Jump to content

New Rare Grooves


Soul Stream

Recommended Posts

I don't know guys? According to the Dusty-Groove MadLib your'e dealing with "genius"!

 DONALD BYRD

Caricatures

Donald Byrd's last Blue Note album with fusion genius Larry Mizell -- and a doozy! The record builds off the style of previous Byrd/Mizell outings -- like Places & Spaces and Black Byrd -- mixing together a similar blend of heavy rhythms, keyboards, and sweet funky trumpet licks from Donald!

 GARY BARTZ

Music Is My Sanctuary

A fantastic bit of jazz funk fusion -- and one of the landmark 70s albums produced by Larry Mizell! This is Gary Bartz's second collaboration with Mizell -- a studio genius who could focus on the best talent of a jazz artist, then expand it using additional keyboards, percussion, and voices!

...and don't miss this one, especially because it's a John Patton album WITHOUT bass!;)

 JOHN PATTON

Got A Good Thing Goin'

A classic by Big John Patton! There's no bass on the set at all -- drums combine with added conga from Richard Landrum -- giving the songs an extra roll, and a modal approach that expands Patton's sound past his usual gutbuckety soul jazz! Includes Patton's massive groover "The Yodel"!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 51
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Just stopped by my favorite shiny-disc-emporium, and they didn't get any of the rare grooves in today. :(

They did have the new Dexter Gordon BN compilation (2 discs), so I think they either they screwed up and didn't order any (by mistake), or else they didn't intend to order any. :(:(:(

(The only one I was gonna get was the Patton disc - I'm sure I'll pass on the others.)

BUT, I found one other new release that I didn't even know was coming out domestically. So excited about it, I'm gonna start a brand new thread about it!!! :D :D :D

(Hint - check out my new Avatar!!! B) B) B) )

Edited by Rooster_Ties
Link to comment
Share on other sites

...just picked up all of the new Rare Grooves sans the Byrd. Listening to the Patton now...have had it on lp for a long time, but the new Rare Grooves CD really, REALLY sounds good. Unlike a lot of the McMasters, this one has the BASS intact! Really strong sound on this one.

haven't listened to the others yet... :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

o.k....I've given a quick once-through of the Candido and Bartz. The Candido is DUDSVILLE. The Bartz, to my tastes is horrible, a disco travesty. I know others have liked this one, so I'm not saying it's bad for everybody. I'm not at all into 70's fusiony stuff...and this is full-on 70's-o-rama. I didn't even go for the Byrd, because I knew that wouldn't happen for me.

So, I guess it all depends on your tastes. However, I can't see how anybody could get into the Candido unless it's a d.j. looking for beats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After Gary Bartz released "I've Known Rivers" he did one called "Singerella" that really didn't do it for me at all and after that I dropped off the Bartz bandwagon but I understand he's done some good things in recent years so I may have to reexamine Gary somewhere down the road but probably not with this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i'm not trying to say the Bartz is not a winner. just not my taste. i find sometimes that these things can creep up on you later. I may love 'music is my sactuary' at another time. so lon, no dis intended. you've got a great set of ears that i, for one, won't argue with. i'd like to hear other's opinions about the candido. i've not listened in depth yet, but found myself wondering what "could" have been almost immediately as far as other 'better' rare groove releases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just stopped by the Blue Note site to get the scoop on "Got A Good Thing Goin".

Check this out....

Album Info

‘Big’ John Patton- Got A Good Thing Goin' (Rare Groove Series)

This seriously funky date featuring Grant Green on guitar is the root of the groove-based organ-driven music which groups like Soulive & Medeski Martin & Wood have brought to the young masses in recent years. A Kansas City native, Patton switched to from piano to organ in 1961 and made his first Blue Note appearances as a sideman on soulful records from the likes of Lou Donaldson and Grant Green. On Got A Good Thing Goin’ the chemistry of the dynamic Patton and the lyrical Green is on full display while Hugh Walker’s drums and Robert Landrum’s congas round out the cast.

The group grooves hard on a mix of originals and covers of R&B hits of the mid-1960s including Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar” and Same Cooke’s “The Shake”.

Produced by Alfred Lion

Reissue produced by: Michael Cuscuna

Now, I'm all for marketing and I have the utmost respect for MMW, but if they tack a sticker on the front of this release saying "NOW ON CD! The record that influenced SOULIVE and MMW!" I'm going to puke.

Also, I didn't know Same Cooke wrote "The Shake". I thought it was Sam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The Candido is DUDSVILLE. The Bartz, to my tastes is horrible, a disco travesty. " DOESN'T sound like a diss to me! ;)

'Scool. I dig 'em though because I'm liking all kinds of music these days for different reason; certainly not the jazz purist I might have been! (And finding hollow a lot of the stuff I thought was so hip when I may have been a jazz purist!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this is why i never post a negative review of a recording. if you like a recording,and someone post's that it's a piece of trash, well, that should make them feel great. as for candido-beautiful, i like that one myself.

when the blue note board reappears, i believe that i will post what really should be the next "rare groove" release,(imo):

lou donaldson- say it loud

jimmy mcgriff-black pearl

blue mitchell-bantu village

blue mitchell-collision in black

the three sounds-soul symphony

reuben wilson-on broadway

Edited by mike casinghino
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've actually owned Candido's "Beautiful" on a Japanese CD for a year or so and I've kinda grown to like it. I originally bought it for someone else (turns out he had it already) so I was expecting to use it as trade bait. It kept coming out of the "trade-in" pile so many times that I finally just decided to keep it.:) Nice, groovin' disc.

Later,

Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I've had 3 days to digest the latest U.S. Rare Groove release. My impression? Another excellent release.

The Patton is exactly what you'd expect from Patton. Excellent recording, nice feel and groove. Grant Green is in fine form, as of course is Patton. My guess is if you like any of his other material, you're going to enjoy this as well.

The other 3 are in a class by themselves. I'm very aware of the feelings on this and other boards about the type of music represented by these titles. These are definitely not for everyone. But for those who dig this stuff, these are classics.

The Bartz and Byrd, being Mizell productions, are cut from the same cloth. Jazzy, groovy, funky, soulful, and yes danceable in a disco era way. I personally think this is great stuff. I've said it elsewhere including on this very thread, but this is some fun music to listen to. This stuff is going to go over very well at some of my summer outdoor parties.

I'm also digging the Candido record too. Very late 60ish feel, tons of percussion and some nice Latin grooves. We're definitely not talking jazz masterpiece here. But like the Bartz and Byrd, it's fun.

I have to tell you that I'm at a different point in my life and listening right now than I was when I first hit the boards 5 or 6 years ago. Part of what changed my outlook is personal, but part is a result of the exposure that I've gotten to so many various jazz styles in recent years. One of the things I've realized is that sometimes, the boundary between jazz and pop or other musical forms can get very blurry. That's fine by me, because I'm digging a lot more styles both within and near jazz than ever before.

Kudos to Blue Note for doing a nice job on the packaging. These Rare Grooves have what has become the standard black and silver Rare Groove look, but the silver has more of a brushed aluminum look to it. Unlike their French counterparts, US Blue Note has chosen to reproduce the album info in a readable size print, using the inner pages of the cover booklet to provide information.

It's been about the grooviest month ever for me as I picked up the 4 US Rare Grooves and 5 more of the French titles - Nexus, Black Rhythm Hapenning, The Final Comedown, Sweet Revival and Mind Transplant.

By the way, I like Mike's suggested list. Let's hope BN continues this series. It's become a rite of Spring for me.

Edited by Ed Swinnich
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to agree with Mike on these but from a different perspective. I listened to a few clips fromsome of these new releases (other than the Patton which I have as a TOCJ) and they're not my cup of tea. They're not anything I'd want to buy. However, I'm not going to say they're bad or whatever. They obviously appeal to others. And that's finem, and diversity is what it's all about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.....and they're not my cup of tea. They're not anything I'd want to buy. However, I'm not going to say they're bad or whatever. They obviously appeal to others. And that's fine, and diversity is what it's all about.

I have to agree wholeheartedly Brad. Not all music is for everyone. I'm digging this stuff and you're not and that's okay. I'm sure that the reverse is true somewhere else along the line.

Posters on these boards have a common love of jazz. Within the spectrum of all that is jazz and all that is related to jazz there's bound to be differences.

Like you said - diversity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

to borrow a politcal phrase and reverse it...."I may not support the troops, but I support the war!" ;)

I'm not a big fan of this batch of Rare Grooves (except the Patton which is a home run). But I understand Rare Grooves covers a lot of Blue Note territory. This batch was too Mizell for me. However, as a whole, I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SUPPORT THE RARE GROOVES SERIES! I hope these sell well enough to justify another batch next spring.

Like others here, a new batch of Rare Grooves is as important a sign of Spring to me as texas bluebonnets.+ :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

....I just picked up all of those you listed except for Soul of the Bible (someone would really have to convince me to get that one) .....

Well, I convinced myself. It was the only one of the jazz releases from the French Groove Experience site that was available at Dusty Groove that I had not picked up, so I decided to take a chance on it. It arrived yesterday.

It's a 2 CD set, though the music probably could fit on 1 CD. I think the French BN folks are into that facsimile thing. :rolleyes: For those who don't know this session - and I did not - it's apparently the second of two themed releases that Nat Adderley released in 1972 - the Soul Zodiac being the other, according to AMG the better of the two.

At any rate, on this one, some cat named Rick Holmes introduces various tracks in narrator form over the top of the band, which then breaks into the main tune after the narration ends. To be honest, I certainly could do without the narration. I'm not religious, which is why I initially balked at picking this up, but then I figured if I can go to beautiful religious shrines in Europe and Montreal and enjoy the architecture I can certainly pick this up and enjoy the music.

I'm glad I did. If anything, the narration adds a 60s touch to the proceedings, so in that context I find it tolerable. Now as for the music - I am loving this disc. It is filled with some deep, funky, serious grooves of the highest magnitude. There's plenty of electric piano for those who dig that sound, but the numbers with acoustic piano groove as well. Tons of percussion courtesy Airto, funky bass lines, and some spacey sounding vocals add to the overall mood.

I learned a lesson here for sure - don't judge a CD by its cover.

Edited by Ed Swinnich
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got the Got A Good Thing Goin' Rare Groove, though I already had a TOJC... actually I think they both sound pretty good... may give one copy to my girlfriend for enjoyment and a nice title for a happy relationship! :g

I also bought Sweet Revival and The Final Comedown from Dusty Groove - their writeups are indeed hilarious! Impressions so far... I like Sweet Revival, though it's pretty far removed from the classic Blue Note Sounds, it's a lot of fun. The Final Comedown is only OK - just not much Grant to hear on the CD. Also worlds away from Idle Moments, etc..

Would really like to see Say it Loud reissued as rare grovve - and my longstanding wish for That Certain Feelin' will be resolved once the Mosaic Select comes out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rick Holmes was a popular L.A. disc jockey of the time who can be heard briefly on Elvin's Lighthouse album doing some announcing. You GOT to hear the Zodiac thing (actually, there were 2! - one by Cannonball and one by Nat)) - black light poster and Champale should come packaged along w/the album, along with an option for shag carpeting.... :D :D :D

I agree that both of the Cannonball/Holmes projects have some pretty cool music going on underneath the surface. Somtimes you gotta REALLY work on blocking things out to get to it, but it's definitely there.

Edited by JSngry
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're right about REALLY having to work to block things out. But the reward is worth it. Is Soul Zodiac is the better of these two projects, I have to get my hands on that one.

I hope US BN takes a queue from their French counterparts and puts this out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...