2014!!!

One more year is gone, and more to come yes!!! Thanks to B., Bertrand (the MFP AKA LRR)Adriana, Mauro Filipe, Vasily, Edgar Puddings, Patrick, George, Gkapageridis, Bill (24hrDejaVu), Bob (bamabob), Lawrence David, Roldo, Pedro RochaCrimson, Chuntao (RareMP3), Entremimente, Las Marias , Marcelo, Lágrima Psycadelica, Mr. JJ, Baby GrandPa, Simon, Justin Thyme, Jason, Frank, Pascal Georges, Chico ,Steve , Zapata, Caixo, Carioca Brasil, OldRockerBr, and so many more, and to all this blog followers,....thanks for sharing life around!!! Happy New Year 2014!

Isao Suzuki Sextet - Ako's Dream 1998

Isao Suzuki is the grand master of jazz in Japan. He is a bassist, multi instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, and bandleader. He was born on January 3, 1933 in Tokyo.

When he was a college student back in December 1953 he went to see Louis Armstrong All Stars in Tokyo. Milt Hinton, the best player ever, 43 at the time, was playing. Luckily Isao could see him playing from the front seat, and he was totally taken aback by Milt’s bass. When Milt said, “I pick and you clap,” and played solo bass very casually for 15 minutes, Isao was so moved by the

sound that he couldn’t stop crying. Milt smiled at Isao when he noticed that Isao was so moved and crying. Isao was so fascinated by his performance, so three days later, Isao asked his mother to buy him a double bass.
Some time after Isao got the bass, a bandleader of a strip joint asked him if he wanted to play for them. The question, or his answer rather, would become the first step onto a professional path. At that time, live performing was very common and good strip theater had jazz players. Isao couldn’t do anything at the beginning, but he was able to read music scores and play in about six months. Among the customers frequenting the strip joint was guitarist Tony Tekiseira, a G.I. working with the military band. One day Tony invited Isao to the U.S. military base in Tokyo. He liked the way Isao played, and Isao joined his band. Isao spent three or four years there and gained confidence, because he played with real American jazzman.

In 1960, Isao joined a very popular band named George Kwaguchi and Big Four and sometimes it became George Kwaguchi and Big Four plus one, when Sadao Watanabe joined in. Isao was having lots of jam session at that time. Once Tony Scott, the clarinet player, listened to his performance and Tony wanted to play with him. Tony lived in 1960 to 1965, and joined hands with Isao throughout 1962 with the legendary Tony Scott quartet. After Tony left the band, Hidehiko Matsumoto joined and it became Hidehiko Matsumoto Quartet. This is where Isao met Paul Chambers. In 1964, lots of great musicians such as Miles Davis, Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers came to Japan for “the first world jazz festival.” Hidehiko Matsumoto Quartet was the only Japanese band to join the festival, then Isao met Paul and they spent lots of time together.

In 1966, Isao joined the Sadao Watanabe quartet, with pianist Masabumi Kikuchi and drummer Masahiko Togashi. After he quit Sadao Watanabe quartet, he became a band leader of a house band at Five Spot in Jiyugaoka that was ran by Teruo Isono who is very famous jazz critic in japan. Isao played every day for almost two years. Isono knew lots of people, and he brought great musicians such as Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, Winton Kelly and Art Blakey, then Isao often played with them. Especially Blakey came there often and once he said, ‘Isao, come to Ner York and we can play together.’ So in 1970 he went to New York at the encouragement of Art Blakey and officially joined his lengendary group JAZZ MESSENGERS. He even stayed at Blakey’s place. During this time, he worked and recorded with Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Wynton Kelly, Bobby Timmons, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Sun Ra and others. Isao spent about a year with Art Blakey’s band and then returned to Japan.

Since his return to Japan, Isao has contributed to the development of many young musicians enlisting them as members of his band 'OMA SOUND', a practice which has kept his sound on the cutting-edge of progressive jazz to this day. “This might be Art Blakey’s influence. But in music, especially jazz, you don’t need to say anything. Experience is more important than anything else,” Isao said.

In 1971, guitarist Baden Powell came to Japan to have concerts tour and recordings. Isao was replacing an original bassist. “Despite of Isao Suzuki’s unplanned contribution he proved to be and equal and versatile musician, finding his way between Alfredo and Baden. It can only be guessed how this setting with the Japanese bass player influenced his future studio work. At the end of this year he sould seek again the collaboration with a professional Jazz bassist recording enough material for two records.” (http://www.brazil-on-guitar.de)

On his solo album “Self-Portrait” (1980), Suzuki played 20 or more instruments, sealing his unique standing in the Japanese jazz scene. Now, with more than 60 albums released, including several winners of the prestigious Japan Jazz Prize award, Suzuki's reputation as a unique leader of jazz in Japan has been secured.

His group called OMA SOUND was participated on Miri International Jazz Festival in 2008, and JAVA Jazz Festival in 2009. AllAboutJazz. Thanks to MFP for introducing the first time Isao.

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Lou Reed - Animal Serenade 2004

Apparently the notion of Lou Reed reinterpreting the works of Edgar Allan Poe didn't strike a positive chord with many folks, given the chilly commercial and critical reception accorded to Reed's 2003 album The Raven, and it seems plenty of fans were no more enthusiastic about seeing the material performed in person, since the tour staged to support the album found Reed playing smaller venues than was his custom. And in both cases, the folks who took a rain check really missed something; while The Raven was genuinely flawed, it was also one of Reed's most ambitious and compelling albums in quite some time, and the subsequent live shows found Reed and his musicians in truly superb form. Animal Serenade, recorded during the Los Angeles date of the tour, is a striking two-plus hour document of Reed and a fine ensemble in full flight; Reed brought along a small but potent backing band -- bassist and sometimes percussionist Fernando Saunders, guitarist Mike Rathke, cellist Jane Scarpantoni, and backing vocalistAntony -- and the performances presented manage to merge the intimacy of a small-group show with the force and passion of a full-on rock gig. The takes on "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "Dirty Blvd." are both hypnotic and muscular, but the more subtle and measured interpretations of "Venus in Furs," "Sunday Morning," and "The Day John Kennedy Died" easily conjure up the same edgy conviction, and Reed's interplay with his group is marvelous. These folks don't simply back him up; there's a genuine sense of collaboration among the musicians that's one of the real defining points between good and great performances. Animal Serenade isn't the hardest rockin' live album Lou Reed has ever cut, but for the sheer commitment and power of these performances, it's in a dead heat with Live in Italy as Reed's finest concert recording, and makes clear that in his fifth decade in music, Lou can still deliver the goods -- and in some respects is actually getting better. A more than pleasant surprise, and truly fine listening. AMG.

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Etienne Mbappé - Misiya 2004

Fairly unknown to big audiences, but at the same time one of the most talented African bass players, Etienne Mbappé has, since moving to Paris from his home country Cameroon in the '70s, played with musicians such as Joe Zawinul, Manu Dibango, Salif Keita, and his own fusion bands Chic and Ultramarine.
Misiya, his first solo album, definitely belongs in the same genre as Richard Bona's, soft well-arranged modern African music, where the vocals, using the soft Douala language, have a prominent role. (English and French translations are provided in the CD booklet.) If you didn't know that Mbappé's career was in full bloom while Bona was still home in Cameroon, you might want to call this genre Bona music. Afro fusion is another appropriate word for this jazzy, well-arranged, but still "ethnic style.
During the years that these two bass players both lived in Paris, they used to jam together in the local clubs—one could assume that the room was full of amazed listeners when these two enormously talented bass players got started! Sometimes they were joined by Guy Nsangue, a third bass wizard from—guess where—Cameroon... a country whose rich musical tradition is still very much alive, inspiring musicians like Manu Dibango and Les Têtes Brulées to bring it to the rest of the world with great success, which in turn must have served as inspiring examples for their countrymen. And women—for example, Sally Nyolo.
Misiya is amazingly rich when it comes to variation and interesting detail, at the same time as the fourteen tracks form an almost symphonic entity, displaying Mbappé as a real master of both arrangement and orchestration.
A number of years with Orchestre National de Jazz in France have left their mark. Almost half of the tracks feature a string quintet arranged by Mbappé. The vocal arrangements are also exquisite, and the whole album is saturated with warmth, depth, and a rich timbre, using nearly only acoustic sounds. And the bass playing itself is in a class of its own: soft, elastic, with an obvious virtuosity that doesn't need any showing off to be noticed. A fantastic record that keeps giving you more each time you listen to it!

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Dr. John - Loser For You Baby 2010

Although he didn't become widely known until the 1970s, Dr. John had been active in the music industry since the late '50s, when the teenager was still known as Mac Rebennack. A formidable boogie and blues pianist with a lovable growl of a voice, his most enduring achievements have fused New Orleans R&B, rock, and Mardi Gras craziness to come up with his own brand of "voodoo" music. He's also quite accomplished and enjoyable when sticking to purely traditional forms of blues and R&B. On record, he veers between the two approaches, making for an inconsistent and frequently frustrating legacy that often makes the listener feel as if "the Night Tripper" (as he's nicknamed himself) has been underachieving.

In 1994, Television did at least offer some original material. At this point he began to rely more upon cover versions for the bulk of his recorded work, though his interpretive skills will always ensure that these are more interesting than most such efforts. His autobiography, Under a Hoodoo Moon, was published by St. Martin's Press in 1994, and in 1998 he resurfaced with Anutha Zone, which featured collaborations with latter-day performers including Spiritualized, Paul Weller, Supergrass, and Ocean Colour Scene. Duke Elegant followed in early 2000. Additional albums for Blue Note followed in 2001 (Creole Moon) and 2004 (N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or d'Udda). Sippiana Hericane, a four-song EP celebrating his beloved hometown of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, arrived in November of 2005. Mercernary, an album of covers of songs made famous by Johnny Mercer, appeared on Blue Note in 2006. City That Care Forgot followed in 2008. The Night Tripper persona was revived for 2010's Tribal, which featured guest spots from Derek Trucks, Allen Toussaint, Donald Harrison, and the late Bobby Charles. Dr. John also contributed to French electronic artist Féloche's international hit single "Gris Gris John" the same year. He teamed with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, to producer and record Locked Down. It was issued in the spring of 2012The rest of the decade, unfortunately, was pretty much a waste musically. Dr. John could always count on returning to traditional styles for a good critical reception, and he did so constantly in the '80s. There were solo piano albums, sessions with Chris Barber and Jimmy Witherspoon, and In a Sentimental Mood (1989), a record of pop standards. These didn't sell all that well, though. A more important problem was that he's capable of much more than recastings of old styles and material. In fact, by this time he was usually bringing in the bacon not through his own music, but via vocals for numerous commercial jingles. It continued pretty much in the same vein throughout the '90s: New Orleans super sessions for the Bluesiana albums, another outing with Chris Barber, an album of New Orleans standards, andanother album of pop standards.He began building an underground following with both his music and his eccentric stage presence, which found him conducting ceremonial-type events in full Mardi Gras costume. Dr. John was nothing if not eclectic, and his next few albums were granted mixed critical receptions because of their unevenness and occasional excess. They certainly had their share of admirable moments, though, and Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger helped out on The Sun, Moon & Herbs in 1971. The following year's Gumbo, produced by Jerry Wexler, proved Dr. John was a master of traditional New Orleans R&B styles, in the mold of one of his heroes, Professor Longhair. In 1973, he got his sole big hit, "In the Right Place," which was produced by Allen Toussaint, with backing by the Meters. In the same year, he also recorded with Mike Bloomfield and John Hammond, Jr. for the Triumvirate album.In the late '50s, Rebennack gained prominence in the New Orleans R&B scene as a session keyboardist and guitarist, contributing to records byProfessor Longhair, Frankie Ford, and Joe Tex. He also recorded some overlooked singles of his own, and by the '60s had expanded into production and arranging. After a gun accident damaged his hand in the early '60s, he gave up the guitar to concentrate on keyboards exclusively. Skirting trouble with the law and drugs, he left the increasingly unwelcome environs of New Orleans in the mid-'60s for Los Angeles, where he found session work with the help of fellow New Orleans expatriate Harold Battiste. Rebennackrenamed himself Dr. John, the Night Tripper when he recorded his first album, Gris-Gris. According to legend, this was hurriedly cut with leftover studio time from a Sonny & Cher session, but it never sounded hastily conceived. In fact, its mix of New Orleans R&B with voodoo sounds and a tinge of psychedelia was downright enthralling, and may have resulted in his greatest album. AMG.

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From Good Homes - From Good Homes 1998

On their second major label album, From Good Homes improves both the quality of their performances and songwriting. Their interplay has grown more intuitive, giving their loose-limbed, rootsy grooves depth, which makes their songs all the more convincing. They still can meander and their tunes can be a little slight, but overall the album is a major step forward for From Good Homes, demonstrating their fluid instrumental work and an improved sense of songcraft. AMG.

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Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do 2010

In his liner notes to the Drive-By Truckers' eighth studio album, The Big To-Do, bandleader Patterson Hood uses running away to join the circus as a metaphor for a variety of hopes, dreams, and ambitions, adding "I never really was all that into the circus as a kid, but I sure was into the Rock Show, which was sort of The Circus for kids of my generation." There's plenty of truth to that line, but while running off to chase the Big Top usually means escaping the realities of adult responsibility, Hood and his bandmates have become all the more willing to deal with the home truths of just getting by as they've become more successful, and The Big To-Do may be their most intense look yet into the messy realities of life in post-millennial America. In The Big To-Do, the Truckers sing about people trying to make sense of a world that's seemingly turned against them -- a young boy whose father has abandoned the family ("Daddy Learned to Fly"), a man who has lost a bad job and is struggling to support his family ("This Fucking Job"), a wife confronting her unfaithful husband ("You Got Another"), an alcoholic who can barely remember the wreckage he's left behind ("The Fourth Night of My Drinking"), and a father trying to figure out what lessons he can pass along to his children ("Eyes Like Glue"). The Big To-Do is a subtle but genuine step forward from 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark, but while that album dug deep into the darker undercurrents of its songs, The Big To-Do resembles Bruce Springsteen's The River in that its stories of folks under punishing circumstances are married to music that tries to find some sort of grace and honor in the struggle without dulling the lyrical impact. And the Drive-By Truckers are one band good enough to make this conceit work -- "The Fourth Night of My Drinking" is a ravaged tale, but the melody builds some compassion for its doomed protagonist, and the anthemic "This Fucking Job" brings out the bravery in characters pushed to the wall but determined to get through. And just as Hood's songs are as painfully honest as any he's written, the two tales of broken hearts contributed by Shonna Tucker add another, equally powerful perspective to the album, and Mike Cooley contributes three absolute winners, including the album's bittersweet closing number "Eyes Like Glue." The Drive-By Truckers have been the best and smartest hard rock band in America for a while now, but with The Big To-Do they also confirm they're one of the bravest, and they've created a triumphant album out of songs in which folks are forced to look failure square in the eye. AMG.

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