Drums Unlimited

Other than a trio set with the legendary pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali, this set was Max Roach's only recording as a leader during 1963-67. Three of the six numbers ("Nommo," "St. Louis Blues" and "In the Red") find Roach heading a group that includes trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, altoist James Spaulding, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Jymie Merritt and, on "St. Louis Blues," Roland Alexander on soprano. Their music is essentially advanced hard-bop with a generous amount of space taken up by Roach's drum solos. The other three selections ("The Drum Also Waltzes," "Drums Unlimited" and "For Big Sid") are unaccompanied features for Max Roach and because of the melodic and logically-planned nature of his improvisations, they continually hold on to one's attention.

A great combo from Mannheim, Germany, also known as Joy & The Hit Kids. They were mixing jazz-rock, krautrock, funk, soul, pop and psychedelic rock, with Hans W. Herkenne (drums, percussion), Albin Metz (trumpet, bass), Roland Heck (organ, piano, vibes, marimba, percussion, vocals), Dieter Kindl (bass, guitar, percussion), Gerd Köthe (saxophone, flute), Klaus Nagel (guitar, woodwind, percussion, flute) and Hans Lingenfelder (guitar). Led by extraordinary vocal skills of female singer Joy Fleming, the band released their debut 'Overground'in 1970 (released under the name 'Turbulence' in UK and 'Joy Unlimited' in the US). Their second album, 'Schmetterlinge' (which means 'Butterflies' in German) along with the debut is the most representative band's material, and certainly worth checking.

A great combo from Mannheim, Germany, also known as Joy & The Hit Kids. They were mixing jazz-rock, krautrock, funk, soul, pop and psychedelic rock, with Hans W. Herkenne (drums, percussion), Albin Metz (trumpet, bass), Roland Heck (organ, piano, vibes, marimba, percussion, vocals), Dieter Kindl (bass, guitar, percussion), Gerd Köthe (saxophone, flute), Klaus Nagel (guitar, woodwind, percussion, flute) and Hans Lingenfelder (guitar). Led by extraordinary vocal skills of female singer Joy Fleming, the band released their debut 'Overground'in 1970 (released under the name 'Turbulence' in UK and 'Joy Unlimited' in the US). Their second album, 'Schmetterlinge' (which means 'Butterflies' in German) along with the debut is the most representative band's material, and certainly worth checking.

This 1975 slab by drummer Redd Holt was his second outing after the disintegration of the Young-Holt Unlimited rhythm team. Tighter and more adventurous than Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, its predecessor, Holt goes for the heart of rhythm here, letting it flower over the top of all the other arrangements. As a way of signifying this, he opens the set with a short but deeply funky and soulful rendition of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." With less than two-and-a-half minutes of clock time, it's get out and go or nothing and Holt makes his tom-toms pop like snares, keeping only the slamming guitaristry of Randy Ford on top with him. Elsewhere, as on "Gimme Some Mo," Holt intertwines with keyboardist Eugene Curry to allow bassist Jose Holmes to cut the groove fast and deep, popping it all over the sonic spectrum like Bootsy Collins but with more finesse…