The Moments’ On Top is
a perfect example of symphonic soul. Amongst true heads, this is
considered the most valuable of all their albums; an original copy of
this LP, if you can find one, starts at around $75. Alongside
contemporaneous acts from the early 70s - The Chi-lites, The Stylistics,
The Delfonics, The Futures, Blue Magic and The Main Ingredient - The
Moments exuded all that was compelling about deep, harmony-drenched,
string-laden soul.The standout here is undoubtedly "To You With Love", a floating,
tender ballad sung by Harry Ray that features the group’s patented
handclap-tambourine combo, sweetly repetitive strings, serene guitar and
gentle piano. It was famously sampled by J Dilla for “Last Donut Of The
Night” - the gut-wrenching finale to his seminal Donuts.
Sublime work from The Manhattans who are on top of the world at this
point! The group's harmonies are excellent, a bit rough in the best
parts ala Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes during the Teddy
Pendergrass years but also capable of tremendous strength when forged
together, which happens often on the album's tight set of
Philly-produced tracks.
A great Wayne Shorter session from the mid 60s – recorded then, but not
issued until 1979, for some incredibly unexplained reason – especially
given the strength of the set! The group is distinctly modern, and
features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, James Spaulding on alto, and McCoy
Tyner on piano – all of who were committed to heavily pushing the
boundaries of their playing at the time. Added to the mix is the
youthful Tony Williams on drums, fresh from work with Miles Davis, and
playing with an incredibly free hand on the kit – plus the great Ron
Carter on bass. The resulting mix of tracks is a beautiful example of
how these mid-60s Blue Note sessions could keep firmly in touch with
modern developments in jazz, yet never lapse into the kind of sloppiness
that could sometimes ruin sets like these on other labels – always with
a keen sense of timing and rhythm, and a sharpness that made Blue
Note's "new" newer-sounding than most'
Livingstone Studio present a reissue of Gboyega Adelaja's Colourful
Environment, originally released in 1979. Fresh from touring with Hugh
Masekela -- The Boy's Doin' It (1975) -- Gboyega Adelaja goes into the
lab to drop heavy keyboard science on his Moog and Fender Rhodes. Its
Joe Sample meets the Afro funk of BLO. With names like Jake Sollo on
guitars, Mike Odumusu (BLO, Osibisa) on bass guitar, and Gasper Lawal on
percussion, this is a top quality, Afro funk -- an all-stars affair
that shines from the inspired interventions, masterly arrangements to
the sublime production.Adelaja on the period of recording: "I was already following
Hugh Masekela when I met him, he was an outstanding musician and I knew
of his collaboration with Hedzoleh, that band brought him nearer to many
of us, because he was playing authentic African melodies with the
Hedzoleh sound which was mostly percussion oriented. Yes I knew about
Hugh's music before I met him. In fact when we started playing together,
he insisted that I stay with him in our three bedroom apartment, other
members of the band had their own apartments, but Hugh and myself shared
the same three bedroom apartment. We were touring, under Casablanca owned by Neil Boggart, we
toured as professional musicians, flying to our gigs. There was a time
when we were touring with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic we
had two luxury buses deployed for our use. We made many friends where
ever we went to play, we met many big and popular musicians who came to
watch our shows, the Spinners came to see us in Detroit, we met Wayne
Shorter of Weather Report, Freddie Hubbard, we played a gig with Herbie
Hancock at the Carnegie Hall New York City, we toured almost all the 50
States of the US.
The daughter of a Brazilian mother and German father, Astrud
Gilberto achieved international prominence with "The Girl From Ipanema,"
an inauspicious debut recorded for the landmark album her husband, Joao
Gilberto, created with Stan Getz in 1963. Moving to the USA, where
later began a relationship. Over-the-top classic That Girl From Ipanema
allowed her to revisit the hit in the sweeping high-fidelity
full-spectrum setting of a disco big-band, the album overseen by MFSB
and Salsoul mainstay, Vince Montana. Along with individual takes of Cole
Porter's "Love For Sale" and Harry Nilsson's "The Puppy Song," original
"Far Away" benefits from the understated trumpet of Chet Baker, but the
album ultimately revels in all things disco, the Brazilian element
coming courtesy of percussionist Dom Um Romao on select tracks. Crank up
the volume and tune in to the brass, piano, and percussion that
percolates under Astrud's characteristically soft and sultry vocals to
fully experience this underrated gem.
