ART FARMER - A SLEEPING BEE

Art Farmer for Sonet from 1976.
Art Farmer, trumpet, flugelhorn / Jan Schaffer, guitar / Gran Strandberg, piano /Red Mitchell, bass / Sabu Martinez, percussion / Tony Inzalaco, drums /Island Ostlund, drums
The lyrical Art teams up with the mighty Sabu for this Swedish session featuring a cracker in "Green Witch" plus a reading of the Heath Bros "Smiling Billy" - nice!

This Sonet LP finds Art Farmer with an atypical supporting group that includes fellow veteran Red Mitchell on bass, Latin percussionist Sabú Martínez, and several Europeans, among them guitarist Jan Schaffer and pianist Goran Strandberg. The opener, an easygoing take of "It Might As Well Be Spring," finds Farmer finally opening up in the closing chorus. Farmer's rich-toned flugelhorn interacts beautifully with Mitchell's imaginative bassline in the swinging take of "Come Rain or Come Shine," while the brisk bossa nova "Green Witch" is one of the more challenging charts on the date, with Farmer switching to trumpet. "A Sleeping Bee" is often played at fast tempos, but the hip-swaying, relaxed arrangement better showcases lyrical solos by the leader and Mitchell.Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

AIRTO - SAMBA DE FLORA

Airto for Montuno from 1988.
One for Greg and the Class A Crew.
Flora Purim, Alphonso Johnson, Angel Maldonado, Bruce Bigenho, David Tolegian, Dom Camardella, Don Alias, Frank Colon, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jeff Eliot, Jill Avery, Joe Farell, Jorge Dalto, Kei Akagi, Keith Jones, Larry Nass, Laudir de Oliveira, Luiz Munoz, Michael Shapiro, Rafael Jose, Randy Tico, Raúl de Souza, Roland Bautista, Rolando Gingras, Tony Moreno

Featuring the monster dancefloor destroyer "Samba de Flora" the quintessential Dingwalls tune for me.Sunday afternoon pissed as arseholes staggering round the floor like a tramp on a mission for special brew while shaking an inebriated leg-fucking priceless!

"One of the most gorgeous records I've ever heard, mostly because it was one of pianist Jorge Dalto's final recording sessions. His playing here is compelling, spiritual and exhausting. Airto's surprising and beautiful baritone Spanish vocal on 'La Puerta,' with only piano accompaniment, is worth ten times the cost of this record. Flora, too, is in top form, especially on the poignant 'Dedos.'" (Alfredo Cruz-descarga.com)

HUGO FATTORUSO - ORIENTAL

Hugo Fattoruso for Som Gente Brazil from 1990.
Hugo Fattoruso : Keyboards,Piano,Voice,Percussion,Acoustic Guitar/José San Martin : Drums/Mauro Senise : Flute,Saxphone Soprano/Zeca Assumpção : Cello/Sizão Machado : Electric Bass/Ulisses Rocha : Guitar,Tambores Candombe/Dário Bracco : Tambor Piano/Fernando Banega : Tambor Chico/Jorge Luiz Gomes : Tambor Repique/Juan Angel : Tambor Piano/Juan Silva : Tambor Chico/Lobo Nuñes : Tambor Piano/Manoel Silva : Tambor Chico/Ruben Rada : Voz, Tambor Piano/Washington Ciruja : TamborRepique/Wilson Martirena : Tambor Repique

Tough latin fusion from Uruguay via Brazil.This one ranges from the candombe rhythms of "Lonjas Del Cuareim" to the samba fusion bangers "Estrela Distante","O Sambinha" & "La Papa" to a post prog rock work out on "Feria de Tristan Narvaja".
Here's a potted bio of Fattoruso from bigworldmusic.com

Hugo Fattoruso, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, began his musical career as a prodigious and somewhat reluctant piano student at the age of four. By the time he was nine his father Antonio formed El Trio Fattoruso by drafting Hugo's younger brother Jorge on drums, with Hugo on accordion and Antonio on "inverted bucket bass" (using a broom as the neck, and a cord as the instrument's single string). This trio performed in street festivals, covering the variety of styles used in Uruguay's carnivals (boleros, murgas, tangos, etc.), giving Hugo an education in the rich harmonic stuff of disparate musical styles.

At the age of 16 Hugo moved to the upright bass and began his tenure as the under-aged member of The Hot Blowers, a swing band that toured throughout Latin America in the late 1950s. This period could be seen as a second important milestone in Hugo's harmonic education, hammering home the concepts of improvisation and musical interplay.

By the early 1960s, rock'n'roll began to shake the world's foundation, and Hugo set out to express himself in that medium by forming Los Shakers, where he and his brother shared song writing, singing and guitar responsibilities. Los Shakers, Hugo Fattoruso (guitar, voice), Osvaldo Fattoruso (guitar, voice), Roberto "Pelin" Capobianco (bass, voice), Carlos "Caio" Vila (drums, voice), were a huge success throughout Latin America, as they were able to mold the complexities of bossa's harmonies, Uruguay's urban song style, candombe rhythms and the backbeat of rock into a new and contagious form.

By the late 1960s the influence of jazz, and of the Afro-Uruguayan rhythm of candombe, took Hugo to New York City, where he formed the group Opa. In Opa Hugo played keyboards and sang, while his brother played drums, and childhood friend Ringo Thielmann played bass. Opa's mixture of jazz, rock, Brazilian harmonies and rhythms, and Uruguay's African-flavored music (candombe) gave this band a distinctive voice, and garnered them recognition among musicians in the then growing "Latin jazz" scene. Opa released two albums on their own, 'Goldenwings' and 'Magic Time'. Opa's music served to influence the next generation of Uruguayan musicians, continuing the Fattoruso's impact on Uruguayan musical culture.

From that point on Hugo travelled the U.S. and worked with a variety of artists, ranging from Hermeto Pascoal to Ron Carter to The Dixie Dregs. After working in the U.S. with Milton Nascimento, Hugo spent several years living in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked with several prominent Brazilian artists including Djavan, Geraldo Azevedo, Chico Buarque de Holanda, Nana Vasconcelos and Toninho Horta. He has recorded extensively with Milton Nascimento, on the records "Milton", "Journey To Dawn", "Planeta Blue Na Estrada Do Sol", "Angelus", and "Nascimento", winner of the 1997 World Music Grammy Award. In addition to his piano and accordion playing, the compositions on the release "Nascimento" were co-arranged by Milton and Hugo.

SOLAR PLEXUS

Solar Plexus for Inner City from 1979.
Flute,Sax - Glenn Richardson / Keyboards - Denny Berthiaume/ Trumpet,Percussion - Randy Masters/ Vocals ,Percussion- Lin McPhillips /Bass- MickeyMcPhillips/Drums,Percussion-Russ Tincher/Kenneth Nash-Percussion

The third lp from Randy Masters' Solar Plexus which continues to plough the latin jazz fusion furrow to great effect.Check out the long intro cuts on each side of the lp "Voa, Quetzali!" & "Xango-Bahiana" for the best moments and give a wide berth to "Stutz Bearcat" which is a real stinker.
Here's the write up at Kosmigroove from Eric Golub who joined the band after this lp:
Co-founded by trumpeter/composer Randy Masters and keyboardist/composer Denny Berthiaume. Featured rather complex arrangements, with Masters' compositions favoring Brazilian elements, and Berthiaume's wedding fusion and third stream concepts.
The 'classic' group represented on "Voices" and "Solar Plexus" featured a front line of Glenn Richardon on reeds/flute, Masters on trumpet, and Lin McPhillips providing female vocalese a la Ursula Dudziak. In 1979, I joined the group, my violin and viola replacing McPhillips' voice, and I can be heard on "Earth Songs". The group disbanded in 1981.
All the key players remain active, mostly in the San Francisco Area.

RONALD SNIJDERS - BLACK STRAIGHT MUSIC

Ronald Snijders for Black Straight Music from 1981.
Moving over to Holland for private press business and a tough lp for the funky flute freaks!
Check out "Latinetta","Wildgrass" and "Tori" for foot shufflin' action.
Here's a bit more about Ronald from his website:
Ronald Snijders is considered to be the most swinging flutist in the Netherlands (Jazz magazine Jazz nu), and the inventor of African Surinam kawinajazz. He was born in Paramaribo, Suriname in 1951 and started to play the flute at the age of seven, influenced by his professionally fluteplaying father. In his youth he also practised guitar, sax, some piano and percussion, playing popular music, classical music, Brazilian music plus jazz. In september of 1970 he settled in Delft, the Netherlands to study civil engineering, but about five years later he was a professional selftaught musician. Among his awards shines the Press prize at the prestigious NOS jazzconcours of 1973 in Laren, won with a flute solo. The legendary bandleader Boy Edgar who was presiding the jury said: Ronald Snijders has extreme skill and creativity. Jazzpianist Chick Corea wrote him in 1976: You're a great flutist and an excellent composer…I'm sure people here in the United states will like your music a lot. And as jazz journalist Rudy Koopmans put it some years later: the most brillant fluteplayer in the field of improvised music in the Netherlands (Volkskrant). The World Broadcasting Corporation of the Netherlands made a documentary film about Ronald Snijders in 1973 and in 1999 the Dutch NPS television portrayed him in both the Netherlands and Surinam (which he visites frequently). Ronald Snijders produced and released twenty albums (cd's and lp's) with innovative compositions of his own, varying in style from North American jazz and fusion to new African Caribbean jazz (among which Surinam kasekojazz and kawinajazz), Brazilian grooves and other worldjazz. He also released three cd's with Surinam childrens songs performed by Surinam children. Furthermore he played on albums of the Dutch Willem Breuker collective (in which he worked between 1974 and 1976), the partly Surinam Fra Fra bigband and the Moroccan Weshm. He performed as a flute soloist and with the Ronald Snijders Band (earlier named Ronald Snijders Black Straight Music) and the now very succesful Ronald Snijders extended Band in the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Suriname, the USA, Cuba, Curacao, Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso. Jazztrumpeter Lester Bowie from the Art Ensemble of Chicago played a full concert with Ronald Snijders in the Netherlands. In march/april 2000 he toured with his band to Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatamala. Snijders composed music for films (South Bronx, Kon Esi baka, Desiree, Domburg), tv and radio tunes, balletmusic and classical music for ensembles and symfonic orchestra. He lives in Delft. Beside fluteplaying, composing and producing he is an author and a master of ethnomusicolgy. He wrote a couple of books among which the biography The man with the piccolo, where Ronald Snijders pictured his musical father Eddy Snijders (1923-1990), the lexicon Sranantongo fu strati with slang creole Surinam words and expressions, and a sheetmusic book with traditional melodies of kaseko, the most popular music of Surinam. He presents readings on Caribbean (and other) music at universities, cultural centres and the like, and leads music workshops for improvisation.
In 2001 he was awarded ‘Ridder in de orde van Oranje Nassau’ from the Netherlands and ‘Ridder in de orde van de Gele Ster’ from Suriname for his many contributions in connecting musical cultures. He performed with the Metropole orkest and the Dutch Jazz orchestra of the Concertgebouw. In 2001 the NESKO (students symfonic orchestra) performed his composition Paramaribo rhapsody.

Check out the top draw Quimsy's Mumbo Jumbo for another Snijder post here.

MAX GREGER JR,MILAN PILAR & CHARLY ANTOLINI - CATCH UP VOL. 1

Max Greger,Milan Pilar and Charly Antolini for Calig from 1975.
Greger-Keyboards,Pilar-Bass,Antolini-Drums.

Now oop -here's the dusty groove review:
A classic bit of 70s funk from Germany .This rare 1975 set was the brainchild of 3 of Germany's funkiest jazz players -- drummer Charly Antolini, whose drums crackled on some of the best MPS recordings; keyboardist Max Greger Jr, who made some great straighter albums in the 60s; and bassist Milan Pilar, an electric player with a really warm and round tone. Together, the trio grooves through some excellent funky numbers really jamming with a soulful groove, as Greger switches effortlessly between piano, moog, Fender Rhodes, mellotron, and organ! Includes the funky break classic "Onkel Joe" plus gems like "Moonlight On a Bald Head", "Catch Up", "Blues For The Kaiser", "Lydia", and "Spinning Wheel". Their first album 'Catch Up' was recorded in 1975 in the legendary Munich Studios, for the label Calig. Rare Groove addicts consider this album as a speciality
.
I'm no rare groove addict but this really is a bomb!

ROBIN JONES SEVEN - EL MAJA

Robin Jones for Apollo Sound from 1972.
Robin Jones-Drums,Percussion;Tony Uter:Congas;Simon Morton-Bongos;Olaf Vas-Sax,Flute;Roy Edwards-Trumpet;John Porter-Keyboards;Percy Borthwick-Bass.
Another latin library banger from the wonderful Robin Jones.
The big cuts spinnin' out the jazz dancers back in the day were "Atlas" and "El Maja" and you can hear that the Jones seven had assimilated much of the boogaloo and funk influences from Mighty Mongo's band of the time.
As you can probably guess this one's yet another
All Killer No Filler

LUIS GASCA - THE LITTLE GIANT

Luis Gasca for Atlantic from 1969.
Luis Gasca (Trumpet),Joe Henderson (Tenor),Herbie Hancock (Piano), Hubert Laws (Flute), Chuck Rainey (Bass), Marty Sheller (Cowbell), Steve Barrios (Timbales),Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (Drums), Mongo Santamaria (Conga).
Luis Gasca's first solo outing featuring a burning version of "Motherless Child" and a super heavy "Afro Blue" - here's Dusty Groove on the case again:
A rare album by the great west coast Latin trumpeter Luis Gasca, and argubly the best album he ever recorded! The set was recorded in New York during the late 60's, and features a great lineup of musicians that includes Paul Griffin on piano, Joe Henderson on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Mongo santamaria on conga, and Bernard Purdie on drums. The style's a mix of soul jazz, Latin, and bits of modal riffing and the record features some beautiful large arrangements by Gasca and Mark Levine, in a style that's a bit like some of Duke Pearson's work from the late 60s, but handled with a bit more of an edge.

SHIRLEY SCOTT - LATIN SHADOWS

Shirley Scott for Impulse from 1965.
Reposted from OIR August 2006.
A lovely piece of organ led loungecore jazz arranged and conducted by Gary McFarland with Bob Thiele on prodction duties from 1965 on Impulse.Our girl Shirl (she was married to Stanley Turrentine from 61-71)is on B3 supported by McFarland,Bob Cranshaw,Willie Rodrigues,Mel Lewis and Jim Raney who are also joined by a string section on some cuts.This album features the insanely catchy "Hanky Panky"and a great version of "Soul Sauce".
This is what dusty groove had to say about it:
A great album from Shirley Scott - with some excellent arrangements by Gary McFarland! We've always felt that Shirley plays best when she's not leading the group -- when someone else is handling the arrangements, so that she can groove mightily on her own -- and this album is a perfect illustration of that fact! The album has a sparkling bossa and 60s groove finish -- similar to McFarland's albums for Verve at the time -- and Shirley's light touch on the Hammond really makes the whole thing dance nicely! Tracks include a sweet version of "Soul Sauce", plus covers like "Can't Get Over the Bossa Nova", "Downtown", and "Dreamsville". Also includes "Latin Shadows", a great original by McFarland.

ROBIN JONES - DENGA

Robin Jones for Apollo Sound from 1971.
A swift OIR repost from 2 1/2 years ago for the cheeky south london bastard!

Old school latin jazz from Robin Jones-this lp was dug up from obscurity by Paul Murphy in the early 80s and hammered at the Electric Ballroom, The Wag and Jazzrooms around the country.He picked up a supply of copies and sold them from his shop in Soho which is where I got mine.
Essentially a library lp this was released by Apollo Sound and recorded straight to two track with no overdubbing at CTS Studios in London.The quintet was made up of Robin Jones-Drums and Percussion;Tony Uter-Congas;Simon Morton-Bongos;Percy Borthwick-Bass;Olaf Vas-Bass;Ian Henry-Piano.The music falls in to two broad rhythmic genres-Afro-Cuban and Brazilian and was an attempt to capture the more "tipico" feel of latin music.Jones had played bongos for Edmundo Ross in the 60s and Borthwick had been a session musician working with Chocolate Armenteros andCharlie Palmieri.Heres a bit more info about Robin Jones from Ubiquity:
Master percussionist of world renown, Robin Jones enjoys an envied musical pedigree not only as the leader of King Salsa and the Robin Jones Latin Jazz Sextet. He has always been a busy session musician working with major artists around the globe. While in Paris in the 60s, he played with Bud Powell and Johnny Griffin. He also performed regularly at the Blue Note with Chet Baker, played on John Barry's early music, plus worked in the studio with Elton John on his first album "Tumbleweed Connection". He also played and recorded with many other jazz greats including Al Casey, Barney Kessell, Tal Fralow, Ben Webster, Lucky Thompson, Art Farmer, Sonny Stitt, Red Rodney and Stan Getz.

Incidentally this rip is from cd as my lp was immersed and wrecked in a shower of lager whilst djing with my partner in crime at the time-25 years ago-Bob Povey who went on to Bump and Hustle fame and more.Needless to say I sank into obscurity as I continued to thrash hard core latin and jazz to an ever dwindling minority-but thats another story.

JOHNNY WALKER - ADVENT

Johnny Walker for Walk-On from 1982.
Johnny Walker-Trumpet;Kim Davis-Bass;Larry Aberman-Drums Percussion;Charles Stephens-Trombone;Tom Chapin-Alto;Sam Turner-Percussion;Martin Aubert-Guitar;Robert Damper-Keyboards;Rick Kriska-Flute;Al Givens-Sax.
Produced,Arranged and Composed by Johnny Walker for Walk On Enterprises.
Private pressing business with a session spanning hard bop to funk for Johnny Walker who was hot to trot straight out of Lionel Hampton's big band.
"Arrival" and "Dipping" were the tunes bangin' out the jazz rooms at the time.
Here's what Lionel had to say about his young protege:
"Johnny Walker -Trumpeter,Flugelhornist,Composer,Arranger and Band Leader is destined to become one of the major voices of the 80s.When Johnny came to my band in 1980 he brought with him a a positive professional attitude and an eagerness to learn and develop musically.His trumpet playing showed maturity and strength whether out front soloing or as part of the section.As a composer his original works show imagination and assertivness.
Just like Clifford Brown,Nat Adderley,Kenny Dorham,Art Farmer and other great trumpet players who have come through my band,Johnny is ready to take his place with the great trumpet stylists of the 1980s."

Well so much for Lionel's faith in his young trumpeter-he sank without a trace after this outing.If anyone out there has any more info about Johnny leave it in the comments and we'll put the record straight.
btw It's a shame he doesn't get the benefit of the prices this lp goes for on ebay-take a look here!

FREDDIE HUBBARD INTERVIEWED BY BEN SIDRAN

Peskypesky has been good enough to drop a link in the comments for an excellent interview with Freddie Hubbard by Ben Sidran.Take the time to have a listen-it's extremely interesting stuff.
Thanks very much to Peskypesky for the drop.
Here's the link:
benandfreddie

FREDDIE HUBBARD - SUPER BLUE

Freddie Hubbard for Columbia from 1978.
Joe Henderson (tenor), Hubert Laws (flute), Ron Carter (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums) George Benson (guitar) Kenny Barron (acoustic and electric keyboards).

This session proves that commercial accessibility can coexist with high artistic standards.
In lesser hands, much of this material would sound like smooth jazz; here the interpretations are deep and wide, rewarding repeated listenings. The rhythm section, for example: Carter's acoustic bass is propulsive without edginess, layered with subtle timbres, while DeJohnette plays with a part-swing, part-funk feel that can only be described as Jack Swing. Barron's keyboard is fluid and flexible, his acoustic solo on Theme for Kareem an expose of rolling accents and morphing melody bytes; Laws is technically brilliant, executing difficult lines with unforced grace; Henderson plays with scruffy precision, weaving in and out of the changes, rounding corners, sliding without skidding out of control; Benson's cameo on To Her Ladyship boasts a ringing bell-tone and quicksilver finesse.
Hubbard, at the helm, is flawless; a miniaturist in his attention to detail and nuance, an architect in his mastery of form (check the tuneful arc of his solo over The Surest Things Can Change) and a pyrotechnician of the first order; his fiery, over-the-speed-limit improvisations on Take It to the Ozone,Kareem(both master and alternate take) and the closing vamp of the title cut are as jaw-dropping and finger-popping as anything he's done. Tom Greenland.

This seems to be in and out of print on cd-some sites list it as unavailable while cduniverse have it ready for order.My rip is from the original vinyl.