Música: Jazz Rock/Blues Jazz/Latin Jazz/Soul Jazz/Fusion

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Drawing on rock, salsa, and jazz, Santana recorded one imaginative, unpredictable gem after another during the 1970s. But Caravanserai is daring even by Santana's high standards. Carlos Santana was obviously very hip to jazz fusion -- something the innovative guitarist provides a generous dose of on the largely instrumental Caravanserai. Whether its approach is jazz-rock or simply rock, this album is consistently inspired and quite adventurous. Full of heartfelt, introspective guitar solos, it lacks the immediacy of Santana or Abraxas. Like the type of jazz that influenced it, this pearl (which marked the beginning of keyboardist/composer Tom Coster's highly beneficial membership in the band) requires a number of listenings in order to be absorbed and fully appreciated. But make no mistake: this is one of Santana's finest accomplishments.

4.5

Santana - Caravanserai [1972]

Música: Jazz House/Experimental Big Band/Progressive Jazz

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The second full-length by Norwegian jazz enfant terribles Jaga Jazzist proves to even the most ardently pigheaded that their debut, A Livingroom Hush, was no fluke. (Jazz "purists" -- as if jazz were a "pure" music -- will even have to take note on compositional, swing, and improvisational levels but will no doubt, like any music fascist, dismiss this as somehow inauthentic because of the presence of electronics.) The Stix ups the ante a notch and foregoes much of the restraint displayed on the previous album, delving deeper into jazz motifs and the latest innovations in electronic music with a vengeance. Featuring ten original compositions by Lars and Martin Hornveth, Jurgen Munkeby, and others from the ensemble, The Stix moves into realms of ensemble interaction that cross barriers of swing, soundtrack architectures, sampladelica, and modal jazz often in the same tune. Melodic lines become riffs that give way to ensemble counterpoint and solo improvisations. Here, as on "Another Day," horns, electric guitars, looped snares, acoustic bass, strings, and an insane, treated trumpet solo offer a view from the pastoral to the incendiary in a seamless fugue of harmonic and scalar interludes. Likewise the strange sci-fi Braziliana and shimmering electronics at the heart of the futuristic bossa "I Could Have Killed Him in the Sauna" offer a futuristic view of Charles Mingus and his Tijuana Moods album if it were recorded in the 21st century. It has all the chamber pieces and the intimacy of close-distance group interplay and the expansive view of the terrain and atmospherics to offer the listener an aural view of a universe, ever present yet just beyond her reach. Once again, Jaga Jazzist have proven that the European jazz identity is a highly individualistic one and reflects different musical considerations in regard to mood, texture, and communication and a powerful set of dynamic perceptions to stand outside everything of concern and makes it human, warm, and vibrant -- all of our musically racist notions about Scandinavia are blown to bits here over and again. This music is compelling, hip, groundbreaking, and stunningly, achingly beautiful as well as challenging. The Stix needs top be recognized as one of the finest jazz records of 2003. Period.

4.5

Jaga Jazzist - The Stix [2003]

Música: Latin Jazz/Progressive Jazz

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Five-string electric bass guitarist Alain Pérez has talent far beyond his deft and dedicated ability to play his instrument. For this debut recording he has written all the music, including the punchy three-part horn charts, and assembled a band of relative unknowns in the general scheme, to produce a unique brand of progressive jazz with Latin underpinnings and far-reaching, fervent, abounding joy. You'd have to ask Pérez where he came up with all of these brilliant ideas to make music so fresh and original. One could surmise he's heard his share of Machito and Tito Puente, with generous helpings of the Gil Evans or Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big bands and a dollop of Jack Bruce as dessert. The music really jumps out of the speakers with the first three outstanding tracks: the title cut with its churning Latin rhythms, contemporary complex horns, and a Fender Rhodes keyboard; the beautiful "120 & 9" with cleverly steamed, boiling, and simmering rhythms constantly shifting up and down; and the bold sounds of "La Canchanchara," a little heavy and a lot happy. This is truly unbelievable music, but there's much more, as a version of Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee" begins with a ritual chant, kicks into high gear, stutters into a delay mode, and is hard to pin down in its wild construct. "Camino del Oso" is delightfully similar to a Weather Report piece in its hip and heavy, danceable modern Latin overtones. "La Razon" is chunky, funky, and jumpy, "Agarrame Si Puedes" has melded polyrhythms of 6/8 and 4/4 with a Rhodes-led line aside percussion, and there are three vocal cuts led by Pérez ranging from a love song to a Yoruban chant and a tribute to his grandfather. Do not pass up this wonderful, eclectic, and vibrant effort by Alain Pérez, as good as it gets in the contemporary post-salsa progressive Latin jazz music of now.

4

Alain Pérez - En el Aire [2006]

Música: Jazz Rock/Fusion

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Spectrum Road is a jazz-rock supergroup featuring bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Vernon Reid, drummer Cindy Blackman-Santana, and organist John Medeski that formed as a tribute to the inspiration and music of Tony Williams' pioneering Lifetime group (of which Bruce was a member). In the process of playing Lifetime's music as a project, they became a bona fide band. All but two of these cuts are from Lifetime's catalog. The set begins with the scorcher "Vuelta Abajo," from 1970's Turn It Over album. All four members come storming out of the gate on a syncopated, intense series of riffs and stops. Blackman-Santana, a Williams disciple, plays furiously with countless rolls and fills yet never drops her sense of groove. She pushes hard at Bruce's bassline while Medeski washes it all with a counter pulse and Reid takes it over into the red zone. This is excess at its level best. The hippest thing is that not only does Bruce keep that insane pace, he revels in it and works with Blackman-Santana to keep the groove funky and weird. She takes the vocal on the spacey, 12-minute "Where," which builds via her rolls and Medeski's abstract painterly touches into a true freewheeling jam with Reid and Bruce going head to head. The group interplay on "Vashkar" (written by Carla Bley, and originally appeared on 1969's Emergency) is a manic showcase for Medeski and Reid, but it's the rhythm section that keeps moving the track further onto the ledge. Spectrum Road honors Williams' example by taking real chances with his music. The way they break down "There Comes a Time" ( from 1971's Ego) with Bruce's bluesy vocals holding the ground firm under the band's improvising moves it from a somewhat staid open modal blues into something more textured, aggressive, and expansive. Reid's jazz chops on "Coming Back Home" walk a line between swing and Hendrixian blues, as Medeski swells and feeds his every line. Reid's and Blackman-Santana's rock strut on "Wild Life" would be nearly processional were it not for Bruce's and Medeski's deeply funky undercurrent. Spectrum Road's self-titled debut delivers in full on the supergroup promise; in addition, they provide the kind of forward-looking tribute that a pioneer like Williams truly deserves.

4

Spectrum Road - Spectrum Road [2012]

Ratatat - Ratatat [2004]

Ratatat - Classics [2006]

Monty Python - Sings [1991]

Blue October - Foiled [2006]

Daft Punk - Musique, Vol. 1: 1993-2005 [2006]

Flobots - Fight with Tools [2008]

Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes [1983]

The Subways - Young for Eternity [2006]

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare [2007]

Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds [2006]

Eagles of Death Metal - Peace Love Death Metal [2004]

Andrew Lloyd Webber w/ Tim Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar OST [1971]

Música: Folk Rock/Contemporary Pop Rock/Psychedelic

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Expanded by almost 40 minutes, the double-CD version of 4 Way Street simply built on the existing foundation of a landmark live album, and for a change, there was no diminishing of the original release. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had come out of Woodstock as the hottest new music act on the planet, and followed it up with Deja Vu, recorded across the second half of 1969 and released in March of 1970, supported by a tour in the summer of that year. As it happened, despite some phenomenal music-making, the tour was fraught with personal conflicts, and the quartet split up upon its completion. And 4 Way Street followed, released in April of 1971: a live double-LP set, chock-full of superb music distilled down from a bunch of nights on that tour that more than fulfilled the promise of the group. Indeed, contained on those original four LP sides was the embodiment of everything great that the unique ethos behind this group -- which was not a "group" but four individuals working together -- might have yielded. Each of the participants got to show off a significant chunk of his best work, whether presented alone or in tandem with the others, and the shared repertory -- "Long Time Gone," "Ohio" etc. -- binding it all together as more than a documentary of some joint appearances. Conceptually it was all as diffuse as the concept behind the group, but musically, 4 Way Street was one of the great live rock documents of its time, a status it retains along with such touchstones as the Allman Brothers' At Fillmore East, the live half of the Cream's Wheels of Fire, and the Grateful Dead's Live/Dead; some of the extended guitar jams between Stills and Young ("Southern Man") go on longer than strict musical sense would dictate, but it seemed right at the time, and they capture a form that was far more abused in other hands after this group broke up. Although Neil Young and Stephen Stills had the advantage of the highest wattage on their songs and their jams together, David Crosby and Graham Nash more than manage to hold their own, not only with some strong and distinctive songs, but also a strong case that less could be more; they reached the more introspective members of their audience, mostly individually, while Stills and Young wowed the crowds collectively. The double-CD version adds more acoustic material by each of the participants, which gives a fuller picture of what they were all about musically -- Nash's acoustic rendition of "King Midas in Reverse" doesn't slot in too easily next to the earthier Crosby, Stills & Young originals, but it also adds a welcome British psychedelic pop interlude to the proceedings. The essentials of the original album are all intact, and all in better sound.

4.5

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 4 Way Street (Live) [1971]

Música: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal/Arena Rock

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This is a great album! One of the best live albums i've ever heard from any classic rock bands! The CD starts out with a raving audience cheering, and you can tell when Angus comes out. Then you hear the intro played by Angus to "Riff Raff", and Bon is really at his best in this concert!! He screams his lungs out with raw hysteria, its great!! The song moves onto the great "Hell Ain't A Bad Place to Be", followed by one of the best songs off of Let There Be Rock, "Bad Boy Boogie", and this version really gets in your face! "The Jack" comes next, with the original live version of lyrics(which are so much better). "Problem Child" where Bon screams his best here as well. "Whole Lotta Rosie", another favorite, and you can really feel Bon's voice going through your ears and shaking your brain! And the rampaging crowd chants "Angus, Angus" during the beginning riffs, its just great! Then onto some classic rock and roll tunes, "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" and "High Voltage", where Bon get the crowd to chant "HIGH", and wait'll Bon chants it the 4th time around(get your ears ready). "Let There Be Rock" the most powerful song on the album, where Angus and Malcolm blast their guitars and push their Marshall amps to the limit. The CD closes out with the classic "Rocker". Bon really puts his heart and soul into singing here, i've never heard him sing better than on this album. If you want blood...You got it, right on this album.

4.5

AC/DC - If You Want Blood You've Got It (Live) [1978]

Música: Contemporary Jazz/Fusion

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More than any other genre, jazz seems best suited for the live environment. An artist can improvise in the studio, certainly, but in concert a musician can ignore time limits and stretch creative possibilities. This is especially true of all-star collaborations; they can seem contrived or forced, but when chemistry exists between the players, the result is jazz in its purest, most exciting form. Such is the case on this disc, which features five contemporary giants: Clarke, Larry Carlton, Najee, Deron Johnson, and Billy Cobham. Seventy minutes for seven songs allows the players to interact and solo at length, stretching originals and Miles and Mingus covers to their limit. While each member is a monster improvisor, all base their musings on a definite wave of melodic brilliance. Najee is the real surprise here, as Clarke says in his liner notes. While the others are respected as top fusion cats, the saxman has always faced criticism for the commercialism of his albums; here, Najee proves he can blow with the best of them, getting the energy flowing on tracks like his own "Buenos Aires." Other highlights include the light intro "Minute By Minute," which L.C. popularized as an instrumental; Cobham's explosive "Stratus"; Carlton's simmering "Her Favorite Song"; and the final piece, an increasingly frenetic, 22-minute explosion of Clarke's classic "School Days."

4.5

Stanley Clarke & Friends - Live at the Greek (Live) [1993]

Música: Contemporary Pop Rock/Soft Rock

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I had put off buying this because I'd anticipated a repeat of previous releases -- the ho-hum, cozy/warm vibe of King's "Living Room Tour" and Taylor's "Live," both of which served as late-career retrospectives. How surprised I was when I heard the music; providing backup is the original rhythm section -- once called The Section -- which helped define the sound for both artists on their seminal records (Danny Kortchmar, Lee Sklar and Russ Kunkel.) This makes all the difference -- and probably comes close to recreating the original sound of both artists when they played the L.A. Troubadour back in the day (which was indeed the intent of this concert, as the pair united to celebrate the venue's fiftieth anniversary). There's some muscle here, even a hint of distortion in Kortchmar's guitar, that helps vault both artists' songs into energetic readings that get under the skin. And the top of the set list includes some early, lesser known songs of Taylor's. In other words, this isn't an evening restricted to wrapping up in an afghan, sipping camomille tea, and stroking the cat, but rather revisiting a time and place -- the anxiety-ridden late '60s and early '70s -- when both artists' voices were heard in more complex settings than history has assigned them. (Back then, Taylor wrote often of his time in a mental institution; King was breaking free of her Brill-Building pop roots with songs that included a guy gunning down a congregation.) Still, the hits are here, but the great backing sound gives them much-needed new life, even as it harkens back to roots. In short, there's something here for everybody, and it all seems effortless. It's a terrific and welcome surprise from two artists who deserved this sort of release, because they earned their appreciative audiences. It appeals across the spectrum.

4

Carole King / James Taylor - Live at the Troubadour (Live) [2010]

Música: Delta Blues/Country Blues/Acoustic Blues

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This is an important collection, because it helps fill the gap in the recorded history of blueswomen who played and sang outside of the well-known sphere of the "classic singers" such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. The highlights here are the two recordings of Mattie Delaney, a wonderful singer/guitarist about whom almost nothing is known. Fine also are the more rough-hewn offerings of Rosie Mae Moore who is accompanied by talented veterans Charlie McCoy and Ishmon Bracey. Although the Geechie Wiley/Elvie Thomas duets are marred by a scratchy background, they also are well-worth hearing.

5

VA - Mississippi Girls (1928-1931) [1991]