Teasing the Korean

Let's not forget Naozumi Yamamoto!

Yes, he was an American, born in California, but he retained throughout his life a strong cultural connection to Japan, which informed much of his music. I read a scholarly article on Shindo several years ago, and his daughter indicated that as Shindo grew older, he became increasingly "Japanese" from a cultural standpoint. Either way, I think there were few Japanese American musicians at that time who aimed to create that sort of east/west fusion, at least few who had record deals and the budgets for ensembles as large as those on the aforementioned albums. So, I thought he was worth mentioning in the context of the conversation for that reason.

I just found out that Tak Shindo's brilliant Brass and Bamboo and Accent on Bamboo have been reissued as a twofer CD! https://www.amazon.com/Shindo-Exciting-Big-Band-Standards-Oriental/dp/B00O2H8FZO/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=brass+and+bamboo+accent+tak+shindo&qid=1620412696&s=music&sr=1-1 Tak Shindo's masterpiece is Mganga!, which has recently been issued on both vinyl and CD from the original master tapes. For the purposes of this thread, this album is more African than Japanese. Read all about Tak here! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tak_Shindo

The Sammy segment was interesting from a historical perspective, but I would much rather have heard him sing than pay vibes. It was very cool seeing Victor Feldman.

No comments on these shows? I am wondering if anyone has the titles of the all the tunes that Gerald Wilson played. One was of course "Perdido" and I believe the Latin tune was called "Latino." I missed the titles of the other two. I think they played four tunes total.

That was good. The Gerald Wilson episode was the best, IMO. Will more of these become available?

Composer/arranger Tak Shindo mixed big band with traditional Japanese instruments on his Capitol albums Brass and Bamboo and Accent on Bamboo. Here are the full albums, and you're welcome!

Do you agree that the short outtake version of "Four Beat Cha-Cha" sounds like it was intended as a tag to spliced onto the end of the released version? I wonder why RCA did such a shoddy job of documenting this stuff.

Will the Tito Puente thread be bumped anytime soon, or has RCA's confusing treatment of the discography rendered it a lost cause?

Yes! Experiences like this remind us of how our ancestors must have survived when their asses were being chased by saber tooth tigers on the savannah!

I am off for most of this week, and in early May, I usher in Rum/Latin Jazz/Exotica season! 151 scares me, and I generally avoid it. The thing with this particular cocktail is that this is only rum involved, 1.5 oz, along with 8 oz of crushed ice. Many of the classic rum cocktails call for 2 or 3 oz of other rums. However, let me tell you about one of the best uses of 151: Amateur dentistry. One Friday night, at about 11 pm, a crown became dislodged, and it hurt like hell. Obviously, there were no dentist offices open at 11 pm on a Friday. My solution? I soaked a cotton ball in 151, placed it above the crown between my upper and lower jaw, and bit down. I successfully popped the crown back into place, and it hasn't moved since!

Well, it's officially rum cocktail season. Now spinning disc 1, with a 151 Swizzle: 1/2 oz fresh lime 1/2 oz simple syrup 1.5 oz overproof rum Dash of Angostura bitters 1/8 tsp. Pernod 8 oz ice. Blend in blender. Serve in a tall glass. Top with shaved nutmeg. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Thanks!

What album is that?

So am I, if it's the real deal, but I don't pay top dollar for grey market CDs that are probably mastered from vinyl and don't contain the original cover art. If they are very cheap, I make an exception. We got good CD reissues of Palo Congo and Jazz Espagnole, but we apparently never got these for Sorcery or Safari, which IMO are his best albums. I would love to buy nice CD versions of these from the master tapes and with the original cover art, but the window for this kind of thing closed a long time ago. Also, for whatever it's worth, Qobuz offers CD-quality downloads and, with some titles, better-than-CD-quality downloads. They are not lossy mp3 files. So here are my overall, brief impressions of these albums: Sorcery - I've had this for ages. An exotica classic, perhaps his best. Lots of percussion, effects such as gongs, minimalist instrumentation including bass, oboe, and flute. Safari with Sabu - Similar in approach to Sorcery, with a slightly larger group and more of a jazz element overall. Sabu's Satellites in Orbit - interesting to hear organ along with piano, bass, and Latin percussion. The organ has a bit of a roller-rink setting that I don't really like. The piano and organ struck me as being not very interesting from a harmonic point of view. Astronautas De La Pachanga - This is better than the previous, with vibes instead of organ. Palo Congo - I've had this for a long time. A mixed bag. I like the more percussive tracks, but am not particularly into the Cuban street music sound on several tracks. Rites of Diablo (Johnny Richards) - I've had this one for ages too, and it too is an exotica masterpiece. My Dad did sessions with the Dave Lambert singers, and I have long wondered if he is on this album. I have not found a listing of the singers, and he is no longer here for me to ask him. There are times when I think I hear him, and other times not. Jazz Espagnole - I've had this album for ages also. I really love it. Top-shelf Latin jazz. It is from 1960, and it feels ahead of its time for me. I could easily imagine an album like this being released in the mid-1960s.

Well, the Qobuz download has seven classic albums, and it is cheaper than this set! I already had Palo Congo and Jazz Espagnole on legit CDs (Blue Note, Fania), Rites of Diablo on LP, and the Scorpio LP reissue of Sorcery, from the masters. So for me, the download was worth it for the other few, plus the convenience of having Sorcery in digital form.

Thanks. I will update my description of the download album.

Thanks! How about the second album? The "In Orbit" LP and CD reissue has two albums' worth of stuff.

Keely Smith recorded Thee Definitive version of "The Song is You," with a great chart by Billy May.

Brother Jack McDuff covered Cher's "Half Breed."

On a related note, does anyone know the origins of the material on the Sabu in Orbit album? The earliest reference I can find to this album is 1997. Incidentally, Qobuz has, for only US $6.99, a giant CD-quality Sabu collection that contains the following: Sorcery Safari with Sabu Sabu's Satellites in Orbit Astronautas De La Pachanga Palo Congo Rites of Diablo (Johnny Richards) plus an alternate take Jazz Espagnole - almost the full album, missing the "Intro" drum track It is a convenient way to get a lot of this music, though you will have to rearrange it in folders to re-configure the original albums. Neither Afro Temple nor the Art Blakey Cu-Bop albums are included.

Thank you!

Thanks. I'd be interested to hear your impressions of the album. I listened to samples, and I think the best track is the one they used for the Blue Note comp. It is the second track, "Sakeena."

Can anyone shed some light on the Art Blakey with Sabu album that was originally released on Jubilee? There is one track on a Blue Note comp. It is not only a needle-drop, but the producer was not skilled enough to know that when digitizing mono vinyl, the left and right need to be combined to reduce surface noise. Anyway, this was apparently reissued on vinyl on Trip. How is that? Was this a needle-drop, or did the masters still exist in the 1970s. There is also a Japanese CD, and a European Fresh Sound CD. Has anyone heard these, and can anyone comment on the sound quality? Thanks in advance.