Sicj 43

Phil Woods - Floresta Canto (1975) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 95}
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© 1975, 2015 RCA / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 95
Jazz / Fusion / Hard Bop / Modern Big Band / Latin Jazz / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of those great records from the 70s that makes you say "man, Phil Woods was hip!" The session was cut in London with an electrified big band led by Chris Gunning, and featuring keyboards by the groovy Gordon Beck – kind of a blend of strings, keys, and woodwinds – providing some lush backdrops that allow Phil to really open up on some great solos. The style is similar to Phil's album Images, done with Michel Legrand – but with some more electric touches – and like that album, it's got a wonderfully fluid, lyrical approach that's quite different from the harder-jamming fusion albums Woods cut in Europe. Titles include "Canto De Ossanha", "Sails", "Roses", "Without You", "Jesse", and "O Morro".

Dave Bailey - One Foot In The Gutter (1960) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 31}
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© 1960, 2015 Epic / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 31
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. Hard to have any feet in the gutter when you sound this great – as the album's a killer batch of hardbop, led by drummer Dave Bailey during his classic short run on Columbia! The lineup here is amazing – a rock-solid sextet with Clark Terry on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Horace Parlan on piano, and Peck Morrison on bass – all hitting with an intensity which rivals the best on Blue Note or Prestige – but which is arguably even better, given that most of the tracks on the set really stretch out! Side two features an extended 20 minute take on "Sandu" – and side one features "One Foot In The Gutter" and "Well You Needn't" – both over 10 minutes long! CD also features the bonus track "Brownie".

George Benson - The George Benson Cookbook (1966) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 34}
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© 1966, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 34
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Groove / Guitar / Organ Hammond B-3

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. While the phenomenal success of George Benson’s Breezin’ (1976) album may have fattened his wallet; it led the guitarist down a path that dismayed jazz critics worldwide. Indeed, the bulk of Benson’s albums over the past 20 years have featured considerably less jazz and, unfortunately, more pop. Not so with The George Benson Cookbook (1966). This sizzling CD features the then young, hotshot string-picker on 14 swingin’ bebop/soul-jazz tracks. Benson kicks things off in rapid fashion with the aptly titled, "The Cooker." Not only does this track feature blazing licks from Benson, but baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber and organist Lonnie Smith also weigh in with tasty solos.

The J. J. Johnson Quintet - Dial J. J. 5 (1957) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 22}
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© 1957, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 22
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trombone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of JJ's best from the late 50s – a tightly crackling hardbop set, recorded very much in the manner of his classic JJ Inc album! The sound here is a bit more compact overall – with some shorter tracks that really allow Johnson to display his keen sense of economy on his horn, while working in a burning mode that recalls some of his best bop sides from the early years – particularly his work on Blue Note.

The J. J. Johnson Quintet - J Is For Jazz (1956) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 79}
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© 1956, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 79
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trombone

Reissue with the latest 2015 remastering. Comes with liner notes. Nicely sharp sounds from the great JJ Johnson – a set that has the trombonist really honing his edge on a host of tight, short tracks – with a vibe that almost recalls his initial bop recordings on Blue Note and Prestige! The style here is a bit more sophisticated – definitely with an ear towards the modern directions that JJ was exploring in the 50s – but the sound is also nicely spontaneous, with more focus on improvisation between group members than larger arrangements – quite nice, given that the group features excellent tenor from Bobby Jaspar on tenor – and either Tommy Flanagan or Hank Jones on piano, Percy Heath or Wilbur Little on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Tracks are short, and titles include "Overdrive", "Cube Steak", "Chasin The Bird", and "Solar".

Charles Earland - Coming To You Live (1980) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection 1000 Series SICJ 141}
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© 1980, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 141
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Groove / Organ

Reissue with the latest 2016 remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of Charles Earland's sweet albums from his years at Columbia Records – done in a mode that's much more R&B than his earliest work, but in a style that's still A-OK with us! The groove here is greatly helped out by arrangements from Tom Washington, Weldon Irvine, and Marcus Miller – all great talents for mixing soul into Earland's jazzier keyboards – yet in a way that still keeps all of the best elements intact! Many of the tracks feature vocals, but in a gently soulful way that glides in nicely alongside the keys – and speaking of keys, Charles plays Fender Rhodes and Arp here in addition to his usual organ.

Gary Peacock Trio - Eastward (1970) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 36}
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© 1970, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 36
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Bass / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of Gary Peacock's rare Japanese-only albums for Columbia – really dynamic trio work that's a lot more powerful than the bassist's later sides for ECM! Gary's working here with Masabumi Kikuchi on piano and Hiroshi Murakami on drums – in a mode that's got the open-ended, long flowing energy that would emerge most strongly in Japanese trio sessions a few years later – a style that's exploratory, but never too free – and perfectly suited to the tonal colors that Peacock's always brought to his work on bass. The set is sophisticated, yet never full of itself – with a great juxtaposition of lyrical and modern moments, carved out here with a heck of a lot of power!

The J. J. Johnson Sextet - Really Livin' (1959) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 78}
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© 1959, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 78
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trombone

Reissue with the latest 2015 remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of the hippest, hardest albums that trombonist JJ Johnson ever cut for Columbia – a session we'd rank right up there with his amazing JJ Inc record, and like that one a really cooking hardbop record that maybe even rivals the best on Blue Note and Prestige at the time! As with that gem, the strength here is really the group – not just tremendous trombone from JJ, but great work from Nat Adderley on trumpet, Bobby Jaspar on tenor and flute, Cedar Walton on piano, Spanky DeBrest on bass, and Albert Heath on drums – all working with a soaring, soulful energy that's a lot more hardbop heavy than you might expect from JJ Johnson on some of his other projects for the label.

Denny Zeitlin - Zeitgeist (1967) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 81}
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© 1967, 2015 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 81
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest 2015 DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. Pianist Denny Zeitlin is sporting a beard on the cover of this fourth album for Columbia Records – and his music here definitely reflects a bit of a change from his earlier cleaner-cut image! Denny steps a bit outside at times – never to much so to make the album a session of avant jazz, but definitely showing the listener at the start that he's able to stretch out in the same way as some of the more adventurous pianists of his generation – yet really sound best as a master of lyrical understatement, as on his previous few records! Zeitlin's command of chords is wonderful – these blocks of color and subtle sound in his hands – inspired by Bill Evans, but taken in a whole new direction – and set up here in two different trios, with either Charlie Haden or Joe Halpin on bass, and Oliver Johnson or Jerry Granelli on drums. The real star of the show is always Denny.

Masabumi Kikuchi - Susto +2 (1981) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection 1000 Series SICJ 169}
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© 1981, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 169
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Funk / Keyboards

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. A great album of funky Japanese fusion – one of the few sets from the Japanese scene of the late 70s that got any sort of wider release in the US – and a treasure that we've loved for years! The set's got a really great sound – soulful and funky, but sharp too – in a lineup that features a variety of keyboards from Masabumi Kikuchi, plus work by Terumasa Hino on trumpet, Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman on saxes, and James Mason on guitar! The best cuts have a funky feel that's in the CTI/Kudu mode – perhaps mixed with a bit of Herbie Hancock keyboard jamming – and the album's a surprisingly lost funky gem in the Columbia catalog of the early 80s, with a much harder edge than some of the other work on the label at the time!