A1 Awaa-Waa-Tuu
A2 Ebe Ye Yie
B1 Ewuraba Lucy
B2 Sika Asem
B3 Efri Tete
Gyamfi - guitars, vocals, congas, apentema, cabasa
Daniel Kofi Jefferson - bass guitar
Jurgen Dahmen - keyboards
Charles Amoah - drums, backing vocals
Ansumana Bangura - congas
Ampofo Acquah - backing vocals
Frank Kojo - congas, openten, talking drums, cowbells
Peter Krick - linndrum programming, timbales
_______
Recorded in Dusseldorf, West Germany with a mixed personnel of German and African musicians, this 1988 private press synthy highlife album is one of only a handful of known recordings by Ghanaian guitarist Rex Gyamfi. Although likely also a German pressing, this copy was pressed in Toronto by Nubian Productions. Not your average highlife here, with electronic drums, synth and a boogie feel on a few tracks.
From Tiliqua Records: "Kondo Masaomi is a well know Japanese actor who made this one-off LP in
1971. He raps away on 6 tracks about various plant species such as the
Mandragora, breathing out an endangered atmosphere that borders at times
on sheer anarchy and agitation. He ain’t no singer, by far but recites
his texts in an distraught, frenzied, well-controlled and even calm
fashion, gliding on the funky psychedelic groovy airwaves that his
backing band – the Freedom Unity – churns out in an addictive fashion.
The Freedom Unity on this occasion consisted out some of the finest
musicians to be on the scene and included heavyweight players such as
Sato Masahiko (piano); Ishikawa Akira (drums – Uganda etc); Sugimoto
Kiyoshi (guitar – Count Buffaloos, Hino Hideshi Group, Rock
Communication, etc), Terakawa Masaoki (bass – Love Live Life + 1,
Ishikawa Akira & Count Buffaloos, Dema), Muraoka Takeru (Sax -
Uganda, Count Buffaloos, Love Live Life +1, Dema) and Suzuki Hiroshi
(Trumpet – various line-ups of Freedom Unity). The music they bring
forth ranges from jazz, free jazz, psychedelic groovy acidic jams, jazz
rock and fuses neatly with Kondo Masaomi’s raps, making it a perfect
unison that resembles at times the musical greatness of Innocent Canon.
It is funky, jazzy, psychedelic, groovy and intoxicatingly hip shaking
all at the same time. A true amalgamation and genre-crossing disc,
hybrid like for some reason only Japanese records seem to pull off
without loosing face. This sole recording by Kondo is largely unknown
outside this island here but it is regarded and revered as a great cult
item and upon spinning this disc it is easy to understand why. It just
has all the right ingredients: funky bass lines, killer guitar exploits,
butt-shaking jazzy vibes, rare groove spiritual like rhythms, shrinking
sax insertions, fuzzy wah-wah action, crazy raps etc, all executed by
top level musicians. Magical slide out of 1971, shedding another light
on Japans acidic free psychedelic moves and shakes."
Chief Twins Seven Seven And The Black Ghost International - Eno Super 1 '84 (Slang In Trance)
BGI - TOOS 02
Nigeria, 1984
private press
A1 Shandoroko (Eiye Aborishe)
B1 People Of The World Sing With Me
"(
This track is dedicated to the music lovers all over the world )
most-especially MICHAEL JACKSON & FAMILY for their Contributions to
modern music awareness all over the world"
Harry Case - In A Mood
Ichiban Records - ICH 1037
US, 1989
A1 Ride 'Em Off
A2 Native Drums
A3 Chasing The Goon
A4 Quick-Wire
A5 Jam (At Your Party)
A6 Carry Me Home
B1 Midnight Samba
B2 In A Mood
B3 Air Dancer
B4 Mother-San
Although Harry Case has remained in obscurity, this album in particular has recently caused quite a buzz within the record collecting community, especially among new age, modern soul and balearic heads hunting for the dearth of early MTV outsider musicians and infomercial and video game computer based soundtracks. The second and what appears to be the last of Harry Case's releases as a leader on the indie Ichiban label out of Atlanta, In A Mood exhibits a downtempo mix of breezy synth, electronic drumming and lo-fi guitar with Case's occasionally looping vocals – echoing the best of Matthew Larkin Cassell mixed with mellow digital instrumentation – with moves into balearic dance predating Larry Heard early 90s work and tropical soulful electronic popular contemporarily with the likes of Andras Fox.
This obscure lp shows Case building on the electronic funk sound he had already crafted a year earlier on Magic Cat – even reformatting some guitar progressions from the first session e.g. 'Easy Vamp' to 'Midnight Samba' – but In A Mood fits together much more coherently as the songs blend seamlessly into one another for a vapory lo-fi synth-folk-funk atmosphere. From my best guess though, 'Electric' Mann and the rest of the personnel here are aliases by Case, but maybe someone down in Georgia can verify Casio Bhiton as a premier bass player around Atlanta in the late 80s? Other than the two lps and a 12" 'Niagara' single, Case's short-lived career was rounded out by some session work on guitar but nothing quite as mysteriously intriguing yet melodically ethereal as 'In a Mood'. Perhaps you can still find Case playing guitar somewhere around Decatur, GA; maybe he's even hard at work on the next new age soul masterpiece. Cannot recommend this masterpiece enough – it is quite nearly impossible to find other records that come together so perfectly in sound blending such disparate influences into beautifully crafted soulful music.
A1 Benkei
A2 Walk This Way
A3 Irie
B1 Tommy's Den
B2 Some Other Blues
B3 Double Duty
Akira Toyoda - drums
Joe Lovano - tenor sax, soprano sax
Peter Madsen - piano
Dean Johnson - bass
___________
The name that might immediately be recognized by many contemporary jazz fans from the lineup on this Japanese only 1984 release by drummer Akira Toyoda for the indie label Sound Design is Joe Lovano, which is quite odd being that it's not listed anywhere on Lovano's discography. In fact, there seems to be virtually no information available at all regarding this lp, except for a mention on bassist Dean Johnson's discography page, marking his very first session as a sideman and, from what I can tell, pianist Peter Madsen's as well. That this was the start of two fine jazz players career, a document of Lovano's fantastic early work, and perhaps Toyoda's only album (as a leader, or even as sideman?) makes it even more unfortunate there is no information on this session.
Nevertheless, the playing throughout is incredible, showing the energy and creativity of these young players. Toyoda and Madsen split composition duties, Toyoda contributing 'Benkei' and 'Tommy's Den' and Madsen the rest, with the addition of Coltrane's 'Some Other Blues'. The playing here serves to document the vibrant jazz scene in Japan that lasted up through the mid-80s that drew American players to visit the land of the rising sun, on other labels such as Why Not, Trio and Baystate. Moreover, this lp is a fine example of the many phenomenal albums recorded during this period that have yet to be unearthed. Although Toyoda seems to remain in relative obscurity, he's still active in the jazz scene today, so next time you're in Kyoto look up to see him at the Blue Note, or in Osaka at the Royal Horse.
Sam Sanders & Visions - The Gift of Love
That African Lady - TAL-935
US, 1983
private press
A1 Gift of Love
A2 Slightly Anxious
A3 Day After Yesterday
A4 Un-Stable
B1 Free Fall
B2 Mickey's Tune
B3 Fantasy
Sam Sanders - tenor sax
Michael Zaporski - piano
Ed Pickens - bass
Jon Knust - drums
Kenny Cox - piano
You may recognize Sam Sanders from the 2013 release by 180 Proof Records of a previously unreleased Strata Records date 'Mirror, Mirror' (http://fleamarketfunk.com/2013/08/05/sam-sanders-mirror-mirror/). For most though, this Detroit soul jazz veteran will likely be unknown, and unfortunately so because not only was Sanders a great saxophonist with his own warm and lyrical post bop sound, he was an important fixture of historical significance in the Detroit jazz scene with important Motown and Strata connections. Jazznation explains, "Sam Sanders and Visions - for many years with
bassist Ed Pickens and drummer Jimmy Allen, was known for extremely
aggressive post bebop jazz bordering on the Avant garde. Sanders mainly
played the tenor and soprano saxophones, however he would often close
his concerts with a signature slow blues on the alto saxophone,
revealing his deeply ingrained 'roots' and distinctly Detroit sound" (http://www.jazznation.com/CBP/SamSanders1.html).
In a 1976 article for the Ann Arbor Sun, David Weiss describes, "Sam Sanders is one of Detroit's most precious natural resources... His artful saxophone work has graced the ensembles of Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Smokey Robinson and countless Motown dates'" (http://freeingjohnsinclair.aadl.org/node/201718). Moreover, Jazznation notes, "Prior to forming Visions, Sanders and trumpeter Marcus
Belgrave fronted a band with pianist Harold McKinney called the Creative
Profile. Belgrave and Sanders would continue to perform together,
often with Sanders' big band, the Pioneer Orchestra"(http://www.jazznation.com/CBP/SamSanders1.html). Sanders also served as an instructor at both Oakland University and the Detroit Metro Arts complex as well as helping create the Detroit Jazz Center.
Although most of the sessions with Sanders from the 60s or 70s are either nowhere to be found or still unreleased, 'The Gift of Love' - perhaps the only release of Sanders as a leader during his lifetime and privately pressed by what I presume to be his own label That African Lady - offers a document of this Detroit great's music with his band Visions. Fellow Strata musician Kenny Cox, who has also gotten a recent release from 180 Proof records, even sits in on keys on a few tracks. Unfortunately Sanders passed away in 2000, but hopefully the small amount of recordings we do have of him do justice to his musicianship, Visions and the Detroit jazz scene. Here is a rare video from 1990 of Sanders playing the last song 'Fantasy' from this session live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CygX2RRUUI.
