Montreux

Buster Williams Quartet - Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival 1999 (2008) {TCB 20152}
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© 1999, 2008 TCB - The Montreux Jazz Label | 20152
Jazz / Post Bop / Bass / Vibes / Piano Trio

Venerable jazz bassist and session musician of choice, Buster Williams steers this thoroughly swinging quartet through a set of vibrant standards and original compositions along with an ace front line consisting of pianist Mulgrew Miller and vibist Steve Nelson. Recorded live in 1999 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the bassist once again exhibits his seasoned musical persona via fluent lines, limber soloing, and a comprehensive sense of swing. Meanwhile, Nelson and Miller share most of the soloing opportunities as they consistently demonstrate a keen harmonic relationship atop drummer Carl Allen's masterstrokes and the leader's sinewy walking bass patterns.

Stuff - Live At Montreux 1976 (2012) {Eagle Records ER 20142-2}
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© 1976, 2012 Eagle Records / Montreux Sounds | ER 20142-2
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Funk / Boogaloo / Jazz Blues

Stuff, caught here in their only performance at Montreux, combined the talents of five amazing musicians: Cornell Dupree on guitar, Gordon Edwards on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, Eric Gale on guitar and Richard Tee on keyboards. Individually they were among the most sought after session players of their day but together as Stuff they had a magic all of their own, brilliantly captured on this CD, which also features a guest appearance from vocalist Odetta on "Oh Happy Day" and specially written sleeve notes by Gordon Edwards and longtime fan of the band Chris Rea. "The purity of what's on this [CD] is the true history of modern music. It's as good as it ever got and ever will get." - Chris Rea.

At the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival, a variety of artists (including keyboardist Warren Bernhardt, tenor-saxophonist Michael Brecker, guitarists Steve Khan and Larry Coryell, trumpeter Randy Brecker and vibraphonist Mike Mainieri) recorded a dozen funky selections which were originally released on two Arista LPs. Michael Brecker in particular is in good form. The results are not essential but offer listeners a time capsule of where R&B-oriented fusion was in 1978.

Toto has welcomed many different band members across their long career but in the early '90s they had a short period as a four-piece featuring Steve Lukather (guitar and lead vocals), David Paich (keyboards and vocals), Jeff Porcaro (drums and percussion) and Mike Porcaro (bass). The line-up, with some additional touring members, performed this concert at Montreux in July 1991 and would go on to make the Kingdom Of Desire album released in 1992, shortly after the tragic early death of drummer Jeff Porcaro. The Montreux show, now being released for the first time, combines then unreleased tracks from the Kingdom Of Desire album with classic hits and covers of songs by Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. It is a perfect addition to any Toto fan's collection.

Agorà came to life in 1974 in the province of Ancona, from the ashes of a band called Oz Master Magnus Ltd. The name of the band refers to a central public space in ancient Greek city-states and the literal meaning of the word is gathering place or assembly. The first line up featured Roberto Bacchiocchi (keyboards, vocals), Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (guitar, vocals), Paolo Colafrancesco (bass, vocals) and Mauro Mencaroni (drums, vocals), all in love with jazz rock and influenced by bands such as Weather Report and Perigeo. Thanks to a good live activity and to a manager who spotted them, in 1975 they had the chance to play live at the Montreux Jazz Festival and signed a deal with Atlantic Records…

Where Have You Been? Live in Montreux 1976-1994 features the exciting blues guitarist/singer Luther Allison on selections taken from four appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Although the title says 1974-1994, the earliest numbers are actually from 1976, and these are the most memorable cuts on the CD. Even when sticking to cover tunes throughout the powerhouse performance (such as "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Little Red Rooster"), Allison plays with such enthusiasm and ferocity that he sounds as if he wrote the songs himself.

Monty Alexander - Live! at the Montreux Festival (1976) {MPS–Ediciones Folio EFVEi - 004 rel 2011}
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© 1976, 2011 MPS / Ediciones Folio | EFVEi - 004
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Piano

Pianist Monty Alexander did some of his finest recordings for the MPS label. This live trio set with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton (reissued on CD) features Alexander playing his usual repertoire of the period with blues, standards ("Satin Doll," "Work Song" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic") and a version of "Feelings" that uplifts the song a bit (although not enough). His soulful approach to the generally familiar melodies makes them sound fresh and swinging.

Andrew Hill - Live At Montreux (1975) {Freedom FCD41023 rel 1988}
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© 1975, 1988 Freedom | FCD 41023
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano Solo

Andrew Hill hadn't been recording much for a few years by the time of this 1975 concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and one wonders why while listening to this very entertaining solo performance. His jagged, jaunty, and often humorous "Snake Hip Waltz" proves to be a captivating opener, never losing steam during its 11-plus minutes. On the other hand, "Nefertsis" is almost dirge-like by comparison, though just as intriguing.