Tag: Latin Jazz

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Baden Powell – Ao Vivo no Teatro Santa Isabel (1966)

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Baden Powell
Ao Vivo no Teatro Santa Rosa
1966
Elenco ME-30
Reissue 2009 on Biscoito Fino

1. Abertura (Berimbau)
– Choro para metronomo
2. Astronauta
3. Valsa de Euridice
4. Preludio em re menor
5. Berimbau
6. Consolacao
7. Lamento *
8. Samba de uma nota so
9. Tempo feliz **

Group:
Musicians: Baden Powell (git, vcl **)
Carlinhos (b)
Oscar Castro Neves (p)
Victor Manga (dr)
unknown strings and flute *
unknown chorus **

Guitar Model: Author 3 by luthier Reinaldo DiGiorgio
Also published as: Samba de uma nota so (CD, 1999)
O Mestre do Violao Brasileiro (CD-Box, 2003)
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I am really liking this Baden Powell live record! Kudos to the almost-indie label Biscoito Fino for bringing it back into circulation with the reissue, although I am not totally in love with the mastering job. The artwork is a little on the sparse side too for a full-price release, basically just reproducing the info on the original back cover. But its the music that counts and this is a wonderful and (until now) rather rare album to come across. Includes Baden playing some Bach (Prelúdio em Ré Menor) and also a tune Vinicius co-wrote with Pixinguinha (Lamento). The rest of the tunes are all compositions by Baden and/or Vinicius, a lot of ‘afro-sambas.’

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From a cool German website I found called Brazil-On-Guitar:

BrazilOnGuitar says: Unfortunately, we did not find out the exact recording date of this first live record by BP. The half-hour recording in the Teatro Santa Rosa is another proof of his guitar abilities in 1966 and stands for his intense playing style. The sound quality of the recording is not the best and could not be improved significantly with the 2003 cd re-issue. However, BP’s guitar playing is so precise and exciting that the sound can be overlooked.

The recordings give the impression of a creative and very vital musician, whose life is completely devoted to music. At this time BP had developed great musicality and an impressive technique. It seems that on Teatro Santa Rosa he wanted to set other standards. In his high tempi there could be missed the depth and relaxation of later years, which is understandable thinking of his playing speed.

On 20 live recordings, five from the sixties, we can study his art of the moment. Teatro Santa Rosa is different with its repertoire and unique recordings. There is the impressive interpretation of the choro with a metronome and the overwhelming Bach prelude. His arrangements of the Afro-Sambas are wild, his Euridice sensitive. His virtuoso arrangement of Samba de uma nota so is very own and tricky. He would as well play it as an encore at the Berlin Jazzfestival in 1967. The record closes with Tempo feliz, his first recording as a singer……

…..We thank Robert G. (Germany) for his translation

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Baden Powell – Swings with Jimmy Pratt (1963)

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“Baden Powell Swings with Jimmy Pratt”
Elenco ME-4, 1963

Musicians: Baden Powell (git)
Jorge “Jorginho” Ferreira da Silva, Copinha (fl)
Moacir Santos (sax, vcl)
Sandoval (cl)
Sergio Barroso (b)
Jimmy Pratt (dr)
Rubem Bassini (perc)
unknown piano playerProduction: Aloysio de Oliveira
Direction: Jimmy Pratt
Production Manager: Peter Keller
Studio: Philips of Brasil
Sound Engineer: Norman Sternberg
Recording Technician: Celio Martins
Cover Layout: Cesar G. Villela
Photos: Francisco PereiraGuitar Model: Author 3 by luthier Reinaldo DiGiorgioAlso issued as: Developments (LP, 1970)
O Mestre do Violao Brasileiro (CD-Box, 2003)

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Flabbergasted Vinyl Transfer Specs:

Original Elenco (ME-4) pressing -> Pro-Ject RM-5SE turntable / Sumiko Blue Point 2 cartridge / Pro-Ject Speedbox power supply -> Creek OBH-18 MM Phono Preamp -> M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard. Recorded at 24-bit / 96 khz resolution to Audacity. Click Repair on very light settings to remove some clicks and popsm, some manual click removal using Audition. Track splitting in Adobe Audition 3.0. Dithered to 16-bit using iZotope M-Bit noise-shaping. Converted to FLAC and mp3 using DbPoweramp. ID tags done with Foobar2000.

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I don’t know anything about Jimmy Pratt other than he plays the skins on a whole bunch of jazz records from the 40s and 50s, having done sessions with Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Oscar Pettiford, Bud Shank, and Anita O’Day. Busy guy. But this record may be one of the most famous he played on. Partly because he essentially receives co-billing on the marquee with Baden. But also he was, in a way, in the right place at the right time to really connect with the Bossa Nova explosion.

From the back cover:

“When the drummer Jimmy Pratt was in Brazil accompanying Caterina Valente, he heard Baden play guitar like everyone that was exposed to Baden’s art, he was profoundly enthusiastic. The enthusiasm provoked the idea for this recording. And from the recording was also born a friendship and mutual admiration between the two artists. ‘Baden Powell Swings with Jimmy Pratt’ is a tribute from Baden to his friend and American colleague.” – Aloysio de Oliveira

The observent among might notice Mr. Pratt apparently did not make the photo session for the album or else closely guards his image against potential feitiço and witchcraft.. He is absent from the shots taken in the recording studio, unless we are looking at the back of his head in the shot where Vinicius de Moraes appears for no particular reason — it’s an instrumental record bereft of his lovely lyrics, he didn’t play anything, and he only has a writing credit on the very first tune, ‘Deve Ser Amor.’ Anyway, I find it amusing.

In the photo to the right of this we see Baden playing into a Neumann U-87 microphone, and looking like he wants to walk into the control room and slap somebody. I’m not sure why because it’s a great-sounding recording.

Fantastic playing from everyone involved, including Moacir Santos who contributes his own compositions, Coisas No.1 and Coisas No.2. It`s the clarinet, however, that really slays me on this record: while doing the vinyl transfer and processing, I swear I listened to Coisas No.1 about ten times in a row at one point. When you hear it you will know why. There is nothing groovier on earth.

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Eddie Palmieri – The Sun of Latin Music (1973) 320kbs

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EDDIE PALMIERI – The Sun of Latin Music (1973) 320kbs
with Lalo Rodriguez

1 Nada de Ti Palmieri 6:31
2 Deseo Salvaje Rodriguez 3:41
3 Una Rosa Española Palmieri 5:21

4 Nunca Contigo Palmieri 3:51

5 Un Dia Bonito Palmieri 14:52

6 Mi Cumbia Palmieri 3:18
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Credits: Arranged By – Rene Hernandez
Bass – Eddie “Gua-Gua” Rivera*
Bongos – Tommy Lopez
Congas – Eladio Perez
Coro – Jimmy Sabater , Willie Torres
Engineer – Dave Palmer (2) , Dave Wittman , Ralph Moss
French Horn – Peter Gordon
Lead Vocals – Lalo Rodriguez
Mastered By – Al Brown (5)
Piano – Eddie Palmieri
Producer – Harvey Averne
Saxophone [Baritone], Flute – Mario Rivera (2) , Ronnie Cuber
Timbales, Percussion – Nicky Marrero
Trombone – Jose Rodriguez (3)
Trombone, Tuba [Tenor] – Barry Rogers
Trumpet – Virgil Jones
Trumpet [Lead] – Vitin Paz
Tuba – Tony Price (2)
Violin – Alfredo De La Fe

This is original album, The Sun Of Latin Music, *not* the double-CD anthology released by the revamped Fania Records. Please don’t leave a comment if all you are going to do is ask for that anthology… The sound quality on this edition (on the label `Musical Productions`) is deplorable, and there are apparently are other CD pressings out there, on Charly and Sony records. But this is the one I have, so love it or leave it.

Now that I have given you the hard sell, let me tell you that this is an essential album. It won Palmieri the first of many Grammy awards, but that’s not why it’s essential. For a guy who was always pushing boundaries during this period, this record still stands out. One thing that will immediately grab your attention is the presence of a violin on the album – not an instrument sometimes heard on salsa records but which always sounds unique to me. Alfredo de la Fe will make you forget that’s the case, as he blends seamlessly with the ensemble while adding a unique tonal edge. All of the songs are winners here, but the stand-out centerpiece is the fifteen-minute Un Dia Bonito, which took up most of the second side of the original LP. It is everything that was great about Barretto during this period — beginning with moody, ‘out’ jazz explorations, laced with psychedelic fringes (this was recorded at Electric Lady, after all), it culminates in a smoking descarga jam that, well, leaves you rather short of air. The Sun of Latin music, indeed.

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password: vibes

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Ray Barretto – The Message (1972) 320kbs

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Ray Barretto
“The Message”
Released 1972, Fania Records
Release Date Jul 17, 2007
Studio/Live Studio
Mono/Stereo Stereo
Producer Ray Barretto
Engineer Irv Greenbaum
Recording Time 35 minutes
Personnel Ray Barretto – congas
Orestes Vilato – timbales
Andy Gonzalez – bass
Roberto Rodriguez – trumpet
Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez – bongos
Rene Lopez
Joseph “Papy” Roman
Louis Cruz – piano

From Dusty Groove
One of Ray Barretto’s hardest-hitting salsa albums of the 70s — a raw set of grooves that’s got Ray moving away from the playfulness of the Latin Soul years, into a more righteous mode that’s easily guessed at from the title of the set! The vibe here is very straightforward — with Ray coming down hard on conga, and working with a group that features Adalberto Santiago on lead vocals, plus Orestes Vilato on timbales, Andy Gonzalez on bass, and Luis Cruz on piano. The sound is spare and raw — and titles include the wonderfully echoey tune “O Elefante”, with some great elephant-like work on trumpet — plus “Con El Cimarron”, “Se Traba”, “Arrepientete”, and “Te Traigo Mi Son”.

Review by José A. Estévez, Jr.

Bandleader/conga player Ray Barretto continued to assert himself as one of the premier mainstream salsa catalysts of the early ’70s with one of his most celebrated albums. Barretto, bass player Andy Gonzalez, pianist/arranger Louis Cruz, timbales master Orestes Vilató, and bongo player Johnny Rodríguez contribute to the band’s tough rhythm section; of course, vocalist Adalberto Santiago is a knockout on tunes like the hilarious “Se Traba” and the memorable “Alma Con Alma.” One of Barretto’s top albums of the 1970s and another example of what made New York salsa so special.

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Ray Barretto looking curiously like Al Franken….

Ray Barretto – The Message (1972) 320kbs em pee three

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Ray Barretto – Acid (1968) VBR

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{2001 French pressing with bonus tracks}

RAY BARRETTO – Acid (1968)VBR

Psychedelic salsa? Not quite, except for the occasional Austin Powers-isms like “yeah, baby” and “sock it to me”. But this is a landmark record and needs to be in the collection of any fan of salsa or Latin soul. The closing track is the most ‘out’ of any of them and for me is worth the price of admission all on its own.

Tracks (of the original LP)
1. El Nuevo Barretto (Barretto) – 5:50
2. Mercy, Mercy, Baby (Barretto) – 2:44
3. Acid (Barretto) – 5:05
4. Deeper Shade of Soul (Barretto) – 2:46
5. Soul Drummers (Barretto) – 3:48
6. Sola Te Dejare (Barretto/Lopez) – 3:49
7. Teacher of Love (Barretto/Cruz) – 2:27
8. Espiritu Libre (Barretto) – 8:27

Players
Ray Barretto – Percussion, Congas, Vocals
Big Daddy – Bass
Rene Lopez – Trumpet
Roberto Rodriguez – Trumpet
Adalberto Santiago – Vocals, Bells
Orestes Vilato – Timbales
Pete Bonet – Vocals, Guiro

BONUS TRACKS ( I do not know where Sony got these tracks from.. No information in the booklet. Production sounds like early 70s. Anyone with session/line-up data feel free to comment and enlighten me!)

9. Guarare
10. Vina Pa’Echar Candela
11. Vale Mas Un Guaguanco
12. Canto Abuaco
13. Eras

REVIEW from John Ballon at ‘allaboutjazz dot com’
By the time 1968 rolled around, Ray Barretto was a celebrated studio session player whose hard-driving conga rhythms could be heard all over the records of Dizzy Gillespie, Cal Tjader, Cannonball Adderley, and countless others. Once he dropped Acid onto the music world, Barretto firmly established a reputation for himself as an innovator in his own right.

Like the drug itself, Acid had a mind-expanding influence on everyone, allowing for a far more adventurous and eclectic edge to slip into New York’s Latin music scene. A lot less psychedelic than its title and cover might lead you to believe, Acid remains one of the most far-out fusions of Latin and soul music ever conceived.

Catchy as hell, the records four original Latin/soul numbers (”Mercy, Mercy Baby”, “The Soul Drummers”, “A Deeper Shade of Soul” and “Teacher of Love”) are obscure classics loaded with plenty of vintage ’60s soul references—punchy James Brown and Stax Records sounding horns, thickly grooving bass lines, fat-back drums, and cliché soul catch-phrases such as “What I say,” “Lord have mercy,” “Come on, come on baby” and “Sock it to me!”

El Nuevo Barretto (The New Barretto)” opens the album on familiar ground, with its high-energy boogaloo-styled salsa sung passionately in Spanish. With the second track, “Mercy, Mercy Baby,” the sound shifts dramatically as soul gets a serious drenching in hot sauce. The band chants “Mercy, Mercy Baby” behind Memphis-styled horns, catchy lyrics, timbales, and Barretto’s kicking congas. The title track, “Acid,” opens up sparsely with a lazy hypnotic bass and percussion groove over which stretches the muted trumpet sounds of Rene Lopez (who was soon to be drafted and shipped off to Vietnam). After a rock-steady timbales solo by Orestes Vilato, the band begins calling out “Barretto, Barretto,” and master Ray steps forward, obliging them with one of his most fiery and intense conga solos ever. The lyrics on “The Soul Drummers” totally sums up the record: “Have you heard them cooking / The Soul Drummers / well they play so cool / Soul Drummers / so hard to resist / Soul Drummers / with the African twist.”

The album’s most psychedelic soul sounds can be heard on its closing track, the appropriately titled “Espiritu Libre (Free Spirit).” This instrumental opens with some pretty far out-there trumpet statements that sound as if they could’ve come straight off of Bitches Brew—pretty advanced stuff for a 1968 Latin record! The track builds into a full blown drum-heated jam flavored with odd rhythmic time-signatures, passionate brass, and feverish bass lines, bringing the album to a satisfying peak that leaves you in bad need of a smoke.

Acid turned on a lot of important players with its irresistible blending of Latin and soul music, significantly helping to bring about the rise of the Afro-Latin funk revolution.