Kohsuke Mine - Out Of Chaos

barabara sounds sez:

Fine flowing modal music from Mine and his crew (a crack team of the usual j-jazz suspects) from back in '74. This was one of Mine's first outings after switching from alto to tenor and definitely one of his best ever. Also one of the first albums on the very righteous East Wind label. The stately lyrical second track (by Kikuchi) is a standout here, sandwiched between the two high-power numbers penned by Mine.

The concept for the cover art is questionable (red gloop as a representation of chaos? Or maybe the art director used this image because s/he was clean out of chaos?). But when it comes to the music, there's nothing lacking here whatsoever! [ripped from the CD reissue]

personnel:

Mine Kohsuke tenor sax; Kikuchi Masabumi piano; Okada Tsutomu bass; Hino Motohiko drums

tracks:

Recollection; Little Abi; Cross Wind

Yamashita Yosuke Trio - April Fool/ Coming Muhammad Ali

barabara sounds sez:

This was a post I had planned for the beginning of this month (until seismic events intervened). Now I just want to get it up before we run into May...

More Yamashita, this time with his original

bass-less

trio, with Nakamura Seichi and Moriyama Takeo doing the honors on sax and drums respectively. This was the last album with this line-up (before Sakata Akira took over from Nakamura).

Originally released in 1972 (U.R.C Records),

it was inspired by the Muhumman Ali-Mac Foster heavyweight title fight that took place in Tokyo earlier that year — on April 1st, hence the title.

Quick diversion: the poster for the fight was something else...

Back to the album: What you get is interviews and Ali soundbites

interspersed

with

plenty of

Yamashita's high-intensity free playing

.

It's tempting to say the album is a knock-out but like t

he actual fight (which Ali took the full 15 rounds and won by a decision), it isn't a classic. Once you've heard the spoken word sections a couple of times, you'll probably want to edit them out and focus on the

music tracks.

If this grabs you, then check out this brief sliver of footage of the Yamashita trio from Wakamatsu Koji's equally out there "

Ecstacy of the Angels" from the same year.

There's more info on Yamashita here. And don't neglect el Goog Ja's discography over here...

The 49th day remembrance

The 49 days are over. Around Japan today, the bells tolled and the chanting and incense rose to the heavens. The souls of the more than 25,000 who were lost have now passed on. And it is time now for the rest of us to move on too, to get on with the work of rebuilding, the duty of living.

It has been a very difficult time, even for those of us not in the areas of devastation. It has been hard to think and act as normal when the earth is shuddering, and there is fear (and radiation) in the air. Healing is needed, and so is music — it is of course the healing force of the universe. Time to start sharing again.

First though, a big thank you to everyone around the world for your prayers and warm messages of support and compassion. And the contributions too, for all the people whose lives will never be the same. It really is deeply appreciated.

images (C) AP

And now go and take a look (if you haven't already) at the recent post by el goog: a small but moving illustration of what is no longer there — and what remains.

Kalaparusha - Kwanza

barabara sounds sez:

The one and only Kalaparusha, free and fiery, on Baystate from '77 (to be precise, recorded in NYC in M

ay 9, 1977)

. This little number goes for substantial bucks for the original album, and even the reissue — which this is ripped from — is hard to get hold of now. W

hich is why the scans, including the art above, still have the obi and shrink wrap on.

what my original post said:

I had this post all ready to go up for a couple of weeks. But while I dallied (out of town actually), it has now been posted over at the excellent Inconstant Sol, so I didn't bother. Instead, head over there to pick it up — and check out the comments, including a link to a film about where Kalaparushi Maurice McIntyre is at right now (and it ain't a good place).

But enough time has elapsed, so this has been reinstated as a full-fledged barabara sounds post. Too good not to share :-)

tracks:

Kwanza; Leo; Buumba; Around We Go

personnel:

Kalaparusha: tenor sax & clarinet

Malachi Thompson: trumpet

Hakim Jami: bass

John Betsch: drums

Juma Sultan: congas & percussions

Don Friedman - Circle Waltz

barabara sounds sez:

I recently dusted this gem off again and was reminded h

ow excellent it is. Friedman's bad luck was to follow and forever be in the shadow of Bill Evans. But this set on Riverside was well received over this side of the pond (it got a record of the year award here back in 1962), and he still visits from time to time. With Israels and LaRoca backing him — apart from one solo track (So In Love) — it really is an underappreciated overlooked gem. I'm obviously not the only one either: the amazon review below really revs it up (while inevitably Yawno damns it with faint praise).

dusty sez:

A great little set from Friedman – a vastly underrated pianist who's working here as a bright young modernist in a trio with Chuck Israels on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums. The tracks have a freedom that reminds us a lot of Bill Evans' early work, with a warm lyricism that never gets too hokey – yet isn't afraid to show itself in Friedman's original compositions.

an amazon customer sez:

If Evans is Matisse, Don Friedman is Kandinsky. The album is nearly uniform in its intensity and inventiveness, but the title track, Circle Waltz, stands out. Compare it to Evans' Gloria's Step and Re: Someone I Know. All these songs seem to paint a picture of the city and modernity that a jazz piano alone could have captured.

AMG (scott yawno) sez:

Even ignoring that bassist Chuck Israels is on this set and the similarity of some of the repertoire, it is difficult to overlook the fact that pianist Don Friedman sounds very similar to Bill Evans. With drummer Pete LaRoca completing the trio and such songs as "I Hear a Rhapsody," "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "So In Love" joining four of the leader's originals, Friedman uses chord voicings similar to Evans and engages in the same type of close interplay with his sidemen.

tracks:
Circle Waltz;

Sea's Breeze; I Hear A Rhapsody; In Your Own Sweet Way; Loves Parting; So In Love; Modes Pivoting

personnel:

Don Friedman piano; Chuck Israels bass; Pete La Roca drums.

Yosuke Yamashita - Spider

barabara sounds sez:

Staying close to home, and more from the superb Yosuke Yamashita. Spider is one of six (I believe) he made with his New York Trio, which comprised him plus the great Cecil McBee and Pheeroan akLaff. They began playing together in 1988, and so by the time this fine set was laid down (in NYC, in June '95) they'd built up a really good understanding.

The trio are in top form from the get-go. and there's some great playing. One of the stand-outs for me is One for M, but the title track, at the very end, is also a blast.

tracks:

Cats Dance; Revenge Of Picasso; One For M; Quiet Days; Fourth Step; Kids In Memory;Doubles; Stream; Spider

The other feature of this album is the cool spider-themed artwork — full scans of the CD inserts included!

Looking for more Yamashita? Then check out the comprehensive discography over on the indispensible — but currently dormant — El Goog Ja, here... Unfortunately most of the RS links are extinct, but it'll give you an idea of what to look out for. Expect a few more posts in the future here...

Togashi-Yamashita Duo - Kizashi

barabara sounds sez:

Here's another duo out of Japan, but this time featuring piano and drums/percussion. Neither Yosuke Yamashita or Masahiko Togashi should need introduction — they're among the greats from the golden age of Japanese jazz and improvisation. This session laid down in 1980 is short (just 38 minutes) but very sweet, with some lovely inventive playing. And that is probably why this has gone through a couple of CD reissues (this rip is from the first ie non SHMCD) though currently OOP. The duo also recorded a live concert of the same material later the same year.

Kizashi [ 兆 ] means a sprout or bud, but can also mean a sign or omen — not in a mystical sense but apparently as a premonition of the future direction of jazz in Japan. Looking back, I'm not sure that means very much. But at the time it was exciting, the final fling of that golden age.