Alan Skidmore Quartet – Impressions Of John Coltrane (2007)

b. Alan Richard James Skidmore, 21 April 1942, Kingston-on-Thames, London, England. ‘Skid’ plays soprano and tenor saxophones, flutes and drums. He is the son of Jimmy Skidmore, who gave him a discarded tenor that Alan ignored until he was about 15. At that time he decided to teach himself to play. A muscular and versatile player himself, the musicians he particularly admires include Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Michael Brecker, Ronnie Scott, Andy Sheppard and, above all, John Coltrane. Skidmore began playing professionally in 1958, and did various commercial engagements, including tours with comedian Tony Hancock and singer Matt Monro and five years in the house band at London’s Talk Of The Town nightclub.

In 1961 he made the first of many appearances on BBC Radio’s Jazz Club, and also met his idol, Coltrane. In the following years Skidmore worked with numerous important and/or successful bands, including Eric Delaney, where he replaced his father when Jimmy decided to leave (in 1963), Alexis Korner (1964), John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (1964), Ronnie Scott (1965), Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames (1970), Mike Westbrook (1970-71), Mike Gibbs (1970-71), and Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood Of Breath (1971). In 1969, he formed his own quintet (Kenny Wheeler, Tony Oxley, John Taylor and Harry Miller), with which he won the best soloist and best band awards at the Montreux International Jazz Festival and gained a scholarship to Berklee College Of Music, although he did not take this up.

In 1973, he co-founded S.O.S., probably the first all-saxophone band, with Mike Osborne and John Surman. He has subsequently formed various small groups of his own, including El Skid (co-led with Elton Dean), SOH, and Tenor Tonic, and has worked with the George Gruntz Concert Band, the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, the Charlie Watts Orchestra, Stan Tracey, Mose Allison, Van Morrison, Georgie Fame again, and with the West German Radio Band as featured soloist from 1981-84. In April 1991, he was reunited with Surman when they played as a duo at a benefit for Osborne. In 2002 he was once again blowing some magnificent saxophone for Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames. Unquestionably one of the best jazz saxophonists Britain has ever produced. (by Rovi)

And this is an extremley good example for his powerful way to play the saxophone …

British jazz legend Alan Skidmore goes a considerable way to recreating the atmosphere of a John Coltrane gig. Here is a man for all seasons, a player with immense physical and imaginative stamina, who is at home in any context, from tight structures to total abstraction, and with any tempo, from breakneck to slow … enjoy this very rare piece of jazz music !

Personnel:
Mike Gorman (piano)
Aidan O’Donnell (bass)
Ian Palmer (drums)
Alan Skidmore (saxophone)

Tracklist:
CD 1:
01. But Not For Me (Gershwin) 11.44
02. Lonnies Lament (Coltrane) 15.24
03. Say It Over And Over Again (Lesser) 11.57
04. Impressions (Coltrane) 16.18

CD 2:
01. Summertime (Gershwin) 14.41
02. Resolution (Coltrane) 11.12
03. Weaver Of Dreams (Young) 12.53
04. Take The Coltrane (Ellington) 7.41

*
**

Various Artists – Cadillac Records (OST) (2008)

Cadillac Records is a 2008 musical biopic written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, and a few of the musicians who recorded for Chess Records.

The film stars Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Eamonn Walker as Howlin’ Wolf, and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James. The film was released in North America on December 5, 2008 by TriStar Pictures.

Leonard Chess, a Polish immigrant of Jewish descent, starts the record label Chess Records in Chicago in 1950. It opens its doors for black musicians and attracts people such as Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Walter and Etta James.

Leonard Chess was the co-founder of the 1950s American record label Chess Records, located in Chicago, Illinois. He ran the legendary company with his brother, Phil, through the 1950s and ’60s. The label started selling records from the back of Chess’ Cadillac, and launched the careers of legendary musical personalities such as blues singers and harmonica and guitar players Little Walter and Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, soul legend Etta James and guitarist singer-songwriters Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon.

Originally, Matt Dillon was slated to play the role of Chess, but the role was ultimately given to Academy Award-winner Adrien Brody due to scheduling conflicts with Dillon. Early announcements of the cast also included Columbus Short as Little Walter, Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and multi-Grammy Award winner Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James. According to director Martin, the role of James was written with Knowles in mind.

As production increased, the roster grew to include Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui as Revetta Chess, Tammy Blanchard as Isabelle Allen, English actor Eamonn Walker as Howlin’ Wolf, and comedian Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon. Final line ups of the cast also grew to include rapper Mos Def as Chuck Berry, and Gabrielle Union in the role of Geneva Wade, Muddy Waters’ common law wife.

The American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer Steve Jordan produced the soundtrack to the film. He also picked a group of blues musicians, including Billy Flynn (guitar), Larry Taylor (bass), Eddie Taylor Jr. (guitar), Barrelhouse Chuck (piano), Kim Wilson (harmonica), Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Hubert Sumlin (guitar), and Bill Sims (guitar) who, along with Jordan on drums, recorded all of the blues songs used in the film.

Knowles recorded five songs for the soundtrack, including a cover version of Etta James’ “At Last” which was released on December 2, 2008 as its lead single. Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, and Eamonn Walker recorded songs for the soundtrack, and Raphael Saadiq, Knowles’ sister Solange, Mary Mary, Nas, Buddy Guy, and Elvis Presley also appear on the album. The soundtrack was released in single and double-disc editions.

The soundtrack spent 48 weeks at number one of the Top Blues Albums.

The soundtrack was nominated for three 2010 Grammy Awards in the following categories: ‘Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media’, Beyoncé’s “Once in a Lifetime” for ‘Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media’ and Beyoncé’s “At Last” for ‘Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance’.

The film received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 68% based on reviews from 120 critics. Its consensus state that “What Cadillac Records may lack in originality, it more than makes up for in strong performances and soul-stirring music.” Another review aggretator, Metacritic, gave the film a 65% approval rating based on 30 reviews classifying that the film has “generally favorable reviews”.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 3 stars and stated in his review that “The film is a fascinating record of the evolution of a black musical style, and the tangled motives of the white men who had an instinct for it.” Elizabeth Weitzman of the Daily News awarded the film with 3 stars and wrote in her review, “Writer-director Darnell Martin clearly respects the fact that the history of Chess Records is a worthy subject.”[20] Most critics praised the film for its music, but complained about its script. Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News praised Knowles’ vocal performance and wrote in his review that, “Beyoncé Knowles’ captivating voice and the film’s other pluses can’t outweigh the glaring omissions from the story line for this critic” and “Chess Records deserves, and will hopefully someday get, a better spin than the one delivered by Cadillac Records.”

Personnel:
Barrelhouse Chuck (piano)
Billy Flynn (guitar)
Steve Jordan (drums)
Danny Kortchmar (guitar)
Eddie Taylor Jr. (guitar)
Bill Sims (guitar)
Hubert Sumlin (guitar)
Larry Taylor (bass)
Kim Wilson (harmonica)
+
Mos Def as Chuck Berry (vocals)
Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James (vocals)
Columbus Short as Little Walter (vocals)
Eamonn Walker as Howlin’ Wolf (vocals)
Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters (vocals)
+
songs by:
Raphael Saadiq – Solange – Mary Mary – Little Walter – Nas Featuring Olu Dara – Buddy Guy – Elvis Presley – Terence Blanchard

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Jeffrey Wright: I’m A Man (McDaniel) 3.51
02. Beyoncé: At Last (Warren/Gordon) 3.01
03. Mos Def: No Particular Place To Go (Berry) 2.47
04. Jeffrey Wright: I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Dixon) 3.54
05. Beyoncé: Once In A Lifetime (Knowles/Ghost/McFarnon/Dench/Dring/Street) 4.00
06. Raphael Saadiq: Let’s Take A Walk (Saadiq) 2.29
07. Solange: 6 O’Clock Blues (Knowles/Dozier/Ronson/Mann/Sugarman/Steinweiss/Brenneck)  3.37
08. Mos Def: Nadine (Berry) 2.51
09. Mary Mary: The Sound (W.Campbell/T.Campbell/E.Campbell) 3.30
10. Little Walter: Last Night (Jacobs) 2.53
11. Beyoncé: I’d Rather Go Blind (Foster/Jordan) 3.10
12. Columbus Short: My Babe (Dixon) 2.58
13. Nas Featuring Olu Dara: Bridging The Gap (Jones/Dara/Gibbs)     4.01

CD 2:
01. Mos Def: Maybelline (Berry) 2.31
02. Buddy Guy: Forty Days And Forty Nights (Roth) 2.48
03. Beyoncé: Trust In Me (Ager/Schwartz/Weaver) 3.44
04. Soul 7 Featuring Kim Wilson: Juke (Jacobs) 2.49
05. Eamonn Walker: Smokestack Lightnin’ (Burnett) 3.04
06. Mos Def: Promised Land (Berry) 2.31
07. Beyoncé: All I Could Do Is Cry (B.Gordy/Davis/Fuqua) 3.10
08. Elvis Presley: My Babe (Dixon) 2.10
09. Jeffrey Wright: I Can’t Be Satisfied (Morganfield) 2.19
10. Mos Def: Come On (Berry) 2.34
11. Jeffrey Wright & Bill Simms Jr.: Country Blues (Johnson/Morganfield) 3.42
12. Q-Tip Featuring Al Kapone: Evolution Of A Man (McDaniel/Bailey/Jordan) 3.07
13: Terence Blanchard: Radio Station (Blanchard) 2.07

*
**

Eric Burdon – That´s Live (1985)

That’s Live is a live album by Eric Burdon and his band, recorded live in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 8 March 1985, during a European tour. It was originally marked Limited Compact Disc Reference Edition in 1985, and achieved more widespread release in 1992.

That’s Live is the only recording made of this line-up which, during the immediately prior period of 1981-84, had been one of the first Western rock acts to play extensively in the Eastern Bloc, including pre-unification East Germany, where, according to bassist Rob Burns, the band were “treated like royalty”. (by wikipedia)

“This CD is the document of ERic Burdon´s present musical espression. But whatever musical surprises Eric holds in store for us – we can be certain of one thing: he will produce and perform music which will alway be true and honest, carrying the same intensity that has fascinated his fans since the very beginning of rock and beat music” (Alex Manninger; taken from the original liner-notes)

Personnel:
Tom Blades (keyboards, guitar)
Eric Burdon (vocals)
Rob Burns (bass)
Mitch Harwood (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Intro 0.24
02. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (Benjamin/Caldwell/Marcus) 6.24
03. When I Was Young (Burdon/Briggs/Weider/Jenkins/McCulloch) 7.41
04. Working Life [aka Factory] (Springsteen) 10.40
05. We Got To Get Out Of This Place (Mann/Weil) 10.20
06. Poor Man (Guthrie) 7.52
07. River Deep, Mountain High (Spector) 7.06
08. I‘m Crying (Burdon/Price) 10.09
09. Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price) 8.50

*
**

Judy Collins – Wildflowers (1967)

Wildflowers is an album by Judy Collins, released in 1967. It was her highest charting album so far, reaching No 5 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. It included her hit version of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”.

The album was arranged by Joshua Rifkin and produced by Mark Abramson. Collins’ recording “Albatross” was used in the 1968 film adaptation of The Subject Was Roses. It was one of three self-penned tracks that appeared on the album, the first time that Collins wrote her own material. (by wikipedia)

Taken from the magazine “Rolling Stone”:
Judy Collins’ well-respected catalog is so vast that, 40 years later, it’s hard to isolate her standout albums. But we’d argue Wildflowers is among her best. After spending the early portion of her career covering the Beatles and Bob Dylan, Wildflowers finds Collins tackling the songs of Leonard Cohen, and the words and mood suit her well. It’s a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” however, that’s the highlight, as the track went on to win a 1968 Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance.

What We Said Then: Judy Collins has to have one of the most beautiful and moving voices of any female singer. She has also been smart enough to make magnificent orchestration an integral part of her albums. The arrangements on this album especially complement her voice. The songs she has chosen are also quite representative of the beauty of music of today… Altogether, it is a very beautiful album.” (by James Christman, February 10th, 1968, Rolling Stone)

And I add a live version of “Suzanne”, recorded in 1967 together with Leonard Cohen as a bonus.

Leonard Cohen + Judy Collins, 1967

Personnel:
Judy Collins (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
+
a bunch of unknown studio musicians

Tracklist:
01. Michael From Mountains (Mitchell) 3.10
02. Since You Asked (Collins) 2.34
03. Sisters Of Mercy (Cohen) 2.31
04. Priests (Cohen) 4.55
05. A Ballata Of Francesco Landini (ca. 1335 – 1397) Lasso! di Donna 4.34
06. Both Sides Now (Mitchell) 3.14
07. La chanson des vieux amants (The Song Of Old Lovers) (Brel) 4.40
08. Sky Fell (Collins) 1.47
09. Albatross (Collins) 4.51
10. Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye (Cohen) 3.28
+
11. Suzanne (live with Leonard Cohen, 1967) (Cohen) 3.55

*
**

Keith Jarrett Trio – Paris (1972)

Pianist, composer, and bandleader Keith Jarrett is one of the most prolific, innovative, and iconoclastic musicians to emerge from the late 20th century. As a pianist (though that is by no means the only instrument he plays) he literally changed the conversation in jazz by introducing an entirely new aesthetic regarding solo improvisation in concert. Though capable of playing in a wide variety of styles, Jarrett is deeply grounded in the jazz tradition. He has recorded nearly 80 albums as a leader in jazz and classical music. And he has won the Down Beat Critics Poll as a pianist numerous times, including consecutively between 2001 and 2008.

This concert of Studio 104 of the Maison de Radio France, preserved in the archives of Ina, was never broadcast in its entirety. A summit of generosity, lyricism, bubbling creativity… Keith Jarrett also played soprano saxophone, as he did at the time. The repertoire is mostly drawn from Birth and Expectations, recorded the previous year. (Thanks to cosmikd for sharing the tracks at Dime.)

Recorded live at Studio 104, Maison de la Radio, Paris, France; June 9, 1972
Excellent FM broadcast.

Personnel:
Charlie Haden (bass)
Keith Jarrett – piano, saxophone, flute, tambourine)
Paul Motian (drums)

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Coral 7.51
02. Forget Your Memories (And They’ll Remember You) 18.23
03. Take Me Back 9.33
04. Standing Outside 6.04
05. Track V 4.55
06. Piece For Ornette 6.02

CD 2:
01. Common Mama 13.08
02. Moonchild 7.34
03. The Magician In You 9.12
04. Follow The Crooked Path 12.37
05. Expectations 10.02
06. Applause 1.50
07. The Circular Letter (For JK) 6.56

All compositions by Keith Jarrett

*
**

The Kinks – Misfits (1978)

The Kinks became arena rockers with Sleepwalker, and its follow-up, Misfits, follows in the same vein, but it’s a considerable improvement on its predecessor. Ray Davies has learned how to write within the confines of the arena rock formula, and Misfits is one of rock & roll’s great mid-life crisis albums, finding Davies considering whether he should even go on performing. “Misfits,” a classic outsider rallying cry, and “Rock and Roll Fantasy” provide the two touchstones for the album — Davies admits that he and the Kinks will never be embraced by the rock & roll mainstream, but after Elvis’ death, he’s not even sure if rock & roll is something for mature adults to do. Over the course of Misfits, he finds answers to the question, both in his lyrics and through the band’s muscular music. Eventually, he discovers that it is worth his time, but the search itself is superbly affecting — even songs like the musichall shuffle “Hay Fever,” which appear as filler at first, have an idiosyncratic quirk that make them cut deeper. Although Ray would return to camp on their next album, Misfits is a moving record that manages to convey deep emotions while rocking hard. The Kinks hadn’t made a record this good since Muswell Hillbillies. —Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Personnel:
Mick Avory (drums)
Dave Davies (guitar, vocals on 09.)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer)
John Gosling (keyboards, synthesizer)
Andy Pyle (bass)
+
John Beecham (trombone on 07.)
Clem Cattini (drum overdubs)
Mike Cotton (trumpet on 07.)
John Dalton (bass on 05.)
Zaine Griff (bass overdubs)
Ron Lawrence (bass on 03., 04 + 10.)
Nick Newall (clarinet on 07.)
Nick Trevisick – drums on 04., 09. + 10.)

Tracklist:
01. Misfits (R.Davies) 4.40
02. Hay Fever (R.Davies) 3.21
03. Live Life (R.Davies) 3.09
04. A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy (R.Davies) 4.58
05. In A Foreign Land (R.Davies) 3.02
06. Permanent Waves (R.Davies) 3.48
07. Black Messiah (R.Davies) 3.23
08. Out Of The Wardrobe (R.Davies) 3.35
09. Trust Your Heart (D.Davies) 4.10
10. Get Up (R.Davies) 3.19

*
**

Duke Ellington – Blues In Orbit (1959)

Still riding the success of his triumphant concert at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Duke Ellington in 1958 decided to reduce his touring orchestra to a nonet dubbed “the Spacemen,” and recorded this lone project with them for the Columbia label, here reissued by Mosaic Singles and heard in stereo for the first time. Perhaps inspired by the first orbiting satellites, Ellington is not taking cues from George Russell or Sun Ra, whose extraterrestrial inspirations led them to even more progressive paths. This large ensemble is playing mostly standards, but the arrangements and solos carve an integrated yet elasticized concept that allows for a more expanded role for the ensemble’s trombonists Quentin “Butter” Jackson, John Sanders, and Britt Woodman, and select soloists. One in the solo spotlight is Clark Terry on flugelhorn exclusively, putting his fabled trumpet aside. The classic material presented includes clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton’s features “Avalon” and “Early Autumn,” the slinky stripper pole blues version of “St. Louis Blues” with Ellington’s piano taking the lead, and two versions of “Body & Soul,” with tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves completely extrapolating and re-harmonizing the main take, while faithfully playing the original melody on the alternate selection. There’s a modified “Perdido,” an animated and perky “Midnight Sun” that deviates from any other slow and lugubrious version of the ballad, and two attempts of “Jones” — the first a real good swinger, the second with a more unified horn chart accented by a New Orleans shuffle provided by drummer Sam Woodyard. There are two originals; the blues bass of Jimmy Woode and the ‘bones with plentiful piano from Duke infusing “Bass-Ment,” and one of the more delightful of all of Ellington’s book, the poppin’ and boppin’ “Spacemen,” a bright happy horn chart led by Terry that is one of the more distinctive Ellington numbers of this time period. Perhaps in many ways a neglected recording in the vast annals of Ellingtonia, fans will certainly welcome this long out of print re-addition to the master’s CD discography. It comes highly recommended. (by Michael G. Nastos)

Personnel:
Cat Anderson (trumpet on 10. – 12., 18 – 19.)
Shorty Baker (trumpet on 10. – 12., 18 – 19.)
Harry Carney (saxophone)
Duke Ellington (piano)
Matthew Gee (trombone on 01. – 09., 13. – 17.)
Paul Gonsalves (saxophone)
Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, saxophone)
Johnny Hodges (saxophone on 01. – 09, 11. -17.)
Jimmy Johnson – drums on 01. -09., 13. 17.)
Ray Nance (trumpet, violin)
Russell Procope (saxophone, clarinet)
Clark Terry (trumpet on on 10. – 12., 18 – 19.)
Botty Wood (trombone on 01. – 09., 13. – 17.)
Jimmy Woode (bass)
Britt Woodman (trombone)
+
Fats Ford (trumpet on 11.)
Quentin Jackson – trombone on 10. – 12., 18. – 19.)
John Sanders (valve trombone on 10. – 12., 18 – 19.)
Billy Strayhorn piano (on 02. + 07.)
Sam Woodyard (drums on 10. – 12, 18. – 19.)

Tracklist:
01. Three J’s Blues (Hamilton) 2.54
02. Smada (Ellington/Strayhorn) 2.38
03. Pie Eye’s Blues (Ellington) 3.27
04. Sweet And Pungent (Strayhorn) 4.03
05. C Jam Blues (Ellington/Bigard) 4.52
06. In A Mellow Tone (Ellington/Gabler) 2.43
07. Blues In Blueprint (Ellington) 3.43
08. The Swingers Get The Blues, Too (Ellington/Gee) 3.09
09. The Swinger’s Jump (Ellington) 3.5
10. Blues In Orbit (Strayhorn) 2.29
11. Villes Ville Is the Place, Man (Ellington) 2.33
+
12. Track 360 (Ellington) 2.03
14. Sentimental Lady (Ellington) 4.02
15. Brown Penny (Ellington/La Touche) 3.02
16. Pie Eye’s Blues (alternate take) (Ellington) 3.32
17. Sweet And Pungent (alternate take) (Strayhorn) 3.52
18. The Swinger’s Jump (alternate take) (Ellington) 3.51
19. Blues In Orbit (alternate take) (Strayhorn) 2.39
20. Track 360 (alternate take) 2.01

*
**

Richie Havens – Live At The Cellar Door (1990)

During the 1980s and 1990s, Havens continued a world touring schedule and a steady release of albums. The release of the 1993 Resume, The Best Of Richie Havens Rhino collected his late 1960s and early 1970s recordings. In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promotional slogan for NBC’s 1982–83 television season entitled, We’re NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS and ABC, and recorded commercials for Amtrak, singing the slogan “There’s something about a train that’s magic”; and in 1985, for Coca-Cola. Havens also has done corporate commercial work for Maxwell House Coffee as well as singing “The Fabric of Our Lives” theme for the cotton industry.

In 1993, Havens performed at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Among the selections was the “Cotton” song, made famous by a series of television ads in the early 1990s. In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert for an audience of more than 100,000.

In 2010, Havens had kidney surgery but did not recover fully enough to perform as he had before. On March 20, 2012, he announced on his Facebook page that he would stop touring after 45 years due to health concerns.

On April 22, 2013, Havens died of a heart attack at home in Jersey City, New Jersey at age 72. The BBC referred to him as a “Woodstock icon,” while Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young said Havens “could never be replicated.” The Daily Telegraph stated Havens “made an indelible mark on contemporary music,” while Douglas Martin of The New York Times reported that Havens had “riveted Woodstock.”

Pursuant to Havens’s request, his ashes were scattered from a plane over the site of the Woodstock festival, in a ceremony held on August 18, 2013, the 44th anniversary of the last day of the festival.

Havens is survived by three children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.(by wikipedia)

And this is his second live-album (the first was called “Richie Haven On Stage” and was released in 1972), but this album was recorded in 1970 !

Havens performing in Hamburg, Germany, May 1972

This somewhat hard to find Ritchie Havens album combines two 1970 performances– The Cellar Door in Washington, DC (now defunct), and the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Ritchie Havens puts so much heart and soul in to each song it will make your hair stand up (then, I’ve never heard of a concert where he didn’t).
As usual, Havens does more covers than originals, but every song he plays becomes a Ritchie Havens song. Especially great are his Helplessly Hoping (Stephen Stills), his famous version of God Bless the Child, and Dolphins, a song which he popularized as far as I know.
Another bonus to this as opposed to a greatest hits collection is his “narrations”. Havens is gentle and funny, and tells stories like no one else. (by J.Christmas)

Personnel:
Richie Havens (guitar, vocals)
Eric Oxendine (bass)
Joe Price (percussion)
Paul Williams (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Can’t Make It Anymore (Santos) 5.31
02. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan) 3.25
03. Helplessly Hoping (Stills) 6.33
04. God Bless The Child (Holiday/Herzog) 5.24
05. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robertson) 4.11
06. No More, No More (Havens) 6.00
07. Preparation (Narration) 1.48
08. Here Comes The Sun (Harrison) 4.12
09. Fire And Rain (Taylor) 5.55
10. Superman (Narration) 3.45
11. Dolphins (Neil) 5.29
12. Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen/My Sweet Lord (Traditional/Harrison) 9.42
+
13. Teach Your Children (Nash) 3.59
14. San Francisco Blues (Fuller) 2.43
15. High Flyin´ Bird (Wheeler) 4.59

*
**

Bobbi Humphrey – Fancy Dancer (1975)

The third and final collaboration between flutist Bobbi Humphrey and Larry Mizell also marked the end of Humphrey’s five-album run with Blue Note Records. Humphrey began recording with Larry and his brother Fonce (who provides arrangements and plays clavinet and trumpet here) in the aftermath of Donald Byrd’s Black Byrd, the collaborative jazz-funk effort that resulted in a massively successful (and influential) commercial breakthrough for the trumpeter and the label. While not as well known as her Blacks and Blues album, her stellar debut with the pair from 1973, Fancy Dancer is every bit its aesthetic equal. The Mizells lined up a serious crew of studio aces for the date, including trumpeter Oscar Brashear; trombonist Julian Priester; Tyree and Roger Glenn on saxophone and piano, respectively; pianists Skip Scarborough and Jerry Peters (who were part of an army of them on this date); drummer Harvey Mason; bassist Chuck Rainey; and even the great Dorothy Ashby on harp. Recorded at their Sound Factory studio in Los Angeles, Fancy Dancer is a seamless collection of seven tracks that cruise the distance across soulful fusions of funk, Latin grooves, electric jazz, and gauzy vocal choruses that offer a hint as to what the underground dancefloor scenes of Los Angeles and New York were offering in at the predawn of the disco era. Humphrey’s flute playing feels effortless as she hovers around and plays through the layers of spacy keyboards, shimmering rhythmic pulses, and seductive textures provided by lilting voices, hand percussion, and breaks. The set comes popping out of the gate with the glorious “Uno Esta,” featuring bank upon bank of warm bubbling keyboards, roiling basslines, and hand drums courtesy of Mayuto Correa’s congas. Craig McMullen and John Rowin contribute some bright chunky guitars, and Larry lays a fine horn chart in the cut as Humphrey begins the first of three solo breaks. When the chorus comes in, the rhythm shifts; the vibe get funkier but never loses the sheen and polish in the mix.

Following this is the stunning Chuck Davis number “The Trip.” Commencing with a cut-time funk break, wah-wah guitars, and three different synth harmonic lines all painting a nocturnal spaced-out groove, Humphrey begins to play fills around and through them. A Rhodes enters and the drums become more pronounced in the mix, just as a guitar begins to play contrapuntal fills under her flute. This is one of the greatest tracks in her catalog because it is simultaneously dreamy and sensual and offers enough head-nodding funk to seduce an army. The title track feels more laid-back at first with its gentle chorus. But some flipped-out psychedelic soul finds its way through in waves of Latin percussion that build a shelf under Roger Glenn’s vibes break, which in turn sets up Humphrey’s burning flute solo prefiguring a salsa piano line and furious hand drumming in syncopated grooves. “Mestizo Eyes” is a steamy, lusty babymaker with simmering, ratcheted intensity as Rainey’s fat-bottom electric Fender bassline belies the chunky wah-wah guitars and synth strings and Dorothy Ashby’s harp floats through the center. A chorus of male voices softly chants the title and Humphrey goes to town, rhythmically undulating her solo through the entire mix. There isn’t anything approaching a middling moment here — this is all killer, no filler. Jazz critics may have had their troubles with this set, but no one cared; Humphrey and The Mizells were creating a new kind of largely instrumental funk that was inclusive of everything they could weave in from world music to soul-jazz to club music to pop — and the public responded. by Thom Jurek)

 

Personnel:
Dorothea Ashby (harp)
Oscar Brashear (trumpet)
James Carter (whistler)
Mayuto Correa (conga)
Chuck Davis (piano)
Roger Glenn (vibes, marimba)
Tyree Glenn Jr. (saxophone)
Bobbi Humphrey (flute, vocals)
Harvey Mason (drums)
Craig McMullen (guitar)
Fonce Mizell (trumpet, clavinet, solina, vocals)
Larry Mizell (synthesizer, solina, piano, vocals)
Jerry Peters (piano, synthesizer)
Julian Priester (trombone)
Chuck Rainey (bass)
John Rowin (guitar)
Skip Scarborough (piano, clavinet)
+
Jesse Acuna, Rosario Davila, Katherine Lyra, Augie Rey, Sonia Tavares (background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Uno Está (L.Mizell) 6.44
02. The Trip (Davis/Jones) 5.41
03. You Make Me Feel So Good (Larry Mizell, Fonce Mizell) – 6:16
04. Fancy Dancer (Peters) 5.46
05. Mestizo Eyes (Jordan/L.Mizell/F.Mizell) 4.52
06. Sweeter Than Sugar (Davis/Scarborough) 4.24
07. Please Set Me At Ease (L.Mizell/F.Mizell/R.Mizell) 6.09

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The Rolling Stones – Hamburg (1965)

For your collection; convenience and enjoyment – the Hamburg 1965 tracks in one place. For some, when The Stones really mattered… when they were riding high on the success of their first international No. 1 hit, Satisfaction, which was released in June 1965.

Thanks to velonabolin for sharing the tracks at IORR; and to werther2003 for sharing the tracks at Dime.

Thanks also to MICKJAGGER47 for the front cover.

This is a tv recording if it matters to anyone. It fades in because someone cut out the chatter of the voice over of someone introducing the performance in german. (by bagwell)

Enjoy the roots of a band which was one of the most important bands in rock history!

Recorded live at the Ernst-Merck-Halle, Hamburg, Germany; September 13, 1965
(first or second show)
Fairly to very good soundboard. Remastered Reel.

Personnel:
Mick Jagger (vocals. harmonica)
Brian Jones (guitar, background vocals)
Keith Richards (guitar, background vocals)
Charlie Watts (drums)
Bill Wyman (bass)

Tracklist:
01. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (faded in) (Berns/Burke/Wexler) 1.21
02. Pain In My Heart (Toussaint) 2.01
03. Around And Around (Berry) 2.27
04. Introduction Mick Jagger 0.13
05. Time Is On My Side  (Jagger/Richards) 2.46
06. I’m Moving On (Snow) 2.34
07. Charlie Watts announced ‘The Last Time’ 0.36
08. The Last Time (Jagger/Richards) 3.10
09. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (Jagger/Richards) 3.50
10. I’m Alright (McDaniel) 4.08

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