ANDY SUMMERS - Synaesthesia (1993-2007) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

During his post-Police musical career, guitarist Andy Summers has compiled a series of altogether distinctive, fusion-based solo outings marked by his shrewd compositional pen and laudable technical acumen. Moreover, Summers displays a somewhat lyrically driven guitar sound, teeming with animated lines, a rubato-like methodology, and bone-crushing crunch chords, as evidenced on this 1995 release. Here, the artist garners strong support from ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker, along with notable session musicians Mitchell Forman (keyboards), Jerry Watts (bass), and Greg Bissonette (drums). More importantly, the guitarist integrates strings (the Trouserfly String Quartet) into this rather vibrant mix, consisting of Afro-Cuban rhythms, wailing lead soloing, East Indian modalities, and more. Otherwise, many of these works convey an eerie or foreboding musical environment, largely due to a potpourri of discordant themes and portentous musings. by Glenn Astarita
Tracklist:
1 Cubano Rebop 5:31
Percussion [Over Dubs] – Greg Bisonette
Remix – Eddie King
2 Chocolate Of The Desperate 1:10
3 Meshes Of The Afternoon 4:54
Arranged By [Quartet] – Charlie Bisharat
Cello [First] – Steve Richards
Cello [Second] – Larry Corbett
Strings – The Trouserfly String Quartet
Violin [First] – Charlie Bisharat
Violin [Second] – Joel Derouin
4 Monk Hangs Ten 4:09
Drums – Greg Bisonette
Remix – Eddie King
5 Umbrellas Over Java 6:32
Arranged By [Quartet] – Charlie Bisharat
Bass [Acoustic] – Andy Summers
Cello [First] – Steve Richards
Cello [Second] – Larry Corbett
Strings – The Trouserfly String Quartet
Violin [First] – Charlie Bisharat
Violin [Second] – Joel Derouin
6 Low Flying Doves 5:44
7 Invisible Cities 5:49
8 Synaesthesia 5:01
Piano – Andy Summers
9 I Remember 4:09
Credits:
Bass – Jerry Watts
Composed By, Arranged By – Andy Summers
Drums – Ginger Baker (faixas: 1 to 3, 5 to 9)
Guitar – Andy Summers
Keyboards – Mitchell Forman

GINGER BAKER - Horses & Trees (1986) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Bill Laswell's musical career has been a highly collaborative one. Almost every new release from solo excursions to a variety of mercurial group projects finds him engaged with a notable instrumentalist from the arenas of jazz, electronica, funk, hip-hop, reggae, and world music. It's not that he seems dominating as a musician per se, but the results do typically bare the producer's singular aural stamp. Horses & Trees is no exception. Persuaded by Laswell to continue working throughout the second half of 1980s, drummer Ginger Baker produced some of his most stimulating collections, not least of which were the Laswell produced Middle Passage and this 1986 set. The drummer is rock-solid throughout, which means that most of the compositions become a showcase for an impressive lineup of guest musicians that reads like a list of the Bill Laswell all-stars. Even when pared down to an all-rhythm trio on "Mountain Time," Baker, though undeniably effective, remains the big beat behind Daniel Ponce and Aiyb Dieng's percussion display. That does little to change the fact that this is one of the most enjoyable albums Baker (or Laswell) has been involved in. "Uncut" finds the likes of Bernie Worrell, Shankar and Laswell in fine form, taking solos like a jazz combo. "Dust to Dust" is the only piece composed solely by Baker (he shares credits everywhere else) and is the most stunning of the set with a repeated section that sounds like an alien hoe-down with world music undertones. Laswell alumni and hip-hop pioneer Grandmixer D.ST (of "Rock It" fame) returns, delivering slashes from his turntable that provide the sort of genre-bending texture Laswell is so fond of. Baker, while never caught stealing the show on any track, looms large. On Horses & Trees, his big beat pulls the greatest weight. by Nathan Bush  
Tracklist:
1 Interlock 4:55
Bass – Bill Laswell
Bells, Bata – Daniel Ponce
Drums – Ginger Baker
Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar – Nicky Skopelitis
Harp [Dousongonni] – Foday Musa Suso
Organ – Bernie Worrell
Talking Drum, Percussion [Chatan], Bells – Aiyb Dieng
Violin – Shankar
2 Dust To Dust 5:31
Bass, 6-String Bass, Slide Guitar – Bill Laswell
Bata – Daniel Ponce
Drums – Ginger Baker
Organ – Bernie Worrell
Percussion [Chatan] – Aiyb Dieng
Twelve-String Guitar – Nicky Skopelitis
Violin – Shankar
3 Satou 5:21
Berimbau, Cuica, Voice, Shaker – Nana Vasconcelos*
Drums – Ginger Baker
Kalimba, Violin [Nyanyer] – Foday Musa Suso
Talking Drum, Percussion [Chatan], Bells – Aiyb Dieng
Turntables – D.ST.
4 Uncut 6:50
Bass – Bill Laswell
Bata, Bells – Daniel Ponce
Drums – Ginger Baker
Harp [Dousongonni] – Foday Musa Suso
Organ – Bernie Worrell
Talking Drum, Percussion [Chatan], Bells – Aiyb Dieng
Twelve-String Guitar – Nicky Skopelitis
Violin – Shankar
5 Mountain Time 6:05
Bells – Daniel Ponce
Drums – Ginger Baker
Talking Drum, Percussion [Chatan] – Aiyb Dieng
6 Makuta 5:34
Berimbau, Cuica, Voice, Shaker – Nana Vasconcelos
Drums – Ginger Baker
Kora, Violin [Nyanyer] – Foday Musa Suso
Organ – Robert Musso
Talking Drum, Percussion [Chatan], Bells – Aiyb Dieng
Twelve-String Guitar – Nicky Skopelitis

GINGER BAKER'S AIRFORCE - Airforce [1970] FLAC

For a change, the late 1960s yielded up a supergroup that lived up to its hype and then some. Ginger Baker's Air Force was recorded live at Royal Albert Hall in January of 1970 -- in fact, this may be the best-sounding live album ever to come out of that notoriously difficult venue -- at a show that must have been a wonder to watch, as the ten-piece band blazed away in sheets of sound, projected delicate flute parts behind multi-layered African percussion, or built their songs up Bolero-like, out of rhythms from a single instrument into huge jazz-cum-R&B crescendos. Considering that this was only their second gig, the group sounds astonishingly tight, which greatly reduces the level of self-indulgence that one would expect to find on an album where five of the eight tracks run in excess of ten minutes. There aren't too many wasted notes or phrases in the 78 minutes of music included here, and Steve Winwood's organ, Baker, Phil Seamen, and Remi Kabaka's drums, and the sax playing by Chris Wood, Graham Bond (on alto), and Harold McNair, all stand out, especially the sax trio's interwoven playing on "Don't Care." Additionally, Denny Laine plays louder, flashier, more virtuoso-level guitar than he ever got to turn in with the Moody Blues, bending notes in exquisite fashion in the opening of Air Force's rendition of the Cream standard "Toad," crunching away on rhythm elsewhere, and indulging in some more introspective blues for "Man of Constant Sorrow." The original CD reissue, which sounded pretty good, was deleted in the early '90s, but this album has been remastered again and repackaged as part of the Ginger Baker retrospective Do What You Like on Polygram's Chronicles series. It's a must-own for jazz-rock, Afro-fusion, blues-rock, or percussion fans. Bruce Eder 

Tracklist

1. Da Da Man 7:15

2. Early In The Morning 11:13

3. Don't Care 12:29

4. Toad 12:59

5. Aiko Biaye 13:01

6. Man Of Constant Sorrow 3:57

7. Do What You Like 11:47

Recorded live at The Royal Albert Hall, London.

Credits

Alto Saxophone – Graham Bond

Bass, Violin – Rick Grech

Drums – Ginger Baker, Remi Kabaka

Guitar, Vocals – Denny Laine

Percussion – Phil Seamen

Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Chris Wood (2), Harold McNair

Vocals – Jeanette Jacobs

Vocals, Organ – Steve Winwood

O Púbis da Rosa