Roots- (Barney Rachabane) Roots self-titled album, featuring Barney Rachabane, is somewhat obscure here in the States despite the international recognition accorded Mr. Rachabane for his work with Paul Simon and his legendary status in South Africa as a horn player of the first order. Roots was a group formed by Rachabane and treated as a one and done, although the group did issue one other album under the Roots moniker. Rachabane is probably best known for his touring in support of the Graceland album for two decades. Yet his musical roots extend far deeper, as one of the living... Read More
Clifford Jordan- Glass Bead Games Shoot-Out
Clifford Jordan- Glass Bead Games Shoot-Out By Ken Golden I’ve been asked by Fearless Leader to do a “shoot out” comparison between an original Strata-East pressing of Clifford Jordan Quartet “Glass Bead Games” (SES 19737/8) and the recent reissue from Pure Pleasure Records out of the UK. Some brief background – Strata-East Records was co-founded by Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell. The name was taken in tribute to the Detroit based Strata Records label. The exclusive focus of the label was black jazz musicians. The range of music touched on post-bop, hard bop,... Read More
Lou Bond- self-titled
Lou Bond- self-titled Lou Bond is an under the radar soul man whose self- titled album is a mixture of deep period soul with tinges of pop, folk and more than a few surprise covers—not exactly a mainstream soul sound. The Lou Bond album apparently got lost in the house of Stax, overshadowed by the bigger name crooners who fit more into the mold. But with the passage of time, and a sample from the album on an Outkast record, among others who tapped into the soul of this album, Lou Bond can now be appreciated for what it is. Reissued by Light in the Attic (LITA) in 2010, I found a sealed... Read More
Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-2nd Edition
Neil Antin’s Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-2nd Edition Neil Antin’s Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records received considerable attention on the web when it was first published in May, 2020. Now, less than a year after its first publication, Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records has undergone a substantial revision. This, the Second Edition, is not merely a “fluff and buff” update but a serious, extensive reexamination of the premises with which Mr. Antin started: that record cleaning is not a mysterious dark art, that science (in his case adapted from... Read More
DRIFTGLASS by Seed Ensemble
DRIFTGLASS by Seed Ensemble There is something very special about Driftglass by Seed Ensemble. For starters, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to listen to; when did you last experience that? The album and ensemble are the brainchild of Cassie Kinoshi, a gifted performer, composer and arranger who leads a big band with a big sound and an eclectic, and sometimes unexpected, array of influences. What starts as a thrumming bass solo soon morphs into a stage full of instruments that mixes the avant-garde with something that resembles a James Bond film theme from the ‘60s—it’s cool stuff,... Read More
Milt Ward Virgo Reissue Coming from Frederiksberg
Although I don’t have all the details yet, I have learned that Frederiksberg Records, a small, eclectic label from New York, is in the process of reissuing the hard to find (and even harder to pay for) jazz obscurity, Milt Ward and Virgo Spectrum. You can find out more by keeping tabs on Frederiksberg’s Bandcamp page, https://frederiksbergrecords.bandcamp.com I’m told there is a bootleg out there so be careful. Frederiksberg is doing this project with the participation of the family of Milt Ward, which is to be applauded. Hopefully, this will give more access to a... Read More
Woody Shaw- Blackstone Legacy
Woody Shaw- Blackstone Legacy Woody Shaw’s Blackstone Legacy, his first as a featured artist released in 1971, may be one of his best. Shaw had a steady career as a sideman, working with some of the greats in Paris, including Nathan Davis (whose work after he returned to the States has been covered here), followed by a stint with Blue Note before embarking on a career as a bandleader. After release of Blackstone Legacy, Shaw continued to work as a sideman at the same time he released a succession of albums as a featured artist. Shaw was prolific and died tragically at the age of 44,... Read More
Charles Tolliver-Connect
Charles Tolliver-Connect Charles Tolliver has just released a new album—Connect. Tolliver is a gifted composer, instrumentalist, producer and co-founder of the legendary Strata-East label. Unlike some of the Strata-East albums, which are now in serious collector territory, pricewise, Connect is readily available, sounds wonderful and won’t cost more than a standard issue record, though it is sourced from tape and wonderfully presented by Gearbox Records. Connect consists of four tracks- starting with “Blue Soul” which begins with urgent war drums and the horns, piano and drums... Read More
An Experiment with Platter Mats- the MyMat
An Experiment with Platter Mats- the MyMat Introduction Until I performed some recent experiments with a product called the MyMat, offered by a long-time member of the Audiogon community, I rarely thought about changing out platter mats. I’ve owned a number of good turntables over the years and figured: (a) that the manufacturer knew what was best, and (b) going down this rabbit hole was yet another potential morass—that the results would vary considerably based on a number of factors, including the particular turntable design and platter. How “projectable” would anyone’s... Read More
Fuzzy Duck- self titled (Be With Reissue)
Fuzzy Duck- self titled (Be With Reissue) Fuzzy Duck’s eponymous album is relatively obscure- it didn’t sell much at the time of release, with a limited pressing run and the group disbanded. But instead of fading into complete obscurity, the album enjoys a cult following with prices to match. Be With Records, the same outfit that did such a good job reissuing the Air album with Googie Coppola, just released this reissue, attainable by mere mortals for the cost of 4 lattes. It’s well worth the cost. What you’ll hear is a UK psych hard rock band in top form circa 1971, with... Read More
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