Weldon Irvine - Time Capsule (1973)

The sublime Time Capsule remains Weldon Irvine's most fully realized and influential recording. Assembled as a kind of musical scrapbook documenting the thought patterns and belief systems of the early '70s, it nevertheless boasts a surprising vitality and timelessness thanks to luminous funk grooves that anticipate the latter-day emergence of acid jazz. Irvine also rhymes over several tracks, further cementing his influence on successive generations of hip-hop. A profoundly righteous spirituality winds through all eight of Time Capsule's performances, assaying both the affection ("Soul Sisters") and anger ("Watergate") vying for control of post-Woodstock America. Irvine's searing keyboard and piano playing further capture the moment in question, deftly balancing between beatitude and bitterness. ~ by Jason Ankeny, AMG. 

Nodlew Music, NM-1002, 1973
Hubbub Records, HUBCD13, 1996
Recorded and Re-Mixed 17th May, 1973 At Sound Ideas Studio, New York 

Musicians:
Weldon Irvine - Hammond B-3 (#3), Fender Rhodes (#1,2,4,7) Melodica (#5,6),
Piano [Solo] (#6), Narrator (#1), Vocals (#3,4)
Jimmy Owens - Trumpet (#2,3), Flugelhorn (#4)
Preston Williams - Flugelhorn (#2-4)
George Cables - Fender Rhodes (#3,5,6)
John King - Guitar, Vocals (#2)
Alex Blake - Electric Bass [Fender] (#2,4)
Clint Houston - Bass (#3,5,6)
Anthony Wiles - Congas (#2,4,5,6) Percussion (#3)
Lenny White - Drums (#2-6)
Napoleon Revels - Percussion (#3-6)
Charlette Cook - Voice [Recitation] (#1,4,7)
Emerson Cain Vocals (#2,4)
Willa Vaughn - Vocals (#2) 

Tracks:
1. Time Capsule {Weldon Irvine} (2:24)
2. Feelin' Mellow {Weldon Irvine, John King} (3:44)
3. Soul Sisters {Weldon Irvine} (7:36)
4. Deja Vu {Weldon Irvine} (9:26)
5. Watergate---Don't Bug Me! {Weldon Irvine} (7:10)
6. Spontaneous Interaction {Weldon Irvine} (6:02)
7. I Am {Weldon Irvine} (1:27)
8. Bananas {Weldon Irvine} (2:18) 

Total Time: 40:07

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes, Arranger - Weldon Irvine
Engineer - George Klabin
Photography, Design, Layout - Collis H. Davis, Jr.

Clint Houston - Inside The Plane of the Eliptical

Bassist Clint Houston never made many albums as a leader, but all of them are well worth tracking down – and this one may be the best of the bunch! The set has Clint working with frequent musical partner Joanne Brackeen on piano, as well as Ryo Kawasaki on guitars – who'd played with Joanne around the same time – and percussionist Rubens Bassini completes the group, and adds in some great subtle elements at the bottom. Tracks are long, and often very personal – quite different than the sort of music that many other bassists might provide as a leader – and a great showcase for Houston's highly melodic approach to his instrument. Clint plays both acoustic and electric, and a bit of guitar as well – and titles include "Black Thing", "Geri", "Goodbye Mr P", "You Are Like The Sunshine", and "Letitia".

Woody Shaw Quintet - Seattle 1979: Live At Parnell's

Here's a really exciting live show from the zenith of Shaw's legendary quintet.  It's a bootleg, but of considerable quality.  The mix is fantastic and as far as bootlegs go, excellent.  The original uploader is unknown, as are the details surrounding the recording - it was an FM broadcast.  I was able to capture the audio in full WAV format, and then transferred it to FLAC 16/44.1.  This concert is another example of how not only Woody Shaw, but his entire quintet came to be masters of the form.  The musicianship is second to none while the band interaction is almost psychic in its depth.  This is jazz at its finest... enjoy!!!








Parnell's,
Seattle, WA USA
November 21, 1979

01. Intro
02. Rosewood
03. Why
04. Body and Soul
05. Stepping Stones
06. In Your Own Sweet Way

Personnel:

Woody Shaw - trumpet
Onaje Allan Gumbs - piano
Carter Jefferson - tenor sax
Clint Houston - bass
Victor Lewis - drums

Azar Lawrence - Bridge into the New Age

Azar Lawrence grew up in L.A. as something of a musical prodigy. By 11 he played drums, violin and piano and he sang as well. A family friend brought a saxophone to the home right around the time Azar was ready to start viola and his musical focus was changed. By the time he graduated high school he had mastered the instrument well enough to begin a professional career.

At 19 he had a regular club gig with Woody Shaw and worked with R&B folk like Ike and Tina Turner and War. By the age of 22 he was playing with the likes of Elvin Jones, Miles Davis and McCoy Tyner. From 1972 to 1976 he was certainly one of the fastest rising stars in the jazz world. Then he kind of vanishes from the Jazz world for 20 + years.

What happened to this young man who was hailed by some as the next coming of Coltrane? Well he didn't leave music by any means. In fact, he participated in wild variety of projects from Earth, Wind and Fire, Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa, and a funk band called Chameleon; he made some serious cash, discovered cocaine, had a down period, and has returned to jazz. (yeah, I know that is seriously condensed but I'm not his biographer now am I?)

This stunning album of what I think of as 'Spiritual Jazz' was done in 1974 and features a remarkable cast of major league players like Woody Shaw, Jean Carn, Clint Houston, John Heard, Hadley Caliman, Julian Priester, Ndugu, Mtume, Kenneth Nash... it sounds for all the world like something from Black Jazz or Strata East and yet it is a Orrin Keepnews produced Prestige/Fantasy release. It vanished from print within 5 years or so and saw one cd reissue for two or three minutes.

I picked up this copy from a long forgotten blog some three years ago or more, my original vinyl copy was long gone so I am deeply grateful to that original uploader. I really like this album and I'm very happy to pass on the share.

Joanne Brackeen - AFT

Joanne Brackeen - AFT
Timeless Muse TI302, 1979
recorded 1977, NYC

A1 Haiti B     7:35    
A2 Charlotte's Dream     5:04    
A3 Dreamers     5:31    
B1 Aft     6:28    
B2 Winter Is Here     7:31    
B3 Green Voices Of Play Air     9:09

Bass – Clint Houston
Guitar – Ryo Kawasaki
Piano – Joanne Brackeen
Producer – Wim Wigt, Engineer – Elvin Campbell
Written-By – Clint Houston (tracks: A2), Joanne Brackeen (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B3), Ryo Kawasaki (tracks: B2)

This is one of the more obscure Joanne Brackeen recordings. Although the pianist is heard in a trio with guitarist Ryo Kawasaki and bassist Clint Houston, the music sounds nothing like Nat King Cole or Oscar Peterson. Actually Brackeen long ago developed her own distinctive chord voicings and, even when one hears touches of McCoy Tyner or Chick Corea in her solos, in reality she sounds like no one else. Her close interplay with Kawasaki and Houston on the six group originals (four by Brackeen) is consistently impressive and unpredictable. AMG

Yanow is certainly right about this band having almost nothing in common with those earlier piano, bass, guitar trios. For me Joanne and Clint Houston are known quantities so the wildcard here is Ryo Kawasaki. Not to worry, Kawasaki is plenty good enough to run in this company. Exceptionally fleet fingered with an almost pianistic tone, at times he can be mistaken for Brackeen. Strong, entertaining music here.