George Duke: Night After Night (1989)

George Duke says: "It took a few years before I was ready to record another CD. With the mediocre success of George Duke, I needed time to think about my musical direction. Also, I had many A&R meetings with Bob Krasnow about the direction for the project. I would try a few things, send them to him for his reaction, and so on and so forth. I had never been in that position before. By the way, that goes on in the biz everyday, but not to me!! I went along with the program since I knew that if this record didn't do well, that it was curtains for me at Elektra."

Tracklist:
01. Miss Wiggle
02. Children of the Night
03. Love Ballad
04. Guilty
05. Same Ole Love
06. Say Hello
07. You Are the Only One in My Life
08. Brazilian Coffee
09. This Lovin'
10. Mystery Eyes
11. 560 SL
12. Fuzzzion
13. Rise Up
Personnel:
George Duke - synclavier,TX 816,acoustic piano,D550,Super Jupiter,Mini Moog,Castlebar clavinet, lead and background vocals
Feddie"Ready" Washington - bass solos exept "Fuzzzion"
Byron Miller - bass on "Guilty"
Paul Jackson,Jr. - guitar
Stanley Clarke - bass on "Fuzzzion"
John Robinson - drums
Airto Moreira - percussion on "Fuzzzion"
Jerry Hey - trumpet
Gary Grant - trumpet
Bill Reichenbach - trombone
Larry Williams - tenor sax
Marc Russo - alto sax on "Guilty"
Rayford Griffin - drums on "560 SL","Fuzzzion"
Michael Landau - guitar on "560 SL"
Alphonso Johnson - fretless bass on "Fuzzzion"
Jean-Luc Ponty - violin on "Fuzzzion"
Michael Sembello - guitar on "Fuzzzion"
Vocals: Alexandra Brown, Lynn Davis, Howard Hewett, James Ingram, Josie James, Marcy Levy, Phil Perry, Carl Carwell, Joey Diggs, Johnny Gill, Natalie Jackson, Keith John, Jeffrey Osborne
Night After Night
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Stanley Clarke: Live (1976-1977) (1991)

Stanley Clarke is simply the greatest bassist to have ever graced the earth with his presence. There are many other great ones (Manring, Wooten, Hamm, Jaco, etc.) but one thing that separates Stanley from the others is his compositional skills. The disc doesn't have a version of his suites but it captures all of the diversity that Stanley and his bandmates unleash during a show. The opener is "School Days". The form is the same as on the disc of the same name but live it is taken to another energy level. Ray Gomez lets loose and then Stanley defies the physical limitations that a person has. The speed and clarity is unreal. Then he cuts loose with some slap. The horn section gives this song even more power. More of Stanley's ability to bring out the funk are "Lopsy-Lu" and "Silly Putty". Anyone that plays bass should take notes on how the instrument should be played. The bass lines on these songs are two lessons in how to be funky. Stanley grooves on both tunes and the horn section is present again on "Silly Putty". "Lopsy Lu" finds Stanley exchanging fours with his bandmates. There is also an example of Clarke's acoustic grace on "Bass Folk Song". The piece is a duet with Stanley and his keyboardist. No one can play the upright like Stanley can. The same virtuosity that he displays on electric bass he has on an acoustic. The ability to play electric and acoustic with equal awe inspiration is another thing that separates Stanley from the rest. Also included on the disc are two RTF covers. "Dayride" features Jerry Brown on drums. "The Magician" is the other RTF tune and although the tune lacks Dimeola it is still phenomenal. No one has taken Jazz/Rock/ Funk/Fusion to greater heights than Stanley. His writing is a refection of his schooling and his Coltanesque sheets-of-sound bass technique is a revelation. The bottom line is this. If you are a bass player or you appreciate anyone that can take their instrument to unmatched heights then get this. It is the greatest one from the greatest one.

Tracklist

01. School Days

02. Lopsy Lu
03. Quiet Afternoon
04. Silly Putty
05. Dayride
06. Bass Folk Song No. 3
07. The Magician
08. Desert Song
09. Vulcan Princess
Live 1976-1977
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Deodato: 2 (1973)

Deodato's debut for CTI, Prelude, earned him a genuine reputation for funky fusion with its groove-tight cover of "Thus Spake Zarathustra," the theme from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The rest of the album isn't quite as memorable, but it fit the bill and got nice reviews for its innovative read of Borodin and Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun." On 2, the Brazilian composer and arranger dips into the funked-up fusion formula tank once again, and comes out with a more consistent disc than its predecessor. Arranged, conducted, and keyboarded by Deodato himself instead of CTI house arrangers Don Sebesky or Bob James, the maestro enlisted a fusion who's who of sidemen including drummer Billy Cobham, bassist Stanley Clarke, and flutist Hubert Laws, as well as rockers like John Tropea on guitar. The larger ensemble that provides brass, woodwind, and string support includes trumpeter Jon Faddis and Jim Buffington. "Super Strut" kicks it off. Deep-grooved lines of accented angular riffing and rim-shot syncopation by Cobham turn this simply notated four-stepper into a burning ball of greasy rock and souled-out jazz. This is followed by a wildly campy but nonetheless wondrous read of "Rhapsody in Blue" done Stevie Wonder-style. Deodato's keyboard work never lets the groove drop; he pulls the rhythm section down around him and hunkers his phrasing to punch up the long, sweeping horns and string lines. Less successful is a read of "Nights in White Satin," with its overwrought strings, and a "Pavane for a Dead Princess" that's a snore. The album officially closes with "Skyscrapers," another jazz-rock rave-up that blasts holes in the sonic sky with its dueling keyboard and guitar lines. [The remastered version of the CD includes three bonus tracks that include a steamy little bossa nova number, "Latin Flute," with Laws tearing up the solo spot, and a lounge lizard's dream of a cover version in Steely Dan's "Do It Again," with flutes and keys trading the melody lines and Tropea's wah-wah guitars chunking up the backbeat. Why this wasn't on the original album or a follow-up is a mystery.]

Deodato 2
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The Stanley Clarke Trio: Jazz In The Garden (2009) mp3 @ 320K

In a career that spans nearly four decades and includes gigs with Return to Forever, Rite of Strings and a variety of other solo and collaborative projects along the way, bassist Stanley Clarke - one of the most prominent voices in electric jazz and fusion - had seemingly covered every possible corner of the jazz landscape. But there was one avenue he had yet to explore.
"I had never done an acoustic bass record, ever," he says. "There's a long list of people on whose records I've played acoustic bass - Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and many others - but I'd never done an acoustic jazz trio record of my own. So I wanted to record one that would just feature the piano and the acoustic bass in a way that you could really hear the bass."
This long-overdue dream project becomes a reality with the release of Jazz In The Garden. For his first straightahead acoustic jazz trio recording, Clarke assembles two brilliant collaborators at the top of their respective games: pianist Hiromi Uehara and drummer Lenny White. Each represents a distinctly different generational and cultural perspective, but given the range and versatility of both, the net effect is superb. Indeed, the synergy resulting from all three of these luminaries makes for one of the most refreshing Stanley Clarke recordings in recent years.
In many ways, Jazz in the Garden is Stanley Clarke's way of reconnecting with a time much earlier in his career before his plunge into electric jazz - a time when he earned his stripes playing acoustic bass with some of the most enduring names in the annals of jazz. "There are times when you want to revisit the things that really established the foundation in your life," he says. "I spent many, many years studying acoustic bass, and many years playing in New York after I left Philadelphia in the late `60s. I played with everyone who was there at the time. It was a long time ago, but all that stuff from that period is what made me who I am. This record is my way of reconnecting with that time and that music."

Highly recommended!!!