Azymuth | Butterfly

Tags

Brazilian, Culture, Jazz

Azymuth

Always-great work from Azymuth — one of the few combos who never get stale, no matter how long they keep on grooving! The album’s titled after the Herbie Hancock classic “Butterfly” — and it’s put together with a sublime quality that really stretches back to the best styles of the 70s fusion generation — both for Herbie and the group! The core trio is still wonderfully in place after all these years — Jose Roberto Bertrami on Fender Rhodes and Hammond, Ivan Conti on drums and percussion, and Alex Malheiros on bass and guitar — and although there’s a tiny bit of vocals on the set, they’re more instrument-like, and fit in beautifully with the keyboard-driven grooves.  – DustyGroove.com

Wayne Shorter | Speak No Evil

Tags

African American, Jazz, Saxophone

Wayne Shorter

In the space of only about four years in the mid-1960s, Wayne Shorter put out about 7 albums, any one of which could have revolutionized jazz music. In my view, Speak No Evil is the best of them all (though the competition is incredible). Basically, jazz music entered a new and original phase through Shorter’s compositions.

In the ’30s and ’40s, people played swing and then bebop, which were “jazzed up” approaches to standard tunes. The ’50s and early ’60s saw a period of new jazz composition, and a self-conscious introduction of new styles that were centered around instrumental style rather than around standard tunes. – Amazon.com/J. Russon