суббота, 16 мая 2009 г.

Melvin Jackson - Funky Skull (1969)

Melvin Jackson - Funky Skull (1969)

Bassist Melvin Jackson has exactly one album in his catalog as a leader (he spent most of his time playing with Eddie Harris). But man, that's all he needed. Pumping his upright through a Maestro G-2 filter box, a Boomerang, an Echoplex, and an Am peg amp, he made that thing sound like something from outer space while keeping it firmly in the groove of the corner bar on Front Street. Gimmicky? That's what they once said about Roland Kirk playing multiple horns at once, too. As for the naysayers who think of this as a novelty, consider the heavies in his band: Roscoe Mitchell, Leo Smith, Lester Bowie, Phil Upchurch, Pete Cosey, Morris Jennings, Jodie Christian, Billy Hart, Byron Bowie, Steve Galloway, and a whole lot of others. All of these cats were heavyweights in their own right. What does Funky Skull sound like? Psychedelic, funky soul-jazz and a whole lot more. Jackson bowed his bass a well as plucked it depending on what the tune needed. Produced in Chicago by Robin McBride and originally released on the Limelight label, it marked an era of exploration and Jackson was on the ground floor of the space station. There was only one requirement: the groove had to be in the pocket and the beat had to be on the one. There are nine tunes here; Jackson wrote or co-wrote four, including the two-part title cut. He took pages from both Harris' serious soul-jazz book and James Brown's funky one. There are vocals on these tracks, but they amount to little more than accents on the repetitive rhythmic lines being laid down. It's all backbone-slipping, hard, electric jazz funk from the pre-fusion era. "Funky Skull, Pts 1 & 2" and Eddie Harris' "Cold Duck Time, Pts. 1 & 2" were actually spun on jukeboxes throughout the Midwest and in New York in beer gardens, at lunch counters, in bowling alleys, etc. In other words, these jams got heard and grooved to by ordinary folks, not just jazz heads. The nickels got pumped for a reason. Some cuts here, such as "Dance of the Dervish," have pretty sophisticated arrangements and fell more firmly in the jazz camp, but were outside it, too -- especially the Echoplexed bass solo. Elsewhere, "Everybody Loves My Baby," which is a workout for hand percussion, hi hat, and bowed electronically affected bass, was out there on the launching pad in terms of classification. It gets brought back in from the cold by Jackson's "Say What," with the horns playing as a section with striated harmony and a subtle B-3 played by some uncredited genius who kept the funk lines clipped and tight; it was Jackson's cue for wrapping himself all over the groove while never leaving the pocket entirely. The bleating saxophone solo tells you that something else is being aspired to and delivered: it pushes the melody line way out the window, but the rhythm section never loses it for a second. "Funky Doo," written by Jackson and producer Robin McBride, rocks it up while being a dance tune for a sweaty after-hours party. The set ends with "Silver Cycles," written by Jackson and Harris. Clocking in at over nine minutes, it begins with a small piano vamp and Jackson playing glissando bowed bass before flutes, a trap kit, and other horns wind their way in. Jackson's bass gets double-tracked, finding the expansive groove being laid down and extrapolated into harmonic wonderland. Textures by the horn section, and the lower edges of the bass and piano registers are expounded upon, with the horn playing in high, tinny fashion, creating a huge space in the middle for anything to happen. But it stays on the subtle side with all sorts of interaction going on between the instruments crisscrossing channels and parts before fading into the night. Funky Skull is a one of a kind listening experience. It's fun, wildly inventive, freewheeling and complex all at the same time. This is one of those records that one has to hear to believe, and once heard, has to have as a permanent part in your collection. [Luckily for us, the fine folks over at Dusty Groove in Chicago reissued this Limelight classic on CD in 2007.]
[allmusic.com]

tracklisting:

A1. Funky Skull–Parts 1 & 2
A2. Ma, She's Makin' Eyes At Me
A3. Bold And Black
A4. Dance Of The Dervish
A5. Everybody Loves My Baby

B1. Cold Duck Time–Parts 1 & 2
B2. Say What
B3. Funky Doo
B4. Silver Cycles

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вторник, 12 мая 2009 г.

Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Report From Iron Mountain (2001)


Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Report From Iron Mountain (2001)

1
Catch 22 (10:00)
2
Play Mate At Hanoi (12:29)
3
S (10:51)
4
Circle/Line ~ Hard Core Peace (16:02)
5
Hey Joe (12:00)
6
Mirror Balls (08:16)

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Rovo\Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - s.t. split (2001)

Rovo\Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - s.t. split (2001)

01 - Rovo - Sino
02 - Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Pan-American Beef Stake Art Federations

(P-Vine Records, PCD-18501) (Japan) (CD)


01 - Rovo - Sino (30:35)

Yuji Katsui: violin
Seiichi Yamamoto: guitar
Tatsuki Masuko: DX-7, SH-101
Koji Nakanishi: Juno-106, SH-101
Jin Harada: bass
Yoichi Okabe: drums, percussion
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: drums, percussion
Composed by Rovo
Conception: Seiichi Yamamoto
Produced by Rovo
Recorded by Yoshiaki Kondo at GOK Sound
Mixed by Seiichi Yamamoto at Cooper Studio
Mastered by Mitsukazu Tanaka


02 - Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Pan-American Beef Stake Art Federations (32:19)

Naruyoshi Kikuchi: VOX-Jagar, CD-J, keyboard
Yoshihide Otomo: guitar
Kohki Takai: guitar, filter
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: drums, tambourin
Nobuo Fujii: drums
Masaki Kurihara: bass
Kenta Tsugami: soprano sax
Yoshihiro Goseki: tenor sax
Masayasu Tzuboguchi: synthesizers, electric piano, clavinett
Gen Ohgimi: percussion
Masaki Yoshimi: tabla
guest Itoken: drums, tambourin
Composed by Naruyoshi Kikuchi and Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden
Produced by Naruyoshi Kikuchi and Kohki Takai
Recorded at Shibaura Studio, On Air Azabu, Sound Arts, and FarEastIsland Studio
Engineered by Kenji Konishi
Mixed by Shigeki Nakamura at FarEastIsland Studio
Mastered by Mitsukazu Tanaka


Design: Takeshi Matsumoto
Includes liner notes in Japanese by Rovo and Naruyoshi Kikuchi

Released July 2001

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Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Structure et Force (2003)


Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden - Structure et Force (2003)

Naruyoshi Kikuchi: VOX-Jagar, CD-J, keyboard
Yoshihide Otomo: guitar
Kohki Takai: guitar, filter
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: drums, tambourin
Nobuo Fujii: drums
Masaki Kurihara: bass
Kenta Tsugami: soprano sax
Yoshihiro Goseki: tenor sax
Masayasu Tzuboguchi: synthesizers, electric piano, clavinett
Gen Ohgimi: percussion
Masaki Yoshimi: tabla
guest Itoken: drums, tambourin

01 - Structure I - La structure de la magie moderne
02 - Structure II - La structure del'Amerique medievale
03 - Structure III - La structure du solide rotaroire et de la prostitution
04 - Structure IV - La structure du temple et du paradis
05 - Structure V - La structure du port et des lieux de plaisir
06 - Structure VI - La structure de l'extraction de la bouteille de Champagne

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