*Yusef Lateef - Jazz 'Round the World. 1964 Impulse. Stereo original press. Of the few jazz albums I found in the Colorado mountain interior, this is the one I was most looking forward to hearing. It wasn't quite what I expected, but all the same, it's going to be the keeper of the bunch. Essentially the concept here is to take traditional sounds or songs of a region and jazzify them. 'Yusef's French Brother', for example, includes snippets of 'Frere Jacques'. I preferred Side 2 as Lateef switches over to flute from saxophone. Overall a fine work, and the way I discovered it will likely keep it around longer than normal. (Aug)
John Coltrane / Don Cherry - The Avant-Garde. 1966 Atlantic mono. This is one of the albums I inexplicably found for a dollar in a Colorado mountain town (Aug). The title could almost be considered exploitation. Recorded in 1960, this is most certainly not avant garde for either artist by 1966. But it works well as a post bop jazz album. But it's not free jazz either, that which I doubt I'd enjoy more, but you never know. This isn't anything I need to keep.
Joe Zawinul - The Rise & Fall of the Third Stream. 1968 Vortex. Found this pre-Weather Report LP for a $1 at a thrift shop in the Colorado mountain interior of all places, along with two other relatively rare jazz pieces (to be discussed soon) and a mono The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. All in great condition. Sometimes you get lucky like that. As for the music, the only Third Stream album I consciously know I've heard is its most famous proponent: Don Ellis' Electric Bath. I found Zawinul's album more jazz and less classical than that effort. It's a fine album overall, though there isn't enough here for me to keep. (Aug)
Brand X - Do They Hurt? 1980 Passport. Curiosity killed the cat. Or alligator in this case. After regaining an appreciation for Brand X's classic albums, how about a go for their B-listers? Naw. Do They Hurt? is a decent fusion album, but all too typical of the era without any surprises or peak moments. At times it sounds like a Percy Jones solo album. Too much bass really. Goodsall's guitar is way too subdued. (Jul)
Airto - Fingers. 1973 CTI. Another one from the Austin show. This checks a lot of boxes for me: Brazil; Jazz funk fusion; Thick gatefold on CTI. Airto's name is somewhat ubiquitous throughout the 70s and 80s (same with his wife Flora Purim). Despite that fact, this is the first time I've heard an Airto solo album. It's quite good, sounding like Sergio Mendes on a fusion bender. The songwriting isn't very compelling however, at least compared to the dozens of albums I have like it. Yet one more album I would have kept in the last decade, but that ship has now sailed. All the same, I'll definitely pick up (most) anything else I see by him, as I'm sure he has a gem or two that I will enjoy at a higher level.(Jul)
Joachim Kuhn Band - Sunshower. 1978 Atlantic. Another $1 pickup in Austin. A mix of heavy fusion and other styles, including a couple of vocal funk-soul numbers. Perhaps a bit too eclectic for its own good, though not uncommon in the jazz world from this era. Borderline keeper when taking in account the heavier pieces, but it can't compete with what's already in the collection. (Jul)
Eberhard Weber - Later that Evening. 1982 ECM/Warner Bros. More adult jazz from Weber. Always pleasant, never satisfying. (Jul)
Allan Holdsworth - Atavachron. 1986 Enigma. Picked this one up in Austin for $1. Perfect nick. There was a lot of fusion like this in the middle 80s. Not a big fan of the Synthaxe, which is all over this thing. The tones and production are off-putting, though I suspect the material would hold up better in an analog setting. Overall it's a pleasant listen, but nothing I need to hold onto. (Jul)
*Vince Guaraldi Trio - Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. 2002 Analogue/Fantasy (SACD) (1962). Earlier in the year I found a large stash of SACD's for pennies at an estate sale, which are always great for resale. Most were classical, and we held back a couple of the less expensive ones for our happy hours. Almost all of them are hybrid, so you can listen to them on any CD player. There were a couple of rock titles that sold in about 10 minutes. But the few jazz titles were pure SACD, meaning I couldn't play them, so I put them for sale. Including this title, until I realized that it was a hybrid. This is a well known piano trio album, and even won awards in its day. I wish they'd play this at restaurants instead of the awful pop music we sometimes have to endure. Guaraldi later when on to fame and fortune with his soundtrack to the Peanuts TV cartoon specials. Unfortunately he passed away in his late 40s in 1976. Not to end on a bummer, this constitutes my very first SACD for the collection. Eh, why not? (Jun)
Rare Silk - American Eyes. 1985 Palo Alto. When I first heard this on a scan, I thought it was a New Wave album. As it turns out, it belongs to vocal jazz. The production and instrumentation scream middle 80s. I struggled to get through this one. Not a bad album, but outside of my interest area for sure. (Jun)
Larry Nozero Quartet - Island Fever. 1981 MSI. Found this private album from Birmingham, Michigan (Detroit suburb) at a thrift shop a few weeks ago (Jun). Very obscure release. A very nice and pleasant background styled jazz, with Nozero providing flute and saxophone. The former has a fairly large presence, so it's curious he only credits himself with saxophone. It's traditional jazz otherwise with piano, standup bass, and drums providing the backdrop. A little more depth and spirituality ala Lloyd McNeill would have made this a keeper. Too crowd pleasing for me.
One Shot. 1999 private. Collection revisit (May). This is the original mix. I bought this when it came out as it promised to demonstrate what the current Magma lineup were doing on their off days when Vander wasn't around. Well it isn't Zeuhl, but rather a heavy kind of instrumental jazz rock similar to the 70s masters. It's very well done with excellent instrumentation and sound. However it's very derivative lacking any kind of hooks, composition, or innovation one would look for at this late date. It's a One Shot jam essentially, which was the premise of the group to be fair. This one really is too much of the same thing. A lot of notes but not a lot of music. I own three others by them, hopefully they're more interesting to me.
Full Moon. 1972 Douglas. Picked this up at a store in Pueblo (Mar). I recognized the name Buzz Feiten (cool name) from some obscure Japanese CDs I found at a thrift shop a couple of years ago. Full Moon's debut comes at the very beginning of the jazz rock movement and the instrumental portions here are excellent. But it's a 50/50 proposal that also includes quite a bit of bluesy soul crooning that isn't very enjoyable to me. Borderline keeper, but I have enough quality jazz rock here to last a lifetime. I needed just a little more from this title. Incidentally all the reissues come from Japan, indicating that Feiten is highly revered in that country.
* - Keeping for the collection
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