Jazz Hands

Jazz Hands is Bob James' third outing for evosound, following in the wake of 2018's Espresso and 2022's Feel Like Makin' LIVE. Produced by the pianist with his manager Sonny Abelardo, the ten-track album was mostly recorded during the months of the Covid pandemic and featured James in a number of different musical settings. It also features a stellar cameo from the ex-Gnarls Barkley singer CeeLo Green on the sensuous title track and includes production input from the legendary hip-hop turntablist DJ Jazzy Jeff, who rose to fame as half of the hit-making '80s/'90s rap duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, early samplers of James' music. Blending cool jazz tropes with funky dance floor grooves, blues-tinged ballads, cinematic mood pieces, and sensuous slow jams, Jazz Hands is the Missouri pianist's most eclectic album of his long career. Simultaneously classic and contemporary, it's Bob James at his majestic, ground-breaking, and timeless best.

The U.K. quartet Breathe was the most popular of several late-'80s British acts like Waterfront and Johnny Hates Jazz, which combined lush easy listening pop with a light George Michael-style touch of R&B. Breathe was just as derivative as its counterparts, but vocalist David Glasper was gifted with a warm, pitch-perfect voice, tailor-made for adult contemporary radio. The misleadingly titled All That Jazz spawned two Top Five ballads, and both "Hands to Heaven" and "How Can I Fall" are aural equivalents of a Harlequin romance novel. Breathe is quite adept with a ballad; predictably, the remainder of All That Jazz rarely strays from the lushly produced elevator music of the two hits. Although far from perfect, All That Jazz is a pleasant enough listen for fans of harmless, romantic pop.

Fire! - The Hands (2018) {Rune Grammofon RCD2197 Official Digital Download}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download -> 231 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2018 Rune Grammofon | RCD2197
Jazz / Rock / Free Improvisation / Jazz Rock / Noise / Dark Jazz

For 20 years Rune Grammofon have made a habit of releasing music that is beyond easy classification, in later years typified by Swedish trio Fire!, consisting of Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin. All three are highly accomplished musicians, but Fire! music is not "difficult" in the sense that jazz and especially free jazz is often perceived. Very much a tight knit unit with three equal players, Fire! has been likened to powerful guitar led trios such as Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but with Berthling´s heavy, doom laden basslines being such a typical identifier, we can´t help but thinking of Black Sabbath´s debut album when it comes to hypnotic impact.

JATP concerts from the 1940s were documented in 1998 on a 10-CD Verve boxed set. But until now, the 1950s concerts have been passed over for a retrospective. In fact, since the CD era began very little of the material from that span has been available at all.

Herbie Hancock - Mr. Hands (1979) {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICP 3997}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 263 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 188 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 2014 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 3997
Jazz / Post Bop / Fusion / Jazz Funk / Piano

Reissue with latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. Herbie Hancock's lackluster string of electric albums around this period was enhanced by this one shining exception: an incorrigibly eclectic record that flits freely all over the spectrum. Using several different rhythm sections, Herbie Hancock is much more the imaginative hands-on player than at any time since the prime Headhunters period, overdubbing lots of parts from his ever-growing collection of keyboards. He has regained a good deal of his ability to ride in the groove.