Eric Gale Part of You

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…

In 1980, guitarist and composer Eric Gale came off the commercial success of 1979's Part of You (produced by Ralph MacDonald) and didn't do the obvious thing. Rather than make another record that swung for the smooth jazz fences, he made a darker, deeper, funkier, and bluesier album with legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint. The sessions included the cream of the Crescent City's jazz-funk crop as well as mates Charlie Earland, Grover Washington, Jr., and Idris Muhammad, three of soul-jazz's greatest lights – with special guest Arthur Blythe on the Charlie Parker nugget "Au Privave" as a curve ball. Toussaint wrote four of the album's seven tracks, and they range from the murky blue soul-jazz of "You Got My Life in Your Hands" to the sweet, boudoir-perfect urban-styled title track.

Guitarist Eric Gale made his reputation as a session guitarist during the late 60's and 70's for a host of different artists, as well as being a key member of the jazz/funk group Stuff. As part of Sony's Contemporary Masters series, they've put two of Eric Gale's best solo albums together on one CD. "Gingeng Woman" released in 1977 and it's 1978 follow up "Multiplication" were both produced by Bob James and feature excellent support players like Steve Gadd, Ralph McDonald, Grover Washington, Jr., Anthony Jackson, and Richard Tee. Standout tracks from "Ginseng Woman" include "Red Ground", and his cover of Hall & Oates "Sara Smile". "Multiplication's" best cuts include his cover of Lee Ritenour's "Morning Glory" and the traditional "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child". His later work in the 80's and early 90's occasionally matched the peak he reached with these two albums. Sadly he passed away in 1994 and much of his solo output is out of print. But fortunately these two albums are available, and are most definitely worth checking out.

Eric Gale's 1973 Forecast album on the Kudu label is one of his most varied texturally. Produced by Kudu label boss Creed Taylor, the rhythm tracks were arranged by Gale, and the horns and strings by Bob James. Taylor surrounded Gale with the cream-of-the-crop of the current session players: jazz's most soulful drummer, Idris Muhammad, was in the house for most of the album, and Rick Marotta filled out the rest. Saxophonists included Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams, and Jerry Dodgion (an underrated ace who made his name with Curtis Amy on his Pacific jazz sides in the early '60s), and trumpeters included Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis. Hubert Laws and George Marge sat in the flute chairs, and James played piano and synths. Gale, for his part, was blended into a meticulously arranged and gorgeously orchestrated set of mixed tempo originals, and a pair of carefully chosen covers.

Bob James' most enduring recording is perhaps one of his least adventurous. Full of simple laid-back melodies, light, airy grooves, and quiet backdrops, it's a smooth jazz "masterpiece." It's an enduring part of his catalog and was the launch pad for many movie and television projects, and for a string of hit recordings for the Warner label in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. In effect, it insured his financial security for the future. The set is notable for its heavyweight cast including David Sanborn, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Hubert Laws, and Earl Klugh. It also netted the monster hit "Angela (Theme from Taxi)," which continued to get airplay on smooth jazz stations into the 21st century. James is a highly developed pianist, arranger, and composer, and while the music here is as safe as milk, it nonetheless spoke to millions.

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.

Sadao Watanabe - How's Everything: Sadao Watanabe Live At Budokan (1980) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection Series SICJ 168}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 501 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 177 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 275 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1980, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 168
Jazz / Fusion / Contemporary Jazz / Crossover Jazz / Saxophone / Flute

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. 2016 reissue of this live album, recorded in July 1980 at the legendary venue the Budokan in Japan over two nights. The album features a who's who of Jazz Fusion musicians including Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Ralph MacDonald, Anthony Jackson, Jeff Mironov and Dave Grusin. Grusin also arranged and conducted the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra on these two magical nights. How's Everything contains versions of the Sadao Watanabe classics 'Up Country' and 'Nice Shot'. a positively must-have CD for all Jazz Fusion fans. Robinsongs.