GARY BARTZ - The Shadow Do! (1975-2007) RM | Prestige Sixtieth Anniversary 14 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Not as known as the later Music Is My Sanctuary -- which was an even further departure, in its increased smoothness, from his Ntu Troop dates, and more popular by virtue of being released on Blue Note -- The Shadow Do! was the first time Gary Bartz sought production assistance from Fonce and Larry Mizell, the sibling duo who enlivened many sessions throughout the '70s with their soaring fusion of soul, funk, and (as Bartz would say) "the j-word." At this point, some j-word purists were hip to the Mizell program, what with dates from Bobbi Humphrey, Donald Byrd, and Johnny Hammond already in circulation. Checking the back of this Prestige release supplied all the info they needed to know: production by the Mizells, and four people credited with playing some form of synthesizer. Keyboardist Hubert Eaves, bassist Michael Henderson, guitarist Reggie Lucas, percussionist Mtume, and drummer Howard King help lend a sound that is a little funkier and heavier than most Mizell-guided sessions, but it's no less sweet. The second through fourth songs of side one exude joy and love, anchoring the album in a sense of contentedness so infectious that it might have even won over a few cold souls expecting straight jazz. Bartz's saxophones are at their melodic best, dancing, skipping, and trilling through the arrangements. He also sings lead, present on most of the songs, and though he probably didn't win any publication's best vocalist award, no one sounds like him, and the Mizells' own background harmonies are on-point as ever. Andy Kellman
Tracklist :
1    Winding Roads 3:18
Lyrics By, Arranged By [Vocals] – Gary Bartz
Written-By, Arranged By – Hubert Eaves
2    Mother Nature 6:27
Written-By, Arranged By, Composed By – Gary Bartz
3    Love Tones 5:11
Written-By, Arranged By – Gary Bartz
4    Gentle Smiles (Saxy) 4:21
Lyrics By, Arranged By [Vocals] – Gary Bartz
Written-By, Arranged By – Reggie Lucas
5    Make Me Feel Better 4:41
Written-By, Arranged By, Backing Vocals – Michael Henderson
6    Sea Gypsy 6:18
Arranged By – Larry Mizell
Whistle – James Carter
7    For My Baby 4:57
Written-By, Arranged By – Gary Bartz
8    Incident 2:56
Arranged By, Music By – Gary Bartz
Lyrics By – Countee Cullen
Credits :
Bass – Michael Henderson
Congas, Percussion – Mtume
Drums, Synthesizer – Howard King
Executive-Producer – Orrin Keepnews
Guitar – Reggie Lucas
Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer – Hubert Eaves
Saxophone [Alto, Soprano], Synthesizer, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Co-producer, Other [Cover Concept, Title] – Gary Bartz
Synthesizer – Larry Mizell

MILES DAVIS – Agharta (1975-2006) 2CD | RM | Serie The Original Jacket Collection | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Along with its sister recording, Pangaea, Agharta was recorded live in February of 1975 at the Osaka Festival Hall in Japan. Amazingly enough, given that these are arguably Davis' two greatest electric live records, they were recorded the same day. Agharta was performed in the afternoon and Pangaea in the evening. Of the two, Agharta is superior. The band with Davis -- saxophonist Sonny Fortune, guitarists Pete Cosey (lead) and Reggie Lucas (rhythm), bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Al Foster, and percussionist James Mtume -- was a group who had their roots in the radically streetwise music recorded on 1972's On the Corner, and they are brought to fruition here. The music on Agharta, a total of three tunes spread over two CDs and four LP sides, contains the "Prelude," which clocks in at over a half-hour. There is "Maiysha" from Get up With It and the Agharta "Interlude," which segues into the "Theme From Jack Johnson." The music here is almost totally devoid of melody and harmony, and is steeped into a steamy amalgam of riffs shot through and through with crossing polyrhythms, creating a deep voodoo funk groove for the soloists to inhabit for long periods of time as they solo and interact with one another. Davis' band leading at this time was never more exacting or free. The sense of dynamics created by the stop-start accents and the moods, textures, and colors brought out by this particular interaction of musicians is unparalleled in Davis' live work -- yeah, that includes the Coltrane and Bill Evans bands, but they're like apples and oranges anyway. Driven by the combination of Davis' direction and the soloing of Sonny Fortune and guitarist Pete Cosey, who is as undervalued and underappreciated for his incalculable guitar-slinging gifts as Jimi Hendrix is celebrated for his, and the percussion mania of Mtume, the performance on Agharta is literally almost too much of a good thing to bear. When Cosey starts his solo in the "Prelude" at the 12-minute mark, listeners cannot be prepared for the Hendrixian energy and pure electric whammy-bar weirdness that's about to come splintering out of the speakers. As the band reacts in intensity, the entire proceeding threatens to short out the stereo. These are some of the most screaming notes ever recorded. Luckily, since this is just the first track on the whole package, Davis can bring the tempos down a bit here and there and snake them into spots that I don't think even he anticipated before that afternoon (check the middle of "Maiysha" and the second third of "Jack Johnson" for some truly creepy and beautiful wonders). While Pangaea is awesome as well, there is simply nothing like Agharta in the canon of recorded music. This is the greatest electric funk-rock jazz record ever made -- period. Thom Jurek  
Tracklist 1:
1 Prelude 32:29
2 Maiysha 12:20
Tracklist 2:
2-1 Interlude / Theme From Jack Johnson 51:36
Credits:

Bass [Fender] – Michael Henderson

Congas [Conga], Percussion, Drum [Water Drum], Drum Machine [Rhythm Box] – Mtume
Drums – Al Foster
Guitar – Reggie Lucas
Guitar, Synthesizer, Percussion – Pete Cosey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Flute – Sonny Fortune
Trumpet, Organ – Miles Davis
Written-By – Miles Davis

MILES DAVIS – Pangaea (1975-2001) RM | Serie Master Sound | 2xCD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is the second of two performances from February 1975 at the Osaka Festival Hall in Japan. This is the evening show; the Columbia release Agharta was the afternoon show. Pangaea is comprised of two tracks, "Zimbabwe" and "Gondwana." Each is divided into two parts. The band here is comprised of Sonny Fortune on saxophones, Pete Cosey (who also played synth) and Reggie Lucas on guitars, Michael Henderson on bass, Al Foster on drums, James Mtume on percussion, and Davis on trumpet and organ. The band, no doubt inspired by their amazing performance earlier in the day, comes out swinging, and I mean like Muhammad Ali, not Benny Goodman. This is a take-no-prisoners set. Davis seems to be pushing an agenda of "What the hell is melody and harmony? And bring on the funk -- and while you're at it, Pete, play the hell outta that guitar. More drums!" If there is anything that's consistent in this free-for-all, as everybody interacts with everyone else in an almighty dirty groove & roll while improv is at an all-time high, it's the rhythmic, or should we emphasize "polyrhythmic," invention. Mtume and Foster are monstrous in moving this murky jam session along ("Zimbabwe" is one set, and "Gondwana" is the second of the evening) some surreal lines. When Cosey's not ripping the pickups out of his guitar, he's adding his hands to various percussion instruments in the

pursuit of the all-powerful Miles Davis' inflected voodoo funk. And while it's true that this set is as relentless as the Agharta issue, it's not quite as successful, though it's plenty satisfying. The reason is simple: the dynamic and dramatic tensions of the afternoon session could never have been replicated, they were based on all conditions being right. Here, while the moods and textures are carried and the flow is quite free, the dramatic tension is not as present; the mood is not quite so dark. And while the playing of certain individuals here may be better than it is on Agharta, the band's playing isn't quite at that level. That said, this is still an essential Miles Davis live record and will melt your mind just as easily as Agharta. People would complain on this tour that Davis played with his back to the audience a lot -- Lester Bangs went so far as to say he hated his guts for it. But if you were this focused on creating a noise so hideously beautiful from thin air, you might not have time to socialize either.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa'<-
Tracklist 1 :
1 Zimbabwe 41:38
Tracklist 2 :
1 Gondwana 49:42
Credits :
Bass [Fender] – Michael Henderson
Congas, Percussion, Drums [Water Drums], Drum Machine [Rhythm Box] – Mtume
Drums – Al Foster
Guitar – Reggie Lucas
Guitar, Synthesizer, Percussion – Pete Cosey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Flute – Sonny Fortune
Trumpet, Organ – Miles Davis