Carter Jefferson - The Rise of Atlantis (24/48 vinyl rip)

An new 24/48 rip with considerably improved results, at least I think so.

Carter Jefferson - The Rise of Atlantis
Timeless Muse 309, 1979

a-01 Why - 7:40 (Victor Lewis)
a-02 The Rise Of Atlantis - 6:55 (Carter Jefferson)
a-03 Wind Chimes - 7:25 (Clint Houston)

Carter Jefferson (ldr), Carter Jefferson (ss, ts), Terumasa Hino (t, fh), Harry Whitaker (p), Clint Houston (b), Victor Lewis (d), Steve Thornton (cga, per), Lani Groves (v) December 23, 1978

b-01 Changing Trains - 5:05 (Carter Jefferson)
b-02 Song For Gwen - 7:22 (Carter Jefferson)
b-03 Blues For Wood - 6:18 (Ronnie Mathews, Woody Shaw)

Carter Jefferson (ldr), Carter Jefferson (ss, ts), Shunzo Ono (t), John Hicks (p), Clint Houston (b), Victor Lewis (d) December 27, 1978

"Tenor saxophonist Carter Jefferson made somewhat of a name for himself when trumpeter Woody Shaw chose him as a member of his first working quintet. Shaw is the producer of this album, Jefferson's fine debut (and evidently only) recording as a leader. Taking a cue from Shaw, the saxophonist sticks essentially to a quintet of trumpet and sax backed by all-star rhythm sections. Three of the tracks include hard bop trumpeter Terumasa Hino while the other three feature little-known Japanese trumpeter Shunzo Ono. Most of the tunes are firmly in the school of hard bop, the sort of music that Woody Shaw played so well. While there is not any new ground broken, it is all performed competently enough. While not as emotionally charged as his work with Shaw, Jefferson impresses with a fluid, mobile attack that shows a solid grasp of his material. If the groups seem to be sometimes merely going through the motions, there are nonetheless enough fine moments to make this a worthwhile purchase. " AMG

WOW - How hard was this guy trying to be critical? How about this...when I first heard Bacoso's mp3 rip of this a few years ago I was immediately taken with the album so I was pretty tickled the day I found it in the stacks at Louisiana Music Factory. This is some fine post-bop listening and having Terumasa Hino on one side and Shunzo Ono on the other is interesting - they are more different than I realized. Clint Houston reminds me of all the reasons why I consider him to be so under-rated; he and Victor Lewis cook on this date. Far from lacking passion, Jefferson plays beautifully and the compositions are inventive and entertaining. If you enjoyed the Woody Shaw, Sonny Fortune or Bobby Hutcherson work of this era, then you will certainly enjoy this.

Rein De Graff - Dick Vennik Quartet - Modal Soul

Another re-run with new links.

Rein De Graff - Dick Vennik Quartet - Modal Soul
Timeless Muse 305, 1979
Recorded 1977

A1 Sweet Basil  4:30
    Written-By – Rein De Graaff
A2 Detour Ahead  7:05
    Written-By – Ellis*, Frigo*
A3 Short Rainbow  6:30
    Written-By – Jill McManus*
B1 Lonely Hunter  7:30
    Written-By – Dick Vennik*
B2 Modal Soul  13:15
    Written-By – Vennik*

    Bass – Koos Serierse
    Drums – Eric Ineke
    Piano – Rein De Graaff
    Producer – Dick Vennik, Rein De Graaff
    Tenor Saxophone, Saxophone, Flute – Dick Vennik
 Engineer – Jan Kranendonk
    Liner Notes – Kuno Krook
    Photography By [Cover] – Koos Serierse

I basically took a flyer on this one simply because it was a Muse title (Timeless Muse) - What a pleasant surprise! The album is perfectly titled and these guys are very good! Modal post-bop with passion and spirituality; obviously you don't have to be American and black to play this music because these guys play the hell out of this stuff!

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.