David Nadien

There's an avalanche of dazzling playing on this generous, superbly selected compilation; it gives a brilliant, comprehensive testament to a legendary musician.

David Matthews & Electric Birds - Digital Love (1979) {Japan Electric Bird The Best 1000 Series KICJ-2371 rel 2014}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 298 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remastering
© 1979, 2014 Electric Bird / King Record Japan | KICJ-2371
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Fusion

Reissue with the latest 24-bit remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. Fast and funky fusion from David Matthews – building off the sound of his later Kudu recordings with a sweet electric groove! The album's got a pretty full approach overall – with Matthews on electric piano, and directing a large group of players that includes Mike Maineri, Michael Brecker, Jon Faddis, Shunzo Ohno, and Ronnie Cuber – and a number of tracks feature a vocal chorus that includes Ullanda McCullough and Yvonne Lewis. The overall style is slick, but not in a bad way – and Matthews more than meets the Japanese fusion sound head to head for this non-US release from the time!

Altoist David Sanborn has long been one of the leaders of what could be called rhythm & jazz (R&B-oriented jazz). His debut for Warner Brothers was a major commercial success and helped make him into a major name. The music is fairly commercial but certainly danceable and melodic. Even at that point in time, Sanborn's alto cries were immediately recognizable; the Brecker Brothers, guitarist Steve Khan and Howard Johnson on baritone and tuba are prominent in support.

Whether he gets (enough) credit or not from jazz heads, guitarist George Benson certainly created the template for smooth jazz , with 1975's Good King Bad a perfect example of the style in its infant stages. Benson combines his classy, Wes Montgomery-inspired guitar style with funky material ("Hold On I'm Coming"), yearning balladry ("Cast Your Fate To the Wind"), plush arrangements, and, on one song, buttery vocals for a classic slice of easygoing jazz.

Collected together for the first time are all of RUGGIERO RICCI’s nine solo albums taped for American Decca between 1960 and 1970. The sessions brought concertos by Vivaldi (The Four Seasons with an all-Stradivarius ensemble), Paganini and Saint-Sa?ns as well as several concept albums. ‘The Glory of Cremona’, a recording ‘that all fiddle fanciers will insist on having’ (Stereo Review) saw him play fifteen priceless violins. The 1967 traversal of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin were described by Gramophone as ‘a miracle’. One of the last century’s most spell-binding technicians on the violin, Ricci was a complete musician, to whom this set pays eloquent tribute.

Charles Williams - Stickball (1972) {P-Vine Japan PCD-23934 rel 2007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 259 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2007 Mainstream Records / P-Vine Japan | PCD-23934
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Saxophone

Full-on funky backings for saxophonist Charles Williams – a set that almost has him in the same territory as Stanley Turrentine during his late 70s years on Fantasy Records, or Hank Crawford over at Kudu! The style here is a bit more lush than some of the other Mainstream Records dates of the time – full backings arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins – always plenty darn soulful, and built around a mix of strings and jazzier instrumentation – set up with the care and precision of a hip soul soundtrack, and topped by well-crafted alto sax solos by Williams. Other players include Chris Woods on baritone sax, Bubba Brooks and Frank Wess on tenor, Don Pullen on organ, Paul Griffin on electric piano, David Spinozza on guitar, and Ray Barretto on congas.

One has to hand it to the Japanese for caring for the United States jazz tradition in all its guises better than people in the U.S. do. Consider this 1979 album by Eric Gale. While the funky rubric of soul-jazz was deeply informed by disco in the late '70s, that didn't mean the music being created was without considerable merit. This disc is a case in point – and it cannot be had in the United States. Teamed with the funk-jazz mafia of Richard Tee, Harvey Mason, Steve Gadd, Ralph MacDonald, Dave Grusin, and Grover Washington, Jr., as well as Charles Earland and Idris Muhammad on the stellar groove jam "Trio" (the album's highlight), Gale offers up six midrange tunes that run the gamut from deeply funky…