Charles Lloyd - Soundtrack (Atlantic, 1969)

"...I want to transform things 

and make this a blissful 

place. I dream of the day 

when man can live in harmony. 

There's still all that ugliness 

out there and I want to 

wipe it out with beauty..."

- CHARLES LLOYD (from LP back cover)

Charles Lloyd, tenor sax & flute

Keith Jarrett, piano

Ron McClure, bass

Jack DeJohnette, drums

A band briefly together in the late 60's, I know they made this recording and the beautiful Forest Flower but not sure what else. Not sure where it was recorded. Like Jarrett's best solo work of the 70's, a solid, funky foundation that goes pretty far out, but nothing you could call "free" or "out-", not to my ears. Gorgeous jazz for late nights or sunny days.

Side A - "Sombrero Sam", "Voice in the Night" 

Side B - "Pre-Dawn", "Forest Flower '69"

Enjoy

Dynamic Touch Mix

Dynamic Touch Mix by Rsmclaughlin0 on Mixcloud

Another one down..

...and Singer Saints II blog (singersaints2.blogspot.com) is down. Don't know whether it was forced or by choice...but I'll miss it! Hopefully you'll be around with another iteration, Joe Sarno!

Ryuichi Sakamoto - 左うでの夢 (Left Handed Dream) (Alfa, 1981)

This is the Japanese release, vastly different from the U.S. recording I found in the past (No Robin Scott vocals, this is all Ryuichi!). Get ready for some MIDI-fied renditions of traditional-sounding Japanese numbers, some ready-for-dance-floor or midnight-drive-through-the-postmodern-city tracks... Although Brian Eno's hand isn't directly in this, some songs, like "Living in the Dark," definitely sound like the paranoid-jazz rhythm sections of Another Green World. And keep an eye/ear out for Adrian Belew pulling out the stops on tracks like "The Garden of Poppies."

A tight, at times funky, ear-candy filled release from one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Here you go...

Chet Atkins - Chet Atkins in Hollywood (RCA, 1959)

I've been sitting on this one for a while. First record I bought upon my arrival to L.A., not quite Hollywood, but I can see the sign. Anyway, this is sounding pretty good on these first 90 degree days...

As usual, the man with the guitar can sling tasteful licks over even the schmaltz-iest of accompaniments. "Estrelita" and his version of "Jitterbug Waltz" are particularly lovely. And "Armen's Theme" is my favorite, if you want to hear a smart reimagining of it and other sunny numbers, check out Co La's version on "Rest in Paradise." 

In fact, here's that version now: 

Here you go

(As for the upload, I found out it's actually a re-recording Chet did in '61 with the orchestra tapes. If it's any consolation, I like this better than the original vinyl I have...)