Dick Griffin - Now Is The Time (1979, 1997)

Here we have a great example of a deep and spiritual jazz album from trombonist Dick Griffin. He is joined by a stunning line-up including Clifford Jordan on tenor sax, Bill Saxton on both tenor & soprano, Hubert Eaves on piano, flute, piano, vocals from Lonnie Liston Smith's brother Donald Smith and then if that's not enough to exhilarate a listening frenzy there’s Calvin Hill on bass, Lawrence Killian on percussion, congas and finally Billy Hart, Freddie Waits sharing drums. The initial LP release on provided six tracks but with the CD reissue another two bonus tracks are added. All compositions are penned by Dick Griffin, a truly an underrated trombonist and composer. A classic of its time, Enjoy! 

Trident Records, TRS-504, 1979
Boplicity Records, CDBOP 021, 1997 

Musicians:
Dick Griffin - Trombone
Clifford Jordan - Tenor Saxophone
Bill Saxton - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
Donald Smith - Flute, Piano, Vocals
Hubert Eaves - Piano
Calvin Hill - Bass
Billy Hart, Freddie Waits - Drums
Lawrence Killian - Percussion, Congas 

Tracks:
A1. Now Is The Time (6:18)
A2. Madrid (8:20)
A3. Multiphonic Blues (5:10)
B1. Waltz My Son (5:40)
B2. The Queen (7:21)
B3. Peaceful Thinking (6:25) 

CD Bonus Tracks:
7. Darkness Of Duke (4:46)
8. Come Dance With Me aka Come And See (6:26) 

All Compositions by Dick Griffin 

Total Time: 50:20

Carlos Garnett - Let This Melody Ring On (1975) [re-rip>re-post]

This is Carlos Garnett's 3rd album for Muse records. On "Let This Melody Ring On" Garnett puts together and producers his own compositions using a combination of both large groups and leanings towards bigger band ensembles with some added exhilarating strings and backing vocals. As a result the listener is presented with an enjoyable assortment of tunes which have been carefully crafted to deliver a nice spacey soul jazz feel. Garnett in his own right is a notable reed player; "Senior Trane" in particular showcases some very fiery sax playing. He is joined by other notable Free Jazz/Soul-Jazz musicians and there is room for some great soloing, especially for Olu Dara, Hubert Eaves, Reggie Lucas, Anthony Jackson and Howard King. This album is well worth a listen and like most Muse vinyls are pretty hard to find. Grab it and Enjoy!

Muse Records, MR 5079, 1975
Recorded 16th & 18th June, 1973 at Minot Sound Studios Inc., White Plains, New York

Musicians:
Carlos Garnett - Tenor & Baritone Saxophones, Ukulele (#A3), Vocals
Olu Dara - Trumpet
Kiane Zawadi - Trombone
Hubert Eaves - Keyboards
Reggie Lucas - Guitar
Carlos Jordan - Ukulele (#A3)
James Benjamin - Bass (#A1,B1)
Anthony Jackson - Bass (#A2,A3,B2,B3)
Howard King - Drums
Neil Clarke - Percussion
Charles Dalton, Diedre Murray, Howard Hall, Joe Singer, John Blake, Richard Locker - Strings
Prema - Vocals

Tracks:
A1. Good Shepherd (4:20)
A2. Panama Roots (9:24)
A3. Ghetto Jungle (4:34)
B1. Señor Trane (7:39)
B2. Samba Serenade (6:32)
B3. Let This Melody Ring On (6:44)

All Compositions by Carlos Garnett

Credits:
Producer - Carlos Garnett
Executive Producer - Joe Fields
Recording & Mixing Engineer - John Battiloro
Album Design & Photography - Ron Warwell

Carlos Garnett - Journey To Enlightenment (1974) [re-rip>re-post]

Here's the second of the series of Carlos Garnett's Muse output. This time the listener is treated to a beautiful record of spiritual jazz. Recorded a year after “Black Love,” it shows the same blending of world music and themes with soaring, bitingly spiritual solos over Afro-centric and sometimes-funky grooves.

This album is simply remarkable. Each of the 5 pieces of music are unique and range from deep and spacy spiritual jazz (10 minute plus title track) to Latin jazz-fusion (Chana) to jazz-funk ferocity (Let Us Go To Higher Heights). Carlos is a sax master who definitely deserves much more recognition than he's received over the years. This album also features some supreme piano playing from Hubert Eaves and some straight up bad ass guitar work from Reggie Lucas.  ~ http://rateyourmusic.com

Muse Records, MR 5057, 1974
Recorded 20th September, 1974 at Minot Sound Studios, White Plains, New York

Track Listing:
A1. Journey To Enlightenment (10:58)
A2. Love Flower (7:21)
B1. Chana (6:20)
B2. Caribbean Sun (6:22)
B3. Let Us Go [To Higher Heights] (6:14)

Personnel:
Carlos Garnett - Reeds, Ukulele, Vocals (#A1,B2,B3)
Reggie Lucas - Guitar
Hubert Eaves - Keyboards
Anthony Jackson - Bass
Howard King - Drums
Charles Pulliam - Congas
Neil Clarke - Percussion
Ayodele Jenkins - Vocals (#A1,A2,B3)

Credits:
Producer - Carlos Garnett
Co-Producer -  Joe Fields
Recording & Mixing - John Battiloro