Kaz Hawkins Full Force Gale

One of our favorite all-time records, and a real lost album on Blue Note! Eddie Gale leads this group of righteous singers and musicians through five fantastic tracks of soulful chanting and hard jazz playing that never goes too far out, but always threatens to break free of its own chains – soaring to the skies on wings of freedom and spirituality! Gale's trumpet rings hard and loud, and the vocal arrangements never verge on sentimentality, but manage to convey a ton of soul with an incredibly righteous approach that's never been duplicated again! Imagine Donald Byrd's vocal group albums recorded for Strata East – or a hipper version of Billy Harper's Capra Black – and you've only got part of the picture! Titles include "The Rain", "Fulton Street", "The Coming Of Gwilu", and "A Walk With Thee".

Since the mid-2000s, British pianist, composer, Alexander Hawkins (Evan Parker, Chicago/London Underground) has become a force to be reckoned with, largely within Europe's exploratory progressive jazz and improvising circles. As a collaborator and solo artist, the pianist transmits a distinctive line of attack, where melody and free-form extrapolations enjoy a happy coexistence. On this studio set, he teams with notable performance artist, abstract vocalist and fellow Brit, Elaine Mitchener (Phil Minton, George Lewis) for a semi-structured set highlighted by the quartet's deconstruction of some standards and free-jazz sax icon Archie Shepp's, "Blasé."

Fred Kaz - Eastern Exposure (1960) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series, WPCR-27218}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 191 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2013 Warner Japan / Atlantic / Rhino | WPCR-27218
Jazz / Post Bebop / Piano Trio

Features 24 bit digital remastering. Comes with a description. An unusual little record – a set that's a bit "fake" in its pedigree, but which still comes across with some wonderfully vivid results! Fred Kaz is a Chicago pianist, but he works here on a set of original compositions based on his readings on Near Eastern cultures – dubbed by Fred as "Turkish experiments" in the liner notes – and a compelling blend of Eastern modes and modern jazz piano – maybe not as all-out as later experiments of the type on MPS/Saba, but still pretty darn great!

Coleman Hawkins was the first important tenor saxophonist and he remains one of the greatest of all time. A consistently modern improviser whose knowledge of chords and harmonies was encyclopedic, Hawkins had a 40-year prime (1925-1965) during which he could hold his own with any competitor…