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Charles Lloyd & The Marvels – Tone Poet (2021) Day 5 of FV’s 12 Days of Christmas

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  Charles Lloyd & The Marvels gifted us a new album in 2021, and it’s an inspired one too.  The Marvels are a piano-less ensemble with two guitarists – Bill Frisell plays the standard six-string, and Greg Leisz plays the pedal steel.  This makes for some interesting arrangements, especially on tunes where you’d expect to hear a piano, like um, Monk’s Mood.  The guitars manage to fill in a lot of the empty space where those 88 keys would be.  … Continue reading

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Airto – Seeds On The Ground / The Natural Sounds of Airto (1971) (2020 Real Gone Music) Day 4 of FV’s 12 Days of Xmas

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Airto – Seeds On The Ground / The Natural Sounds of Airto Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans | Jazz, Brazilian, Fusion Original release, 1971 Buddah Recordhs / Reissue 2020 Real Gone Music / Sony Records Day 4 of Flabbergasted Vibes’ 12 Days of Christmas finally brings us to Brazil.  Sort of.   I predict there will be much more Brazilian content on this blog in 2022. The first couple albums from Airto Moreira could … Continue reading

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Fat Larry’s Band – Off The Wall (1977) (Stax STX-4103) Day 3 of FV’s 12 Days of Christmas

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Fat Larry’s Band – Off The Wall Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans | Funk, Soul, Disco 1977 Stax Records STX-41303   Two words: Peaceful Journey…  I mean, the lead-off song Sparkle is fantastic: it’s about getting it on with an alien, so how could it not be?  I like to imagine it as an alternative version of the film of the same name with the Aretha Franklin / Curtis Mayfield soundtrack.  But Peaceful Journey, … Continue reading

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Chet Baker – It Could Happen To You: Chet Baker Sings (1958) (2021 Craft Records) 12 Days of Xmas – Day 2

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Chet Baker – It Could Happen To You: Chet Baker Sings 2021 Craft Recordings RLP 1119 – Original Release 1959 Riverside Around the world in late December, millions of the faithful gather together to commemorate the birth and short life of a golden child: Chet Baker, born December 23, 1929.  He would have been 92 this year.  If you love Chet’s vocal sessions – and I happen to love them – then you likely already know this essential record. This … Continue reading

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Kelle Patterson – Maiden Voyage (1973) (2020 Black Jazz / RGM) – 12 Days of Xmas, Day 1

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Kellee Patterson – Maiden Voyage Vinyl transfer in 24-bit/192 kHz | 300 dpi scans | Jazz, Vocal Jazz 2020 Real Gone Music RGM-1189/ Original Release 1973 Black Jazz Welcome to what might become a new tradition here: Flabbergasted Vibes’ Twelve Days of Christmas.  There’s been a ton of great music that has helped me get through the last year, and although I don’t have as much time to write about it as I did once upon a time, I’d still … Continue reading

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Joe Bataan – Gypsy Woman (1967) (Fania SLP 340)

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Joe Bataan Gypsy Woman Fania Records SLP 340 Original release, 1967 1990’s CD reissue Emerging out of the hybrid crossroads of boogaloo, R&B, Latin Soul, and the nascent salsa scene, Joe Bataan was defying categorization and bending genres long before it was hip.  The first album I heard by him was “Subway Joe”, but it was years before I realized he didn’t actually sing any of the Spanish-language numbers in his repertoire – those, in the early days at least, … Continue reading