A blog-follower request, this is a reconstruction of the unreleased Clash album Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg. Originally conceived as a double-album by guitarist Mick Jones who had tried to harness more creative control of the band, Rat Patrol was eventually skimmed down and remixed into a more commercial single-disc, their seminal 1982 album Combat Rock. Unlike other Rat Patrol bootlegs, this reconstruction follows Mick Jones’ actual track order found on his rough cut of the double-album. Also my reconstruction uses a number of sources to provide the most complete, pristine and dynamic album possible, including remastered bootleg tracks and a needledrop vinyl rip of an original pressing of Combat Rock. As always, all tracks are volume adjusted for a cohesive listening experience.

By the early 1980s, the cracks in The Clash had begun to form. Coming off their daring 1980 triple-album Sandinista!, work began on their fifth album in late 1981 at a London rehearsal space, demoing new material with a mobile multitrack set-up.

While Clash frontman Joe Strummer hoped for a more commercial and concise single album of roots-rock, guitarist Mick Jones wished to continue the world beat influence of their previous album, pushing the envelope to his current tastes in dub, reggae and American hip-hop. Temporarily shelving their differences, The Clash embarked on a tour and residency to road-test the new material. During this period, the band embraced images and concepts associated with the Vietnam War—or at least the Vietnam War as seen through the Hollywood lens. They also embraced elements of urban American culture, even as much as having graffiti artist Futura 2000 paint the backdrop of their tour. Blending this ‘ghetto’ and Vietnam War imagery together, they created an aesthetic of “urban warfare” which was perpetuated in Joe Strummers lyrics for the new material. Was this perhaps a metaphor for the band’s own internal warfare?

Reconvening in New York’s Electric Ladyland Studios in late 1981—Mick’s choice as he felt that was the center of modern musical activity—The Clash got to work recording the album proper, led by Jones’ vision of a more funk/reggae/dub-inspired sound and fueled by Topper Headon’s appropriately globalized drumming. Sides were drawn as Headon’s heroin addiction led to his own perception as being an outcast in the group and sided with Jones, leaving Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon (who felt he had been forced to take a creative backseat) to unite on the other side of the battle field and vie for a single disc punk record. As sessions progressed, the songs became longer—an obvious dub influence—and despite Strummer’s worries that they needed a single-LP for CBS Records to properly promote the album, the project was steadily becoming yet another double album, possibly doomed to distribution limbo. The situation amounted to running two studio rooms simultaneously so both Strummer and Jones could work independently on their vocals and guitar overdubs respectively, without having to actually interact with each other.

Just before leaving to tour Asia in early 1982, Mick Jones prepared his vision of the double album, provisionally titled Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg. Long-winded, indulgent and sometimes even superfluous, the album contained 15 songs and ran over 65 minutes—and that was excluding at least four outtakes (“Overpowered By Funk”, “Walk Evil Walk”, “Midnight To Stevens” and “Long Time Jerk” did not make the cut on Jones’ sequence). The rest of the band hated it and Joe Strummer championed to have the album remixed and edited into a more commercial product. Strummer’s wishes eventually won and producer Glynn Johns was brought in to fix the album (note this is the third time this blog has covered an Album That Never Was that Glyn Johns was supposed to produce and/or clean-up, including The Beatles Get Back and The Who’s Lifehouse!!). That April, Strummer and Johns reviewed the material at Wessex Studios in London and remixed the songs to emphasize its guitar elements and begin whittling the songs down to their basic necessity, eliminating their unneeded near raga-lengths. “Know Your Rights”, “Red Angel Dragnet”, “Ghetto Defendant”, “Sean Flynn” and “Inoculated City” all lost approximately two minutes each.

The songs earmarked as singles, “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” and “Rock The Casbah” (the later actually referencing the raga-lengths of the Rat Patrol songs), were treated to new vocal tracks. Four songs, “The Fulham Connection”, “First Night Back In London”, “Cool Confusion” and “Idle In Kangaroo Court W1”, were dropped entirely, while “Overpowered By Funk” was curiously added back into the running order.

Despite Mick Jones and allegations that his art had been tampered with, the album was appropriately retitled to Combat Rock and CBS Records had their more commercial, single-disc album, rush-released that May. Even though the more concise album was commercially successful—both “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “Rock The Casbah” became hits—the cracks in The Clash were too deep to be fixed. Topper was removed from the band due to his excessive heroin addiction in May, the month Combat Rock was released; Mick was fired from the band the following year.

Both Jones and Headon went on to form Big Audio Dynamite, who was more reminiscent of the world-beat hybrid found on Rat Patrol, while Strummer and Simonon continued the Clash and recorded their final album ironically titled Cut The Crap (which was later disavowed by all band members). But luckily through bootlegs and an assortment of bonus tracks and compilations, we are able to reconstruct what this less-commercial and raga-like Combat Rock would have been—what turned out to be The Clash’s unreleased swansong. The overall primary concern for this Rat Patrol is sound quality.

While Mick Jones’ original mix of the album is available on bootlegs, they are usually sourced from a highly generated cassette; because of this, I occasionally chose to use the Combat Rock versions of some tracks rather than the bootlegged Mick Jones mixes for the sake of a pleasurable listening experience. Luckily, fairly pristine versions of Jones’ mixes of “Rock The Casbah”, “Straight To Hell” and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” can be found on bootlegs, an alternate source than the muffled cassettes. Likewise, the long Mick Jones mixes of “Ghetto Defendant” and “Sean Flynn” are found on the Sound System boxset. The remaining tracks are sourced from a needledrop vinyl rip of Combat Rock by kel bazaar, which is the most pristine and dynamic version of the album I’ve heard. We will also use the actual tracklist from Mick Jones’s master, which omits “Overpowered by Funk” and “Walk Evil Walk”. Side A begins with Mick Jones’ original mix of “Straight To Hell” taken from the bootleg Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg on Redline Records. It sounded a bit crusty so I personally re-EQd it to match the EQ parameters found on the vinyl rip of Combat Rock used elsewhere on this reconstruction.

Husker Du - Live in the 7th St. Entry -1981 w Live In Finland 1987 w Live In San Francisco w Live In London 1987-06-27. Ian Dury And The. The Chords - Maybe Tomorrow on Top Of the Pops The Crucifucks - The Dale 1983 and. The Last Testament - The Making Of London Calling The Misfits - Cartoon.

Following is the shorter Glyn Johns mix of “Know Your Rights” from the vinyl rip of Combat Rock. Peugeot Service Box 2009 Keygen Download Manager more. Mick’s very different original mix of “Rock The Casbah” is next, taken from the bootleg Another Combat Rock, again re-EQed to match the parameters of the album version. The side concludes with “Red Angel Dragnet” from the vinyl rip of Combat Rock, again choosing the shorter album version; note if we had used the longer mixes, side A would have been ridiculously longer than the other sides anyways! Side B opens with Mick’s mix of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” taken from Another Combat Rock, again reEQd to match the album version. Closing disc one is Mick’s long mixes of “Ghetto Defendant” and “Sean Flynn”, taken from the Sound System box set. Side C begins with “Car Jamming” from Combat Rock, being that the Johns and Jones mixes were fairly similar. “The Fulham Connection”, also known and released as “The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too”, is taken from the Sound System box set.

Next is “Atom Tan” from Combat Rock (again not too different from its original mix) followed by “First Night Back in London” from the Sound System box set. Side C starts with the unedited Combat Rock version of “Inoculated City” which features the original ’2000 Flushes’ sample, albeit not the long Mick’s version. Next is “Death is a Star”, again from Combat Rock. “Cool Confusion” from the box set follows, with the album finishing on the goony “Idle in Kangaroo Court W1” also known and bootlegged as “Kill Time”. I believe that the bootleg that I took Straight To Hell from actually took theirs from The Clash On Broadway, so it's the same! Also, I stand by my choice for the cover, I really felt it set the tone for this album. But because I am a people-pleaser, here is a quick alternate cover art I made that one could use instead: But it is of interest that my research has led me to believe the actual original cover art of Rat Patrol was designed by Futura 2000, and an extreme close-up of it's detail is featured as the back cover of Combat Rock.

The orignal full-sized painting can be found in a book of his art titled 'Futura'. Unfortunately, I was not able to locate a copy of the book so if anyone has access to that orignal artwork--or can confirm this in general--then feel free to post it! Hey soniclovenoize!Really cool pick on that one!I made my own mix keeping the 'comerciality' of Combat Rock and using it's mixes,it goes like this: Side A 1.The Fullham Connection 2.Kill Time 3.Should I Stay Or Should I Go? 4.Rock The Casbah 5.Know Your Rights Side B 1.Red Angel Dragnet 2.Ghetto Defendant 3.Midnight To Stevens 4.Hell W10 5.Car Jamming Side C 1.Innoculated City 2.Death Is A Star 3.Sean Flynn 4.Atom Tan 5.Overpowered By Funk Side D 1.Long Time Jerk 2.First Night Back In London 3.Radio Clash 4.Cool Confusion 5.Straight To Hell. Hey, soniclovenoize, what about the real Cream 'Goodbye' album, with the same format as Wheels Of Fire. Those are the tracks I chose for the studio disc: Side A 1.Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune 2.Theme for an Imaginary Western 3.What a Bringdown 4.Presence Of The Lord 5.Doing That Scrapyard Thing Side B 1.Badge 2.Rope Ladder to the Moon 3.Tickets to Water Falls 4.The Ministry Of Rag And for the live one: Side C 1.Deserted Cities of the Heart 2.White Room 3.N.S.U.

4.Tales of Brave Ulysses Side D 1.I’m So Glad 2.Sleepy Time Time 3.Politician.

Five in a row from the mighty Blue Note Lable! A slammin' LP of 'jazz meets percussion', hosted by the great Art Blakey, and featuring jazz players like Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef, and Ahmed Abdul-Malik plus a host of percussionists that include Solomon Ilori, Montego Joe, Chief Bey, and Garvin Masseaux. Blakey skirts nicely between the two camps, and although the record probably has more of an Afro-percussion feel than a jazz one, Lateef and Fuller blow through the mix with some nice nice solos.Blakey on top form as always and on a par with Holiday for Skins and Orgy in Rhythm. Cirrus finds Bobby Hutcherson resuming his partnership with tenor saxophonist Harold Land, and the results are marvellous. The pair work with pianist Bill Henderson, trumpeter Woody Shaw, bassist Ray Drummond, drummer Larry Hancock, saxophonist/flautist Emmanuel Boyd and percussionist Kenneth Nash on this set of originals.The album starts with a great version of Woody Shaw's 'Rosewood' while the rest of the set is written by Hutcherson and includes 'Even Later'.Highlight of the lp for me is the atmospheric and brooding 'Zuri Dance' - what a corker!

For this set, organist Larry Young (the first musician on his instrument to really move beyond Jimmy Smith's soul-jazz into the avant-garde) mostly utilized lesser-known musicians from the Newark, NJ, area: Tyrone Washington and Herbert Morgan on tenors, flugelhornist Hank White, guitarist Eddie Wright, drummer Eddie Gladden, and Stacey Edwards on congas.The lp kicks of in storming style with the incredible 'Majestic Soul'-11:55 minutes of furious funky driving groove which gets further out as it progresses but keeps swinging like a mutha.' Major Affair' is an organ-drums duet and 'Tender Feelings' is another barnstormer with all horns in full effect. This adventurous music is often very intense but also grooves in its own eccentric way, offering listeners a very fresh sound on organ.Another top lp from Blue Note that has never been reissued on cd apart from as part of the superb Mosaic boxed set. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOW AN MP3 DOWNLOAD. Recorded in 1965, but not released until 1980, Et Cetera holds its own against the flurry of albums Wayne Shorter released during the mid-'60s, a time when he was at the peak of his powers. It is hard to imagine why Blue Note might have chosen to shelve the album, as it shows Shorter in a very favorable light with an incredibly responsive rhythm section performing four of his originals and a cover of Gil Evans' 'Barracudas.'

The low-key nature of the album as a whole, especially the title track, might have contributed to Blue Note's lack of attention, but the lp is full of gems, especially the closing track, 'Indian Song.' At times the rest of the album seems like a warmup for that amazing tune, where Shorter swirls around in a hypnotizing dance with Herbie Hancock's piano, grounded by the nocturnal bass of Cecil McBee and the airy structure of Joe Chamber's drumming. The short, repetitive themes and passionate, soulful playing echo John Coltrane, but this quartet has its own flavor, and the perfect, intricate web they weave here helps pull the whole session up to a higher level.Superb! An amazing album of spiritual jazz from Japan recorded in 2003. Pharoah Sanders and his work on Impulse are the main influence here but put into a modern context with rumbling basslines and powerhouse drumming balanced by acoustic piano and an incendiary solo sax scorching over the top.I saw them live supporting Pharoah at the Jazz Cafe a couple of years ago and they blew me away with their sheer energy and power.awesome.If you like the Soil and Pimp Sessions you'll love this. Ripped from the original Japanese issue which is now deleted but I believe the cd has now had a UK issue-highly recommended. The correct track listing is in the comments as it managed to get scrambled on the upload.

Funky funky Don Ellis with a great set of electric groovers released at the same time that Don scored big with his soundtrack for The French Connection! As you'd guess from the title, the feel here is quite similar funky electric big band jazz, with a very hip 70s action soundtrack feel; one that mixes acoustic sax and trumpet passages with some groovier keyboards and electronic bits all wrapped up in production that's tight, but never too slick to be funky! The album features a great take on Don's excellent 'Theme From The French Connection'and the stupendous 'Chain Reaction' http://rapidshare.de/files/10923773/Don_Da_Con.zip.html.

Although Opa made some exciting contributions to Brazilian jazz in the 1970s and had a strong supporter in percussionist Airto Moreira, the South American trio never took off commercially. Opa was founded in 1969 by Uruguayan keyboardist/pianist/singer Hugo Fattoruso (b. 26, 1943, Montevideo, Uruguay), who recruited drummer George Fattoruso (his brother) and bassist Ringo Thielmann. Opa moved from South America to New York in 1970, and their Manhattan gigs soon caught Moreira's attention. Opa became Moreira's rhythm section and was employed on his second CTI album, Fingers, in 1973, and Hugo Fattoruso later appeared as a sidemen on other 1970s albums by Moreira and his wife, singer Flora Purim. Unfortunately, Moreira's popularity didn't rub off when he produced Opa's two LPs Golden Wings (1976) and Magic Time (1977). Neither sold, and Opa broke up in the early 1980s without ever recording a third album.

Hugo Fattoruso soon moved to Brazil, where he worked with Brazilian stars Djavan and Chico Buarque before returning to Uruguay in 1989. His brother also returned to Uruguay (where he co-led a group with his wife, singer Mariana Ingold), while Thielemann remained in the U.S. And seemed to move away from music. I have posted Golden Wings here as its the stronger of the two lps containing the prototype 'Tombo in 7/4'on 'Pieces' and the two classic jazz dance tunes 'African Bird' and 'Goldenwings'.They sure domt make em like this anymore!!!! Probably Charles Earland's best work from the 70s and a monster 2 LP set that catches the master organist right before he started goofing around too much with other keyboards and recording rubbish for disco consumption.

The group is very very tight, and never stops grooving on 4 sides of magical stuff, all spearheaded by the amazing soaring keyboards of Charles Earland. Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Henderson, and Joe Henderson all sit in, Harvey Mason kicks light and free on drums and also features Patrick Gleeson on moogs. Includes an excellent version of 'Red Clay', plus a stellar batch of originals, like 'Van Jay', 'Mason's Galaxy', 'Brown Eyes', and 'Warp Factor 8'. Great great stuff and one of my favourite organ led lps.

Ripped in two parts: http://rapidshare.de/files/18976401/EARLAND_2.rar.html. More from Donald and the Mizzells - An essential bit of jazz funk!The groove's very similar to the classic Places & Spaces, and the record's got loads of cool spacey tracks with hot funky trumpet from Donald, and cool waves of synth and sound from Larry. The title cut's a great groover, and other nice ones include 'Think Twice' (sampled by Main Source for 'Lookin' At the Front Door'), 'I Love The Girl', and 'You Are The World'.

Great great great stuff, and right up there with the albums Places & Spaces and Street Lady. Three in a row for the Mizzells! Heres a landmark album by Donald Byrd the first one where he really started to click with jazz-funk producer Larry Mizell! Mizell and Byrd had worked together previously on the Black Byrd album a soaring bit of futuristic jazz funk that took Byrd's career to a whole new level but this album's the one where they really began to make the formula cook, blending together tight funky rhythms, spacey keyboards, soulful vocals, and some of Donald's best solo work of the 70s! The whole thing's a masterpiece, and all tracks sparkle including 'Lansana's Priestess', 'Witch Hunt', and 'Street Lady', one of the funkiest tracks ever on Blue Note. A haunting record with a beautiful spacey groove, and one of the best-ever fusion albums on Blue Note.

Heres another great production from the Mizzells - an LP that features arrangements by Gary and production by Larry and Fonce, which produces a perfect mix of their two styles, and creates a sound that straddles Gary's earlier albums with a straighter jazz feel and his later ones on Capitol with a funky fusion one. There's lots of great cuts with an airy Mizell feel to them and the usual top set of musicians including Hubert Eaves,Michael Henderson,Mtume,Howard King and Reggie Lucas.

A monster and one of the best jazz funk albums of all-time! This is the best record ever cut by the great flute player Bobbi Humphrey and the record features some stellar production work by the great Larry Mizell, very much in the same vein as that which he used on classic sessions by Gary Bartz and Donald Byrd. Recorded in 1973 for Blue Note with a great line up including Harvey Mason,Chuck Rainey,Fonce Mizzell and Stephanie Spruill. I finally got round to doing a compilation and here it is.Its concentrating on mambos and the heavier descarga end of the latin spectrum.I have tried to avoid the usual stuff that appears on every latin comp cd that comes out and instead selected harder to find music that has been overlooked.All these tracks are ripped from my original lps so if anyone would like more info on them leave a comment in the box and I will post the album title / line up etc. Here's the track listing: 1.CACHAO-TROMBON MELANCOLICO 2.FRANCISCO AGUABELLA-CASA FORTE 3.CANDIDO-TI CHI CAN 4.WILLIE BOBO -DESCARGA DEL BOBO 5.OCHO-HOT PANTS ROAD 6.HERBIE MANN-TODOS LOCOS 7.MONGUITO SANTAMARIA-INDIO 8.TITO PUENTE-DANCE MANIA 9.JACK COSTANZO-ABANAQUITO 10.TITO PUENTE-STICK ON BONGO 11.JOE CAIN-KENYATTA 12.LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS-WITCH DOCTOR 13.CACHAO-GUAJEO DE SAXOS 14.MONGO SANTAMARIA-AFRO LYPSO My next compilation will be based around Modal Jazz.Also watch out for a series of posts featuring Larry and Fonce Mizzel productions coming soon.Hey they're up already!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't posted a soundtrack for a while so here's a real cracker for you from the great Roy Budd.Heist films always provided some of the best soundtracks of the 70's, and this one (starring Robert Shaw and Richard Roundtree, and issued in the US as Diamond Shaft) is no exception.

Budd rises to the groovy occasion and scores some excellent moments that match a light orchestral sound with a throbbing electric bass and percussion underground in a style that's like Lalo Schifrin's best work from the time. There's a couple of stinkers on it featuring the 3 Degrees but the rest is superb and is easily on a par with The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.This album has been heavily sampled for its breaks, beats and atmospheric themes - most successfully,in my opinion, by the Karminsky Experience.

A real lost chapter in the career of vibist Dave Pike -- an obscure one-off Latin session recorded for Decca in the mid 60s! The album was done in the years between Pike's first few early jazz sides and his later tripped-out sessions for MPS and Vortex and features Dave leading a groovy combo that has a really playful approach to the work. Players include trumpeter Dave Burns, flautist Hubert Laws, guitarist Atilla Zoller, and a young Chick Corea as well as Latin instrumentalists that include Willie Bobo, Patato Valdez, and Israel Cachao Lopez. The tunes include a number of really strong originals that push the format of such a set stretching past simple Latinized cover tunes, and displaying the ear for modal and global grooves that would mark some of Pike's best later years. The rarest of all of Art Blakey's percussion group projects and probably the best.

The session features Blakey at the head of a strong mix of jazz and percussion players with Art Taylor and Philly Joe Jones on the regular drum kit, Donald Byrd on trumpet and Ray Bryant on piano, and a host of assorted percussion work by the likes of Ray Barretto, Sabu Martinez, Victor Gonzalez, Julio Martinez,Chonguito Vicente,Fred Pagani Jr and Victor Gonzalez. The resultant sound is incredible very full, rich, and earthy and done in a way that interweaves African and Latin percussion styles with straighter American jazz! A few cuts have chanting by Blakey and Sabu with Hal Rasheed which, although not authentic, works well within the context of the record.

This lp features two killer cuts - The Feast and Lamento Africano - but the rest is also great _FOR_SKINS_VOLUME_1.rar.html. A mad mix of styles that perfectly sums up the sound of late 60s Brazil!

Som Tres have their roots in the bossa generation, but they're stretching out here with a flurry of 60s styles from mod instrumental pop, groovy psyched-out production, and endless strands borrowed from European and soundtrack modes of the time. The result is a completely indescribable batch of tracks that's just about as groovy as groovy can be and which includes more than a few numbers that have been sought after for years by the Blue Brazil generation.Be warned - the first track is pretty awfull but the rest is great so dont be put off by it. Gerald Wilson's Pacific Jazz albums of the 1960s were arguably the most significant of his career.

This lp was his second record of the period and has among its highlights the original version of 'Viva Tirado' (a catchy number made into a hit by El Chicano later in the decade) a driving rendition of 'MIlestones'and the latin influenced 'Latino ' the other six songs (six of which are Wilson's originals) are also great. Among the more notable soloists are trumpeter Carmell Jones, both Teddy Edwards and Harold Land on tenor, guitarist Joe Pass, and pianist Jack Wilson. One of the greatest albums of Latin Jazz ever recorded and a landmark session from Jack 'Mr Bongo' Costanzo! The album well earns its 'fever' claim as the set smokes from the very first note Jack's bongos calling the pace, moving fast and furiously to pull in a jazzy mix of tenor, trumpet, flute, and piano the latter of which is played by the great Eddie Cano! The whole thing's full on, and without any of the kitsch, tricks, or gimmicks that could sometimes hurt a session like this. No-nonsense hard core latin jazz all the way through - all killer no filler!!!!!

A monster of an album from the Mizell brothers! Johnny 'Hammond' Smith began his career as a simple soul jazz organist but by the time of this album, he'd teamed up with the mighty Larry Mizell, the genius arranger/producer who'd breathed new life into the careers of Donald Byrd and Bobbi Humphrey. Mizell works with Hammond in the same way he does with other jazz artists by taking a groove that works best with their solo style, and slowly layering other instrumentation and effects on top of it, so that when the solo kicks in, it's supported on waves and waves of funky sounds and soulful grooves. Mizell and his brother Fonce both play keyboards on the record, and the rest of the group includes great fusion players like Harvey Mason, Roger Glenn, Hadley Caliman, and Jerry Peters. The real treat is Johnny, though as his solos are heavenly, the best of his 70s work, stripped mean and lean, laid in at just the right points.Ripped from the original vinyl. Prime material from Nat Adderley and David Axelrod and despite the biblical leanings of the title, the record is pretty damn funky.

As they did for the Zodiac, Axelrod and Adderley take a trip through a host of cultural milestones stopping along the way to turn each one into a new pillar of soul, working with Rick Holmes, who narrates the set in the same way he did on the Zodiac albums. Brother Cannonball Adderley,Airto Moreira, Francisco Centeno and George Duke are among the players in the album's very funky backing and Axelrods production gives it that huge fat wide screen sound. Carnival en Harlem is a great Tito Puente set from 1966. Featuring the vocals of Santos Colon, and one of the tightest bands he ever put together Puente leads a group that rips it up from the frantic 'Rumba en el Patio ' and an incredible version of 'Corta el Bonche '- even better than Grupo Folklorico's take on it on ' Lo Dice Todo '(Soon to be posted) - to swinging standards such as 'Jumping with Symphony Sid ' & 'Bluesette 'to pop covers and steamy boleros http://rapidshare.de/files/17974146/Carnaval_en_Harlem.rar.html. A late 60s masterpiece from Eddie Palmieri - a brilliant set of Latin tracks with a modern jazz edge that's really astounding!Its essence is an experimentalism combining a strong sense of Cuban tradition with a modal piano style thats the reult of Palmieris admiration of Mccoy Tyner.

From the first note of the record, Eddie's piano makes a bold statement of difference edging into the rest of the group with slight modern touches, and a slightly off-kilter sound that marks the record as something fresh and new. Some tracks are straight ahead, with vocals by Ismael Quintana, but still have a dark undercurrent from Eddie's piano and others are much more open-ended, with a freewheeling style that shows all the freedoms to come in the 70s. It's a sobering thought that the end of the 1960s saw McCoy Tyner driving a New York cab to pay his rent when only a few years before he'd been a member of one of the greatest jazz groups on the planet, namely John Coltrane's 'classic' quartet. By 1971 however, Tyner was back on track with a deal with Milestone and a subsequent string of albums which saw him team up with post Coltrane horn players like Sonny Fortune and Azar Lawrence, with whom he recorded the classic Enlightenment. Sama Layuca dates from 1974, and sees Tyner in an octet format, teaming up with Lawrence, old duet partner vibist Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Bartz, John Stubblefield and a monster rhythm section of Buster Williams, Billy Hart and percussionists Mtume and Guilherme Franco.

The results are exhilarating; Tyner's compositions are unsurprisingly modal excursions, topped off with faintly exotic horn themes and driven by insistent, afro-latin rhythms. Lawrence (on tenor and soprano) and altoist Bartz are clearly at home; Lawrence's fruity, robust tenor and airy soprano blends Coltrane's fiery yearning with a floating attack worthy of Wayne Shorter, while Bartz is typically wondrous, full of surprise and fire (check his questing solo on the closing 'Paradox'). Both players provide an abject lesson in getting the most out of soloing over one or two chords. Hutcherson was possibly the only vibist around who could survive in the heat generated by such a lineup. His crystalline voicings are showcased on the two lower key numbers; the impressionistic 'Above the Rainbow' (a duet with the leader), and the stately 'Desert Cry'. Switching to marimba on the hyperspeed latin groove of 'La Cubana', Hutcherson more than holds his own, firing off rhythmically twisty, harmonically probing lines before playing call and response with Franco's cowbells. Tyner's playing walks his usual line between tough and tender, from the swelling, limpid arpeggios of 'Above the Rainbow' to the percussive splash and dark intervals of his solo on 'La Cubana'.

The expanded lineup holds the pianists's tendency to overcook his solos in check; despite the length of some of the pieces ('Paradox' clocks in at over 16 minutes) this isn't the testosterone fuelled sprawling solofest you might expect. Solos are kept short and sweet, and the frequent shifts in texture and instrumental combinations keep things interesting. Most of all it's Tyner's rhythmic sense and his powerhouse left hand that provide the excitement when locking with the irresistible grooves that Williams, Hart, Mtume and Franco whip up.

I bet there were a few sore fingers after this session, but the music here won't leave your ears sore. A legendary bit of Latin fusion from the 70s one of the few albums ever recorded by vibist Bobby Vince Paunetto, and a monster! The session was recorded in New York with a cream-of-the-crop group that includes Tom Harrell, Ronnie Cuber, and Ed Byrne but the real highlight of the session is Bobby, whose work on vibes, and unique angular way of cutting a groove is simply amazing. The record is a sublime blend of electric and acoustic playing soaring with the majesty of an underground soul jazz release, but beats with the heart of a smoking Latin combo! The album's incredible all the way through and another piece of under appreciated genius from this talented composer, arranger and vibes player http://rapidshare.de/files/17742800/Commit_to_Memory-Paunetto_s_Point_Disc_1.rar.html. A spiritual jazz classic and one of the rarest albums of its type from the 70s.

This legendary session was recorded by Roy Ayers' keyboardist Harry Whitaker working here as the leader of the Black Renaissance group, a one-shot ensemble that featured Woody Shaw on trumpet, Azar Lawrence on saxes, Buster Williams on bass, and Mtume on percussion. The session was cut in New York in 1976, but never properly issued at the time save for a rare bootleg that came out briefly in Japan. Yet somehow, the quality of the work and the depth of soulfulness have created a strong aura about the session making it an oft-cited influence by a generation of DJs and soul jazz listeners.

The album only features 2 long tracks both of them strong ensemble numbers that build modally searching grooves in a Strata East-like style, peppered with voices, both sung and spoken, in a hip, socially conscious mode. Both tracks -- 'Black Renaissance' and 'Magic Ritual' are excellent and on a par with the best 70s spiritual soul jazz.

Although quite an obscure field, the world of Brazilian fusion can often yield great results. It seems Brazilian studios were great fans of early synths as many of the recordings by Azymuth and Marcos Valle testify. This album is one of the finest examples of Rhodes/synth led fusion - the percussion is as good as you'd expect from a Brazilian band and often 100 mph! The compositions though are varied and complex. Metropole features a massive break beat kick off and bridge,Fabricia is a fusion flyer later to be beautifully covered by Harris Simon, Imigrantes changes completely before coming full circle and Metro just rides on a wave of wah wah'd clavinet and String Ensemble. The original of this album is probably near impossible to find outside of Brazil, but was re issued on cd for the great 100 Anos De Musica series by RCA /BMG.

This is an astounding record by an artist who has been criminally neglected. The list of those who could make out jazz funky is a short one.

Ornette of course springs to mind as do the musicians of the Art Ensemble and their Chicago brethren. Drummer Steve Reid must now be added to that list. From the swaggering thunder of 'Lions of Juda,' to the gentler songs that close this album, there's nary a misstep. This music is as beautiful and dangerous as a shower of broken glass — just when you think you've got a song figured out, this clever group of largely unsung musicians heightens the tension and takes things careening off in an unexpected direction. Have no fear though, these men are always nothing if not firmly in control.

This is a wonderful document of a long vanished New York scene that was long on every emotion, not just fury. A great set from British jazz genius Neil Ardley one that has him working off the vibe explored on the Greek Variations album, but hitting a sound that's a fair bit funkier overall. As with other efforts, Ardley draws here on some really top-shelf talents for his ideas -- soloists who include Ian Carr on trumpet, Ken Shaw on guitar, and Tony Coe, Barbara Thompson, and Brian Smith on saxes! The tracks are all quite longish, and unfold in a really organic way building over an immediate rhythm at some points, or letting the soloists set the main vibe at others. There's nothing overly-obtuse about the record at all, and Ardley never lets anyone dominate too much making the album a strong group effort with a really unified vision but one with plenty of space for the feeling of the individual players http://rapidshare.de/files/17474750/Kaleidoscope_of_Rainbows.rar.html. Heavy heavy heavy descarga session from way back when Mongo was still killing 'em dead and hadn't sold out to lame soul covers and boogaloo nonsense.Features the ferocious 'Bacoso 'which develops into a scorching percussion battle mid way through and the storming 'Descarga at the Blackhawk'.

Interestingly enough one of Joao Donatos first u.s.recordings on which he plays both piano and trombone - he contributes 'Bluchanga'.One of the great latin lps of the 60s. Here's the track listing 1.BLUCHANGA 2.TENDERLEY 3.DESCARGA AT THE BLACKHAWK 4.BACOSO 5.SABOR 6.ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE http://rapidshare.de/files/17374266/MIGHTY_MONGO.rar.html. Whopping heavy percussion jam session, led by Art Blakey, and featuring a host of Latin percussionists that includes Sabu Martinez, Patato Valdez,Ubaldo Nieto,Evilio Quintero and Jose Valentine plus additional jazz drummers Art Taylor, Joe Jones, and Specs Wright underpinned by Wendell Marshall on bass. Herbie Mann's flute and Ray Bryant's piano add some additional non-percussive solos.With the great Sabu on board and Blakey at the helm how can you go wrong? Explosive is an understatement!!!! A great Brazilian set from Cal Tjader quite different than most of his other work of the time!

Although Cal spent most of his time at Fantasy Records working in a mixture of jazz and Afro-Cuban styles, he steps off here in a very Brazilian 70s mode one that has some great links with jazz trends going on in Brazil at the time! Production is by Airto and arrangements are by George Duke and there's a wonderful crossing of Rio and California in the set -- one that uses keyboards from Egberto Gismonti, flute from Hermeto Pascoal, guitars by David Amaro, and trombone from Raul De Souza. Dawilli Gonga aka george duke plays some especially nice keyboards on the set and titles include a great version of Joao Donato's 'Amazonas' http://rapidshare.de/files/17299031/Amazonas.rar.html.

A rich tapestry of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and one of the most compelling albums in years from David Murray! The set features an expanded group of percussionists, vocalists, and other instrumentalists all fronted by lead solo stars David Murray and Pharoah Sanders on incendiary form jamming freely in styles that bring together bits of African, Haitian, and Cuban rhythms forging them into a bold new sound for the project! Tracks are all long, and given the previous skills that both Murray and Sanders have exhibited in such settings, they're more than up for the challenge of working with such a heady group of players- heavy weight stuff!!! Groundbreaking set of Latin Jazz from the early 60s -- and a Trans-Atlantic one as well! The album's a rare set by American percussion Jack 'Mr Bongo' Costanzo -- recorded in London, with help from some of that city's great jazz players at the time.

The feel of the material is a bit similar to some of Costanzo's American work for Liberty and Atlantic at the time -- but also has a style that's freer, and more exotic -- steeped in the cross-cultural vibe of the post-colonial London scene of the time. Most tracks feature a larger group led by Costanzo, with breakout solo performances that include trumpet by Shake Keane, drums by Phil Seaman, and flute by 'Little Jesus' -- who is most likely West Indian/Brit Jazz legend Harold McNair, as you would certainly guess from his very soulful solo work! A few other tracks have Costanzo playing with the larger Tubby Hayes group hitting a modal jazz groove that's right up there with Hayes' own great work of the time, and which is as hip as anything coming out of the states at the time. There's a wonderful feel throughout the session - otherworldly, almost - with far more than just the combination of Latin jazz and British influences that you'd think. Funky funky Finland! Don't be put off by the long name,because this album's a killer batch of funky jazz, filled with loads of choppy sax riffs, sweet Fender Rhodes licks, and plenty of heavy drums.

The record's got a hard fusion groove -- and all the tracks are long instrumentals served up with plenty of power, and plenty of ferocity! The set was recorded in Finland in 1972, but it feels more like some killer studio jam from the west coast -- played by by a very tight bunch of funky jazz musicians who weren't afraid to go right over the top. This was the follow up to We and the Sea ( to be posted shortly ) which apparently didn't translate into much radio airplay, so Creed Taylor had the Tamba 4 limit their excursions to the usual A&M/CTI bite-sized portions on this follow-up LP. Though the voodoo feeling and classical erudition of the previous album is lost, the listener does get a seductive series of melodic vignettes, by no means repetitive in mood and usually alive with the infectious groove of the bossa nova. Luiz Eca has less to do on the keyboard but contributes some sensuous string charts to a few tracks, and the group's chanted vocals and Bebeto's sexy bass, alto and standard flutes become the group's signatures.

The repertoire ranges from Brazilian standards like Joao Donato's 'Know It All' and Edu Lobo's 'Reza' to North American pop like 'Watch What Happens' and the Tijuana Brass flip side 'Slick.Samba Blim doesn't draw you in as completely as its predecessor but it remains intensely musical, catching real fire on 'Weekend' and 'San Salvador.' Ripped from the Japanese CD reissue http://rapidshare.de/files/17137742/Samba_Blim.rar.html.

You won't find a groovier group than Som Tres -- and if you need proof, check out this fantastic album! The group were a post-bossa trio led by pianist Cesar Camargo Mariano -- and they grooved with a sound that started with the core piano trio sound of the bossa age, but which was also expanded a lot with late 60s orchestrations.

The result is an incredibly strong batch of tunes that groove from the get-go -- and which soar along the best baroque lines of the Blue Brazil generation. The whole album's great -- with some light vocals, and lots of cool instrumentals. Quincy Jones' groundbreaking 60s soundtrack from The Pawnbroker! The material here isn't so funky as his 70's work but has some great afro cuban moments such as 'Ortez,s Night Off',teriffic dialogue and of course features the heavily sampled 'Rack em up '.It shows Quincy more in a dark brooding thriller vein.

The Pawnbroker score has an orchestra filled with great jazz players like Freddie Hubbard, Anthony Ortega, Oliver Nelson, Elvin Jones, JJ Johnson and more.A real moody one. Percussion Bitter Sweet is the most compelling, varied, dynamic snapshot of Max Roach's post-Clifford Brown ensembles. It features the doomed young genius Booker Little on trumpet, the innovative Eric Dolphy on alto and bass clarinet, Clifford Jordan on tenor, Julian Priester on trombone, Mal Waldron on piano and Art Davis on bass. Roach is never content just to mark time. Instead, his drums essay complex metric and polyrhythmic devices, while suggesting keyboard-like counterpoint and melodic motifs, as Davis goads him on with stately walking bass lines. But what makes Percussion Bitter Sweet such a rich, enduring recital is the drummer's colorful use of Afro-Cuban percussion and voice as a powerful multicultural subtext, celebrating the struggles and triumphs of Africans and African Americans (circa 1960) from Harlem (the celebratory 'Garvey's Ghost') to Capetown ('Man from South Africa').

Little's darting filigree on the hard-swinging 'Mama' is indicative of his breakthroughs in harmony and phrasing, while Dolphy's glorious, airborne flute, fulminating bass clarinet, and torchy, enraged alto enliven the waltzing 'Tender Warriors' and the sardonic 'Mendacity.' On the latter, vocalist Abbey Lincoln's sassy, theatrical phrasing drips bluesy sarcasm in her spanking of a hypocritical racist establishment, setting the stage for Roach's furious, ritualistic rhythmic exorcism. Inspiring stuff. Anyone for death jazz!!! Full on totally bonkers japanese jazz. You have to hear it to believe it - Soil & 'Pimp' Sessions set out their stall with their explosive sound of searing brass, tight beats with a rare passion and energy.

Funky and fast the eleven tracks include Fuller Love and other grooving dancefloor workouts. Western Union Bug Activation Serial. Intense jazz featuring trumpet, sax, keyboards, and amazing percussion. Thanks to soundsational for getting round the protection on my cd. Incidentally you can find more of my albums including Don Ellis,Roland Kovac,Bobby Hutcherson,Sun Ra,Fela Kuti,Umiliani & David Axelrod on the excellent Get over there quick!