Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
DR. LONNIE SMITH-ALL IN MY MIND.
Dr. Lonnie Smith-All In My Mind. Label: Blue Note Records. Forty-six years after he left Blue Note Records, Dr. Lonnie Smith returned in 2016 and released a new studio album Evolution. It was released to critical acclaim and marked the homecoming of the last of the great soul-jazz organists. His career began in 1960, and …
NKEM NJOKU AND OZZOBIA BROTHERS-OZABIA SPECIAL.
Nkem Njoku and Ozzobia Brothers–Ozobia Special. Label: BBE Africa. Tabansi Records was founded in Nigeria in 1952, and filled a void when major labels like Decca and later, Philips closed the doors on their Nigerian operations. Chief Tabansi, who lent his name to what would become Nigeria’s most important label, recorded artists and then pressed …
ISLANDMAN-KAYBOLA.
Islandman-Kaybola. Label: Music For Dreams. Three years ago in 2017, Islandman released their debut album Rest In Space to widespread critical acclaim. Since then, the Turkish trio have been busy, and have crisscrossed the globe playing gigs in clubs and at festivals. They’ve also spent the best part of two years recording their much-anticipated sophomore …
ROY BUDD-THE INTERNECINE PROJECT.
Roy Budd-The Internecine Project. Label: Trunk Records. By 1974, London born jazz pianist, arranger, bandleader and composer Roy Budd was twenty-seven, and had been performing professionally since the age of fifteen. A year later, he formed his own quartet, and in 1967, released his debut album Roy Budd At Newport. The young pianist was a …
DUKE ELLINGTON, CHARLIE MINGUS, MAX ROACH-MONEY JUNGLE.
Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus, Max Roach-Money Jungle. Label: Blue Note Records. On Monday, September the ‘17th’ 1962, bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach made their way to Sound Makers Studio, in New York. The two friends were en route to a session where they would record an album with one of the giants of …
CULT CLASSIC: ISAAC HAYES MOVEMENT-DISCO CONNECTION.
Cult Classic: Isaac Hayes Movement-Disco Connection. Disco. Never has a musical genre divided opinion like the D word. It’s been described as musical Marmite. People either love disco, or they loathe it. There’s no in-between. However, forty years ago, in 1976, disco’s star was in the ascendancy. Artists were jumping onto the disco bandwagon. …
MASAHIKO SATO-KAYOBI NO ONNA.
Masahiko Sato-Kayobi No Onna. Label: Mitsuko and Svetlana Records. By 1969, Tokyo-born composer and pianist Masahiko Sato about to turn twenty-nine, and had been a professional musician since he was seventeen. He had started out accompanying magicians, singers and strippers in a cabaret in Ginza, a district of Tokyo. Now eleven years later he had …
GRANT GREEN-NIGERIA.
Grant Green-Nigeria. Label: Blue Note Records. On January the ’13th’ 1962 Grant Green journeyed to New Jersey, and what were by now the familiar environs of the Van Gelder Studio. He was twenty-five and had already recorded eight albums for Blue Note Records since he signed for the label in 1960. Grant Green had his …
LEE MORGAN-THE COOKER.
Lee Morgan-The Cooker. Label: Blue Note Records. ’1st’ May 2020. When eighteen year old trumpeter Lee Morgan signed to Blue Note Records as a solo artist in 1956, he was already a prodigious talent and had the potential to become one of the greatest trumpeters of his generation. That talent was soon apparent. Introducing Lee …
SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Label: Modern Harmonic. Nowadays, maybe music journalists are guilty of using the words innovator and musical pioneer all too freely, but that is the perfect description of the inimitable Sun Ra. He’s quite rightly regarded as one of the true pioneers of free jazz and a truly innovative and influential musician who pushed musical …
CULT CLASSIC: BOB FRANK-BOB FRANK.
Cult Classic: Bob Frank-Bob Frank. In 2007, Jim Dickinson described Bob Frank as: “the best songwriter you never heard.” By then, he had known Bob Frank for forty-five years. Jim Dickinson first met Bob Frank way back in the summer of 1963. Back then, he was part of a group of singers and songwriters hanging out …
CULT CLASSIC: PYRAMID-PYRAMID.
Cult Classic: Pyramid-Pyramid. Although Winston Churchill’s said: “it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma” in the context of Russia, what’s become one of his most famous quotations can just as easily be applied to Robin Page’s Pyramid Records which has been the source of heated debate for over twenty years. This …
HERBIE HANCOCK-THE PRISONER.
Herbie Hancock-The Prisoner. Label: Blue Note Records. In the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock left Miles Davis Quintet to form his own group. This was a risky move, but one he felt he had to make to develop as a composer, bandleader and pianist. During the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock also released his …
DANIEL HAAKSMAN-BLACK ATLANTICA EDITS.
Daniel Haaksman-Black Atlantica Edits. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ’24th’ of April 2020. Over the last few years, Berlin-based DJ, producer and record label owner Daniel Haaksman has been reworking tracks by everyone from CK Mann + Carousel 7 and Soul Brothers to Francis Bebey, Bonde Do Rôlé and Kaba Blon and these edits have become favourites …
DR JOHN THE NIGHT TRIPPER-THE SUN, MOON AND HERBS.
Dr John The Night Tripper-The Sun, Moon and Herbs. Label: Speaker’s Corner. By July 1970, twenty-nine year old Dr John was about to begin recording his fourth album for Atco which eventually became The Sun, Moon and Herbs which has just been reissued on vinyl by Speaker’s Corner. Dr John had written six new track …
ELVIND AAARSET I JAN BANG-SNOW CATCHES ON HER EYELASHES.
Eivind Aarset I Jan Bang-Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes. Label: Jazzland Recordings. Although Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang have been collaborating since the early nineties, the pair have never recorded an album as a duo. That was until they recorded Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes, which was recently released by Jazzland Recordings. It features ten …
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