recordings of Isn't It Quiet And Cold?, Aspirations, Way Of Life, and Cogs in Cogs. The performances of all pieces range from very good to excellent. The sound quality is quite intimate, like listening to a private Gentle Giant concert in your own parlor or living room. The clarity is excellent. This is no scratchy, screechy bootleg.
OOTW begins with the unreleased City Hermit, written around 1970-71. It's a rocker that would have fit comfortably on their first album but lacks the sophistication that emerged in their second. Gentle Giant's blues roots are evident here, and though the lyrics are a bit silly, the piece works. I can't say it's one of my favorites, but fans will undoubtedly enjoy hearing this long-lost piece.
For me, the highlights of OOTW are Way of Life and Excerpts From Octopus. The performance of Way of Life is full of energy and excitement, showcasing a band in its prime. Excerpts From Octopus begins with a keyboard-heavy version of Knots, and segues into a wonderful acoustic guitar duet that's completely different from the version on Playing The Fool, featuring reworked parts from Boys in the Band, Experience, and even Edge of Twilight. It's outstanding. This is followed by Gentle Giant's patented recorder ensemble, complete with "Yankee Doodle." The final section, The Advent of Panurge, contains some excellent but subtle twists; Kerry hits a beautifully dissonant note at the end of "Look at my friend..." that made me jump and sigh.
The final three tracks, Just the Same, Free Hand, and On Reflection, are the least interesting on the album, but only because they are scarcely distinguishable from the originals. If you've heard Free Hand and Playing The Fool, there's little new here, and Derek's voice is distractingly overprocessed (electronically). One can also hear overdubbed sax parts which detract from the "live" feel. Still, it's nice to have studio versions of the arrangements that Gentle Giant used in concert.
Overall, OOTW is a vital album that belongs in every fan's collection.
Dan's ratings (out of 5 points):
Recording quality: 5
Performance: 4.5
Historical value: 5
Overall: 5
© Dan Barrett, 17 February 1997 www.blazemonger.com/GG/albums/reviews/ootw-barrett.html

LINER NOTES

In the 60s and 70s, the BBC regularly broadcast rock acts in program series such as Sounds of the Seventies, which were hosted by various well-known DJs. The acts often had to record their pieces in the BBC's own studios. This was due to an agreement with the Musicians' Union, which demanded that a certain amount of the music aired by the BBC should be live music. The BBC sessions were thus regarded as 'live in the studio' recordings; there was, however, no audience in the studio. The act contributed about twenty minutes of material, which was recorded and mixed during one evening, usually over a period of 10-12 hours. The result would be fairly good, although it would be unfair to compare it with the work recorded for an album.
According to Phil Shulman, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound did lots of BBC sessions in the latter half of the 60s. When Gentle Giant was formed by the core of that group, the three Shulman brothers, their management felt it was very important that the new group was presented on the air. As Simon Dupree was well known to the BBC, session contracts were easy to obtain for the newly-formed group. Gentle Giant had started gigging in the Spring of 1970, and by July they had already recorded their first session for the BBC, which was to be broadcast one month later.
The group recorded ten more sessions, up until 1975, all of about 20 minutes duration. However, no further sessions were to follow. This was because the Chrysalis management at this time didn't regard the work at the BBC as being especially important for Gentle Giant, combined with the fact that after 1976 the group had more or less given up on England, to concentrate on markets in the rest of Europe and North America instead.
This CD presents the first two (of three) tracks from the first session Gentle Giant recorded for the BBC. Additionally, the eight, tenth and eleventh (and last) session are included in their entirety.
Unfortunately, the contents of this CD is all that the BBC has been able to retrieve of Gentle Giant's work. The BBC habitually re-used old session tapes up to 1980, and, anyway, the agreement with the Musicians' Union only allowed them to be kept for six months. That we have been able to rescue a full CD's worth of material more than twenty years after the fact, is rather incredible. There may be people out there who have kept tapes from other sessions, whether from the production or from the broadcast itself; if so, Windsong would like to release these sessions also, if the quality is not too far below standard.
As it is, there are still two tracks recorded at the BBC that haven't made it to an album; Freedom's Child, recorded on the first session with the first two tracks on this album, and Hometown Special from the second session. Freedom's Child was also recorded as an unreleased single for Philips in the middle of 1970 and this tape may still exist, whilst Hometown Special survives on a tape recorded from one of the group's first gigs.
All of the 22 other tracks not rescued have been released on albums, and it would seem that they did not differ as much from the album versions as some of the versions included on this CD do. Some tracks were even recorded for more than one session, and the version of The Advent Of Panurge on this CD is, surprisingly, the fourth one recorded for the BBC.
The real gem on this CD is the track City Hermit, which has previously only been known to a few most ardent collectors in nth-generation tapes from early live shows. According to Kerry Minnear, the track wasn't included on the first album because it didn't fit in very well with what the group wanted to do. It was probably deemed a leftover from the late 60s, its structure is loose, and it doesn't contain the fine polyphonic vocals which were to be one of the group's trademarks. However, it portrays the group making a very early and energetic attempt to fuse organ fireworks with multipart harmony and bass riffs. And most importantly, it still rocks today.
The Excerpts from Octopus medley is rather interesting, as it differs in many ways from the same medley on the Playing The Fool live album. The guitar duet was jointly arranged by Ray Shulman and Gary Green, and the early version here was later expanded. The Organ Bridge is certainly different, and the recorder quartet within The Advent Of Panurge contains here their very popular arrangement of Yankee Doodle, which was not included on Playing The Fool.
The other songs also contain bits and pieces which make them slightly different from the album versions, the most notable difference being On Reflection, where the whole tune is rearranged with a different instrumentation and new sections.
All in all, the CD conveys the good fun and enjoyment which the group brought into their music, and shows that even though they had good reason to be content with their compositions, they continued to improve them for the purpose of live performance.
Together with Playing The Fool and the recently released BBC In Concert, this CD gives an excellent view of the live side of the band that delivered outstanding music whether on album or on stage. © Geir Hasnes

A SHORT HISTORY OF GENTLE GIANT

The three Shulman brothers had previously formed Simon Dupree And The Big Sound with three others in 1966. They cut 9 singles 1966-69 (and one as The Moles in 1968) and one album in 1967, all for Parlophone. The act played r’n’b and soul and ventured into psychedelia and pop.
After disbanding late 1969, the three brothers formed Gentle Giant Feb 1970, bringing drummer Martin Smith, who had joined Simon Dupree early 1969, with them. Kerry Minnear, who had graduated from the Academy of Music in 1969 with a degree in composition, joined them on keyboards and vocals, and guitarist Gary Green was brought in to complete the lineup in March.
The group were then signed to progressive label Vertigo. Their first album displayed their thorough arrangements, utilizing counterpoint and polyphony like no other groups within rock had ever done and would ever do until this day. Their multipart singing and use of classical instruments were in line with the current scene, only that they brought these aspects much farther.
The group toured extensively mostly in the UK and built a cult following. Their next album, Acquiring the Taste (1971), expanded their frontiers further, dipping into jazz, folk and complicated harmonies and chord progressions, but the satiric cover art and their vow inside to run the risk of being unpopular with their musical experimentation failed its target and gave them a somewhat pretentious image, which they never managed to get rid of. Nevertheless, the album impressed Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, who asked the group to support them on their European tour in early 1972.
Drummer Martin Smith then left to lead a quieter life as drummer in various outfits on the south coast. Young and aspiring Malcolm Mortimore replaced him and the next album, Three Friends, was recorded. This was the group’s first concept album with a rockier edge and longer compositions. As they were to embark on the promotional tour in the Spring of 1972, Mortimore had a motorcycle accident and John Weathers was brought in, to replace him pernamently. After recovering, Mortimore continued to play and record professionally, and still does
Weathers brought a solid foundation to the group’s complexity and they achieved enormous popularity particularly in Germany and Italy. They hastened back to record Octopus, their last album for Vertigo, with the famous Roger Dean cover, for many their ultimate achivement, displaying a versatility and blending the various styles into an ultra-progressive album. They then embarked on their first US tour with Black Sabbath, to promote Three Friends that had been released by Columbia with heavy promotion, but the two acts didn’t fit together. They were saved by Ian Anderson who asked them to support Tull on their US tour and the group finally broke through in the USA, though not on a large scale.
The group then went home to support Groundhogs and promote Octopus which was released late 1972. Sadly, in the USA the record company chose not to use the Dean cover, didn’t release the record until the following year, and then Phil Shulman handed in his resignation. He was 10 years older than the rest of the band and although the band’s musical leader, he chose his family above the music business and quit music altogether.
Black Sabbath had formed their own company World Wide Artists (WWA) to re-release their whole catalogue, and Gentle Giant now moved to WWA with a view to doing the same. Their fifth album, In a Glass House from 1973, was and is still awesome and among GG fans regarded as their best album, although the loss of Phil would come to mean toning down the gentler side and the use of the accoustic instruments. In the USA the record company refused to release the album on the ground that it was too eclectic and undigestible, but it then sold 250 000 on import. The group now headlined some of their tours and was particularly well received on the West Coast and in Canada.
The extensive touring continued and the next album, The Power and the Glory, brought their complex rhythmic and atonal experimentation to new heights. This album was released in the USA by Capitol and sold well, but the group was being ripped off by WWA in the UK, who folded shortly thereafter.
In 1975 Gentle Giant headlined most of their concerts and released Free Hand on Chrysalis which made it to top 30 in the UK and the top 50 in the USA, making it their best selling album ever. The album probably represents the height of their sophisticated techniques, the atonality had been toned down and the tremendous interplay was taken to its extreme.
To cash in on the success they rushed the recording of the next album and the end result, Interview, which was released in 1976, failed to some extent although charting in various European countries. It was based upon silly questions made by music journalists, but this backfired as it was too introspective and not as developed as previous albums. Some of the accoustic instruments had been excluded as the group opted for more of a rock image, but the cover art failed to reflect this. The group thus gave up on England after touring in the Summer.
A double live album, Playing the Fool, recorded at their European tour in the Autumn was released in 1977 and showed the group’s rearrangements of studio material for live purposes. It was stunning to know that the band members actually performed their incredibly complex tunes on stage. The album probably represents the group at their peak of popularity, and subsequently they made a decision to play their new material live before recording it.
At this time, many progressive acts had given up or given in to a more commercial style, and the Shulman brothers chose midway in making their next album to go for a simpler, more AOR oriented approach, to follow the musical trend. The Missing Piece, released at the end of 1977, contained their last progressive excursions and their first singles material, which, of course, failed to make the expected impression on the young.
Meanwhile, other progressive rock acts either gave up or gave in and the same happened to Gentle Giant. They quit touring for a while and recorded Giant for a Day, which contained short songs to cash in on the new wave and bring the group new fans while the cover art was deliberately made un-progressive to show the new direction. The record which was released in 1978 and its ill-conceived cover sadly show their lack of understanding basic rock’n’roll and appalled their fans while attracting noone else.
In 1979 the group made a final attempt to obtain commercial success with the hard-rock stadium oriented Civilian. It was released in 1980 accompanied by a US tour, but the approach failed once again and the group disbanded at the end of the tour.
Derek Shulman became A&R man for Atco and has been in the business on the executive side since. Ray Shulman and Gary Green made another attempt together under the band name Shout, but their only single released in 1982 bombed without a trace. Ray Shulman then made television and advertising music, in 1987 started producing and in 1994 started making computer games music. Gary Green only plays for a hobby, after having recorded with Eddie Jobson in 1983. Kerry Minnear played for a church until 1988 when he started composing TV series music and teaching music. John Weathers played with Welsh rockers Man until 1997 when he quit in order to play and record as a freelancer. Many attempts to bring the band together again have not brought fruit, apart from having resulted in re-releases of the whole catalogue on CD and thorough release of previously unreleased material.
The upsurge of interest in progressive rock music in the 90s has seen a renewed interest in the group and they arguably were surpassed by none in utilizing classical composition techniques within a rock framework. Their instrumental skill has made them a favourite musicians’ band and they have influenced a huge number of bands within the progressive rock context in the 90s. © Geir Hasnes, August 2001

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen: - Live, BBC Television Theatre, London, 1968 - Yellow Cat

This is classic Leonard Cohen, recorded live at the BBC Television Theatre (aka Paris Theatre), London, in the Summer of 1968 for TV broadcast. Cohen here is mostly playing songs from his essential and wonderful 1967 debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. This set was originally broadcast in August 1968, shown in two parts on television, but only the audio still exists. The recording is of good quality, and (almost) nothing beats Cohen as a song-writer. This is a must have for all Cohen fans. The introductions, as always with Leonard Cohen live shows, are great, and most of the recordings are at least as good as the original album versions.

TRACKS

1.You Know Who I Am
2.Bird On The Wire
3.The Stranger Song
4.So Long Marianne
5.The Master Song
6.There's No Reason Why You Should Remember Me
7.Sisters Of Mercys
8.Teachers
9.Dress Rehearsal Rag
10.Suzanne
11.Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
12.Story Of Isaac
13.Of Us Cannot Be Wrong [ Not listed on CD cover ]

Rare Earth

Rare Earth - Ma - 1973 - Rare Earth

Rare Earth's most satisfying LP, Norman Whitfield wrote and produced all five songs. "Ma," the title track, had been done by Temptations and Undisputed Truth but nobody rocked the sucker like Rare Earth; they jam for 17:17 on the funkiest mama song ever. "Hum Along and Dance," first appeared on the Temptations' Psychedelic Shack; Rare Earth gives the groover and update, a rolling organ sets it off. Lead, Gil Bridges brags about his musical ability on the loud, horn dominated stomper "Big John In My Name."A haunting arrangement of "Smiling Faces Sometimes" will make you shiver. And you don't get much more sensual than the soft and lush "Come With Me," where a female simulates an orgasm that puts Donna Summers' exhibition on "Love to Love You Baby" to shame; it's the only new song on the LP, but who's quibbling, MA is da bomb! © Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
Check out their 1969 " Get Ready" album.

TRACKS

1. Ma
2. Big John Is My Name
3. Smiling Faces Sometimes
4. Hum Along And Dance
5. Come With Me

BAND

Mark Olson - vocals, keyboards
Michael Urso - vocals, bass guitar
Peter Hoorelbeke - vocals, drums
Ray Monette - guitar
Eddie Guzman - congas, timbales

BIO (Wikipedia)

The group formed in 1961 as The Sunliners, and changed their name to "Rare Earth" in 1967. After recording an unsuccessful debut album "Dream/Answers" on the Verve label in 1968, they were signed to Motown in 1969. The band was the first act signed to a new Motown imprint that would be dedicated to white rock acts. The record company didn't have a name for the new label yet, and the band jokingly suggested Motown call the label "Rare Earth." To the band's surprise, Motown decided to do just that.
The main personnel in the group included Gil Bridges (saxophone and vocals ), Pete Rivera a.k.a. Peter Hoorelbeke (lead vocals and drums), John Parrish a.k.a. John Persh (bass guitar, trombone and vocals), Rod Richards (born Rod Cox, guitar), Ray Monette ( guitar ), Edward "Eddie" Guzman (congas and assorted percussive instruments) and Kenny James (born Ken Folcik, keyboards). The personnel lineup changed considerably over the years, with three members of the group dying during the 1980s and 1990s, and the only original member currently left in the group is Bridges.
Rare Earth had a number of Top Ten hits in the 1970-1971 period, including covers of The Temptations' "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (which was used in the documentary video It's Time) and "Get Ready". The cover of "Get Ready" was their biggest hit, peaking at #4 on the US pop charts, a better performance than the original. Other songs include "I Just Want to Celebrate" and "Hey, Big Brother" They did not chart significantly after 1971, although they continued to record into the 1980s. Their 1973 album Ma, written and produced by Norman Whitfield, is considered their best overall work, and features their version of "Hum Along and Dance".
The group gained a bit of notoriety when it was mentioned dismissively in the lyrics to Gil Scott-Heron's landmark 1970 poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," which included the line, "The theme song [to the revolution] will not be written by Jim Webb, Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Engelbert Humperdinck, or the Rare Earth."
Rare Earth, which continues to perform at corporate events and on the oldies circuit, appears to have had the last word, however; bits from their recordings have been used as samples on recordings as diverse as Beck's "Derelict", UNKLE and DJ Shadow's "GDMFSOB (feat. Roots Manuva - U.N.K.L.E. uncensored version)", Black Sheep's "Try Counting Sheep", Peanut Butter Wolf's "Tale of Five Cities", Scarface's "Faith", NWA's "Real Niggaz Don't Die" and Eric B. and Rakim's "What's Going On". Their hit "I Just Want to Celebrate" was also used in a major national advertising campaign by Ford Motor Company and in the final episode of TV show Six Feet Under.

Split Enz

Split Enz - The Best of Split Enz - 1994 - Chrysalis

New Zealand's Split Enz began their recording career in pleasantly uncommercial fashion, writing gently eccentric tunes that echoed the softer side of Foxtrot-era Genesis. Sometimes, overtly weird and flamboyant, with many tunes resembling little, distorted symphonies, the effects don't always work, simply because flakiness carried past a certain point can't be taken seriously on any level. Bizarre carnival costumes and distorted upsweep hairdos served as colorful attention-grabbers. Tim Finn's wistful voice adds a sweet patina to some of the bands disoriented and lyrically offbeat outings. This album is not truly representative of the groups best work, but it is still a very good album from a very talented group. Check out their great 1980 " True Colours " album.

TRACKS

1. Titus - Split Enz
2. Late Last Night - Split Enz
3. Matinee Idyll (129) - Split Enz
4. Lovey Dovey - Split Enz
5. Time for a Change - Split Enz
6. Crosswords - Split Enz
7. Charley - Split Enz
8. Another Great Divide - Split Enz
9. Bold as Brass - Split Enz
10. My Mistake - Split Enz
11. I See Red - Split Enz
12. I Got You - Split Enz
13. One Step Ahead - Split Enz
14. History Never Repeats - Split Enz
15. Six Months in a Leaky Boat - Split Enz
16. Message to My Girl - Split Enz

CREDITS

Tim Finn - Guitar
Tim Finn - Piano
Tim Finn - Vocals
Phil Manzanera - Producer
Split Enz - Producer
Split Enz - Main Performer
Phil Judd - Guitar
Phil Judd - Vocals
Jonathan Michael Chunn - Bass
Noel Crombie - Percussion
Noel Crombie - Drums
Noel Crombie - Vocals (Background)
Paul Emlyn Crowther - Drums
Rhett Davies - Engineer
Mallory Earl - Producer
Mallory Earl - Engineer
Geoff Emerick - Producer
Neil Finn - Guitar
Neil Finn - Vocals
Robert Gillies - Trumpet
Robert Gillies - Horn
Robert Gillies - Saxophone
Mal Green - Drums
Mal Green - Vocals (Background)
Nigel Griggs - Bass
Nigel Griggs - Vocals (Background)
Hugh Padgham - Producer
Hugh Padgham - Engineer
Eddie Rayner - Percussion
Eddie Rayner - Piano
Eddie Rayner - Keyboards
Eddie Rayner - Vocals (Background)
David Tickle - Producer
David Tickle - Engineer
Ernie Rose - Producer

BIO (Wikipedia)

Split Enz was a successful New Zealand band during the late 1970s and the early 1980s featuring brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved success with the music charts in New Zealand, Australia and Canada during the early 1980s and built a cult following elsewhere. Their musical style was eclectic and original, incorporating influences from art rock, vaudeville, swing, punk, rock, New Wave and pop.
The group formed in 1971 at the University of Auckland with the original lineup of Tim Finn,Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, Phil Judd and Noel Crombie. From 1972 the band became a full-time occupation for the friends, and they called the band Split Ends. The spelling was later changed to Split Enz shortly before their first trip to Australia, to signify their New Zealand roots (as "NZ" is a common abbreviation for New Zealand). The group was widely known for their unique visual presentation. Their costumes and hair were wild, colourful and inventive. The costumes were designed by Noel Crombie, who also designed most of the group's other visual material, such as stage sets, posters, stickers and album covers, as well as directing many of the band's music videos.
The group's career falls into two distinct phases. The first was firmly rooted in the progressive rock scene of the early 1970s. The group's sound progressed over the first era from progressive rock to punk rock at times. In 1977, with the departure of Judd and the enlisting of Neil Finn, the group's sound began to change from a progressive rock sound to new wave with folk roots. The 1980s proved the group's most commercially successful period, with a string of popular albums in the bourgeoning New Wave style, the group further established a legacy that is still recognised as a distinct musical style after over twenty years from their departure. Since their departure, the group has reunited as Split Enz several times, though its members have gone on to create other successful musical groups with one another
since the breakup in 1984, such as Crowded House, Schnell Fenster, Citizen Band and the Finn Brothers.

Bill Perry

Bill Perry - Fire It Up - 2001 - Blind Pig Records

Following his acclaimed earlier recordings for Pointblank, the Blind Pig debut release from blues-rocker Bill Perry chronicles the rise of a major force on the blues scene. Fire It Up was produced by Jimmy Vivino and showcases Bill's stunning guitar virtuosity and the raw power of his voice. Check out his albums, Raw Deal , and Crazy Kind Of Life.

TRACKS

1. Itchin' For It
2. Clean Thing
3. Fire It Up
4. Pressure
5. I Can't See The Light Of Day
6. Born In New York
7. Thinkin' Of You
8. G & L Jump
9. I Ain't Lyin'
10. Heaven In A Pontiac
11. Cheatin' Blues

BAND

Frank Pagano - percussion
Johnny B. Gayden
Bill Perry - vocals, guitar
Rob Curtis - drums
Jimmy Vivino - guitar, mandolin, organ, background vocals
David Bennett Cohen - piano

REVIEW

Like Blind Pig labelmate Jimmy Thackery, New Yorker Bill Perry churns out a rugged blend of electric blues-rock and the occasional ballad, infused with authority, class, and dogged dedication to his craft. While he's not breaking any stylistic barriers, Perry and his band -- led by the Conan O'Brien Show's music director Jimmy Vivino (who also co-produced) -- grind out a satisfying set of rough originals with a few obscure covers. As an adequate representation of his style, neither the songs nor Perry's gruffly serviceable vocals on his third studio album will shoot him into the blues-rock stratosphere. But Fire It Up is the souvenir you'll take home after experiencing his notoriously electrifying live act. This band, featuring legendary Johnny Winter/Son Seals/Albert Collins bassist Johnny B. Gayden, is a no-frills outfit that leaves plenty of room for Perry's muscular yet remarkably compact leads. The album's John Lee Hooker-styled opening boogie, "Itchin' for It," and the swampy following tune, "Clean Thing," are indicative of Perry's workmanlike approach. The album's closing solo acoustic slide on "Cheatin' Blues" shows he's been inspired by Johnny Winter's "Dallas," and is a vital indication of his talents. Perry displays his Freddie King side on the hyperactive double-time instrumental "G & L Jump." While Fire It Up likely won't end up as a blues-rock fan's most treasured possession, it's a sturdy, tough, unfussy work that offers proof of Bill Perry's guitar abilities without resorting to extraneous flourishes or frivolous grandstanding. © Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide

BIO

Although guitarist, songwriter, and singer Bill Perry may seem like a newcomer to the blues scene to some, he's actually put in a long apprenticeship with folk-rock singer Richie Havens. Perry was Havens' main guitarist for shows where he performed with a band through the 1980s. Signed in 1995 to an unprecedented five-album deal with the Pointblank/Virgin label, Perry's a sharp songwriter, an adequate singer, and a fiery guitar player. Perry's style could best be characterized as hard-driving blues for the 1990s. Perry's song "Fade to Blue" is covered by Havens on his album Cuts to the Chase.

Perry was born in the upstate town of Chester, NY, and grew up in a music-filled household. His grandmother played organ in the church, but a young Perry was attracted to his father's Jimmy Smith albums, which featured guitarist Kenny Burrell. Perry began playing guitar at age six and played in his first talent show at 13. By high school, he led bands as vocalist and lead guitarist before graduation. After graduating, he lived in California and Colorado, all the while honing his distinctive guitar playing. He moved back to upstate New York and accompanied Havens on most of his shows with a band through the 1980s. Perry toured with the Band's Garth Hudson and Levon Helm at the same time he was working with Havens, and all that traveling spurred him on to form his own band, and he did in the early '90s.

He released his first album for Pointblank, Love Scars, in 1996. He followed it up with the more polished Greycourtlightning in 1998. Neither album did much box office and Perry was let go by Pointblank. His next release was 1999's live album High Octane, recorded at New York nightclub Manny's Car Wash. Perry then hooked up with indie blues label Blind Pig and issued Fire It Up in 2001. The album featured Conan O'Brien's bandleader, Jimmy Vivino, and offers proof of Perry's still vital talent. Crazy Kind of Life was released by Blind Pig Records in 2002, followed by Raw Deal (produced by Popa Chubby) in 2004. A second Popa Chubby-produced album, Don't Know Nothing About Love, also on Blind Pig, showed up in 2006. © Richard Skelly © 2007 All Media Guide, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Sade

Sade - The Remix Deluxe ( CD, Maxi-Single ) - 1992 - Epic Records (Japan)

Really good remixes, especially "Stronger Than Pride," by Sly and Robbie. If you enjoy reggae, it's worth buying the CD for that one track.

TRACKS

1.Feel No Pain (Nellee Hooper Remix) (5:10)
Remix - Nellee Hooper
2.Love Is Stronger Than Pride (Mad Professor Remix) (4:26)
Backing Vocals - Carroll Thompson
Remix - Mad Professor
Remix, Backing Vocals - Black Steel
3.Make Some Room (4:59)
4.Paradise (Ronin Remix) (5:42)
Remix - Ronin Inc.
5.Super Bien Total (6:51)

CREDITS:

Producer, Engineer -
Ben Rogan (tracks: 2, 4, 5) ,
Mike Pela (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5)

Heather Bennett

Heather Bennett - Suite Talk - 2002 - Apria.

"Suite Talk not only displays pianist Heather Bennett's artistry as an improvisor. Even more than that, a dozen original pieces (including two jazz suites) reveal Heather's formidable talent as a composer. This is one young musician to watch ...Don't miss her!" © Bob Bernotas host of "Just Jazz" WDVR-FM New York

TRACKS

1. Cadillac Roundup
2. Silent Witness
3. Cact
i4. Giddy Down
5. 'Nite Awl
6. Falling
7. Rattlesnake Dance
8. Mustangs
9. Sweets
10. Deep Fried Tumbleweed
11. Blue Bonnett
12. Taps for A.D.

PERSONNEL

Heather Bennett, piano;
Rufus Reid, bass;
Billy Hart, drums
Billy Mobley, trumpet & flugelhorn;
Rick Margitza, tenor & soprano saxes

REVIEWS

"One of the most promising bop-and-beyond players of the younger generation." - Will Friedwald The Village Voice New York

"...She has "the gift" as an improvisor and performer." - Richie Beirach

"Suite Talk not only displays pianist Heather Bennett's artistry as an improvisor. Even more than that, a dozen original pieces (including two jazz suites) reveal Heather's formidable talent as a composer. This is one young musician to watch ...Don't miss her!" - Bob Bernotas host of "Just Jazz" WDVR-FM New York

"Jazz piano is Heather Bennett and Heather Bennett is Jazz piano." - Robert Giles JazzReview.com

"Heather Bennett continues her rise to prominence as an accomplished jazz pianist." - All About Jazz

"She is a pianist first and foremost and that subtle distinction sets her apart from most of her peers." - Michael Point Austin Statesman

BIO

Ms. Bennett, born in Buffalo, NY, raised in Needham, MA and Dallas, TX, comes from a rich musical background (her mother is an accomplished classical pianist). Heather began formally studying the piano at the age of seven. She continued her musical studies at Richland College in Dallas, then the University of North Texas and followed her mentor Bert Ligon, to the University of South Carolina where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a major in jazz performance. As a fixture on the Austin, TX, scene during the mid-90s, Ms. Bennett released two self-produced CDs: the first, “New Light” (1996), consists entirely of her own compositions. Her second CD, “Throwing Sparks” (1997), features an all woman trio of Texas personnel. In 1997, Ms. Bennett moved to New York City to become part of a large community of prominent jazz musicians. She also continued her studies privately with Richie Beirach and later Sal Mosca. In 1998, she organized an all female quintet of New Yorkers with Houston bassist Erin Wright which debuted at the Sumarts Jazz Festival in Houston, recorded, then toured all over Texas. Her premiere New York release is All Through The Night (2000), with drummer Billy Hart, bassist Dennis Irwin, and alto saxophonist Dave Pietro. Interspersed between Bennett’s originals are a combination of tunes from Cyndi Lauper’s “All Through the Night” to the American classic “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.” Heather has performed with her own groups at jazz clubs in New York City and surrounding areas (Ryles in Boston, Cleopatra’s Needle, Up Over Jazz Café, Smith’s, Detour, Metropolitan Café, Pumpkins, etc. in New York, Ortliebs in Philadelphia and more). Ms. Bennett recently performed solo piano concerts in Germany for the Off New York festival: the tour was kicked off at New York’s Imagine Festival, 2004. In addition to these appearances, Ms. Bennett, with Billy Hart and Dennis Irwin, was featured for the Melon Jazz Festival in Philadelphia, and she has done numerous Texas tours featuring her music mainly in the cities of Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. Ms. Bennett is currently performing with Bill Mobley’s Space Time Big Band, Elephunk (a nine piece jazz/funk band), Mujeres Latinas (an all female Salsa band) singing and playing jazz standards with her trio, playing Gospel music in church and freelancing with several jazz, R&B, and pop projects. She also teaches piano, vocals and jazz improvisation in New York City schools through 144 Music and Arts. She has performed and/or recorded with Billy Hart, Rufus Reid, Dennis Irwin, Will Lee, Dave Pietro, Roseanna Vitro, Randy Brecker, Ingrid Jensen, Greg Tardy, Ed Schuller, Rick Margitza, Joe Cohn, Danny Walsh, Daniel Carter, Pamela Hart, Ratzo Harris, Jaz Sawyer, George Schuller, Ari Hoenig. Mike Pope, Bill Mobley, Pete McCann, and Donny McCaslin among others. Last year she had the opportunity to play and sing for Liza Minelli. In 2004 she opened with Mujeres Latinas for Ray Barretto. For more information on this artist, please visit www.apriarecords.com. © 2007 All About Jazz

Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot - Mama's Big Ones, Mama Cass, Her Greatest Hits Plus Some New Ones - 1970 - Dunhill

What a beautiful voice! Best-known as one of the singers of the renowned '60s psychedelic pop outfit the Mamas & the Papas, their impact on the rock music world was great, resulting in such classic hit singles as "California Dreamin'," "Monday Monday," and "I Saw Her Again," among others. A great compilation from this gifted lady.

TRACKS

Side 1

It's Getting Better
Dream a Little Dream of Me (with The Mamas & The Papas)
Make Your Own Kind of Music
Words of Love (with The Mamas & The Papas)
New World Coming
Move in a Little Closer, Baby

Side 2

One Way Ticket
Good Times Are Coming (from the Motion Picture "Monte Wals")
Easy Come, Easy Go
Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By
Ain't Nobody Else Like You
Song That Never Comes

Produced by Steve Barri

BIO (Wikipedia)

Cass Elliot (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), born Ellen Naomi Cohen, was a noted American singer, best remembered as Mama Cass of the pop quartet The Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she had a successful solo career, releasing nine albums. Elliot was found dead in her hotel room in London from an apparent heart attack after two sold-out performances at the Palladium.

War

War - The World Is A Ghetto - 1972 - Avenue Records

A classic seventies album. "War" at their best! This is the album that made WAR a crossover success, mainly due to title track. Songs like "Cisco Kid", "The World Is A Ghetto" became landmarks of that era. The other four tracks are simply hard to find in any other album of that kind. Take a trip back to '72 and discover (or re-discover) this astonishing album..

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. The Cisco Kid - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Thomas Allen, Harold Brown, Howard Scott, Charles Miller, Morris Dickerson
2. Where Was You At - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott, Charles Miller, Sylvester Allen
3. City, Country, City - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Thomas Allen, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott
4. Four Cornered Room - War, Richard Warner
5. The World Is A Ghetto - Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, Papa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Howard Scott, Charles Miller
6. Beetles In The Bog - Richard Warner

CREDITS

War (Main Performer), Lee Oskar (Harmonica), Lee Oskar (Percussion), Lee Oskar (Vocals), Lee Oskar (Concept), Lonnie Jordan (Organ), Lonnie Jordan (Percussion), Lonnie Jordan (Piano), Lonnie Jordan (Timbales), Lonnie Jordan (Vocals), Lonnie Jordan (Producer), Ken Perry (Remastering), Papa Dee Allen (Percussion), Papa Dee Allen (Bongos), Papa Dee Allen (Conga), Papa Dee Allen (Vocals), Harold Brown (Percussion), Harold Brown (Drums), Harold Brown (Vocals), B.B. Dickerson (Bass), B.B. Dickerson (Percussion), B.B. Dickerson (Vocals), Joe Gastwirt (Mastering), Jerry Goldstein (Producer), Chris Huston (Engineer), Bill Inglot (Remastering), Howard Scott (Guitar), Howard Scott (Percussion), Howard Scott (Vocals), Howard Scott (Producer), Charles Miller (Clarinet), Charles Miller (Sax (Alto)), Charles Miller (Sax (Baritone)), Charles Miller (Sax (Tenor)), Charles Miller (Vocals), Abbey Anna (Coordination), Art Slave, Bob Gordon (Photography) #msnlivesearch1{width:300px;height:60px;background-image:url(/main/images/livesearch300.gif);background-position:top left;background-repeat:no-repeat;}

REVIEWS

Essential recording. Best known for its distinctive fusion of Latin-flavored jazz, funk, rock, and soul, War was unquestionably one of the most successful fusion bands to emerge in the early '70s. Initially working with Eric Burdon, former lead singer with the British '60s band the Animals, the seven-member team enjoyed a commercial breakthrough with 1971's "All Day Music." The follow-up, The World Is a Ghetto took War mainstream thanks to the crossover success of the title track, a top 10 pop and R&B smash as 1972 became 1973. Cuts like the 13-minute-plus jazz-flavored adventure known as "City, Country, City" alongside the witty "Where Was You At" and the eerie "Four Cornered Room" were standouts on the six-track album. But it was the immediacy of the No. 2 pop single "The Cisco Kid," with its catchy hook that helped give the band a chart-topping No. 1 gold-selling album in 1973, arguably the best representation of its work as groove pioneers of the day. © David Nathan © 1996-2007, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates
On THE WORLD IS A GHETTO, War's artistic vision moves one step beyond the preceding ALL DAY MUSIC. The band's multicultural musical stew is better blended, the social commentary of its lyrics more pointed, and its grooves are tighter and meaner. As the title indicates, THE WORLD IS A GHETTO is a dark album, but in the best possible sense--deep, thick beats predominate, as on the alternately punchy and dreamy title cut and the hypnotic "Four Cornered Room." The irresistible "The Cisco Kid" marries a slow Latin rhythm to pulsing funk on a song about the 1950s television hero, and the lively combination sent the tune up the charts. The syncopated backbeat to the New Orleans-flavored "Where Was You At" is infectious, while "City, Country, City" is an extended instrumental that allows each band member to stretch out with Latin, R&B, and jazz-inspired improvisations. One of the best-selling albums of '73, this disc is arguably War's finest. © 1996 - 2007 CD Universe
War has progressed far and fast since they disassociated themselves with Eric Burdon, with whom they had committed the all-time War atrocity, "Spill The Wine." Relieved of the necessity of shouldering this Burdon, they've developed a full, luscious sound that's engagingly funky. All Day Music saw the evolvement of this disctinctly urban sound to a point just short of proficiency -- War could talk but hadn't yet mastered the language. With The World Is a Ghetto, they edge even closer to total mastery of their music as they attempt to use it to communicate the essence of ghetto life.
It begins with "The Cisco Kid," a song just teeming with imagery about Cisco and obese buddy Pancho. Sittin' down by the Rio Grande, drinkin' wine and "eatin' salted peanuts from the can" C.K. and Pancho are no more than a fantasy in the minds of the ghetto youth singing their praises, but an important fantasy because it allows them hope, heroes, and a temporary respite from the harsh realities of ghetto existence. "Where Was You At," which follows, is a true delight, a soulful get-down cut from the Isley Brothers mold. Shit, man, just the kinda funk you need to get off on the good foot! These two cuts are truly Watts and Harlem unleashed -- ghetto life at its most brazen.
"City, Country, City" is a tour de force energizer in which everybody gets his musical rocks off. Through a series of solos ahead of varying rhythmic percussion accompaniment, War attempts to convey the hustle and bustle of a ghetto day, sandwiched between the comparitive calm of morning and night. It works well despite one terrible flaw, a total failure to communicate the desperate urgency of the situation. Somehow the boiling rage and pent-up frustration never seem to surface. By totally ignoring the blues heritage so richly ingrained in ghetto life (a major component of Savoy Brown and Santana in similar albums), War ends up conveying the mistaken impression that ghetto-dwellers are content with their lot. Given the fact that even black ghetto youth are similarly ignoring this heritage, the absence of a significant blues component in War's music is understandable, even factually accurate. Nonetheless, it's regrettable.
"Four Cornered Room" is a Temptationesque choral ballad, mildly interesting but hardly worth the eight and a half minutes devoted to it. But the title track is simply the most successful use of the "Groovin'" motif since the Rascals tantalized urban America with the prototype. A study in casual, laid-back musical discipline, it soothes savage passions, lulling them to sleep to be awakened only by the stark, sudden refrain, "the world is a ghetto." Charles Miller's sax solo is magnificent, as definitive a statement of emotion as can be imagined.
While they've yet to reach perfection (as they insist on demonstrating with self-indulgent crap like "Beetles in the Bog"), War has reached the point where they're becoming a significant force in the jazz and soul fields. Add a pinch of da blooze and they could well be artistic knockouts. © Gordon Fletcher, Rolling Stone, 3/1/73.
1972's Billboard's Album Of The Year, the career defining The World Is A Ghetto would place WAR at the top of the charts (reaching #1 on the pop album chart). On the chart for more than 68 weeks, this album sold more than three million copies and was the best-selling pop album of 1973. Beyond the commercial success, however, The World Is A Ghetto remains an influential masterpiece transcending musical, economic and social barriers. Whether it's addressing urban desolation in "The World Is A Ghetto" (#3 R&B), kickin' a funky ode to a '50s Latino television hero with "The Cisco Kid" (#5 R&B, #2 Pop) or breaking into an instrumental jazz-funk jam in "City, County, City", this is WAR at the height of their powers. © Rhino Records

War's third album as an act separate from Eric Burdon was also far and away their most popular, the group's only long-player to top the pop charts. The culmination of everything they'd been shooting for creatively on their two prior albums, it featured work in both succinct pop-accessible idioms ("The Cisco Kid," etc.) as well as challenging extended pieces such as the 13-minute "City, Country, City" -- which offered featured spots to all seven members without ever seeming disjointed -- and the title track, and encompass not only soul and funk but elements of blues and psychedelia on works such as the exquisite "Four Cornered Room." "The Cisco Kid" and "The World Is a Ghetto" understandably dominated the album's exposure, but there's much more to enjoy here, even decades on. Beyond the quality of the musicianship, the classy, forward-looking production has held up remarkably well, and not just on the most famous cuts here; indeed, The World Is a Ghetto is of a piece with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Curtis Mayfield's Curtis, utilizing the most sophisticated studio techniques of the era. Not only does it sound great, but there are important touches such as the phasing in "Four Cornered Room," not only on the percussion but also on the vocals, guitars, and other instruments, and the overall effect is a seemingly contradictory (yet eminently workable) shimmering blues, even working in a mournful and unadorned harmonica amid the more complex sounds. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

BIO

One of the most popular funk groups of the '70s, War were also one of the most eclectic, freely melding soul, Latin, jazz, blues, reggae, and rock influences into an effortlessly funky whole. Although War's lyrics were sometimes political in nature (in keeping with their racially integrated lineup), their music almost always had a sunny, laid-back vibe emblematic of their Southern California roots. War kept the groove loose, and they were given over to extended jamming -- in fact, many of their studio songs were edited together out of longer improvisations. Even if the jams sometimes got indulgent, they demonstrated War's truly group-minded approach: no one soloist or vocalist really stood above the others (even though all were clearly talented), and their grooving interplay placed War in the top echelon of funk ensembles.

The roots of War lay in an R&B cover band called the Creators. Guitarist Howard Scott and drummer Harold Brown started the group in 1962 while attending high school in the Compton area, and three years later, the lineup also featured keyboardist Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan, bassist Morris "B.B." Dickerson, and saxophonist/flutist Charles Miller (all of them sang). The group had an appetite for different sounds right from the start, ranging from R&B to blues to the Latin music they'd absorbed while growing up in the racially mixed ghettos of Los Angeles. Despite a two-year hiatus following Scott's induction into the service, they released several singles locally on Dore Records (their first, "Burn Baby Burn," was with singer Johnny Hamilton), and backed jazz saxophonist Jay Contreli, formerly of the psychedelic band Love; they also went by the names the Romeos and Señor Soul during this period. In 1968, the band was reconfigured and dubbed Nightshift; Peter Rosen was the new bassist, and percussionist Thomas Sylvester "Papa Dee" Allen, who'd previously played with Dizzy Gillespie, came onboard, along with two more horn players. B.B. Dickerson later returned when Rosen died of a drug overdose. In 1969, Nightshift began backing football star Deacon Jones (a defensive end for the L.A. Rams) during his singing performances in a small club, where they were discovered by producer Jerry Goldstein. Goldstein suggested the band as possible collaborators to former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon, who along with Danish-born harmonica player Lee Oskar (born Oskar Levetin Hansen) had been searching L.A. clubs for a new act.

After witnessing Nightshift in concert, Burdon took charge of the group. He gave them a provocative new name, War, and replaced the two extra horn players with Oskar. To develop material, War began playing marathon concert jams over which Burdon would free-associate lyrics. In August 1969, Burdon and War entered the studio for the first time, and after some more touring, they recorded their first album, 1970's Eric Burdon Declares War. The spaced-out daydream of "Spill the Wine" was a smash hit, climbing to number three and establishing the group in the public eye. A second album, The Black Man's Burdon, was released before the year's end, and over the course of two records it documented the group's increasingly long improvisations (as well as Burdon's growing tendency to ramble). It also featured War's first recorded vocal effort on "They Can't Take Away Our Music." Burdon's contract allowed War to be signed separately, and they soon inked a deal with United Artists, intending to record on their own as well as maintaining their partnership with Burdon. However, Burdon -- citing exhaustion -- suddenly quit during the middle of the group's European tour in 1971, spelling the beginning of the end; he rejoined War for a final U.S. tour and then left for good.

War had already issued their self-titled, Burdon-less debut at the beginning of 1971, but it flopped. Before the year was out, they recorded another effort, All Day Music, which spawned their first Top 40 hits in "All Day Music" and "Slippin' Into Darkness"; the album itself was a million-selling Top 20 hit. War really hit their stride on the follow-up album, 1972's The World Is a Ghetto; boosted by a sense of multicultural harmony, it topped the charts and sold over three million copies, making it the best-selling album of 1973. It also produced two Top Ten smashes in "The Cisco Kid" (which earned them a fervent following in the Latino community) and the title ballad. 1973's Deliver the Word was another million-selling hit, reaching the Top Ten and producing the Top Ten single "Gypsy Man" and another hit in "Me and Baby Brother." However, it had less of the urban grit that War prided themselves on; while taking some time to craft new material and rethink their direction, War consolidated their success with the double concert LP War Live, recorded over four nights in Chicago during 1974.

Released in 1975, Why Can't We Be Friends returned to the sound of The World Is a Ghetto with considerable success. The bright, anthemic title track hit the Top Ten, as did "Low Rider," an irresistible slice of Latin funk that became the group's first (and only) R&B chart-topper, and still stands as their best-known tune. 1976 brought the release of a greatest-hits package featuring the new song "Summer," which actually turned out to be War's final Top Ten pop hit; the same year, Oskar released his first solo album, backed by members of Santana. A double-LP compilation of jams and instrumentals appeared on the Blue Note jazz label in 1977, under the title Platinum Jazz; it quickly became one of the best-selling albums in Blue Note history, and produced an R&B-chart smash with an edited version of "L.A. Sunshine."

Yet disco was beginning to threaten the gritty, socially aware funk War specialized in. Later in 1977, the band switched labels, moving to MCA for Galaxy; though it sold respectably, and the disco-tinged title track was a hit on the R&B charts, it fizzled on the pop side, and proved to be the last time War would hit the Top 40. After completing the Youngblood soundtrack album in 1978, the original War lineup began to disintegrate. Dickerson left during the recording of 1979's The Music Band (which featured new female vocalist Alice Tweed Smith), and not long after, Charles Miller was murdered in a robbery attempt. After The Music Band was released, the remaining members attempted to refashion their image to fit the glitz of the era, and added some new personnel: bassist Luther Rabb, percussionist Ronnie Hammon, and saxophonist Pat Rizzo (ex-Sly & the Family Stone). The Music Band 2 flopped, and the group was thrown into disarray; Smith exited, and the follow-up took an uncharacteristic three years to prepare. Released in 1982, Outlaw was a moderate success; the title track was a Top 20 R&B hit, and "Cinco de Mayo" became a Latino holiday standard. Yet it didn't restore War's commercial standing. Rizzo left later in the year; Harold Brown followed in 1983, after Life Is So Strange flopped; and Rabb was replaced with Ricky Green in 1984. In the years that followed, War was essentially a touring outfit and nothing more. Papa Dee Allen collapsed and died on-stage of a brain aneurysm in 1988, leaving Jordan, Hammon, Oskar, and Scott as the core membership (Oskar would finally leave in 1992). Interest in War's classic material remained steady, however, thanks to frequent sampling of their grooves by hip-hop artists. 1992's Rap Declares War paired the band with a variety of rappers, paving the way for the 1994 comeback attempt Peace Sign; for that record, Brown returned on drums, and Jordan (now on bass), Scott, and Hammon were joined by saxophonists Kerry Campbell and Charles Green, percussionist Sal Rodriguez, harmonica player Tetsuya "Tex" Nakamura, and Brown's son, programmer Rae Valentine (plus guests Lee Oskar and José Feliciano). The album failed to chart, however, and the group returned to the touring circuit. Brown and Scott left the lineup in 1997. © Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Eye to Eye

Eye to Eye - Shakespeare Stole My Baby - 1983 - Wea International

A beautifully played, catchy set of tunes from two great forgotten songwriters, Julian Marshall and Deborah Berg. Their light techno-pop was sublimely executed with the aid of some studio heavies and legends, including Larry Carlton, and Steve Lukather. The album also features Donald Fagen playing keyboards on " Jabberwocky. " Produced by the legendary Gary Katz, you can hear the strong Steely Dan influence. A forgotten gem, and well worth listening to for the brilliant intelligent song structures, and of course, the superb musicianship.

TRACKS

1 Shakespeare stole my baby (Berg/Marshall)
2 Tonight insomnia (Berg/Marshall)
3 Falling for a funny one (Berg/Marshall)
4 Jabberwokky (Berg/Marshall)
5 Lucky (Berg/Marshall)
6 T.W.A. Sari (Berg/Marshall)
7 Something good (Berg/Marshall)
8 Mermaid man (Berg/Marshall)
9 Are you listening? (Berg/Marshall)

Just a note here for audiophiles. This 128 bit recording is from a Japanese import, and at times the stereo mix seems to be channelled incorrectly. It's not a big deal and shouldn't put you off this great album

CREDITS

Donald Fagen (Keyboards), Larry Carlton (Guitar), Eye to Eye (Main Performer), Domenic Troiano (Guitar), Jimmy Haslip (Bass), Deborah Berg (Vocals), Deborah Berg (Vocals (Background)), Cliff Carter (Synthesizer), Martin Ditcham (Percussion), Martin Ditcham (Handclapping), Chuck Findley (Trumpet), Chuck Findley (Flugelhorn), Jerry Hey (Trumpet), Jerry Hey (Flugelhorn), Jerry Hey (Horn Arrangements), Andy Hoffman (Assistant Engineer), Kim Hutchcroft (Flute), Kim Hutchcroft (Saxophone), Gary Katz (Producer), Daniel Lazerus (Vocals), Daniel Lazerus (Vocals (Background)), Daniel Lazerus (Engineer), Daniel Lazerus (Mixing), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Steve Lukather (Guitar), Julian Marshall (Keyboards), Julian Marshall (Handclapping), Zachary Sanders (Vocals), Larry Williams (Saxophone), Art Wood (Drums), Wayne Yurgelun (Assistant Engineer), Mike Morongell (Assistant Engineer), Clifford Carter (Programming), Clifford Carter (Effects), Jeri McManus (Design), Deborah Feingold (Photography), Frank Floyd (Vocals), Ben Marshall (Handclapping), Robin Lane (Assistant Engineer)

BIO

The duo Eye To Eye formed in 1979 after keyboardist Julian Marshall (formerly of Marshall-Hain) heard dancer/singer Deborah Berg sing at an improvisational dance performance in San Diego. Weeks later, Berg flew to London, where she and Marshall began writing together at his home. They quickly garnered a record deal with Automatic Records in the U.K., releasing the single "Am I Normal." In 1982, Eye To Eye released their self-titled debut album on Warner Bros. Records. Their debut, featuring the Top 40 hit "Nice Girl" and the follow-up release Shakespeare Stole My Baby, was produced by Gary Katz, known primarily for producing Steely Dan's albums. Like Steely Dan, Eye To Eye performed catchy and intelligent pop music with stellar musicianship and taut production. Unfortunately, lack of record company support did the duo in, after their second release. Adding to the misfortune, the record label never bothered to release Eye To Eye's two excellent albums on compact disc in the United States. © Tim Griggs, All Music Guide

Curved Air

Curved Air - Air Cut - 1973 - Warner Bros

Perhaps the most under-rated album of all the seventies. Starring Eddie Jobson, late of the almost forgotten fat Grapple, Eddie was one of those very rare things, a musical genius. Barely 18, he was the most mind blowing keyboard player imaginable and as for his violin work, well. No wonder the musically inept Roxy Music snapped him up (and then Jethro, Zappa and so on). Another boy genius, Kirby (Gregory), now working in rehabilitation, was a guitarist's guitarist. Jim Russell (of Armada) was another fabulous musician, and with the glue of old timers Mike Wedgwood and Sonja to hold it all together, they pulled off a real cracker. High point is, of course, 'Metamorphosis', written by Eddie, with just amazing playing from all. Mike's Fender Precision Fretless bass really drives, and the heavy bit is just Mike, Eddie and Jim, recorded in one take with no overdubbing. Just listen to Mike and Sonja alternating leads on 'Easy', and hear Kirby's solos in that and in 2-3-2. Armin is a really cool instrumental, and the great thing is that they could do it live so well. Not only that, but they did the old Curved Air stuff better than the old Curved Air. Perhaps it didn't have quite the loose artistry of the old CA, but, by God, it rocked! This is such a good album by a bunch of kids, really: old timer Mike was just 23 and Sonja just a year or two older. The average age was 21 and they managed this, compared to the facile drivel of "new" bands. Sadly undervalued, this album is due for a massive reappraisal. © contributor to http://starling.rinet.ru/music/curvedc.htm

Tracks / Composers

Side 1:

1. The Purple Speed Queen (1:32) - (Sonja Kristina/Kirby Gregory)
2. Elfin Boy (4:13) - (Sonja Kristina)
3. Metamorphosis (10:38) - (Sonja Kristina/Eddie Jobson)
4. World (3:43) - (Michael Wedgwood)

Side 2:

5. Armin (3:42) - (Michael Wedgwood, Kirby Gregory, Eddie Jobson, Jim Russell)
6. U.H.F. (5:07) - (Kirby Gregory)
7. Two-Three-Two (4:10) - (Michael Wedgwood)
8. Easy (6:40) - (Sonja Kristina)






Sonja Kristina

Line-up/Musicians

- Kirby Gregory / guitars, vocals
- Eddie Jobson / keyboards, violin, vocals
- Sonja Kristina / vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jim Russell / drums, percussion
- Mike Wedgwood / bass, acoustic guitar, vocals, lead vocal on "Two Three Two"


BIO (Wikipedia)

Curved Air were a pioneering British rock group formed in 1969 by: Francis Monkman (keyboards, guitar), Darryl Way (electric violin, vocals), Sonja Kristina Linwood (vocals), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums), & Rob Martin (bass). The group evolved from the band Sisyphus and was named by Monkman after the piece A Rainbow in Curved Air by contemporary composer Terry Riley. The line-up experienced frequent changes: Ian Eyre (born 11 September, in Knaresborough, Yorkshire) took over on bass for the second album, Mike Wedgwood (born Michael Wedgewood, 19 May 1950, in Derby, Derbyshire) took over on bass for the third. Later members included Eddie Jobson (later Roxy Music, Frank Zappa and Jethro Tull), Stewart Copeland (The Police), Tony Reeves (born Anthony Reeves, 18 April 1943, in London), ex-Greenslade, Colosseum, John Mayall). Only Sonja Kristina continuously remained as member. Monkman, member of Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, was later to play with John Williams in a group called Sky. The musicians developed from quite different artistic backgrounds, classic, folk, and electronic sound, which resulted in a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. The band's groundbreaking 1970 debut , Airconditioning, reached no. 8 in the UK Albums Chart, and was the second picture disc released - the first being by the band Saturnalia in the previous year. In 1976 the band recorded their last studio album and then eventually split . Intermittently since then, the group, particularly in its original line-up, has re-joined for periodic concerts, one of which in 1990 gave rise to another live album.

Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow - 1975 - Epic


Jeff Beck's pivotal jazz-rock fusion album, Blow By Blow, finds the guitarist teaming with legendary producer George Martin, on an all instrumental album that woke up Beck's fans and created legions of new devotees. With his virtuosity and taste at a creative pinnacle, Beck struts his stuff on such memorable tracks as the Roy Buchanan-inspired "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" and the driving, freewheeling "Freeway Jam." Blow By Blow is one of rock's great instrumental recordings. Copyright © 1996-2007 Guitar Nine Records All Rights Reserved


TRACKS:


A1.You Know What I Mean (4:02)
A2.She's A Woman (4:28)
A3.Constipated Duck (2:50)
A4.Air Blower (5:07)
A5.Scatterbrain (5:30)

B1.Cause We've Ended As Lovers (5:51)
B2.Thelonius (3:17)
B3.Freeway Jam (4:57)
B4.Diamond Dust (8:24)


CREDITS


Bass - Phil Chenn
Drums, Percussion - Richard Bailey
Guitar - Jeff Beck
Keyboards - Max Middleton
Producer - George Martin


REVIEW


Blow By Blow typifies Jeff Beck's wonderfully unpredictable career. Released in 1975, Beck's fifth effort as a leader and first instrumental album was a marked departure from its more rock-based predecessors. Only composer/keyboardist Max Middleton returned from Beck's previous lineups. To Beck's credit, Blow by Blow features a tremendous supporting cast. Middleton's tasteful use of the Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and analog synthesizers leaves a soulful imprint. Drummer Richard Bailey is in equal measure supportive and propulsive as he deftly combines elements of jazz and funk with contemporary mixed meters. Much of the album's success is also attributable to the excellent material, which includes Middleton's two originals and two collaborations with Beck, a clever arrangement of Lennon and McCartney's 'She's a Woman,' and two originals by Stevie Wonder. George Martin's ingenious production and string arrangements rival his greatest work. Beck's versatile soloing and diverse tones are clearly the album's focus, and he proves to be an adept rhythm player.
Blow By Blow is balanced by open-ended jamming and crisp ensemble interaction as it sidesteps the bombast that sank much of the jazz-rock fusion of the period. One of the album's unique qualities is the sense of fun that permeates the performances. On the opening 'You Know What I Mean,' Beck's stinging, blues-based soloing is full of imaginative shapes and daring leaps. On 'Air Blower,' elaborate layers of rhythm, duel lead, and solo guitars find their place in the mix. Propelled by the galvanic rhythm section, Beck slashes his way into 'Scatterbrain,' where a dizzying keyboard and guitar line leads to more energetic soloing from Beck and Middleton. In Stevie Wonder's ballad 'Cause We've Ended as Lovers,' Beck variously coaxes and unleashes sighs and screams from his guitar in an aching dedication to Roy Buchanan. Middleton's aptly titled 'Freeway Jam' best exemplifies the album's loose and fun-loving qualities, with Beck again riding high atop the rhythm section's wave. As with 'Scatterbrain,' Martin's impeccable string arrangements enhance the subtle harmonic shades of the closing 'Diamond Dust.'
Blow By Blow signaled a new creative peak for Beck, and it proved to be a difficult act to follow. It is a testament to the power of effective collaboration and, given the circumstances, Beck clearly rose to the occasion. In addition to being a personal milestone, this album ranks as one of the premiere recordings in the canon of instrumental rock music. © Mark Kirschenmann, AMG Copyright © 2007 musicdirect. All rights reserved

BIO

One of the most influential lead guitarists in rock, Jeff Beck has helped shape blues rock, psychedelia, and heavy metal. Beck's groups have been short-lived, and he has probably been handicapped by the fact that he doesn't sing, but his aggressive style - encompassing screaming, bent sustained notes, distortion and feedback, and crisply articulated fast passagework - has been more important than his material.

After attending Wimbledon Art College in London, Beck backed Lord Sutch before replacing Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds [see entry]. He established his reputation with that band, but he left in late 1966 and after a short sabbatical released a version of “Love Is Blue,” played deliberately out of tune because he loathed the song. In 1967 he founded the Jeff Beck Group with Ron Wood and Rod Stewart; the band’s reworkings of blues-based material laid the groundwork for ’70s heavy metal. Clashing temperaments broke up the group after two acclaimed LPs and several U.S. tours. Stewart and Wood went on to join the Faces [see the Small Faces/the Faces entry], and Stewart continued to use drummer Mickey Waller on his solo albums until 1974. Beck was planning to form a band with Vanilla Fudge members Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice when he was sidelined for 18 months with a fractured skull he sustained in a car crash. (A car aficionado, Beck has been in three crashes and was once sidelined for months after getting his thumb trapped under a car.) When he recovered, Bogert and Appice were busy in Cactus, so Beck assembled a second Jeff Beck Group and put out two albums of Memphis funk laced with heavy metal. When Cactus broke up in late 1972, Beck, Bogert, and Appice returned Beck to a power trio format, but weak vocals hampered the band, and it dissolved in early 1974.

Beck then went into the first of many periods of hibernation. In 1975 he reemerged in an all-instrumental format, playing jazzy tunes. He toured as coheadliner with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and started an on-again, off-again collaboration with former Mahavishnu keyboardist Jan Hammer in 1976 with Wired (#16). During the later ’70s Beck reportedly spent most of his time on his 70-acre estate outside London. He and Hammer worked together on the 1980 album There and Back, but Hammer did not join Beck for his 1980 tour, the guitarist’s first in over four years. In 1981 Beck appeared at Amnesty International’s Secret Policeman’s Ball, and in 1985 he toured Japan. Flash, which includes Beck’s sole charting single, “People Get Ready” (#48, 1985), with Rod Stewart on vocals, and the Grammy-winning “Escape,” written by Hammer, peaked at #39. Four years later Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop With Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas (#49, 1989) garnered the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Crazy Legs, an homage to Gene Vincent’s Blue Caps and rockabilly guitar legend Cliff Gallup, met with mixed reviews.

During the ’80s and ’90s Beck turned up on recordings by artists including Mick Jagger, Malcolm McLaren, Roger Waters, and Jon Bon Jovi. He finally recorded an album of new material (all instrumental) in 1999. On Who Else!, the guitarist got support from longtime collaborators Hammer (on one song) and Hymas and explored a more electronic environment; a tour followed. The same year Beck was nominated for two Grammys: “A Day in the Life,” his contribution to George Martin’s album In My Life, was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, while the guitarist’s own “What Mama Said” was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Beck spent much of 1999 touring, then returned to the studio with his road band to record You Had It Coming ( from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) © Copyright 2007 Rolling Stone )

Lez Zeppelin

Lez Zeppelin - Lez Zeppelin - 2007 - Emanation Records

Lez Zeppelin, the New York City-based all-girl, all-Zeppelin quartet. This is a great debut album. Since forming in 2004, Lez Zeppelin has gained unanimous critical acclaim as one of the most exciting live acts around, becoming the first female rock act to pay homage to Led Zeppelin and to garner rave reviews across the board. Lez Zeppelin has engineered a perfect realization of the rock and roll fantasy and brought it to life. These chicks kick out the jams of the greatest rock band ever.

BAND

QUEEN OF WANDS: SARAH MCLELLAN, vocals
QUEEN OF CUPS: HELEN DESTROY, drums
QUEEN OF SWORDS: STEPH PAYNES, electric and acoustic guitar
QUEEN OF PENTACLES: LISA BRIGANTINO, bass, mandolin, keyboards

TRACKS

01. Whole Lotta Love
02. The Ocean
03. On The Rocks
04. Since Ive Been Loving You
05. Rock And Roll
06. Winter Sun
07. Communication Breakdown
08. Kashmir

REVIEW

It’s been over 20 years since mega-producer Frank Farian’s rock lab experiment Far Corporation had their wretched claim to 15 minutes of fame – a cover of Led Zeppelin’s classic “Stairway to Heaven.” With a roster that featured members of the band Toto, few paid any credence to the act and fewer still had any love for the schmaltzy remake. But like it or not, Far Corporation kicked open a door for a glut of Zeppelin tributes. Some say they might even be responsible for the mid-1980s “tribute band phenomenon” that continues today… for better or worse... erm, well, mostly worse.
Of all the musically-inclined Zeppelin mongers who have jammed the airwaves and store shelves since 1985, I think the early Dread Zeppelin took the cake. How perfect: an American band covering the songs of Zeppelin, done in a summery reggae style, and belted out by an Elvis Presley impersonator named Tortelvis – who regularly performed with a mic in one hand and a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich in the other?!? Even Zep’s Robert Plant was said to have a thing for those guys in their prime. Who could blame him?
I digress. Living in a town like Cleveland, one has a difficult time getting away from Led Zeppelin altogether. But I’ve fought a valiant battle for many years, steering clear of the clubs and bars on off nights and all classic rock radio stations. Brilliant though they were, I have been comfortable with that knowledge in such a way that I could put Zeppelin to rest and listen to them occasionally. That is, until now. The NYC-based Lez Zeppelin, an all-female, all-Zeppelin quartet really does get the Led out. They’re a scary good, well-rehearsed and note-for-note accurate depiction of their idols’ prowess with blues-rock. And their self-titled debut proves it.
Produced by veteran Zeppelin knob-twiddler Eddie Kramer (Kiss, AC-DC, Hendrix), the foursome burns through a dynamic run of classics including “Whole Lotta Love,” “Rock and Roll,” “Communication Breakdown” and “Kashmir.” Singer Sarah McLellan gets fiery in her delivery, channeling Plant with a fervent sense of reverence and innate sensuality. The rest of the band – Steph Paynes (guitars), Lisa Brigantino (bass/keys) and Helen Destroy (drums) – fall right in line. Their intermingling on second-tier Zeppelin tracks “On the Rocks,” “Winter Sun” and the divine “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is organic, incisive and passionate. Nothing shy of inspired.
In the end, this debut is at least a real treat and at most a revelation – likely to motivate even the most “over it” Led Zeppelin fan to re-examine the originals. If there's one criticism, it's that the disc is a short one. Once you get a taste of what they’re capable of, you’ll be looking for second helpings. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait long. Though Spin Magazine has called Lez Zeppelin “the most powerful all female band in rock history” (both preposterous and presumptuous... someone buy the editors the Rolling Stone Women in Rock box set, for heaven's sake!!)...these gals definitely rock. Maybe they'll even take a stab at covering "Stairway." If anyone could pull it off... it's them.
I bet even Plant himself would agree. © Peter Chakerian Published July 18, 2007 http://blogcritics.org/






Sarah McLellan © www.classicrockmagazine.com

BIO (Wikipedia)


Lez Zeppelin are a New York City-based all-female tribute band, performing the work of Led Zeppelin. Steph Paynes plays guitar, Helen Destroy takes John Bonham's role on drums, Lisa Brigantino performs bass guitar, mandolin, and keyboards, and Sarah McLellan is the lead vocalist. The members were featured on the cover of the June 2005 issue of Spin magazine. Steph Paynes was interviewed by Brian Ibbott on Coverville 6/8/2007 in episode 330. They have released a self-titled debut album which was recorded with legendary producer/engineer Eddie Kramer, best known for his work with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and KISS; and was mastered by George Marino, who with Jimmy Page digitally remastered all of the original Led Zeppelin recordings. The album, released on Emanation Records, will be distributed by Redeye Distribution.

Ann Wilson

Ann Wilson - Hope & Glory - 2007 - Zoe Records

Heart's Ann Wilson has a host of big names in her corner for her first solo album, "Hope & Glory." The 12-track project features contributions from Wilson's sister/Heart colleague Nancy as well as Elton John, Rufus Wainwright, Wynonna Judd and Gretchen Wilson, among others.The repertoire comprises socially conscious material such as Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Blue Sky," John Lennon's "Isolation," Neil Young's "War of Man" and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song.""Such songs as these carry me through my life, and they are a standard to which all new music I hear and write must compare," Wilson says.Heart remains active on the road but has not released a new studio album since 2004's "Jupiter's Darling."

TRACKS

"Goodbye Blue Sky" with Nancy Wilson (Written by Roger Waters - Popular version by Pink Floyd)
"Where to now St. Peter" with Elton John (John/Taupin - Elton John)
"Jackson" with k.d. lang (Leiber/Wheeler - Lucinda Williams)
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place" with Wynonna Judd (Mann/Weil - The Animals)
"Immigrant Song" (Page/Plant - Led Zeppelin)
"Darkness, Darkness" with Nancy Wilson (Jesse Colin Young - The Youngbloods)
"Bad Moon Rising" with Gretchen Wilson (Fogerty - Creedence Clearwater Revival)
"War of Man" with Alison Krauss (Neil Young)
"Get Together" with Nancy Wilson, Deana Carter & Wynonna Judd (Powers - The Youngbloods)
"Isolation" (Lennon)
"A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" with Rufus Wainwright & Shawn Colvin (Dylan)
"Little Problems, Little Lies" (Ann Wilson)

Produced by the legendary Ben Mink

REVIEWS

“Hope & Glory,” from Ann Wilson, is the lead singer of Heart’s first solo accomplishment. Wilson teams up with artists like K.D. Lang and even country crooner Wynonna Judd for tracks that will call to listeners and make them feel all of the emotions that Wilson is presenting. “Goodbye Blue Sky” has Ann Wilson sharing a song with sister and fellow Heart bandmate, Nancy. This track has deep guitar and drum work that flows exceptionally well as the pair harmonizes in the intro. The message of the song seems to be that the two are evading some nameless force. “Did did did did did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter…Beneath the clear blue sky.” On “Where To Now St. Peter” Wilson and acclaimed piano man Elton John work together to form a melody that talks about following the providence no matter what one’s religious affiliation happens to be. Profound percussion starts off the track, and then Wilson begins singing about her innermost thoughts. “Took myself…And I floated…Dazzling, dancing ….Crazy was the feeling, restless were my eyes.” Then John takes over the rhythm of the song and beams his question to the apostle of where his next destination might be. “Where to now, St. Peter, it’s true I’m in your hands.” The spiritual bend inbred in this song might speak to listeners who feel they have lost their way and wish to find it in the musicality of this track. “Jackson” tones things down a bit as Wilson and balladeer K.D. Lang commiserate using their unique vocal talents. Fixed guitar strumming can be heard in the intro as one of the women sings to the other about a trip they are going to make and their feelings in regard to it. “All the way to Jackson, I don’t think I’ll miss you much. All the way to Jackson, I don’t think I’ll miss you much. Once I get to Lafayette, I won’t mind one little bit. Once I get to Lafayette, I won’t mind one little bit. Once I get to Baton Rouge, I won’t cry a tearful hue. Once I get to Baton Rouge, I won’t cry a tearful hue.” Ann Wilson’s “Hope & Glory” is an album that pairs her with singers that span multiple musical genres. Wilson’s timbre has a no-nonsense tone on some tracks and a sweetness on others that will be impossible for listeners to shy away from. All in all, Wilson’s debut solo album is sure to mark her ascension into musical paradise. © Sari N. Kent © 1995-2007 by TheCelebrityCafe.com. http://thecelebritycafe.com/cd/full_review/13022.html

Ann Wilson's first solo record comes out Tuesday. Ear Candy has been spinning it for a few weeks now and here's the low down on this awesome album. Seattle music maven Ann Wilson gets by with the help of her friends throughout the 12 tracks on her debut solo record "Hope & Glory. "The album includes 11 covers of artists ranging from Led Zeppelin ("Immigrant Song") to John Lennon ("Isolation"). On those two tracks Wilson sings solo, but for the rest of the record she brings in an A-list cast of collaborators including Rufus Wainwright and Shawn Colvin for Bob Dylan's "Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," Elton John for a version of his own "Where To Now St. Peter?" and Alison Krauss for Neil Young's "War Of Man," the best of the lot of tremendous songs. Of course Wilson's sister Nancy appears too. She's there for album opener, Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Blue Sky" and The Youngbloods' "Get Together." The latter also includes Deana Carter and Wynona. Her voice is a perfect fit for every contemporary standard she chose. This record should silence and amaze critics who think she can't excel beyond belting out "Barracuda." Each song receives a stylish rearrangement that is mindful of the original yet distinct enough for Wilson to claim herself. The slowed-down duet with k.d. Lang on Lucinda Williams' "Jackson" and the countrified collaboration with Gretchen Wilson on Credence's "Bad Moon Rising" that features plenty of fiddling flair are just two examples of how she is able to capture the spirit of a classic while breathing new life into it in the process. © Travis Hay at September 6, 2007
© 1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
At a time when America was beginning the lengthy healing process that followed the Viet Nam War and rock bands like Aerosmith, The Eagles and The Steve Miller Band were dominating FM radio airwaves, Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson emerged at the center of one of the first critically recognized female fronted rock-n-roll bands. With Heart the Wilson sisters redefined what it meant to be a woman in the male dominated world of rock and helped to pave the way for future female artists, and along the way they made some invaluable contributions to the rich lexicon of rock-n-roll music. Today America is turning another dark corner in its notable history and Ann Wilson has chosen September 11, 2007 to offer a glimmer of light in these perplexing times. With her first solo effort Hope & Glory on Zoë/Rounder Records, Ann revisits the rock-n-roll classics that inspired her to embark on her distinguished career in the recording industry. She puts her signature on some of the music she has enjoyed over the ensuing years and introduces the new song “Little Problems, Little Lies.” Collaborator/producer Ben Mink insisted that Ann push herself as an artist and as a singer so that this collection of songs would be a relevant and personal expression for our times. All of the songs for Hope & Glory were lovingly selected by Ann for their collective message that the world can’t be healed by fighting or by turning our eyes away from the truth. Featured are seminal rock-n-roll classics such as Pink Floyd’s “Good Bye Blue Skies,” Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song,” Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” as well as songs by The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Youngbloods, Lucinda Williams and Neil Young. Joining Ann on the recording is a list of artists that includes Elton John, K. D. Lang, Alison Krauss, Rufus Wainwright and Ann’s sister Nancy Wilson. Change is in the air. The world of amity and love that were celebrated in song all those years ago is still within our reach, but we now find ourselves lost in a furious desert. Ann Wilson has discovered elemental wisdom in the music that has shaped her life, and Hope & Glory is her valiant effort to illuminate the path on our continuing journey. © 2005 jazz news


BIO (Wikipedia)


Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950 in San Diego, California) is the lead singer and flute player of Heart. Wilson's family moved around as a child because her father was a Marine Corps colonel. The family eventually settled in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Shy due to a stutter, Wilson turned to music, and in the early 1970s she joined a local band, Whiteheart, which, in 1974, changed its name to Heart. Her younger sister Nancy joined the group in 1974. The band moved to Canada and cut their first album Dreamboat Annie in Vancouver in 1975. It was released in the United States in 1976. In 1977, Little Queen was released. She also sang the duet "Almost Paradise" with Mike Reno in the movie Footloose. Ann started a recording studio, Bad Animals, with her sister in the mid-1990s. She formed a side band, The Lovemongers, which performed Battle of Evermore on the soundtrack to brother-in-law Cameron Crowe's 1992 movie Singles and later released a four-song EP. The band's debut album Whirlygig was released in 1997. Ann adopted her daughter Marie in 1991 and her son Dustin in 1998. She underwent a weight-loss surgery called Adjustable gastric band in January 2002 after what she calls "a lifelong battle" with her weight. In June 2004, Heart released Jupiter's Darling, which is a popular favorite among classic rock stations.

Bliss

Bliss - Quiet Letters (US Edition) - 2005 - Quango Records

Accordian, ambient, jazz with textures and production sensibilities of Gotan Project, with a Latin edge, slightly bluesy and with a lush, cool female vocal. Mixed up with a lush, soundtrack feel with lots of strings, subtle keys and a languid mellow tone. Quiet Letters is described by Buddha Bar's DJ Ravin as "The Album of the Year", one of those albums that you have always been looking for without ever finding.

TRACKS

1. Sleep Will Come
2. Kissing
3. Wish U Were There
4. Wish U Were Here
5. Dunia
6. Song For Olabi
7. The Suns of Afterlife
8. Don't Look Back
9. Long life
10. Remember My Name
11. Right Here
12. If Heaven Closes
(Tracks 7, 9, 10 & 12 also on "Afterlife")

MUSICIANS

Steffen Aaskoven, producer & composer
Marc-George Andersen, composer
Alexandra Hamnede, singer
Salvador 'Tchando' Embalo, singer & composer
sophie barker, singer

and features guest vocals by Sophie Barker from Zero 7.

REVIEW

Quiet Letters is a chill-out masterpiece with its captivating vocals, gentle percussion and gracious orchestration. Deeply rooted in a fine collage of Western, African and classical musical influences, representing the vast musical backgrounds of the band, Bliss has inspired comparisons to Sade, Massive Attack and Ennio Morricone. Bliss is an international chill out pop music collective from Denmark, Sweden and Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Since 2001, they have released material on the Danish label, music for dreams, appeared on more than 60 compilations worldwide and in such tv shows as csi: crime scene investigation. Quiet Letters is Balearic, classic and mysterious, one of those albums that you have always been looking for without ever finding. It will transport you far beyond the beaches of Ibiza, on a travel through African soul, Scandinavian jazz, and ethereal pop featuring guest vocals by zero 7’s sophie barker. Experience the chill out record of the summer. Catch some Bliss. © 2007 Whiteswanmusic.com

Jimmy Thackery & Tab Benoit

Jimmy Thackery & Tab Benoit - Whiskey Store Live - 2004 - Telarc

The tour to support 2002's Whiskey Store album featuring guitarists Jimmy Thackery and Tab Benoit is captured here in all of its raging six-string glory. Not just for those who own the studio album, this disc repeats six tracks, but they are overhauled and extended so radically (the title cut is nearly tripled in length to a nine-minute blowout), that it's far from a cash-generating retread. Although the formidable Double Trouble rhythm section stayed home, road tested Thackery's saxist Jimmy Carpenter jumps aboard, as does B-3 keyboardist Ken Faltinson, and both ignite the concert sparks substantially. Benoit, who takes the majority of the vocals, brings versions of classics like "I Got Loaded" and Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine," as well as his own blistering "Bayou Boogie" to the set list, replacing a few of the less stellar songs from the studio effort. Thackery is also in top form, livening up Chicago shuffle-versions of Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat" and Percy Mayfield's "Strange Things Happen" -- the latter featuring a honking sax solo from Carpenter -- with his tough Strat attack and gritty vocals. Benoit's tighter Telecaster sound and Louisiana-tinged swampy singing offset Thackery's gruff barroom approach, and the dueling guitars complement each other even better than on the studio set. It's a rousing hour and 15-minute performance that displays each guitarist's strengths and approach. But more importantly, it shows how their differing styles can accent the music without overburdening it with meandering solos.

TRACKS

Freddy’s Combo;
I Got Loaded;
Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat;
Bone Pickin’,
Away, Way Too Long;
Strange Things Happen;
Bayou Boogie;
These Arms Of Mine;
Whiskey Store.

PERSONNEL

Tab Benoit - vocals, guitar
Jimmy Thackery
Mark Stutso - drums
Carl Dufrene - bass
Darryl White
Jimmy Carpenter - saxophone
Ken Faltinson - Hammond

REVIEWS

Blues artists Tab Benoit and Jimmy Thackery are turning out to be one of the better pairings coming out of the Telarc Blues stables. Independently, the two artists deliver their own unique brand of guitar-based blues, soul, and R&B. Together, Benoit and Thackery meld the disparate elements of their styles into a corrosively unified vision. Not bad Mojo for two white guys playing the blues in the 21st Century.
In their 2002 studio release, Whiskey Store , both men drew from their respective band books, isolating the best they had to offer and presenting their selections first to each other and then to us listeners. The result was a very productive collaboration that rocked from beginning to end. Several of the songs are reprised on the new Whiskey Store Live, their electric life infused with weapons-grade plutonium.
I was at first disappointed that this set did not include Tab Benoit’s exquisite slow blues “Nice and Warm,” from Benoit’s Justice Recording by the same name and also included on Whiskey Store. But that was no matter, because the opening notes of Jimmy Thackery’s “Freddie’s Combo” blew back my hair and singed my eyebrows. The song is propelled by the dual guitar-saxophone front that sounds closer to a jump blues big band than a blues septet. Benoit’s “I Got Loaded” added just enough of that Creole spice to shift the bus into high gear and prepare the crowd for Thackery’s merciless take on the Minnesota Bard’s “Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat.”
All of the previous songs were merely building up to the guitar orgy of the disc, the mass-murdering Benoit composition, “Bone Pickin’,” where both guitarists stretch out and burn. Percy Mayfield’s “Strange Things Happen” and Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” are played with blues power and soulful grace and also provide healthy ground for guitar improvisation.
The disc ends with nine minutes of the molten slab o' blues that gives title to the collection. Both Benoit and Thackery show off. In a period where all popular music is anti-guitar god, it is nice to know that giants still walk among us. © © 2007 All About Jazz and/or contributing writers/visual artists. All rights reserved.






Tab Benoit
Tab Benoit Bio

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Tab Benoit makes his home near New Orleans in Houma, LA. Born November 17, 1967, he's one of a handful of bright rising stars on the modern blues scene. For most of the 1990s, he's been working each of his records the old fashioned way, by playing anywhere and everywhere he and his band can play. Unlike so many others before him, Benoit understands that blues is not a medium in favor with 50,000-watt commercial rock radio stations, so as a consequence, he's worked each of his releases with as many shows as he can possibly play. Since the release of his first album for Justice, Benoit has taken his brand of Cajun-influenced blues all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Nice and Warm, his debut album for Houston-based Justice Records, prompted some critics to say he's reminiscent, at times, of three blues guitar gods: Albert King, Albert Collins, and Jimi Hendrix. Although the hard-working, modest guitarist scoffs at those comparisons, and doesn't think he sounds like them (and doesn't try to sound like them), Benoit doesn't appear to be one who's easily led into playing rock & roll in favor of his down-home blend of swamp blues and east Texas guitar-driven blues. Talk to Tab at one of his shows, and he'll tell you about his desire to "stay the course," and not water down his blues by playing items that could be interpreted as "alternative" rock. Despite the screaming guitar licks he coaxes from his Telecaster and his powerful songwriting and singing abilities, Benoit's laid-back, down-to-earth personality off-stage is the exact opposite of his live shows. Benoit's releases include Nice and Warm (1992), What I Live For (1994), Standing on the Bank (1995), and Live: Swampland Jam (1997), all recorded for Vanguard. Benoit then moved over to the Telarc label for These Blues Are All Mine (1999), Whiskey Store (2002, with Jimmy Thackery), Wetlands (2002), and The Sea Saint Sessions (2003). In 2004, Benoit released Whiskey Store Live, recorded with Jimmy Thackery on the support tour for Whiskey Store. 2005 saw the release of Fever for the Bayou on the Telarc label. 2005 also saw Voice of the Wetlands come out on Rykodisc. Another album from Telarc, Brother to the Blues, appeared in 2006. Power of the Pontchartrain followed in 2007. Considering that many of Benoit's records have surpassed the 50,000 mark, he's well on his way to a career that could rival the kind of popularity the late Stevie Ray Vaughan enjoyed in the late '80s. © Richard Skelly & Al Campbell, All Music Guide






Jimmy Thackery
Jimmy Thackery Bio (Wikipedia)

Jimmy Thackery (born May 19, 1953) is a blues singer/guitarist. Known for his gritty, blue-collar approach and marathon live shows, Jimmy Thackery was for many years part of The Nighthawks. The Nighthawks were known as one of the hardest-working blues bar bands in North America. Since the late 1980s, Jimmy has been touring under his own name, and has found a wide audience. His hard-edged, tough-as-nails approach to guitar playing and his trio's driving rhythm section holds appeal for fans of both traditional Blues and roots Rock. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Thackery was raised in Washington, D.C.. After joining the Nighthawks in 1974, and recording over 20 albums with them, he struck out on his own in 1987. Since 1991 he has been leading a trio, Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers, whose early recordings were for the San Francisco, CA-based Blind Pig Records. In 2002 Thackery released "We Got It", his first album on Telarc and in 2006 "In the Natural State" with Earl and Ernie Cate on Rykodisc.

Savoy Brown

Savoy Brown - Looking In - 1970 - Parrot Records

Savoy Brown were one of the great blues rock groups of the sixties and seventies. They had a large following Stateside, but never received the same acclaim at home. This is a great blues/rock album with smooth, laid back, tight arrangements. Check out their " Raw Sienna " album.

TRACKS

1. Gypsy 0:57 (Simmonds)
2. Poor Girl 4:05 (Stevens)
3. Money Can't Save Your Soul 5:31
( Simmonds/Peverett)
4. Sunday Night 5:23 (Simmonds)
5. Looking In 5:14 (Simmonds/Peverett)
6. Take It Easy 5:41 (Simmonds/Peverett)
7. Sitting An' Thinking 2:49 (Simmonds)
8. Leavin' Again 8:26 (Simmonds/Peverett)
9. Romanoff 1:00 (Simmonds)

LINE-UP

Kim Simmonds: guitar, piano
Lonesome Dave: vocals, guitar
Roger Earl: drums
Tone Stevens: bass

REVIEW

Savoy Brown's blues-rock sound takes on a much more defined feel on 1970's Looking In and is one of this band's best efforts. Kim Simmonds is utterly bewildering on guitar, while Lonesome Dave Peverett does a fine job taking over lead singing duties from Chris Youlden who left halfway through the year. But it's the captivating arrangements and alluring ease of the music that makes this a superb listen. The pleading strain transformed through Simmonds' guitar on "Money Can't Save Your Soul" is mud-thick with raw blues, and the comfort of "Sunday Night" is extremely smooth and laid back. "Take It Easy" sounds like it could have been a B.B. King tune as it's doused with relaxed guitar fingering. The entire album is saturated with a simple, British blues sound but the pace and the marbled strands of bubbly instrumental perkiness fill it with life. Even the Yardbirds-flavored "Leaving Again" is appealing with its naïve hooks, capped off with a heart-stopping guitar solo. This album along with Street Corner Talking best exemplify Savoy Brown's tranquilizing style. © Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide


BIO (Wikipedia)


Originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, their 1969 single "Train to Nowhere" (with singer Chris Youlden), was viewed by many as the last gasp of the blues scene in Great Britain. Although Savoy Brown never reached much acclaim in their home nation, they developed a loyal core following in the United States, due to songs such as "I'm Tired" (from their album, A Step Further), a driving, melodic song. They were one of that UK Decca (US London/Parrot) stuck with through the lean times until they started selling records (it took 4 or 5 albums until they started to sell in the US). In the late 1960s and 1970s, the band managed to penetrate the Billboard Hot 100. Superstardom perpetually evaded them, perhaps in part because of their frequent line-up changes, but despite that, "Hellbound Train" was a big album for them in the US. Indeed, while the band is still active today, only one founding member, Kim Simmonds, has been with the band since the beginning. Guitarist "Lonesome" Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens, and drummer Roger Earl went on to form Foghat. Original member and harmonica player, John O'Leary, is still active on the British blues circuit with The John O'Leary Band. Savoy Brown's first album, Shake Down, featured lead vocalist Bryce Portius. Portius was one of the first black blues musicians to be a part of a British rock band. Another singer, Dave Walker, would later join Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath. Savoy Brown also provided an outlet for the keyboardist and guitarist, Paul Raymond, who later went on to join UFO.

Jaga Jazzist

Jaga Jazzist - A Livingroom Hush - 2002 - Ninja Tune

Jaga Jazzist creates a unique mix of jazz, electronica, progressive rock, shoegazer, psychedelic, hip-hop, alternative rock, experimental artists, post-rock and more. This is mellow, upbeat modern contemporary jazz at it's best. Highly recommended by A.O.O.F.C

TRACKS

1. Animal Chin (4:07)
2. Going Down (5:19)
3. Press Play (1:16)
4. Airborne (5:13)
5. Real Racecars Have Doors (4:15)
6. Low Battery (5:49)
7. Midget (2:32)
8. Made for Radio (5:21)
9. Lithuania (8:37)
10. Cinematic (6:23)

MUSICIANS

Andreas Mjøs / vibraphone, drums
Even Ormestad / bass, synthbass
Harald Frøland / guitar, fx
Ivar Chr. Johansen / keyboards
Jørgen Munkeby / flute, bass-clarinette, tenor sax, keyboards
Lars Horntveth / Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass-clarinette, guitars
Lars Wabø / trombone, percussion
Line Horntveth / tuba, melodica, percussion
Martin Horntveth / drums, drum-machines
Mathias Eick / trumpet, upright bass, percussion, keyboards
Also: Jorden TRaeen

REVIEWS

BBC votes Jaga Jazzist’s The Livingroom Hush album of the week. Ninja Tune-signed Jaga Jazzist receives a boost to the re-launch campaign of their The Livingroom Hush-album when BBC Music voted the release album of the week. 11/28/2002 Text © Tomas Lauvland Pettersen www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2002112813261468569008
If you need any further proof that Europe (and particularly Norway) is the place where all the interesting stuff is happening, look no further than this record. A Livingroom Hush is the debut from Norwegian collective Jaga Jazzist, now given a wider release by Ninja Tune.The album's already picked up critical praise (even from the NME!) with one memorable quote describing it as 'Charlie Mingus with Aphex Twin up his arse'. Though this is an interesting (if unsavoury) notion, the album is far from the kind of confrontational experience it suggests. Jaga Jazzist bolt together elements of electronica, formal jazz writing and the wide open spaces of dub and post rock into a lush, listenable stew that's very much their own.Unlike some of their contemporaries, there aren't any specific references to jazz tradition; you won't find any Alice Coltrane samples here. In fact they're as likely to remind you of Soft Machine or John Barry as much as Herbie Hancock. This pluralist approach is laid out on the opening "Animal Chin" as flute and vibes patterns swirl over lurching breakbeats and churning bass, and the luscious glide of "Going Down", where luminous horns carve out aching melodic lines.Often the cool beauty of the brass arrangements is reminiscent of or Oliver Nelson, and the short, sweet solos of Lars Horntveth, Jorgen Munkeby and Mathias Eick offer the same mix of introspection and inquisitiveness that you might find on a late 60s Blue Note date.Nothing stays still for very long; "Airborne" kicks off as spacey jazz ballad peppered with digital crackle n' pop before morphing into a slinky Hancockian bass clarinet riff, joined by intricate countermelodies from strings and horns as the tenor takes over. All in under 6 minutes. Elsewhere you get space age bachelor pad music ("Lithuania"), breakbeat electronica mashup ("Midget") or abstract ambience ("Cinematic").Jaga Jazzist's grasp of dynamics and structure (whether achieved in real time or through digital cut-up) puts them apart from the usual jazztronica suspects. It's the mix of 21st century texture, intelligent jazz writing and improvisational concision that makes this one of the most enjoyable records of this (or any other) year. ~ Review © Peter Marsh @ BBC Music
Licensed to Ninja Tune after its highly acclaimed release on Smalltown Supersound, this excellent outfit features members from the Norwegian jazz, improv and electronics scene to make up what is akin to the Charles Mingus big band for the 23rd century. Influenced by 70's Weather Report to the manic rhythms of Squarepusher from darkness and serene light (there are some truly beautiful melodic sections). So if you like electronics and jazz this album comes strongly recommended though it's more jazz than anything else and in so is one of the most mischiveous jazz CD's of 2002 that's had strong reviews across the board. Excellent. © www.boomkat.com/
Combines elements of jazz, progressive and modern/techo in a REALLY impressive way. This is by a real band with horns, keyboards, guitars, rhythm section, etc. etc. and is not just a sampling creation. One of the freshest things I've heard recently. If you don't know them, I would give the nod to "The Stix" over this one, but this is still recommended! "Worlwide re-issue of this Norway act's amazing debut. The comparisons reached for by the press were as broad as they get -- from Talk Talk, Soft Machine, Eric Satie, John Coltrane and Don Cherry to acts like Aphex Twin, Stereolab, Squarepusher, Isotope 217 and Tortoise. This range sums up the breadth and originality of the group's sound. Jaga Jazzist are indeed a musical one off who's arsenal includes trumpets, trombone, electric guitar, bass, tuba, two bass clarinets, Fender Rhodes and vibraphone, and it is the mixture of these instruments with a sometimes harsh electronic edge that really makes the music stand out. It is melodic, delicate and subtle but a million miles from wallpaper music. It is music that demands and rewards attention, further proof that you don't have to shout to avoid being lazy chill-out-by-numbers. It's a journey into sounds and moods that manages to sound both classic and contemporary and is an oasis to anyone interested in music which combines iconoclasm with beauty, melody with avant gardism and, in general, a complete lack of interest in anything other than good music." [Ninjatune] © 2007 Wayside Music www.waysidemusic.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=28/Zen%2076
After reading a couple different reviews heaping praise on Jaga Jazzist, I decided to hunt down their CD and give it a whirl. Upon first listen, the opening track of "Animal Chin" came flying out of the speaker at me from nearly all directions and blew my mind. It's one of those tracks that effortlessly mixes jazz, skitter-fried electronics, and about five other genres into a steaming stew of fortified funk. I played the track over and over again, thinking that as a musician I should just give up, because there was no way I would be able to match the sheer lunacity and skill captured within.
While the rest of the album doesn't reach quite such dizzying heights as that opening track, A Livingroom Hush is still a nicely bonafide debut entry for the collective of Norwegians. Arriving on the little Smalltown Supersound label, the group is a large batch of friends mixing all kinds of styles together for something nicely unique, calling to mind a slightly more refined version of the Tied And Tickled Trio or a tweaked-out Tortoise. After the breakbeat/vibraphone/horn/guitar colission of the aforementioned first track, the disc settles down into a slightly more subdued groove. "Going Down" blends some slightly processed guitar with layers of horns and subtle percussion, and "Press Play" follows it up with a short burst of springy cocktail jazz.
"Airborne" opens up with a soothy saxophone solo over a bed of slightly crackling noise and some soft percussion, but as it progresses, other instruments slowly make themselves known and by the closing three minutes, they've broken things off into a downright swaggering strut with upright bass and layers of horns. One thing that the group also keeps in mind is that although there are 10 people in the band, every single track on the release allows plenty of room for different instrumentation to breath. After the dense opening of "Real Racecars Have Doors," the track drops off several different times to allow for interplay between horns, guitars, and other instruments.
The only other time the album revisits the rather frenzied moments of the opening track are is in the cracking breakbeat and keyboard layers during of the oddly-titled "Midget." It's another nice burst of energy towards the end of the disc, and although it's quite a bit more simple in construction than other tracks, it works well before the slow burn ending of the release. From there, it's a bit of tropicalia on "Made For Radio," the meandering "Lithuania," and the more experimental closer of "Cinematic." It's the final track that the group actually introduces some serious noise into things, and while it never reaches Merzbow levels, the hissy radio static and cracks juxtaposed with a pretty piano melody don't quite gel with the music that came before (even though it's still a pretty interesting track). In the end, there are a few soft spots, but the release is still a great debut and shows some serious moments of brilliance. With an EP arriving shortly, there won't be much of a wait for new material, and I have a feeling the group will just continue to get better. All content (except music of respective artists) © 2007 Almost Cool. All rights reserved, all wrongs reversed. www.almostcool.org/mr/617/

BIO (Wikipedia)

Jaga Jazzist is an experimental jazz band that rose to prominence when the BBC named their fourth album, The Stix (Ninja Tune/Smalltown Supersound), the best jazz album of 2002. In their native Norway, Jaga Jazzist became well known in 2001 after their third record, A Livingroom Hush (Warner Music) sold unexpectedly well. The core of the band are brothers and main songwriters Lars and Martin Horntveth, who formed Jaga Jazzist while still in their teens in 1994. They are also prominent figures of the Norwegian pop act The National Bank. The band feature trumpets, trombone, electric guitar, bass, tuba, bass clarinets, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone and a rack of electronics, as well as strong melodies and rhythms. Talk Talk, Soft Machine, John Coltrane, Don Cherry, Aphex Twin, Stereolab, Squarepusher and Tortoise are frequently mentioned as sources of inspiration. Jaga Jazzist is widely considered to be one of the premier acts of the so-called nu-jazz movement of Scandinavia. Also, The Mars Volta cites Jaga Jazzist as one of their favourite bands. Recently, an episode of the anime IGPX featured the song For All You Happy People as background music for one scene.