Joey DeFrancesco - All Of Me (1989)

Organist Joey DeFrancesco's debut as a leader would be impressive even if he had not been 17 at the time! DeFrancesco, whose sound has always been strongly influenced by Jimmy Smith (sounding like an exact duplicate on "All of Me"), is backed by an eight-piece horn section on two songs and a 16-piece string section on three others but more important to the music is the playing of guitarist Lou Volpe, drummer Buddy Williams and the electric bass of Alex Blake. Houston Person's tenor is also a strong asset on two of the eight numbers in a program that ranges from swing to more modern funk. A strong start to a colorful career. ~ by Scott Yanow, AMG. 

Columbia Records, CK 44463, 1989
Recorded at Mastersound Studios, Astoria, New York 

Musicians:
Joey DeFrancesco - Organ [Hammond B-3], Ensoniq Keyboards (#5,6)
Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone (#7,8)
Lou Volpe - Guitar
Alex Blake - Acoustic Bass (#3,4), Electric Bass (#2,5-8)
Buddy Williams - Drums
Bashuri Johnson - Percussion
16-Piece String Section (#2,4,6)
8-Piece Horn Section (#8)
Horace Ott - Conductor

Tracks:
1. Blues For J. {Jimmy Smith} (4:20)
2. [They Long To Be] Close To You {Burt Bacharach, Hal David} (4:31)
3. Carbon Copy {Joey DeFrancesco} (6:00)
4. All Of Me {Seymour Simons, Gerald Marks} (7:03)
5. 30th Street Station {Joey DeFrancesco} (4:06)
6. One For C.C. {Joey DeFrancesco} (6:16)
7. L.G. Blues {Joey DeFrancesco} (5:58)
8. Pétala {Djavan} (6:19) 

Total Time: 44:39 

Credits:
Producer, Arranger, Conductor - Horace Ott
Executive Producer - Dr. George Butler
Engineer - Tom Roberts
Music Copyist - Frank Zuback
Art Direction - Howard Fritzson
Photography - Mark Malabrigo
Liner Notes - Al Pyror

LINK

L.G. Blues

Hiroki Miyano - Manhattan Skyline (1981, 2007)

Hiroki's own creative life began in Sapporo. As noted elsewhere on the web, Hiroki grew up collecting jazz records of early personal music idols like John McLaughlin and Django Reinhardt. By the age of 10, Hiroki had already bought a guitar and in short time began taking his first steps to play out around Tokyo’s storied jazz clubs. Somehow, in 1981, the noted editor of J-Jazz magazine Swing Journal clued in one Teo Macero (of Miles Davis fame) to the stylings of this young upstart. Shortly, Hiroki was signed to a contract with huge Japanese label Phillips and was sent out to NYC to record an album of originals with Teo functioning as producer. Working with truly gifted/prolific jazz session cats like Marcus Miller, Buddy Williams, and Ryo Kawasaki, they’d use his debut album (Manhattan Skyline) to launch off his career. ~ Extract by Diego Olivas, fondsound.com. 

Philips Records, 27PJ-1, 1981
Philips/Universal, DCT-1921, 2007
Recorded 17th-18th November, 1980 at Media Sound Studios, New York 

Musicians:
Hiroki Miyano - Acoustic Guitar, Arranger
Jeff Mironov - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Warren Bernhardt - Fender Rhodes
Jorge Dalto - Acoustic Piano
Ryo Kawasaki - Guitar Synthesizer
Marcus Miller - Electric Bass
Carol Steele - Percussion
Buddy Williams - Drums
Guests:
George Young - Soprano Sax, Sopranino (#1,3,5,7,9)
Dave Valentin - Flute (#2,4)
Ilana Morillo - Vocals (#3,8,9)

Tracks:
1. Let's Make Merry {Hiroki Miyano} (3:32)
2. Sunset City {Hiroki Miyano} (6:26)
3. Teo's Dance {Hiroki Miyano} (5:22)
4. Bird On The Wind {Hiroki Miyano} (5:23)
5. Slow Down For Love {Earl Klugh} (4:00)
6. Song Of Clouds {Ryo Kawasaki} (4:15)
7. Summer Light {Teo Macero} (3:28)
8. Go Away From Summer {Hiroki Miyano} (3:15)
9. Manhattan Skyline {Hiroki Miyano} (5:33) 

Total Time: 41:20 

Credits:
Executive Producer, Liner Notes - Hiroki Miyano
Producer, Arranger - Teo Macero
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Carl Beatty
Assistant Engineer - Lincoln Clapp
Cutting Engineer - Hiroshi Yuasa
A&R - Hiroshi Mitsuka
Design - Masao Ohgiya
Photography [Cover] - Tadayuki Naitoh
Photography - David Tan 

Bird On The Wind

Jack McDuff - Another Real Good'Un (1990)

Another Real Good 'Un is a latter-day Brother Jack McDuff session which finds the organist joined by tenor legend Houston Person, as well as (at various times) alto/tenor saxophonist Ron Bridgewater, trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, drummers Buddy Williams and Cecil Brooks III, and guitarists Randy Johnston and John Hart. It's one of McDuff's better comeback albums, as he keeps the groove pumping throughout the record, swinging soulfully and interacting nicely with the other soloists. 32 Jazz reissued the session in 1999, Savoy Jazz in 2003. ~ by Steve Huey, AMG. 

Muse Records, MCD 5374, 1990
Recorded 1st March, 1989 & 18th July, 1990
at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 

Musicians:
Jack McDuff - Organ
Cecil Bridgewater - Trumpet (#3,4,6)
Ron Bridgewater - Alto Sax, Tenor Sax(#3,4,6)
Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone
Randy Johnston - Guitar (#1,5,7)
John Hart - Guitar (#3,4,6)
Cecil Brooks III - Drums (#1,5,7)
Buddy Williams - Drums (#3,4,6) 

Tracks:
1. Another Real Good'Un {Jack McDuff} (7:33)
2. Summertime {George & Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward} (8:50)
3. Off The Beaten Path {Cecil Bridgewater} (4:42)
4. Long Day Blues {Jack McDuff} (5:34)
5. Rock Candy {Jack McDuff} (6:59)
6. I Cant Get Started {Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin} (7:17)
7. I Cover The Waterfront {Johnny Green, Edward Heyman} (5:10) 

Total Time: 46:05 

Credits:
Producer - Houston Person
Engineer - Rudy van Gelder
Cover Photo - Fred Salaff
Graphic Design - Ron Warwell

Tom Browne - Browne Sugar (1979)

Despite the trumpet's prominent historic role in Jazz music, the instrument didn't showcase many of its practitioners in the contemporary jazz genre after the mid-Seventies. Queens, New York native Tom Browne, however, changed that notion. Browne's blistering solos and flair for melodicism and lyricism were on full display on Browne Sugar, his 1979 debut. From the album's opener, "Throw Down," composed by Browne, a bold, up tempo number that highlighted the trumpeter's facility to play smooth, fluid lines, to the closer "Antoinette Like," a contemplative ballad, penned by keyboard wunderkind Bernard Wright, Browne demonstrated that he is a focused, original artist, destined to be on the scene for the long run. The long run began its race for Browne on this record with the aid of Wright; the incomparable pianist/composer/producer Dave Grusin (who co-produced); first-rate-bassists Francisco Centeno and the illustrious Marcus Miller (the latter of whom wrote the alternately mellow and funky "Herbal Scent"); acclaimed saxophonist Michael Brecker, versatile vocalist Patti Austin, and underrated drummer Buddy Williams, just to name a few stellar names on the eight-tunes project. Because of its mix of ballads and mid-tempo funk, "Browne Sugar" was definitely a record that established the trumpet ace's (also a flugelhornist) own musical identity. It placed Browne front and center as a leader and not as a bystander on his own record. Speaking of his own musical identity, Browne's composition, "Promises for Spring," is another tune that possessed that gentle, late-night aura that would be heard on Quiet Storm radio. It's just the kind of record that would become the template for contemporary jazz--radio-friendly, breezy tunes laced with R&B overtones with jazz inflections. The album had great flow without any selections that would prompt listeners to skip to the next track. Even in the present musical soundscape, there are few trumpet-led projects that embrace the distinctive sound of Browne's. It's a classy, stylish debut that sounds just as rich and melodic in 2020 as it did in 1979. Cheers to Tom Browne and to the musicians who have made Browne Sugar a sonic gem! ~ Liz Goodwin, SmoothVibes.com. 

GRP Records, GRP 5003, 1979
GRP Records, GRP-D-9517, 1991
Recorded and Mixed 1979 At A&R Studios, New York City 

Musicians:
Tom Browne - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Michael Brecker - Tenor Saxophone
Phil Bodner - Horn
Eddie Daniels - Horn
Walter Kane - Horn
David Tofani - Horn
Dave Grusin - Piano [Electric], Clavinet, Moog Synthesizer, Oberheim Synthesizers, Organ, Percussion, Synthesizer
Rob Mounsey - Oberheim Synthesizer, Organ, Synthesizer
Bernard Wright - Piano, Piano [Electric]
Ron Miller   - Guitar [Electric]
Marcus Miller - Bass [Electric]
Francisco Centeno - Bass [Electric]
Buddy Williams - Drums
Sue Evans - Congas, Percussion
Errol Crusher Bennett - Congas, Percussion
Patti Austin - Vocals
Vivian Cherry - Vocals
Frank Floyd - Vocals
Zachary Sanders - Vocals
+ Strings Ensemble 

Tracks:
1. Throw Down {Tom Browne} (3:58)
2. I Never Was A Cowboy {Don Grusin} (4:24)
3. Herbal Scent {Tom Browne} (5:25)
4. Brother, Brother {Denzil Miller} (5:32)
5. The Closer I Get To You {Reggie Lucas, James Mtume} (4:38)
6. What's Going On {Renaldo Benson, Al Cleveland, Marvin Gaye} (5:09)
7. Promises For Spring {Tom Browne} (4:50)
8. Antoinette Like {Bernard Wright} (3:38) 

Total Time: 37:34 

Credits:
Producer, Conductor, Arranger, Liner Notes - Dave Grusin
Producer, Engineer, Liner Notes - Larry Rosen
GRP Production Coordinator - Peter Lopez
Recording Engineer - Jim Boyer
Recording Assistant - Peter Lewis
Recording & Mixing Assistant - Bradshaw Leigh
Mastering Engineer - Ted Jensen [Sterling Sound, NYC]
Digital Remastering - Josiah Gluck [The Review Room, NYC]
Editing & Formatting - N.Y. Digital Recording
GRP Creative Director, Art Design - Andy Baltimore
Art Direction - Dan Serrano
Photography - Mario Astorga

George Freeman - Man And Woman (1974) [vinyl]

While Man & Woman embraces a mellower approach than guitarist George Freeman's other Groove Merchant dates, it's by no means the late-night boudoir record its erotic cover suggests -- the stripped-down, nuanced sound instead adheres to a relatively straightforward soul-jazz formula, more focused and earthbound in its orientation than the average Freeman session. Teaming here with pianists Harold Mabern and Kenny Barron, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Buddy Williams, the guitarist embraces the change of pace, settling comfortably into the music's slow, slinky grooves -- not only are his solos as imaginative as before, but they also boast a rippling sensuality otherwise absent from his previous records. ~ by Jason Ankeny, AMG.

Groove Merchant, GM 3305, 1974

Musicians:

George Freeman - Guitar

Kenny Barron - Electric Piano

Harold Mabern Jr. - Piano, Electric Piano

Bobby Cranshaw - Bass

Buddy Williams - Drums (#A1-B1,B3)

Bernard Trapps - Drums (#B2,B4)

Tracks:

A1. Till There Was You {Meredith Wilson} (5:03)

A2. You've Changed {Bill Carey, Carl Fischer} (5:53)

A3. I Ain't Got Nobody {Roger Graham, Dave Peyton, Spencer Williams} (4:32)

A4. Groovy Lady {George Freeman} (4:52)

B1. Funny How Time Slips Away {Willie Nelson} (5:05)

B2. Squeeze Me {Fats Waller, Clarence Williams} (6:45)

B3. Stardust {Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish} (4:00)

B4. Georgia On My Mind {Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell} (6:09)

Credits:

Producer - Sonny Lester

Recording Engineer - Malcolm Addey

Mastered Engineer - Sam Feldman

Art Direction - Frank Daniel

Design [Album] - David Lartaud

Photography - Manuel Gonzales

One of the more laidback albums from George Freeman's early 70s run - but still a great little set that shows the mellower side of his talents! Despite the sexy style of the cover, the sound here is relatively straight soul jazz - small combo work with Harold Mabern on acoustic piano, Kenny Barron on electric piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Buddy Williams on drums - all in support of Freeman's snakey guitar lines over the gentle rhythms and slinky grooves. George's sound is slightly less tripped-out than on other records, but still has that undeniable Freeman tone - a raspy edge that's quite different than most of his contemporaries! Titles include "I Ain't Got Nobody", "You've Changed", "Groovy Lady", "Squeeze Me", and "Till There Was You".  © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Charles Earland - Unforgettable (1991)

Charles Earland is definitely a survivor. The Hammond hero had lost his first wife to cancer when he made a triumphant return to soul-jazz in the late '80s, and he had recovered from a major heart attack when he recorded the appropriately titled Unforgettable. Earland was in the Intensive Care Unit in August 1991, and by December 1991, was back in the studio to record this superb and varied CD. The Philadelphian stressed that he was lucky to be alive, and he celebrates his survival with imaginative interpretations of everything from Joe Henderson's The Kicker to Nat King Cole's Unforgettable (which he takes a medium speed instead of its usual ballad tempo) to Santana's Europa. Earland has consistently demonstrated that commercial appeal and accessibility can go hand-in-hand with musical integrity, and Unforgettable is one of many fine examples. ~ Alex Henderson, AMG.

Muse Records, MCD-5455, 1992

Recorded 6^th December, 1991 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Musicians:

Charles Earland - Organ

Kenny Rampton - Trumpet

Clifford Adams - Trombone

Eric Alexander - Soprano & Tenor Saxophones

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone (#1,5,7)

Oliver Nevels - Guitar

Gregory Williams - Drums (#1,2,5)

Buddy Williams - Drums (#3,4,6,7)

Larry Killian - Percussion

Tracks:

1. Unforgettable {Gordon} (5:26)

2. Europa [Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile] {Santana} (12:49)

3. Sheila {Earland} (6:32)

4. Commitment To Love {Earland} (5:46)

5. Heart Attack {Earland} (4:52)

6. Yes, I Love Her {Earland} (6:53)

7. The Kicker {Henderson} (3:34)

Credits:

Producer - Houston Person

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Cover Photo - Tom Barnhart

Back Photo - Joe Flint

Graphic Design - Ron Warwell/NJE