Bless my soul (Tom Scott) (LP 4905 - 4910)

Larry Coryell  Spaces (Vinyl, Vanguard Records, 1970/ 1974 reissue) ****  

Keith Jarrett  Facing You (Vinyl, ECM Records, 1972) ***** 

Antonio Carlos Jobim  Wave (Vinyl, A&M Records, 1967) ***** 

Tom Scott and The L.A. Express  Tom Scott and The L.A. Express (Vinyl, Ode Records, 1974) **** 

Tom Scott and The L.A. Express  Tom Cat (Vinyl, Ode Records, 1975) **** 

Tom Scott Apple Juice (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1981) *** 

Genre: Jazz fusion, Brazilian jazz, modern jazz

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dahomey Dance (Tom Scott and The L.A. Express)

Gear costume: Nunya (Tom Scott and The L.A. Express), but really any of the tunes on this album fit the bill.

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: My ongoing acquisition of Larry's albums continues with Spaces. What a lineup! Larry Coryell plays alongside John McLaughlin on guitar, Chick Corea on electric piano, Miroslav Vitouš on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums. All are virtuosos on their instruments.

Along with Zappa's Hot Rats, this is one of the first jazz fusion albums (Miles Davis' late sixties albums are also a factor of course). Spaces is way more out there than Zappa though (and that's saying something).

Basically, jazz-fusion is a genre of music that describes when jazz harmony and improvisation is used within a rock music context. Larry and John's electric guitars along with electric bass and drums take off in improvised ways on Spaces - sometimes it sounds like they shoot off in four different directions. The thrill comes from that experimentation when everything jells. Then this music is inspirational. Like on track 1, side 2 -Wrong is Right. Here endeth the lesson.

Keith Jarrett is a fierce improvisation expert as well. Facing You was his first album for ECM in 1971. It's a solo piano album that's become a landmark recording for jazz generally, and for Jarrett specifically. 

But don't take my word for it - here's AllMusic on the album: Facing You is one of the most important recordings in contemporary jazz for several reasons, aside from being beautifully conceived and executed by pianist Keith Jarrett. It is a hallmark recording of solo piano in any discipline, a signature piece in the early ECM label discography, a distinct departure from mainstream jazz, a breakthrough for Jarrett, and a studio prelude for his most famous solo project to follow, The Köln Concert (which I featured a while ago - here).

So there! It's a biggie! Glad to grab a copy from the Little Red Bookshop for $4.

Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim's fifth album, Wave, is another landmark recording - this time in Brazilian music.  Jobim was a famous Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger and singer. Wave was recorded in the US with American jazz musicians and it sounds great. Just the ticket for our parent's dinner parties back in the late sixties, early seventies.

Tom Scott has appeared in the collection before, with and without Joni Mitchell (see here and here). Here are two more of his albums - both $4 each from Little Red Bookshop. Both are worth having.

The first is a cool collection of jazz grooves from the player of many horns and his band, which includes Larry Carlton - guitar, Max Bennett - bass, Joe Sample - keyboards, John Guerin - drums.

Tom Cat continues the jazz-funk sounds but without Sample and Carlton. Robben Ford and Larry Nash sit in for them and do a great job. Tom and his mates (including Joni) get down to it in hot and sweaty fashion. 

Apple Juice is a Tom Scott live album from the start of the eighties. He can certainly gather together a formidible array of musicians. Joining him on this set are Eric Gale and Hugh McCracken (guitars), Richard Tee (Keyboards), Marcus Miller (bass), Ralph MacDonald (percussion) and Steve Gadd (drums). Dr John also makes a guest appearance (the one sus moment of the show).

Sidebar: the cover has credits for the show AND the 're-recording' of it - but it's impossible to tell where the joins are. I'm not a purist and don't really care when bands embellish live versions - if it sounds better - good luck to them.

Where do they all belong? Brilliant additions to the jazz fusion and jazz sections in the collection.

Mid town rush (Tom Scott) (LP 2343 - 2344)

Tom Scott  New York Connection (Vinyl, Ode Records, 1975) *** 

Tom Scott  Street Beat (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1979) *** 

Genre: Jazz; jazz rock

Places I remember: Catch up in the jazz collection.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Car Wars (Street Beat)

Gear costume: Appolonia (Foxtrata) 

Active compensatory factors: I'm not a huge fan of Tom Scott and the only reason for owning New York Connection is George Harrison's appearance on one track - Appolonia (Foxtrata) playing his distinctive slide guitar.

Aside from that it's pleasant mellow modern jazz from Tom and some East Coast jazz musicians like Hugh McCracken, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, and Steve Gadd.  Bob James is also a welcome presence.

Street Beat is grittier, hence the name, and also has some vocal tracks, so it leans more toward jazz rock than it does jazz. The vocals don't help - let's just say that.

Where do they all belong? A nice corner of the modern jazz zeitgeist.

Touchdown (Bob James) (LP 240)

Bob James All Around The Town (Vinyl - CBS, 1981) *****

Genre: Cool Jazz  

Places I remember:  Marbecks Records (Queen's Arcade, Auckland)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: We're All Alone




Gear costume:  Angela, Stompin' At The Savoy, and the rest!

Active compensatory factors: You'll instantly know at least one track on this album - Angela (Theme From "Taxi"). It's a muscular version on show here.

As are the rest of these songs - recorded with a variety of combos. All of Bob's strengths are on show and none of his weaknesses (polite production I'd call it).

We're All Alone is a peak. I remember Roger Marbeck playing this and I remember the first time I heard it. Those horns rip!!

And, before you yell - what about the lack of continuity between these live cuts?? Why haven't you taken a point off for that huh?? This isn't like a rock album where I really need to feel it's a cohesive live document. This is jazz! Cool jazz.

Where do they all belong? A 'best of' compilation is probably your next safest bet with the prolific Bob.

Ring out the false, ring in the true (George Harrison) # 133 - 137

George Harrison Dark Horse/ I Don't Care Anymore (Apple, NZP 3493, 1974)

George Harrison Dark Horse/ Hari's On Tour (Express) (EMI, A 10696, 1974)

George Harrison Ding Dong/ I Don't Care Anymore (Apple, NZP 3494, 1974) 

George Harrison Dark Horse/ You (Starline/ Capitol, 6245, 1974/1975)

George Harrison You/ World Of Stone (Apple, NZP 3520, 1975)

The second batch of Hari's singles sees us in the dark days of 1974/1975. The days of the Pattie Boyd/ Eric Clapton romantic triangle with George, the dark days of lives ruined by alcohol and cocaine,  the dark days of the disastrous 1974 tour (George, never the most willing tourist, quickly lost his voice and had to soldier on - I have bootlegs of the tour and, believe me, it was embarrassing for all concerned) and the dark days of Extra Texture - for me, George's worst record ever.

Here's a taster of that tour:




Of course these things are relative and George is a bleedin' former Beatle so even Extra Texture has one bright moment of sheer class - You. A superb song and a great single.

I have a soft spot for Dark Horse (song and album) and so I have no real problem with the singles listed above. Even good old Ding Dong is worthy! George is remarkably frank about the love triangle on the album (Bye Bye Love and others), which is against character for him. He doesn't generally subscribe to Lennon's confessional style of songwriting so this is quite refreshing. BTW Dark Horse (the album) has an awesome cover - just saying!

The slew of singles with roughly similar tracks can be explained by looking at the numbers of each single: they come from Australia, NZ and the USA - each country seems to have been a law unto themselves as we saw from my earlier trawl through the Beatle's singles (and we'll see again when we get to the other solo fabs).

Hidden gems: Slim pickings here. I'm a loss to explain the popularity of I Don't Care Anymore and the Starline single is a double A side Capitol reissue. That leaves Hari's On Tour (Express) - a pleasant instrumental throwaway (Express is a reference to Tom Scott's band L.A. Express who played on the Dark Horse album and '74 tour) and World Of Stone which is just depressing (from The ET album which I also find depressing - except for You).