Jazz Solid Records

The Rein De Graaff Trio With Ronnie Cuber And Nick Brignola - Baritone Explosion! - Live At Nick's (1995) {2016 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1995, 2016 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6429
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Baritone Saxophone / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest remastering and the original cover artwork. Comes with a description written in Japanese. We'd hate to get caught in the force of a baritone explosion – as the horns are so big, that's a lot of metal to have to deal with! Fortunately, pianist Rein De Graaf's got the proceedings here on rock-solid territory – providing just the right sort of swing to keep things moving, yet also keep things in control – while both Ronnie Cuber and Nick Brigola open up on the bigger horns – reminding us why they're some of the few players able to carry forward the deftly soulful legacies of earlier baritone greats like Pepper Adams or Serge Chaloff! The album's a live one, and tracks are nice and long – plenty of room for solos on titles that include "Caravan", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Crack Down", "Night In Tunisia", and "Blue Train" – plus two short beautiful ballads, "What's New" and "In A Sentimental Mood".

Gary Bartz - Shadows (1991) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1991, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6328
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. The 90s were a really wonderful decade for reedman Gary Bartz – a time when he seemed to go back to basics, and find a way to open up whole new corners in his music! This album's a key illustration of that moment – as Bartz blows with a sense of darkly brooding power that we never would have expected a decade or two before – this deep sense of pacing and tone that often has us looking to make sure he's not blowing a tenor, instead of the alto and soprano sax listed in the notes.

Charles Kynard - Woga (1972) {2017 Japan Mainstream Records Master Collection Series CDSOL-45220}
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© 1972, 2017 Time / Mainstream Records / Solid Records Japan | CDSOL-45220
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Organ Hammond B-3

Sweet organ lines, heavy drums, and a great little groove throughout – a tight batch of groovers from the mighty Charles Kynard! The keyboardist is in fine 70s form here – stepping away from the sparer sound of his albums for Prestige with a fuller style for Mainstream Records – in a groove that's almost part blacksploitation funk, thanks to some sharp backings from arranger Richard Fritz! The mighty Paul Humphrey is at the bottom of the set on nicely funky drums – and other players include Arthur Adams on guitar, Chuck Rainey on bass, and some great additional horns, which give the record a larger jazzy finish, but never get in the way of Kynard's lean, mean organ lines. There's a great version of "Rock Steady" on the album, one that has a great funky intro – plus the cuts "Shout", "Lime Twig", "Slop Jar", "Name The Missing Word", "Little Ghetto Boy", and "Hot Sauce".

Archie Shepp Quartet feat. Annette Lowman - Lover Man (1988) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1988, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6356
Jazz / Bop / Modern Post Bebop / Saxophone / Vocal Jazz / Jazz Blues

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. A real gem from the great Archie Shepp – an overlooked treasure from his years as a straight jazz musician – a time we come to appreciate more and more as the years go by! The Shepp heard here is one who's still got all the raw tone and bite of the old days, but also finds a way to swing things on a set of familiar standards – so that he's cutting these great raspy lines out of tunes you might already know – but which are taking on a whole new life in the process.

Rein de Graaff Quintet - New York Jazz (1979) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6353}
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© 1979, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6353
Jazz / Post Bop / Hard Bop / Modern Post Bebop / Piano

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. I really have to say that this is a record that any modern jazz record collector should run out and buy. Ronnie Cuber plays baritone sax and i really have to say that he plays wonderfully. I have not heard a bari sax player that I like this well since Pepper Adams in his heyday. Tom Harrell is really a joyful trumpet player. The rythm section is right on. I had never heard of De Graaf. He is a Dutch piano player and I will be looking for his records in the future. This is really one of the best contemporary jazz records that I have heard in a very long time.

Gloria Coleman - Sings And Swings Organ (1971) {2017 Japan Mainstream Records Master Collection Series CDSOL-45209}
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© 1971, 2017 Time / Mainstream Records / Solid Records Japan | CDSOL-45209
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Organ

Great work from Gloria Coleman – an overlooked genius on the organ, and part of an elite group of female keyboardists that includes Shirley Scott, Rhoda Scott, and Trudy Pitts! Coleman almost never got the chance to record, but clearly had a sharpness that was honed from years in the clubs – a tight, soulful approach to the instrument that also has her working the bass pedals as strongly as the keys – and an ability to sing at all the right times, in a soul-drenched mode that's even deeper than the vocalizations of Trudy Pitts on her late 60s albums for Prestige. The group's got James Anderson on tenor, Dick Griffin on trombone, Ray Copeland on flugelhorn, and Earl Dunbar on guitar – and titles include the funky "Bugaloo for Ernie", a great version of Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa", Blue Mitchell's "Fungi Mama".

Terry Gibbs - Hootenanny My Way (1963) {Time Records Japan CDSOL-45383 rel 2017}
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© 1963, 2017 Time Records / Solid Records | CDSOL-45383
Jazz / Bop / West Coast Jazz / Vibes

A hip hootenanny from vibist Terry Gibbs – hardly the folksy set you might guess from the title, and instead a lively batch of small combo tunes that grooves better than most of Gibbs' work from the 60s! Most tracks are of traditional origin – folk tunes, if you will – but the jazz inflections of the group quickly takes them bast their roots, using the core melodies mostly as a framework for improvisation – featuring great vibes from Gibbs, plus tenor and flute from Al Epstein, guitar from Jimmy Raney, and piano from Alicir McLeod. Terry's vibes are nice and bold, and titles include "Michael", "Joshua", "John Henry", "Greensleeves", "Tom Dooley", and "Sam Hall".

John Hicks - Is That So? (1990) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6349}
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© 1990, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6349
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Postbebop / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. The title alone is more than enough to win us over here – as it's a great Duke Pearson composition that turns out to be a wonderful showcase for the most lyrical modes of pianist John Hicks! That tune's the leadoff, and it really sets the tone for the record – a gently soulful set that has Hicks working in a wonderful trio with Ray Drummond on bass and Idris Muhammad on drums – both players with a warmly melodic feel, especially Drummond – who seems to create this resonance with John's piano. Titles include "Is That So", "Emily", "Yesterdays", "I'll Remember April", "Sonnymoon For Two", and "April Eyes".

Charles Kynard - Charles Kynard (1971) {2017 Japan Mainstream Records Master Collection Series CDSOL-45249}
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© 1971, 2017 Time / Mainstream Records / Solid Records Japan | CDSOL-45249
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Organ Hammond B-3

A great album from organist Charles Kynard – one of his best that wasn't issued on Prestige! This is one of the funky jazz LPs on Mainstream that really hits a nice groove, with Bob Shad's crisp production dovetailing with Kynard's jazz funk sensibilities just right – not too slick or uptight at all! Kynard's backed here by a nice little LA combo that includes Carol Kaye on bass, King Errison on conga, and Ernie Watts on tenor – all players who relax nicely into the groove, and let Charles hit a sweetly gliding sort of line on the Hammond. The overall groove is similar to his earlier Prestige soul jazz classic Reelin' With The Feelin – but with shorter, tighter tracks, and more emphasis on the funk side, which is what we love to hear! Titles include "She", "Nightwood", "Grits", "El Toro Poo Poo", "Greeze", and "Greens".

Mike Nock - In Out And Around (1978) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6342}
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© 1978, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6342
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Postbebop / Neo Bop / Piano Trio / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. Moody brilliance from pianist Mike Nock – a solid quartet date that features plenty of edgey tenor from Michael Brecker, who's in really great form throughout! The rhythm section has a nicely snakey vibe too – with George Mraz on bass and Al Foster on drums – and both players can come on strong when Mike needs them to, then lay back into some warmer, lyrical modes that really show Nock's melodic development at this point in his career. The highlight of this recording is Brecker's soulful tenor sax solos, some of his finest playing ever. The piano is acoustic throughout – and titles include "Break Time", "Dark Light", "Shadows Of Forgotten Love", "Hadrian's Wall", and "The Gift".