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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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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