Griot Galaxy - Kins (1982)

While he did receive some attention in the later years of his career – thanks to some great records on Qbico, an ongoing collaboration with Northwood Improvisers, and appearances with His Name Is Alive – Griot Galaxy founder Faruq Z Bey never really got his dues. It’s a shame, as besides being a gifted saxophonist, he was also a heavy thinker and writer, having published two books of poetry and a book of music theory, Towards A “Ratio”nal Aesthetic. His music remained steadfastly heady throughout his life; he began playing free improv in Detroit with the First African Primal Rhythm Orchestra and subsequently formed Griot Galaxy.
Kins is their debut album, though they’d existed for almost a decade beforehand, and as such it captures a group with a powerful logic on lockdown. From the moment the snare tattoos erupt on ‘Xy-Moch (1)’, Kins advances assuredly, switching between tight compositions and bleary improvisations – ‘Zychron’, perhaps their finest recorded moment, moving between both with equal ease, particularly its seasick coda for lumbering brass and weeping, tragic arco work. There are some weird funk entreaties as well, and an odd predilection for wah-wah bass – someone had to do it.

Jon Dale,factmag


Tracklist:
1. Xy-Moch
2. Zycron
3. Zenolog Aintro
4. Androgeny
5. Kins
6. Xy-Moch Theme

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Ravi Shankar ‎– Jazzmine (1980)

Ultra rare India only release of a session featuring Western Jazz musicians

 
THE ENSEMBLE
George Adams-Tenor Saxophone | Mike Richmond-String Bass | Jagannath Pacherwal-Shehnai
Hari Shankar-Kanjeera | Ganpat Rao Jadav-Folk Drums | B K Warai- Nakara | Deepak Chaudhary-Sitar | Datat Thakar-Flute | Balchandran-Flute | K Narayan-Violin | Surendra Rao-Viloin | Bahadur-Violin | A Bhonsale-Tanpura | A Hariharan-Voice | Ashvini Bhide-Voice | Jagannath Pacherwal-Alto Saxophone | Louis Banks-Key Boards | Velur Ramabhardar-Mridangam | T H Vinayakram-Ghatam | Indra Nath Mukerji-Tabla | Rajnjit Barot-Jazz Drums | P G Parab-Sitar | Balchandran-Flute | Shiv Kumar –Violin | Bablo Chakravarthy-Violin | Prakash Verma-Violin | Deby Chakravorthy-Violin | Ashit Desai-Voce | Saria Bhida-Voice | Rabin Paul –Sound Supervision |

 

 

Tracklist

A1	Prashastri
A2	Raagank
A3	Taalank
B1	Deshank
B2	Mishrank

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Ahmed Abdul-Malik - Spellbound [1964]

Spellbound, recorded in 1964, is double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik's final date as a leader, though given its contents, it shouldn't have been. Abdul-Malik, an American born musician of Sudanese descent, helped to bring the sounds of the Middle East to jazz in the '50s, incorporating oud and a different set of scales in his own recordings. His sidemen for this date are ubiquitous Duke Ellington Orchestra cornetist Ray Nance, who also plays violin here, drummer Walter Perkins, saxophonist/flutist Seldon Powell, the little known pianist Paul Neves, and oud player -- on two tracks -- Sudanese musician Hamza Aldeen (not to be confused with the Egyptian composer, oud and tar player Hamza el Din). The program on this date is unusual: three of the five tunes here come from movie soundtracks. The opening title track is from the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name and features a fine, gently swinging solo from Neves, and some excellent frontline and violin from Nance. "Never on Sunday," from the Greek film of the same name, is a showcase for Aldeen, who twins his lines with Nance's plucked violin, anchored by Abdul-Malik and Perkins. Powell's flute moves off into a solo before the piano and oud restate the theme followed by a saxophone, piano, and second flute break. It's breezy, easy, and it swings. The interplay between Nance's cornet break and Powell's tenor solo registers its emotion as Neves fills the melody with wonderful, spacious, right-hand arpeggios. Abdul-Malik's bass opens "Song of Delilah" from the film Samson & Delilah. He's followed in a complex melodic statement by flute, a gypsy jazz solo by Nance on violin, and finally, a gorgeous oud break based on a single chord -- with deep, responsorial bass from Abdul-Malik -- that eventually moves the tune into a grooving flute break. Closer "Cinema Blues" isn't from a film. Instead, it's a straight-ahead hard bop blues, with some fine muted cornet work, killer comps from Neves, and a fluid, mid-register solo by Powell, with a driving rhythm section. Spellbound isn't as groundbreaking as some of Abdul-Malik's earlier work, but it doesn't need to be: by this point, he had successfully melded jazz with Middle Eastern sounds into a seamless -- if somewhat exotically textural -- whole. The band fires on all cylinders under his inspired direction, making this a fitting sendoff to him as a bandleader. Musically, he saved one of his best for last.

AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek

 

Tracklist

1	Spellbound
2	Never On Sunday
3	Body and Soul
4	Song of Delilah
5	Cinema Blues

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Greek Cinema 1 - 60s & 70s instrumental grooves by George Theodossiadis

The first in a great series that explores the lost soundtrack sounds of Greece – a vastly under-discovered hotbed of groovy work at the end of the 60s! This first volume focuses on the sounds of George Theodossiadis – a really talented arranger with a good ear for a funky flourish, one that sets him somewhere in between Italian and French funky styles of the early 70s – plenty of electric guitar and keyboards, heavy bass, and some wonderful instrumental touches that sound very very nice! Gone are the days of Zorba and Never On A Sunday – and in their place are a host of warm and soulful grooves, perfect for the sunny sounds of the 70s.

dustygroove

Tracklist
1 Fluted Vibrator
2 Plane Vibrations
3 Profusion Party
4 Hors D'Euvres (Theme From Fiery Holidays)
5 The Promenade
6 Lunatic Groove
7 Shake Therapy
8 Lyssistra...tease
9 Superlative Fascination
10 Spicy Marguerita
11 Landing Lights
 
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Greeks & Indians Vol. 4: Ta Pontiaka

This is the fourth installment of the brilliant "Greeks and Indians" series by Saraswati Records (Greece). Traditional dances,songs and a lament of the Greeks of the Black Sea,covered and improvised live in studio.
The fusion of the musical traditions of Pontians and Indians is achieved by the collaboration of classical Indian performers and a Pontian Greek kemenje player.
Indian elements are incorporated graciously throughout the record and the absolute highlight is undoubtfully "Pyrrhichios" ,a powerful ancient war dance beyond comparison.
When Devashish Dey's vocals kick in,the sonic orgy climaxes and the result is a 100% psychedelic masterpiece.
Highly recommended

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Greek Fusion Orchestra & Kyriakos Sfetsas (Κυριάκος Σφέτσας) - Without Boundaries (Χωρίς Σύνορα) [1980]

Kyriakos Sfetsas (Greek: Κυριάκος Σφέτσας; born September 29, 1945) is a Greek composer. His body of work consists of a large number of compositions: symphonic, choral, ballet and theatre music, chamber, electronic, film scores, pieces for solo instruments, pieces in jazz and fusion style, songs in Greek and world poems.

The Greek fusion orchestra was a sextet created in 1976 by members of the ERT's Contemporary Music Orchestra. The group was performing for 30 minutes every week in a live radio broadcast until 1978, when it was broken up as a regular group. However its members were performing occasionally together until 1980 until their definitive break up. Just before this they recorded the now historic LP "without boundaries" for columbia records. The recording was not a success at the time, however it obtained cult status gradually with the years as the only studio recording of the group.
The most dominant members of the group were Kyriakos Sfetsas,as the bandleader and composer and Yanni Theodoridis, as the main soloist.

Tracklist
A1 Dream's Rolling 10:12
A2 Samarina 10:00
B1 Ballad For John 9:05
B2 Papadia 9:47

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Mimis Plessas - Greece Goes Modern [1967]

Mimis Plessas was born on 12 October 1924 in Athens. He attended the Lycee Leonin, studied at the Physics Department of the University of Athens and then went to America to pursue his studies. At a young age he became the first solo piano in Greek Radio. In 1952, it won the first prize of music at the University of Minnesota. He then, began working with composition and since 1956 as a conductor and composer.
Its artistic and compositional activity covers the last 50 years, all areas of music: theater, cinema, radio and television, having to his credit 104 movies and 70 plays (!!). He has conducted numerous major orchestras around the world, such his offer in Paris in 1958, Edinburgh and the U.S. in 1964 and 1965 respectively.
In 1967 he released what is often mentioned as ‘the holy grail’ of Greek jazz music. This was a jazz fusion based on Greek traditional folk songs, the outcome was a freshjazz, beat, psychedelic, funky, samba, bossa nova (!!) orchestration that re-introduced the old material, improvised and suggested a new and very interesting sound.
Originally recorded in 1966 for the needs of an advertising broadcast (‘Fix’ beer!), the 10 tracks of the album are masterfully treated in a modern way by Mimis Plessas and his band, the Orbiters. Playing ultra-loungy, with some fuzzy guitar overtones, they follow a jazzy direction without losing their folk originality!

Tracklist

A1	Lemonaki (Peloponesian Dance) / Λεμονάκι (Πελοποννησιακός Χορός)
A2	O Menoussis (Dance Of Thrace) / Ο Μενούσης (Θρακικός Χορός)
A3	Yalo Na Pas (Dance Of Zante) / Γυαλό Να Πας (Ζακυνθινός Χορός)
A4	Karagouna (Thessalian Dance) / Καραγκούνα (Θεσσαλικός Χορός)
A5	Karavi Ap' Ti Hio (Dance Of Chios) / Καράβι Απ' Τη Χίο (Χιώτικος Χορός)
B1	Tria Pedia (Dance Of Volos) / Τρία Παιδιά (Βολιώτικος Χορός)
B2	I Perdika (Dance Of Corfu) / Η Πέρδικα (Κερκυραϊκός Χορός)
B3	Vassilikos (Dance Of Epirus) / Βασσιλικός (Ηπειρώτικος Χορός)
B4	Kalamatiano (Dance Of Kalamata) / Καλαματιανό (Καλαματιανός Χορός)
B5	Kritikos (Cretan Dance) / Κρητικός (Κρητικός Χορός)

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