Buzz Feiten

A little gem from the late 70's by this LA based keyboards player and generally reckoned to be his best, well worth hunting down. Jungle Fever features the likes of Buzz Feiten (guitar), Willie Weeks (bass), Andy Newmark (drums), Mike Brecker (tenor sax), Larry Williams (alto sax and flute), Ralph McDonald (percussion) and Jerry Hey (trumpet & flugelhorn). The whole set is original Larsen material except for a quite acceptable cover of Gato Barbieri's 'Last Tango in Paris'. Not a vocal in sight, either. Recorded and mixed by Al Schmitt at Sound Labs and Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood and produced by maestro Tommy LiPuma. Engineer and producer teams don't get much better than that and, on this album, it certainly shows.

2008 digitally remastered two CD set containing a pair of albums from Felix Cavaliere and The Rascals: Peaceful World (1971) and Island of Real (1972), both originally released on Columbia Records. These recordings, sadly, were to prove the last for the band, though founder Felix Cavaliere went on to a solo career. Comes housed in a slipcase with extensive liner notes.
What's remarkable about both these recordings is how far ahead of their time they were. Cavaliere had become deeply interested in the writings and teachings of the great Sufi master musician Hazrat Inayat Khan, who - through his own tradition - looked at music holistically, as an integral part of earthly and spiritual life. He also came under the sway of the emerging sounds of jazz, gospel, and the emerging uptownfunk and soul of the period…

Felix Cavaliere is lead vocal in those amazing "Young Rascals" and "The Rascals" mega-hits from the fabulous musical sixties on through to early seventies…first solo effort self-titled "Felix Cavaliere" is a fantastic collection co-produced by Todd Rundgren featuring Utopia, amazing there were not chart-topping mega-hits and multiple Grammy Awards, guess brain-dead radio had no idea to program this amazing singer and sadly appeared music industry didn't have a clue who this awesome singer was at the time…leaving "The Rascals" seemed the name Felix Cavaliere didn't ring a bell, yet for hard-core fans it did and big time!

After a seven year layoff, feisty veteran funkmaster Lorber steps out from the producer's chair with a fun filled all star project. The keyboardist, best known for his fusion years, has been far from idle during that time, producing for pop jazz sax gods Kenny G and Eric Marienthal, and mixing for U2 and Paula Abdul. His latest lives up to its title…though not resoundingly so. As he did with Marienthal's brilliant Oasis, Lorber divides his keyboard time between punchy, soulful rhythms and mellifluous textures that pour on the romance. Easygoing exercises like "Yellowstone" and the Latin tinged "Punta Del Soul" inspire a cool charm, but it's danceable cookers like "High Wire" and "Jazzery" that keep the disc spiraling

Sanborn's '83 release brought a new meaning to late night or midnight music listening ! By no means is this elevator muzak, either ! In fact, Sanborn was on the cutting edge in using drum machines and synthesizer arrangements without stifling his sax playing or throwing the whole project out of whack. Sanborn's playing is very upfront and sharp ! While the recording may sound dated, it is only in a very good positive way to demonstrate what is lacking in some of today's so-called pop-jazz or r & b instrumentalists.

Toss into the musical blender the spirits of Stevie Wonder, Crusaders, Van Halen, Sting, Dr. John, and Chick Corea; turn on the fire, low for easy simmering blues-rock at times, high for a fiery intensity that busts the borders between R&B and fusion. The result: the Dave Weckl Band's hard-to-categorize adventure, Rhythm of the Soul. Here, he celebrates his liberation from Corea's Elektric fold with a vengeance.

Produced for release by John Matarazzo, head of Hudson Street Entertainment group, this 109-minute long DVD includes highlights from the 1990 and 1991 issues of the now defunct Live Under The Sky jazz festival. Filmed in Tokyo, starts with an all-star quartet - Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland (on electric bass!) and Jack DeJohnette - performing "Jack In".