Don't Stop the Carnival

Billy Cobham / George Duke Band at Montreux Jazz Festival (1976)

Tracks:
01 Panhandler
02 Juicy
03 Red Baron
04 Almustafa
05 Ivory Tattoo

Line-up:
Billy Cobham - drums
George Duke - keyboards
John Scofield - guitar
Alphonso Johnson - electric bass

Ernest Ranglin - Below the Bassline (1996)

Below the Bassline is a successfully smooth integration of traditional reggae and jazz: two music forms that may not immediately spring to mind when contemplating the flawless mixture of music styles. However, the collective featured in this album — and Ranglin (a reggae and ska rhythm innovator) is a chief among them — plays 55 minutes of island tree-swaying, soul-backed precision. Ira Coleman's bass playing is not the focus of this album, even though the title seems to suggest so. Nor does the focus of this album fall upon the popular funk and fusion (and yes, even disco) drummer Idris Muhammad. In fact, there is only one brief drum solo by Muhammad on Below the Bassline, and it is the first thing you hear. Muhammad opens up "Congo Man Chant" with a snare-laden solo whose rhythm quickly involves Ranglin and Coleman, who collaborate to play eight bars of a rapid but laid-back bassline. Monty Alexander jumps in with the piano and brings Ernest along with him as they determine what ends up being the refrain for a moving piano solo sandwiched between two adept Ranglin solos. There are two ska rhythm selections on this album, "Ball of Fire," on which Roland Alphonso plays saxophone, and "Bourbon Street Skank," which features some of Ranglin's most dexterous playing (also heard on "Nana's Chalk Pipe"). The title track is immediately identifiable as reggae, with its organ stabs on the down side of the beat, Muhammad's gentle but consistent treatment of the hi-hats, Ranglin's lyrical playing on the guitar, and the overall slow, relaxed tempo and feel of the tune. It is an accurate capsule of Below the Bassline, another testament to the skill of the legendary Ernest Ranglin and the other musicians featured here.
by Qa'id Jacobs at All Music Guide.

Style:
Jazz Funk

Tracks:
01 Congo Man Chant
02 Surfin'
03 King Tubby Meets the Rockers
04 Satta Massagana
05 54-46 Was My Number
06 Ball of Fire
07 Black Disciples
08 Bourbon Street Skank
09 None Shall Escape the Judgement
10 Nana's Chalk Pipe
11 Below the Bassline

Line-up:
Ernest Ranglin - guitar
Monty Alexander - piano / melodica
Roland Alphonso - tenor and soprano saxophone
Ira Coleman - acoustic bass
Gary Mayone - percussion / keyboards
Idris Muhammad - drums

Penetration

Pharoah Sanders - Journey to the One (1980)

Formerly a Theresa double LP, this single CD contains all ten of Pharoah Sanders's performances from the sessions. As usual, Sanders shifts between spiritual peace and violent outbursts in his tenor solos. The backup group changes from track to track but often includes pianist John Hicks, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Idris Muhammad. Sanders really recalls his former boss John Coltrane on "After the Rain" (taken as a duet with pianist Joe Bonner) and a romantic "Easy to Remember"; other highpoints include "You've Got to Have Freedom" (which has Bobby McFerrin as one of the background singers) and the exotic "Kazuko" on which Sanders is accompanied by kato, harmonium and wind chimes.

by Scott Yanow at All Music Guide.

Style:
Mainstream Jazz

Tracks:
01 Greetings to Idris
02 Doktor Pitt
03 Kazuko (Peace Child)
04 After the Rain
05 Soledad
06 You've Got to Have Freedom
07 Yemenja
08 It's Easy to Remember
09 Think About the One
10 Bedria

Line-up:
Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone
Joe Bonner - piano
John Hicks - piano
Ray Drummond - bass
Yoko Ito Gates - koto
Eddie Henderson - flugelhorn
Idris Muhammad - drums