Tag Archives: Jazz-Funk

Listening Room – “Shades of Green”

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This RARE album from Grant Green is a soulful and groovy burner of a record.  Joined on the vibes by Billy Wooten, the pair keep the music in the cut even on the spacier and mellower tracks.  Made up mostly of standards both new and old (although the one Green original California Green is probably the strongest track), this is definitely not the sound that made Grant Green a soul-jazz legend, but it is a still a nice under appreciated gem.

Shades of Green
This album is currently out-of-print.

Released 1971  :  Blue Note Records  :  Catalog # BST 84413

Players:
Grant Green – Guitar
Joe Newman – Trumpet
Joe Wilder – Trumpet
Victor Paz – Trumpet
Jimmy Sedlar – Trumpet
Billy Wooten – Vibes
Emmanuel Riggins – Electric Piano, Clavinet
Wilton Felder – Electric Bass
Harry DiVito – Trombone
Dick Hickson – Bass Trombone
Jim Buffington – French Horn
Phil Bodner – Woodwinds
Romeo Penque – Woodwinds
George Marge – Woodwinds
John Leone – Woodwinds
Nesbert “Stix” Hooper – Drums
King Errisson – Conga
Harold Caldwell – Percussion

Grant Green – California Green from “Shades of Green”

Grant Green – In The Middle from “Shades of Green”

Listening Room – “Power of Soul”

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This 1974 album was Idris Muhammad’s debut album for Creed Taylor’s Kudu imprint and is generally regarded as his finest effort as a leader.  Muhammad (who began his career as Leo Morris) is the original funky drummer and this album is funky, funky and more funky.  Joined by CTI stalwarts such as Bob James, Grover Washington Jr. and Joe Beck, the album contains one original by each of them plus a scorching version of the Hendrix penned title track.  If you have never heard this album before, you are in for one great ride.  [Note:  As of this writing, "Power of Soul" is available as an MP3 download at Amazon for only $3.99 !!]

Power of Soul
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Released 1974  :  Kudu Records  :  Catalog # 17

Players:
Idris Muhammad – Drums
Grover Washington, Jr. – Tenor & Soprano Sax
Randy Brecker – Trumpet
Joe Beck – Guitar
Bob James – Keyboards
Ralph MacDonald – Percussion

Idris Muhammad – Power of Soul from “Power of Soul”

Idris Muhammad – Loran’s Dance from “Power of Soul”

“Herbie Hancock – Live 1975″

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Herbie Hancock

Never Enough Rhodes has a great post of Herbie Hancock and Mwandishi recorded live in 1970 at NDR Studios in Hamburg, Germany.  It is almost 3 hours long and is one continuous take of three classic tracks.  Full post here…

Players:
Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes, Acoustic Piano
Bennie Maupis – Tenor Sax, Flute, Bass Clarinet
Eddie Henderson – Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Julian Priester – Trombone
Buster Williams – Bass
Billy Hart – Drums

Herbie Hancock – Speak Like a Child from “Live at NDR Studios”

Listening Room – “Straight Life”

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Released in 1970, “Straight Life” came out in between the more well known Hubbard albums “Red Clay” and “First Light”.  While I will always be partial to “Red Clay” for personal reasons (it is one of the first jazz albums I ever bought), “Straight Life” may be Hubbard’s greatest CTI recording.  The all-star group (Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette) were all very familiar with each other by this point in their careers and play off each other with ease.   All are on the same page playing the post-bop fusion selections that Hubbard chose for these sessions including his own classic compostition, the title track Straight Life.

Straight Life
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Released 1970  :  CTI Records  :  Catalog # 6007

Players:
Freddie Hubbard – Trumpet
Joe Henderson – Tenor Sax
Herbie Hancock – Piano
George Benson – Guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Jack DeJohnette – Drums

Freddie Hubbard – Straight Life from “Straight Life”

Freddie Hubbard – Mr. Clean from “Straight Life”

Listening Room – “Sunburst”

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Sunburst

Eddie Henderson – “Sunburst”

Eddie Henderson – “The Kumquat Kids”

From “Sunburst” : Released 1975 : Blue Note Records

This was trumpeter Eddie Henderson’s first album for Blue Note, originally released in 1975.  Featuring a good number of players from Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi group (of which Henderson was a member) Sunburst is a fine example of the hard driving jazz-funk that Hancock and Miles Davis were pioneering at the time.

Players:
Eddie Henderson – Trumpet
Julian Priester – Trombone
Bennie Maupin – Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet
Bobby Hutcherson – Marimba
George Duke – Electric Piano, Clavinet, Synth
Buster Williams – Bass
Alphonso Johnson – Bass
Harvey Mason – Drums
Billy Hart – Drums

Listening Room – “Two Headed Freap”

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Two-Headed Freap

Ronnie Foster – “Chunky”

Ronnie Foster – “Mystic Brew”

From “Two-Headed Freap” : 1972 : Blue Note BST 84382

Jazz-Funk that is heavy on the funk, this out-of-print album was Ronnie Foster’s debut on Blue Note in 1972. Definitly influenced by everyone from Jimmy Smith to Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi albums to Sly and The Family Stone. A popular record for the hip hop set, Mystic Brew may be most famous for being sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for the track Electric Relaxation in the early 90′s.

Players:
Ronnie Foster – Hammond B3 Organ
Gene Bertoncini – Guitar
George Duvivier – Bass
Gordon Edwards – Bass
George Devens – Vibes
Jimmy Johnson – Drums

Listening Room – “Comin’ On Home”

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Richard “Groove” Holmes – “Groovin’ for Mr. G”

From “Comin’ On Home” : 1974 : Blue Note Records

Keeping the B3 vibe going, here is a cut from a pretty obscure session from Richard “Groove” Holmes. “Comin’ on Home” was recorded in 1971 and released on Blue Note. A few of the players are a bit unknown but the jazz-funk pioneer Weldon Irvine and Holmes keep everyone deep in the cut.

Players:
Richard “Groove” Holmes – Hammond B3
Weldon Irvine – Electric Piano
Gerald Hubbard – Guitar
Jerry Jemmott – Bass
Daryl Washington -Drums
Ray Armando – Congas
James Davis – Percussion