Ralph Macdonald Sound of a Drum

New York session great and longtime Harry Belafonte percussionist Ralph MacDonald made his solo debut with Sound of a Drum, successfully fusing the strong Latin flavor of his previous work with the funk and disco sounds dominating clubs in bicentennial America. The title is no misnomer - each song is a showcase for MacDonald's blistering percussion talents, but he never loses the humility and instincts of a sideman, allowing an expert cast including Grover Washington, Jr., Bob James, and Toots Thielemans their own turns in the spotlight as well. The eight-minute "Calypso Breakdown" is by far the best-known cut here, thanks to its inclusion on the mega-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack - it remains a monster groove that's dated much better than many disco-era instrumentals, thanks in large part to William Eaton's clever, jazz-inspired arrangement and Eric Gale's ferocious guitar solo.

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.

How could a combo named the Insect Trust be anything other than eclectic? Hoboken Saturday Night (1970) was the second of two platters from an interesting aggregate whose core consisted of multi-instrumentalists Luke Faust (harmonica, banjo, electric piano, fiddle), Trevor Koehler (baritone sax, soprano sax, piccolo, sewer drum, flute), Robert Palmer (alto sax, clarinet, recorder), Nancy Jeffries (vocals), and Bill Barth (lead guitar, steel guitar). The rhythm section was fleshed out by a sizable and equally diverse coterie of session musicians such as jazz legend Elvin Jones (drums), Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (drums), Charles "Buddy" Nealy (drums), Donald MacDonald (drums), William Folwell (bass, trumpet), Bob Bushnell (bass), Ralph Casale (rhythm guitar), and Hugh McCracken (rhythm guitar). Collectively, they touched upon facets of the singer/songwriter, psychedelic, and folk-rock subgenres…