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James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America? (1980) (Rough Trade – ROUGH 16)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America?
Vinyl transfer in  24-bit 192 khz |FLAC | Artwork at 300 dpi
889 MB (24/96) 1.56 GB (24/192)| FileFactory | Free jazz, Funk
1980 Rough Trade (UK) | ‘Porky Prime Cut’

Well, greetings for the “new” year of 2025.  That’s all I will say about that.  This is the second record from guitarist James ‘Blood’ Ulmer, who had once been in Ornette Coleman’s band.  While his debut featured Ornette and was produced by him, this one shows how comfortable he was doing his own thing, while being produced by Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola fame.
James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America? (1980) (Rough Trade – ROUGH 16)

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues (1972) (MPS 1977)

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans | Jazz, Rock
1.74 GB (24/192) + 934 MB (24/96)
1977 MPS Records  ||  Orig. rel. 1972

Is the stunning cover art the best thing about this record? The album documents when fiddle wizard* Don “Sugarcane” Harris played the Berlin Jazz Festival with a lineup that featured Robert Wyatt on drums and Volker Krieger on guitar.  Terje Rypdal also guests on one odd song choice here, Song For My Father.

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues (1972) (MPS 1977)

Raulzinho – À Vontade Mesmo (1965) (1980 RCA Japan)

 

Raulzinho – À Vontage Mesmo
1980 RCA Japan RCA – PG-143 ||  Orig. rel. 1965 RCA Victor (Brasil)

Do you like trombone? Do you like JAZZ trombone? Do you like trombone as the lead instrument on every track of a jazz record? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, well I still encourage you to give this album a shot. Because although trombonist Raul de Souza is the leader, it’s the band itself who is the star here. As a unit they’re just unreal. In the 1970s, Raul de Souza would have a comfortable career in the U.S. making jazz-funk / fusion records.Raulzinho – À Vontade Mesmo (1965) (1980 RCA Japan)

Johnny Hammond – Gears (1975) (Jazz Dispensary / Craft Recordings 2022)

 

Johnny Hammond – Gears
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz |  Art scans | Jazz-funk
2022 Craft Recordings “Jazz Dispensary” Ltd Ed. of 2000 copies || Orig.rel. 1975 Milestone

Like its predecessor Gambler’s Life, this Mizell Brothers production stands out from Hammond’s catalog for being very different from the soul-jazz / blues organ tradition that Hammond usually worked in.  The Mizells wrote all but one of the compositions here, and its definitely of a piece with the other (heavy-handed?) production work of the Mizells on contemporaneous efforts by Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Bobbi Humphrey and others. Johnny Hammond – Gears (1975) (Jazz Dispensary / Craft Recordings 2022)