Jazz | Fusion Vinyl 479 Items

There are constellations within the grooves of Cymbalom Solos. Innumerable points of light, rendered audible in glowing, radiant sound. There are entire worlds too - undiscovered, yet familiar - both terrestrial and celestial. There are moments of quiet comfort and exultant discovery. And all of it conjured by one man with a handful of ancient and invented instruments, recorded mostly-live, with precious few overdubs. Michael Masley has been a fixture of Berkley, California, since he arrived from Michigan in 1982. Even today, he remains a common sight, working as a street performer - catching the attention of passers-by as he summons otherworldly overtones from a coterie of arcane instruments. This is how he met fellow east-coast transplant and musical voyager, Barry Cleveland, in 1983. Cleveland was enraptured by the sound of Masley’s wildly innovative bowhammer cymbalom. The cymbalom is an ancient instrument, similar to a zither or hammered-dulcimer - originating in Eastern Europe in 1874, but with primitive early examples dating back as early as 3500 BC. Yet Masley’s approach to the instrument was wholly original. Masley replaced the two traditional cymbalom hammers, with bowhammers - an invention wherein he fitted each of his fingers with it’s own combination hammer/bow device, which allowed him to both strike the strings, and bow them like a violin. Outfitted with his bowhammers, Masley was able to wrest startlingly new sounds from a centuries-old instrument. In 1985, after performing together for a couple years, Cleveland produced Masley’s first solo endeavour, Cymbalom Solos. With the help of Cleveland’s timely production, Masley’s technique reached its zenith. His complex and beautiful compositions combined elements of Eastern-European classical, new minimalism, and celtic/folk music, yet the end result falls squarely within the world of new age kosmiche. Music of the spheres, conjured by earthbound strings. Masley estimates that he sold tens-of-thousands of cassette copies of Cymbalom Solos over his years of performing. And now, Morning Trip is distinctly proud to offer it on vinyl for the first time ever - an album of startling, imaginative beauty, by a brilliant American folk artist.

One of the most sought after and highly-regarded titles to have appeared on Tom Albach's celebrated Nimbus West imprint, "One Step Out" is a timeless work of spiritualized jazz. A true gem from the Los Angeles jazz underground, the album was pianist and composer Kaeef Ruzadun Ali's first recording as leader of the Creative Arts Ensemble, the only large ensemble group that emerged directly from Horace Tapscott's legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra community jazz group. A Los Angeles native, Kaeef was introduced to the Tapscott circle in the late 1970s. His first experience of the Arkestra's ethos was through Papa tenorist Michael Session, who took him to the famous "Great House" at 2412 South Western Ave., LA -- a large mansion house which members of the Arkestra had taken over as a space for communal living. Life in the Great House was a continuous stream of music, dance and community events. »When I walked in there,« recalled Kaeef, »it was like this whole rush came over me, just from going in the front door -- It was like a very, very warm feeling of love. I went and I came out with "Flashback Of Time", and that was my first arrangement.« Kaeef quickly became a significant contributor of compositions to the Arkestra's songbook -- his piece "New Horizon" would be recorded by Horace Tapscott for the latter's Tapscott Sessions series. But "Flashback Of Time" would eventually appear on "One Step Out", played by the new group he had put together from stalwart Arkestra members. Inspired by both Tapscott's example and by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Kaeef had wanted to follow their lead by assembling a larger unit. Featuring seasoned Arkestra regulars including reedsman Dadisi Komolafe, drummer Woody "Sonship" Theus and altoist Gary Bias, with veterans Henry "The Skipper" Franklin on bass and George Bohannon on trombone, "One Step Out" is a key document of the Los Angeles radical jazz underground. Featuring the sanctified vocals of Kaeef's sister, B. J. Crowley, the album is a tour de force of spiritually energized independent jazz music.

The best of pianist Horace Tapscott's recordings for the tiny Nimbus label is this 1981 LP which features him in a sextet with trumpeter Reggie Bullen, altoist Gary Bias, tenor saxophonist Sabir Matteen, bassist Roberto Miranda and drummer Everett Brown, Jr. The group stretches out on a couple of Tapscott's originals plus a 19½-minute version of Linda Hill's "Dem Folks". Although the music could be called avant-garde, its use of rhythms and repetition keep the results from being forbidding and the performances have a momentum of their own. Scott Yanow/AMG A great group recording from pianist Horace Tapscott – recorded in LA in the early 80s, but done with all the righteousness and spirituality of his earlier albums! Tracks are long and exploratory, but also relatively lyrical too – stretching out with a style that's never too 'outside', and which has Horace and the group really soaring to the heavens on the best moments! The group here is a sextet – with the great Gary Bias on alto and soprano saxophone, plus Sabir Matteen on tenor, Reggie Bullen on trumpet, Roberto Miguel Miranda on bass, and Everett Brown on drums and percussion – all working with a cohesiveness that reminds us of some of Tapscott's larger group recordings, but with a cleaner, leaner kind of feel. Titles include "Lately's Solo", "Dial B For Barbara", and "Dem Folks".

Robert Ponger is perhaps best known as the producer for Austria’s biggest pop sensation Falco. His unparalleled production skills are on full display in the iconic hit single “Der Kommissar”, and he is also the main man behind Falco’s legendary early albums “Einzelhaft” and “Junge Römer”. But Ponger deserves at least as much credit for his solo recordings. The most sought-after of these is Ponger’s 1979 self-titled LP, which Edition Hawara is honoured to re-issue. The album contains twelve disco-inspired pieces that are unabashedly playful, but also signal serious musical knowledge and finesse. Recorded in the vicinity of Mistelbach, a village even locals struggle to find on a map, Ponger’s LP breathes the vibe of Studio 54 – with the little special extra that only Mistelbach can add. A true Austrian classic.

Limited to 300 copies. Officially licensed. Reissue on two discs.

Originally released in 1979, Betty Lou Landreth's Betty Lou has been expanded to a 15-song double album featuring the original studio recordings along with bonus material, alternative takes, and extensive liner notes from Joel Palmer, the producer of this Motor City holy grail.

Recorded in Detroit and produced and released by Detroit-born jazz historian Joel Palmer on his YaYa label, the album features many veterans and esteemed Detroit and New Orleans Jazzmen. Alongside Joel, producer and arranger Charlie Gabriel recruited some of the city’s top fellow musicians for the session, including his longtime friend and housemate, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, drummer J.C. Heard, Motown's Funk Brothers, keys player Emmanuel Riggins, bassist Hubie Crawford, violinist Travis Biggs, the Body sisters and many more.

"Honestly, there were never any commercial expectations or aspirations for the album. We just got together to cook up a gumbo. Detroit, New Orleans, funk, jazz, torch, country and some great, great musicians to bring the flavors together. Our only intent was to create the best work of music possible; one which would allow Betty Lou Landreth to display her extraordinary vocal skills, and that we did. The reissue serves as a monument to all of those who all those long years ago contributed their special magic to creating a unique musical work which has endured the test of time.” (Joel Palmer, 2021).

Officially licensed. Reissue on two discs.

Originally released in 1979, Betty Lou Landreth's Betty Lou has been expanded to a 15-song double album featuring the original studio recordings along with bonus material, alternative takes, and extensive liner notes from Joel Palmer, the producer of this Motor City holy grail.

Recorded in Detroit and produced and released by Detroit-born jazz historian Joel Palmer on his YaYa label, the album features many veteran and esteemed Detroit and New Orleans Jazzmen. Alongside Joel, producer and arranger Charlie Gabriel recruited some of the city’s top fellow musicians for the session, including his longtime friend and housemate, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, drummer J.C. Heard, Motown's Funk Brothers, keys player Emmanuel Riggins, bassist Hubie Crawford, violinist Travis Biggs, the Body sisters and many more.

"Honestly, there were never any commercial expectations or aspirations for the album. We just got together to cook up a gumbo. Detroit, New Orleans, funk, jazz, torch, country and some great, great musicians to bring the flavours together. Our only intent was to create the best work of music possible; one which would allow Betty Lou Landreth to display her extraordinary vocal skills, and that we did. The reissue serves as a monument to all of those who all those long years ago contributed their special magic to creating a very unique musical work which has endured the test of time.” Joel Palmer, 2021.

Manfredo Fest who is a blind genius pianist, and pop bossa evangelist alongside Sergio Mendes. Brazilian Fusion Classic "Who Needs It" and "Jungle Kitten" from "Manifestations" in 1979 is released 7inch for the first time!

Ella Fitzgerald was, by any yardstick, a remarkable singer. She had achieved much by the time she signed to the newly created Verve Records in 1956, but it was the genius of Norman Granz, her personal manager and Verve founder, in suggesting she tackle the material of great contemporary composers in themed albums that sent her career into orbit. As the New York Times wrote on her passing in 1996, "These albums were among the first pop records to devote such serious attention to individual songwriters, and they were instrumental in establishing the pop album as a vehicle for serious musical exploration." The song selections ranged from standards to rarities, and the eight-title series represented an attempt by Fitzgerald to cross over to a non-jazz audience that may have been unaware of the talents she first committed to vinyl in 1935.