Dub Modal

I remember Milt Jackson got a short profile by Peter Jennings and ABC news when he passed. I wasn't a jazz fan at the time but I still remember because it was the first time I'd seen anyone play vibes like that.

1 - Track B4 from this album was sampled on one of my favorite rap tunes back in the day (TROY by Pete Rock & CL Smooth). It wasn't this song of course as this one here is the opener. Love the album, groove and sound. Nice stuff! 2 - Familiar sound but not placing it. Reverb reminds me of those Elvin Jones 70s records. Harp at about 7 minutes in? Dig it! 3 - Sultry vocals and a simmering track. No guesses. The string backing works here. And the pick up at the end is worth it. 4 - Maybe Sonny Rollins...? I'm probably wrong there but this is a great trio song. 5 - Love that B3 bass. Really good track. Soulful with nice vibes. 6 - About 2.5 mins in and it feels like the rhythm section should move off of that intro and develop the song further. Nice mood but that rhythmic motif drags a bit. They start getting there at about 4 mins...not far, but they move a bit. 7 - Poor gal. 8 - Nice song. No guesses but the groove is there. 9 - Oh yeah, love the rhythm here with the percussion. Reverb on the flute is sweet. 10 - Segue track? Or maybe another "Pt 1"? Short & sweet. Oohs & ahhs.. 11 - Intense bass work here, recorded in boom mode. Ominous track for some reason. Great build up. 12 - Burning intro with more harp I believe. Pharoah? Good song. 13 - Another badass bass line. Rest of the song is decent as well. Not sure what's going on with the horn recording. Either something is tracking along or there's some effects on it. Ending is weird - is this from a soundtrack?

Listening now. Bass recording is pretty wonky but after a while it stops being distracting. Good album!

First time listen.

I dig this one. How do you like it?

Listening now - oh yeah - good stuff!

Nice. Yeah, they come across as smooth jazz-funk lite. Bernie Worrell should've been called in as a consultant.

Those Gene Harris albums, Tone Tantrum and In A Special Way, are interesting.

A favorite of mine. RIP Slide Same.

Oh yeah, I love this one

Solo piano isn't something I typically seek out but I'm loving this album.

Funk exploration down the George Clinton production/writing interplanetary connection. So many hip hop samples came from these excellent records.

And now:

Yeah, hopefully she knows one! Yanow on All Music digs her: Sandy Graham is an excellent straight-ahead, bop, ballad, and blues singer who is based in Los Angeles. She has a very expressive and at times conversational style that is both soulful and swinging. Born and raised in Santa Barbara, she grew up surrounded by music. Graham sang in her Baptist church as a child and grew up loving jazz. She started out imitating and learning from the recordings of Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Carmen McRae. Graham sat in at jam sessions and at 19 was a professional singer for the first time, performing at the Sapphire Room in West Los Angeles. Her life since then has been wide-ranging and includes time spent working as a model and an actress. Among the highlights of her singing career are performing with Jimmy Rowles in 1973, recording with the Colorado Springs Air Force Band in 1975, performing on a fairly regularly basis with the Nat Pierce/Frank Capp Juggernaut since 1979, working with Bill Berry's L.A. Big Band and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, performing on several different occasions in Japan, touring Europe with the Duke Ellington All-Stars in the 1990s, and working with pianist Gerald Wiggins. Sandy Graham performs regularly in the Los Angeles area but thus far has surprisingly recorded only three CDs as a leader, one for the defunct Muse label and two more recent efforts (Comes Love and By Request) for Jazz Link.

Never heard of her and she's not on Apple music. However, some stuff on YT. This one's from Comes Love: Great voice IMO.

Listening to this now as well. Great party music. Would probably be a fun live show.

Good stuff NP:

Never heard of these guys but I'm not from Pittsburgh. Nice album.

And then Ryan Devlin's The Shape of Light These guys are playing live this weekend at the Lilypad in Cambridge MA for $10. If I was close I'd go.

Billy Joel, John Legend, Stevie Wonder...

I can't stand Marshall Arisman's covers, esp for jazz records.

New releases rom 2020 & 2021: Bro, Henrikson & Rossy - Uma Elmo Jimmy Dludlu - History in a Frame (Smooth jazz with South African flavor) Kenny Garrett - Sounds from the Ancestors Oscar Jerome - Breathe Deep David Sanford Big Band - A Prayer For Lester Bowie Marc Johnson - Overpass Nubya Garcia - The Source LCSM - Earthbound Run Logan Run - For a Brief Moment We Could Smell the Flowers Nicole Glover - Strange Lands Jonathan Blake - Homeward Bound Charles McPherson - Jazz Dance Suites Sonny Rollins in Holland Mingus at Bremen '64 & '75 Earlier releases that I'm just now hearing and enjoying: Jaleel Shaw - Perspective Ayler Quintet - Berlin, Lorrach, Paris and Stockholm Revisited Hamiet Bluiett Sextet - Young Warrior, Old Warrior Thurman Green - Dance of the Night Creatures Woody Herman at Carnegie Hall '46 Sonny Fortune - From Now On Pharoah Sanders - Message from Home, Africa & Lord let Me Do No Wrong Billy Bang Quartet - Spirits Gathering Joe McPhee - Black is the Color Sun Ra Disco 3000 Complete