Dexter Wansel - "Life On Mars" 1976

In it's day, I really did not appreciate the music from this LP, but as I go back and listen to it with more mature ears, I really dig this LP, and I hope you will too.  Dexter Wansel is keyboardist and main composer for this LP, and recognized by many as his best work.  Sure there are some touches of Disco-esque sound in this LP, but hey it was produced in 1976!  Dexter Wansel was a major influence to the popular Soul group of MFSB.  This PL was released the same time the Voyager Space probe was to explore the surface of Mars (hence the name).  Interestingly, the liner notes mentions that "why should we be searching for life on other planets, when we have not mastered life on Earth...".  This LP was released on CD but since has gone out of print, so I present my best attempt at a LP digital archival of this fantastic work from DW and the "photo-shopped" attempt to clean up the LP scan...so please enjoy!
P.S.  Found out that this LP was re-leased on CD as double CD along with another great DW LP, so I am going to purchase the CD version to get the cleanest sound available.  Sorry, link removed...but get the CD, "no regrets"!

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Backing Vocals - Barbara Ingram , Carla Benson , Evette Benton
Bass - Derrick Graves
Drums, Percussion - Darryl Brown
Engineer - Jay Mark , Jim Gallagher
Guitar - Calvin Harris (3)
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals - Dexter Wansel
Saxophone, Flute - Bobby Malach*
Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Al Harrison

Roy Ayers - "Feeling Good" 1982

While I have started to delve into jazz vibists, like Bobby Hutcherson, it has forced me to go back through my LP collection to find other albums that never made it to CD....so here goes.

Roy Ayer's repertoire are fairly well represented in the MP3 stores, however I did find some in my collection (I believe I have all of Roy Ayers LP's he has released) that never made it. I found "Feeling Good" and maybe more as I go back.  This LP is characteristic Roy Ayers (Jazz-Funk genre) although it balances more of funk than jazz.  My first Roy Ayers LP was "Ubiquity Vibrations" and still is one of my all-around favorites, and I recommend that you get that in your collection.  My favorite tracks on this LP are the mellow  "Ooh" and the high energy "Fire Up The Funk".  More jazz vibists to follow in the near future...stay tuned...

Track Listing

1.  Fire Up The Funk  
     Producer, Arranged By - Roy Ayers III* , Vesta Maxey
2.  Let's Stay Together
     Producer, Arranged By - James King (2) , John King (4) , Terri Wells
3.  Ooh
4.  Our Time Is Coming
5.  Turn Me Loose
6.  Knock, Knock
     Producer, Arranged By - Roy Ayers III* , Vesta Maxey
7.  Stairway To The Stars
8.  Feeling Good

Bobby Hutcherson - "Conception: The Gift Of Love" 1979

I purchased this album the week it was released, and at the time was not all that thrilled with the Vibes as a form of musical expression.  But after several listens to this LP and to Roy Ayers and Milt Jackson (over time), I have really learned to appreciate the musicality and expression of the vibes in jazz.  The music on this LP has great energy and warmth, it's hard to believe that this music still has never been released to CD after so many years...?  There are several Bobby Hutcherson releases, but this LP is not one of them.

On this LP there are several notable sidemen featured: Hubert Laws on flute and Jon Faddis on trumpet along with Urbie Green on trombone.  As the title suggests, Bobby Hutcherson and his wife are having a baby...and he states on the liner notes that playing and writing this music gratifies like no other time before.  He mentions that he is still a "bopper" at heart (referring to Be-Bop), and the music on the release is at its core Be-Bop, however, he is "playing with more sophisticated rhythms (like more 6/8) and new harmonic structures and melodic concepts".

With that I hope that you enjoy, my favorites are "No Siree Bob" and "Dark Side-Light Side", but all the cuts are very notable.  The music fidelity is above average too!

Bass - James Leary
Drums - Eddie Marshall (2) 

Flute - Hubert Laws 

Percussion - Bill Summers (tracks: A2, A3) , Kenneth Nash 

Piano - George Cables 

Saxophone [Alto] - Lenny Hambro
Saxophone [Baritone], Clarinet [Bass] - Romeo Pinque*
Saxophone [Tenor] - Danny Trimboline* , Frank Wess
Trombone [Tenor] - John Gale , Robert Alexander , Urban Green*
Trumpet - Anthony Tooley , Danny Moore , Earl Gardner , Joseph Wilder* , Jon Faddis
Vibraphone - Bobby Hutcherson

Norman Connors - "Dark of Light" 1973

I have always been a Norman Connors fan since I purchased his LP's "You Are My Starship" and "Romantic Journey", what great albums they were to me, and started collecting everything I could get from Mr. Connors.  The "Dark of Light" was his second album release and I really like almost every cut on this LP, but my favorites are the title cut and "Butterfly Dreams".  The album does paint a somewhat 'dark' landscape and I love the vocal accents provided by Dee Dee Bridgewater.  Eddie Henderson on trumpet was a great choice too.  Classic 70's jazz style that I like so much... Hope you enjoy...

1. Dark Of Light     11:45
2. Butterfly Dreams  5:15
3. Laughter 2:55
4. Black Lightnin 11:50
5. Twilight Zone 1:30
6. Song For Rosa 2:00

Bass - Buster Williams (tracks: A1) , Cecil McBee , Stanley Clarke (tracks: B1)
Congas - Lawrence Killian
Drums - Norman Connors 

Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar - Ted Dunbar (tracks: A1)
Electric Piano - Elmer Gibson (tracks: B1)
Electric Piano, Piano - Herbie Hancock 

Flute - Art Webb
Flute [Alto], Bassoon - Alfred Williams (tracks: B1)
Percussion - Gerald Roberts (tracks: B1) , Henry Palmer (tracks: B1) , Warren Smith 

Piano - Alan Gumbs (tracks: B2) 

Saxophone [Alto] - Gary Bartz
Saxophone [Tenor], Saxophone [Soprano] - Carlos Garnett
Strings - Gail Dixon , Jerry Little , Pat Dixon
Trumpet - Eddie Henderson
Vocals - Dee Dee Bridgewater , Ellen DeLeston , Michael Brown (3)