STEVE SMITH, DAVE LIEBMAN, AYDIN ESEN, ANTHONY JACKSON - Flaspoint (2005) WV (tracks+.cue), lossless

The meeting of drummer Steve Smith, saxophonist Dave Liebman, bassist Anthony Jackson, and Turkish keyboardist Aydin Esen is a first. While all of them have played with one another in the past, this session for Flashpoint is the first time they've all played together. These ten pieces reflect a new hybrid of acoustic and electric. There are knotty tempo and harmonic changes that reflect the density and über chopsmanship of fusion, but there is also an element of deep listening -- intricate improvisation as well that reflects the jazz heritage. Liebman is the chief composer here, his pieces are tautly composed, particularly the mid-tempo ballad "Like John." It's elegant, and looks to the margin while never losing its central focus of mode balanced with melody. Esen's compositions, such as "Speak Without Words," carry with them the rumble and tumble of stop-on-a-dime changes, turnarounds that open into improvisation and moody atmospherics. Flashpoint is -- for all of its walking the razor's edge between fusion and jazz -- far from tentative, it's an in-your-face recording that gleefully goes for broke and brings the tensions between these musics to bear freely. It's not for everyone, but for the quality of musicianship and the compositions, its noteworthy. by Thom Jurek  
Tracklist :
1    Flashpoint 5:30
Composed By – David Liebman
2    Like John 6:12
Composed By – David Liebman
3    Particles 7:14
Composed By – Aydın Esen
4    Speak Without Words 7:27
Composed By – Aydın Esen
5    The Gentle Warrior 6:56
Composed By – David Liebman
6    Fabric Of Reality 5:53
Composed By – Aydın Esen
7    Yildiz 7:07
Composed By – Phil Markowitz
8    Maid Of The Mist 6:21
Composed By – David Liebman
9    Khanda West 1:05
Composed By – Steve Smith
10    Edge Of Tomorrow 6:45
Composed By – Aydın Esen
Credits :
Contrabass – Anthony Jackson
Drums, Ghatam, Udu – Steve Smith
Keyboards – Aydin Esen
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Dave Liebman

LALO SCHIFRIN - Black Widow (1976-2001) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although he is best-known for film scores like Bullitt and Enter The Dragon, prolific composer Lalo Schifrin has always maintained a side career as a jazz musician. He racked up a massive success in this field in 1976 with Black Widow, a slick instrumental excursion that combined the musical dexterity of jazz with the dance-friendly rhythms of disco. This album found Schifrin turning his skills as an arranger and keyboardist to a set of material that matched up some unlikely but effective covers with a few originals. Highlights among the covers include "Quiet Village," which transforms the exotica classic into a slow-burning funk vamp dressed with plenty of spacey synthesizer, and "Moonglow & Theme From Picnic," which reworks these classic film themes by giving them keyboard-driven arrangements that are gently nudged along by an insistent beat. Black Widow also spawned a dancefloor hit with Schifrin's imaginative reworking of "Jaws," which transformed John Williams' spooky monster-movie theme into an ominous, percolating slice of nocturnal funk built on wah-wah guitar and Schifrin's elegantly jazzy keyboard excursions. In terms of the original tunes, the standout is the title track, a keyboard showcase that weaves surging strings around a funky bass groove that is fleshed out with all manner of synth and electric piano shadings. The strong disco edge to the proceedings may turn off jazz purists, but Schifrin's imaginative and stylish arrangements keep the music from succumbing to disco-beat boredom, and his expert backup band (including session stalwarts like Andy Newmark and John Tropea) attacks the material with energy and style to burn. The end result is one of the peak albums in Lalo Schifrin's lengthy catalogue and a necessity for anyone interested in his jazz work. by Donald A. Guarisco  
Tracklist:
1 Black Widow 4:11
Lalo Schifrin
2 Flamingo 4:31
Edmund Anderson / Ted Grouya
3 Quiet Village 5:45
Les Baxter
4 Moonglow/Theme from "Picnic" 6:13
Steve Allen / Eddie DeLange / George Duning / Will Hudson / Irving Mills
5 Jaws 6:01
John Williams
6 Baia 4:49
Ary Barroso / Ray Gilbert
7 Turning Point 3:29
Lalo Schifrin
8 Dragonfly 5:45
Lalo Schifrin
9 Frenesi 3:53
Alberto Dominguez / Leonard Whitcup
10 Tabú 4:33
Margarita Lecuona / Bob Russell
11 Baia 7:44
Ary Barroso / Ray Gilbert
12 Con Alma 6:30
Lalo Schifrin
Credits:
Conductor, Keyboards, Arranged By – Lalo Schifrin
Bass – Anthony Jackson
Drums – Andy Newmark
Guitar – Eric Gale, John Tropea
Percussion – Don Alias
Producer – Creed Taylor
Saxophone [Alto] – Joe Farrell
Saxophone [Baritone] – Pepper Adams
Trumpet – Jon Faddis
Vocals – Patti Austin

LALO SCHIFRIN - Towering Toccata (1977-2003) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After scoring an unexpected high-profile success with the disco/jazz fusion of Black Widow, Lalo Schifrin quickly recorded a follow-up album in a similar vein. 1977's Towering Toccata replicates the elegant yet dance-friendly style of Black Widow to the tee, right down to the unconventional cover choices. The best of these is the title track, an insistently rhythmic piece that transforms Bach's gothic-organ extravaganza "Toccata and Prelude in F Minor" into a mid-tempo disco workout that backs up Schifrin's jazzy explorations on the electric piano and synthesizer with scratching rhythm guitar and a pronounced dance beat. Other notable moments on this album include "Most Wanted Theme," which is transformed from action-show theme music into a symphonic funk workout, and "Rollercoaster," a funky vamp from the Schifrin soundtrack of the same name that is ideally suited for Towering Toccata's disco/jazz mindset. There is even another monster-movie theme cover in the vein of the previous album's "Jaws"; this time, it's a disco-friendly treatment of John Barry's "Theme From King Kong" that layers atmospheric horn and flute lines over a bottom-heavy rhythm section fueled by wah-wah guitar and synth bass. However, other tracks on Towering Toccata fail to be as distinctive or adventurous as these highlights. For instance, the original tunes ("Macumba," "Midnight Woman") fit the album's mood but are lacking strong hooks and memorable twists in their arrangements that distinguished the originals on Black Widow. This problem of inconsistent material, combined with the fact that the album is basically a stylistic carbon copy of its predecessor, means that it isn't the ideal follow-up to Black Widow that Schifrin fans might have hoped for. That said, the album has enough strong tunes and enough of a consistent sound to please hardcore Lalo Schifrin fans and anyone who loved Black Widow. by Donald A. Guarisco  
Tracklist:
1 Towering Toccata 5:02
Soloist, Flute – Jeremy Steig
2 Frances' Theme 4:19
Flute – Jeremy Steig
3 Macumba 6:31
Drums [Dahka-de-bello] – Steve Gadd
Flute – Jeremy Steig
Soloist, Guitar – Eric Gale
4 Eagles In Love 2:49
Lalo Schifrin
5 Theme From King Kong 4:12
Soloist, Guitar – Eric Gale, John Tropea
6 Most Wanted Theme 2:42
Bass – Will Lee
Soloist, Violin [Vitar] – John Blair
7 Midnight Woman 6:09
Bass – Will Lee
Soloist, Flute – Joe Farrell
Soloist, Piano – Lalo Schifrin
8 Roller Coaster 4:48
Drums – Andrew Smith
Credits:
Alto Saxophone – Gerry Niewood
Arranged By – Lalo Schifrin
Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Cuber
Bass – Anthony Jackson
Cello – Alan Shulman, Charles McCracken
Conductor – Lalo Schifrin
Drums – Steve Gadd
Flute – Dave Tofani, Lou Marini
Keyboards – Clark Spangler
Percussion – Don Armando Bonilla, Ralph MacDonald, Sue Evans
Producer – Creed Taylor
Saxophone – Dave Tofani
Tenor Saxophone – Lou Marini
Trombone – Urbie Green
Trumpet – Burt Collins, John Frosk, John Gatchell
Viola – Manny Vardi, Lamar Alsop
Violin – Charles Libove, David Nadien, Emanuel Green, Marvin Morgenstern, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Max Pollikoff, Paul Gershman