GOING DUTCH

The Chris Hinze Combination 
Who Can See The Shadow Of The Sun
CBS, Netherlands, 1972

 And now something completely different.  Some Dutch “fusion jazz” for a change.  

Christiaan Herbert "Chris" Hinze (born June 30, 1938, Hilversum) is a Dutch jazz and New Age flautist.

Hinze initially performed publicly as a pianist until the mid-1960s, when he began studying flute at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and then at Berklee College of Music. As a pianist, he played with Boy Edgar until 1966, but by 1967 was playing flute professionally with the bassist Dick van der Capellen. His first releases as a leader were issued in 1969, and in 1970, Hinze was awarded the Best Soloist prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the 1970s, he formed his own ensemble, the Chris Hinze Combination. He also founded the record label Keytone Records in the mid-1970s.

 Chris Hinze may be considered as a pioneer in World Music and New Age, gradually moving away from the jazz fusion he developed in the early 70s.  This tendency is already apparent in some of the tracks on the LP.  Some visitors may question whether the term “jazz” still applies to some of those songs.  I do not want to be part of this pointless debate and I don’t really care.  

There is some surface noise.  I did not try removing it as I was afraid to remove part of the music with the noise, flute is very “aerial”.

Tracklist 
A1 Lullaby For A Locomotive 8:33
Piccolo Flute, Flute [Bamboo] – Chris Hinze
Voice – Letty de Jong
A2 Steps To Giulia (Parts 1 & 2) 9:30
Flute, Alto Flute – Chris Hinze
A3 Surface 3:57
Alto Flute – Chris Hinze
Voice – Letty de Jong
B1 Lullaby For Dewi (Parts 1, 2, & 3) 13:34
Alto Flute, Flute – Chris Hinze
B2 Six (Venus) 2:37
Piccolo Flute – Chris Hinze
B3 Who Can See The Shadow Of The Sun 5:40
Flute [Bass], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Chris Hinze

Credits
Chris Hinze        Leader, arranger, various flutes, Fender Rhodes
Wim Stolwijk        Grand Piano, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Voice
Roger Cooke        Bass 
Jimmy Shaaperoe Drums
Cees See         Percussion
Wim van der Beek Percussion, Voice
Letty de Jongh           Voice
Recording dates: February 27 & 28, 1972

Printed on the back cover is a handwritten note: Who can see the shadow of the sun - Herbie Hancock
I don’t think this album was ever reissued on CD.

PALS FROM BERKLEE

STEVE HOUBEN – MAUVE TRAFFIC

OH BOY ...

LP MD035                            BELGIUM, 1979

I’d been looking for this album for a very long time. Earlier this week, I stopped by a vinyl dealer that specializes in 60s-70s rock but also has a small “jazz” section.  The guy behind the counter told me he had recently found a box of Belgian jazz albums and put them all in a small crate labelled “Belgian Jazz”.  I had a look and there, among the usual Toots Thielemans albums, there it was ... Mauve Traffic feat. Bill Frisell!

In 1979, for the second time, Steve Houben brought over some musicians he knew from his days in Berklee, (where he also met Michel Herr) and formed "Mauve Traffic", a fusion band with : Bill Frisell (guitar), Vinnie Johnson (drums), Steve Houben (flute), Kermit Driscoll (electric bass) and Michel Herr (Fender Rhodes).  A second saxophonist, Greg Badolato (also from Boston) soon joined the band, which recorded the LP “Oh boy ...” in Belgium in 1979.

Tracklist

A1       Monsieur Love             Composed by Steve Houben     2:37

A2       Carol    Composed by Bill Frisell          5:02

A3       Doggone It       Composed by Kermit Driscoll   5:37

A4       Francesca         Composed by Bill Frisell          5:19

A5       Extrait Du Second Improptu Pour Une Raison D'être    Composed by Steve Houben     0:30

B1        De Luxe           Composed by Steve Houben     3:53

B2        Sparks  Composed by Magdalena Thora                        3:59

B3        Oh Boy                        Composed by Bill Frisell          6:40

B4        Growing Carrots           Composed by Bill Frisell          5:33

Credits

Alto Saxophone, Flute – Steve Houben

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Greg Badolato

Guitar – Bill Frisell

Keyboards – Michel Herr

Electric Bass – Kermit Driscoll

Drums, Voice – Vinnie Johnson

Recorded & mixed at Michel Dickenscheid's Studio, Ougrée, Belgium

NB : there is some surface noise at the beginning of track B1, I assume it could be cleaned but I’m not proficient enough and was afraid that it would dim the sound.

UPDATED LINK (17/07/17)

The next one on my wish list was “STREAM” (Philip Catherine, Marc Moulin, Jiggs Whigham, Freddy Deronde, Freddy Rothier ), another seventies Belgian jazz rarity that never made it to CD.  Have seen the original  a few time but it was way out of my budget!  Luckily it has been (unofficially) reissued on vinyl by Charlevoix Music, Inc. (Canada).
 https://www.discogs.com/Philip-Catherine-Stream/release/8806570..
Get it while you can! 

PIERRE CARDIN PRESENTE …

Pierre Cardin Présente Jean-Luc Ponty "Experience"

Live In Montreux 72

Les Disques Pierre Cardin ‎– STEC 133                                    France,  1972

Jean Luc Ponty’s performance in the 1972 Montreux Jazz Festival was on the more experimental side of fusion.  Not the most memorable Ponty’s album but I still prefer it to the more commercial fusion and histrionics he went for later in his career.  This album was released on the short lived Pierre Cardin label, in a sleeve with round corners. 

There are a few other LP on the Pierre Cardin label well worth searching for:  Bernard Lubat & his Mad Ducks / Lubat, Louiss, Engel – Montreux 72 / Jean Claude Fohrenbach – Electronic Band / Phil Woods & his European Rhythm Machine

Tracklist

Sonata Erotica 17:55

A) Preludio     

B) Pizzacato Con Fuocco E Con Echo (Did You See My Bow?)           

C) Appassionato          

Sonata Erotica 23:27

D) Con Sensualita       

E) Accelerando E Rallentando 

Credits

Jean-Luc Ponty - Electric Violin, Composer

Joachim Kuhn - Piano [Fender]

J.-F. Jenny-Clark - Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass

Nana Vasconcelos - Berimbau, Congas, Gong, Percussion

Oliver Johnson : Drums

Recorded live 19.06.1972 at the Festival International du Jazz Montreux.

UPDATED LINK (18/07/17)

DIRTY ROOSTA BOOGA

JIMMY SMITH - I’m Gon Git Myself Together

Released on MGM  (1971, USA)

Liner notes:

This is the album that answers the question “can a down-home earthy, gutsy, swinging, blues-drenched jazz giant like Jimmy Smith find happiness in that spastic, hard beat, heavily amplified, eternally youthful world on the other side of the (generation) gap – Rock and Roll?” The album is successful for a number of reasons: basically, Jimmy Smith is the type of consummate artist who never gives less than his best in live or recorded situations; secondly, Jimmy has never isolated himself in any one bag because he is too aware of other idioms, other styles, other musicians, and much too hip to the reality of change; furthermore, Jimmy’s style is so close to the nitty gritty of communication that no gap is unbridgeable (…). No doubt about it, there’s a happy Jimmy Smith contained in this album – a later-day rocksmith who has his mojo working in any style he commands it to  (Harvey Siders - edited).

Review on Soul Strut blog

Released in 1973 (actually 1971), the liner notes to the record state that it was Smith’s attempt to mold Rock with Jazz, something that was a bit in vogue in the late 1960s/early 1970s. I Know What I Want was written, conducted, arranged and produced by Johnny Pate. His band also backed up Smith. The song starts off with a funky guitar line before Smith’s singing, organ and the horns join in to turn the song more towards a soulful big band sound, although a big guitar solo towards the end makes sure the Rock influences are still apparent. Next up, Smith takes on a cover of Otis Redding’s (Sittin On) The Dock Of The Bay. Despite some wah wah guitar in the background, Smith’s singing really fails him on this rendition of the Soul classic. To make up for things, Uh Ruh starts off with a jammin’ little open drum break before going into an upbeat Soul-Jazz number.  Dirty Roosta Booga is another fast-pace groover, and there’s another drum break intro to Need Mo, which is also good. A cover of Sugar, Sugar makes a nice end to the record as well.

I may add that I quite like the title track (I'm Gon' Git Myself Together), a solid blues and that Smith’s singing fails him again badly in Spill the Wine.  Overall an uneven album but still interesting if you want to understand where the process started that yielded the fabulous live album Root Down (listen to Need Mo’).

Jimmy Smith ‎– I'm Gon' Git Myself Together (1971)

Tracklist

A1       I Know What I Want    5:21

A2       (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay        5:15

A3       Uh Ruh            2:45

A4       I'm Gon' Git Myself Together   5:30

B1        Dirty Roosta Booga      5:00

B2        Spill The Wine 5:50

B3        Need Mo'         6:16

B4        Sugar, Sugar    5:15

No detail on the personnel (Johnny Pate Orchestra).

CHAUFFE BIGUINE LA

ANDRE CONDOUANT CARIBBEAN DREAM DIGITAL SOUNDS - THANKS FOR ALL

original issue: 1989, LP DEBS HDD 2464 (Sonodisc Distribution)

re-issue: SONODISC MUSISOFT 52463

This album is very different from the previous ones featuring Andre Condouant posted on this blog (Brothers Meeting and the Leo Wright albums).  It is an attempt at mixing (smooth) jazz and rhythms from the French West Indies: beguine, zouk.  I’m not especially keen on zouk, nor am I a fan of Midi guitar, drum programming and other synthetic sound.  That being said, there is some good playing especially by Andre Condouant.  So if you’re not averse to some Caribbean smooth jazz, give it a try.  

Overall I found the album rather disappointing.

Musicians

ANDRÉ CONDOUANT (midi-g, dr progr.);

BIBI LOUISON (p, strings, solo on #A2);

JOSÉ VULBEAU (el-p on #A3);

FRÉDERIC CARACAS (el-b);

HENRI DEBS (prod.; engineer, assisted by DANIEL KISSOUN)

Recorded: 1989 at Studio La Terreur in Guadeloupe

Tracks

 Side A

1. Blues For Laurence

2. None´s Like You

3. Touloulou  (Al Lirvat / Martinales)

4. Zafé Melé

 Side B

1. Fly Me To Rio

2. Thanks For All

3. Etius

4. Chauffe Biguine La  (Al Lirvat)

All tracks written by André Condouant except where indicated

Original liner notes

Jazz, Jazzouk, Biguine Jazz, Zouk Blues, André nous offre ce savoureux cocktail de sons Caribéens. Des thèmes de toute beauté, magistralement interprétés, avec sa guitare midi, André nous entraine dans son ouragan musical. "None´s Like Him". Avec ce disque, il nous fait découvrir la sensibilité et la fougue des racines de son art. Bravo André !!! Thanks For All,

Laurence Carril

KARLOVY VARY, 1988

‎Interjazz 6

Václav Zahradník & Prague Television Orchestra  featuring Rudolf Dašek, Georgi Garanian, Peter Hurt, Albert Mangelsdorff, Jiří Stivín, Jan Talich

Supraphon ‎– 11 0183-1 511 (LP)       Czechoslovakia, 1989

The fifth edition of the CZ Jazz Festival, held in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) in 1988, included as part of its program an International Jazz Composers Workshop for which the organizers of the event had commissioned six renowned composers to submit scores.  The individual entries were rehearsed by the Prague Television Jazz Orchestra directed by Vaclav Zahradnik and a majority of them were performed in public at a Festival concert on March 26, 1988.

Studio sessions took place the following days and resulted in this album.

Jri Stivin is absolutely stunning in the first track but the whole album is pretty good.  Not a dud track IMHO.  Get it!  I do not think it had appeared in the blogworld before.

Tracklist

A1     Salut                           ( Alexej Fried)                                    8:12

Soloist: Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Jiří Stivín

A2     Good Morning           (Václav Zahradník)                       5:15

Soloist:  Guitar – Rudolf Dašek

A3     Africana                     (Georgi Garanian)                            4:29

Soloist : Alto Saxophone – Georgi Garanian

B1     Par Pondus                 (Emil Viklický)                                   6:40

Soloist:  Viola – Jan Talich

B2     Touch & Go               (Peter Hurt)                                          7:33

Soloists : Alto Saxophone – Peter Hurt  / Double Bass – Robert Balzar / Piano – Emil Viklický

B3     Des'sch Too Much    (Albert Mangelsdorff)                       6:15

Trombone solo :Albert Mangelsdorff

Credits:

Prague Television Orchestra featuring : Albert Mangelsdorff, Jan Talich, Jiří Stivín, Peter Hurt, Rudolf Dašek, Georgi Garanian

Conductor – Václav Zahradník

Trumpet – Jan Burian (2), Miroslav Huja, Miroslav Jelínek, Miroslav Šoltész

Trombone – Ivan Matějček, Ivan Zelenka, Jan Hynčica, Jaromír Dušek, Jiří Sušický

Saxophone – Jindřich Němeček, Jiří Jech, Josef Nachtman, Ladislav Odcházel jr.*, Zdeněk Hostek

Flute – Jaroslav Tichý

Guitar – Jan Kučera

Piano, Electric Piano [Fender] – Emil Viklický

Synthesizer – Jakub Zahradník

Double Bass, Bass Guitar – Robert Balzar

Drums – Ivan Smažík

Recorded at the Czechoslovak Television Studio A, Prague, from 27 to 29 March, 1988 and on 19 April, 1988 

ANY DEADHEAD AROUND ?

MERL SAUNDERS – HEAVY TURBULENCE

LP Fantasy 8431 – USA, 1973

I’m usually pretty good at remembering where I found my LPs but this one I can’t remember where I got it from.  It’s one of the lesser known Merl Saunders’albums.  It should appeal to Deadheads because Jerry Garcia is playing on it.

I had a few too many Chartreuse Verte tonite so don’t expect me to write a review.  It’s a good record alright.  Here’s what Eugene Chadbourne (AMG) has to say.  Thst bloke’s much better than I am at writing review.

A versatile and engaging performer, Merl Saunders certainly put his best foot forward with his debut recording for the Fantasy label. His background in jazz was certainly welcome on an aesthetic level with the management of the label, but the splattering of Creedence Clearwater Revival imagery on this album's original protective paper sleeve suggests what the real goal must have been. Fantasy wanted more rock chart hits, and Saunders was seen as potentially a great crossover artist between the worlds of rock, soul, funk, and jazz fusion. That said, it should be pointed out that the label of world fusion did not exist when this record was recorded and is actually an area that Saunders got into in subsequent decades. One will not find Latin, African, or other international music influences on these five selections. This is pretty much a straight rock and funk effort, one of several totally solid albums produced by various members of Creedence Clearwater Revival on the side during this period. In this case it is Tom Fogerty directing the action.  Since he is such a terrific rhythm guitarist, it is really no surprise that he and Saunders could create such a pumping oil well; this is an album in which the rhythmic feel of each song can never be faulted, no matter how different the approaches might be. The band is really well recorded, the tones thick and fat, and the grooves trembling from the fine organ fondling. The composed material consists of originals by Saunders with several interesting covers. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Imagine" are the remakes, each done quite personally with truly thoughtful arrangements. The status of these two songs as times have marched on is worth contemplating, while the mere presence of the tunes establishes a rich sense of time and place. The cover of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" would have been considered quite hip at one point, and then, perhaps sometime in the year 1976, a cosmic curtain of some kind shifted and the song was just considered downright corny. Anyone listening to this recording will have to lug around that cultural baggage, while the John Lennon song in contrast becomes more beloved each day, with the Saunders version actually a bit controversial amongst his fans. Some find it beautifully tasteful, others feel it drags, and the latter opinion is troubling since the version tracks at just barely over two and a half minutes, a shortie compared to other pieces on this record. Lead guitar fills by Jerry Garcia are a musical inspiration, as well as probably stimulating much of the original album's sales. Some listeners will be fanatic fans of this guitarist and others might regard him as musical vermin, but one and all would agree that this album has some of his top playing. He seems to have been at his best when at the side of Saunders, who once saved his life. Their efforts to play jazz together were a trifle feeble, true, but there is none of that here. The original numbers are on the funky and bluesy side, such as the terrific opener, "My Problem's Got Problems," and the delicious extended track, "Manchild."

Tracks

My Problems Got Problems (Saunders / Carrier)

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [RealAudio]  AU file (333K)

Save Mother Earth (Saunders / Lewis)

Imagine (John Lennon)

Welcome to the Basement (Saunders / Moore)

Man Child (Saunders / Lewis)

Musicians

Merl Saunders - keyboards, vocals

Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals

Tom Fogerty - guitar

John Kahn - bass

Bill Vitt - drums

The Hawkins Singers (Edwin, Walter, Tramaine, Lynette, Freddie, Carol) - vocals

Eddie Moore - drums, saw

Kenneth Nash - percussion

Bob Drew - saxophone

The Tower of Power Horns

Merl Saunders - Heavy Turbulence - 1972 - Fantasy 8421

Not only am I too lazy to write a review, I am even too lazy to rip my vynil.  Blogger E-mile found a rip on the web last year -it has gone away since.  Here it is again.  With thanks to E-mile and to the original ripper.

It's a great album, I'm listening as I'm writing ... Manchild's playing just now and it has some gorgeous Fender Rhodes ...Get this album and have a drink of Chartreuse Verte ...

NORTH ATLANTIC JAZZ

Jazz I Føroyum 3

LP Tutl – HJF 9, Faroe Islands, 1982

This album is the third in a three LP series documenting the Faroese Jazz scene in the 80s.  It caught my attention because of its origin. The Faroe Islands is not a place usually associated with Jazz.  As a matter of fact I realize I know very little about the Faroe Islands, I’m much more familiar with islands in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific than with those in the Northern Atlantic.  The other thing that caught my interest was the presence of two better known musicians:  Eero Koivistoinen on two tracks and Karsten Vogel (Burning Red Ivanhoe / Secret Oyster) on one.

The Koivistoinen tracks are duos with guitarist Olavur Oster.

The track with Karsten Vogel is somewhat prog rock oriented and should be of interest to fans of Scandinavian fusion / prog.  The title “Grindadrap” refers to the traditional whaling practiced in the Faroes.

Pianist Kristian Blak (Yggdrasil) appears also on three tracks.

Tracklist

A1       Wolf    4:30

Guitar – Ólavur Øster

Soprano Saxophone – Eero Koivistoinen

A2       And Then        3:09

Guitar – Ólavur Øster

Tenor Saxophone – Eero Koivistoinen

A3       Bollabossa      3:02

Bass – Kolbein Simonsen

Drums – Jan Jacobsen

Guitar – Ólavur Øster

Piano – Kristian Blak

A4       Andvekur       2:45

Bass – Kolbein Simonsen

Drums – Jan Jacobsen

Guitar – Ólavur Øster

Piano – Kristian Blak

B1       Fotalag                       4:03

Bass – J. Á Rógvu Joensen*

Drums – Poul Strøm

Guitar – Hans Bøgh Andersen

Piano – Kjeld Køngerskov

Tenor Saxophone – Olaf Sørensen

B2       Pigen I 3d       5:17

Bass – J. Á Rógvu Joensen*

Drums – Poul Strøm

Guitar – Hans Bøgh Andersen

Piano – Torben Kjær

Tenor Saxophone – Olaf Sørensen

B3       Grindadrap    10:35

Alto Saxophone – Karsten Vogel

Bass – J. Á Rógvu Joensen*

Drums – Poul Strøm

Guitar – Ólavur Øster

Piano – Torben Kjær

Recorded between 1978 - 81, Tórshavns Jazz Club, Faroe Islands.

Jazz I Føroyum 3 is the third in a series of joint releases by Havnar Jazz-Felag and Platufelagid Tutl. The Jazz I Føroyum recordings provide the listener with a sampling of music played in Havnar Jazzfelag by both local artists and visiting musicians.

I have volumes 1 and 2 also which I may post later on when I get a chance to digitalize them.

I REMEMBER JOOP AND BOB

DOMINIQUE PIERARD ‘s TINTO ROJO

ON THE MOVE   (Belgium, 1992)

This one is for gypsy swing / guitar fans and in memory of Joop Ayal who recently left this world (and of Bob Dartsch who left us in October last year).

Dominique Pierard is what I would call a fixture of the Brussels musical scene.  A gifted and well-liked Belgian guitar-player who‘s been around since the 70s, he can often be caught playing in and around Brussels (and much further … friends of mine met him in the early 80s  playing Django’s music in a bar in New Orleans … small world!).  He was a member of the famous gypsy string band Waso before forming his own band..

Apart from gypsy swing he also excels in straight jazz and … rockabilly (he is/was lead guitarist of the rockabilly / swing revival band The Dominos, another Brussels fixture).  He is also a member of Bonaventure, featuring longtime buddy, Michel Clement (If you're a Bruxellois around 60 you may remember Tomahawk Blues Band and Sunhouse).  By the way, who remember Sunhouse, a superb fusion band who used to play at the Florio every Sunday night in the mid-seventies? Sunhouse recorded an excellent album for Columbia Belgium, which is still awaiting a re-issue on CD (tracks can be heard on YouTube).   

Of interest too is the presence of Indonesian/Dutch tenor sax, the late Joop Ayal, who plays in a style reminiscent of Ben Webster (My Romance, I remember Ben). He also sings Teran Bulan, a traditional Malaysian song with an interesting story (see Trivia below).

Although most tracks are definitely in the Gypsy Swing tradition, there are a few exceptions: the introspective acoustic ballad “A remark You Made” , the classic Indopop ballad (Teran Bulan) and two tracks with a smooth jazz feel reminiscent of Earl Klugh of the period (it’s 92 remember.  I must say that these two are not especially my cup of tea.

 

Trivia  Teran(g) Bulan is a song with an amazing story.  It was  based on a French melody by  XIXth Century composer Pierre-Jean de Béranger and eventually became the Malaysian National Anthem under the title of Negaraku.  (read the whole amazing story of this song here. 

Track list: 

1. Peche à la Mouche
2. Crépuscule
3. Valse simple
4. My romance
5. I'll see you in my dreams
6. I remember Ben
7. A remark you made
8. To Micky
9. In your arms tonight
10. Mamy
11. Teran Bulan 

Credits

Tinto Rojo : Dominique Pierard (gt) Stephane Noirhomme (gt) Alexandre Furnelle (cb) Bob Dartsch (dms)

Guests: Joop Ayal (ts, voc) Koen de Cauter (gt, ss, cello) Marc Willegems (cl) Robert Cordier (synthdrums)

RE-POST
I'm in the process of re-posting Attila Zoller Night Bounce session and Bert Dahlander "jazz with a Swedih Accent" LP.  The new link will be placed in the comments of the original posts.