Recorded between 1966 and 1971, these four LPs presented here on two CDs represent Baden Powell at his best. Roberto Baden Powell de Aquino was one of Brazil's greatest guitarists of the Bossa Nova Generation. On these recordings Powell plays some of his own best known compositions: Canto de Ossanha, Samba Triste, Samba em Preludio, E de Lei… He plays classics by other Brazilian writers: Manha de Carnival, Das Rosas, Dindi… He plays some jazz standards: Round Midnight, All the Things You are… He also shows the influence of classical music, Especially J S Bach - Invencao em 7 1/2 (double tracked with one part at double speed.) The performances display superb sense of timing and great improvisational skills. Mostly he is accompanied by a Brazilian rhythm section but on Poema he uses a jazz rhythm section. This is the essential Baden Powell.
An amazing package of work from George Duke - 6 of his legendary fusion albums for MPS Records, including the never-reissued double-length set Solus / The Inner Source! That incredible album is worth the price of the package alone - as it begins with some sublime trio work from Duke, rooted in jazz but already stretching out in amazing ways - then moves into some even hipper Latin-styled grooves, with Jerome Richardson on reeds and Luis Gasca on a bit of trumpet! Other albums in the set are equally great - and trace Duke's evolution from straighter jazz into funky freer fusion and soul - an incredible musical shift that's presented on the albums Faces In Reflection, Feel, I Love The Blues She Heard My Cry, The Aura Will Prevail, and Liberated Fantasies - each of them classics in their own right, presented together wonderfully here in this complete MPS package! The set is amazing - with a whopping 64 titles in all, and complete notes on all the music - including some recollections from Duke himself.
This album of duos stands out as one of a kind; recorded during a phase in which he began to consistently incorporate a freer musical language into his playing, and set within a constellation of diverse duo formations, there emerges an exciting portrait of the central figure in German jazz: Albert Mangelsdorff. With tongue in cheek – or better said – in mouthpiece, Mangelsdorff accompanies Don Cherry on a journey that culminates in a zany duel staged almost without instruments. With his close friend Elvin Jones, Mangelsdorff unfurls so many melodic and metric parameters that one could believe they are listening to a full combo that dissolves conventional time patterns into kaleidoscopic polyrhythms, whereas the colorful tonal confrontation between Karl Berger’s agile, inspired vibes and the questioning, challenging trombone stands out as a lesson in Avant-garde brainstorming.
Don Ellis, the American composer and trumpeter, who died in his 40s in 1978, is mostly overlooked, though his great, fusion-anticipating 1967 Electric Bath album is still prized. This 1973 recording with a strings ensemble is very different from his adventurous work with mind-boggling time signatures in the 60s. But an Ellis venture is never without surprises. All the segments are inspired by haiku, and they reflect that form's brevity.
When the world-renowned Canadian pianist came to Villingen in 1961, there was a mood of intense excitement all round. Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer (HGBS), former owner of the hifi dynasty SABA who died in 2004, had just set up the first version of his studio, equipped with the most advanced recording technology of the time, above the living-room in his villa. This was the bait used by the piano enthusiast to attract the famous pianist to the Black Forest. After a guest performance in Zurich, Peterson climbed into a limousine and embarked on a journey across the mountains. As soon as he arrived, along with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, the international star was led to the Steinway grand in the living-room where a number of excited guests were eagerly waiting. "I listened to him play 'til four o'clock in the morning and lost the desire to ever hear the Beatles again!", says Matthias Brunner-Schwer, HGBS' son, still starry-eyed half a century later. The legendary pianist himself was equally delighted when he listened to the recording of the nocturnal living-room performance, never before having heard such a direct and pristine piano sound on tape.