George Duke: The Aura Will Prevail (1975)

I’m probably like a lot of people in that I came to George Duke, the incredible keyboardist, composer, funk master and man about town through Frank Zappa and his indelible 70s unit. I had heard there was a solo album from Duke where, due to contractual obligations, Zappa took the assumed name of Obdewl’l X in order to contribute guitars to the album. It took a while to find a good copy of 1974’s Feel, and in the intervening time I came across a pair of albums released in 1975 that further stretched my perception of the man’s talent. 50 years seems like a great reason to jump back into them, so we’ll start with the first one released that year, The Aura Will Prevail.

ChrisFebruary 10, 2025February 10, 20251 Comment

Vinyl

Papangu: Lampião Rei (2024)

Work has me under the gun so I’m going to cheat a bit to talk about the wonder of progressive/avant-garde/death metal hybrid machine Papangu, whose sophomore album Lampião Rei takes an abrupt left turn from their already weird and wonderful debut Holoceno in 2021. The outfit, hailing from João Pessoa, Brazil are brazen and utterly heartless when it comes to smashing genres together, juxtaposing jazz breaks next to death metal next to traditional Brazilian rhythms and straight up 70s prog from the Canterbury scene. It’s a case of had they gone the full prog route I would have been happy; had they stayed completely metal I would have been just as happy. But in this mixed incarnation I’m bowled over.

ChrisDecember 18, 2024December 18, 2024Leave a comment

Sadao Watanabe: Recital (1976)

Right as we hit the last of my initial batch of Japanese jazz, LaserCD went and got another shipment in. I already made my order, but you want to support a cool shop (Ken also runs the Sensory label, dedicated to cool progressive music from the likes of Ice Age and the most recent Øresund Space Collective), you can can check out the selection here. In the meantime we’re wrapping up Season 1 of my exploration with Recital, which captures the 1976 Grand Prix Award concert by Sadao Watananbe. This is funky smooth jazz writ large, swinging and cutting loose with shaggy solos and a firm sense of where they are what they want to bring. This isn’t far-reaching exploratory jazz that’s going to shake your world, but it is going to make your feet tap and perhaps bring a small, much-needed smile.

Also DAMN look at that cover. That is a dude living his best life right there.

ChrisNovember 8, 2024Leave a comment

Kohsuke Mine: Sunshower (1976)

What’s in a name, anyway? My CD lists him as Kohsuke Mine, but Apple Music lists him as Kousuke Mine. Oh, and Wikipedia lists him as Kosuke Mine, dropping the first “u” and complicating things even further. Maybe it doesn’t matter (maybe absolutely nothing matters, as I sit here typing this at 5am the morning after the presidential election, numb and devastated – you do you, though), because in the end it’s the music that matters, and I was surprised over the last few days that Sunshower, the saxophonist’s 1976 funk-driven fusion went from a light diversion to a quick favorite.

ChrisNovember 6, 2024November 6, 2024Leave a comment

Terumasa Hino: Live in Concert (1975)

For all the room and breath to be found in the studio, sometimes there’s nothing like a live set to bring the sense of wonder jazz provides directly to your brain pan. Terumasa Hino might be one of the more well-known Japanese exports, his trumpet playing blazing in his own lineups along that of other luminaries since the mid-60s. In Concert is a blazing live set, three tracks that blend the fusion rock Miles Davis brought to the world along with a firmer sense of rock and melody thanks to an expanded lineup including trombone, tenor and alto sax, electric guitar, Fender Rhodes, and plenty of additional percussion. It’s one foot in the current scene and one foot firmly entrenched in a more traditional approach, and they blend seamlessly over the course of the live show.

ChrisNovember 5, 2024November 5, 20241 Comment

Vinyl

Mirthrandir: For You The Old Woman (1976)

It’s crazy how buried the US’s prog scene became in the absolute (beautiful) glut of progressive rock coming out of the UK and Italy during the 70s. For every Kansas or Styx that adjusted and stood in the rising waters to make it there were dozens if not hundreds (okay, most likely dozens) of bands who put out one of two albums and slowly sank again beneath the surface of extended keyboard pyrotechnics and odd time signatures. So cheers to New Jersey’s Mirthrandir for somehow getting a brief look at the sun as their sole album, 1976’s For You The Old Woman gets a vinyl reissue from PQR Records based out of France. Folks looking for a fix of classic era Yes, Gentle Giant, and even some Genesis will get a lot out of this compact little prog package.

ChrisAugust 7, 20241 Comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: fusion