Seawind - Part 2

Hey there. Back today to quickly finish up our look into jazz-funk band, Seawind.

We move into the 80s with the 1980 release, Seawind. Another self-titled album not to be confused with the 1976 debut album we already covered. We have a massive personnel list accompanying the original band, so please check the link for the full list.

We’re starting to get a little softer here as the catalog unfortunately starts to taper off a bit. We do have a nice live version of “Everything Needs Love” which has more of a jazz-rock feel to it. We have another nice, groovy tune in “Still In Love” that also features some nice strings. Those are the 2 highlights here for me.

Next for us is a 1982 album featuring a different vocalist. Summer Nights features vocalist Marlene joining the original band along with another sizeable supporting personnel cast.

This one starts off with more promise with the very funky title tune. We have a couple other solid tunes in “I Could Dance Tonight” and “Semi-Forgotten Movie” before we get to another highlight for me in “Good Enough For You.” Perhaps give the vocal version a visit if you find the instrumentals here a little mundane.

I'm not sure of the circumstances but that was the last release for the band. The original band got back together in 2009 for a final album titled, Reunion. They also brought trumpeter Larry Hall along.

The one also starts off strongly with a nice tune in “He Loves You” but I particularly start digging this one towards the end. “Pearl” is a nice tune along with the following “You’re My Everything,” which features a nice bass line and overall groove. One of my favorites from the catalog is the “Devil Is A Liar” and we get a new rendition here. As expected, it's likely the best tune from the trio of today's albums. We sneak out of here with the closing "Liquid Spies" which again is a nice groovy tune to close out the catalog. 

Reunion did a lot of the heavy lifting here but I hope you guys found the overall sound of this band to be enjoyable. 

We will continue with the funky for a few posts. Stay tuned.

Seawind

Hey everyone. Back today to get back into things after finishing our deep dive into Terumasa Hino.

Lucky for us, I've found a ton of new to me music that is fantastic. Looking forward to sharing it with you guys. 

Today we're going to look into the jazz-funk/fusion band Seawind. You may remember we came across their horn section on the Alphonse Mouzon, By All Means album. Turns out they have a handful of albums in the late-70s, early 80s. Some tunes are hit or miss but overall pretty good vibes throughout here. 

One important note: I made instrumentals for each album back when I found their catalog and they’re what I've been listening to. There are vocals throughout, and I've included the originals of course, but I will be discussing these records with the instrumentals in mind. Overall I think the instrumentals turned out OK but some vocals leak through here and there.

Originally formed in Hawaii, the group consists of multi-instrumentalist, Larry Williams, who plays keys and various reeds, reedsman Kim Hutchcroft, guitarist Bud Nuanez, trumpeter Jerry Hey, bassist Ken Wild and drummer Bob Wilson. Pauline Wilson lent the vocals.

The first album we have here is simply titled Seawind and released in 1976. Some additional personnel notes for this album are Paulinho Da Costa and Ralph MacDonald on percussion and Harvey Mason lends some percussion and vocal support.

We jump right into it with the super funky opening tune “We Got A Way” followed by the equally groovy “You Gotta Be Willin’ To Lose (Part II).” One of the best tunes of the catalog is here in “The Devil Is A Liar” and we also have “Make Up Your Mind” which reminds me a touch of Sly And The FamilyStone, if you’re familiar with the iconic group. “Praise” is another nice tune that has a triumphant feeling to it. Things start to taper off a bit after that and the copy I have has a couple of bonus tracks included in “Can’t Wait” and “Please Say Yes.”

Overall an excellent start to the catalog. This album alone warrants a post, in my opinion. On to the next.

The following year in 1977, Seawind returned with Window Of A Child. The same group returns and our additional personnel on this one is the great Bill Summers and Harvey Mason on percussion, Bill Reichenbach is on trombone and Charles Veal is on strings. This one is dialed down a touch from the previous release.

This one also starts off nicely with “One Sweet Night” although not quite as energetic as the last album. Things pick up about midway through “Wings Of Love” and we get some nice bass play from Wild and guitarist Nuanez. Following the bouncy “Do Listen To” we get a very nice melody in “Campanas de Invierno” which reminds me somewhat of LaMont Johnson’s sound. 

We finally get a little funkier with “Angel Of Mercy” which has the most tempo on the album. And we also have “Lovin’ You” which is a nice little laid back, groovy tune that closes strong. “Hallelujah” is also a relatively brisk tune in comparison to the album before we close with another strong tune in “Countin’ The Days.” Not a bad finish to the album.

Next for us is the 1978 release, Light The Light. Looks to me that the main band returns without any additional personnel present. This one has a touch more tempo than the previous release.

More funky vibes here with “Free” being an early highlight and another top tune from the catalog. “Follow Your Road” slows things down a bit but finishes quite strong. The title track is another solid tune with great tempo. 

Hutchcroft shines on soprano sax on “Morning Star” before we move to the nicely paced “Imagine.” This one closes with “Enchanted Dance” which features some nice flute play, although I’m not sure if it’s coming from Hutchcroft or Larry Williams. Hey also has some nice playing on trumpet here as we wrap this album up. 

That's a wrap for our first 3 albums from Seawind. I'll be back in a couple days with 3 more. 

Terumasa Hino - 2000s & 2010s

Hey there. Here's our look into the 2000s & 2010s for Terumasa Hino. 

First up for the new century is the 2000 release, Transfusion. Joining Hino we have legends Ron Carter on bass with Jack DeJohnette on drums. We have Roland Hanna on piano, as well.

Based on title alone I hoped this was a nice late fusion record from Hino but that’s not the case. Very pleasant, straight-ahead stuff here. This one picks up a tick with “The Time & The Place” which is the main highlight for me. Nothing wrong with this one, just nothing really stands out too much to me.

Hino returned the following year with 2001’s D.N.A. featuring the same quartet we heard on Transfusion.

This one starts off with a little more personality in “Black Jack” and we have mostly the same sound we’ve been hearing throughout the 90s. “Internet” is another solid tune and we’re on to the next.

2003’s Here We Go Again is next up and Hino is back in Japan for this one. Joining him we have Seiji Tada on alto and soprano saxes, Akira Ishii on piano, Hideaki Kanazawa on bass with Eiichiro Toyama on drums. Moto is here on drums for track 10, “Authentic.”

More straight-ahead stuff here although we do go a little harder bop on “Charles Tone” and “Quick Solution.” But my favorite here is the ballad, “Melancholy Daddy.” Another solid, albeit tame, release from Hino.

We have ourselves an OST for our next release. I have it translating as The Translucent Tree. This is a duo album from Hino and pianist Ishii released in 2004.

Very soft throughout with “Ember The Tree” being quite nice. Like with many OSTs, we have some recurring sounds as we go. The final 4 tunes are long versions of the bulk of the album, with “Ember” being the best of the bunch, in my opinion.

In 2005, Hino released Dragon with a similar group made up of Ishii on piano, Tada on alto and soprano saxes, Jung Chic Lee on tenor sax, Kanazawa on bass with Koichi Inoue on drums.

This one starts off with "Mongolian Dragon" which is a touch more scattered than what we've been hearing recently. Otherwise we mostly have straight ahead stuff here with other highlights being "Big Foot" and "Beam." 

Hino returned the following year in 2006 with Crimson. Again we have Tada, Ishii, Kanazawa and Inoue, with the addition of percussionist Tomoo Tsurutani.

Mostly more of the same here but I do really dig the ballads this album has to offer. The muted trumpet on the opening "How Insensitive" and "Susan" is my favorite sound on this one. We also have a little rendition of "Summertime."

Last for the decade we have 2008's Jakko. Here we have Tada as well as Joh Yamada on sax, we have Ishii on piano with Masahiko Satoh also playing piano on tracks 1 & 6. We have Kanazawa on bass with Kazumaru on drums. 

This one is also a little more scattered than what we've been hearing since the mid-90s or so. "AM PM" is the highlight here for me while "Santa Cristina" is also a nice tune. 

Into the 2010s we go with only 2 more albums before we finish the series. I again thought 2011's Aftershock might just be the late fusion record I was hoping for. Based on personnel, hopefully this one is a little more interesting. 

Joining Hino we have Ishii on piano, Masahiko Satoh on synthesizer, Yosuke Onuma on electric guitar, Takashi Sugawa on acoustic bass and tabla with Kenji Hino on electric bass. We have Ogimi Gen on percussion with DJ Honda on turntables. The drums here sound to be coming from either Satoh on synthesizer or from DJ Honda. There isn't a traditional drummer which is a disappointment. 

Electro-jazz-fusion perhaps? This definitely has a spacey, broken beat vibe as it opens with "Inert Motion." Hard to pin down a favorite as I really don't know what to make of this album. Not a sound everyone will enjoy, but it has some redeemable moments. 

Eight years later in 2019, Hino released Beyond The Mirage, which is the last album we have here for the legendary trumpeter. 

Joining Hino here we have Ishii on piano, Ippei Kato on guitar, Tomokazu Sugimoto on bass with Shun Ishiwaka on drums. Maybe this is my late fusion record I'm dying for. 

We open with the title track which features great playing from the young drummer, Ishiwaka. We move on to "Long Branch" and we get some nice guitar playing from Kato with Ishiwaka continuing to shine. Looks like we need to see what else this young man has been up to. 

Next up is "Shun" which naturally features tons of soloing from the drummer. Another great tune here is "Buttonwood" and we get to hear Ishii on a Hammond B3. We also get another version of "Still Be Bop" which we originally heard on 1980's Daydream. All in all a pretty rock solid record to close our journey.

I hope everyone found something within Hino's catalog that they enjoyed. We'll be back soon. 

Terumasa Hino - 1990s

Hey there. Back today to begin the 1990s from Terumasa Hino. I'm about ready to move on to new horizons so I'm going to crank out these last few Hino posts. I'll extend my page a bit so they all show up.

We enter the new decade and first up is another live album. Recorded and released in 1991, Live In Warsaw features some new faces in John Hart on guitar, Roger Byam on sax, Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Jay Anderson on bass with Michael Carvin on drums.

This one opens fantastically with “Kimiko”, I’m assuming a tribute to the jazz singer Kimiko Kasai. Great playing from all involved. Byam and Hart specifically play very well, as does Gumbs. Another highlight here would be Hino original, “Why Knot.”

1991 also saw Hino's first release on Blue Note with From The Heart. We again have Byam, Hart, Gumbs and Carvin, although this time around we have Michael Formanek on bass.

This opens with “Free Mandela” which was obviously a huge topic internationally at the time. Hino also has a tune here titled “There’s Always A Time For Peace” so it looks like he’s definitely using his position in music to make a statement which you always like to see. We have another nice version of “Kimiko” here, as well as “Why Knot.” Not a bad contemporary jazz album, by any means.

Hino’s second album on Blue Note was released in 1992 and titled Unforgettable in the US. It went as Blue Smiles in Japan. Curious if since Hino was from outside the US, if Blue Note wanted to reference something familiar to US listeners with the title Unforgettable.

And after listening to this album, Blue Smiles is the absolute perfect title. I call this Sunday evening jazz, and frankly it’s been one of my favorite albums overall. Very easy going, straight forward stuff here. Supporting Hino we have the great Cedar Walton on piano, David Williams on bass with Michael Carvin on drums.

The title track, “I’ve Never Been In Love Before” and “Alfie” are my favorites here.

Next up for us is an album that I thought we had discussed during our deep dive into Masabumi Kikuchi. Sure looks like I missed it when we covered the pianist. Triple Helix was released in 1993 and features Kikuchi on piano, James Genus on bass with Masahiko Togashi on percussion.

This one is a little random and scattered at times with highlights for me being “Dr. U” and the ballad, “The Saphire Way.”

1994’s Spark is next for us and we have quite a few new faces in Tatsuya Sato on sax, Benisuke Sakai and Terumasa’s son, Kenji Hino on bass. We also have Jay Hoggard on marimba and vibes, Hiromasa Suzuki and Takeaki Sugiyama on synthesizer, Tatsuji Yokoyama, Mark DeRose and Don Alias on percussion with Moto on drums.

This one starts off superbly with a rendition of Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father.” A great take on an absolute classic. The multiple percussionists here is a nice touch. "Monday Night Village Gate" is another great, feverishly paced tune. A pretty fun album and one of the more interesting listens in the back half of the catalog.

The last album we have here for the 1990s is 1998’s Terumasa Hino Meets Manhattan Jazz Quintet – ‘Round Midnight. Joining Hino we have fellow trumpeter Lew Soloff, tenor saxophonist George Young, personal favorite and subject of a funky future post, David Matthews on piano, Charnett Moffett on bass with Victor Lewis on drums.

Mostly standards here and typically this would be easy to skim over but until the 90s, we haven’t really heard Hino play standards. “Art Blakey” is the highlight here, as well as a nice rendition of “Autumn Leaves.”

That’s a wrap for the 90s. Back soon to begin the 2000s.

Terumasa Hino - 1980s - Part 2

Hey there. Back today to round out the 1980s for Terumasa Hino.

1985's Trans-Blue is first for us. All standards here and we do have vocals on a couple of tunes. Kind of nice since we haven't heard much of this before from Terumasa. We have a full orchestra which is certainly nicer than the synth strings we've heard before. "Black Orpheus" is nice and sounds like Jim Hall lent the solo on guitar. There's an excellent album from Jim I'd like to share from this time period. We'll work it in at some point.

We’re going to work in a 1985 album titled Ayers Rock from Richard Beirach on piano, Masahiko Togashi on percussion with Hino on various instruments. This one is mostly aimless and difficult for me to really pin down a favorite. “Boomerang” develops into a nice tune. This reminds me I do believe I forgot Zal, an album from Beirach and Hino from 1970 with Yoshiaki Masuo. I'll get it added. 

Also in 1985 Hino was featured on an album from Suiho Tousha titled Fuuin: Fue Improvisation. Tousha is on the fue, a Japanese bamboo flute, Susumu Miyashita is on koto with Junko Arase on marimba.

"Fly" is a nice tune here on an album that otherwise doesn't do too much for me.

The next 2 albums for us are 1986's Tradewind and 1988's Detour and all I can say is yikes. If you're into the electro-synth jazz of the late-80s & early-90s, then dive right in. I've included the albums here but that's where I'll leave it. 

A return to a more straight ahead sound is welcomed with 1989’s Bluestruck. Names of note joining Hino here are John Scofield on guitar and Onaje Allan Gumbs on keys.

Good vibes throughout on this one with a nice version of Woody Shaw’s “Sweet Love Of Mine.” Another good tune here is Hino original, “Hugo.” Nothing too mind blowing but a nice change of pace after the last couple of albums.

Last album of the decade for us is 1989's On The Road. Again, I'm in the dark on personnel but what we do have here is a Latin jazz album to close the 80s. This one kind of loses me with the acoustic guitar that isn't my favorite sound in jazz. This definitely has a "modern" sound to it and I'm not sure how else to describe it. Not my favorite album of the bunch.

The wraps up the 1980s, and although we had a few misses, overall a solid decade from Terumasa. See you guys soon. 

Terumasa Hino - 1980s - Part 1

Hey there. Back today to cover the 1980s from our friend Terumasa Hino. 

Like a lot of his contemporaries, the 1980s didn't age entirely well for Hino. Luckily, the damage is minimal. I also think we can squeeze this decade into 2 posts. Let's get to it.

We have more fusion to begin with the 1980 release Daydream. Another massive group of personnel spread out across the different tunes. A few names that stand out are Masabumi Kikuchi and Bob James on keys, Michael Brecker on sax and flute and Steve Gadd on drums. We even have a young Luther Vandross lending backup vocals, of all people to make an appearance. Please check the link for a full list.

The super groovy “Still Be Bop” opens this one up. I can see where this might not be everyone’s favorite sound but I simply love this tune. We have vocals on “Sweeter & Sweeter” and I’ve included an instrumental. A nice samba tune in "Antigua Boy" is here with nice playing from Brecker. "Gently" is a nice slower tune that also has vocals so I've included an instrumental for it, as well. 

Also in 1980 we have a Sadao Watanabe vs. Terumasa Hino record that features 2 songs from Sadao on side A with 1 tune from Hino on side B. Joining Sadao who brought his flute and alto and soprano saxes, we have Yoshiaki Masuo on guitar, Yoshio Suzuki on bass with Hirotami Tsunoda on drums. Hino’s group consists of Pete Yellin and Gary Pribec on alto sax and flute, Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman on tenor and alto saxes, with Steve also on flute. I don’t have a bassist listed and we have Moto on drums.

Sadao’s side is made up of “Pastoral” and “Round Trip Coming.” Both a little scattered, both a little groovy. I think I dig the latter, with it’s nice soloing from Masuo, over the former. Hino’s side consists of a very scattered “Journey To Air” that we’ve heard before.

Wheel Stone – Live In Nemuro Vol. 2 is next for us. Released in 1981, Hino again has Hideo Miyata on sax, Fumio Itabashi on keys, Kiyoshi Sugimoto on guitar, Tsutomu Okada on bass, Yuji Imamura on percussion with Moto on drums.

Back to what we’re used to here with 2 long tunes. We have “Speak To Loneliness” and “’Round Midnight.” Another excellent live recording while I do prefer the first tune to the second.

Also in 1981, Hino returned with Double Rainbow, released on Columbia. Another large personnel group here and we have quite a few big names present to support Hino. We have Masabumi Kikuchi, Kenny Kirkland and Herbie Hancock on keys, Anthony Jackson, George Mraz and Reggie Workman on bass, Steve Grossman on sax with Harvey Mason, Lenny White and Billy Hart on drums, to name a few.

This one opens terrifically with "Merry Go Round." "Yellow Jacket" is the other highlight here in another jazz-funk/fusion record. 

1982’s Pyramid is next up for us. A large personnel list again here with what looks to be mostly session musicians. We do have the late, great, David Sanborn here. RIP. More funky fusion here and we’re starting to get into the era where there are simply no guarantees on the quality of the music. Hino is continuing to deliver, as far as I'm concerned.

Highlights for this one are the fantastic "Think About It" and despite the somewhat annoying hand-claps, "Silent Slope." One of my favorite tunes we've heard is here in "Arcadia."

Into 1983 we go with New York Times. Similar situation here regarding personnel with a massive list of mostly session players. This one didn't age entirely well but Hino still carries the album on his playing alone. Highlights here for me are "Key Breeze" and "Freeland."

1984 brought us The Breeze & Sky OST. I can’t seem to have any luck with personnel so we’ll let the music do the talking. One odd thing here is that I found one large file for this that had to be cut down to tracks. I came out with 12. According to the discogs link we have 12 songs on side A with 9 songs on side B. If I recall correctly, I may have chopped a lost of useless noise out. I’ve included the original single file if anyone wants to dig deeper.

We have some vocals on a few of the tunes here and overall this is very much a 1980s bouncy jazz-funk sound. But there are some softer moments from Hino, as well. The second to last tune, track 11, is my favorite here.

That wraps up part 1 of the 1980s for Terumasa. We'll be back with part 2 soon. 

Terumasa Hino - 1970s - Part 6

Back again with our final 3 from the 1970s for Terumasa Hino. 

We’re starting to get a little funky in 1978 as we inch closer to fusion with Hip Seagull. We again have John Scofield on guitar, old friend Kohsuke Mine on tenor and soprano saxes, Mickey Masuda on keys, Clint Houston on bass, M'tume on percussion with Moto and George Otsuka on drums. We also have Kimiko Kasai and Tawatha lending some vocals.

The title track opens here and once it develops we have a nice funky rhythm from Scofield and Houston on bass. It changes about halfway through with Mine playing wonderfully with Houston playing at a feverish pace. We get a nice drum solo here as well, and based on playing style, I’m assuming this is Otsuka rather than Moto.

The incredibly smooth (and silky, not smooth jazz) “This Planet Is Ours” follows and we hear the vocalists with some non-lyrical harmonizing to start us off before Hino dives in. More great bass play from Houston here and lucky for us, Mine brought the soprano along. I did not make an instrumental here b/c the vocals are quite pleasant and don’t take away from the tune, in my opinion.

We have more phrasing from the vocalists on relatively soft “Fall” and we close this one out with “Life Trip” which once developed, turned out to be a great tune. You can really feel the presence of M’tume here, with Masuda also playing terrifically.

Next up for us is a live record, and instantly one of my favorite recordings we’ve listened to so far. 1978’s Wheel Stone - Live In Nemuro features Hideo Miyata on tenor sax, Kiyoshi Sugimoto on guitar, Fumio Itabashi on keys, Tsutomu Okada on bass with Moto on drums.

Two long, contrasting tunes here with the opener being perfectly paced “Mocco” which features some of the best playing we’ve heard from Hino and Miyata. The crowd reacts as each player solos and it’s just a great feeling all around. “In The Darkness” follows and we get to hear Hino play solo for a few minutes. The tune then develops quite nicely as we round out this great performance.

Next for us is the 1979 release, City Connection. More of a jazz-funk affair, we have a massive personnel list here highlighted by Randy Brecker lending support on trumpet and flugelhorn. For a full list, please check the link.

The tunes here are shorter and more abundant. Super funky stuff and we do have vocals on a few tracks. The title track here is fantastic, as is “Send Me Your Feelings”, one of the songs with vocals. I’ve included an instrumental. Good stuff continues with "High Tide - Manhattan Ecstasy" and the peppy "Samba De La Cruz." The nice ballad "Blue Smiles" closes this one out, a tribute to fellow trumpeter, Blue Mitchell, who passed that year in 1979.

That’s it for the 1970s and maybe pound for pound one of our better posts. We’ll begin the 1980s very soon, for better or worse.

Terumasa Hino - 1970s - Part 5

Hey there. Back today with our next 5 from Terumasa Hino.

First up for today is the 1975 release, Speak To Loneliness. Back with a quintet made up of Miyata on tenor and soprano saxes, Itabashi on keys, Okada on bass with Moto on drums. Additional support is here with Sugimoto on tracks 1 & 3, Mukai is present for tracks 2 & 3, tenor saxophonist Suetoshi Shimizu is here on tracks 2 & 3, percussionist Guilherme Franco is on track 2 with Imamura on 3.

Same blueprint here in 3 long tunes. This time around we open with the title track, followed by “Little Lovers” and “Hi-Nology.”

The title track starts off a little softly here but develops quite nicely with Miyata shining on soprano. "Little Lovers" is a nice ballad with some softer than usual playing from Sugimoto. An excellent rendition of "Hi-Nology" closes this one out with more great playing from Sugimoto and Hino.

                                  

Into 1976 we go with Hogiuta. Recorded in NYC, this one looks to be a quartet made up of Hino on trumpet and flugelhorn, Cecil McBee on bass, James M’tume on percussion with Moto on drums.

This one has a touch of aimlessness but starting with the third tune, "Yuhwa", it begins to pick up. The two following tunes are also quite nice in the title track and "Yuhkyu." The drums are relatively soft here with the percussionist adding some nice support. I would almost describe some of these tunes as spiritual jazz, or at least adjacent to that. Pretty solid release.

Now Hear This with Hal Galper was released the following year in 1977 with Hino technically a sideman. Again recorded in NYC, joining Hino on trumpet and Galper on piano, we again have McBee on bass with legend Tony Williams on drums.

All originals from Galper here with the exception of “Bemsha Swing” from Monk. This one starts off very well with the title track. Galper and Williams both set the tone, in my opinion.

After a soft tune in “Shadow Waltz” we finish very strong with “Mr. Fixit”, “First Song In The New Day”, “Bemsha Swing” and my favorite, “Red Eye Special.” Great album through and through.

Also in 1977, Hino released May Dance with a fantastic line-up of John Scofield on guitar, Ron Carter on bass with Williams again on drums.

Scofield plays wonderfully on the nicely paced opening tune, "Wind Blows Your Skin." The soft and quiet pleasant "The Wild Lady" follows, again with great pace and Hino shining. Things pick up with "Big Celebration" and my favorite tune of the album in "Free Land" follows. Scofield has a riff setting this one up. After two more strong tunes in "Moss On The Rock" and "Lovin' May," we have another great album in the books.

Next we're going to squeeze in another 1977 album from the Ken McIntyre Sextet titled Introducing the Vibrations. Featuring Hino as a sideman, McIntyre brings a variety of instruments along with an alto sax, flute, bass clarinet, oboe and bassoon. Richie Harper is on piano, Alonzo Gardner is on bass, Andy Vega is on percussion with Andrei Strobert on drums.

A nice little album here coming in right at 40 minutes. "Clear Eyes" is the highlight here for me with great playing between McIntyre on oboe and Hino on trumpet. "Now Is The Time" is another nice tune. Nice stuff from McIntyre.

That's a wrap for our next 5 from Hino. We'll be back soon. 

LaMont Johnson

We are going to take a small break from Terumasa Hino and give a listen to the fantastic soul-jazz, jazz-funk composer and pianist, LaMont Johnson. Born in NYC, Johnson primarily played with saxophonist Jackie McLean but also released a handful of pretty stellar solo albums. His recordings feel like albums, whereas occasionally we run into recordings that just sound like a handful of tunes thrown together. Cohesiveness and consistency are on display throughout. Great stuff.

For his solo career, the first album we’ll dive into is 1972's, Sun,Moon And Stars. Joining LaMont we have Charles Owens on flute and sax, Sal Marquez on trumpet and flugelhorn, Yusef Rahman on trombone, Art Johnson and Mike Deasey on guitar, Reggie Johnson and Stan Gilbert on bass, Pondaza on percussion with Ray Pounds and Mel Lee on drums.

More of a jazz-funk, jazz-rock sound to this one at times. For me, this will be one of my least enjoyable releases from the catalog, strictly due to the synthesizer (listed as an EX-42) LaMont uses on a few tunes here. It’s sounds like a drunken keyboard of some sort. But that’s not to say that we don’t have some gems. “Medusa’s Meandering” is a stellar tune with Owens playing great on tenor. “That’s Not The Way You Do It, Beverly” is another excellent tune, synth part notwithstanding.

This one closes with a slightly tamer sound on the back end with “Europa”, “Andromeda” and “Libra’s Longing” with LaMont relying mostly on an acoustic piano. “Libra’s Longing” also brings us Owens playing quite well on the flute. Not a bad intro to the pianist, but the best is still ahead.

Before we move on to the bulk of Johnson’s catalog, let's take a quick stop in 1973 to squeeze in the Score From Thunderfist, which features LaMont playing with Blue Mitchell. This one is pretty quick with 4 short, what I would call funky soul-jazz, tunes in, “Offspring”, “Teeth’s Theme”, “Chow Chun’s Theme” and finally the “Thunderfist Theme.” This all sounds like something Madlib would sample, if you’re familiar with the producer. Not bad stuff by any means.

Next up, and largely considered to be Johnson’s magnus opus, is the 1976 release, Nine… A Mystical, Musical Allegory. We have a pretty sizeable personnel group that features Ronnie Laws on tenor sax and flute and Blue Mitchell on trumpet and flugelhorn. Please check the link for the full list.

This one starts off wonderfully with the super funky “Benign Beginning” followed by the title track which is a suite made up of “Philosopher’s Stone”, “Alchemy” and “Touchstone.” Excellent funkiness throughout this one. “Alchemy” is a highlight here with Johnson playing terrifically on the Rhodes. “Calypso After Nine” is another excellent tune with more fantastic Rhodes play and a nice touch of strings from The Karmazyn String Ensemble.

“The Cat And Nine Tomorrows” is slightly airy tune with great soprano play that gets credited to Rudy Johnson, who we heard on Habiba, and features more great playing from LaMont. Rudy has a couple of solo albums floating out there that’ll I’ll try to find for a follow-up post. The super groovy “Dare To Be Different” follows and features more great play on the Rhodes from LaMont and Laws on tenor.

This one closes with the nice solo tune “No, I Never End” and a fantastic listen is in the books. Be careful if you have a copy of this one already, many copies have the tracks mis-tagged.

As The LaMont Johnson Sextette, 1979 saw the release of Aces on Johnson’s Masterscores label. Joining LaMont, we have Gary Pack on trumpet & flugelhorn, John Rekevics on sax and flute, Bill Coleman on guitar, Gunnar Briggs on bass with Tim Shea on drums.

I’m not sure why, but at first glance at the album cover, I expected a super funky album. This one starts off very scattered with the title track that calms down about halfway through to a very nice melody. The relatively tame “Virunga Dancesong” follows with nice soprano play from Rekevics. The fantastic melody, or something very close, we heard on “Aces” picks back up here with my favorite tune maybe from the catalog in “Nina.” We have more great playing from Rekevics, as well as from Pack. To me, this is soul jazz at it’s finest.

“Second Hand Child” is also a very nice tune with Pack’s muted trumpet and Rekevic’s flute adding some nice touches. Also the first time I really notice guitarist Coleman. We get to hear some brisk playing from LaMont on “Midnite Mind Mosaic” before we close with “Life Is A Sweet Thing.” I really dig this one.

1980 brought us New York Exile which features quite a few names for me. We have Hollis Gentry on flute, plus alto and soprano sax, CharlesMcPherson on tenor sax, Nathan East on bass, Ronnie Stewart on percussion and drums.

This one starts off more straightforward than we’ve heard so far, but entering the 1980s I’ll take straight-ahead over the possibility of smooth jazz, etc. Pleased to report that we never take that turn here with LaMont. We hear some great playing from LaMont on “Slugs In The Far East” and we hear some nice flute play from Gentry on “Sydenham Square.” My favorite here might be the funky “Mount Morris Park” where we get Gentry on the soprano and LaMont on the synthesizer.

The rest of the 80s for LaMont was playing with McLean on 2 of his albums, and it’s not until 1991 that we get his next solo album as leader. Burned By The Passion was released in 1991. I’ve been unable to locate the personnel list for this one so we’ll jump right into the tunes. Although we do have a trumpeter, a guitarist, an electric bassist, a percussionist, and a drummer.

I would describe this as soul-jazz with a little straight-ahead bop mixed in with LaMont primarily employing the acoustic piano. We open with the title track that settles into a nice groove and closes with a funky change-up. “Espace Glace’” is another excellent highlight here with LaMont playing beautifully, as well as the guitarist. “Oliver Revolves” and standard “Nature Boy” are other highlights here in more of the soul jazz light. A nice album on the back end of LaMont’s career.

Next for us is an album with the excellent guitarist, KennyBurrell. Collaboration was released in 1995 and features a relatively large personnel group without any additional names jumping out to me. Check the link for the full list. 

This one starts off pretty softly and with vocals on “Sunset Time.” Followed by the relatively tame “Empty Water,” with Burrell playing quite well. The theme throughout is pretty easy going and the remaining tune I really dig is LaMont tune, “Aidiju Dumee.” It has the briskest pace on the album and also features some nice soloing from the group and some big band sections. Not much to bring me back to this one, however. But not a bad album if this is a sound you dig.

The last release for us and the final release before LaMont’s death in 1999 is 242 E. 3rd. Released in 1998 on LaMont’s Masterscores label, we have Jimmy Greene on tenor sax, Don Sickler on trumpet, Howard Johnson on tuba, Tim Ries on flute, Daniel Sadownick on percussion, Lonnie Plaxico on bass with Marcus Baylor on drums. On Google Maps, this address in NYC is a Dominican bakery. I wonder what it was at the time of it’s significance to LaMont.

This one starts off with a great composition in “Jester’s Game” and after some nice soloing from Greene we get some great playing from LaMont. The very rhythmic title track follows with great tempo and support from Sadownick and Baylor, including more great playing from Greene. “Charismatica” develops into a nice tune and LaMont shows us he hasn’t lost a step on piano.

We have another great composition and a Spanish vibe on “Tio Hespano” which is followed by one of my favorites from the catalog in “Membrane Solace.” The muted trumpet from Sickler opens with a great melody. “Bebe Djhain” is a relatively tame tune but features another great melody from the muted trumpet of Sickler. “Visions On A Chaise” continues the theme with muted trumpet and almost a dragnet vibe to it. We close well with “Fang Dancer,” an upbeat tune that features a nice bit on flute. 

And there you have it. I hope you guys have enjoyed this catalog as much as I have. LaMont is one of my all-time faves.

We’ll be back with 5 more from Terumasa Hino very soon.