Long Hot Summer

So, it's the Summer of '82, which I've mentioned in a previous post; it's hot, I'm studying my ass off because I decided to take a full semester's worth of courses (like an idiot) instead of kicking back and partying - like everyone else I knew was doing. I had this room set up where my stereo was; a rack full of components, the large floor standing speakers (remember when bigger was better?), 4 peach crates which not only held my albums but by placing a sheet of plexiglas on top of, doubled as a coffee table, 2 small love-seat type couches and my desk - this is where I spent the majority of my time in the Summer of 1982. I'd go to class, study, drink scotch and most importantly cruise the record stores for that special fix - The New Release! Yeah, I had a girlfriend (with all the benefits), so don't get the impression that I was a nerd or anything; but one thing I recognized early on; no matter what, the music will always be there! I picked up a lot of great music that summer, but there are three memories that stick out in my mind the most; Pat Metheny's Offramp, the Yellowjackets debut effort and this incredible kick-ass beauty that was in my Econometrics class. I had been turned on to the Pat Metheny Group my freshman year at Syracuse University by a friend from Chicago, prior to going to college, my musical education lacked any reference to my future passion - Jazz. I was pretty excited to come across a new PMG recording that summer, since the two prior Metheny LP's I had picked up, 80/81 and As Falls Wichita...., were a bit of a departure for me - after all, I was still somewhat in the formative stage of my life's future mission. I'm not sure what it is about Offramp, as strong and diverse as the other PMG recordings are, both prior and since this release - this is the one I keep pulling off the shelf to listen to. It could be due to 'Eighteen' which I still rock-out to, or the fact that the 'Group' was in a transitional phase with Steve Rodby having replaced Mark Egan and Gottlieb still on hand for one last time, maybe it was the 'taste' of things to come with the track 'Offramp' telegraphing the direction that Metheny would take on Song X or even the fact that going forward, the PMG would delve into all things Brazilian ( OR MAYBE it was drinking scotch while cranking 'Eighteen' and thinking about that blonde from class!); all I know is, any album that includes 'Are You going With Me', 'Eighteen' and 'James' can't be all that bad!

I'm not sure where I came across it, but there was a promo from Warner Bros. for a 45 with PMG on one side and the Yellowjackets on the other; something about the fact that they had been digitally recorded, so I sent away for it. I had never heard of the Jackets, although I recognized Russ Ferrante from other recordings that I had, and of course, I knew about Ernie Watts; the Robben Ford connection meant nothing to me at the time. This was the second great memory of the Summer of '82. The impact that these guys had on me, to this day, is the closest any group, since Spyro Gyra has had on The Soundtrack Of My Life. In retrospect, while not necessarily their strongest release, this album set the stage for an extremely talented core group (Ferrante & Haslip) of musicians with the courage to compose and perform music that they knew would never get airplay; whether on a 'smooth jazz' station, or one which catered to 'traditional straight-ahead' jazz (i.e. neo-conservative, skinny tie and 3-button suit, technically proficient but lacking of any emotion, backwards looking and devoid of absolutely any new ideas, with a propensity to be a follower not a leader). Over the years, the Yellowjackets have upgraded talent (Bob Mintzer) and have taken a decidedly fusionistic approach; where there once was a number of artists and groups playing in that sandbox, such as Miles, Return To Forever, Mahavishnu, Passport, Steps Ahead, Weather Report, Zawinul Syndicate- today, few still bring their bucket and shovel to work with them. If anything, the Yellowjackets seem to have moved closer to that realm with each subsequent release, even before Mark Russo who was more R&B orientated left the group to be replaced by Bob Mintzer and his bop background. I know that in my writings I reference Spyro Gyra quite a bit, and with good reason, but these two groups while taking totally different compositional roads, remind me so much of one another; group chemistry & cohesiveness, lack of member turnover, a propensity for original compositions and the encouragement of group members to compose and contribute, neither group has ever courted radio, and longevity - I could go on, but I think you've got my point. Yes - I am a fan, there is no doubt; and it was during this summer, when I sweated my ass off, studying, that I first became aware of the Yellowjackets, and have followed ever since, looking forward to each new release, the way a little kid looks forward to Christmas Day; some would say it's sad, but my answer to that is that there are far worse addictions than  The Soundtrack Of My Life. Over the years, I've only seen Pat Metheny twice, the first time in support of the Parallel Realities recording he did with Jack Dejohnette, Dave Holland and Herbie Hancock at Artpark in Lewiston, NY and in Syracuse, NY in 2002 when he was on tour to support Speaking Of Now. The Yellowjackets are a different story, next to Spyro Gyra, I've seen these guys more than any other group or artist. I'm not even sure how many times I've seen them, but the first time was in 1985 in LaJolla, CA at the art museum, after they had released Samurai Samba and the last time was in 2001 at Glenora Wine cellars in Dundee, NY overlooking Seneca Lake, in support of their independent release, Mint Jam.

So, these two releases, along with a number of others, that might make their way onto this blog, got me through the Summer of 1982. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, and more importantly the right and responsible thing to do; accelerate my education, pile up the credits, graduate early and put myself in a position to be competitively advantaged to start making money - I had it all figured out, or so I thought. Over the years since that Summer of 1982, there have been two constants in my life; change and The Soundtrack Of My Life. Although priorities and reality may have intersected, bisected or changed,  The Soundtrack Of My Life has evolved, expanded and improved! Now, about that third significant memory of the Summer of '82, that Blonde in my class; actually we shared a class in both sessions that summer. Can't remember her name, but she was something; pretty, smart (after all, these were 400 level courses!), shapely (mostly wore skirts and the buttons on her blouses always had a way of becoming undone) and shy, although she got over that once we made nice to each other. Unfortunately, I was in a relationship and had made the decision not to pursue this friendship - again, doing what seemed like the right thing at the time. Although I tend not to 'cry over spilled milk' and pride myself on my ability to make decisions and stand by them, occasionally, every now and then I'll revisit certain memories and ask myself 'why'; no use in belaboring the point, other than to say, this is The Soundtrack Of My Life. 

Listen to 'Priscilla' from the Yellowjackets and Pat Metheny's 'Eighteen'

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Can You Break a Dollar?

One of the first CD's that I purchased after I got my first CD player in 1986 was Pocket Change-Random Axis. I had no idea who Pocket Change was, but I was familiar with saxophonist Brandon Fields who I really liked, and I had his first LP, The Other Side Of The Story. Also, I liked some of the other releases that had been put out on the label, Passport Jazz; so I picked it up - glad I did. Over the years, I never could find a whole lot of information on this group or their leader, guitarist David Patt, but Random Axis is an excellent recording- pure Contemporary Jazz. Besides Brandon Fields, two future Rippingtons members, Tony Morales and Steve Reid contribute to this recording. The songs, for the most part, all either penned or co-written by Patt are excellent, with 'Amethyst' being my favorite. Why this group never went as far or got the press that their label mates, The Rippingtons did, is a mystery to me. If you can find it, get it; this is as good as Contemporary Jazz gets. Listen to 'Amethyst'.
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Crazy Samba

Long before Medeski Martin and Wood introduced the great unwashed to the groove of the organ trio, there were 3 guys from Rio who jammed better than anyone - Azymuth. I discovered Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ivan Conti (drums & percussion) in 1980, when I picked up their Outubro album, because I liked the way the Lp cover looked and I saw that Bertrami played synths - how many people buy CD's nowadays because of the art? Anyways, I immediately liked these guys, they really knew how to groove; so, over the years, I've followed them and have tracked down everything they've recorded (I think!). In fact, it was iTunes that made all of their Far Out recordings of the last several years accessible - thank you Steve Jobs! Although I'd be hard-pressed to choose my favorite recording of theirs, 1982's Telecommunication just might be it. The Summer of '82 was hot, I had decided to forego a trip to Europe in order to attend two summer sessions and accelerate my college studies; looking back, I was an idiot for not going to Europe - what the hell was I thinking? So, I busted my ass that summer studying - and listening to music. One of the many great Lp's that I picked up that summer was Telecommunication; by now I had become familiar with Azymuth and really loved that organ, synth, vocoder thing that Jose Roberto Bertrami had going on - but I was totally unprepared for that almost 11 minute opus, 'Last Summer In Rio', I wore out the vinyl playing it over and over. Over the years, I'd put Last Summer on, pour a drink and just close my eyes and think about what is or what might have been - not to mention how many times I've made out to this song (!). I won't go into greater detail (for the sake of embarrassing my kids - they're teenagers, you know), other than to say, this album, and specifically this song truly represents The Soundtrack Of My Life. I'm pleased to report that Azymuth is still going strong after all these years, still releasing cd's, and their complete catalog is available if you look hard enough, most of which you can download at the major mp3 stores. If you've never heard these guys, give them a chance, Telecommunication is a good place start! Listen to 'Last Summer In Rio'.

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Hot Stuff

Being a Bob James fan, I just had to pick up The Best Of Tappan Zee when I stumbled across it in 1982. I had already discovered Mark Colby, Richard Tee, Wilbert Longmire and even JoAnne Brackeen, but I had no idea who Mongo Santamaria was. Being the sucker for good Jazz flute that I am, I absolutely fell in love with 'Sambita'; besides, Hubert Laws, sounded more like my favorite flute player, Dave Valentin, than he did himself, on this track. So, I did what I had to do - find this record, Red Hot; easier said than done! I searched for years, before I finally landed a used copy of Santamaria's only release for Tappan Zee. It wasn't until I took a Road Trip in 1992, that I found a used copy, in a record store in Bethesda, MD - 10 years after I first heard Mongo slapping the congas for Bob James' specialty label. When I finally threw it on the turntable, the long wait was worth it; 'Watermelon Man', 'Jai Alai (Rena)', 'Afro-Cuban Fantasy' and of course,' Sambita'; this recording is a Contemporary Jazz masterpiece. James assembled the usual suspects to back Santamaria up; pick up Touchdown, Heads Up or Serpentine Fire and you'll know what to expect - perfection. I picked up the CD, as an import, a few years ago, still love it - search it down if you can, it's worth it. Listen to 'Sambita'.

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Road Trip

It was the Summer of 1992, I was restless, confused, ready for a change.........so, it was time for a Road Trip. I packed my car, grabbed a load of cd's and my portable cd player & tape-player adapter (I was an early adopter) and hit the road. Spent 2 or 3 days in Bethesda, then on to Raleigh, where I spent a week, then to Charlotte for 2 days, on to Charleston for a lunch meeting, then to Savannah for 2 weeks. After Savannah, I went back to Raleigh for a week, and then back home. There are many stories I could share from these 5 weeks on the road, alone, with no witness'; but for now, I'll stick to the Soundtrack Of My Life. It was the first pass through Raleigh, I was considering moving there, stayed at the Hampton Inn and checked things out; I found this great cd store on Six Forks Road in a small strip plaza near the corner of Sawmill Road, can't recall it's name. In any event, this being 1992, this place was pretty revolutionary, it had listening posts! I had never been to a record store, before this one, where you check out the tunes before you committed your $15 - wow! So, at the Jazz listening post, there are these 2 cd's by artists I had never heard of, Boney James and Incognito, I take a short listen and am totally blown away!
Boney James-Trust, his first release, on Spindletop Records, in my opinion is without a doubt, his finest recorded moment - period. This first album is so pure, so full of passion and emotion; incredibly strong for a debut, and more importantly, no pandering for radio play. Trust is exactly what Contemporary Jazz should be, unlike a lot of what gets passed off as 'smooth jazz', 16 years later. James's sound, the way he elongates and slurs his notes, reminded me so much of Grover, and I love the bass and keyboard work. 'It's A Beautiful Thing' and 'Roadrunner' still make me want crank up the volume, stop, and think back to Raleigh, and the pool later that afternoon...........
I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up Inside Life, which was Incognito's first release in the U.S.; I'm not even sure when I first heard the term 'Acid Jazz' used to describe this blend of Soul based Jazz & Funk that was coming out of the UK, but I liked it. Horns, heavy percussion, strong thumping bass and moog like synthesizer work, married to strong melodic compositions; I didn't know who this Bluey was, but I liked him! Inside Life is pre Maysa and probably one of the more instrumental of the Incognito releases. Out of an album of incredible tunes, 'Metropolis', 'Gypsy' and 'Journey Into Sunlight' are killer.
About that pool........It was late afternoon back at the hotel, I'm kicked back, sitting at a table near the pool,listening to my recent finds,doing paperwork of some sort; only me, the music and a very attractive Blonde in a one piece black & white bathing suit with a black bow holding her hair back, swimming. We got talking and then........well, just listen to Incognito's 'Love Is The Colour', you'll figure it out - The Soundtrack To My Life. Listen to 'It's A Beautiful Thing' and 'Roadrunner' from Boney James and 'Journey Into Sunlight', 'Gypsy' and 'Metropolis' from Incognito.
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Desire & Hope

Expressing or containing a desire or hope for something impractical or unfeasible; that's the official definition for Wishful Thinking. My definition, going to the record store; maybe you're happy,maybe you're sad, something's troubling you, or you're on top of the world because something great just happened, either way, it's like eating comfort food; it's the place you know that you can go, look through the bins and the racks, and hopefully, find that recording that you didn't know about, that when you listen to it - everything changes, all the bullshit evaporates and there's a smile on your face - that's Wishful Thinking. It was 1986, late Spring,early Summer, and I was in the need for some Wishful Thinking. I came across this Lp,which had liner notes written by Steely Dan's own Walter Becker, I was in bad shape, needed a fix in the worst way, so what the hell, I bought it. Actually, what made my mind up was that the instrumentation of the band included a vibe player - by now, my allegiance to Spyro Gyra should be evident, I read contemporary jazz group, vibes - I'm all over it! Well unlike the official definition, after listening to Wishful Thinking, the music that was coming out of my speakers was neither impractical or unfeasible, it was the real deal. This group, led by Tim Weston on guitar had a totally unique sound of their own, and an album full of original compositions to show for it. As is my habit (or is that addiction), I've acquired everything they released, which unfortunately, has only been four recordings since that debut in 1985. At the time I purchased this release, I was totally unfamiliar with any of the members of the group; over the years Tim Weston (g) has been involved in numerous projects with other musicians, keyboardist Chris Boardman released a solo project in the late '80's, and the other members of the group have shown up on a vast number of jazz releases that I've acquired over the years. Recently a 'Best Of' compilation has been released, but it would truly be wishful thinking to hope that Wishful Thinking would re-group and rekindle that magic. I would highly recommend that if you haven't heard these guys, go pick up their compilation 'Train Of Thought'. Listen to 'New Pajamas' and 'Groan Men Counting'.

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Everyone Likes A Good Burger

It was 1985, turned out to be a pretty busy year, moved to San Diego for work, got married in the Spring (wife #1), and continued to feed my Jazz addiction; after all these years, at least I still have my music. One of the first places I made a regular habit of visiting after moving to San Diego, was the Tower Records store on Sports Arena Boulevard. Used to be, pre-internet days, I'd always search down the local record stores whenever visiting a new city; although it's far more convenient firing up Google or logging into iTunes or Amazon, I do miss that excitement I used to get from discovering a new recording at the 'record' store. I didn't end up staying that long in San Diego, or staying married to wife #1, for that matter; but the time I did spend in Southern California turned out to be very fruitful for my Jazz collection. Of all the albums I bought while there in 1985, Fattburger's debut, 'One Of A Kind' defines that year of my life. I remember laying on the couch in my townhouse in La Jolla on a Saturday afternoon flipping through the television channels, and coming across a public access program, it was a taping of a concert by Fattburger; at that time, I had no idea that they were a local group. I remember listing to them play '59th Street', 'Auto Bahn' and 'I Knew That'; the guitar player was great, as was the saxophonist. So I did what I had to do, head on over to Tower Records - only one thing better than finding a great new band, finding out that they're local! Over the years I've been a faithful follower of 'The Burger', in my opinion, they've gotten better with each subsequent recording, even though the late saxophonist Hollis Gentry III left the group as a full time member after this recording and guitarist Steve Laury, who is just an awesome player,  left a few years later - both Gentry and Laury have released recordings under their own names, which are definitely worth getting. Looking back over the years, San Diego never really did it for me, but, if I hadn't of moved there, chances are I might never have come across Fattburger and the Soundtrack Of My Life would be missing a chapter. One last note, as of this writing, keyboardist and principle composer, Carl Evans, Jr has some pretty severe health issues that call into question the future of the band. Listen to'59th Street'.

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Stadium Rocker

About the only thing I knew about Steve Smith, was that he was the drummer for Journey; I knew this because, back in high school, I purchased one of their albums. Now, in 1987, being the jazz snob that I had turned into, I wanted nothing to do with my past musical interests. By this time, I had developed a taste for either that fluid guitar sound of George Benson, or the cutting speed of Al DiMeola; which is probably why, up to this point, I had passed on Steve Smith's prior two releases (Vital Information & Orion), as per their liner notes. I had recently purchased my first CD player in early 1987, and was anxious to purchase those new, shiny, cutting - edge discs, that according to the press, were the wave of the future and would last forever........right. Anyway, the liner notes on the back of the album, Global Beat, peaked my interest, so I threw caution to the wind and and bought the CD. Looking back, this has to be, in my opinion, one of the strongest contemporary jazz releases of the last 20 years. Now I realize, that's a pretty bold statement, but this recording is as close to perfection as you'll find in the genre; Smith's composing is stellar, the core band of Smith, Landers, Coster, Brown and Wilczewski, of all the Vital Information incarnations, is still the most exciting and versatile group that Smith has led. The memory that sticks in my mind, is how truly surprised I was, by this disc - it was absolutely nothing I thought it would be. The music, to this day, blows me away, the same way it did 21 years ago; it's one of those discs, that I can't help but smile when I listen to it. I haven't missed a VI release since, and, as good as most of them have been, Global Beat is the recording by which all of Smith's others have been judged by. Listen to 'Black Eyebrows'.
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