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

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also, this prompted me to re-dig out 'sunlight,' which I think is going to mean that most of my weekend is going to take place on Magic Herbie Island

― b'angelo, Friday, 3 March 2006 22:49 (twenty years ago)

God you guys are tempting me, this is exactly the kind of stuff I am craving lately but know nothing about. Keep talkin'.

Can anyone recommend stuff with piano in?

That Sun Ra video on the You Tube thread was insane, in a very good way.

― Bimble The Nimble (Bimble...), Saturday, 4 March 2006 22:07 (twenty years ago)

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/images/local/toenails/4f2365f1-3695-424c-b4d1-6826b8a31b68.jpg

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Saturday, 4 March 2006 22:16 (twenty years ago)

A bit beyond disco maybe, but Herbie Hancock released a bunch of great electro albums throughout the 80s, with "Rockit" becoming his biggest hit.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 4 March 2006 22:52 (twenty years ago)

http://www.orlyowl.com/nerdorly.jpg

Geir, do you even read? it's right there in the first post, bro

― team jaxon (jaxon), Sunday, 5 March 2006 02:23 (twenty years ago)

have you heard poopoo lala by ayers Jaxon?

i just spent a coupla hours in the store listening to a bunch of this stuff. i had to listen to "Poo Poo La La". it's fucking hillarious. "let me kiss you on your poo poo la la". like wtf?! who told him that was a good idea for a song?
http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2JOEKBGNP3WFU32R26V1XC6918

i ended up getting George Duke's "The Aura Will Prevail". a bit fusiony, but the songs with vocals are rad. and there's an MF DOOM sample on here.

― team jaxon (jaxon), Sunday, 5 March 2006 02:58 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

I just picked up Charles Earland's "Earland's Jam" from 1982 featuring Mr. Codpiece Larry Blackmon on it. I haven't had a chance to listen to it (why aren't offices equipped with turntables?), but I'm quite excited. Excited enough to post about it with nothing really to say about it except that it has a royally good cover.
http://i19.ebayimg.com/02/i/07/04/f9/02_1_sbl.JPG

― matt2 (matt2), Friday, 23 June 2006 14:21 (nineteen years ago)

So I finally listened to this (I can tell you've all been waiting to hear about it), and I'd just like to recommend that anyone who comes in contact with it stick to side two. Track one on side two "Earland's Jam" is pretty run-of-the-mill, with a boring chant something about Earland and Cameo. The last three tracks "Marcia's Waltz", "Animal", and "Mercy" are fine early 80s jazz-funk-disco jams, and pretty much all you need to hear on this one, although "Laser Lips" on side one is okay. The schmaltzy covers of "Guilty", "Never Knew Love Like This Before", and "You Belong to Me" are not at all necessary, sadly, because something tells me that an early 70s Earland would've done something more interesting with them.

― matt2 (matt2), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 18:15 (nineteen years ago)

That's not the one with Randy Muller on it, is it?

There's a spectacular Earland track ("Ahead of Your Time") buried on The Great Pyramid, an otherwise middling-to-poor album. I've never seen it pop up on a compilation of any sort. It's on this mix, in case anyone's interested (most ot it's applicable to this thread, though it's mostly early/mid '70s).

― Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 27 June 2006 18:51 (nineteen years ago)

I see no mention of Randy Muller anywhere in the credits. I'll have to check out that mix, it looks great.

― matt2 (matt2), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 01:59 (nineteen years ago)

As far as Earland's best, funkiest soul-jazz, I think you need to go back to the early 70s for Living Black! Earland gets sooooo much out of phellow Philadelphian Grover Washington that it is just amaazing.

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Wednesday, 28 June 2006 23:59 (nineteen years ago)

Grover Washington is the man.

This is the best thread I've read in a week. Ahh..

― trees (treesessplode), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:14 (nineteen years ago)

I've catalogged a pile of tracks I refer to as "R&B Jazz". It's somewhat Disco, somewhat Brazilian, sometimes a popish ballad, and occasionally, not even by proper Jazz groups. But I wasn't sure what to call that period after Funk Jazz and Fusion, but prior to what was deemed contemporary in the long run.

(1973) John Klemmer - Love Song to Katherine
(1974) Hamilton Bohannon - Thoughts and Wishes
(1974) José Feliciano - Golden Lady
(1977) Earth, Wind & Fire - Runnin'
(1977) George Benson - The Wind and I
(1977) George Benson - The World is a Ghetto
(1977) George Benson - Valdez in the Country
(1978) Eumir Deodato & EWF - Tahiti Hut
(1978) Joe Sample - Rainbow Seeker
(1978) Masayoshi Takanaka - Brasilian Skies
(1978) Roy Ayers - For Real
(1978) Roy Ayers - You Send Me
(1978) Weather Report - River People
(1978) Weather Report - Young and Fine
(1979) Bob James - Blue Lick
(1979) Dexter Wansel - New Beginnings
(1979) Eumir Deodato - Knights of Fantasy
(1979) Eumir Deodato - Lovely Lady
(1979) George Duke - Brazilian Love Affair
(1979) Grover Washington Jr. - Loran's Dance
(1979) Manzel - Midnight Theme
(1979) Masayoshi Takanaka - Radio Rio
(1979) Richie Cole - New York Afternoon
(1979) The Crusaders & Randy Crawford - Street Life
(1980) Eumir Deodato - Night Cruiser
(1980) Hubert Laws - Family
(1980) Masayoshi Takanaka - Finger Dancin'
(1980) Roy Ayers
(1981) Bernard Wright - 'nard
(1981) Masayoshi Takanaka - Rainbow Paradise
(1981) Roy Ayers - Destination Motherland
(1983) Nick Straker Band - Airwaves

― PappaWheelie 2 (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:32 (nineteen years ago)

P.S. Herbie Hancock ..."I Thought it Was You"

...was sampled and turned into a Disco House song ala Daft Punk:

(1997) Sex-O-Sonique - I Thought It Was You

― PappaWheelie 2 (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:38 (nineteen years ago)

i mean this in the kindest way, because your slsk folder is kinda immaculate, but are you ocd?

― flëétwøöd måçk (jaxon), Thursday, 29 June 2006 00:47 (nineteen years ago)

I only know about half of that list. Must fix.

Okay, these two other things are more like the jazz-R&B to PW2's R&B-jazz, the interface viewed from the opposite direction (with some exceptions): At Frog Island, Rec Park 22 (aka Hot Flash/Shoulderpad Soul Vols 1 and 2).

― Andy_K (Andy_K), Thursday, 29 June 2006 01:07 (nineteen years ago)

The only thing that is frustrating about Pappawheelie amazing organization system is that he is constantly changing the folder names and contents. I can never keep up!

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Thursday, 29 June 2006 01:16 (nineteen years ago)

Making this thread even better is the fact that Jason's blind bird upthread is top notch material. Why is that so hilarious?

― matt2 (matt2), Thursday, 29 June 2006 14:23 (nineteen years ago)

i mean this in the kindest way, because your slsk folder is kinda immaculate, but are you ocd?

Surprisingly to interweb friends, I'm just a loud mouthed drunk IRL.

― PappaWheelie 2 (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 29 June 2006 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

welcome to the club

― flëétwøöd måçk (jaxon), Thursday, 29 June 2006 17:56 (nineteen years ago)

P.S. Herbie Hancock ..."I Thought it Was You"
...was sampled and turned into a Disco House song ala Daft Punk:
(1997) Sex-O-Sonique - I Thought It Was You
-- PappaWheelie 2 (evieandjo...), June 28th, 2006 6:38 PM. (PappaWheelie 2)

TERRIBLE! what's with that stupid "shut up, white bitch" sample throughout it?

― flëétwøöd måçk (jaxon), Friday, 30 June 2006 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

TERRIBLE! what's with that stupid "shut up, white bitch" sample throughout it

Must be a version I haven't heard. The version I know of is pretty much just loops form the HH song sped up with heavy 90's style 909 house drums over it. Not much more really.

― PappaWheelie (aka Ike Spodermang) (PappaWheelie 2), Friday, 30 June 2006 03:38 (nineteen years ago)

yeah i've heard both versions. the shut up white bitch thing is crazy.

― trees (treesessplode), Friday, 30 June 2006 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

I guess CTI kinda fits into this, if you're saying you don't mind the over-produced 'smoother' side of things. Piece of Mind by Idris Muhammad is a great track. The rest of the album ain't so bad either, although the last track (a Bob James number, I think) gets a bit slick... but definitely check the album track. Nice horns/strings/dreaminess.

― ZOT! (davidcorp), Friday, 30 June 2006 13:32 (nineteen years ago)

two months pass...

I picked up a recent Japanese CD reissue of Larry Young's Fuel, it is quite awesome. I don't know if it is the remastering, but this thing has tons of bass, cool sounding flattened out drums and you have to like the sexy singing.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Sunday, 3 September 2006 02:33 (nineteen years ago)

Yesterday I bought a used vinyl copy of Sony Rollins's Easy Living from 1977. It could be considered an example of jazz goes pop, I guess, since it contains a version of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely". It's pretty nice stuff.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 14:30 (nineteen years ago)

you might like Sonny's Nucleus(1975). more funk, less pop.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 15:16 (nineteen years ago)

you might like Sonny's Nucleus(1975). more funk, less pop.

Much love for Mtume's contributions to this era of Rollins. Both "Newkleus" and "Sais" from Horn Culture are essential cuts.

― doug watson (solid air), Friday, 15 September 2006 09:56 (nineteen years ago)

i've never heard any of Mtume's jazz related stuff. i really dig his r'n'b albums.

― jaxon (jaxon), Friday, 15 September 2006 16:03 (nineteen years ago)

Mtume's last "jazz" album, Rebirth Cycle, was recorded in 74 though wasn't released until 77-- so I guess it ain't necessarily a thread hijack to wax a bit about it. The album is dominated by a sidelong take on the aforementioned "Sais" (also covered by Lonnie Liston Smith in what could be the definitive version) but it's the first cut on the flip, "Yebo", that presupposes Mtume's next moves into vocal-based R&B. A fairly solid album for which I've no idea why it's yet to reappear either legitimately or somewhere in the grey areas.

Further suggestions for Jaxon's original ask could be Norman Connors' Saturday Night Special or You Are My Starship, Carlos Garnett's Cosmos Nucleus or New Love or Azar Lawrence's People Moving. All of these arrived 76-78 and triggered some of those shifts from spiritual jazz to smoother, r&b-inflected jazz.

― doug watson (solid air), Friday, 15 September 2006 23:47 (nineteen years ago)

Azar Lawrence's - People Moving. that's twice in a week someone told me to get this album. the hunt is on

― jaxon (jaxon), Saturday, 16 September 2006 01:37 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

I've finally got round to investigating this thread properly and I think I'm going to be very happy very soon. I do actually have a double CD of Roy Ayers already that I bought ten years ago, so I've got a running start.

― John Cougar Mellencamp sucks and you know it (Bimble...), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:49 (nineteen years ago)

so i got Azar Lawrence's first 3 albums. the first "Bridge Into The New Age" is beautiful spiritual stuff kinda like early Norman Connors albums. the second (the only one i found on vinyl) "Summer Solstice" was ok spiritual stuff, but sounded kinda boring and i returned it. and "People Moving" i thought was kinda terrible. the background music was ok. kinda like an upbeat, sorta disco Donald Byrd or Lonnie Liston Smith album, but his sax work was straight Grover Washington Jr smooth jazz crap. :(

― jaxon (jaxon), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:01 (nineteen years ago)

http://f5c.yahoofs.com/shopping/3068454/simg_t_og03921supb6.jpg?rm_____Dix99zWVz

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:06 (nineteen years ago)

picked up Stanley Cowell's "Talkin' 'bout Love" from 77 i think. not bad pop/funk/disco/electric album with vocals. not anything like i've heard him do before. usually either spaced out spiritual Strata East stuff or boring straight ahead stuff. i'm still looking for his 77 album New World. that track of his that made it to the SoulJazz comp The New Thing is epic

― jaxon (jaxon), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:08 (nineteen years ago)

that hubert eaves sounds rad

― jaxon (jaxon), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

yeah it's great, he really get a unique sound out of his synths. I think Hubert Eaves plays on "Juicy Fruit" and Mtume's R&B albums. Eaves also recorded with Gary Bartz on Fantasy in the earlier 70s, more searching Coltane-ish stuff from what little I've heard.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

Hey do you guys think Brick's "Dazz" falls within this thread? As you'll see from the other thread I heard that in a grocery store and couldn't figure out who it was for a whole week and now that I know who it is I'm completely obsessed with it. What a song! Disco jazz indeed!

― Bassment Jacks (Bimble...), Sunday, 8 October 2006 00:07 (nineteen years ago)

On the Brick tip, also check out "Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody" and "Dusic." They are much more in the vein of funk goes jazz, disco goes jazz than the opposite direction. In other words, I never really consider them to be jazz so much as jazz influenced.

― matt2 (matt2), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 18:37 (nineteen years ago)

i'm just realizing some of my fave early 80s r'n'b/funk musicians have pretty established jazz training.

never placed Lenny White of Twennynine "Peanut Butter" fame w/miles' "bitches brew" & return to forever.

also in Twennynine was Don Blackman who had jazz roots playing in Charles McPherson's groups.

Bernard Wright also played in Lenny White's groups, as well as with Tom Browne (another jazz-funk/pop crossover star with "Funkin For Jamaica")

and Billy Cobham's album "A Funky Side of Sings" is total disco funk.

― jaxon (jaxon), Tuesday, 24 October 2006 03:19 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH0JpBzi68E

― PappaWheelie, don't fuck this up (PappaWheelie 2), Tuesday, 24 October 2006 19:27 (nineteen years ago)

If anyone could handle sending me a compilation CD in the mail of this kind of stuff, please email me. I just don't have the patience to wade through/download everything. It all looks so goddamn appealing. I would like to hear more Mtume, too (I only know "Juicy Fruit"). Is there maybe an internet radio station that I could go to?

― All The Furniture Is In The Garage (Bimble...), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

four months pass...

So someone tell me about this one. Is it work my time (and $4)?

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s36772.jpg

― matt2, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 16:52 (nineteen years ago)

is there a herbie hancock album not worth 4 dollars?

― artdamages, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 16:56 (nineteen years ago)

S'true. Shoulda left that part out. I just skipped over it yesterday (things are particularly tight right now) and kinda regret it.

― matt2, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

So I almost picked up Blood Ulmer's Black Rock the other day, but then didn't.

Am I a dumbface?

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 23:32 (nineteen years ago)

Yes! (assuming you're making fun of my post and really even if you're not). I had hoped for a little input on what folks thought about the Herbie since it seems to be considered by some to be the nadir of his recorded output (of course the "heads" would say this about much of the stuff discussed here and I DISAGREE). Have you heard it BIG HOOS??? Won't you tell me?

― matt2, Thursday, 8 March 2007 15:22 (nineteen years ago)

I thought Feets was pretty boring, but then I'm not big on disco. Didn't like it much as a jazz record, but maybe it's great at Studio 54 or whatever.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 8 March 2007 18:04 (nineteen years ago)

haha countdown to hoosteen love saves the day/turn the beat around souljazz/rhino reissue comp-inspired revelation begins now

― deej, Thursday, 8 March 2007 18:09 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

btw on initial thread post - the donald byrd/125th street is one of my favorite records, esp for "Love has Come Around" and "I Feel Like Loving You Today" - really gorgeous stuff. Isaac Hayes wrote a couple songs and played keyboards on this album i believe

― deej, Monday, 2 April 2007 07:30 (nineteen years ago)

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