[Records] Weather Report - Sweetnighter (1973)

Loooong time since I reviewed the last Jazz record here. Way to long! I will make sure to post Jazz record reviews on a more regular basis. Promise!

So, today it's gonna be Sweetnighter, the 1973 album by Weather Report, the legendary Jazz band around band leader and genius Joe Zawinul. Lucky me, since I was introduced to this record waaaay back in the days when I was a kid. That is, besides the fact that it's an awesome record, the reason why it is mentioned here before other records that some people might judge more important to post. Sadly, I couldn't find any YouTube Clips for that record so I chose a live clip which at leadst shows how fucking cool those guys were and still are:

Review I found on Amazon.com that I found good:

The first reason to get this disk is aesthetic. "Sweetnighter" is a unique recording: it includes the least structured, open-ended music that Weather Report recorded, and it was the last one they made before technological progress armed Joe Zawinul with more synthesizers than was perhaps healthy.

Some jazz fan acquaintances used to point to this recording and complain that Zawinul had kidnapped Wayne Shorter and was holding incommunicado in some safe house in Newark. To them there were no solos. They missed the point. Rather than soloing over an accompanying rhythm section, Shorter plays a kind of running commentary, coming in an out of a mix in which the bass(es) and percussion are given equal billing to Shorter's sax and Zawinul's keyboards. Sometimes everyone solos at once and it takes very, very accomplished musicians to pull this off without it degenerating into cacophony.

Yet it would be misleading to pigeonhole this record as Weather Report surrenders to the groove. Perhaps the most remarkable composition on the disk is Miroslav Vitous' ethereal "Will" which is percussion-less. Indeed, one of the remarkable things about this record are how varied the six pieces are: two open-ended jams - "Boogie Woogie Waltz" and "125th Street Congress;" a fairly conventional Shorter composition "Manolette;" two Zawinul tone poems a la "In A Silent Way" or "His Last Journey," "Adios" and "Non-Stop Home;" and Vitous' transcendent "Will."

The other reason to get this disk is the way it sounds. The mass conversion of analogue tapes to digital formats has yielded some real disasters - e.g. Shorter's "Native Dancer" where entire instruments disappeared from the mix. This recording, in contrast, is a case in which the move to CD is a clear improvement over the original vinyl. Now the two basses on "Boogie Woogie Waltz" and "125th Street Congress" are clearly distinguishable, and similarly the multitudinous percussion instruments are more clearly defined. As another reviewer noted, never have Moroccan clay drums sounded so good. Roller toys and Israeli jar drums, either.

DISCOGS: 
http://www.discogs.com/Weather-Report-Sweetnighter/release/481001

[Music] Wigwam - Fairyport (1971)

Wigwam is a finnish progressive rock band formed in 1968. I recently stumpled upon their album Fairyport, which was released in 1971 on Love Records (but recorded in '68). Great progressive stuff. Exactly what I associate with progressive rock music. Epic arrangements, folkish sounds, wonderful melodies and so on.

Great musicians also, as far as I can judge that aspect. I especially like how they manage to integrate all the styles from jazz to folk to simple rock/blues without ever losing that mystique touch in their music. Positive shit. I postet the first track of this record, Losing Hold, on the bottom of this page. It gives you a good idea how they sound. Find their homepage here. The Discogs page for this release right there.

 

Necro - Die!

Finally got my vinyl of Necros new album.

Expect classical Necro style: 

East coast boom bap beats overlaid with brutal violence-, drug- & porn-themed raps.
Aditional info on the record and necro to be found at the Discogs link at the bottom of this post.

more info @ DISCOGS

The Cats - Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Idrees Sulieman & Kenny Burrel

I bought this record last weekend. Pretty cool, until recently unreleased material of Coltrane (according to the guy in the record store). I also liked the fact that Tommy Flanagan is on it, playing the keys so fucking smooth again. Also featuring Kenny Burrell on the guitar.Nice.

Credits:

• Bass – Doug Watkins
• Drums – Louis Hayes
• Guitar – Kenny Burrell
• Piano – Tommy Flanagan
• Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane
• Trumpet – Idrees Sulieman

Notes:

' 1957 may have been a watershed year for jazz, but this session, recorded for Prestige on April 18 at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in NJ, was still a cut above the rest. While Coltrane may be the big name draw here, this session was actually led by pianist Tommy Flanagan, who would go on to be Ella Fitzgerald’s accompanist in the sixties, and appear on a number of historic jazz sessions including Coltrane’s Giant Steps, and Sonny Rollins’ Saxophone Colossus. In fact, every composition on this album was written by Flanagan, except for Gershwin’s “How Long Has This Been Going On?”, performed here in trio form. Also features some truly superlative trumpet playing by Idrees Sulieman, best known for his association with Coleman Hawkins.'

Discogs Info here

John Coltrane - Giant Steps (1959) [Atlantic]

Tracklist 

A1 Giant Steps 4:43 

A2 Cousin Mary 5:45 

A3 Countdown 2:21 

A4 Spiral 5:56 

B1 Syeeda's Song Flute 7:00 

B2 Naima 4:21 

B3 Mr. P.C. 6:57 

Credits 

Bass – Paul Chambers 

Drums – Art Taylor (tracks: A1 to B1, B3), Jimmy Cobb (tracks: B2) 

Engineer [Recording] – Phil Iehle, Tom Dowd 

Piano – Tommy Flanagan (tracks: A1 to B1, B3), Wynton Kelly (tracks: B2) Supervised By – Nesuhi Ertegun 

Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane 

Written-By – John Coltrane

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)

As this is the 10th post, it's about time for the first jazz record, eh?!
I will start with a true classic, which my Dad passed on to me (thx for introducing me so much good music):

Miles Davis' fantastic Bitches Brew, that was released in 1970 on CBS Records.
Must-hear, must-know, must-have! Nuff said!

Bass – Dave Holland
Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin
Bass [Fender] – Harvey Brooks
Drums – Charles Alias, Jack DeJohnette, Lenny White
Electric Guitar – John McLaughlin
Electric Piano – Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul (tracks: A to C1, D2), Larry Young (tracks: A, C1 to D1)
Percussion – Jim Riley
Producer – Teo Macero
Soprano Saxophone – Wayne Shorter
Trumpet – Miles Davis
Written-By – Miles Davis (tracks: B to D1)

 

Tracklist:

A - Pharaoh's Dance (by Joe Zawinul) - 20:07min
B - Bitches Brew - 27min
C1 - Spanish Keys - 17:30min
C2 - John McLaughlin - 4:23min
D1 - Miles Runs The Voodoo Down - 14:03min
D2 - Sanctuary (by Wayne Shorter) - 10:54min

Jonti - Sine&Moon (The Album) - Stones Throw - Free DL

MAD LOVE - no words needed, you're a fool if you don't get that gift from Stones Throw !

Peter Schumann - Schoolyard EP on BlueCode Records

Great EP by the great Peter Schumann (Bar25, Platte International) that was recently released on BlueCode Records, which I happen to run together with my buddy Tim Tor. Also featuring a very special remix by his darkness Benjamin Fehr (Catenaccio Rec.).

Check out the promo video and soundcloud set below. Support if you like what you hear. Strictly underground business. We the good guys! (: 

BCR010 Peter Schumann - Schoolyard EP by BlueCode Records