Donald Byrd - A New Perspective (1963)

This unusual set (reissued on CD by Blue Note) was one of the most successful uses of a gospel choir in a jazz context. Trumpeter Donald Byrd and a septet that also includes tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and pianist Herbie Hancock are joined by an eight-voice choir directed by Coleridge Perkinson. The arrangements by Duke Pearson are masterful and one song, "Cristo Redentor," became a bit of a hit. This is a memorable effort that is innovative in its own way, a milestone in Donald Byrd's career.

By Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Elijah (09:21)
02 - Beast of Burden (10:07)
03 - Cristo Redentor (05:43)
04 - The Black Disciple (08:12)
05 - Chant (07:31)

Line-up:
Donald Byrd - trumpet
Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock - piano
Kenny Burrell - guitar
Donald Best - vibraphone, vocals
Butch Warren - bass
Lex Humphries - drums

Jaki Byard - The Jaki Byard Experience (1968)

Pianist Jaki Byard and the wondrous Roland Kirk (here switching between tenor, clarinet, and manzello) were two of the few jazz musicians who could play in literally every jazz style, from New Orleans to bop and free form. If only they had recorded a history-of-jazz album. Fortunately, they did meet up on a few occasions, including this brilliant quartet session with bassist Richard Davis and drummer Alan Dawson. They romp on Bud Powell's "Parisian Thoroughfare," Thelonious Monk's "Evidence," "Shine on Me," and "Teach Me Tonight." Byard duets with Davis on his own "Hazy Eve," but best of all is the pianist's duet with Kirk on "Memories of You." This set was also reissued as half of the Roland Kirk two-LP set Pre-Rahsaan.

By Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Parisian Thoroughfare (10:05)
02 - Hazy Eve (04:34)
03 - Shine on Me (04:16)
04 - Evidence (04:24)
05 - Memories of You (07:13)
06 - Teach Me Tonight (05:23)

Line-up:
Jaki Byard: piano
Roland Kirk: tenor saxophone, manzello, clarinet, whistle, kirkbam
Richard Davis: bass
Alan Dawson: drums

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - I Say a Little Prayer (1969)

Jimmy Smith - Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (1966)

Creed Taylor matched two of his most famous artists, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, on this session (Montgomery's last for Verve), and the results are incendiary -- a near-ideal meeting of yin and yang. Smith comes at your throat with his big attacks and blues runs while Montgomery responds with rounder, smoother octaves and single notes that still convey much heat. They are an amazing pair, complementing each other, driving each other, using their bop and blues taproots to fuse together a sound. The romping, aggressive big band charts -- Oliver Nelson at his best -- on "Down by the Riverside" and "Night Train," and the pungently haunting chart for Gary McFarland's "13" (Death March)" still leave plenty of room for the soloists to stretch out. "James and Wes" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" include drummer Grady Tate and conguero Ray Barretto, with Smith's own feet working the organ pedals. The Verve Master Edition reissue also includes an alternate take of "O.G.D." with Tate and Barretto, a track previously surfacing on a long-gone Encyclopedia of Jazz anthology LP from the '60s -- a neat bonus that makes this the preferred version.

by Richard S. Ginell in All Music Guide

Styles:
Crossover Jazz
Hard-Bop
Soul

Tracks:
01 - Down by the Riverside (10:02)
02 - Night Train (06:48)
03 - James and Wes (08:13)
04 - 13 (Death March) (05:22)
05 - Baby, It's Cold Outside (06:05)
06 - O.G.D. (aka Road Song) (05:13)

Line-up:
Jimmy Smith – Hammond organ
Wes Montgomery – guitar
Grady Tate - drums
Jerry Dodgion - alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
Bob Ashton - tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto flute
Phil Woods - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute
Clark Terry - trumpet, flugelhorn
Jimmy Maxwell - trumpet
Jimmy Cleveland - trombone
Tony Studd - bass trombone
Jerome Richardson - clarinet, alto & tenor flutes
Richard Davis - bass
Ray Barretto - conga, jingle bells

Milt Jackson - The Big 3 (1975)

This CD (a straight reissue of the original LP) features a rather notable pianoless combo: vibraphonist Milt Jackson, guitarist Joe Pass, and bassist Ray Brown. These three masterful players recorded together in many settings during the Pablo years, but only this once as a trio. The colorful repertoire (which ranges from "The Pink Panther" and "Blue Bossa" to "Nuages" and "Come Sunday") acts as a device for the musicians to construct some brilliant bop-based solos.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - The Pink Panther (05:52)
02 - Nuages (07:26)
03 - Blue Bossa (05:03)
04 - Come Sunday (03:12)
05 - Wave (06:50)
06 - Moonglow (04:57)
07 - You Stepped Out of a Dream (03:58)
08 - Blues for Sammy (06:25)

Line-up:
Milt Jackson – vibraphone
Joe Pass – guitar
Ray Brown – bass

Cedar Walton - Eastern Rebellion (1975)

This CD reissue brings back a classic set featuring four giants of the modern mainstream: pianist/leader Cedar Walton, tenor-saxophonist George Coleman, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins. All five performances are noteworthy, particularly a definitive version of Walton's most famous composition "Bolivia," Coleman's tricky "5/4 Thing" and Jones's boppish "Bittersweet." The veteran musicians all sound quite inspired on this advanced straightahead set. A gem.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Bolivia (10:10)
02 - Naima (08:38)
03 - 5/4 Thing (07:55)
04 - Bittersweet (06:54)
05 - Mode For Joe (07:41)

Line-up:
Cedar Walton - piano
George Coleman - tenor sax
Sam Jones - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (1976)

The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man was Rahsaan Roland Kirk's first album for Warner Brothers, recorded before the stroke that impaired him. Kirk is at full creative and musical strength. These seven tracks are an utter astonishment. Kirk's playing of saxophones, harmonica, flutes, and euphonium is deep, soulful, and even profound in places. "Theme for the Eulipions" (which opens the album), "Giant Steps," and "There Will Never Be Another You" features an all-star band that includes Charlie Persip, a young Hilton Ruiz, bassist Buster Williams, Romeo Perique on baritone saxophone, and Howard Johnson on tuba. The version of "Sweet Georgia Brown," with its wacky percussion and whistling, is so utterly joyful and funky it's perhaps the definitive jazz version of the tune. But it's the readings of Minnie Riperton's "Loving You" and Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" that take the album to an entirely new place. They are, though very different from one another, so utterly moving and aesthetically beautiful, they elevate music to the level of poetry. This is one that's utterly necessary for fans, and a very fitting intro for the novice.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Modal
Modern Creative
Hard Bop

Tracks:
01 - Theme for the Eulipions (09:30)
02 - Sweet Georgia Brown (04:47)
03 - I'll Be Seeing You (06:09)
04 - Loving You (04:49)
05 - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (06:22)
06 - There Will Never Be Another You (05:09)
07 - Giant Steps (06:12)

Line-up:
Roland Kirk: tenor saxophone, manzello, stritch, clarinet, flute, harmonica, euphonium
Howard Johnson: tuba (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Romeo Penque: baritone saxophone, oboe (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Hilton Ruiz: piano, celesta (tracks 1 & 4-7)
Buster Williams: bass (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Charlie Persip: drums (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Joe Habao Texidor: percussion, vocals (tracks 1 & 4-7)
Betty Neals: recitation (track 1)
Maeretha Stewart: vocals (track 1)
Hank Jones: piano (track 2)
Milt Hinton: bass (track 2)
Fred Moore: washboard (track 2)
Wilton Eaton: whistling (track 2)
Trudy Pitts: organ (track 3)
William Butler: guitar (tracks 3-5)
Bill Carney: drums (tracks 3-5)
Arthur Jenkins: keyboards (tracks 4 & 5)
Matathias Pearson: bass (tracks 4 & 5)
Jerry Griffin: drums (tracks 4 & 5)
Warren Smith: percussion (tracks 4 & 5)

Miles Davis - 'Round About Midnight (1957)

Given that Round About Midnight was Miles Davis' debut Columbia recording, it was both a beginning and an ending. Certainly the beginning of his recording career with the label that issued most if not all of his important recordings; and the recording debut of an exciting new band that had within its ranks Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, pianist Red Garland, and an all but unknown tenor player named John Coltrane. The title track was chosen because of its unique rendition with a muted trumpet, debuted at the Newport Jazz Festival the summer before to a thunderous reception. The date was also an ending of sorts because by the time of the album's release, Davis had already broken up the band, which re-formed with Cannonball Adderley a year later as a sextet, but it was a tense year. Musically, this sound is as unusual and as beautiful as it was when issued in 1956. Davis had already led the charge through two changes in jazz -- both cool jazz and hard bop -- and was beginning to move in another direction here that wouldn't be defined for another two years. Besides the obvious lyrical and harmonic beauty of "Round About Midnight" that is arguably its definitive version even over Monk's own, there are the edges of Charlie Parker's "Au Leu-Cha" with its Bluesology leaping from every chord change in Red Garland's left hand. Coltrane's solo here too is notable for its stark contrast to Davis' own: he chooses an angular tack where he finds the heart of the mode and plays a melody in harmonic counterpoint to the changes but never sounds outside. Cole Porter's "All of You" has Davis quoting from Louis Armstrong's "Basin Street Blues" in his solo that takes out the tune, and Coltrane has never respected a melody so much. But it's in "Bye-Bye Blackbird" that we get to hear the band gel as a unit, beginning with Davis playing through the melody, muted and sweet, slightly flatted out until he reaches the harmony on the refrain and begins his solo on a high note. Garland is doing more than comping in the background; he's slipping chord shapes into those interval cracks and shifting them as the rhythm section keeps "soft time." When Coltrane moves in for his break, rather than Davis' spare method, he smatters notes quickly all though the melodic body of the tune and Garland has to compensate harmonically, moving the mode and tempo up a notch until his own solo can bring it back down again. Which he does with a gorgeous all-blues read of the tune utilizing first one hand and then both hands to create fat harmonic chords to bring Davis back in to close it out. It's breathtaking how seamless it all is. There's little else to say except that Round About Midnight is among the most essential of Davis' Columbia recordings.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Blues
Cool

Tracks:
01 - 'Round Midnight (06:00)
02 - Ah-Leu-Cha (05:55)
03 - All of You (07:05)
04 - Bye Bye Blackbird (07:59)
05 - Tadd's Delight (04:33)
06 - Dear Old Stockholm (07:55)
07 - Two Bass Hit (03:47)
08 - Little Melonae (07:24)
09 - Budo (04:17)
10- Sweet Sue, Just You (03:39)

Line-up:
Miles Davis - trumpet
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone
Red Garland - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

Joe Henderson - Page One (1963)

Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's debut as a leader is a particularly strong and historic effort. With major contributions made by trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Pete La Roca, Henderson (who already had a strikingly original sound and a viable inside/outside style) performs six generally memorable compositions on this CD reissue. Highlights include the original versions of Dorham's "Blue Bossa" and Henderson's "Recorda Me." It's highly recommended.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Blue Bossa (08:03)
02 - La Mesha (09:10)
03 - Homestretch (04:15)
04 - Recorda Me (06:03)
05 - Jinrikisha (07:24)
06 - Out of the Night (07:23)

Line-up:
Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
Kenny Dorham – trumpet
Pete La Roca – drums
McCoy Tyner – piano
Butch Warren – double bass

James Blood Ulmer & Pharoah Sanders (2003)

Tracks:
1. Law
2. High Yellow
3. Sweet
4. Little Red Rooster
5. Street Bride
6. My Prayer
7. Eviction
8. Evidence

Line-up:
James Blood Ulmer - guitar, vocals
Calvin Jones - bass
Cornel Rochester- drums
Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone

Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club" (1966)

Cannonball Adderley's most popular album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy wasn't actually recorded "Live at 'The Club'," as its subtitle says. The hoax was meant to publicize a friend's nightclub venture in Chicago, but Adderley actually recorded the album in Los Angeles, where producer David Axelrod set up a club in the Capitol studios and furnished free drinks to an invitation-only audience. Naturally, the crowd is in an extremely good mood, and Adderley's quintet, feeding off the energy in the room, gives them something to shout about. By this point, Adderley had perfected a unique blend of earthy soul-jazz and modern, subtly advanced post-bop; very rarely did some of these harmonies and rhythms pop up in jazz so saturated with blues and gospel feeling. Those latter influences are the main inspiration for acoustic/electric pianist Joe Zawinul's legendary title cut, a genuine Top 40 pop hit that bears a passing resemblance to the Southern soul instrumentals of the mid-'60s, but works a looser, more laid-back groove (without much improvisation). The deep, moaning quality and spacy texture of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" stand in contrast to the remainder of the record, though; Nat Adderley contributes two upbeat and challenging originals in "Fun" and "Games," while Zawinul's second piece, "Hippodelphia," is on the same level of sophistication. The leader's two selections -- the gospel-inflected "Sticks" and the hard-swinging, bluesy bop of "Sack O' Woe" (the latter of which became a staple of his repertoire) -- are terrific as well, letting the group really dig into its roots. Adderley's irrepressible exuberance was a major part of his popularity, and no document captures that quality as well -- or with such tremendous musical rewards -- as Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Soul Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Fun (08:26)
02 - Games (07:19)
03 - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! (05:10)
04 - Sticks (03:54)
05 - Hippodelphia (05:49)
06 - Sack O' Woe (10:29)

Line-up:
Cannonball Adderley - Alto saxophone
Nat Adderley - Cornet
Joe Zawinul - Piano, Wurlitzer electric piano
Victor Gaskin - Bass
Roy McCurdy - Drums

Freddie Hubbard & Leon Thomas - A Night in Tunisia (1979)

Line-up:
Freddie Hubbard - Trumpet
Leon Thomas - Vocals, Percurssion
Hadley Caliman - Tenor Saxophone
Billy Childs - Piano
Larry Klein - Bass
Carl Burnett - Drums

Lee Morgan - Cornbread (1965)

This session (reissued on CD by Blue Note) is best known for introducing Lee Morgan's beautiful ballad "Ceora," but actually all five selections (which include Morgan's "Cornbread," "Our Man Higgins," "Most Like Lee," and the standard "Ill Wind") are quite memorable. The trumpeter/leader performs with a perfectly complementary group of open-minded and talented hard bop stylists (altoist Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley on tenor, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Larry Ridley, and drummer Billy Higgins) and creates a Blue Note classic that is heartily recommended.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Cornbread (09:00)
02 - Our Man Higgins (08:50)
03 - Ceora (06:20)
04 - Ill Wind (07:55)
05 - Most Like Lee (06:45)

Line-up:
Lee Morgan – Trumpet
Herbie Hancock – Piano
Billy Higgins – Drums
Jackie McLean – Alto sax
Hank Mobley – Tenor sax
Larry Ridley – Bass

Roland Kirk - Pedal Up (1975)

Line-up:
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - horns
McCoy Tyner - piano
Stanley Clarke - bass
Lenny White - drums

Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear (1967)

The debut recording by Roland Kirk (this was still pre-Rahsaan) on Atlantic Records, the same label that gave us Blacknuss and Volunteered Slavery, is not the blowing fest one might expect upon hearing it for the first time. In fact, producer Joel Dorn and label boss Neshui Ertegun weren't prepared for it either. Kirk had come to Atlantic from Emarcy after recording his swan song for them, the gorgeous Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith, in April. In November Kirk decided to take his quartet of pianist Ron Burton, bassist Steve Novosel, and drummer Jimmy Hopps and lead them through a deeply introspective, slightly melancholy program based in the blues and in the groove traditions of the mid-'60s. Kirk himself used the flutes, the strich, the Manzello, whistle, clarinet, saxophones, and more -- the very instruments that had created his individual sound, especially when some of them were played together, and the very things that jazz critics (some of whom later grew to love him) castigated him for. Well, after hearing the restrained and elegantly layered "Black and Crazy Blues," the stunning rendered "Creole Love Call," the knife-deep soul in "The Inflated Tear," and the twisting in the wind lyricism of "Fly by Night," they were convinced -- and rightfully so. Roland Kirk won over the masses with this one too, selling over 10,000 copies in the first year. This is Roland Kirk at his most poised and visionary; his reading of jazz harmony and fickle sonances are nearly without peer. And only Mingus understood Ellington in the way Kirk did. That evidence is here also. If you are looking for a place to start with Kirk, this is it.

by Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - The Black and Crazy Blues (06:07)
02 - A Laugh for Rory (02:54)
03 - Many Blessings (04:45)
04 - Fingers in the Wind (04:18)
05 - The Inflated Tear (04:58)
06 - The Creole Love Call (03:53)
07 - A Handful of Fives (02:42)
08 - Fly by Night (04:19)
09 - Lovellevellilloqui (04:17)
10 - I'm Glad There is You (02:12)

Line-up:
Roland Kirk - tenor sax, manzello, stritch, clarinet, flute, whistle, English horn or flexafone
Ron Burton - piano
Steve Novosel - bass
Jimmy Hopps - drums
Dick Griffith - trombone

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire (1972)

Emboldened by the popularity of Inner Mounting Flame among rock audiences, the first Mahavishnu Orchestra set out to further define and refine its blistering jazz-rock direction in its second -- and, no thanks to internal feuding, last -- studio album. Although it has much of the screaming rock energy and sometimes exaggerated competitive frenzy of its predecessor, Birds of Fire is audibly more varied in texture, even more tightly organized, and thankfully more musical in content. A remarkable example of precisely choreographed, high-speed solo trading -- with John McLaughlin, Jerry Goodman, and Jan Hammer all of one mind, supported by Billy Cobham's machine-gun drumming and Rick Laird's dancing bass -- can be heard on the aptly named "One Word," and the title track is a defining moment of the group's nearly atonal fury. The band also takes time out for a brief bit of spaced-out electronic burbling and static called "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love." Yet the most enticing pieces of music on the record are the gorgeous, almost pastoral opening and closing sections to "Open Country Joy," a relaxed, jocular bit of communal jamming that they ought to have pursued further. This album actually became a major crossover hit, rising to number 15 on the pop album charts, and it remains the key item in the first Mahavishnu Orchestra's slim discography.

by Richard S. Ginell in All Music Guide

Styles:
Fusion
Jazz-Rock

Tracks:
01 - Birds of Fire (05:50)
02 - Miles Beyond (04:47)
03 - Celestial Terrestrial Commuters (02:54)
04 - Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love (00:24)
05 - Thousand Island Park (03:23)
06 - Hope (01:59)
07 - One Word (09:57)
08 - Sanctuary (05:05)
09 - Open Country Joy (03:56)
10 - Resolution (02:09)

Line-up:
John McLaughlin - Guitar
Rick Laird - Bass
Billy Cobham - Percussion
Jan Hammer - Keyboards, Moog synthesizer
Jerry Goodman - Violin

Sun Ra - St. Louis Blues (Solo Piano) (1977)

The second of two Improvising Artists Sun Ra solo piano sets from 1977 reissued on CD (they should have been combined on a single CD) finds the normally forbidding keyboardist digging not only into four fairly accessible originals, but "St. Louis Blues," "Three Little Words" and "Honeysuckle Rose." By this time, Ra was starting to reinvestigate his roots in Fletcher Henderson's music and in swing, but these occasionally traditional interpretations remain full of surprises. There is definitely a charm to Sun Ra's solo piano sets.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Piano

Tracks:
01 - Ohosnisixaeht (05:50)
02 - St. Louis Blues (05:00)
03 - Three Little Words (05:40)
04 - Honeysuckle Rose (03:20)
05 - Sky and Sun (06:05)
06 - I Am We Are I (06:15)
07 - Thoughts on Thoth (06:27)

Line-up:
Sun Ra - Piano

Horace Silver - Song for My Father (1964)

One of Blue Note's greatest mainstream hard bop dates, Song for My Father is Horace Silver's signature LP and the peak of a discography already studded with classics. Silver was always a master at balancing jumping rhythms with complex harmonies for a unique blend of earthiness and sophistication, and Song for My Father has perhaps the most sophisticated air of all his albums. Part of the reason is the faintly exotic tint that comes from Silver's flowering fascination with rhythms and modes from overseas -- the bossa nova beat of the classic "Song for My Father," for example, or the Eastern-flavored theme of "Calcutta Cutie," or the tropical-sounding rhythms of "Que Pasa?" Subtle touches like these alter Silver's core sound just enough to bring out its hidden class, which is why the album has become such a favorite source of upscale ambience. Song for My Father was actually far less focused in its origins than the typical Silver project; it dates from the period when Silver was disbanding his classic quintet and assembling a new group, and it features performances from both bands (and, on the CD reissue with bonus tracks, three different sessions). Still, it hangs together remarkably well, and Silver's writing is at its tightest and catchiest. The title cut became Silver's best-known composition, partly because it provided the musical basis for jazz-rock group Steely Dan's biggest pop hit "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." Another hard bop standard is introduced here in the lone non-Silver tune, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's "The Kicker," covered often for the challenge of its stuttering phrases and intricate rhythms. Yet somehow it comes off as warm and inviting as the rest of the album, which is necessary for all jazz collections -- mainstream hard bop rarely comes as good as Song for My Father.

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Soul Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Song for My Father (07:15)
02 - The Natives Are Restless Tonight (06:08)
03 - Calcutta Cutie (08:28)
04 - Que Pasa (07:45)
05 - The Kicker (05:24)
06 - Lonely Woman (07:03)
07 - Sanctimonious Sam (03:52)
08 - Que Pasa (trio version) (05:35)
09 - Sighin' and Cryin' (05:23)
10 - Silver Treads Among My Soul (03:50)

Line-up:
Horace Silver — piano
Carmell Jones — trumpet (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5)
Joe Henderson — tenor saxophone (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5)
Teddy Smith — bass (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5)
Roger Humphries — drums (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5)
Blue Mitchell — trumpet (Tracks 3, 6 – 10)
Junior Cook — tenor saxophone (Tracks 3, 6 – 10)
Gene Taylor — bass (Tracks 3, 6 – 10)
Roy Brooks — drums (Tracks 3, 6 – 10)

Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius (1976)

It's impossible to hear Jaco Pastorious' debut album today as it sounded when it was first released in 1976. The opening track -- his transcription for fretless electric bass of the bebop standard "Donna Lee" -- was a manifesto of virtuosity; the next track, the funk-soul celebration "Come On, Come Over" was a poke in the eye to jazz snobs and a love letter to the R&B greats of the previous decade (two of whom, Sam & Dave, sing on that track); "Continuum" was a spacey, chorus-drenched look forward to the years he was about to spend playing with Weather Report. The program continues like that for three-quarters of an hour, each track heading off in a different direction -- each one a masterpiece that would have been a proud achievement for any musician. What made Jaco so exceptional was that he was responsible for all of them, and this was his debut album. Beyond his phenomenal bass technique and his surprisingly mature compositional chops (he was 24 when this album was released), there was the breathtaking audacity of his arrangements: "Okonkole Y Trompa" is scored for electric bass, French horn, and percussion, and "Speak Like a Child," which Pastorious composed in collaboration with pianist Herbie Hancock, features a string arrangement by Pastorious that merits serious attention in its own right. For a man with this sort of kaleidoscopic creativity to remain sane was perhaps too much to ask; his gradual descent into madness and eventual tragic death are now a familiar story, one which makes the bright promise of this glorious debut album all the more bittersweet. (This remastered reissue adds two tracks to the original program: alternate takes of "(Used to Be a) Cha Cha" and "6/4 Jam").

by Rick Anderson in All Music Guide

Styles:
Fusion
Post-Bop
Funk

Tracks:
01 - Donna Lee (02:27)
02 - Come on, Come Over (03:50)
03 - Continuum (04:31)
04 - Kuru/ Speak Like a Child (07:38)
05 - Portrait of Tracy (02:20)
06 - Opus Pocus (05:24)
07 - Okonloke Y Trompa (04:21)
08 - (Used to be a) Cha-Cha (08:52)
09 - Forgotten Love (02:12)

Line-up:
Jaco Pastorius - bass
Don Allas - percussion
Herbie Hancock - keyboards
Lenny White - drums
Narada Michael Waldon - drums (2)
Bobby Ecconomou - drums (4)
Othello Molineaux - steel drums
Leroy Williams - steel drums
Michael Brecker - tenor sax (2)
David Sanborn - alto sax (2)
Howard Johnson - baritone sax (2)
Peter Graves - trombone (2)
Sam and Dave - vocals (2)
Wayne Shorter - soprano sax (6)
Ron Tooley - trumpet (2)
Hubert Laws - flute (8)
Peter Ground - french horn (7)

Al Di Meola - Tirami Su (1987)

Al di Meola, who in his early days sometimes sacrificed feeling for speed (he always had remarkable technique), grew and developed through the years. His final of three Manhattan releases is his finest, a sextet outing with keyboardist Kei Akagi, electric bassist Anthony Jackson, acoustic bassist Harvie Swartz, drummer Tommy Brechtlein, and his longtime percussionist, Mino Cinelu. Having grown out of his fusion roots, di Meola's interest in world music and folk music from other countries is displayed throughout this colorful set, particularly on such numbers as "Beijing Demons," "Song to the Pharoah Kings," and the exciting "Rhapsody of Fire."

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Fusion
Jazz-Rock

Tracks:
01 - Beijing Demons (06:22)
02 - Arabella (07:08)
03 - Smile from a Stranger (05:40)
04 - Rhapsody of Fire (05:03)
05 - Song to the Pharaoh Kings (08:44)
06 - Andonea (03:01)
07 - Maraba (05:18)
08 - Song with a View (06:20)
09 - Tirami Su, Part 1 (01:10)
10 - July (05:21)
11 - Soaring Through a Dream (12:33)

Line-up:
Al Di Meola – guitar
Anthony Jackson – bass guitar
Kei Akagi – keyboards
Tom Brechtlein – drums
Mino Cinelu – percussion
Jose Renato – vocals
Harvie S – bass