iJazz therefore i am

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Super Find

Whenever I'd get to NYC, I'd head straight to Tower Records on Broadway in lower Manhattan; back when people actually bought LP's and CD's, you remember - before the major recording companies turned their back on Jazz and any other creative output. In any event, Jorge Dalto's two LP's from Japan, Rendezvous and New York Nightline were the type of treasure I was after when I could get to Tower and spend hours fingering through the bins. The excitement I felt when I found these two records, with Jay Beckenstein, Tom Browne, Dave Valentin, George Benson and David Sanborn on hand, along with numerous other Superfriends, is rarely replicated today - not because there aren't great artists, but mainly because there aren't too many chances being taken in the recording industry today. These two records fell out of The Soundtrack Of My Life for awhile, until they were re-released last year on CD.
Listen to 'You're Like An Angel', 'Winds Of Love', 'My Latin Brother' and 'Pina Colada'

The Sound of Romance

She was young, so was I; she was beautiful and had an incredible shape. She worked in a store at the mall, and every time I went to visit her, this incredibly sexy song would be playing in the store, or so it seemed. It was 1981, there was no internet, no Smooth Jazz radio, trying to find this song that I kept hearing was a real mystery, a true treasure hunt. Once I discovered Michael Franks, his voice and music became the de facto soundtrack for the bedroom, for many years and relationships to come; I made cassettes, bought cassettes and cd's and delivered them as gifts - all with the express purpose that 'we' would be sharing in the music. I don't really listen to Michael Franks all that much anymore, not that he's not a part of The Soundtrack Of My Life, quite the opposite; I just sort of burned out on the memories, the emotions and feelings are too strong. While he's still a part of The Soundtrack, I doubt his music will ever be part of the bedroom again, at least it hasn't been in over 7 years, and I'm good with that. But every now and then, I think back to that clothing store, looking at her, with Down In Brazil playing in the background.

Just Another Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It was early 1988, my personal situation at the time, and what was going on in my life, has been documented previously in this blog, so I won't bore you with the same stories. Needless to say, it was one of those Sunday afternoons, I found myself laying on the couch with nothing to do (or was that no one to do??) - so off to the mall I went. I ended up at the record store, big surprise huh? I came across this cd by Kit Walker, I had no idea who he was, but the recording was produced by Andy Narell - that was good enough for me! To this day, 20 years later, I can't put this disc on and listen to Natural Habitat just once, it's like eating potato chips, one just doesn't do it! Kit Walker hasn't released a whole lot under his own name the last 20 years, but Dancing On The Edge Of The World has been a staple of The Soundtrack Of My Life, and will be for the next 20 years to come!
Listen to 'Natural Habitat', 'Wind and Water' and 'When The Mountains Talk'

Dad, I miss you

1992, late summer around Labor Day, my father was in the hospital to have his leg amputated; it was a bad time for everyone - a real bad one for me. Besides the obvious issue at hand (or is that leg), there was major concern that he wasn't going to be strong enough to make it through the anesthesia; I remember sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, for what seemed to forever with my mother and sister. Fortunately he made it through. When I went back to my place that afternoon, I did what I needed to do - lose myself in the music, The Soundtrack Of My Life. It was Wayne Henderson And The Next Crusade that got me through the rest of that day, along with some of that magical potion that those monks in Scotland first distilled so many centuries ago. I miss my father terribly, he's tightly woven throughout The Soundtrack Of My Life, I could write dozens of stories.......if the music gives me the strength to do so.

Listen to 'Rosa Cafe', 'Right On Brother' and 'Urban Jungle'

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Dark Prince

The first album by Miles Davis that I bought was The Man With The Horn in 1981; little did I know what I'd be getting myself into! Over the years, Miles, especially his Electric Period, has been a foundation and reference point of The Soundtrack Of My Life. I've been pretty busy the last few weeks, but I've got a load of stories to share; until then, I hope you enjoy this review I did of the latest Miles tribute - Miles From India.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Guitarist

I was a fan of Kevin Eubanks ever since I picked up his first release, Guitarist, on Elektra-Musician, but of all his releases to date, the one that has had the greatest effect upon The Soundtrack Of My Life is Shadow Prophets. In 1988, I played this CD constantly, in fact, in the Summer of '88, I used the disc to profile a new set of high-end speakers, which I eventually purchased along with the requisite audiophile gear to power them. Over the years I've read bits of interviews from Eubanks, who said he wasn't that proud of his GRP output - I don't know, looking back and listening, those GRP albums hold up well, and the material is everything that in my opinion, contemporary jazz ought to be; he certainly wasn't playing anything 'smooth'! I had a chance to catch Eubanks in 1989, soon after the release of The Searcher, which I've always felt was just as strong as Shadow Prophets. He was performing at the Tralfamadore Cafe, and his group was smokin'; Gene Jackson on drums, Rael Wesley Grant on bass, who was just as amazing to watch as Kevin was live, the keyboard player's name escapes me - funny thing was, they never played any selections from The Searcher?! Years later, I caught Eubanks in 2004 performing with Billy Pierce, Smitty Smith and the great Charnett Moffett; his intensity was incredible. From 1989 to 2004, full circle, The Soundtrack Of My Life.
Listen to 'Mice Mobsters' and 'Shadow Prophets' from Shadow Prophets, 'The Story Teller' and 'Cookin'' from The Searcher and 'Spider Monkeys' from Live.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Arrived 'Full Circle'

It was 2001, not really Fall yet, more like Indian Summer, it was early evening, I was waiting for my dinner date to arrive, the night air blowing through the window was cool. I had Alexander Zonjic's Reach For The Sky in the CD player, when the Bob James composition 'Angela' came on; it struck me - after 21 years, I had come 'full circle'. I was back in the same town where The Soundtrack Of My Life had begun, listening to a song, that I had first listened to (on All Around Town), in another small apartment 21 years earlier - wow, that's some powerful shit. Whoever doesn't believe that everything happens for a reason, has no clue what life, passion and desire are all about.
Listen to 'Angela' and 'Bellavia'

Full Circle

It was 1988, no I hadn't yet come 'full circle', that would come later in 2001; but I remember distinctly the day I purchased the Columbia debut release of Full Circle. It was a beautiful late summer day, a Sunday, cruised over to the record store in my Saab 900 Turbo with my girlfriend. On the way we stopped for breakfast, at a pancake place, then went to the record store. Somewhere along the way we got into a heated argument over something, she jumped out of the car at a red light, refused to get back in; I left, went home, popped my new find into the CD player and enjoyed an awesome young group out of Boston's Berklee College. I had a great afternoon; she made it back at some point, welcome to The Soundtrack Of My Life.
Listen to 'Sorcerer's Appearance'

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Little Sunflower

It was 1982, still in college, when I came across Milt Jackson's Sunflower; already a huge fan of CTI and Freddie Hubbard's output for the storied label, but for some reason, I had never heard of his composition 'Sunflower' until stumbling across Jackson's album, with it's beautiful cover art. There was a local record company that also had this huge national distribution business, that decided to open the doors to it's warehouse and blow out it's stock of vinyl, cassettes and eight-tracks - which was like opening the door to Fort Knox as far as I was concerned. Needless to say, I think over two days I came home with over 100 Lp's! Sunflower was one of them. Talk about turbo-charging The Soundtrack Of My Life!
Listen to 'Sunflower' and 'People Make The World Go Round'

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Hope

Early 1988 was a tough time for me; it was full of change, which was exciting; yet The Soundtrack Of My Life was facing the new and unknown. I didn't know who Basia was, but I caught her on the Today Show and she was incredible! Why was music like this predominately coming out of the UK at this time? What were the young artists on this side of the Atlantic thinking? In any event, 'New Day For You' really struck a chord with where I was, it still does, especially when I'm faced with the unknown. Enjoy!

Hot Dog!

It wasn't until I bought All Around Town in 1980, that I knew who Bob James was......the guy who wrote the theme to Taxi, 'Angela'! Well, it didn't take long to the rest of James' catalog to find it's way into The Soundtrack Of My Life; I purchased H in early 1981, I love the cover as much today as I did that cold February day when I first saw it. This is my definitive Bob James album, which I've judged all his releases by, to this day; maybe it was the cover, maybe it was Grover, probably it was the excellent compositions and arrangements and the emotion with which they were played. If you don't have this one, go get it, pour yourself a cocktail, put it on and close your eyes; the journey will be excellent!

Listen to 'Snowbird Fantasy' and 'Brighton By The Sea'

Friday, April 04, 2008

Wish List

I'm looking for any Japanese Bonus Tracks from Spyro Gyra, Lee Ritenour, Yellowjackets, Chick Corea's Elektric Band, Larry Carlton, or any other Contemporary Jazz Artists that had imports released in Japan. If you can help me out, please contact me, thanks.

New Vistas

Although Carnaval was the fourth release by Spyro Gyra, it was my third; for some reason, I had skipped picking up Morning Dance until the summer of 1981. In the fall of 1980, I found myself living with two roommates in Skytop; living on the South Campus sucked - might as well have been Siberia, one of my roommates was this Jordache Jean wearing bag of donuts from Jersey, the other guy was ok, until he started having sex with his girl - in my bed??! Needless to say, I was out of there and in an off campus apartment, by myself, before that fall semester was over. But, I do remember cueing up Carnaval daily; can you imagine a group today, releasing two albums in the same year - unheard of! In 1980, SG released Catching The Sun and Carnaval; which was like winning the lottery, as far as I was concerned! Those that know me could argue that Spyro Gyra is The Soundtrack Of My Life (does the album cover look familiar? remind you of something?), at the very least, they are and have continued to be the foundation and entry for all things musical in my life. It's been a few years since I've seen these guys, but I'll be catching them soon!
Listen to 'Cachaca' and 'Bittersweet'

Ooh...Babe

It was 1990, I had been waiting two years for a new release from this powerhouse fusion outfit, especially after hearing them play 'songs from the upcoming record'. I'd go to CPG, where they had a standing weekly gig, and endure the cigarette smoke, to hear them play - always checking for the 'new release'. Sure, Gamalon did release a recording, between their self-titled debut and Aerial View, but it was with Ernie Watts, it was good, but I was looking for the straight-no-chaser version. It finally came, in early summer of 1990 - Ooh...Babe (to quote one of their earlier songs), what a scorcher of a CD! Gamalon's Aerial View has made it's way into the top 10 of The Soundtrack Of My Life - no easy task. When I feel like rockin' out or I need an attitude adjustment, this is the soundtrack and these are the guys. It's amazing what you take for granted when it's right in your own backyard.......then realize you need it after it's no longer accessible; I haven't had the chance or the opportunity to see this group, probably since 1994 or 1995. They're still going strong, albeit in a different incarnation - and since I just happen to 'be in town', I'm catching them tomorrow night!

Listen and drool over 'Beat The Heat' and 'The Rift'

Monday, March 31, 2008

Master Of His Universe

Early on, Marcus Miller supplied the low-end to The Soundtrack Of My Life, ever present on records by Tom Browne, Dave Valentin, Dave Grusin, David Sanborn, Bobby Broom and Sadao Watanabe. I'll have more down the road, but for now, check out my interview.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Berks Jazz Festival

Just got back from Berks, only got to spend two days, but the concerts I did see, Brian Bromberg, Kenny Blake Quartet, LA Chillharmonic (Richard Smith, Brian Bromberg, Greg Adams, Michael Paulo, Greg Karukas and Joel Taylor) were outstanding! Made some great new friends, talked Jazz, shared the Soundtrack Of My Life!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A Different Kind Of Drummer

I moved to Southern California in early 1985, ending up in San Diego, renting a condo perched on the edge of a canyon, looking over what at the time was known as Jack Murphy Stadium, now known as Qualcomm Stadium. There was this local Jazz station that played something that I had never before heard; jazz from a steel drum - blew me away. I remember heading down to the Fashion Valley Mall and hitting the record store and searching out Slow Motion by Andy Narell, and ended up buying his first three releases. I haven't missed a release from Narell since, and don't ever plan on doing so! Guitarist and saxophonist come and go, but this steel drummer will always be a part of The Soundtrack Of My Life.

Listen to 'Two Tone Shoes', 'Slow Motion' and 'Another Drum For Oskar'

A Night Of Latin Jazz

It was early 1988, may have been February or March, I can't remember the exact month, but I was in NYC for a few days, visiting a friend of mine who was doing some consulting for me. She lived on Water Street, maybe she still does, I don't know. Anyway, she had this really cool apartment not far from the Futon Street fish market, we had met for a drink at some bar that was frequented by brokers from Wall Street and later walked to her place, where I spent a couple of nights. One of the nights we went over to the Blue Note in The Village, it was a Latin Jazz Extravaganza held in the memory of Jorge Dalto; Michele Camilo opened with his trio, that included a young Joel Rosenblatt on drums, pre-Spyro Gyra. But it was the headliner that I was there to see, Dave Valentin, a central player in The Soundtrack Of My Life. We were practically sitting on the stage, it was a two drink minimum - that wasn't going to be any problem for the two of us; he was incredible, of all the concerts and artists I've seen over the years, this night stands out as one of the best performances I've ever seen. Besides his band, he had Jerry Gonzalez sit it on both trumpet and congas - outstanding; I remember Valentin admonishing the crowd to not talk while he and the band played! Later that year, I was thrilled when GRP released Dave Valentin-Live At The Blue Note, hoping it was from the performance that Gisela and I had seen, but it was from a date a few months after I had been in the City - it doesn't matter; whenever I listen to this disc, I think back to that night; the bar, the apartment, the Blue Note, Gisela - it was a good couple of days.
Listen to 'Cinnamon and Clove', 'Shamballa' and 'Afro Blue'

Monday, March 24, 2008

Kind of a Special EFX

It's 1992 and I'm in Raleigh, NC, tooling around in my new Infiniti J30, listening to George Jinda's solo release, 'World News'; I remember the day like it was yesterday, cool, sunny, just a beautiful Autumn day in the South. It was October, was married for about a month, everything was still new, and unbeknownst to us, my wife was carrying our son; a significant part of The Soundtrack Of My Life. Being a fan of Special EFX, I picked up Jinda's album without hesitation; looking back over the years and listening to Chieli's and George's individual releases.....these guys were magic together; makes you think what could have been had Jinda not passed away as early as he did.

Listen to 'With A Message' and 'Luscious Rebecca'

Lost Love

This one's not that easy to write about.......for all my misgivings, there are only two regrets I have in my life, and both of them have to do women (what a surprise, huh?). But not for the reason you might think; the regret is for what I didn't do, what I didn't pursue, not for anything I did. This one doesn't know, the second.......we've discussed it and she knows. I met her in 1987, she was dating a friend of mine, we were both in a relationship; over the years we became close. 1993 I moved back to town, married, we ran into each other, and continued to do so, over and over again. There was attraction, there was desire, there was definitely electricity.......it was The Soundtrack Of My Life; we would meet on Thursday nights at the Crash Club on Elmwood Ave. I lent her Ronnie Jordan's Quiet Revolution to listen to in her convertible Cadillac Alante, on her way up to Alexander Bay; one night she leaned over and kissed me....I just couldn't pursue her, looking back, I should have. After that night, over the next few years, we would run into each other, work in the same office and go out with the same group of friends - always with that energy sizzling under the surface. It's been 11 plus years since we've seen each other, although we each know where the other is.....it makes you think. FYI, took me about a year to get Quiet Revolution back from her!
Listen to 'In Full Swing', 'Slam In A Jam' and 'Come With Me'

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