Jvc

Frank Gambale is best known as the guitarist in Chick Corea's Elektric Band. On this collection of instrumental and vocal selections, Gambale put more emphasis on the production and the people working along side him, and carefully chose his guitar solo indulgences.

Frank Gambale was still a vital part of Chick Corea's Elektric Band when he recorded The Great Explorers, a hard-hitting, aggressive effort that generally has more in common with the instrumental rock of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani than the more complex jazz-fusion he embraced with Corea and Steve Smith's Vital Information.

Oscar Castro-Neves is a fine Brazilian guitarist who is equally talented in organizing projects. Brazilian Scandals is his third solo album, featuring stars like Ernie Watts, Paulinho Da Costa, Teo Lima and many others.

There are many Gene Ammons recordings currently available on CD in Fantasy's Original Jazz Classics, since the versatile tenorman was a longtime Prestige recording artist. Unlike his earlier jam sessions, this particular outing finds Ammons as the only horn, fronting a talented rhythm section (pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, drummer Art Taylor, and Ray Barretto on congas). Ammons explores standards (including a near-classic version of "Canadian Sunset"), blues, and ballads in his usual warm, soulful, and swinging fashion. This is a fine outing by one of the true "bosses" of the tenor.

"Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition". This is not quite Tomita's best work but it is close.

"The Firebird" is a 1910 ballet by Igor Stravinsky and choreographed by Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor.
Equipped with a warehouse of component Moog equipment, four phase shifters, a Roland space echo unit, a sitar (!), and other period electronic gear, Tomita recorded an electronic arrangement of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (1919 version aka "Concert suite for orchestra No. 2") for this 1975 album.

"Snowflakes Are Dancing" - Tomita's breakthrough release outside of Japan. Originally retitled 'Clair de Lune' in the USA and Japan. One of the first of RCA Records CD releases, and as a consequence, the sound quality was not great.

One of Basie's final albums, the very appealing title cut seems to sum up his career, a lightly swinging groove with a strong melody. Two small-group performances with guest Joe Pass on guitar and the tenor of Kenny Hing add variety to aparticularly strong set.

Combining Latin and African rhythms with the light textures of MOR jazz, Special EFX emerged as one of the most prominent world fusion groups of their era. Formed in New York in 1982, Special EFX was essentially a duo comprised of guitarist Chieli Minucci and Hungarian-born drummer/percussionist George Jinda; debuting in 1985 with the album Modern Manners, they often recruited other musicians to help flesh out their state-of-the-art sound, among them Dave Grusin, Omar Hakim, and McCoy Tyner.