CK Listens

Good morning. Back again with our next look at Fumio Karashima's work.  First for today we have another acoustic trio album in 1981's A Child In The Wind . Mainstay George Otsuka is here again on drums and this time we have American Richard Davis on bass. All originals on this one and we again have a pretty straightforward sound from the trio. Davis adds the bow into the mix on "Portrait" and I particularly enjoy the title track. Nothing earth-shattering here but a nice album.  Next up we have yet another acoustic trio album in 1982's Elegant Evening . This time we have Motohiko Hino on drums with Ikuo Sakurai on bass. All originals here with the exception of the final 2 tunes. "After Love Emptiness" from  Bobby Thomas  and "Nefertiti" from legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter . I personally really dig the somber vibe of "Ancient Tales." I also really enjoy the B side to this one - listed as "Medley" it's comprised of

Hey there. Today we'll continue our look into pianist Fumio Karashima.  The first album for today, Moonflower , was released in 1978 as Fumio Karashima Meets Elvin Jones . Joining Fumio and the legendary drummer, we have bassist Andy McCloud who accompanied Elvin on many of his late 70s, early 80s recordings. More of what we're used to on this one with mostly straight ahead sounds from the trio. The opening title track is quite nice followed by a nice rendition of standard, "My Funny Valentine." Original "Friday Night" is next which picks up the tempo just a touch and features quite a bit of soloing from Jones. Another original from Fumio follows in "Bitter Waltz" before we close with the Coltrane tune "Bessie's Blues." Altogether, a very nice little record. Next for us is our first quartet album in 1979's Hot Islands . Joining Fumio on this one we have saxophonist Mabumi Yamaguchi , bassist and  Weather Report founding member, 

For the next few posts I'd like to take a look at some albums from pianist Fumio Karashima . We encountered him on  Mabumi Yamaguchi 's After The Rain album. The collection I have (10 albums total) is mostly made up of acoustic trio albums - and I find Fumio to have a very tasteful and accessible playing style.  First up is 1976's Piranha . A mostly straightforward album although Fumio's playing sometimes has a classical vibe to it, in my opinion. Especially on the opening tune "Little Island." Joining the pianist we have bassist Isao Suzuki (which is what lead me here originally) and drummer Jimmy Hopps . Favorites here are previously mentioned "Little Island" as well as J.J. Johnson tune "Lament." The closing Karashima tune "Blue-Th-Ree" is also quite nice.  Next up for us is another trio album. 1977's Landscape features bassist George Mraz and excellent drummer Motohiko Hino  who we've seen quite a few times now . A

Another quick post for today as I stumbled across another Isao Suzuki album that we didn't previously cover. Recorded live in 1998 on 2 separate occasions at the Aketa No Mise club in Tokyo, New  was released on the backend of Isao's career as the Isao Suzuki Group. Joining Isao we have guitarist Takayuki Kato (tracks 2-4) and drummer Shota Koyama . Track 5 also features pianist Yoriyuki Harada . This one is relatively straightforward throughout but does have some moments that venture into the free jazz realm. Isao opens with a solo bass tune "Alone Together" and the rest of the trio joins in for "Blues for Isao" next. "Jump Monk Jump" has a nice tempo to it followed by "Yesterday" that brings the tempo way back down. "1998 All Open" is 21-minutes long and is the most improvised tune of the bunch. A nearly solo version of "Summertime" closes things out for this one.  Nothing groundbreaking here necessarily, but for t

Hey there. Going to squeeze in a quick one for today. Hadn't listened to this album in a while and revisited it over the weekend. Super enjoyable record from Belgian guitarist  Philip Catherine . We heard Philip on the  Alphonse Mouzon  record  In Search Of A Dream  from our last post. For me, at some point I learned about keyboardist  Joachim Kuhn , which led me to Catherine and Mouzon. Great vibes on this one throughout. Guitar-led fusion, jazz-funk, jazz-rock - however you describe it - it's a solid album through and through.  Released in 1972,  Stream  consists of 12 quick-hitting tracks but the version I have here has 3 bonus tunes, as well. Looks like it must be the 2017 cd re-issue. Joining the guitarist we have keyboardist  Marc Moulin , bassist  Freddy Deronde  and drummer  Freddy Rothier .  A lot of good stuff on this one. I really dig Moulin tune "November" and Catherine tune "Foire" and the Charles Bobbit tune "Give It Up Or Turn It Aloose.&

Happy Friday. Today is our final post for the deep dive into Herbie Hancock's run in the 1970s. We've looked at quite a few albums from him and his supporting personnel over the years. Today we have 5 albums to close out the decade.  First up we have a Japan release from 1979 that features 3 fantastic tunes and a great group of personnel.  Directstep  is one of the few Hancock albums that includes a 2nd keyboardist. With Hancock on his usual Fender Rhodes, clavinet and variety of synthesizers, we also have Webster Lewis providing support most noticeably on the Hammond organ. Although he's listed as also playing the Rhodes and a few synthesizers himself. We also have Bennie Maupin on soprano and tenor saxophone and lyricon , Ray Obiedo on guitar, Paul Jackson on bass, Bill Summers on percussion and personal favorite Alphonse Mouzon on drums.  This one starts off with as good of a version of "Butterfly" as you'll find. I personally dig the sound of Lewis an

We are nearing the home stretch here with only a couple of posts remaining. Our albums from yesterday were relatively straight ahead and today we will veer back towards the funky.  First for today is an album that I've read mixed reviews on but I absolutely love. Tempo abound, and adjacent to disco at times, Sunlight was released in 1978 and features Herbie's vocals through the Sennheiser vocoder. Personnel on this one is somewhat complicated because a variety of musicians were used on the 5-track album. If you check this link you can see a better breakdown for each tune. While the most popular tune from this one is the opening "I Thought It Was You" we definitely have some other gems on here. "Come Running To Me" and "No Means Yes" are equally good, in my opinion. The closing tune "Good Question" has always garnered attention due to beloved bassist Jaco Pastorius being featured, but to me it doesn't quite fit the sound of the rest

Hey there. Back again today with a few more from 1977 and onto 1978. What we'll be looking at today is more of a straight ahead sound which isn't my first choice typically - but some great stuff nonetheless. First up is a trio album with Herbie on acoustic piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums. Third Plane   was recorded in July of 1977 and features mostly originals from within the group with the exception of standard "Stella By Starlight." Personal favorites here are the Carter tune "United Blues" and the Hancock classic "Dolphin Dance."  The next album for us features the same lineup of Hancock, Carter and Williams. The material for this one is from the same recording sessions as Third Plane . As such, Trio '77 again is a more straight ahead sound but I much prefer this album to the previous. All Hancock tunes here aside from the closing "Milestones" from little known trumpeter Miles Davis . I personally really di

Back again and we have a variety of sounds for our next batch of albums.  First for today we have the double live album VSOP  which features tunes from 3 different bands led by Hancock. The first 4 tunes are from The VSOP Quintet  featuring Ron Carter on bass, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on sax and Tony Williams on drums. Nothing to see here except for 5 legends making a little music together. Great version of "Maiden Voyage" and "Eye Of The Hurricane" before we move on.  The next 2 tunes are from the Mwandishi band with Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Bennie Maupin on flute, Buster Williams on bass and Billy Hart on drums. Here we have "Toys" and "You'll Know When You Get There" before we switch up the group for the final 2 tunes.  For the final 2 tunes we have The Headhunters band with Maupin on saxophone, Ray Parker Jr.  and Wah Wah Watson on guitar, Paul Jackson on bass and James Levi on

Back again and we have nothing but heat today. We have a couple of releases from 1976 yet to cover and then we'll be moving on to 1977.  1976 saw the release of another album that I consider to be flawless. If  Man-Child  isn't my favorite album of all time, it's probably  Secrets .  Herbie Hancock  - Piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet and various synthesizers. Bennie Maupin  - Soprano and tenor saxophone, saxello, lyricon and bass clarinet. Wah Wah Watson  - Electric guitar and bass (A1 only). Ray Parker  - Electric guitar. Paul Jackson - Electric bass. Kenneth Nash  -  Percussion - . James Gadson  - Drums (A1 only). James Levi  - Drums. I could honestly go on for days about this album and it would mostly be incoherent babble. Nothing I say will do it justice. While all of the songs are 8 minutes or less, each one has so much going on that it's hard for me to describe it in a concise way. The compositions and arrangements are just perfect to me. The change during the open

Hello again. I have a few great albums to squeeze in this week before the weekend. Next week I'm hopeful to wrap this series up b/c  I'm excited about  some other things I have to share. Gonna keep this one brief b/c I'm short on time.  I'll stick to personnel and the tracklist for today. First for today is a live album, recorded in Tokyo in 1975. While I'm not always that into live albums, Flood features some of Herbie's absolute best tunes.  Herbie Hancock - Piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet and synthesizer. Bennie Maupin - Tenor and soprano saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, flute.  Blackbyrd McKnight - Electric guitar. Paul Jackson - Electric bass. Bill Summers - Percussion. Mike Clark - Drums.  Tracklist: 1) Intro and Maiden Voyage 2) Actual Proof 3) Spank-A-Lee 4) Watermelon Man 5) Butterfly 6) Chameleon 7) Hang Up Your Hang Ups Not really a weak spot here. I love "Actual Proof" and "Butterfly" but top to bottom this is a great listen.  1