Bottom's Dream

Possessing not the greatest album sleeve in history - "Images" was nonetheless a bit of a Jazz-Funk peach. Produced by "Stix" Hooper, Wilton Felder & Joe Sample for "Crusader Productions, Inc." and mastered by long-standing expert Bernie Grundman, it followed so much of their Seventies output - really well-produced instrumental funky tracks followed by mellow ones that filled both the floor and the heart at one and the same time. Remastered from the original tapes by KEVIN REEVES at Universal Mastering in the States, it now sounds FABULOUS - really clear and defined - and virtually hiss-free. After a whole decade and umpteen albums of their particular type of funk & jazz, the same team that handled "Images" would finally hit paydirt a year later in 1979 with the global smash of "Street Life" and make Randy Crawford a star.

Wilton Felder's soul-drenched saxophone remained the high point of any recording the Crusaders did, as he stands out on his tune "Bayou Bottoms," a street-strutting standard-bearer for the era, and one of their better all-time tracks. "Covert Action," however, regresses into hollowed-out music with little heart or real soul. Electric bass guitarist Robert Popwell's "Cosmic Reign" starts out in some pseudo-Sun Ra space trip realm with diffuse synths and a bloogle/sound tube or three, but invariably is dependent on more street funk, and surprisingly even a brief hint of bop.

In the Meantime is the third studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara, released on September 24, 2021, by Def Jam Recordings. Cara collaborated with Jon Levine, Salaam Remi and Joel Little among several other producers on the project.

By 1978, the Crusaders sans the "Jazz" prefix were past their popular prime, and seemed to be recycling the same ideas that made them more famous when they started playing funkier music. While a limited urban crowd still gravitated toward what was becoming instrumental disco music, the ideas of the group had waned to the point where even commercial radio stations were less interested in this album as a whole. Images offers very little in terms of new or hit music, though Joe Sample attempted to compose songs that built on their prior success, especially like the successful album Free as the Wind from two years prior…

An excellent altoist and jazz arranger in the 1950s (most notably for Stan Kenton), Lennie Niehaus in more recent times won fame for his work scoring the music for Clint Eastwood films. After graduating from college, Niehaus played alto and occasionally wrote for Kenton (1951-1952) before being drafted for the Army (1952-1954). Upon his discharge, Kenton welcomed Niehaus back and he worked for the bandleader on and off for the rest of the decade. Niehaus, who led and played alto on six albums between 1954-1957 (five for Contemporary), had a cool tone a bit reminiscent of Lee Konitz. By the 1960s, his playing had gone by the wayside as Niehaus concentrated on writing for films.

Lennie Niehaus - Vol. 1: The Quintets (1956) {Contemporary OJCCD-1933-2 rel 2000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 240 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954-56, 2000 Contemporary Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-1933-2
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Saxophone

Alto saxophonist Lennie Niehaus is better known as the arranger for Clint Eastwood's films, but he has long been familiar to jazz fans as a respected bandleader, composer, arranger, and soloist. This limited-edition audiophile reissue of his first solo recordings (following stints with Stan Kenton and Shorty Rogers) is a stunner. Included is the first 10" LP he recorded with a three-saxophone front line – in this case, with Jack Montrose (tenor), and Bob Gordon (baritone) – and other quintet sessions with musicians including pianist Hampton Hawes, and fellow Kentonite Shelly Manne (who was responsible for Niehaus' record deal with Contemporary's Lester Koenig in the first place).