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Alex Blake
Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr.) is a jazz bass player. Biography Blake was born in Panama and moved to the United States at the age of 7, growing up in Brooklyn, NY. He began his career with Sun Ra in his band Arkestra. He became one of the major proponents of the fusion movement in the late 1970s with his writing and performances with Lenny White and Billy Cobham. A live performance compilation was released by Bubble Core Records in 2000 titled '' Now Is the Time: Live at the Knitting Factory''. The album featured Blake's own quintet, which included Pharoah Sanders, Victor Jones, John Hicks and Neil Clarke (percussion). In addition to leading his own group, Blake also performs and records with Randy Weston, as well as other musicians. Discography As leader * ''Especially for You'' (Denon, 1979) * '' Now Is the Time: Live at the Knitting Factory'' (Bubble Core, 2000) As sideman With Billy Cobham * ''Total Eclipse'' (Atlantic, 1974) * ''A Funky Thide of Sings'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randy Weston
Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, whom he cited in a 2018 video as among pianists he counted as influences, as well as Count Basie, Nat King Cole and Earl Hines."Randy Weston talks about his new solo double CD Sound" YouTube video, March 27, 2018. Beginning in the 1950s, Weston worked often with trombonist and arranger Melba Liston. Described as "America's African Musical Ambassador", Weston once said: "What I do I do because it's about teaching and informing everyone about our most natural cultural phenomenon. It's really about Africa a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Funky Thide Of Sings
''A Funky Thide of Sings'' is a 1975 studio album by Billy Cobham. Track listing #"Panhandler" (Billy Cobham) – 3:50 #"Sorcery" ( Keith Jarrett) – 2:26 #"A Funky Thide of Sings" (Billy Cobham) – 3:23 #"Thinking of You" (Alex Blake) – 4:12 #"Some Skunk Funk" (Randy Brecker) – 5:07 #"Light at the End of the Tunnel" (Billy Cobham) – 3:37 #"A Funky Kind of Thing" (Billy Cobham) – 9:24 #"Moody Modes" (Milcho Leviev) – 12:16 Personnel *Billy Cobham – synthesizer, percussion *Michael Brecker – saxophone * Larry Schneider – saxophone *Randy Brecker – trumpet *Walt Fowler – trumpet * Tom Malone – trombone, piccolo *Glenn Ferris – trombone *Milcho Leviev – keyboards *John Scofield – guitar *Alex Blake – bass *Rebop Kwaku Baah – conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and class ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's After The End Of The World
''It's After the End of the World'' (subtitled ''Live at the Donaueschingen and Berlin Festivals'') is a live album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra recorded in 1970 in Donaueschingen and Berlin and released on the MPS label in 1970.Sun Ra discography accessed 28 October 2015 The complete concerts were released in 1998 as a 2-CD set entitled '' Black Myth/Out in Space''. Reception awarded the album 3 stars.[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Save Our Children (album)
''Save Our Children'' is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in West Orange, New Jersey, and was released in 1998 by Verve Records. On the album, which was produced by Bill Laswell, Sanders is joined by keyboardists Jeff Bova, William Henderson, and Bernie Worrell, harmonium player Tony Cedras, bassist Alex Blake, and percussionists Trilok Gurtu and Zakir Hussain. Abiodun Oyewole, Asante, and Abdou Mboup also provide vocals on one track. ''Save Our Children'' was Sanders' second release with Verve, and the second to be produced by Laswell. Reception In a review for AllMusic, Richard S. Ginell noted the album's "sleek, absorbing sound," and stated that, in comparison with '' Message from Home'', "the ambience is mellower, the spirituality less fierce." He wrote: "Though the African percussive element is still present, it now takes a back seat to subtle layered electronics and influences from India and the Middle East, and the huge, passionate Pharoah sound of ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Connors
Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is possibly best known for the 1976 hit, "You Are My Starship" on which lead vocals were sung by Michael Henderson. Biography Connors lived in the same Philadelphia neighbourhood as comedian/actor Bill Cosby and had an interest in jazz from a very early age when he began to play drums. Whilst at elementary school, Connors was exposed to jazz extensively and became heavily influenced by the drummer Lex Humphries and the younger brother of bassist and Jazz-Messenger player, Spanky DeBrest. He first met his idol, Miles Davis, aged just 13 in 1960. He once sat in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane performance he attended while in middle school. Connors studied music at Temple University and Juilliard. His first recording was on Archie Shepp's 1967 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beyond A Dream (Pharoah Sanders And Norman Connors Album)
''Beyond a Dream'' is a live album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and drummer Norman Connors. It was recorded on July 22, 1978, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, and was released in 1981 by Arista Novus. On the album, Sanders and Connors are joined by saxophonist and flutist Buzzy Jones, trumpeter Duke Jones, keyboardists Bobby Lyle and Billy McCoy, guitarist Greg Hill, bassist Alex Blake, conga player Lawrence Killian, and percussionist Petro Bass. Reception Riley Hodges of Perspective in Sound wrote: "this record has spoken to me in so many distinct, and yet non-distinct, ways. Meaning, there is a language of instruments that can be interpreted and felt, and that can give rise to many imaginative things." Track listing # "Babylon" (Billy McCoy) – 8:40 # "Beyond a Dream" (Kenny Cox) – 10:23 # "Montreux Overture" (Pharoah Sanders) – 4:35 # "The End of the Beginning" (Bobby Lyle) – 4:55 # "Casino Latino" (Pharoah Sanders) – 15:25 Personnel * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love Will Find A Way (Pharoah Sanders Album)
''Love Will Find a Way'' is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in Burbank, California, in 1977, and was released in 1978 by Arista Records. On the album, which was produced by Norman Connors, Sanders is joined by a large ensemble of musicians. ''Love Will Find a Way'', which features vocalist Phyllis Hyman, was Sanders' first release on Arista, and represented a turn toward more commercial music. According to writer Tom Terrell, the album "became a quiet storm classic, sold pretty well, revived Hyman's career and positioned Pharoah as heir-apparent to Grover Washington Jr.'s throne." In an interview, however, Sanders stated that he resisted being pigeonholed, commenting "No, I ain't gonna be that way, it's either me or else." The song "Love Will Find a Way" appears as the closing track on Philip Bailey's 2019 album of the same name. Reception A writer for '' Billboard'' called the album "a soothing, mood setting collection of instrumentally oriented cuts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo
''Man-Tora! Live in Tokyo'' is the third live album released by The Manhattan Transfer. The title is a shortening of , the Japanese transliteration of the band's name. The songs were recorded during their 1983 Japan tour to promote their album '' Bodies and Souls'' at Tokyo's Nakano Sun Theater. Some of the songs from these concerts also appeared on their 1984 album, '' Bop Doo-Wopp''. Track listing # " Birdland" – ( Joe Zawinul, Jon Hendricks) – 5:15 # " Route 66" – (Bobby Troup) – 3:34 # "Jeannine" – ( Duke Pearson, Oscar Brown Jr.) – 5:44 # "Malaise en Malaisie" – (Alain Chamfort, Serge Gainsbourg, Alan Paul) – 3:54 # "Trickle Trickle" – (Clarence Bassett) – 2:25 # " Boy from New York City" – (John Taylor, George Davis) – 3:44 # "This Independence" – (John Capek, Marc Jordan) – 5:12 # "Foreign Affair" – (Tom Waits) – 4:05 # " Body and Soul" – ( Johnny Green, Frank Eyton, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour) – 4:28 # "Blue Champagne" – ( Frank Ryer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Offbeat Of Avenues
''The Offbeat Of Avenues'' was the thirteenth album released by The Manhattan Transfer on August 13, 1991 by Columbia Records. This album is the first of two albums for Columbia Records. This album is also the first Manhattan Transfer album where the majority of the songs were either written or co-written by the members of the group. Awards This album yielded the group a Grammy Award, in the category of Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for the song "Sassy". The lyrics for this song were written by Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne; the music was composed by Janis Siegel and Bill Bodine. Track listing Personnel The Manhattan Transfer * Cheryl Bentyne – vocals, vocal arrangements (1, 6) * Tim Hauser – vocals, sandpaper blocks (5) * Alan Paul – vocals, vocal arrangements (4, 10), music arrangements (10) * Janis Siegel – vocals, vocal arrangements (2, 3, 7, 8), vocal adaptation (11) Musicians and Arrangers * Ian Prince – synthesizers (1, 5), programming (1, 5), m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live (1987 Manhattan Transfer Album)
''Live'' is the eleventh album released by The Manhattan Transfer. It was recorded live at the Nakano Sun Plaza Hall in Japan on 20 & 21 February 1986. It was released in 1987. This was the group's second live album, and the first live album with Cheryl Bentyne in the group. Track listing # " Four Brothers" (Jimmy Giuffre, Jon Hendricks) - 4:04 # "Rambo" (Count Basie, J. J. Johnson, Jon Hendricks) - 3:44 # "(You Should) Meet Benny Bailey" (Quincy Jones, Jon Hendricks) - 3:12 # "Airegin" (Sonny Rollins, Jon Hendricks) - 4:21 # "To You" (Jimmy Giuffre, Thad Jones) - 4:18 # "Sing Joy Spring" (Clifford Brown, Jon Hendricks) - 6:45 # "Move" (Denzil Best, Jon Hendricks, Paul Wash) - 3:26 # "That's Killer Joe" (Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks) - 5:02 # "The Duke of Dubuque" (Bill Faber, James Marchant, Lawrence Royal) - 2:49 # " Gloria" (Adam R. Levy, Esther Navarro) - 2:56 # "On the Boulevard" (Richard Page) - 3:41 # "Shaker Song" (David Lasley, Allee Willis) - 3:57 # "Ray's Rockhouse" ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vocalese (album)
''Vocalese'' is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1985 on the Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album's title ''Vocalese'' refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album. Critical reception * Allmusic Awards This album earned the group G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bop Doo-Wopp
''Bop Doo-Wopp'' is the eighth studio album by The Manhattan Transfer, released in 1984 on the Atlantic Records label. Six of the ten tracks on ''Bop Doo-Wopp'' are live performances. The album contains the song " Route 66" which originally appeared on the soundtrack to the Burt Reynolds film ''Sharky's Machine''. The album is essentially a live album (6 tracks) with some additional studio cuts (4 tracks). Five tracks were recorded live at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Japan in November 1983. Songs from these concerts were also released in 1996 on their album ''Man-Tora! Live in Tokyo''. The other live cut, "Duke of Dubuque", was recorded for the Evening at Pops series on PBS. The song "Safronia B" was recorded in Sydney, Australia in December 1983. The other three songs were recorded in New York City. Charts This album spawned another ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single in "Baby Come Back to Me (The Morse Code of Love)" which reached #83 on the chart in February 1985. The song was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
