Folk/psychelic rock band from San Francisco. It was formed by Meltzer
and his wife Tina, and also included Denny Ellis on lead guitar and
David Stenson on bass, both from The Grass Roots.
The band became a full rock outfit with the inclusion of John Payne on
organ and Clark Coolidge on drums. Ellis, Stenson, and Payne left
shortly after the first self-titled album was recorded, replaced by Bob
Cuff (from The Mystery Trend), on lead guitar and Jim Mocoso on bass. But the band didn't record another album, and disbanded in 1968.
Value :
Funky funky stuff from Jimmy Smith – a killer late 60s album cut in
collaboration with Johnny Pate, who's very much at the height of his
blackploitation power here! The backings are full, but in ways that are
quite different than other Smith albums on Verve – such as the sides
done with Oliver Nelson – and Pate's groove here is plenty schooled in
soul, yet also leaves lots of room for Smith's organ lines as the main
solo vehicle. And as an added bonus, Jimmy also sings on the record –
in a rough, raspy style that might not work on a straighter jazz set,
but which really sounds great here – almost making the music come across
like some of those funky Quincy Jones soundtrack numbers with vocals.
Titles include "I Know What I Want", "Uh Ruh", "Dirty Roosta Booga",
"Spill The Wine", "I'm Gon Git Myself Together", and "Need Mo"
The soundtrack to Franco Rossi's 1962 film Smog is the second-to-last collaboration between famed Italian composer Piero Umiliani and then self-exiled trumpeter Chet Baker.
The pair had previously worked together on 1958's I Soliti Ignoti,
1959's Audace Colpo dei Soliti Ignoti, and 1960's Urlatori Alla Sbarra,
and later collaborated on 1964's Intrigo a Los Angeles. On Smog
we get the best of both worlds: the composer and arranger is featured
prominently his charts for "Dawn" and the title track -- both excellent
vehicles for vocalist Helen Merrill -- are the stuff of dreams. Umiliani's
sense of timing, space, texture, and color is magnificent. In addition,
his sophisticated sense of humor is displayed on "California in the
Summer," as it fully engages Latin rhythms in a hard bop setting (not to
mention deliberate quotes from "Tequila" in one section). Baker's
soloing is as meaty and muscular and as it is on his Roulette sides
from a year later. (Check "Tension," with the orchestra kicking in on
the back of the quartet delivering a mean Latin bop groove, or his
soulful flügelhorn on the noir-ish fingerpopper "Smog II.") That said,
whenever his requisite expressiveness is called for -- as on "Twilight
in Los Angeles" -- he delivers big. And though Baker doesn't solo on every track, Umiliani's
tunes are so hip and his charts so imaginative that he doesn't need to.
Schema's Rearward imprint has done it again in reissuing this priceless
gem. (A note for audiophiles: the sound on this single volume is far
better than on the box set of the complete film scores from the Moochin'
About label.)
Taste :
Piero Umiliani with Chet Baker – Neapolitan Phantasy
Williams meets the Cannonball Adderley Septet on this rather interesting session. The expanded rhythm section (which includes keyboardist George Duke and both acoustic bassist Walter Booker and the electric bass of Carol Kaye) gives funky accompaniment to Williams, while altoist Cannonball and cornetist Nat
have some solo space. Actually, the singer easily steals the show on a
searing version of "Goin' to Chicago Blues," and his own "Who She Do,"
and a few unusual songs, including Duke Ellington's "Heritage."
An excellent lost funky soundtrack on Blue Note – their only one for
years, and Grant Green's entry into the blacksploitation genre! The
whole thing bristles with the kind of chunky, thumping percussive feel
as the best funky soundtracks of the era – informed by the work of
Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes, but with the deeper jazz feel that
Green brings from his other Blue Note sides of the time! Some cuts are
quite funky, particularly the opener, "Past, Present, and Future" with
it's crisp trap, chicken scratch guitar and bongo driven beat. Others
have more of a stripped-down dope instrumental feel – there's some sweet
funky flute work on "Fathers Lament", and even a slight bossa groove
creeps into the title track! The whole album's very nice, and it's very
different than any of Grant Green's other work!
One of Lou Rawls' best for Capitol – produced by David Axelrod, and
arranged by HB Barnum with a joyous, leaping, sock-soulful groove! The
drums get nice and hard on the set – especially on the classic break
version of "For What It's Worth", and the rolling righteous cut "My
Ancestors" – and Lou's vocals are deeply wonderful all the way through!
