Leon Thomas - Gold Sunrise on Magic Mountain (1971)

Even before his tenure with Pharoah Sanders, Santana and Archie Shepp, avant garde jazz vocalist Leon Thomas was a force to be reckoned with. Recorded live on June 18, 1971 at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, this performance showcases Tomas's ability to wow and amaze.

Occupying a precarious position between jazz and the occult, Thomas's performance is both pithy and wild. This probably has to do with the environment it was recorded in. When Thomas sings, "It's five o'clock in the morning," he isn't just reciting the standard blues lyrics - it actually was five o'clock in the morning. Regardless, the audience that had been crowded into the smoke filled casino since eight the previous evening was still eager for more only to be stopped by festival officials who had to pull the plug.


The band was comprised an all-star lineup. It features, Cornell Dupree on guitar, Oliver Nelson on alto sax, Neal Creque on piano, Victor Gaskin on bass, Sonny Morgan on congas, David Lee, Jr. on drums, and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion and berimbau (the instrument that opens the track Na Na).

The album is tour-de-force and will probably leave you wondering the same thing as the Swiss yodellers up the hill from Montreaux - how did this guy get so good?



Vinyl ripped @ 320 kbps

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Stuff - Live at Montreaux (1976)

The cover may not look like much, but trust me, this is truly a killer album from start to finish.

Legend has it that during a break in a Esther Marrow sound check, the guys in Stuff shot each other a wink and started to grove. The rest is history. Stuff hail from New York and the band backed some of the largest acts in the 1970's and 80's, including the likes of: Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, and John Lennon (just to name a few). Stuff's greatness is not solely attributable to the virtuosity of the players, but also to the dynamic they share. Led by bassist Gordon Edwards, Stuff includes Richard Tee on keys, Eric Gale on guitar, Cornell Dupree on guitar and once again, the awesome Steve Gadd on drums.

What really makes the album is the dynamic range of the musicians. Every member of the band sacrifices part of their ego for the benefit of the groove. Gadd's syncopation on "Ode To Stuff" is a perfect example of the shared respect they had for one other. Listen to how the band drops out when Tee solos on the same track then slowly return to full throttle, all in perfect sonic balance. At no point is one person dominating the groove.

The group works through a bunch of instrumentals beginning with their song, "Foots." The band chose to do a lot of covers during the set including a cover of Stevie's, "Signed Sealed Delivered", "Boogie on Reggae Woman", and Earth Wind and Fire's, "That's the Way of the World." They even grace gospel music with their magical touch covering the spirituals, "Lift Every Voice" and "Oh Happy Day." Also, a review of the album would not be complete without mentioning either of the two stellar one minute drum solos done by Steve Gadd - a must listen.

If you don't know Stuff, this is the perfect album to get your feet wet with. Once you turn it on, you won't want to stop it.

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Esther Phillips - Alone Again, Naturally (1972)

Esther Phillip's music just oozes with soul. Recorded in 1972, Alone Again, Naturally, is a perfect starting point for people who are new to her music. The album showcases her distinctly smokey voice that is just raspy enough to still be sexy. Think not quite Janice Joplin yet not fully Aretha with the backing of an all-star studio band.

Phillip's life was marred with substance abuse problems - namely heroin - which contributed to her pre-mature death at the age of 48 due to liver and kidney ailments. Like other childhood prodigy's, Philips was originally billed as "Little Esther Phillips" and under the guise of bandleader Johnny Otis (father of Shuggie Otis) was able to pump out 10 rhythm and blues hits by the time she was 17. But her childhood charade didn't last long and by the late 1950's, she was already battling with addiction. This however wasn't before she grew to become what the Beatles called one of the most important innovators in rock. The Beatles even featured her on a BBC telecast in 1965, yet still she has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame despite being nominated twice.

Alone Again Naturally was her second album from her time with the Kudu label - which marked a brief period of moderate sobriety during which she released eight stellar albums. She then signed to Mercury in 1977 and released four albums before dying in 1984.


The album features an all-star line-up of musicians including, Ron Carter on bass, Maceo Parker on Tenor Sax, George Benson and Cornell Dupree on Guitars, and Billy Cobham and Bernard Purdie on drums. Tracks to watch out for include her cover of Bill Whithers', "Use Me" and the smoky, southern title track, "Alone Again, Naturally." Phillips delivers all the warmth of her native Texas, in a velvety smooth package guaranteed to bring joy to your heart.

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Esther covering the Beatles:
 

Also be sure to check out:

• Bruce Cloud - California Soul (1969)
• Deniece Williams - This is Niecy (1976)

Caesar Frazier - '75 (1975)

This rare gem comes from funky soul-jazz organist Caesar Frazier. '75 was Frazier's follow-up to his debut album Hail Caesar! and is an album you do not want to pass by. It features Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on the drums and Cornell Dupree on guitar. The album also contains the track "Funk It Down" - made popular by Gang-Starr's "Ex-Girl to the Next Girl" as well as covers of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" and Seals and Croft's "Summer Breeze".

@320 kbps.

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Also be sure to check out:

• Lee Moses - Time and Place (1971)