Donald Byrd - Ethiopian Knights 1971

Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens "The Emperor," it's immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk -- not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety -- than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his group work the same driving, polyrhythmic grooves over and over, making rhythm the focal point of the music. Although the musicians do improvise, their main objective is to keep the grooves pumping, using their solos more to create texture than harmonic complexity. That's why jazz purists began to detest Byrd with this album (though the follow-ups certainly cinched it); in truth, even though Ethiopian Knights did move Byrd closer to R&B, it's still more jazz than funk, and didn't completely foreshadow his crossover. The dense arrangements and lo-o-o-ng workouts (two of the three tracks are over 15 minutes) are indicative of Byrd's continued debt to Miles Davis, in particular the bevy of live double LPs Davis issued in the early '70s. Byrd again leads a large ensemble, but with mostly different players than on his recent sessions; some come from the group assembled forBobby Hutcherson's Head On album, others from the Jazz Crusaders. That's part of the reason there are fewer traces of hard bop here, but it's also clear from the title that Byrd's emerging Afrocentric consciousness was leading him -- like Davis -- to seek ways of renewing jazz's connection to the people who created it. Even if it isn't quite as consistent as Kofi and Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights is another intriguing transitional effort that deepens the portrait of Byrd the acid jazz legend. AMG.

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David Oliver - Jamerican Man 1977

Sweet singing David Oliver, the son of Jamaican parents, grew up in Florida. He scored on Mercury Records with "MS," which became a staple on quiet storm radio stations, but never scored another significant hit. Oliver started taking singing seriously when he was a high school student of 15; he sung in the school choir with the sopranos because of his naturally high register. Though born and raised in Florida, Oliver made regular trips to Jamaica to keep in touch with his heritage. He sung with vocal groups throughout high school and college and was inspired by major artists likethe Temptations and Smokey Robinson.

After college, he joined the Air Force to keep from being drafted by the Army. He stayed five years and was a regular at the service's talent shows. After his tour of duty he moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and joined a racially mixed group called Five Days & Three Nights whose members consisted of other migrants to California; they had a big brassy sound like Chicago, Tower of Power, and Blood, Sweat & Tears; however, contract negotiations with Motown fell through and they disbanded.

After an eight-month association with Redbone ended in 1972 (he recorded Already Here with the band), Oliver went solo and worked clubs from L.A. to San Francisco. Five years later, he got discouraged and took a regular office gig in San Francisco. The office venture didn't last long, and he hooked with another big-band-type group, then joined the Mighty Joe Hicks Band as a singer and stayed until 1975. Mighty Joe recorded the self-titled Mighty Joe Hicks on Stax's Enterprise label in 1973. Oliver moved to Jamaica for a year, then renewed an association with Forest Hamilton, who got him the Mighty Joe Hicks gig and recorded David Oliver in 1978 with Wayne Henderson at the helm. (Oliverwanted to call the LP "Jamaican Man," but Mercury Records preferred the simpler David Oliver.) The single "MS" became a large urban soul hit, and Oliver toured with the R&B major stars. Everything was going well until Oliverunceremoniously died in 1981, a mere three years from the date of his first solo release, silencing a vastly underrated voice. AMG.

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Danny McCulloch - Wings Of Man 1969

London-born bassist Danny McCulloch got his first big break while still in his teens, as a member of Screaming Lord Sutch's backup band. In late 1965, after Eric Burdon had disbanded what was left of the original group the Animals, McCulloch was taken aboard as the first new member of what became Eric Burdon & the Animals. He was also responsible for bringing lead guitarist John Weider into the group, having crossed paths with him before Burdon had begun auditioning people for the spot, and Weider, in turn, was responsible for the recruitment of fellow guitarist Vic Briggs.McCulloch was a singer as well as a bassist, and extended the group's range with his ability to backup Burdon's lead vocals. In the summer of 1968,McCulloch and Briggs were both fired from the group;McCulloch turned right around and embarked on a solo career, cutting an album, Wings of a Man, produced by Briggs, for Capitol Records. In the decades since, McCulloch has only turned up intermittently, playing bass on Reg King's 1971 solo LP and releasing a second album of his own, entitled Beowulf and featuring an all-star array of talent (including guitarist Chris Spedding), in 1995. AMG.

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Charles Mingus - Mysterious Blues 1960

Although a Mosaic box set claims to have all of Charles Mingus's Candid recordings, this CD, in addition to four duplications from the box, contains three alternate takes not included elsewhere: "Body and Soul" (featuring trumpeterRoy Eldridge and altoist Eric Dolphy), the Dannie Richmond drum solo "Melody from the Drums" and a septet runthrough on "Reincarnation of a Love Bird." A fine introduction into the music of Charles Mingus, this set still cannot compare to the Mosaic box which has the Mingus's pianoless quartet with Dolphy, Richmond and trumpeter Ted Curson, but completists will have to acquire both releases. AMG.

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John Coltrane - Sun Ship 1965

Recorded on August 26, 1965 (and not released until after his death in heavily edited form), Sun Ship was the final recording by John Coltrane's quartet with drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. After nearly four years together, this band had achieved a vital collective identity. When Coltrane moved toward metrically free styles of rhythm and melody (with tunes often based on one chord or a short series of notes as themes), the quartet's rhythmic pulse and collective interplay evolved accordingly. The title track opens with a splintered theme.Garrison and Jones group dramatically around the leader's call, then rhythmically abstract the pulse; they imply a central rhythm more than state one. Tyner crafts a monumental solo full of crashing modulations and heated single lines. Coltrane reenters at full tilt, alternating throttled upper-register cries with crunching bass declamations, using multiphonics and altissimo as the levitating rhythm boils around him. Garrison and Jones are featured on "Ascent" and "Attaining," where they unveil bold new solutions for coming in and out of tempo, and manipulating dynamics while maintaining an amorphous yet authoritative ebb and flow. The gyrating, oceanic waves of "Dearly Beloved" suggest earlier balladic explorations such as "Alabama," with Coltrane's keening tenor providing a taut melodic focus for the multi-layered, nearly ritualistic rhythms surrounding him. Tyner's great chordal waves and contrapuntal motion build to a surging climax before the saxophonist reenters to bring them all home. On "Amen," the saxophonist announces a spare modal theme that evokes swing, but refracts it through free jazz. While a summation for this quartet, Sun Ship is also an exciting if unfinished prelude to Coltrane's final period of transformation. AMG.

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José Mário Branco - Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades 1971

"Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades" is an album of José Mário Branco recorded in 1971 in Paris, where the singer was in exile due to the Estado Novo dictatorship. Among the Portuguese musicians who collaborate on the disc, is Sérgio Godinho, author of The Survivors this year, with several points of contact with the work of José Mário Branco, as the song O Charlatão.

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Andy Bey - Experience and Judgment 1974

Criminally overlooked by academics, critics and purists who refuse to listening to anything outside of conventional jazz vernacular, Andy Bey's delivery on Experience and Judgment goes beyond anything he previously committed to tape, revealing a spiritual side that's punched up and supported by a jazz-funk ensemble. The album's opener "Celestial Blues" finds Bey delivering lines that wouldn't be out of place on Bill Withers records from this era, and the remainder of the album sounds similar to the works of such contemporaries as Roy Ayers and Gil Scott-Heron. It's soul soothing music that's been played with great reverence by the rare soul and funk community for years and rightly so, as Beycaptures the essence of the soul world brilliantly, and fuses it into something that is uniquely his own. AMG.

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The Cate Brothers - The Cate Brothers 1975

The Cate Brothers' formal 1975 debut album opens with "Time for Us," an ebullient soul workout that is also (along with "Standin' on a Mountaintop" and "Always Waiting") among the more stripped-down pieces on the record: it shows off Ernie Cate's lead singing and Earl Cate's harmonies (supported with some exquisitely restrained help from Julia Tillman, Brooks Hunnicut, and Maxine Willard), as well as the latter's clean, crisp lead playing in so genial and upbeat an introduction that it seems like the rest of the album might be hard-put to match it. But amazingly, the rest of the record does equal that opening and then some, alternately bursting out with some amazingly funky white soul and haunting balladry in equal measures. The duo's songbag was full to overflowing here, and with Steve Cropperproducing and a coterie of players that included old friend Levon Helm and Beatles alumnus Klaus Voorman, the album pretty well soars from beginning to end. There's not a weak point on the record, but the highlights are three songs that the Cates previously cut for Huey P. Meaux: "Can't Change My Heart" (which charted briefly as a single in 1976), "Always Waiting," and "When Love Comes," the latter benefitting from a gorgeous Earl Cate guitar solo on the break. The rest of the record isn't far behind, and the harmonies on "Easy Way Out" are almost worth the price of admission; and the augmentation by Terry Cagle plus Hunnicut, Willard, and Tillman puts the latter track and "Lady Luck" over the top in the vocal department. [The CD reissue is a special treat -- sad to say, the master tapes on the Cates' library were never exactly overused, but the plus side is that they translate nicely to digital on Wounded Bird's 2009 reissue. But however one hears it, this record is still great listening 30-plus years later.] AMG.

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Dave Liebman - Lookout Farm 1973

For saxophonist/flutist David Liebman, the collective septet Lookout Farm earmarked him as an emergent band leader and conceptualist, not to mention top-of-the-heap unabashed improviser, especially on the soprano. With Richie Beirach on acoustic piano, identifying him as the post-Lennie Tristano disciple of the '70s, electric guitarist John Abercrombie, East Indian percussionists Badal Roy and Armen Halburian, drummer Jeff Williams, and underrated upright bassist Frank Tusa, Lookout Farm's sheer democracy in motion, for progressive modern jazz in a fusion era, defined how far artistically a group could go while retaining a distinct identity. Tack-on to that the stunning production values of ECM's Manfred Eicher, and you have a trend setting icon of a large ensemble for the ages. This one-of-a-kind band and recording set a high-water mark for far too few bands, even unto itself, to follow. This is worth searching for and savoring. AMG.

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Cold Blood - Sisyphus 1971

Sisyphus -- Cold Blood's second release for Bill Graham's San Francisco label -- was a shift to a more aggressive and decidedly funkier sound. Taking their cues as much from James Brown's J.B.'s as from their Bay Area contemporaries and labelmates Tower of Power, Sisyphus is a much more cohesive and concentrated effort compared to their 1969 eponymous debut. The infusion of strong original material certainly did not hurt either -- as five of the disc's six tracks are credited as original band compositions. From the opening edgy/up-tempo instrumental "Shop Talk," the change in Cold Blood's direction is evident. This extended jam showcases the entire ensemble -- sans vocalist Lydia Pense -- including the band's latest addition, Sandy McKee (drums/percussion). The track also features notable assistance from original Santana bandmember Chepito Areas (congas/timbales). The driving rhythms are punctuated by the three-piece brass section, whose contributions are infinitely less obtrusive, especially during the dramatic segue into "Funky on My Back" -- one of Cold Blood's most definitive compositions. Highlighted byPense's dramatic and sensual vocals, the track recalls the laid-back, soulful style of their first album. Another throwback is the slightly gospel-influenced cover of "Your Good Thing" -- originally performed by Stax diva Mable John -- which also features background vocals from the Pointer Sisters. The second half of Sisyphus consists of up-tempo groovers "Too Many People," "Understanding," and "I Can't Stay," which is not only the hardest-rocking track on the disc, it also features a lead vocal from percussionist McKee. The song actually comes off sounding like an earlySantana cut rather than anything else on the album. This probably has to do more with the frenetically inspired fretwork of Larry Fields than the absence of Pense. In 2001 the Collectables label reissued Sisyphus -- along with their first self-titled album -- as part of two LPs on one CD set. Although the release is marred by sloppy mastering, it is recommended as the only place to hear much of these albums. AMG.

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Edgar Winter's Whithe Trash - Recycled 1971

The much-anticipated reunion of Edgar Winter's White Trash brings the powerhouse vocalist Jerry LaCroix back to the forefront, allowing Edgar Winter to put more of his energy into the keyboards, saxophones and percussion. WhileRecycled is by no means any competition for their 1971 debut album or their subsequent live release, Roadwork, it still houses a few punches that will catch you with your guard down if you aren't careful. Extreme musicianship dominates, but a few classic covers might have helped endear this release to its listeners. After all, that was the key to the original success. AMG.

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José Cid - 10.000 Anos Depois Entre Venus E Marte 1978

"10,000 Depois Entre Venus E Marte" is a space-influenced prog album from the mid-70's. Although the music is quite good, it does have a dated-quality to it. All of the songs are keyboard-heavy, and emphasize interplay between Moogs, piano, and Mellotron (in fact, the photo, inside the booklet, of Jose CID next to his collection of vintage keyboards will make analog-freaks drool). But the guitarist is given plenty of room to solo for long amounts of time which tends to balance things out. Jose CID also sings on several tracks in a style typical of mid-70s Italian and Spanish prog. "10,000 Depois Enter Venus E Marte" is a very satisfying album that will survive repeated listenings. http://www.progarchives.com

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Mike Bloomfield, John Paul Hammond, Dr. John – Triumvirate 1973

In 1973 someone at Columbia evidently decided to try and recoup some of the investment the label had made inBloomfield and John Hammond -- they were thrown into a recording studio along with Dr. John, who had recently scored a hit with "Right Place, Wrong Time." It probably sounded like a good idea at the time, but the results were uninspired. Pass by this CD and pick up any one of their solo recordings instead. AMG.

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