Alberico Melle

Flash was the DJ and the Furious Five were the best multiple rappers around, moving from the music's low-rent dance origins (it was Flash who began cutting in repeated portions of other records) and party spirit to the "message" approach that took over in the mid 80s, prefigured in "The Message." Much of what came later, started here.

Gil Melle Quartet - Primitive Modern/Quadrama (1957) {Prestige OJCCD-1712-2 rel 1991}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 357 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 163 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 16 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 1991 Prestige / OJC / Fantasy | OJCCD-1712-2 (P-7040/PRLP-7097)
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Third Stream / Saxophone

I was refreshingly suprised the first time I heard this album. I had been bored with most of my music collection when I stumbled upon this "nugget of pure gold". What's even more exciting is when you find out more about the man himself. Gil Melle is a true original, still going strong. His art will surely last the test of time. I write this based on my somewhat worn vinyl copy of "Primitive Modern". I found it in a thrift store for 50 cents and have thanked the powers that be every day that I had such luck. As the quote above indicates, Gil Melle and his outfit were serious about rhythm and doing interesting things with rhythm. Listen, for instance, to "Ironworks."

Gil Melle - Patterns In Jazz (1956) {Blue Note Japan TOCJ-9581 rel 2004, Paper Sleeve}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 152 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 2004 Blue Note / Toshiba-EMI Japan | TOCJ-9581
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream / Baritone Saxophone

Like the modern art that stormed the art world in the '50s, Patterns in Jazz is filled with bright, bold colors and identifiable patterns that camouflage how adventurous the work actually is. On the surface, the music is cool and laid-back, but close listening reveals the invention in Melle's compositions and arrangements of the standards "Moonlight in Vermont" and "Long Ago and Far Away." Part of the charm of Patterns in Jazz is the unusual instrumental balance of Melle's bari sax, Eddie Bert's trombone, Joe Cinderella's guitar, and Oscar Pettiford's bass. These low, throaty instruments sound surprisingly light and swinging. Compared to the two standards, Melle's original compositions are a little short on melody, but they give the musicians room to improvise, resulting in some dynamic music. Ultimately, Patterns in Jazz is cerebral music that swings – it's entertaining, but stimulating.

Gil Mellé - The Andromeda Strain (1971) {Kapp– Intrada B0013842-02 rel 2010}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 146 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 63 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 32 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2010 Kapp Records / Intrada / Universal | B0013842-02
Electronic / Stage & Screen / Experimental / Musique Concrète

World CD premiere of striking electronic-led score by Gil Melle for Robert Wise sci-fi classic, based on Michael Crichton novel, starring Arthur Hill, James Olson. Melle writes complex ideas that incorporate incredible array of synthesized effects, then melds them with real acoustic colors for fascinating high-tech music: clinical, chilling, suspenseful! Brief running time results from original Kapp label LP release in 1971 having limited playing surfaces due to hexagonal shape of vinyl. (Not duplicated here!) Intrada CD presented from original stereo LP masters vaulted by Universal Music Group. Crisp, state-of-the-art (in 1971) stereo imagery a result! Intrada Special Collection release limited to 1500 copies!

Gil Melle Quartet with Kenny Dorham, Hal McKusick - Gil's Guests (1956) {Prestige OJCCD-1753-2 rel 1990}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 298 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 128 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 71 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956-57, 1990 Prestige / Fantasy / OJC | OJCCD-1753-2
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream / Baritone Saxophone

We've got a long-standing love affair with the music of Gil Melle, and this CD's a perfect example of why we think he's so great! Melle was an enigmatic baritone player who recorded for Blue Note and Prestige in the 50's, and his recordings for both labels have a strange other-wordly quality that's very difficult to describe, and which sets him apart from any other practitioner of the instrument at the time. Far from the clunky sounds you might expect from such a giant instrument, Melle produces these amazingly light waves of sound, which are interpolated by the members of his quartet – guitarist Joe Cinderella, bassist Vinnie Burke, and drummer Ed Thigpen – in a tangled web of spooky delights.