Lew Soloff - Hanalei Bay (1985)

Solid Jazz/Funk from Veteran Horn Man......... Excellent jazz outing from veteran trumpet/flugelhorn man Lew Soloff. With him on this groove are Gil Evans-electric piano, Pete Levin-synthesizer, Hiram Bullock-guitars, Mark Egan-bass, Adam Nussbaum-drums and Manolo Badrena-percussion. Just a stellar lineup. This is an older release from 1985-86 but still remains solid and as strong today as it did upon its release. Soloff was one of the founding members of Blood, Sweat & Tears and has since played with everyone including his own solo projects. The interplay between the musicians is exceptional and Soloff's tone rich sounds never sounded better. They do a take on Well You Needn't and Goodbye Pork Pie Hat from Monk and Mingus respectively that are just stunning works. I am surprised that no one has ever reviewed this release yet. This is a tight outfit with plenty of energy to burn, and they do just that. If you like straight up funky jazz from a super tight ensemble you will love this. All of the musicians are in top form here. I highly recommend this recording. ~ John W. Shearer, 4.0 Stars, Amazon.com. 

ProJazz Records, CDJ 601, 1986
Recorded digitally 4th March, 1985 at Clinton Recording Studio, New York 

Musicians:
Lew Soloff - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Gil Evans - Electric Piano
Pete Levin - Synthesizer
Hiram Bullock - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Mark Egan - Electric Bass
Adam Nussbaum - Drums
Manolo Badrena - Percussion 

Tracks:
1. Salazar {Marty Sheller} (6:30)
2. My Buddy {Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn} (4:12)
3. Hanalei Bay {Hiram Bullock} (4:34)
4. A Felicidade {Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes} (4:19)
5. La Toalla {Kenwood Dennard} (8:34)
6. Emily {Johnny Mandel, Johnny Mercer} (3:28)
7. Well You Needn't {Thelonious Monk} (6:05)
8. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat {Charles Mingus} (5:07) 

Total Time: 42:51 

Credits:
Producer - David Matthews
Executive-Producer - Shigeyuki Kawashima
Engineer - Tom Jung
Engineer [Assistant] - Rebecca Everett
Art Direction - Shigo Yamaguchi
Design - Keiko Ogasawara
Illustration - Goro Sasaki 

Hanalei Bay

Gil Evans & Gary McFarland - Dedication Series IX – The Great Arrangers

A great 2LP set – with two classic albums on Impulse! First is Gil Evans' Out Of The Cool – a pivotal session for Gil – one that brought his genius to the American public strongly and successfully, without the help of Miles Davis! Sure, Gil had recorded albums as a leader before this one – but the sparkling quality of this set is right up there with the charts he handled for Miles, and the quality of the players in the group make the performance every bit as great. Gil's band includes trumpeter Johnny Coles, plus Ron Carter on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Budd Johnson on tenor, and Ray Crawford on guitar. Titles include "Stratusphunk", "Sunken Treasure", "La Nevada", and a great reading of Kurt Weil's "Bilbao Song". Next is Gary McFarland's Profiles – a great little jazz record by Gary – very different than his groovy/easy albums on Verve, and with a dark sound that shows his strength as a composer and arranger. The group features McFarland in the lead on vibes, plus reed work by Phil Woods, Zoot Sims, and Richie Kamuca, and lots of rhythm backing by the likes of Richard Davis, Gabor Szabo, Sam Brown, and others. Willis Conover does a bit of narration, and tracks include "Sage Hands", "Milo's Other Samba", "Winter Colors", and "Bygones & Boogie"