Richard v. Benson

Sadao Watanabe - Orange Express (1981) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection 1000 Series SICJ 167}
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© 1981, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 167
Jazz / Fusion / Groove / Crossover Jazz / Saxophone / Flute

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. Sadao Watanabe hits a sweet fusiony groove – riding the Orange Express to LA, and picking up some great Dave Grusin arrangements on the way! The album's got the sweetly soulful finish of others from the classic years of Japanese fusion – a style that's as much influenced by mainstream soul as it is by jazz – but which comes across with some top-shelf playing throughout, thanks to a lineup that includes George Benson, Bobby Broom, Eric Gale, Richard Tee, and Marcus Miller – not to mention Watanabe and Grusin themselves! Titles include "Orange Express", "Ride On", "Straight To The Top", "Mbali Africa", and "Bagamoyo/Zanzibar".

Wilbert Longmire is a guitarist discovered by George Benson and introduced to Bob James to launch his Tappan Zee label through CBS. Like Benson, Wilbert Longmire was a master of the fusion jazz style who could also sing and was prolific in the jazz, funk and soul genres for the 3 albums he made with the label.
Champagne and With All My Love were the second and third albums respectively and this is the first time either have been made available on CD. With All My Love contains the jazz funk classic Hawkeye, also Champagne features an excellent version of the Earth Wind & Fire smash Love's Holiday (also featured on The Skip Scarborough Songbook) while a full cast of musicians on this album includes Idris Muhammad, Richard Tee, Harvey Mason, Eddie Daniels, Michael Brecker and Eric Gale.

Hyperion’s previous recordings with Winchester Cathedral Choir are among the jewels in its choral collection. Now the label begins a new relationship with this ancient foundation and its latest director of music, Andrew Lumsden. Their new disc features a composer who was at the centre of the English twentieth-century choral tradition.

The final Riverside release of Wes Montgomery material (before the important label went completely bankrupt) was similar to his debut four years earlier: a trio with organist Melvin Rhyne and an obscure drummer (this time George Brown). The CD reissue even includes one leftover track from the earliest session ("Missile Blues") along with newer jams and a pair of "bonus tracks" – an alternate take of "The Way You Look Tonight" and a brief "Unidentified Solo Guitar" piece. In general, the music swings hard (particularly the two versions of "The Way You Look Tonight"), and is a worthy if not essential addition to Wes Montgomery's discography. He would have a few straight-ahead dates for Verve, but this release was really the end of an era.

Wilbert Longmire is a guitarist discovered by George Benson and introduced to Bob James to launch his Tappan Zee label through CBS. Like Benson, Wilbert Longmire was a master of the fusion jazz style who could also sing and was prolific in the jazz, funk and soul genres for the 3 albums he made with the label.