Drive With Water

By the mid-'80s, Jeff Lorber placed improvisation on the back burner and took a highly commercial, radio-oriented approach that offered little evidence of his skills as a soloist. But early in his career, the electric keyboardist specialized in very accessible yet free-spirited and creative jazz/funk/R&B stressing improvisation and spontaneity. Water Sign, one of Lorber's strongest dates, unites his working group of 1979 (which includes Danny Wilson on electric bass and Dennis Bradford on drums) with high-quality soloists like Freddie Hubbard (flügelhorn), Joe Farrell (flute), and Dennis Springer (tenor and soprano sax).

William S. Fischer - Circles (1970) {Water ‎water123 rel 2003}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 222 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
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© 1970, 2003 Embryo / Runt / Atlantic / Water ‎| water123
Jazz / Fusion Jazz / Funk Rock Fusion / Experimental Fusion / Moog Synthesizer

Still riding high in 1970 as a subdued, thoughtful arranger for Herbie Mann, Nat Adderley and other headliners, Fischer was given a flyer by Mann's Embryo label to front a record of his own. The results – eclectic to a fault, sometimes wildly avant-garde, heavily influenced by the about-to-explode jazz-rock movement – are not at all what one would expect from this man, who arranged and composed the whole package. The basic band is staffed by rock and folk (respectively) guitarists Hugh McCracken and Eric Weissberg, with Ron Carter on electric bass and Billy Cobham revving up the power pack on drums.

Life is horribly dark right now. And yet, it is not unfunny. That’s the sentiment that animates Water From Your Eyes on their new album, and first for Matador, ‘Everyone’s Crushed,’ out May 26. On the follow-up to the Brooklyn duo’s 2021 breakthrough, ‘Structure,’Rachel Brown (they/them) and Nate Amos (he/him) find silliness and fatalism dancing in a frantic lockstep, using heart palpitating rhythms and absurdist, deadpan lyrics to convey stories of personal and societal unease. Described by Brown as Water From Your Eyes’ most collaborative record ever, it’s a swollen contusion of an album: experimental pop music that’s pretty and violent, raw and indelible.

In composing the music for With Peter Bradley, a brilliant new documentary on the abstract painter directed by Alex Rappoport, saxophonist Javon Jackson is also painting a series of pictures. The original music from the documentary, released on his own Solid Jackson Records, is like a full exhibit, an extended play expression of the lightheartedness and verve of the enigmatic Peter Bradley.

After years of being a team player, Steve Cropper got to make a solo album for the label he helped put on the map, Stax Records (actually their Volt subsidiary). As you might figure, it turned out as an instrumental soul album, and a darn good one, too. It's a bona fide Telecaster-soaked dance workout, with Cropper turning in signature versions of "Land of a Thousand Dances," "99 1/2," (which features a particularly nasty period fuzz guitar), "Funky Broadway," "Boo-Ga-Loo Down Broadway," "In the Midnight Hour," and original instrumentals like "Crop Dustin'" and the closer "Rattlesnake." A solid and soulful little side project that holds up quite well years later.

After years of being a team player, Steve Cropper got to make a solo album for the label he helped put on the map, Stax Records (actually their Volt subsidiary). As you might figure, it turned out as an instrumental soul album, and a darn good one, too. It's a bona fide Telecaster-soaked dance workout, with Cropper turning in signature versions of "Land of a Thousand Dances," "99 1/2," (which features a particularly nasty period fuzz guitar), "Funky Broadway," "Boo-Ga-Loo Down Broadway," "In the Midnight Hour," and original instrumentals like "Crop Dustin'" and the closer "Rattlesnake." A solid and soulful little side project that holds up quite well years later.