ELVIN JONES — Revival : Live at Pookie's Pub (2022) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded live at a small New York City venue, Revival: Live at Pookie's Pub captures drummer Elvin Jones and his quartet in several sweaty, intensely delivered performances recorded over a three-day period in 1967. This was a year after Jones had left John Coltrane's storied quartet and launched his own influential group with tenor saxophonist/flutist Joe Farrell, who is featured prominently here. Joining them are pianist Billy Greene and bassist Wilbur Little, both regular members of Jones' ensembles in the late '60s. With his roiling, tidal wave-like drum style, Jones was easily one of the most distinctive and immediately recognizable players of his era. His playing was as much a defining aspect of the sound of '60s modal jazz and post-bop as Coltrane's. It's that vibe he carried forward with his own group, bringing along the advanced harmonic devices and kinetic group interplay he championed with Coltrane, as well as a passion for lyrical jazz standards, and originals that prefigured the funk and blues explorations of the '70s. Farrell is an absolute monster here, tearing his way through a 16-minute version of his angular blues "13 Avenue B." The band throw more fire on their off-the-cuff rendition of Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy" featuring Larry Young; the organist clearly showed up at the gig and it's fascinating to hear him apply his ringing organ chords to the piano. We also get a crackling takes on the Jones original "Keiko's Birthday March" (dedicated to his wife), composer Ferde Grofé's Western-themed "On the Trail" (the bar owner's favorite as Jones says), and a delicately rendered "My Funny Valentine" (marked by Farrell's luminous flute). While the late-'60s post-bop aesthetic was often deeply intellectual, Jones could groove as he does on Frank Foster's "Raunchy Rita," a song he recorded a year prior with bassist Richard Davis on Heavy Sounds and which he pushes with a raw, dance club swagger here. Matt Collar
Tracklist :
1-1    Keiko's Birthday March 21:11
Written-By – Elvin Jones
1-2    Gingerbread Boy 8:32
Written-By – Jimmy Heath
1-3    13 Avenue B 16:39
Written-By – Joe Farrell
1-4    My Funny Valentine 8:24
Written-By – Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
1-5    M.E. 20:06
Written-By – Billy Greene
2-1    On The Trail 19:46
Written-By – Ferde Grofé, Harold Adamson
2-2    Softly As In A Morning Sunrise 18:23
Written-By – Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg
2-3    Raunchy Rita 3:55
Written-By – Elvin Jones
2-4    Oleo 16:14
Written-By – Sonny Rollins
Credits :
Bass – Wilbur Little
Drums – Elvin Jones
Piano – Billy Greene, Larry Young (tracks: 1-2)
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Joe Farrell

THE TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME — Turn It Over (1970-1997) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The better of the two albums the Tony Williams Lifetime recorded in 1970, Turn It Over, is a far more focused and powerful album than the loose, experimental Ego, and one of the more intense pieces of early jazz-rock fusion around. In parts, it's like Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys with much better chops. It's more rock-oriented and darker-hued than their debut, 1969's Emergency!, and the temporary addition of ex-Cream member Jack Bruce on bass and vocals alongside stalwart guitarist John McLaughlin makes this something of a milestone of British progressive jazz. The album's primary flaw is that unlike the expansive double album Emergency!, these ten songs are tightly constricted into pop-song forms -- only a swinging cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Once I Loved" breaks the five-minute mark, and then only barely -- which reins in these marvelous soloists too much. This is particularly frustrating since pieces like the two-part "To Whom It May Concern" feature some outstanding solos (especially from McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, the group's secret weapon) that are frustratingly, tantalizingly short. Expanded to a double album, Turn It Over would probably surpass Emergency! as a pioneering jazz-rock fusion release; as it is, it's an exciting but mildly maddening session. Stewart Mason  
Tracklist :
1     To Whom It May Concern - Them 4:21
Chick Corea
2     To Whom It May Concern - Us 2:57
Chick Corea
3     This Night This Song 3:46
Tony Williams
4     Big Nick 2:46
John Coltrane
5     Right On 1:52
Tony Williams
6     Once I Loved 5:11
Ray Gilbert / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes
7     Vuelta Abajo 5:00
Tony Williams
8     A Famous Blues 4:13
John McLaughlin
9     Allah Be Praised 4:38
Larry Young
10     One Word 3:45
John McLaughlin
Lead Vocals – Jack Bruce
Credits :
Tony Williams - Drums, Vocals
John McLaughlin - Guitar, Vocals
Larry Young - Organ
Jack Bruce - Bass, Vocals

LARRY YOUNG — Unity (1966-2014) RM | Serie Blue Note The Masterworks | SHM-CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On Unity, jazz organist Larry Young began to display some of the angular drive that made him a natural for the jazz-rock explosion to come barely four years later. While about as far from the groove jazz of Jimmy Smith as you could get, Young hadn't made the complete leap into freeform jazz-rock either. Here he finds himself in very distinguished company: drummer Elvin Jones, trumpeter Woody Shaw, and saxman Joe Henderson. Young was clearly taken by the explorations of saxophonists Coleman and Coltrane, as well as the tonal expressionism put in place by Sonny Rollins and the hard-edged modal music of Miles Davis and his young quintet. But the sound here is all Young: the rhythmic thrusting pulses shoved up against Henderson and Shaw as the framework for a melody that never actually emerges ("Zoltan" -- one of three Shaw tunes here), the skipping chords he uses to supplant the harmony in "Monk's Dream," and also the reiterating of front-line phrases a half step behind the beat to create an echo effect and leave a tonal trace on the soloists as they emerge into the tunes (Henderson's "If" and Shaw's "The Moontrane"). All of these are Young trademarks, displayed when he was still very young, yet enough of a wiseacre to try to drive a group of musicians as seasoned as this -- and he succeeded each and every time. As a soloist, Young is at his best on Shaw's "Beyond All Limits" and the classic nugget "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise." In his breaks, Young uses the middle register as a place of departure, staggering arpeggios against chords against harmonic inversions that swing plenty and still comes out at all angles. Unity proved that Young's debut, Into Somethin', was no fluke, and that he could play with the lions. And as an album, it holds up even better than some of the work by his sidemen here.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1 Zoltan 7:36
Woody Shaw
2 Monk's Dream 5:45
Thelonious Monk
3 If 6:42
Joe Henderson
4 The Moontrane 7:18
Woody Shaw
5 Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise 6:20
Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg
6 Beyond All Limits 6:00
Woody Shaw
Credits :
Drums – Elvin Jones
Organ – Larry Young
Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson
Trumpet – Woody Shaw

MILES DAVIS – Bitches Brew (1970-2013) RM | 2xCD Blu-spec | Serie Legacy Recordings | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Thought by many to be among the most revolutionary albums in jazz history, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew solidified the genre known as jazz-rock fusion. The original double LP included only six cuts and featured up to 12 musicians at any given time, some of whom were already established while others would become high-profile players later, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Airto, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Don Alias, Bennie Maupin, Larry Young, and Lenny White among them. Originally thought to be a series of long jams locked into grooves around keyboard, bass, or guitar vamps, Bitches Brew is actually a recording that producer Teo Macero assembled from various jams and takes by razor blade, splice to splice, section to section. "Pharaoh's Dance" opens the set with its slippery trumpet lines, McLaughlin's snaky guitar figures skirting the edge of the rhythm section and Don Alias' conga slipping through the middle. Corea and Zawinul's keyboards create a haunted, riffing modal groove, echoed and accented by the basses of Harvey Brooks and Holland. The title cut was originally composed as a five-part suite, though only three were used. Here the keyboards punch through the mix and big chords ring up distorted harmonics for Davis to solo rhythmically over, outside the mode. McLaughlin's comping creates a vamp, and the bass and drums carry the rest. It's a small taste of the deep voodoo funk to appear on Davis' later records. Side three opens with McLaughlin and Davis trading fours and eights over a lockstep hypnotic vamp on "Spanish Key." Zawinul's lyric sensibility provides a near chorus for Corea to flit around in; the congas and drummers juxtapose themselves against the basslines. It nearly segues into the brief "John McLaughlin," featuring an organ playing modes below arpeggiated blues guitar runs. The end of Bitches Brew, signified by the stellar "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," reflects the influence of Jimi Hendrix with its chunky, slipped chords and Davis playing a ghostly melody through the funkiness of the rhythm section. It seemingly dances, becoming increasingly more chaotic until it nearly disintegrates before shimmering into a loose foggy nadir. The disc closes with "Sanctuary," completely redone here as a moody electric ballad that was reworked for this band while keeping enough of its integrity to be recognizable. Bitches Brew is so forward-thinking that it retains its freshness and mystery in the 21st century. Thom Jurek  

Tracklist 1:

1. Pharoah's Dance (Zawinul) 20:07

2. Bitches Brew (Davis) 27:00.

Tracklist 2:

1. Spanish Key (Davis) 17:30

2. John McLaughlin (Davis) 4:23

3. Miles runs the voodoo down (Davis) 14:03

4. Sanctuary (Shorter) 10:54

Credits:

Bass – Dave Holland

Bass Clarinet – Bennie Maupin

Design [Cover] – John Berg

Drums – Charles Alias, Jack DeJohnette, Lenny White

Electric Bass [Fender] – Harvey Brooks

Electric Guitar – John McLaughlin

Electric Piano – Chick Corea,

Joe Zawinul (tracks: 1-1 to 2-1, 2-4),

Larry Young (tracks: 1-1, 2-1 to 2-3)

Percussion – Jim Riley

Soprano Saxophone – Wayne Shorter

Trumpet – Miles Davis

Artwork [Cover Art] – Mati Klarwein

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN / CARLOS SANTANA - Love Devotion Surrender (1973) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Love Devotion Surrender is an album released in 1973 by guitarists Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, with the backing of their respective bands, Santana and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was inspired by the teachings of Sri Chinmoy and intended as a tribute to John Coltrane. It contains two Coltrane compositions, two McLaughlin songs, and a traditional gospel song arranged by Santana and McLaughlin. It was certified Gold in 1973. In 2003, Love Devotion Surrender was released on CD with alternative versions as bonus tracks.

Both men were recent disciples of the guru Sri Chinmoy, and the title of the album echoes basic concepts of Chinmoy's philosophy, which focused on "love, devotion and surrender." Sri Chinmoy spoke about the album and the concept of surrender:

 Unfortunately, in the West surrender is misunderstood. We feel that if we surrender to someone, he will then lord it over us....But from the spiritual point of view...when the finite enters in the Infinite, it becomes the Infinite all at once. When a tiny drop enters into the ocean, we cannot trace the drop. It becomes the mighty ocean.

For both men the album came at a transitional moment spiritually and musically: Love Devotion Surrender was a "very public pursuit of their spiritual selves." Carlos Santana was moving from rock toward jazz and fusion, experiencing a "spiritual awakening," while McLaughlin was about to experience the break-up of the Mahavishnu Orchestra after being criticized by other band members. Santana had been a fan of McLaughlin, and McLaughlin had introduced Santana to Sri Chinmoy in 1971, at which time the guru bestowed the name "Devadip" on him, and the two had started playing and recording together in 1972. According to his biographer Marc Shapiro, Santana had much to learn from McLaughlin: "He would sit for hours, enthralled at the new ways to play that McLaughlin was teaching him," and his new spirituality had its effect on the music: "the feeling was that Carlos's newfound faith was present in every groove.

A hopelessly misunderstood record in its time by Santana fans -- they were still reeling from the radical direction shift toward jazz on Caravanserai and praying it was an aberration -- it was greeted by Santana devotees with hostility, contrasted with kindness from major-league critics like Robert Palmer. To hear this recording in the context of not only Carlos Santana's development as a guitarist, but as the logical extension of the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis influencing rock musicians -- McLaughlin, of course, was a former Davis sideman -- this extension makes perfect sense in the post-Sonic Youth, post-rock era. With the exception of Coltrane's "Naima" and McLaughlin's "Meditation," this album consists of merely three extended guitar jams played on the spiritual ecstasy tip -- both men were devotees of guru Shri Chinmoy at the time. The assembled band included members of Santana's band and the Mahavishnu Orchestra in Michael Shrieve, Billy Cobham, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jan Hammer (playing drums!), and Don Alias. But it is the presence of the revolutionary jazz organist Larry Young -- a colleague of McLaughlin's in Tony Williams' Lifetime band -- that makes the entire project gel. He stands as the great communicator harmonically between the two very different guitarists whose ideas contrasted enough to complement one another in the context of Young's aggressive approach to keep the entire proceeding in the air. In the acknowledgement section of Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," which opens the album, Young creates a channel between Santana's riotous, transcendent, melodic runs and McLaughlin's rapid-fire machine-gun riffing. Young' double-handed striated chord voicings offered enough for both men to chew on, leaving free-ranging territory for percussive effects to drive the tracks from underneath. Check "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord," which was musically inspired by Bobby Womack's "Breezing" and dynamically foreshadowed by Pharoah Sanders' read of it, or the insanely knotty yet intervallically transcendent "The Life Divine," for the manner in which Young's organ actually speaks both languages simultaneously. Young is the person who makes the room for the deep spirituality inherent in these sessions to be grasped for what it is: the interplay of two men who were not merely paying tribute to Coltrane, but trying to take his ideas about going beyond the realm of Western music to communicate with the language of the heart as it united with the cosmos. After three decades, Love Devotion Surrender still sounds completely radical and stunningly, movingly beautiful.

Quick! Name an album on which John McLaughlin plays piano and Jan Hammer plays drums. Give up? The answer: the much loved but often maligned 1973 collaboration between Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, Love, Devotion and Surrender. (At this time John was still MAHAVISHNU and Carlos was not quite yet DEVADIP.) Now if anyone out there in musicland can determine on which cuts John McLaughlin played the piano and Hammer played the drums - you win a prize! 

In 1973, Carlos Santana had become mesmerized by the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. His interest became so strong that he literally followed the band on tour across America. He and McLaughlin became friendly. One night John McLaughlin had a dream that the two should record an album together. He took that dream to Clive Davis, the head of Columbia Records, and Love, Devotion and Surrender was born.

LDS delivers some of the hottest playing you are ever going to hear. John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana play their respective butts off, especially on the inspirational "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord". The rapid-fire machine gun bursts and call and responses make for an electric guitar Nirvana. Other musicians assembled for the recording included Santana compatriots Armando Peraza, Don Alias, Doug Rauch and Mike Shrieve. John McLaughlin brought along Jan Hammer, Billy Cobham and the legendary organist Larry Young. Imagine a Latin Mahavishnu Orchestra! 

At the time of this recording’s release, the patience and reverence afforded gurus was waning. This could help explain the relatively poor sales of Love, Devotion and Surrender relative to expectations. After all a smiling Sri Chinmoy, in all of his splendid grandeur, was pictured on the album cover. It may also help explain the many negative reviews. In hindsight, you will probably find that most of these reviews came from Santana fans that just couldn’t figure out what was going on with their hero. 

Despite all outward appearances, the fact of the matter was that this album pointed much more in the direction of John Coltrane than it did any guru or religious movement. Santana is, like McLaughlin, a devoted Coltrane admirer. McLaughlin and Santana even make the effort of trying to pull off “A Love Supreme,” and it works very well. (Even the vocals are effective). An acoustic treatment of “Naima” does the master proud, too. The other players are strong on all tunes. Cobham, in particular, is a powerhouse. 

In recent years, Love, Devotion and Surrender has begun receiving the praise it so richly deserves. (Bill Laswell has even released a well-received remix.) LDS remains a milestone in the history of fusion music. We can only hope that McLaughlin and Santana will find an opportunity to record together again soon, something both men have hinted at.

Tracklist:

1. A Love Supreme (7:48)

2. Naima (3:09)

3. The Life Devine (9:30)

4. Let's Go Into The House of the Lord (15:45)

5. Meditation (2:45)

Total time - 38:57

Line-up / Musicians

- Carlos Santana / guitars, vocals

- John McLaughlin / Guitar, piano

- Larry Young / organ

- Doug Rauch / bass

- Billy Cobham / drums

- Don Alias / drums

- Jan Hammer / drums

- Mike Shrieve / drums

- Armando Peraza / Congas, Bongos

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN - Devotion (1970-2000) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This album is from a pivotal moment in McLaughlin's history. This was just after he left Miles' group, but before Mahavishnu Orchestra started, and the music captures this moment perfectly. McLaughlin's technique had not progressed to "Mahavishnu" perfection yet, but the music has the in-your-face rock drive of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. This recording date grew out of sessions Alan Douglas put together, featuring McLaughlin and Larry Young jamming with Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles (Billy Rich was the bass player). McLaughlin sounded timid next to Hendrix (none of the material with Hendrix has been officially released), but really comes to life on Devotion. This is arguably one of the finest acid rock albums of all time. McLaughlin is on fire, using fuzzboxes and phasers, over Larry Young's swirling Hammond B-3, with Billy Rich and Buddy Miles as the rock-solid rhythm section. If you think that McLaughlin's solo at the end of "Right Off" (from A Tribute to Jack Johnson) is one of the high points of his career, then this is the album for you. Soon after this album was recorded, McLaughlin holed up, practiced like crazy, and re-emerged as "Mahavishnu" John McLaughlin, with both a new sound and a new band. Documenting the period just before that transition, Devotion is a complete anomaly in his catalog, as well as one of his finest achievements. by Sean Westergaard  
Tracklist:
1 Marbles 4:11
2 Siren 5:40
3 Don't Let The Dragon Eat Your Mother 5:14
4 Purpose Of When 4:41
5 Dragon Song 4:11
6 Devotion 11:23
Credits:
Bass – Billy Rich
Composed By – John McLaughlin
Drums – Buddy Miles
Electric Piano – Larry Young
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Organ – Larry Young
Percussion – Buddy Miles
Written-By – John McLaughlin

LARRY YOUNG — Into Somethin' (1964-2014) RM | SHM-CD | Serie : Blue Note, The Masterworks | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Larry Young who like most organists originally sounded close to Jimmy Smith, took a big step away from the organ's dominant influence on this adventurous and colorful set, which was his debut as a leader for Blue Note. Performing with a quartet also including tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, guitarist Grant Green and drummer Elvin Jones, Young performs four of his originals plus Green's "Plaza de Toros." Other than the blues "Backup," the music is fairly complex, grooving in its own fashion and showing that Young was quite aware of John Coltrane's modal excursions. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Tyrone    9:37
Larry Young
2    Plaza De Toros    9:36
Grant Green
3    Paris Eyes    6:39
Larry Young
4    Backup    8:36
Larry Young
5    Ritha    6:45
Larry Young
6    Ritha (Quartet Version)    6:51
Larry Young
Credits :
Drums – Elvin Jones
Guitar – Grant Green
Organ – Larry Young
Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder
Tenor Saxophone – Sam Rivers

LARRY YOUNG - Lawrence of Newark (1973-2002) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The late Larry Young was an organist whose fairly brief career had lots of highs and very few middles or lows. Take this session from 1973 -- his first non-Blue Note date as a leader and post-Lifetime -- as a for instance. It is startling for its fresh look at how the organ is used in jazz and in improvisation, period. On Lawrence of Newark, Young enlisted a host of younger New York session cats who were hanging around the fringes of the funk and avant-garde scenes -- James Blood Ulmer, trumpeter Charles MacGee, Cedric Lawson, and about a dozen others all jumped into Young's dark and freaky musical stew. Made up of only five tracks, rhythm is the hallmark of the date as evidenced by the conga and contrabass intro to "Sunshine Fly Away." Deirdre Johnson's cello opens up a droning modal line for Young to slide his organ over in what passes for a melody but is more of an idea for a theme and a trio of variations. Armen Halburian's congas echo the accents at the end of the drum kit and Young's own tapering pronouncements moving back and forth between two and four chords with a host of improvisers inducing a transcendent harmonic hypnosis. The centerpiece of the album is "Khalid of Space Pt. 2: Welcome." Sun Ra's edict about all of his musicians being percussionists holds almost literally true in Young's case. The soprano saxophonist sounds as if it could be Sonny Fortune (billed as "mystery guest"), but he's way out on an Eastern modal limb. Young's right hand is punching home the counterpoint rhythm as Abdul Shadi runs all over his kit. Blood Ulmer is accenting the end of each line with overdriven power chords, and various bells, drums, congas, and djembes enter and depart the mix mysteriously. Young is digging deep into the minor and open drone chords, signaling -- à la Miles -- changes in intonation, tempo, and frequency of rhythmic attack. And the cut never loses its pocket funk for all that improvisation. It's steamy, dark, brooding, and saturated with groove. The CD reissue has fine sound and sells for a budget price; it should not be overlooked. The DJs just haven't discovered this one yet. Awesome. by Thom Jurek 
Tracklist
1 Sunshine Fly Away 08:38
Larry Young
2 Khalid of Space, Pt. 2 Welcome 12:29
Larry Young
3 Saudia 04:30
Larry Young
4 Alive 01:54
Larry Young
5 Hello Your Quietness (Islands) 10:05
Larry Young
Credits
Bass – Don Pate, Juni Booth
Bongos – Abdul Hakim
Cello – Diedre Johnson
Congas – Stacey Edwards, Umar Abdul Muizz
Congas, Bells, Percussion – Armen Halburian
Drums – Abdul Shahid, Howard T. King, James Flores
Drums, Electric Piano – Art Gore
Electric Piano – Cedric Lawson
Guitar – James Ulmer (Blood)
Organ, Bongos, Vocals – Larry Young
Percussion – Poppy La Boy
Saxophone, Saxophone [Electric] – Dennis Mourouse
Saxophone, Vocals – Mystery Guest
Tom Tom, Cowbell, Congas, Whistle, Tambourine, Hihat – Jumma Santos
Trumpet [Electric] – Charles Magee

THE TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME - Emergency! (1969-1997) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tony Williams' Emergency was one of the first and most influential albums in late-'60s fusion, a double-LP set that shattered the boundaries between jazz and rock. Working with guitarist John McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, Williams pushed into new territory, creating dense, adventurous, unpredictable soundscapes. With Emergency, Tony Williams helped create the foundation of the style and sound of fusion. It's a seminal release. by Leo Stanley
Tracklist :
1 Emergency 9:35
Written-By – Tony Williams 
2 Beyond Games 8:20
Written-By – Tony Williams
3 Where 12:09
Written-By – A. Hall 
4 Vashkar 4:58
Written-By – Carla Bley
5 Via The Spectrum Road 7:50
Written-By – A. Hall, Tony Williams
6 Spectrum 9:52
Written-By – A. Hall 
7 Sangria For Three 13:08
Written-By – Tony Williams
8 Something Spiritual 5:38
Written-By – Dave Herman
Credits :
 Drums – Tony Williams
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Organ – Larry Young