Chris Beckers: Nightcruising (2003)

A selection of music by guitarist, composer and producer Chris Beckers from 1981 - 2003. 'Nightcruising' contains 15 remastered tracks.
Personnel: Chris Beckers (guitars), Ernie Watts (saxophones), Billy Cobham (drums), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Peter Erskine (drums), Jimmy Haslip (bass), Alex Acuna (drums), Paulinho da Costa (percussion), Dick Morrissey (tenor saxophone), Gerry Brown (drums), Jasper van't Hof (keyboards), Michiel Borstlap (piano), Saskia Laroo (trumpet), Luluk Purwanto (violin), Herman Wolters (keyboards), Marcel Schimscheimer (bass), Marcel Serierse (drums), Liber Toriente (percussion), Jeroen Vierdag (bass), Will Maas (organ), Manuel Hugas (bass), Deff Cramer (keyboards), Cees van der Laarse (bass), Eddie Conard (percussion), Wim Dijkgraaf (bass), Johan Vermuyen (saxophones), Nippy Noya (percussion), Jurre Haanstra (orchestral arrangements)

Tracklist:
01. Splash
02. New Song
03. Seven Star Motel
04. Gentle Grand
05. Whales
06. Super Red
07. Shooting Colours
08. Chat
09. The Grass is Greener
10. Roadmovie
11. Brazilian Air
12. Windstrider
13. Cruising
14. Native Blend
15. Skyline Filters
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Tom Scott: Target (1983)

Target is one of those Tom Scott records that gets forgotten about a lot. Certainly it comes from the middle of the 1980s just before the GRP era, when Scott was still leading the Saturday Night Live Band on occasion and looking around for a new sound. It's the sound of a restless musician who gets the pop game, or at least has gotten it and is not sure of where to shift his focus next. The band is big and full of killer players: Harvey Mason, Ernie Watts, Ian Underwood, Victor Feldman, Paul Jackson, Neil Stubenhaus, Jim Horn, Trevor Feldman, Pete Christlieb, and Michael Boddicker, among others. The sound is a tad warmer than what Atlantic was releasing at the time, too. But the material, as good as some of it is -- like the funky title track -- also contains half-hearted pop ballads like "Come Back to Me" with Kenny James on vocals. "He's Too Young," with a fine vocal performance by Maria Muldaur, is marred by a terribly dated -- and it was for the time -- synth drum sound. There is also a truly bizarre moment when Lee Ving, former lead singer of Los Angeles hardcore band Fear raps and plays blues harmonica on "Gotta Get out of New York." Then there's "Lollipoppin'" which, while it contains the same dumb synth drum sound, also has some killer Rhodes by Feldman, synth work by Underwood, and a happening keyboard bassline. The grooving muted horn section on this reading of Dan Peck's "The Biggest Part of Me," has a wonderfully soulful feel with great kit work by Mason. The horn arrangements are in the pocket but restrained, allowing that lithe melody to shine through and, along with the title cut, it's a contender for best tune on the set. The set closes with the stone-gone funky groover "Burundi Bump" by Scott and Feldman with excellent basslines, pulsing Rhodes work, a boatload of percussion, and Mason running the ensemble from his kit; the entire tune is rhythm based. So Target is, ultimately, a mixed bag, a hold-over record that was throwing everything at the wall to see what worked. Interestingly, what did was the basis for Scott's sound at GRP. ~ Thom Jurek

Tracklist:
01. Target 4:03
02. Come Back To Me 4:13
03. Aerobia 4:43
04. He's Too Young 4:15
05. Got To Get Out Of New York 5:15
06. Lollipoppin' 4:09
07. The Biggest Part Of Me 4:11
08. Burundi Bump 3:58
Rersonnel:
Tom Scott - tenor and soprano saxes, lyricon
Harvey Mason, Sr. - drums, percussion
Neil Stubenhaus - bass
Carlos Rios - electric guitar, percussion
Paul Jackson - electric guitar, percussion
Victor Feldman - acoustic piano, Rhodes, synths, percussion
Ian Underwood - synths
Michael Boddicker - synths, vocoder, lyricon
Michael Fisher - percussion, synth percussion
Trevor Feldman - Rhodes
Jerry Hey - trumpet, flugelhorn
Jim Horn - baritone sax, flute
Ernie Watts - tenor, alto and soprano saxes
Pete Christlieb - sax, clarinet
Dick Hyde - bass trombone, bass trumpet
Bill Reichenbach - trombones
Lee Ving - harmonica, lead vocal on track 5
Maria Muldaur - lead vocal on track 4
Kenny James - lead vocal on track 2
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Harvey Mason: Earth Mover (1976)

In the 1970s, Harvey Mason was one of those busy L.A.-based sessions players who had one foot in jazz and the other in R&B. The drummer backed his share of soul heavyweights (including Earth, Wind & Fire, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and the Brothers Johnson), but he never lost his jazz chops. Recorded in 1976, Earthmover is among the mostly instrumental albums that Mason provided during his stay at Arista. This self-produced LP, which finds him trying to balance commercial and creative considerations, is a mixed bag. Some of the material is strong, especially the cerebral fusion item "No Lands Man" (which boasts Jan Hammer on keyboards) and the funky "Bertha Baptist." And the contemplative "First Summer" is an enjoyable track that reminds the listener of the underrated Hawaiian funk/fusion outfit Seawind, which isn't surprising because it was co-written and arranged by Seawind's Bob Wilson. Meanwhile, some of the more commercial jazz-funk and pop-jazz tracks are less impressive and tend to sound overproduced. But while Earthmover is uneven, it has more ups than downs. Overall, this isn't a bad record, although Mason is capable of being more consistent.

Tracklist:
1 K. Y. And the Curb-Mason, Peters 4:58
2 Sho Nuff Groove-Johnson, Mason 3:56
3 The Mase-Mason 4:13
4 Sweet Mercy-Mason, Peters 5:54
5 Earthmover Prelude-Mason 0:58
6 Bertha Baptist-James 5:46
7 First Summer-Mason, Wilson 6:12
8 No Lands Man-Hammer 4:22
9 When I'm with You-Mason 4:25
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Arturo Sandoval: I Remember Clifford (1992)

I Remember Clifford is a 1992 album by Arturo Sandoval, the second album he made after fleeing from his native Cuba.

The entire album is a tribute to Clifford Brown, who was a great influence on Sandoval; Brown was an influential, highly-rated and much-loved jazz trumpeter who died in an auto accident in 1956, when he was only 25 years old.

The album is named for Clifford Brown who was killed on June 26, 1956 in a car accident which also killed pianist Richie Powell, the younger brother of Bud Powell.

Sandoval's written tribute to Brown in the liner notes for the album ends:

 Everybody that I've spoken to, who knew Brownie, coincided in describing his heart and his simplicity as an artist. Modesty, feelings, dignity and virtuosity; not a bad legacy. ... It is with all my heart and soul that I offer this sincere effort to one of the greatest trumpet players of all time; a man who left his mark as a person and as an artist. It is named after a threnody written by Benny Golson, I Remember Clifford, also written in memory of Brown.

In addition to an especially poignant rendition of the Golson piece (using only a trumpet and piano - a pointed tribute to the two musicians who died together), the album contains a long list of Clifford's best-known standards (some composed by Brown himself). One final inclusion is a new composition, I Left This Space For You, written by Sandoval in tribute, in which Sandoval plays only a restrained melody, leaving "this space for him" (in Sandoval's words). One very unusual feature, heard on five of the tracks, is the use of overdubbing to create a trumpet 'choir' of four harmonized trumpets, all played by Sandoval (a concept credited to Orlando 'Papito' Hernández, who had experience with multiple trumpets from his time playing with Herb Alpert). The 'choir' is used to play arrangements of some of Brown's own brilliant original solos; the different trumpet lines are so closely synchronized it is hard to believe they were not reproduced electronically. Sandoval's own phenomenal playing features in his own solos, especially on "Cherokee", which he takes at a pace a hair faster than Brown's own impossibly-fast original.
The album received two nominations in the 1992 Grammy Awards ('Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Individual or Group', and 'Best Arrangement on an Instrumental', for Cherokee). It was picked by critic Leonard Feather as one of the ten best jazz albums of 1992.

Tracklist:

1 Daahoud 4:57
2 Joy Spring 5:42
3. Parisian Thoroughfare 5:58
4. Cherokee 5:09
5. I Remember Clifford 4:12
6. The Blues Walk 6:47
7. Sandu 5:19
8. I Get A Kick Out Of You 5:13
9. Jordu 8:27
10. Caravan 4:28
11. I Left This Space For You 5:51

Personnel:

Arturo Sandoval, Trumpet
Kenny Kirkland, Piano
Charnett Moffett, Bass
Kenny Washington, drums
Ernie Watts, Tenor Saxophone (tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 10)
David Sánchez, Tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 6, 8)
Ed Calle, Tenor Saxophone (track 2)
Félix Gómez, Keyboards (track 5)
Gary Lindsay, Arrangements (except on track 9)
Alberto Naranjo, Arrangement on Jordu

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Patti Austin: The Real Me (1988)

And how! Austin tackles standards such as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me," and succeeds brilliantly. Her version of Comden, Green, and Bernstein's "I Can Cook, Too" is enough by itself to make this a pick.

Personnel: Patti Austin (vocals, sound effects, background vocals); David Pack (vocals, guitar, congas, percussion, background vocals); Michael McDonald (vocals, piano, background vocals); Howard Hewett, James Ingram, Tata Vega (vocals, background vocals); David Lindley (guitar, slide guitar); Earl Klugh (guitar, classical guitar); Chuck Berghofer, Nathan Kaproff, James Getzoff, Dan Neufeld, Harris Goldman, Alan DeVeritch, Joy Lyle, Franklyn D'Antonio, Arthur Royval, Richard Elegino, Charles Veal, Vicki Sylvester, Barry Gold, Henry Ferber, Don McInnes, Hershel Wise, Sid Sharp, Harry Shlutz, Cynthia Morrow, Ray Kelley, Nils Oliver, Arnold Belnick, Jacqueline Brand, Bonnie Douglas, Arni Egilsson, Stephen Erdody, Gayle Levant, Daniel Rothmuller, Evan Wilson, Michael Markman (strings); Bruce Hornsby (accordion); John Rotella (clarinet); Dan Higgins (woodwinds, saxophone); Ernie Watts (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Greg Huckins, Michael Brecker (saxophone); Jon Faddis (trumpet, flugelhorn); Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (trumpet); Bill Waltrous, Bill Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); Red Callender (tuba); David Benoit (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Richard Tee (piano, synthesizer); Greg Phillinganes (synthesizer, bass synthesizer); C. Roscoe Beck (upright bass); Burleigh Drummond (drums, snare drum, percussion); George Perilli (drums, percussion); John "J.R." Robinson , Jeff Porcaro, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (shaker, percussion, sound effects); Luther Vandross, Amy Holland (background vocals)

Tracklist:

01. I Can Cook Too (5:14)
02. Stockholm Sweetnin' (1:37)
03. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (4:15)
04. True Love (3:49)
05. Across The Alley From The Alamo (3:47)
06. How Long Has This Been Going On (4:07)
07. Lazy Afternoon (5:46)
08. Love Letters (3:55)
09. They Can't Take That Away From Me (3:59)
10. Mood Indigo (3:26)
11. Cry Me A River (4:21)
12. Someone Is Standing Outside (3:59)
13. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (5:08)
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