Gato Barbieri - Under Fire

GATO BARBIERI
Under Fire
1973
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Phillips 6369 419


Since before the weekend, this LP had been scheduled to run today. I had written a small intro last night but then El Reza went and did something brilliant like start a blog entirely devoted to the seriously dope Flying Dutchman imprint! Set up along the same lines as Strata-East Fan Club, Magic Purple Sunshine, The CTI Never Sleeps and my new baby blog the shad shack, it's another more than welcome addition to the growing circle of label-themed discographical blogs. Check it out!

In the meantime, here's the post as it was originally intended to run before hearing the news:

Reza, didn't you leave a comment yesterday mentioning Flying Dutchman? Well, you must have been psychic (seems like there's a lot of that going around these days) since this record was already tapped for today's post. This is another one of the better sets from El Gato during the 70s, which is due in most part to its being recorded prior to the '76 quality control cut-off date. Anything after then...well, you pays your money and you takes your chances. Not much of a gamble on this one and it shouldn't be a surprise either, considering the stellar line up at work. I'll let AMG take it from there...


AMG Review
by Don Snowden

Under Fire is Gato Barbieri in his early-'70s prime, when the Argentinean tenorman's transition from the avant-garde to exploring his South American continental routes still hadn't passed beyond the pale into flaccid fusion. He's joined by a pretty stellar band: his regular pianist Lonnie Liston Smith (before he fuzaked out), Airto Moreira and James Mtume on drums and percussion, the veteran Roy Haynes guesting on "El Parana," a young John Abercrombie on guitar and Stanley Clarke in his young lion-of-acoustic-bass phase. Barbieri floats in the background of "El Parana" before kicking into the song proper at an accelerated tempo.

More than improvising per se, his trademark was the emotionally charged sonic stamp he put on the melody (check the intro to the ballad "Yo Le Canto a la Luna," where Barbieri sounds like he's aiming to blow down walls) that made clichés like "Latin passion and fire" sound like, well, the real deal. It also provides a good counterpoint to the exuberant playing of the group -- Smith's solo shows the impact of his years with Pharoah Sanders, but it's Clarke and the rhythm section that really drive the piece while Abercrombie tosses in fills here and there.

"Antonico" features double-tracked Barbieri and the strongest improvisation (so far) at the end, while Brazilian songwriter Jorge Ben's "Maria Domingas" fades in with a full head of steam thanks to Abercrombie and Clarke dueling over Moreira and Mtume. Barbieri's echoed yelps give way to a deeply lyrical sax melody -- he does a lot of similar dynamic shifts here -- before Abercrombie's guitar comps re-start the up-tempo with Clarke effortlessly loping on as the octave-leaping anchor for Barbieri's searing statement of the theme. "El Sertao" opens with Barbieri squeaks over Smith's echoed Fender Rhodes trills, a Clarke foundation riff, and Abercrombie's comps before Barbieri enters full-force. The music stays light and buoyant before another downtempo shift builds to a climatic coda with Clarke shining.

Even the longer pieces are over before you know it so, although Under Fire doesn't quite match the charged intensity of Fenix or El Pampero, it leaves you wishing for two things. First, that there were outtakes to include here because you never come close to getting tired of the music -- double the music would mean double the fun. And what a shame that Carlos Santana, who was just entering his Devadip phase, never recorded with Barbieri at this point in their careers because that combination had the potential to create some pretty incredible music.

Gato Barbieri - Tenor Sax, Vocals
Lonnie Liston Smith - Piano, Electric Piano
Stanley Clarke - Bass
Roy Haynes - Drums
Airto Moreira - Drums, Percussion
John Abercrombie - Guitar
James M'tume - Percussion
Moulay "Ali" Hafid - Percussion

Producer - Bob Thiele


1 El Parana
2 Yo Le Canto A La Luna
3 Antonico
4 Maria Domingas
5 El Sertao


Like Chapter One, this has seen a couple CD reissues but from what we can gather, those are OOP as well. You can catch the funky fusion flak from Soundological HERE or HERE.

Naná Vasconcelos - Saudades

NANA VASCONCELOS
Saudades
1980
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from ECM-1-1147


Listening to this album in a relaxed state with your undivided attention can elicit a mystical experience. It is one of the deepest and most magical pieces of polyvinyl chloride I own. Not much more to say than that.


Naná Vasconcelos - Berimbau, Percussion, Voice, Gongs
Egberto Gismonti - "Super 8 String Guitar" on Cego Alderaldo

Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart conducted by Mladen Gutesha

1 O Berimbau
2 Vozes (Saudades)
3 Ondas (Na Óhlos de Petronila)
4 Cego Aderaldo
5 Dado


AMG Review
by John Storm Roberts

This 1979 recording is probably Afro-experimentalist Vasconcelos' finest. It presents his various facets -- berimbao playing, intricate overlain vocals, fine percussion, even gorgeous guitar -- simply and almost overwhelmingly. This is one of those performances that remind one to never let natural dogmatism get too out of hand.

Get it HERE and HERE


1972 Naná Vasconcelos at Brazilian Nuggets
1973 Amazonas at Vinil Velho
1973 Africadeus at Malado de Som
1977 Dança das Cabeças (with Egberto Gismonti) at Brasil Midia
1979 Saudades
1983 Codona 3 (with Don Cherry & Collin Walcott) at My Favorite Sound
1983 Zumbi
1984 Duas Vozes (Egberto Gismonti & Naná Vasconcelos) at Brasil Midia
1986 Bush Dance at The Bossa Blog
1989 Rain Dance (Naná Vasconcelos & the Bushdancers) at Schadenfreudian Therapy
1990 Lester (with Antonello Salis)
1995 Contando Estórias: Storytelling at Som Barato
1997 No Tempo Da Bossa Nova
1997 Fragments: Modern Tradition at Som Barato
1999 Contaminação (with Ralph Towner) at The Bossa Blog
2001 Fragmentos
2002 Minha Lôa at Centro Virtual de Percussão Batuque Brasileiro
2004 Fandango Jazz Festival (with Antonello Salis & Peppe Consolmagno) at Som Barato
2005 Isso Vai Dar Repercussao at Som Barato
2005 Chegada at L'Arbe de les 1000 Musiques
2006 Trilhas at Som do Roque

In addition to the blogs noted above, I highly suggest you head over to J Thyme...KIND for more Brazilian beauty if you haven't already had the chance.

Samba Soul - Samba Soul

boomp3.com
boomp3.com

64 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from RCA APL1-2623


Credits:

Arranged By, Conductor - J.P. Soares
Backing Vocals - Coral Joaosinho
Bass [Guitar] - Claudio (3)
Conductor - Spala Elias Sloan
Drums - Chicao
Engineer - Joaquin J. Lopes , Walter Lima
Guitar, Violin - Antenor , Heraldo , Ricardo (9)
Horns [Pistons] - Buda (3) , Butina , Felpa , Paidetti E. Lele
Mixed By [Disco Mix By] - Warren Schatz
Percussion - Jose Pereira , Rubao
Piano - Eduardo Assad
Saxophone [Alto] - Demetrio , Lambari
Saxophone [Baritone] - Carlos Alberto
Saxophone [Tenor] - Balao
Strings - Symphonic Orchestra Of Sao Paulo
Trombone - Arlindo , Bill (8) , Firmo E. Gagliardi
Trumpet - Kathy (4)

1 Garota De Ipanema / Manha De Carnival
2 Chove Chuva / Mas Que Nada
3 Cidade Maravilhosa
4 Mambo No. 5
5 Está Chegando A Hora
6 Voce Abousou


The legendary album dearly clutched to the heart by hip hop & house producers world-wide as a goldmine of the cleanest, funkiest, tightest disco breaks you could hope for. As a listening experience it holds up fairly well on its own, with well-arranged takes on Brazilian standards and superb production values. The strings aren't as sappy as they can tend to be on this type of affair and even the weird chipmunkish quality of the backup singers holds a kitsch charm that's not nearly as annoying as the plethora of soulless choral accompaniment to be found in the disco genre. Obviously it's more suited to revving up for a night of clubbing or to be slapped on at a party if you want to kick it up a notch bit - both "Mambo No. 5" and, to a lesser extent, the "Cove Chuva / Mas Que Nada" medley will kill it on a floor when dropped at the right time in a set.

Motown67 over at Soul Strut basically says it all:

This album contains Mambo No. 5, which I had been looking for on 12” or 45, but I was just as happy to pick it up on LP. The record was recorded in Brazil and is Disco, but it’s got great b-boy drum & conga breaks galor (sic) like the two in Garota De Ipanema/Manha De Carnaval, the three in Chove Chuva/Mas Que Nada which isn’t a bad tune in itself even with all the strings, the three in Cidade Maravilhosa, the one in Esta Chegando A Hora, and of course there’s Mambo No. 5, the best overall song that was featured on UBB, that has three drum breaks of its own in between a Latin/Brazilian dance track.

Yeah, that's pretty much the classic reaction when a digger who's been hipped to "Mambo No. 5" through its appearance on Ultimate Breaks n Beats Vol. 25 gets to hear the whole album. If you find this at an affordable price, snatch it up immediately since it tends to fetch at least a fiddy unless the seller don't know what they got. Their other LPs, Do It and Once Again, just aren't up to par and nowhere near as good so don't get fooled into paying large sums as they can be picked up for a tenner or less on the intertubes.

Now you can hear this classic Brazillian disco breaks workout courtesy of Soundological HERE or HERE.

A Person Called Gerald - Liberation / Groove Transfusion Mixtapes

192-320 VBR mp3
Cassette reconstruction from multiple sources

Reconstructed these two mixtapes from many sources, digital and analogue, ripped and downloaded. All I can tell you about the tapes is I picked them up in Camden Market on a September Sunday in 1992 while visiting London. The kiosk had dozens of different comps by him at 5 quid apiece but these were the only two I picked up. Cor! Looking back, it's easy to see now that this person was definitely a connoisseur of jazzdance and I kick myself for not picking up a few more back then. The selections are fantastic and there is nary a duff track to be found. Something else that can't be found is any info on this "Radio & Club DJ" named "A Person Called Gerald" or Jazz Liberation Productions, which is one of the reasons I chose to put this up.

So, keeping true to the title of the blog, I couldn't get anyone to cough up any info on this selector of refined taste. Yeah, it was over a decade-and-a-half ago and this was just some guy with a record collection in a stall years before the intertubes. My guess, considering the time and place would be "Jazzman" Gerald Short. But surely someone out there will one day wonder what ever happened to 'A Person Called Gerald' who DJ'd on the radio and in clubs and sold mixtapes at Camden Market then type it into Google. We'll be waiting here. We're patient. Lazy, too. Keeping true to the title of the blog, we don't take this all that seriously.


Groove Transfusion
---->SIDE 1<----
Blue Mitchell - Granite and Concrete
Gene Harris - Listen Here
Louie Bellson & Walfredo De Los Reyes - Sentido En Seis (on Never Enough Rhodes' recent mix)
Michael Longo - Like A Thief In The Night
Groove Holmes - No Trouble On The Mountain

---->SIDE 2<----
Joe Bataan - Latin Strut
Clare Fischer - Descarga-Yema Ya (from Never Enough Rhodes' recent mix!)
Mongo Santamaria - Listen Here
João Donato - Almas-Irmas
Idris Muhammad - Loran's Dance
Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combo & Brass - Mr Clean (from MOJO CLUB #2)
Deodato - Super Strut


Liberation
---->SIDE 1<----
Quincy Jones - They Call Me Mr. Tibbs
The Propositions - Africana
Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers - Chitterlings Con Carne
Boogaloo Joe Jones - Sweetback (from Vincent the Soul Chef mix)
One G Plus Three - Summertime (snipped from If It Rotates..)
Asha Puthli - Right Down Here
Weldon Irvine - Homey

---->SIDE 2<----
Daniel Salinas - Straussmania
The Spirit of Atlanta - Messin' Around
Archie Shepp - Blues for Brother George Jackson
Horace Silver - I've Had a LIttle Talk
Grant Green - I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing
The Meters - Ease Back


With these two tapes in hand, my jazz digging began in earnest. Once I found the first few LPs, I followed the threads through labels, liner notes, players and producers - still doing it today! I've tried my best to pass the torch by supplying loads o' links so you can conduct your own investimigations and hopefully expand your musical horizons. Follow the arrows---> for links to the files. I hope you enjoy this cookin' slice of Acid Jazz history half as much as I have for these last 15 years.

Réminiscence Quartet - Psycodelico

RÉMINISCENCE QUARTET
Psycodelico
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip from Instinct 324


Christophe le Friant (Bob Sinclar, Chris the French Kiss) used the nom de plume "DJ Desmond" on this prescient acid jazz release with heavy brazillian overtones put out in North America through the Instinct imprint in '95. It was a sample-based album a bit more in the Sugarhill or Dr. Dre mode, where musicians recreate the sample (er...interpolate) to avoid clearance hassles and licensing costs. A couple tracks are unfinished and a little noodly more than anything but overall the instrumental and vocal soloists are used to great effect.

This is also the album that propelled veteran singer Salomé De Bahia into international club consciousness. The other vocalist, Nancy Danino, continues to work in the house, broken and downtempo scenes as well. Francis Poulet remains a fixture in house, working mostly as keyboardist with Sinclar, MAW and others A-List names. Flautist and sax player Jallier is still laying down hooks for hip hop in the Paris urban music scene while Mario "Aspirina" Jauregui, a well-respected master of the Cuban Batá, still appears on many recordings spanning genres and also continues to work with le Friant. Cellada looks to be tickling the ivories in small combos but there's not much out there on him. Considering what I''ve heard about the Paris jazz scene, there's probably a lack of info cuz it looks like that's where he's at. Briffaux also goes by the moniker "Brifo" and his creative and funky fingers continue to be all over house, dub and downtempo efforts over the last 15 years.

For some reason this was never reissued by Instinct, likely due to the copyright/publishing/licensing agreement with le Friant's Yellow Productions although that doesn't explain why the Yellow LPs haven't been either. These songs were basically culled from their rare first LP, 1994's Ritmo Brasileiro, with a few that would pop up five years later on More Psycodelico.


DJ Desmond - Scratching, Programming, Producer, Sampling, Beats
Laurent Briffaux - Bass
Claudio Cellada - Fender Rhodes
Sebastien Jallier - Flute, Saxophone
Mario "Aspirina" Jauregui - Percussion
A. Kurt - Guitar
Francis Poulet - Trumpet
Salomé De Bahia - Vocals (Roda Mundo, Onde Anda O Meu Amor)
Nancy Danino - Vocals (Psycodelico, Un Premier Jour Sans Toi)


1 Peace Of Mind
2 Onde Anda O Meu Amor
3 Injury Time
4 Batucada De Carioca Pt 2
5 Un Premier Jour Sans Toi
6 Inspiration
7 Roda Mundo
8 Saudade
9 Psycodelico
10 After Hour


This album flies so far under the radar, the best cover pic I could root out was a whopping 200x200 but I did see a whack of used copies floatin' around the world just waiting to be rediscovered. This under-rated album has aged exceptionally well but remains unheard by most due to its scarcity. We'll gladly pull this if it gets reprinted but until then, Soundological readers can check it out HERE or maybe HERE.