Jazz in the late 70s / early 80s (jazz goes pop, jazz goes disco)

Yeah, AMG definitely can't be trusted on this kinda stuff. Too much of a "serious" jazz head perspective. They pretty much hate all of Freddie Hubbard from this era too and I love that stuff.

If you read some of the reviews of relatively, uh, straighter jazz, you'll know which names to trust on the later albums. If certain people use specific words or phrases ("commercial," "simple," "dated," "blatant," "flagrant," "not creative," "not really jazz," "can be skipped by serious jazz fans"), to describe a '70s/early '80s album, you'll know it was actually made just for you. (Like I said, it is slowly being rectified. Many of those reviews were written 12+ years ago, when covering as much ground as possible was a higher priority than being fair.)

That Temperton mix is sweet -- thanks for putting up the link. Have never really heard those late 70s/early 80s Quincy Jones records. Something to look for the next time I'm crate-digging ...

Could swear we talked about those Herbie albums and Temperton in (an)other thread(s).

Here, I think:

Herbie Hancock

I think most of AMG's Herbie reviews are fine, it's not like they diss him for abandoning "real" jazz, most of his good fusion albums still get good reviews. For example, I think they gave Mr. Hands and Perfect Machine four stars and Lite Me Up two, which sounds about right.

And here:

Quincy Jones - Search & Destroy

I happened to find Lite Me Up and The Dude almost the same time from the used records bin, so it was fun to notice the connections.

yeah but they don't really tell you much about those albums from a fusion/disco/dance standpoint. i'd rather have the folks who review, i dunno, the bumblebee unlimited album* or something review disco herbie.

*have not actually checked amg review of this to verify this is what i actually want

Expansions - Lonnie Liston Smith

cant believe i didnt hear this til now ... incredible

another good find ... Norman Connors' "Captain Connors" off This Is Your Life A+

I just picked up the album after "Expansions" called "Reflections of a Golden Dream." I'd recommend it nearly as highly as "Expansions." My two-year-old calls it "butterfwy song" because of the cover

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41C4848ZD4L._SS500_.jpg

but that's probably a fairly accurate description (in a good way).

you should hear the Willie Bobo-goes-disco album Hell of an Act To Follow

-- Gear! (Ill Cajun Gunsmith) (Gear!), Tuesday, July 12, 2005 6:04 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^this

guys, maynard ferguson's "primal scream" album from 1976 is DOPE. check this track:

'pagliacci'

nice!

i love that track.

as much as i think edits are kinda retarded (especially when they're just working w/an already dancey disco track), i've been wanting to make some tracks (this one would be a good canidate) into edits.

Candido's 'Dancing and Prancin' is an excellent mini- LP that works really well within the jazz-disco realm. Is the "Thousand Finger Man" track that's on this LP from 1979 the same as the earlier one he released in 69 ? I wouldn't think so. I have been searching out tracks like these after purchasing Johnny Hammond's Gears. 'Los Conquistadores Chocolates' man what a great tune!

Candido's 'Dancing and Prancin': bought this in ny 2 weeks ago.

"as much as i think edits are kinda retarded (especially when they're just working w/an already dancey disco track), i've been wanting to make some tracks (this one would be a good canidate) into edits.

-- jaxon"

pagliacci has already been edited by mike clark, if you can find the wax it is worth purchasing:

http://www.discogs.com/release/322857

i recently got "the fly" on 12" by maynard furgueson, it is the bomb funnky disco jazz jam.

Another stone Lonnie Liston Smith classic: "Space Princess" (from Exotic Mysteries). Further out on the disco tip than "Expansions", and as great as the title implies.

On one of those Best of Soul Train shows a couple of weeks ago, the serious dancers were throwing down to Ramsey Lewis' "What's the Name of This Funk(Spiderman)" like it was a known club hit. That's a squiggly mother, too.

Link to Space Princess audio via Aol Video but no vid ? Who cares, this shit is banging. Apparently a Mancuso classic.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/lonnie-liston-smith-space-princess-1978/1724716287

Damn that break in the middle is dope. I'll be on the hunt for this one now. thanks briania :)

Yeah, it's a seven-minute groove that just isn't long enough.

i have the 12" if you have something nice to trade, it's not one of my LLS jams.

Are you some kinda vinyl god? Are you the aforementioned Jaxon?

Records like that -- I scoop 'em up when I find 'em, but to actually start COLLECTING them would be such a leap down the rabbit hole... Intriguing to know that a 12" exists, though.

am i a vinyl god? hah

"am i a vinyl god? hah

-- jaxon"

jaxon, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!

Nice shootin' Tex.

what about the twinkie?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px_ET2owuDY

what do u guys think of this? i copped just cause i found it cheap and on store headphones it sounded good, not sure what i think about actually playing it. the youtube makes it sound a little more muddled in the mix than it actually is

i recently got "the fly" on 12" by maynard furgueson, it is the bomb funnky disco jazz jam.

-- pipecock, Wednesday, March 26, 2008 9:55 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

ha for a second i thought u meant the rocky theme :D
he does a disco vers of that too tho

Lovin' that one deej.

herbie hancock sunlight MAD CLASSY

http://www.recordmania.net/media/covers/FJN54098.jpg
INCREDIBLE record. hes from chicago (in las vegas now :-/) but this record is some perfect late 70s jazz fusion/disco shit. "love desire" is a banger for real

pretty fucking sick. Lionel Hampton w/drum machine and FAT synth bass
http://dreamchimney.com/tracks/20836

corny + awesome

i think that's the whole premise of this thread.

i honestly can't tell corny from not corny anymore with all the shit i listen to

I don't ever recall hearing a drum machine with regular non-sampled straight-up vibes. Or even sampled, for that matter! Dude was born in 1908 for ffs, wtf, etc

Vibramatic made a big comeback a few years back thanks to the Joakim remix:

http://www.discogs.com/release/207922

I think the original fell in that vein of Herbie Hancock embracing Celluloid records after they discovered Kool Lady Blue's night at the Roxy.

Paul Hardcastle was the inevitable end of that vein (specifically, Jazzmasters). Or further, Dave A. Stewart & Candy Dulfer - Lily was Here in 1989. Ugh.

This thread alone justifies ilm

BTW, a couple Jose Feliciano songs fit the bill of Summery, Jazzy R&B. type thing for me lately (Golden Lady, Wild One, etc)

Also, did I mention Steve Parks' Movin' in the Right Direction yet? Too lazy to ctrl-f

Miles Davis' We Want Miles (1982) is one of my favorite 80s jazz albums

it's definitely not pop/disco. discogs lists it as fusion, which i guess it is with the electric guitar, but because it's all live it feels so much more organic and definitely not overproduced

plus Jean Pierre is fucking amazing

http://www.wiels.nl/blog/images/Gabor_Szabo_-_Night_Flight_front_sm.jpg

this is whats up. cover of bunny sigler's 'keep smiling' is so beautiful it makes me want to get back w my ex

some records should have a disclaimer warning you about things like that

wow. it really is great. i will be on the hunt for. have def seen it around.

drum fills on concorde are hot

thats a great fucking cover too

I finally got Herbie's Feets Don't Fail Me Now, and it's quite good. Mostly it's the sort of synth-laden vocoder disco you'd expect from Herbie of this era, faster and more poppy than Sunlight but less smooth and polished than Lite Me Up, which makes for a nice mid-ground. I'd say it's one of his better dance albums, definitely worth more than the one star AMG gives it. "Tell Everybdoy" has a terrific groove, everyone should check out at least that tune if not the whole album.

"Tell Everybody" also has some pretty over-the-top echoed synth drums that seem to be foreshadowing the 80s drum sound.

i read that AMG review the other day, fucking dick review.

"Herbie falls hook, line and sinker for the disco fad and submerges his personality underneath the plastic vocals and four-on-the-floor disco beat... This time, even the purists were right; this is of no interest to jazz listeners and it isn't even good disco. "

http://i3.ebayimg.com/03/c/01/a2/c7/cb_8.JPG

(that's "november 1981")

I just found Ramsey Lewis's cover of Stevie's Spring High. Now wondering about Ramsey's Love Notes album:

http://www.discogs.com/release/1021440

Anyone recommend?

Also,

i read that AMG review the other day, fucking dick review.

The original text was worse, if you can believe it. "Idiot" was in there somewhere.

I just found Ramsey Lewis's cover of Stevie's Spring High. Now wondering about Ramsey's Love Notes album:

http://www.discogs.com/release/1021440

Anyone recommend?

It's OK, a bit dry.

Really into these lately: The songs w/ vocals on Ronnie Laws' Flame, Art Farmer's "Crawl Space," Joe Farrell's "Night Dancing" (has a kinda Material-like synth-driven chunk to it).

That Gabor Szabo album cover is awesome. Looks like a still from a film in this series

Went on a spree of getting Yukihiro Takahashi albums today.

His '77 debut (Saravah!) fills this bill PERFECTLY.