Occidental West

John Carter & Bobby Bradford - Mosaic Select 36 (2010) {3CD Set, Mosaic MS-036 rec 1969-1979}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.33 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 473 Mb
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© 1969-79, 2010 Mosaic Records / Revelation | MS-036
Jazz / Post Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone

An amazing collection of music – some of the hippest jazz to ever come out of the west coast scene, and a legendary pairing of trumpeter Bobby Bradford and saxophonist John Carter! Both players have really gone onto leave their mark in later years – but honestly, they almost reached the peak of their powers with these incredible early recordings – beautifully bracing modern jazz, of a sort that somewhat follows an Ornette Coleman lineage, but which also opens up into the new spirituality that was hitting the LA scene in the post-Coltrane years – almost a bridge between the Coleman/Dolphy generation, and the later Nimbus scene that would rise in the west! The music here is stark, simple, and quite organic – yet has an energy that's all its own – an amazing progression of rhythms and horn sounds, wrapped together beautifully through a killer set of original compositions.

Ralph Sharon - Around The World In Jazz (1957) {Fresh Sound Records FSRCD114 rel 1990}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 143 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
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© 1957, 1990 Rama Records / Fresh Sound Records | FSR-CD 114
Jazz / West Coast Jazz / Cool / Piano

I really enjoy this cd. Sharon is known for his arrangements usually with strings for many vocalists (from Cole to Nancy Wilson, Whiting to Bennett) So I was surprised to hear his septet which sounds like any West Coast combo with Jack Sheldon, Shorty, Shelly, and Florence among others. The tunes are nice; each very different from each other with subtle colors. I passed over it twice until I realized the label FRESH SOUND imports never disappoint me.

Tales from the Tiki Lounge is Duke Robillard and Sunny Crownover's tribute to Les Paul & Mary Ford. Robillard, an accomplished veteran guitarist with a background in blues and swing, demonstrates that he knows his way around a Gibson Les Paul model guitar in the ways that Paul played and overdubbed it on his series of hit recordings with his then-wife, Ford, singing from the early '50s to the early ‘60s. Crownover, whose voice producer Robillard sometimes double-tracks or adds echo to in emulation of Paul's recording approach, has a warm tone consistent with Ford's. The selections include many of the Paul/Ford hits, including "Bye Bye Blues," "Just One More Chance," "Smoke Rings," and "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)," as well as songs Robillard has wisely selected that, while not actually recorded by Paul and Ford, can be performed in their style.