On this week’s Jazz On The Beach playlist is the wonderful title track from Planets by The Masaru Imada Trio +1, featuring pianist Imada with double bassist Kunimitsu Inaba and drummer Tetsujiro Obara. (The +1 is percussionist Yuji Imamura who’s on the album but not this track). Much like trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki’s Cat played a couple of weeks ago (also with double bassist Inaba) this is another example of the excellence of the best Japanese jazz musicians and how great this music sounds today. Recorded in 1977 as the inaugural release on Planets Records, it was beautifully reissued two years ago for BBE’s J Jazz Masterclass Series by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden.
And while we’re talking pianists, there’s Kenny Barron’s homage to Tommy Flanagan with Tragic Magic from Beyond This Place (Artwork, May 10th), with the formidable lineup of alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, double bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. Barron will be 81 this Sunday - Happy Birthday Maestro!
Pianists features large this week, and among the new releases is the sensational Zaccai Curtis with Black Rice from his album Cubop Lives! (Truth Revolution Recording Collective, May 10th), there’s Jesus Molina with the exhilarating title track from Selah (Dynamo Productions, May 27th) while Neil Cowley takes a break from electronics and goes back to the trio format with Adam Alphabet from Entity (Hide Inside Records, September). There’s another track from Ben Sidran’s terrific Rainmaker (Unlimited Media, April 26th) with Someday Baby, I’ll be at his Ronnie Scott’s show on Tuesday so maybe see some of you there.
This week’s jazz rock fusion milestone is on the funkier side with Spiral by The Crusaders from Those Southern Knights (ABC, 1976), who were now featuring hot studio guitarist of the day Larry Carlton in the lineup alongside trombonist Wayne Henderson, tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder, drummer Stix Hooper and bassist Robert ‘Pops’ Popwell. To my ears this will always sound as if it was played through a big Sansui amp (stolen in 1990), a pair of JBLs (sold to friends in 2015) and the same 50 year old Technics turntable that I still have.
Here’s Spiral from Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert on US TV
Some more new releases…drummer Nasheet Waits delivers a sweet interpretation of John Coltrane’s Central Park West from New York Love Letter (Bittersweet, June 28th) there’s guitarist Bobby Broom with his Organ-Isation trio on Tadd’s Delight from Jamalot (Steele Records, May 24th) recorded live at Jazz Showcase in Chicago, while guitarist Ant Law and vocalist Brigitte Beraha come up with a charming take on Louis Armstrong’s 1951 hit A Kiss To Build A Dream On from this summer’s Ensconced (Ubuntu, August).
From the deeper racks there’s Wes Montgomery’s Twisted Blues and John Coltrane’s Blues To Elvin, and we’re still hard boppin’ with three killer Blue Notes: Dexter Gordon’s You Stepped Out Of A Dream, Thad Jones’ April In Paris and Donald Byrd’s I’m An Old Cowhand.
Here’s the full playlist, hope you enjoy.
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Both shows are broadcast live from the Deal Radio Studio at 69a High Street, Deal, Kent CT14 6EH, a stone’s throw from the beach.
Jazz On the Beach and Blues Beach radio shows are sponsored by our good friends at 6 Park Avenue Coffeehouse & Bar, Deal and Wellingtons Coffeehouse & Bistro, Dover.
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