Tag: instrumental

Yoo II avec Nolan Potter
Vinyl

Yoo Doo Right, Population II & Nolan Potter: Yoo II avec Nolan Potter (2025)

Ever have one of those workdays that beat you down to the point you can’t remember your name, let alone whatever you had planned when you got home? Today was one of those days, and with only two hours to go I’m going to be very brief about my love for Yoo II avec Nolan Potter, the (possibly) sole output from a two-hour live jam session between Austin, TX psych rocker Nolan Potter and the experimental explorers from Québec: Yoo Doo Right and Population II. TL;DR? Hawkwind circa Space Ritual meets garage groove for some sweet extended jams, perfect for settling down into a better headspace.

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the bridge - overdrive jazz rock party
Vinyl

The Bridge: Overdrive – Jazz/Rock Party (1972)

Sometimes an album just speaks to you. It’s a combination of everything: the cover, the production, the “vibe” if you will. One component might pull you in; the rest tether you for eternity. Such was the case when I first laid eyes on The Bridge, a one-off project from Kristian Schultze, the keyboard/organ whiz who would later go on to join Passport and then with Michael Holm go on to form the new age band Cusco. None of that is important to know, though: just take a look at that cover and that album title. The whole project screams jazz funk rock grooves for a party, and indeed, Overdrive – Jazz/Rock Party is exactly as advertised. Not a lot going on thematically, just some good time funky jams that make your day a little more fun, and just a little brighter.

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atila - the beginning of the end
Vinyl

Atila: El Principio Del Fin (1975)

Blind buys are always a crapshoot, and any criteria you use to make a judgement on a band or album will always only take you so far. Case in point: I read about the debut album from Spain’s Atila on the LaserCD website, and admit I was taken in by lines like “Originally released in 1975 by the obscure New Promotion label in an alleged tiny pressing of 100 copies the album has reached “monster” status among die-hard collectors worldwide, sometimes reaching the 1500€ tag.” So the idea of grabbing El Principio Del Fin (or The Beginning Of The End) in a remastered reissue with liner notes and a bonus CD of an alternate cut of the album sounded great. And…it’s fine? Also I could have just grabbed the digital version on Bandcamp for about $10? Oh well, it still sounds pretty good.

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norman connors - dance of magic
CD

Norman Connors: Dance of Magic (1972)

I wasn’t planning on this being a jazz-heavy week, but after listening to the fantastic Les McCann album, I turned to see what other unlistened CDs and records I had lying around and recalled the 2-for-1 disc featuring the first two albums of drummer Norman Connors as a bandleader. Although he’d be more known for his smooth R&B soul jazz in a few years with hits like “Betcha By Golly Wow” and “You Are My Starship”, Dance of Magic shows the man in hardcore jazz mode with a killer lineup helping to bring his vision to life. Also like McCann, it features one massive side-long track followed by a few shorter numbers, but the improvisation and genre mixing goes in both a smoother and more avant-garde direction.

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les McCann - invitation to openness
CD

Les McCann: Invitation to Openness (1972)

I didn’t know who Les McCann was, or what kosmigroov was as a genre, but somehow (I assume from Sea of Tranquility) I picked up a copy of McCann’s Invitation to Openness and haven’t looked back. Or forward, really: I’ve pretty much just stayed with this album, but if this is indicative of what the keyboardist/ composer does on his other albums and I’ll need to rectify that soon. Both meditative and funky, psychedelic and jazzy, it’s a gorgeous record that can match me when I need to send into the clouds or come down from the ledge.

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takeshi terauchi - Eleki bushi
Vinyl

Takeshi Terauchi: Eleki Bushi 1966-1974 (2023)

Here’s the connective tissue as to how I stumbled upon Takseshi Terauchi, the premier guitarist of late 60s Japan, a purveyor of the surf sound made popular by The Ventures, who (if you believe the liner notes) were a bigger influence in post-war Japan than The Beatles. I was home on the couch, depressed and anxious, and I got an email announcing a repress of Terauchi’s first album with his backing band The Blue Jeans. Seeking to fill a gaping hole via media consumption I spent about 15 minutes checking out his music and instead settled on Eleki Bushi (1966-1974), an admittedly fantastic retrospective of the man’s style and technicality. Shockingly, I’m still massively depressed and anxious, but now I have some cool Japanese surf rock to serve as background music.

Is that glass half full?

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