After the end of Aretha Franklin’s five year stint on Columbia Records (who tried marketing her as a jazz vocalist), she signed on with Atlantic Records. Produced by music biz veteran Jerry Wexler, Franklin’s Atlantic debut found her flexing creative muscle and making music that forever altered the course of pop and soul. Accompanying herself on piano throughout, Franklin’s powerful and passionate vocals garnered comparisons to Ray Charles, while her blend of R&B, gospel and jazz rightfully earned her the moniker “Queen Of Soul.” (cduniverse)

Personnel: Aretha Franklin (vocals, piano); Chips Moman, Jimmy Johnson (guitar); King Curtis, Charlie Chalmers (tenor saxophone); Willie Bridges (bass saxophone); Melvin Lastie (trumpet, cornet); Dewey “Spooner” Oldham (keyboards); Tommy Cogbill (bass); Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins (drums); Carolyn Franklin (background vocals).

thx n.

Tracklist

01. Respect
02. Drown In My Own Tears
03. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)
04. Soul Serenade
05. Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream
06. Baby Baby Baby
07. Dr. Feelgood (Love is a Serious Business)
08. Good Times
09. Do Right Woman – Do Right Man
10. Save Me
11. Change Is Gonna Come
12. Respect (Stereo Version)
13. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (Stereo Version)
14. Do Right Woman – Do Right Man (Stereo Version)

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Don’t Go to Strangers was Etta Jones’ first album for the independent jazz label Prestige when it was released in 1960 (having been recorded in a single session on June 21 of that year), and although Jones had been releasing records since 1944, including a dozen sides for RCA in 1946 and an album for King Records in 1957, she was treated as an overnight sensation when the title tune from the album went gold, hitting the Top 40 on the pop charts and reaching number five on the R&B charts. An elegant ballad on an album that had several of them, including the masterful “If I Had You” and a marvelous reading of “All the Way,” a song usually identified with Frank Sinatra, “Don’t Go to Strangers” featured Jones’ airy, bluesy phrasing and uncanny sense of spacing, and was very much a jazz performance, making its success on the pop charts all the more amazing. Listen to Jones’ restructuring of the melody to the opening track, the old chestnut “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby,” to hear a gifted jazz singer sliding and shifting the tone center of a song like a veteran horn player, all the while leaving the melody still recognizable, but refreshing it until it stands revealed anew. Apparently there were no additional tracks cut at the session, since bonus material has never surfaced on any of the album’s subsequent reissues, although that’s hardly a problem, because as is, Don’t Go to Strangers is a perfect gem of a recording. ~ Steve Leggett

Personnel: Etta Jones (vocals); Etta Jones; George Duvivier (upright bass); Skeeter Best (guitar); Frank Wess (flute, tenor saxophone); Richard Wyands (piano); Roy Haynes (drums).

Tracklist

01. Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
02. Don’t Go to Strangers
03. I Love Paris
04. Fine and Mellow
05. Where or When
06. If I Had You
07. On the Street Where You Live
08. Something to Remember You By
09. Bye Bye Blackbird
10. All the Way

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Long before becoming an acid jazz icon and figurehead to a new generation of hip-hop and house artists, Roy Ayers was a promising young jazz vibraphonist. His second solo album and Atlantic debut, is a vital root note for all future keepers of the funk. Includes 2 previously unreleased tracks ‘Mine Boyd’ & ‘Number Seven’.

Personnel: Roy Ayers (vibraphone); Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Charles Tolliver (trumpet); Ronald Clark (piano); Carr (drums).

Tracklist

01. The Ringer
02. Ayerloom
03. In The Limelight
04. Virgo Vibes
05. Glow Flower
06. Mine Royd
07. Number Seven

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One of Stan Getz’s all-time greatest albums, Sweet Rain was his first major artistic coup after he closed the book on his bossa nova period, featuring an adventurous young group that pushed him to new heights in his solo statements. Pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Grady Tate were all schooled in ’60s concepts of rhythm-section freedom, and their continually stimulating interplay helps open things up for Getz to embark on some long, soulful explorations (four of the five tracks are over seven minutes). The neat trick of Sweet Rain is that the advanced rhythm section work remains balanced with Getz’s customary loveliness and lyricism. Indeed, Getz plays with a searching, aching passion throughout the date, which undoubtedly helped Mike Gibbs’ title track become a standard after Getz’s tender treatment here. The quartet’s level of musicianship remains high on every selection, and the marvelously consistent atmosphere the album evokes places it among Getz’s very best. A surefire classic.  (allmusic)

Personnel: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone); Albert Daily (piano); Chick Corea (electric piano); Stanley Clarke, George Mraz (bass); Tony Williams, Billy Hart (drums).

Tracklist

01. Litha
02. O Grande Amour
03. Sweet Rain
04. Con Alma
05. Windows

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Duke Pearson rises to the challenge of writing for an all-star octet (with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Garnett Brown, altoist James Spaulding, Jerry Dodgion on alto and flute, Stanley Turrentine on tenor, bassist Gene Taylor, drummer Grady Tate, and the leader/pianist), contributing colorful frameworks and consistently challenging compositions. The set is full of diverse melodies (the CD reissue has a previously unissued take of “Los Malos Hombres”) played by a variety of distinctive soloists; many of these songs deserve to be revived. This is one of the finest recordings of Duke Pearson’s career.

Personnel: Duke Pearson (piano); Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Garnett Brown (trombone); Jerry Dodgion (alto saxophone, flute); James Spaulding (alto saxophone); Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone); Gene Taylor (bass); Grady Tate (drums).

Tracklist

01. Chili Peppers
02. Make It Good
03. My Love Waits (O Meu Amor Espera)
04. Los Malos Hombres
05. Scrap Iron
06. Rotary
07. Los Malos Hombres (Alternate Take)

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Soundtrack of “Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Listen, Let’s Make Love)” Composed By the great Ennio Morricone, enjoy!

Tracklist

01. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Original Single Version Side A)
02. A Lidia (Original Single Version Side B)
03. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Between The Sheets)
04. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (From Bed to Worse)
05. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Take Me Now)
06. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Dog Up a Tree)
07. A Lidia
08. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (To The Altar and Back)
09. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (After The Party)
10. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Passion Play)
11. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Reprise)
12. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Lay Down, I Think I Love You)
13. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Various Troubles)
14. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Knowing The Ins and Outs)
15. A Lidia
16. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (Two Cigarettes)
17. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore? (The Big One)
18. Scusi, Facciamo L’Amore?
19. A Lidia (Finale)

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The title of A New Conception refers to Sam Rivers’ ingenious interpretations of standards on this record. Rivers treats the songs — such familiar items as “When I Fall in Love,” “I’ll Never Smile Again,” “That’s All,” “What a Difference a Day Makes,” and “Secret Love” — with respect, but he doesn’t treat them as museum pieces. He knows that if the songs are to remain fresh, they need to be heard in different ways, and he skillfully opens up each composition to contemporary avant-garde techniques. Rivers and his supporting trio of pianist Hal Galper, bassist Herbert Lewis, and drummer Steve Ellington gradually ease each number into more adventurous territory, slowly shifting into exploratory instrumental sections, slyly varying the melodic themes, or adding shaded dissonant textures. It’s challenging music that remains accessible, since it reconfigures familiar items in new, intriguing ways. The sheer skill in Rivers’ arrangements once again confirms his large, unfortunately underappreciated, talent.

Personnel: Sam Rivers (tenor and soprano saxophone, flute), Hal Galper (piano), Herbie Lewis (bass), Steve Ellington (drums)

Tracklist

01. When I Fall In Love
02. I’ll Never Smile Again
03. Detour Ahead
04. That’s All
05. What a Difference a Day Makes
06. Temptation
07. Secret Love

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Alligator Bogaloo is one example of Lou Donaldson’s successful combinations of hard bop and soul-jazz. Of the six tunes, three are Donaldson originals, including the title hit. The excellent band, consisting of Melvin Lastin, Sr. on cornet, George Benson on guitar, Lonnie Smith on organ, and Leo Morris on drums, mixes laid-back vamps beneath driving hard bop charts. As the ’60s turned into the ’70s, Donaldson began shaving off hard bop invention for a more radio-friendly and 45 rpm length, leaving soulful — yet monotonous — vamping. At that point, Donaldson’s material suffered from a lack of originality. That’s not the case on Alligator Bogaloo.

Tracklist

01. Alligator Bogaloo
02. One Cylinder
03. The Thang
04. Aw Shucks!
05. Rev. Moses
06. I Want A Little Girl

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The late alto saxophonist Jackie McLean had one of the most distinctive sounds in jazz history–fluid and bittersweet, with an impassioned “cry” at its heart. McLean made several classic albums for Blue Note in the 1960s, with Demon’s Dance arriving in 1967, near the end of his time with the label. While not as well known as his other albums, Dance exhibits some excellent bristling, surging hard bop, much of which features trumpeter Woody Shaw–most notably on the indelible, infectious would-be hit “Sweet Love of Mine.”

Personnel: Jackie McLean (alto saxophone); Jackie McLean; Scott Holt (bass instrument); Woody Shaw (trumpet); LaMont Johnson (piano); Jack DeJohnette (drums).

Tracklist

01. Demon’s Dance
02. Toyland
03. Boo Ann’s Grand
04. Sweet Love Of Mine
05. Floogeh
06. Message From Trane

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Cal Tjader recorded frequently for Verve during the 1960s, yet this is one of his more unusual sessions. Instead of fronting his regular group in a typical Latin setting, the vibraphonist plays arrangements by Benny Golson or Bobby Bryant, accompanied a band that includes Ernie Royal, Marvin Stamm, J.J. Johnson, Jerome Richardson, Mel Lewis, either Ron Carter or Richard Davis on bass, and three different pianists: Herbie Hancock, Patti Bown, or John Bunch. The solo focus is almost exclusively on the leader in these fairly brief charts, though there are brief spotlights on Richardson and Hancock. The best tracks are Golson’s “Blues March,” John Lewis’ “Django,” and Tjader’s “Hip Vibrations.” A pair of current pop songs of the day (“Georgy Girl” and “Windy,” the latter a hit for the rock group the Association) seem a little out of place but prove to be no more than innocuous. This 1967 session has long been out of print and seems like it might be an unlikely candidate for reissue, but there’s enough good music within it to justify picking it up if it can be located.

Tracklist

01. Blues March
02. Georgy Girl
03. Hip Vibrations
04. A Waltz For Diane
05. Windy
06. Sweet Honeybee
07. Django
08. Moanin’
09. Canto De Ossanha

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