Donald Harrison - The Power Of Cool (1994)

"Impressive...gifted..a debt of both jazz and rock...Mr. Harrison has mastered all the signs of soul," ~ Peter Watrous, N.Y. Times.

"Revitalizing.. Donald Harrison, an alto saxophonist from New Orleans, has established himself. Mr. Harrison has taken the rhythm of the street and overlaid it with his favorite modernist harmonies. ~ John Pareles, N.Y. Times. 

This guy is absolutely awesome! I searched forever trying to find out who this artist is. I always heard "Tropic of Cool" on the radio, but the disc jockey never gave the name of the song or artist info-it drove me nuts! Please, just listen to this one song and you'll be a fan for life!!!!!!!!! ~ Amazon Customer. 

CTI Records, CTI 67237-2, 1994
CTI / MSI, MA 70 01 237, 2006 

Recorded At:
Acme Studios, Mamaroneck, NY;
Carriage House, Stannford, CT;
The Power Station, New York, NY. 

Personnel:
Donald Harrison - Alto Sax (#2,4-9), Soprano Sax (#1,3,10)
Wallace Roney - Trumpet (#1,7,10)
Jon Werking - Keyboards, Piano, Strings
Larry Coryell - Guitar, Guitar [Classical] (#8,9)
Chuck Loeb - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Keyboards, Programming, Piano
Marlon Graves - Guitar, Guitar Sampling
Mark Egan, Will Lee - Bass, Fretless Bass
Robert Aries - Bass, Drum Programming, Keyboards
Joe Bonadio - Drums, Percussion
Zach Danziger - Cymbals, Drums, Hi Hat, Tom-Tom
David Charles - Percussion
James "D-Train" Williams - Vocals (#6)
Sharon Bryant - Vocals (#6,8), Vocals [Background]
Carmen Cuesta - Vocals (#5), Vocals [Background]
Lani Groves - Vocals [Background]
Vaneese Thomas - Vocals [Background] (#4,5)
Roberta Lawrence - Vocals [Background] (#4,5)

Tracks:
01. The Tropic Of Cool {Chuck Loeb} (5:00)
02. The Wind Cries Mary {Jimi Hendrix} (4:12)
03. Shadowbrook {Chuck Loeb} (6:37)
04. All I Want Is You {Rob Aries, Robert Aries, Donald Harrison} (3:47)
05. Till U Comeback {Chuck Loeb} (4:47)
06. Close The Door {Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff} (5:46)
07. The Power Of Cool {Chuck Loeb} (6:07)
08. Too Fast {Carmen Cuesta} (5:59)
09. Ceora {Lee Morgan} (5:00)
10. Four {Miles Davis} (4:06) 

Total Time: 51:21

Credits:
Producer - Creed Taylor
Producer - Chuck Loeb, Arranger
Producer - Rob Aries, Arranger
Engineer - Larry Alexander, Phil Magnotti, Rory Young
Assembly, Digital Sequencing - Ron Bach
Digital Mastering - Jonathan Wyner
Cartage - Danny K.
Liner Notes - Mark Holston

Nat Adderley - Calling Out Loud (1969) [re-rip]

A pretty great little album from Nat - recorded with arrangements by Bill Fischer, who gives the record a tightly compressed big band sound that's perfect for Nat's sharp funky horn! The album's not exactly "funk", but there's plenty of it in the mix - as lead horn grooves around nicely, while Joe Zawinul plays electric piano, and Leo Morris (aka Idris Muhammad) plays drums. Titles include "Biafra", "Haifa", "St M", "Grey Moss", and "Calling Out Loud". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

For this album Adderley composes the majority of the tunes and sets about laying down some impeccably beautiful solos on his chosen instrument the cornet. In addition, he surrounds himself with some of the usual session men of the time such as Ron Carter, Leo Morris, Joe Zawinul, Jerome Richardson and Hubert Laws. The interplay of the Idris & Ron and Nat & Joe pairings takes this album to some special places as it hits some real highs, with Nat's cornet leading the way. Zawinul sets up some nice solos on both Biafra and the following tune Haifa. Carter gets into stride with a loud bass line in parts of Grey Moss. The highlight is the swinging Soul-Jazz of Comin' Out The Shadows with some good soloing. The title track is a touch slower but showcases Zawinul’s biting tones on his electric piano. Of merit are the compositions written and arranged by Bill Fischer; St. M, Nobody Knows and shared with Nat Calling Out Loud. Nat’s playing on Nobody Knows is just perfect. Of equal value are Joe Zawinul’s two tunes; Grey Moss & Ivan's Holiday.

The real issue in preparing this rip is that it is assembled as a suite with a series of transitional mini-movements joining the tunes together. With my first post I carefully spliced the two sides into individual tracks that I believe worked. However, when revisiting this gem I decided to leave well alone and upload just as Side A and Side B, Enjoy!

A&M/CTI Records (Japan), C25Y3819, 1986

Recorded 19th, 21st November & 4th December, 1968

At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Nat Adderley - Cornet

Joe Zawinul - Electric Piano

Hubert Laws - Flute, Piccolo Flute

Jerome Richardson - Saxophone

Seldon Powell - Saxophone

George Marge - Clarinet, English Horn, Saxophone (#A1)

Paul Ingraham - French Horn

Donald MacCourt - Bassoon

Romeo Penque - Bass Clarinet

Danny Bank - Saxophone (#A1)

Jerry Dodgion - Saxophone (#A1)

Richard Henderson - Saxophone (#A1)

Ron Carter - Bass

Leo Morris - Drums

Tracklist:

Side A: [18:46]

1. Biafra {Nat Adderley} (6:34)

2. Haifa {Nat Adderley} (4:59)

3. St. M {W. S. Fischer} (3:54)

4. Grey Moss {Joe Zawinul} (3:27)

Side B: [17:32]

1. Nobody Knows {W. S. Fischer} (6:11)

2. Comin' Out The Shadows {Nat Adderley} (4:58)

3. Ivan's Holiday {Joe Zawinul} (3:11)

4. Calling Out Loud {Nat Adderley, W. S. Fischer} (3:17)

Credits:

Producer - Creed Taylor

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Arranger & Conductor - Bill Fischer

Cover Photo - Pete Turner

Cover Design - Sam Antupit

Note:

Original rip is still active, check link in comments.

Stanley Turrentine - The Baddest Turrentine (1974)

A 4-track "best of compilation" from Stanley Turrentine’s hit years at CTI! If you know the man's tone, you know that he found a perfect home at CTI - where arrangements by the likes of Bob James or Eumir Deodato provided Stanley with a perfect foil for his warm exploratory blowing. The set list features Stan's great funky reading of Marvin Gaye's "Don’t Mess With Mr T", plus his classic reading of "Sugar" and the tracks "Speedball" and "Salt Song".

CTI Records, CTI 6048 S1, 1974

Recorded November, 1970 (#A1); July 1971 (#A2); May 1972 (#B1)

& June, 1973 (#B2) At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Stanley Turrentine, Randy Brecker, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams, Bob James, Eric Gale, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Milt Jackson, Cornell Dupree, Billy Cobham, Eumir Deodato, Freddie Hubbard, Lonnie Smith, George Benson ...

Tracks:

A1. Sugar {Stanley Turrentine} (10:03)

Released on: Sugar [CTI 6005]

A2. Salt Song {Milton Nascimento} (7:12)

Released on: Salt Song [CTI 6010]

B1. Speedball {Lee Morgan} (6:37)

Released on: Cherry [CTI 6017]

B2. Don't Mess With Mister T. {Marvin Gaye} (9:49)

Released on: Don't Mess With Mister T. [CTI 6030]

Credits:

Producer - Creed Taylor

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Artwork - Bob Ciano

Photography - Alen MacWeeney

Flow - Flow (1970) [vinyl>flac]

This group, originally from Ocala, Florida, is today minimally known for being the group in which he played Don Felder, before joining the group of country rock Eagles, although here not the same type of music. Felder on guitar, and Chuck Newcomb, on bass and vocals, were responsible for composing the songs of the only record they came to record. What we can hear here is, above all, a jazz rock, at times folk, other passages, Latin rhythms, more than anything by percussions, which helped in several good percussionists. In short is a jewel, has a quality, and that is, as you go listening, several times, it becomes quite attractive, it hooks you. In short, if you did not know it, and you are fond of this genre, you will not be disappointed. ~ Miguel Campoviejo [translated from Spanish]

One of only five LPs released in the CTI 1000 series while Creed Taylor was transitioning from A&M to start his own label and one of few rock-oriented albums to be put out by the label. It's also notable for being the project Don Felder left to join The Eagles, for whom he would compose their biggest hit, "Hotel California." Flow is a nice slice of jazzy, folky, West Coast style rock with some rootsy touches, including a Leadbelly cover. It's quite a creeper and grows on you after a few listens so definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre. ~ Cheeba.

CTI Records, CTI 1003, 1970

Recorded 17^th & 18^th December, 1969 and 20^th January, 1970
At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Musicians:

John Winter - Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Harmonica, Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax, Flute

Don Felder - Guitar

Chuck Newcomb - Bass, Lead Vocals

Mike Barnett - Drums

Angel Allende, Johnny Pacheco - Percussion, Congas, Cowbell

Ed Shaughnessy - Percussion, Tabla

Tracks:

A1. Daddy {Chuck Newcomb} (3:36)

A2. Here We Are Again {Mike Barnett, John Winter} (6:51)

A3. Line'Em {Leadbelly, Arr. Flow} (2:48)

A4. Gotta Get Behind Your Trip {Chuck Newcomb, John Winter} (3:34)

A5. Chicken Farm {Mike Barnett, John Winter} (2:51)

B1. No Lack Of Room {Chuck Newcomb, Don Felder} (3:50)

B2. Summer's Gone {John Winter} (5:53)

B3. Mr. Invisible {Chuck Newcomb, John Winter} (4:00)

B4. Arlene {John Winter} (5:08)

Credits:

Producer - Creed Taylor

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Artwork - Tony Lane

Illustration - Mike Barnett

Astrud Gilberto - Gilberto with Stanley Turrentine (1971)

An Indie Darling Before Her Time:
Quite Possibly The One Gilberto Album You Must Own

Astrud Gilberto With Stanley Turrentine is such a nice surprise; an overlooked "fan favorite" that's worth discovering. Released in 1971, it came nearly a decade after Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" heyday. But several factors make this album truly unique. First, it's the only album Gilberto made for the CTI label, after a long relationship with Verve. Secondly, on several tracks she's paired with the great saxophonist and then-labelmate Stanley Turrentine (why not?!?). And finally, the album was produced and arranged by schlock-jazz mastermind Deodato.

Put it all together and you have a fun, dreamy record that sounds oddly contemporary. Here, Deodato adds a pop flash that's lacking on Gilberto's more stately Verve material. This combination of cool reticence and clever, sometimes cloying melody has since become an indie template. And for good reason. "Wanting Things" and "Where There's a Heartache", the pair of Bacharach/David tunes which bookend the album, are airy, almost impressionistic swatches of atmosphere. "Brazilian Tapestry" is the album's high point, with Deodato's melodramatic flute/viola arrangement segueing into an effortless sigh of a chorus that finds Gilberto completely in her element. "Zazueira" is another uptempo delight that's driven along by Deodato's electric piano and Ron Carter's bass; "soulful" isn't a word that's often associated with Gilberto, but it applies here. Turrentine's energetic blasts add to the fun. The minor-key "Solo el fin (For All We Know)", on the other hand, finds Gilberto and her accompaniment in a suitably resigned, reflective mood. Gilberto's singing is markedly stronger than on her '60s material, though she'll never be mistaken for Billie Holliday.

Apparently, Gilberto wasn't so impressed with the material or arrangements; she walked out of the sessions before ...With Stanley Turrentine was completed. That explains the two instrumentals, a muzak version of Stephen Stills' "To a Flame" that not even Turrentine can enliven, and the slightly groovy "Vera Cruz", on which Deodato's piano takes Gilberto's place. And it's easy to understand why Gilberto was less than thrilled with the helplessly slight, Deodato-penned "Traveling Light" or a Spanish-language troll through the theme from Love Story. Of the three bonus tracks, only the lovely, playful, Deodato-less rendition of Harry Nilsson's "The Puppy Song" is a keeper.

As for this reissue, the remastered sound is crisp but not extremely warm, which suits the material. Original engineering by the legendary Rudy van Gelder can't have hurt. Despite that incongruity, it's sweet, slightly fey fare for those who prefer their music in pastels. ~ Extract by John Bergstrom, Popmatters.com.

CTI Records, CTI 6008, 1971

Sony Music Inc., 5127892, 2003

Recorded 13^th January, 1^st & 4^th February, 19^th March and 6^th April 1971

At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Astrud Gilberto - Vocals

Eumir Deodato - Electric Piano

Stanley Turrentine - Tenor Saxophone (#2,5,6,8)

Toots Thielemans - Harmonica (#6,11)

Gene Bertoncini - Guitar (#1,3,4,7,10,12)

Sivuca - Guitar (#2,5,6,8)

Sam Brown - Electric Guitar (#1,2,5,6,8,12,13)

Bob Mann - Electric Guitar (#3,4,7,9,12)

Ron Carter - Bass (#1-3,5-8,11)

Russell George - Bass (#4,9-13)

João Palma - Drums (#1,3,7,12)

Dom Um Romão - Drums (#2,5,11)

Dennis Seiwell - Drums (#4,9,10,13)

Airto Moreira - Percussion (#2,5,11)

Hubert Laws, George Marge, Romeo Penque,
Jerome Richardson - Flutes (#2,5,7,8,10)

Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green, Julie Held, Harry Katzman,
Joe Malin, Gene Orloff - Violin (#1-5,7-10)

Harold Coletta - Viola (#1,2,4,7-10)

George Ricci - Cello (#1-5,7-10)

Tracks:

01. Wanting Things {Burt Bacharach, Hal David} (2:41)

02. Brazilian Tapestry {Mulher Rendeira} (5:16)

03. To A Flame [Instrumental] {Stephen Stills} (3:22)

04. Solo El Fin [For All We Know] {Robb Wilson, Arthur James, Kathleen Freed} (3:18)

05. Zazueira {Jorge Ben} (3:47)

06. Ponteio {Edu Lobo, Capinan} (3:43)

07. Traveling Light {Eumir Deodato, Martha Everett} (2:31)

08. Vera Cruz [Instrumental] {Milton Nascimento, Fernando Brant, Gene Lees} (5:12)

09. Historia De Amor [Love Story] {Francis Lai, Carl Sigman, Alfonso Alpin} (3:35)

10. When There's A Heartache [There Must Be A Heart] {Burt Bacharach, Hal David} (3:11)

11. Just Be You {Astrud Gilberto} (2:29) *

12. Puppy Song, The {Harry Nilsson} (3:21) *

13. Polytechnical High {Eumir Deodato, Martha Everett} (2:48) *

* Bonus Tracks [Previously Unreleased]

Credits:

Producer - Creed Taylor

Recording & Mastering Engineer – Rudy van Gelder

Arranger, Conductor - Eumir Deodato

Design [Album] - Bob Ciano

Photography [Cover] - Peter Turner

Photography [Liner] - Price Givens

Nat Adderley - You, Baby (1968) [re-rip>true flac]

As Cannonball Adderley moved with the times in the late '60s, so did brother Nat on his own. While Adderley generally buys into Creed Taylor's A&M mixture of top-flight jazz talent, pop tunes and originals, and orchestrations packaged in bite-sized tracks, this album has its own pleasingly veiled yet soulful sound quite apart from its neighbors in the A&M/CTI series. Give credit to Adderley's successful use of a Varitone electronic attachment on his cornet, giving the horn an "electric blue" sound which he handles with marvelous rhythmic dexterity. Add Joe Zawinul's lively, funky electric piano from Cannonball's quintet, as well as the brooding, genuinely classically-inspired orchestrations of Bill Fischer that only use violas, cellos and flutes. While not always technically perfect, Adderley's solos have soul and substance; his brief, catchy bop licks on "Halftime" are some of the best he ever played and on Zawinul's "Early Minor," he evokes a sense of loneliness that Miles would have admired. A lovely intensely musical album, well worth seeking out. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide.

A&M/CTI Records, LP 2005; SP 3005, 1968

Recorded on 26^th-28^th March & 4^th April, 1968 at Van Gelder Studio, New Jersey

Personnel:

Nat Adderley - Cornet

Joe Zawinul - Piano

Jerome Richardson - Flute, Soprano Saxophone

George Marge - Flute, Oboe

Romeo Penque - Flute

Harvey Estrin - Flute

Joe Soldo - Flute

Stewart Clarke - Viola

Bernard Zaslav - Viola

Al Brown - Viola

Charles McCracken - Cello

George Ricci - Cello

Alan Shulman - Cello

Ron Carter - Bass

Grady Tate - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. You, Baby {Ivy Hunter, Jack Goga, Jeffrey Bowen} (2:44)

A2. By The Time I Get To Phoenix {Jimmy Webb} (3:19)

A3. Electric Eel {Nat Adderley} (4:55)

A4. Early Chanson {Joe Zawinul} (2:23)

A5. Denise {Earl Turbinton} (3:56)

B1. Early Minor {Joe Zawinul} (3:43)

B2. My Son {Caiphus Semenya} (4:27)

B3. New Orleans {Nat Adderley} (4:18)

B3. Hang On In {Eric Knight} (3:30)

B4. Halftime {Julian Adderley, Nat Adderley} (2:36)

Credits:

Producer - Creed Taylor

Recording Engineer - Rudy Van Gelder

Arranger, Conductor - Bill Fischer

Photography - Pete Turner

Album Design - Sam Antupit

Liner Notes - Ira Gitler