Whatever happened to Brad Baker?

Composer, arranger, conductor and copyist Brad Baker was the classic behind-the-scenes man. His craft or those he practiced it with almost guaranteed him a certain kind of anonymity.

He gravitated toward the instant success that disco afforded many people during the mid 1970s, but he never earned that first-call status of those like Gene Page, Van McCoy, Horace Ott, Vince Montana or Wade Marcus, who cut their chops earlier on jazz, R&B or pop music. He also never became one of those name producers like Tom Moulton or, later, Jellybean Benitez, who could instantly identify a groove and make the most of it for the dance-floor crowd.

Baker toiled in obscurity, mostly in the disco world and, from what I can find out, only from about 1975 to 1985. He also contributed to a number of jazz releases starting with Reuben Wilson's mostly unjazzy cult classic Got To Get Your Own (Cadet, 1974) and mostly only for Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant and LRC record labels.

There may have been others. But whatever it is hasn't been too well documented. Discogs.com doesn't even list most of the albums covered below. The fairly decent discography site lists Baker's participation on a handful of obscure records, mostly from the world of disco: the instrumental "Art Deco" by the New York City Rhythm Orchestra (Full House, 1976), Camouflage (Roulette, 1976; Honey Bee, 1977), Don Downing (RS International, 1978), Jay Black (Millenium, 1978), Showdown (GIP, 1979), Heat (SMI, 1979), Tabou Combo Superstars (Tabou Combo, 1980), Mantus (SMI, 1980), The Rainbows (Fox Moor, 1981), Fantom (Coast to Coast, 1981), Meco (Arista, 1982), B.T. Express (Coast to Coast, 1982; Record Shack, 1983) and Lea (Oh My!, 1985). Interestingly, Rhino's recent dual-disc release of the Talking Heads 1977 debut album, Talking Heads '77, includes a previously unissued bonus track called "Love -> Building on Fire" which includes horns arranged by Brad Baker and frequent musical partner, guitarist Lance Quinn.

Baker also co-wrote all seven of the songs from famed mega-hit producer Joel Diamond's miserable 1979 Casablanca disco album Joel Diamond Experience (featuring the cringe-worthy "Tall In The Saddle" among other embarrassments). Obviously, Baker contributed none of the cheesy half-baked arrangements scored by one Ron Frangipane.

Most notably, Brad Baker contributed to quite a few of Gregg Diamond's mid-to-late 1970s disco productions (George McRae, Andrea True Connection, Gregg Diamond's Star Cruiser, Gloria Gaynor, Bionic Boogie), during the same period he was Groove Merchant/LRC's house arranger. These are probably Baker's best known work. While Diamond (1949-99) scored several hits at the time - which haven't really stood the test of time - it was Baker's percolating horn charts and, more notably, his lush string arrangements that added something special to Diamond's otherwise pedestrian disco. To get a feel for what Baker could accomplish, sample the instrumentals "Big West" and "Feel Like Dancing" from the first Bionic Boogie album, Bionic Boogie (Polydor, 1977) - which features Diamond on keyboards as well as guitarist Lance Quinn and percussionist Jimmy Maelen, who appear on most of the Groove Merchant/LRC albums Baker scored below. This was some of the best string writing disco knew outside of Gene Page and one or two others.

By the mid 70s, Sonny Lester, a successful producer dating back to the 1950s, was looking to develop a sellable sound for his Groove Merchant label. When Lester started the Solid State label in 1965, he brought in respected arranger Manny Albam to craft settings for the label's initial releases, probably in deference to the success Creed Taylor found at Verve at the time cushioning leader/stars in the orchestras of Claus Ogerman, Oliver Nelson, Lalo Schifrin and Don Sebesky. Very shortly after Albam came aboard, Lester found that many of his artists including Jimmy McGriff and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis didn't need that extra - and expensive - kick. So he pared down and when a groove needed to be set, Lester brought in the busy Horace Ott to sweeten albums by McGriff, Junior Parker, Groove Holmes and Carmen McRae.

By the mid-1970s, Lester had developed a roster of tier-two stars, led by organist Jimmy McGriff, for his Groove Merchant label. But even though the label's artists were more authentically catering to black audiences with jazz, blues and R&B, none of these records were selling anywhere near as well as Creed Taylor's CTI and Kudu records were at the time.

CTI records always boasted first-tier support from big names such as Don Sebesky, Bob James, Deodato and former JB Pee Wee Ellis. With CTI scoring hits by Deodato, Grover Washington, Jr., Esther Phillips and even old-timers Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Turrentine, Lester must have thought it was time to reconsider orchestrating his own records.

For whatever reason, he tapped New York-based arranger Brad Baker and sure enough, Baker developed an individual sound right away that became integral to Sonny Lester productions; something that could unashamedly be called "the LRC sound."

Guitarist Lance Quinn was partnered for whatever reason with Baker for many of these records, which is best described as orchestral disco jazz. The two collaborated on many of the songs and most of the arrangements that came to make this sound so identifiable.

The only down side to the Baker/Quinn sound was that it often enveloped or overcame the soloist it was supporting so completely as to render their participation almost moot. As a result, much of the music cited below is better heard from the perspective of being a Brad Baker album - with consistently significant contributions from guitarist/composer Lance Quinn, guitarist/composer Jerry Friedman and bassist/composer Bob Babbitt - with the artist credited on the LP sleeve as being a guest to the proceedings.

Masada - Joe Thomas (Groove Merchant, 1975): Joe Thomas' second Groove Merchant album is the first time Brad Baker's work appeared on one of Sonny Lester's productions. This is a particularly good one too. Thomas, who sticks to tenor sax throughout the album, collaborates with Baker on four of the album's six tracks ("Gemini Flyin' High," "Masada," "I'm Gone and I'm Glad" and "Flame"). These are the album's highlights too. The funk is deep and palpable here. Vocalists - including Cissy Houston - are added to three tracks, but only help to move the groove along. A first-rate team of New York session men are gathered here, including Jerry Friedman, Jeff Mironov and Lance Quinn on guitars, Pat Rebillot on keyboards, former Motown great and "Funk Brother" Bob Babbitt on bass, Steve Gadd on drums and Jimmy Maelen on percussion. Some of these folks form the core unit of all the releases that follow. Thomas collaborates with Baker on all the arrangements. Brad Baker helms the orchestrations and, presumably, the conducting too. Masada has been issued on CD by Beast Retro in 1997 (now out of print) and by the Candian Unidisc in 2006.

The Mean Machine - Jimmy McGriff (Groove Merchant, 1976): Organ grinder Jimmy's McGriff's first collaboration with the Brad Baker/Lance Quinn team yielded this rather exceptional album of orchestral disco jazz. McGriff switches to keyboards other than organ - mostly electric piano and clavinet - so with the prominence of the orchestral effects, it's almost like a Baker/Quinn album with occasional features for McGriff and reed player and fellow Groove Merchant recording artist Joe Thomas. Baker conducts the orchestra, contributes one of the album's six titles (the fab funky "Please Don't Take Me Out"), co-writes two ("The Mean Machine," "It Feels So Nice (Do It Again)"), and either arranges ("Please Don't Take Me Out," "Overweight Shark Bait") or co-arranges the entire album. Four tracks from this album were issued as part of a CD titled Red Beans (LRC, 1994) and the entire album was recently issued on CD by the Canadian Unidisc company. Read my review here.

Keep On Lovin' - Lonnie Smith (Groove Merchant, 1976): Organ grinder Lonnie Smith's second Groove Merchant album was a surprising shift from the spacey near-cosmic jazz he'd laid down on previous recordings. Here, the groove is simple, basic and designed to engage the feet more than the brain. Smith sings on several tracks ("Keep on Loving," "What I Want") and switches over to the Fender Rhodes for the most part. Brad Baker's funk-oriented arrangements must have seemed like something new to the Doctor. Lonnie Smith had never been dressed like this for a night out on the town. But he reacts like he knows he belongs here. Because he's on Fender Rhodes, it never really sounds like a Lonnie Smith album. But Baker's arrangements have a signature all their own which gives this album something worth remembering it for. Joe Lovano, very early in his career, takes several solos here too. Baker contributes two pieces co-written with guitarist Lance Quinn, "Sizzle Stick" and "Lean Meat," and they are easily the album's highlights. Issued on CD in 2006 by the Canadian Unidisc company and also coupled with most of the tracks of the previous Afro-desia in 2000 by the Connoisseur Collection.

Windows - O'Donel Levy (Groove Merchant, 1976): Guitarist O'Donel Levy spent much of the 1970s associated with Sonny Lester's family of labels. Windows is the first of his two collaborations with arranger and conductor Brad Baker. Unlike Baker's other assignments, this one is dominated by the leader's own funky compositions. As a player, Levy has always struck me as too time-locked in the early 1970s. Normally, that sort of thing wouldn't bother me except, funky as he was, it tended to sound a bit too anonymous. In front of some good grooves as are heard here and Baker's just-perfect accents, though, Levy really shines. Windows is definitely a funk classic. Highlights include "Panama Red," the hard funk of "Freedom and Good Times" (a vocal feature that stands tall along side the funk the Commodores, the Ohio Players and P-funk were chunking out at the time), the smooth-gets-tough groove of "Moisturizer" and the funky "Green Machine," which probably refers to the Chevy van pictured on the LP's front cover. Even the ballads are worth checking into here. Levy's a pretty decent singer ("I'll Sing from My Window") and gives "I Believe in Miracles" a George Benson-like scat solo worth checking out. Baker's talent for adding just the right touch to someone else's music is probably best heard here. Windows, which I have finally come to think is worth the effort, was issued on CD by the Canadian Unidisc company.

Red Beans - Jimmy McGriff (Groove Merchant, 1976): This is a strong and memorable Brad Baker/Lance Quinn album. But poor Jimmy McGriff is practically buried by all of it. Perhaps it's because he's playing almost every keyboard except the organ. Michael Brecker solos distinctively on "Red Beans" and "Cakes Alive." Guitarist Jerry Friedman pretty much dominates "Love Is My Life." Brad Baker conducts the orchestra and probably arranged most of the album too. Baker and Quinn co-wrote four of the album's six songs ("Red Beans," "Cakes Alive," and the album's two best numbers, "Big Booty Bounce" with McGriff on organ and the lovely "Love Is My Life" with McGriff on piano and Baker's soaring strings). A great record to enjoy what Brad Baker and Lance Quinn achieved together. The music from this album is pretty easy to find on CD in several forms. Read my review here.

Feelin's From Within - Joe Thomas (Groove Merchant, 1976): Despite the grammatical error in the album's title, this is otherwise a pretty perfect collaboration between Joe Thomas and the Brad Baker/Lance Quinn musical machine. Thomas sticks to flute throughout most of the album, switching to tenor sax for "Galaxy Dreamin'" and the ballad "Venus." Baker contributes one of the album's six pieces ("Venus"), co-writes three ("Feelin's From Within," the great Polarizer," featuring Barry Miles on synthesizer, and the groovy "Galaxy Dreamin'") and co-arranges the entire album. Good from start to finish and one of Baker/Quinn's better examples of keeping the spotlight on the soloist. Issued on CD by the Canadian Unidisc company.

Tailgunner - Jimmy McGriff (LRC, 1977): Baker conducted the orchestra backing organist Jimmy McGriff on this pretty much all-out disco affair, arranged one song ("Flexible Flyer"), co-arranged with Lance Quinn three others, and co-wrote with Lance Quinn four of the album's six tunes ("Tailgunner," "Sky Hawk," "Flexible Flyer" and the interesting funk of "Grandma's Toe Jam," which features Jerry Friedman's beautiful guitar). Not bad, just not great, and surprisingly, none of it has shown up on CD yet, not counting the CD-R amazon.com is currently offering (probably through Sonny Lester himself). "Grandma's Toe Jam" can, however, be found on CD as "The Move" from How to Belly Dance for Your Lover (Groove Jams, 1998). Read my review here.

Funk Reaction - Lonnie Smith (LRC, 1977): Like the previous Keep on Lovin', this doesn't feel much like a Lonnie Smith album. But even though Brad Baker did the arrangements with Lance Quinn (except on "Babbit's Other Song," where Baker co-arranges with the song's composer, Bob Babbitt), the material just isn't that good. Together, Baker and Quinn wrote the lame title track, featuring Smith's unenthusiastic, almost parodying vocals, and the interesting "For the Love of It," which is so dominated by reeds that you can only guess it is Lonnie doing the rather dull synthesizer solo. Guitarist Richie Hohenberger so dominates his own two contributions, "It's Changed" and "When The Night Is Right," that you forget you're listening to a Lonnie Smith album altogether. The highlights here - "For the Love of It," "Babbit's Other Song" and "When The Night Is Right" - are good for what everybody brings to them, but not much else. Brad Baker isn't the reason this album doesn't work but, curiously enough, he either wasn't invited back for Lonnie Smith's final LRC album, Gotcha (1978), or he didn't receive credit for what sounds like his work on the LP's jacket. The first three tracks of Funk Reaction were issued on a CD simply titled Lonnie Smith (LRC, 1991). The second three tracks were issued on the strangely-compiled Afrodesia (LRC, 2002).

Here I Come - Joe Thomas (LRC, 1977): Baker arranged and conducted Here I Come, his third collaboration with Joe Thomas. It's a slick, but solid album of orchestral groove jazz with more than its share of highlights: "Here I Come," "Gotcha," also featuring guitarist Jimmy Ponder, "A Place in Space," "Same Old Song" and "Green Dragon." Thomas divides his time pretty evenly between his tenor sax and flute and his playing on both instruments sounds as if it sounds right at home in Brad Baker's orchestrations. Baker contributes the melodic "A Place in Space" (which, like "Same Old Song" has the melody stated by synthesizer and introduces Thomas soloing on flute a few minutes in) and co-wrote the title track with Thomas, an excellent jazz groover showcasing Thomas on tenor with guitarist Jimmy Ponder. "A Place in Space" also backed Thomas' 12-inch disco hit "Plato's Retreat" (TK, 1979). Here I Come was issued in its entirety on a CD called Plato's Retreat and Other Funky Delights (LRC, 1993).

Time Has Changed - O'Donel Levy (LRC, 1977): A dull and mostly dreadful album that was "supervised," whatever that means, by both Brad Baker and Lance Quinn. Guitarist O'Donel Levy contributes all of the compositions and sings on all but two tracks, "Butta" and "Love Will Never Die," the only two tracks worth hearing more than once. Available on CD-R from amazon.com.

All Things Beautiful - Jimmy Ponder (LRC, 1978): Guitarist Jimmy Ponder's fourth solo album is his only LRC album and, probably, his best-known album from the 1970s. With its Pete Turner cover, it even suggests a CTI album, which was probably the point. Brad Baker arranged and conducted and co-wrote four of the album's seven tracks with Lance Quinn ("Love Will Find A Way," "Chasing That Face," "Love Me Right" and the surprisingly exquisite "A Trip To The Stars"). These are the album's highlights too. This album was released in its entirety - with three additional songs from another session - on a budget-priced CD simply titled Jimmy Ponder (LRC, 1991). Read my review here.

Gotcha - Lonnie Smith (LRC, 1978): While Gotcha finds Lonnie Smith returning to his roots somewhat, finally unearthing his Hammond B-3 on a couple tracks and getting back more to jazz, several oddities pop up here. Lance Quinn, not Sonny Lester, is listed as producer and Lonnie Smith, not Brad Baker, is listed as the album's arranger. In fact, Brad Baker is not credited anywhere at all on this LP which is odd because his touch is evident, most notably in the funky horn charts of "Do It" (featuring Eddie Daniels on sax), the jazzy groove of the guitar-driven "My Latin Sky" (no sign of Smith here whatsoever) and the strings and the horns of Smith's Stevie Wonder-like "I Need Your Love." Smith's "Sweet Honey Wine" is given a Benson/Ogerman "Breezin" type groove that doesn't necessarily recall Brad Baker's work, but the song does show up on the Brad Baker compilation Hot Chocolate. So somebody knows something we don't. Undoubtedly, this is Smith's most distinctive album for the label. But it's unfathomable why there is no credit given here to Brad Baker - if for, no other reason, pure inspiration. All tracks from this album appeared on a CD simply titled Lonnie Smith (LRC, 1991).

Outside Looking In - Jimmy McGriff (LRC, 1978): Not only one of Jimmy McGriff's best albums of the 1970s, it is probably one of Brad Baker's best jazz achievements. It's definitely jazz in the disco realm, but it's as if Baker and company perfected the groove at this point. The album was arranged and conducted by Baker with features for McGriff, alto saxist Hank Crawford, tenor saxist Eddie Daniels and guitarist Jimmy Ponder. Baker co-writes four of the album's six tunes ("Outside Looking In," "Playland," "Midnight Boogie" and the brilliant "Tapioca"). Excellent from start to finish and worth every dime for "Tapioca" alone. All tracks from this LP except the title track were issued on a budget-priced CD simply titled Jimmy McGriff featuring Hank Crawford (LRC, 1990). Read my review here.

Get In The Wind - Joe Thomas (LRC, 1978): Joe Thomas never flinched from introducing a groove into his jazz and he doesn't here either. Indeed, here, he crosses over completely and unapologetically right into disco with the help of arrangers Lance Quinn and Brad Baker. Thomas is on flute pretty much throughout and succumbs to covering such then-in disco pop hits as Dolly Parton's "Two Doors Down," Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown" and Atlanta Rhythm Section's "Imaginary Lover" (the only tenor sax feature). This is the album that includes the notorious "Plato's Retreat" too. "Plato's Retreat" does not carry a writing credit from Thomas and, in fact, he's barely audible on the piece. But the song turned into something of a dance-floor hit, especially around New York where the infamous (hetero) sex club the song was named for was located (until the AIDS scare - of all things - shut it down in the mid-1980s). The tune is intentionally pure disco with almost no trace of jazz - but dig Baker's strings during the break. Baker co-writes three of the album's six tracks, including "Plato's Retreat." The other two tracks - "Mr. Mumbles" and "Get into the Wind" (both nicely featuring spots for trumpeter Marvin Stamm) - are the album's highlights and sound most like the familiar and classic Thomas-Baker moments of before. Three of the album's six tracks ("Plato's Retreat," "Mr. Mumbles" and "Get Into the Wind") were issued on a CD called Plato's Retreat and Other Funky Delights (LRC, 1993).

B. Baker Chocolate Co. - B. Baker Chocolate Co. (LRC, 1979): Giving an arranger his own album was nothing new - think of Nelson Riddle on Capitol (thanks to Frank Sinatra) - but it didn't happen often in jazz. CTI's Creed Taylor was, however, famed for rewarding his successful arrangers like Don Sebesky, Bob James and David Matthews with their first albums. After nearly five years crafting "the LRC sound," Brad Baker got his shot from producer/label owner Sonny Lester - and he came up with a winner. In addition to assembling many of the top-shelf New York studio musicians present on previous Baker-arranged albums, the cream of LRC's roster provides their firepower for this above-average affair, including guitarist Jimmy Ponder, keyboard player Lonnie Smith, organist Jimmy McGriff ("Dreamer," "It's Where You're Coming From"), alto saxist Eddie Daniels ("Higher & Higher/The High and the Mighty"), flautist Sherry Winston and alto sax/flute man George Young. Baker and Quinn contribute three of the album's six tunes ("Snow Blower," "Carousel," "Spirit Level") and these characteristic moments are undoubtedly the album's highlights. Baker and Quinn collaborate on the arrangements throughout, except on "Carousel" where the pair are aided by Lew Del Gatto and Lonnie Smith's "Dreamer," which is credited to B. Baker, Smith and Christianson. The disco medley "Higher and Higher/The High and the Mighty" is probably the least interesting five and half minutes on the set, but its familiar groove helped it find its way onto a 12-inch disco dance single that got some club play. While this album has not yet been issued on CD (discounting the CD-R that appears to be available for sale from amazon.com), five of the album's six tracks appeared under different titles on a CD titled How to Strip for Your Lover (Groove Jams, 1998): "Snow Blower" = "Dream Lover," "Carousel" = "Love Call," "Dreamer" = "The Mystery of It All," "Spirit Level" = "Discovery" and the strangely un-re-titled "It's Where You're Coming From." It's worth noting the remainder of this CD and How to Belly Dance for Your Lover (Groove Jams, 1998) are made up of re-titled Brad Baker tunes from the Sonny Lester archives. "Snow Blower," aka "Snowblower," which has become a sort of cult dance-floor fave, has also factored on several compilations including Classic Jazz-Funk 2 (MasterCuts, 1991) and Birth of the Cool Funk: Vintage Jams and Serious Grooves 2 (LaserLight, 1998).

Make Your Move - Joe Thomas (LRC, 1979): Brad Baker's association with Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant and LRC record labels began as it ended, with a Joe Thomas album. Make Your Move was certainly the end, and probably inglorious one at that. Like much of LRC's output at the time, it was pure disco. LRC, after all, was being distributed by Florida-based T.K. Records, home to K.C. & The Sunshine Band, T-Connection and other hit disco acts of the time - and the pressure was probably on to cash-in on those dance-floor sales. Thomas is almost like a guest on this album, stepping in for the occasional brief solo. Vocalists dominate on all but two of the tracks, yet there are some notable highlights including "Caught You Lying Again" (featuring guitarist Hiram Bullock), "Let Me Be the One" (featuring Marvin Stamm on flugelhorn and Bullock again on guitar), the get-down of Jerry Friedman's "Get On Back" and Lance Quinn's "Sugar Smack." Only "Get on Back" and "Sugar Smack" prominently showcase Joe Thomas. "Make Your Move," surprisingly Baker's only co-writing credit here, was issued as a 12-inch dance single, backed with "Get on Back," and it developed something of a cult, especially in the UK. All in all, Make Your Move is a pretty good record, but it lacks the distinction that both Joe Thomas and Brad Baker brought to previous productions together.

Hot Chocolate - Brad Baker Chocolate Company (51 West, 1980): Sonny Lester moved his operations over briefly to the Columbia (now Sony) distributed 51 West label. While there, he assembled several compilations of previously issued LRC recordings including this tribute, of sorts, to the man who crafted the distinctive late 1970s orchestral disco jazz of the Groove Merchant and LRC record labels, Brad Baker. Included on this ultra-rare LP - seemingly the last word from Brad Baker - is "Sweet Honey Wine" from Lonnie Smith's Gotcha, "A Place In Space" from Joe Thomas' Here I Am, "Sky Hawk" from Jimmy McGriff's Tailgunner, "Space Cadet" from Jimmy McGriff's Red Beans and "Dust Pan" and the excellent "Tapioca," both from Jimmy McGriff's Outside Looking In.

In conclusion, I ask simply, whatever became of Brad Baker? I can find no biographical information on the man anywhere around, whether he's alive or dead and, sadly, almost no evidence whatsoever that he ever lived at all. If you have any information or know I can find out more about Brad Baker, please let me know.

John Lee & Gerry Brown "Still Can't Say Enough"

Bassist John Lee (b. 1952, Boston) and drummer Gerry Brown (b. 1951, Philadelphia) were a formidable duo in the 1970s, recording frequently and playing with some of the biggest names in jazz.

John Lee gigged around New York in the early 1970s with Joe Henderson, Pharoah Sanders and the Max Roach Quartet before relocating to Europe in 1972, where he met fellow expatriate, Gerry Brown. The two began working together in Dutch flautist Chris Hinze's fusion-oriented group, The Chris Hinze Combination.

By 1973, Lee and Brown had officially joined forces and recorded their debut album, Infinite Jones (Keytone, 1974, later reissued on CD as Bamboo Madness). The pair returned to America in 1975 and were invited to record for the prestigious Blue Note label, which by this point had unfortunately lost a lot of its luster and direction. Indeed, the John Lee & Gerry Brown duo was one of the last new acts the old Blue Note label signed.

Their return to America found the pair working together quite often. It also allowed both to do other high profile work. In 1975, John Lee joined Larry Coryell's Eleventh House, staying until 1977, and was heard on Earl & Carl Grubbs' Motherland (Muse, 1975), Joachim Kuhn's Hip Elegy (MPS, 1976), Hubert Eaves' Esoteric Funk (Atlantic, 1976), Carlos Garnett's New Love (Muse, 1977), Jasper Van't Hof's However (MPS, 1977), Alphonse Mouzon's Poussez! Leave That Boy Alone (Vangaurd, 1980) and Dizzy Gillespie's Symphony Sessions (ProJazz, 1980). Gerry Brown was captured on several tracks of Stanley Clarke's breakout School Days (Nemperor, 1976), Patrice Rushen's Posh (Elektra, 1980) and briefly joined Return to Forever for the group's final albums, Musicmagic (Columbia, 1977) and Live (Columbia, 1978).

Still Can't Say Enough is the third of four albums that were issued under John Lee & Gerry Brown's name and the second of their two Blue Note LPs (1975's Mango Sunrise was the first - the duo also appeared together on one cut, "Blue Note '76," with other Blue Note personnel that appears on the 1976 album Blue Note Live At The Roxy).

Produced by Skip Drinkwater (Norman Connors, Eddie Henderson, Lee Ritenour) and probably recorded in both Los Angeles and New York, this 1976 album is squarely in that lush terra firma where jazz, rock and funk co-exist in equal and expert measure. It's a perfect fusion - and a particularly strong reminder of just how good jazz fusion could get (I would rank Tom Scott and the L.A. Express and Jeff Beck's Wired up here too).

As players, Lee and Brown make for a mighty rhythm machine. They don't flinch in laying down an enveloping groove. Lee sometimes suggests a cross between Stanley Clarke and Anthony Jackson with a dash of Gordon Edwards and Gary King added for just the right touch. Paired with Brown, who is a world of influences from Tony Williams and Billy Cobham to Steve Gadd and Harvey Mason, it makes for one of the period's best and strongest jazz engines.

Joining Lee and Brown here are Reggie Lucas and Ray Gomez on guitars, Hubert Eaves, Harold Ivory Williams IV and Rob Franken on keyboards, Ian Underwood on synthesizers and Mtume on congas and percussion. A horn section is peopled with such jazz royalty as Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis on trumpets, Michael Brecker and Ernie Watts ("Funky Row") on tenor sax, David Sanborn and Gary Bartz on alto sax, Barry Rodgers on trombone and Ron(nie) Cuber on baritone sax.

A vocal section including Lonnie Liston Smith's brother Donald, Tawatha Agee and C.P. Alexander are featured unobtrusively on "Love the Way You Make Me Feel" and "Talkin' 'Bout The Right One," which also features Gary Bartz.

The program is dominated by John Lee's strong compositions, with the hard-driving "Rise On" (with features for Randy and Michael Brecker) listed here as by Gerry Brown - although the pair recorded the song on Infinite Jones, where it was credited to John Lee.

Here, keyboards - probably Rob Franken's synthesizers - often state the melody or the countermelody and rip-roaring guitars counteract with some startlingly fierce solos. As a writer, Lee is engagingly melodic with enough backbone to remind you that rhythm is his business, particularly on "Freeze It Up," "Funky Row," "Strut 'N' Get Up" (a feature for David Sanborn and Michael Brecker, who solos), the Stuff-like funk of "Down The Way" (featuring David Sanborn and Michael Brecker solos) and the seemingly edited "Out the Box" (featuring Ernie Watts), which is little more than just a funky vamp, but like what precedes it, is truly funky nonetheless.

In an effort to court the profitable disco market, "Strut 'N' Get Up" was also issued as a 12-inch dance single to DJs (backed by "Freeze It Up"), but not extended or remixed in any way to make it worth tracking down in addition to the LP, which you have probably guessed by now, has never seen the light of day on CD.

A lot of this cast reassembled for Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert's eponymous 1977 record on Capitol but John Lee and Gerry Brown can also be heard together on Luther Allison's Night Life (Gordy, 1975), Larry Coryell's Aspects (Arista, 1976 - probably recorded at the same time as Still Can't Say Enough, since the Brecker Brothers and David Sanborn are present here too), Art Webb's Love Eyes (Atlantic, 1977), Mike Mandel's Sky Music (Vanguard, 1978), Havana Jam (Columbia, 1979), Danny Toan's Big Foot (Sandra, 1979) and Eddie Henderson's Runnin' To Your Love (Capitol, 1979 - also produced by Skip Drinkwater).

The pair also appeared together on quite a number of European dates from The Chris Hinze Combination's Virgin Sacrifice (CBS, 1972), Mission Suite (CBS, 1973), Sister Slick (CBS, 1974), Bamboo Magic (Atlantic, 1978) and Philip Catherine's September Man (Atlantic, 1974) and Guitars (Atlantic, 1975) to Wim Stolwijk's Clair-Obscure (CBS, 1972), Joachim Kuhn's Cinemascope (MPS, 1974), Toots Theilmans and Friends (Keytone, 1974), Charlie Mariano's Cascade (Keytone, 1974), Toto Blanke's Spider's Dance (Vertigo, 1974), Jasper Van't Hof's Eye Ball (Keytone, 1974), Stu Goldberg's Fancy Dance (Sandra, 1979), Bob Malach's Some People (MPS, 1980) and, finally, John Lee/Gerry Brown/Eef Albers/Darryl Thompson's Brothers (Mood, 1980).

After recording the above average Chaser (Columbia, 1979), a rock solid fusion that inevitably enters a bit of disco into the mix, John Lee and Jerry Brown finally broke up in 1981 to pursue other musical interests. Lee joined McCoy Tyner's quartet in 1982 and then, in 1984, joined Dizzy Gillespie and recorded and toured with the jazz icon until he was taken ill in 1992. Today, he is the program director for "Dizzy: The Man and the Music," the official concert and clinic program celebrating Gillespie's life and work.

Brown gravitated toward the pop music end of the spectrum, touring and recording with Jeffrey Osborne, Chaka Kahn, Philip Bailey, Lionel Richie, Lenny Kravitz and, most notably, held the drummer's chair in Stevie Wonder's band for 14 years. Brown has done a lot of film and TV work too, especially with Stanley Clarke, and has lately been heard with Bobby Womack, Diana Ross, Byron Miller and Stanley Clarke.

You can download the excellent and curiously-titled Still Can't Say Enough with thanks and kudos to Smooth from his fantastic My Jazz World blog.

Video: Three Is A Magic Number

This magical little ditty, as everyone must know by now, comes from the Schoolhouse Rock series that ABC-TV aired throughout the 1970s, starting in and around 1973.

The series director, songwriter and vocalist Bob Dorough, wrote and sang "Three Is A Magic Number," as well as many of the other 45 three-minute vignettes that include a whole series on numbers ("My Hero, Zero"), grammar ("Conjunction Junction") and American history ("I'm Just A Bill").

Outré jazz singers Blossom Dearie, Dave Frishberg and Jack Sheldon were among the other clever contributors to this wonderful series that kids of a certain generation - mine! - grew up on. Today, the whole series is available on DVD and 17 of the best tunes are compiled on a CD called The Best of Schoolhouse Rock (Rhino, 1998).

"Three" is, quite simply, a magical little song. Dorough sings his own enchanting lyrics that help you learn the importance of three and the multiples of three. It's a brilliant lyric that makes learning as easy as singing along and the song is so darned catchy, you can't help but sing along.

Dorough accompanies his warm and friendly vocalizations with an otherworldly soundscape made up of only electric piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, a goose-flesh raising guiro, two back-up singers and most notably, the African thumb piano known as a kalimba (which Maurice White introduced to many listeners around this time as part of Earth, Wind & Fire).

It makes for one of the best songs in a great series - and always one I looked forward to on Saturday mornings when I was a pre-teen. Bob Dorough's charming "My Hero, Zero" is another one of my favorites. I was surprised to get a hold of "Three" on Blue Break Beats Volume Four (Blue Note, 1999) a decade ago. But this set has remained in my collection solely due to the odd appearance of "Three," which is, funny enough, the fifth song on the set.

"Three Is A Magic Number" has been widely covered (Blind Melon, De La Soul, Jack Johnson) and even parodied by Jack Black in the film School of Rock, attesting to its timeless luminescence.

Also, for Schoolhouse Rock fans, who missed it, The Simpsons aired a hilariously brilliant parody of "I'm Just A Bill" in 1996 called "Amendment To Be," sung by Jack Sheldon, who sang the original "I'm Just A Bill," as part of the episode titled The Day The Violence Died from the show's seventh season.

For those that would like to learn about the number three, here are the lyrics:

Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.

The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.

It takes three legs to make a tri-pod
Or to make a table stand.
It takes three wheels to make a ve-hicle
Called a tricycle.

Every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less.
You don't have to guess.
When it's three you can see
It's a magic number.

A man and a woman had a little baby,
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family,
And that's a magic number.

3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.
3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.

Multiply backwards from three times ten:
Three time ten is (30), three times nine is (27),
Three times eight is (24), three times seven is (21),
Three times six is (18), three times five is (15),
Three times four is twelve,
And three times three is nine, and three times two is six,
And three times one is three of course.

Now take the pattern once more:
Three! . . .3-6-9
Twelve! . . .12-15-18
Twenty-one!. . .21-24-27. . .30

Now multiply from 10 backwards:
Three time ten is (30 - Keep going), three times nine is (27),
Three times eight is (24), three times seven is (21),
Three times six is (18), three times five is (15),
Three times four is twelve,
And three times three is nine, and three times two is six,
And three times one...
What is it?!
Three!
Yeah, That's a magic number.

A man and a woman had a little baby.
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family.
That's a magic number.

Wade Marcus on Blue Note

While Larry and Fonce Mizell have been relentlessly celebrated for interjecting a hugely funky vibe into the Blue Note groove of the early 1970s - and therefore almost setting the standard for dance-floor revisionism and heavy-duty sampling - they were not the only ones who were there, nor, if I can get sacrilegious here, the best of what was happening at the time.

The Mizell Brothers certainly had something unique and unlike anything else that was happening back then. The quirky rhythms, the ethereal vocals and the strange half-melodies which nearly buried the lead players with production clicked with record buyers, crate diggers, DJs and samplers. So who am I to say? I still don't get the Mizell sound. But many, many others do.

My point is that the Mizells somehow made everyone forget about the other great soulful stylists of the time like Horace Ott, Monk Higgins, Richard Evans (who was not a Blue Note man) and, most importantly, Wade Marcus.

Born in Cleveland - and having since relocated back there after residences in Detroit, New York and Los Angeles - Marcus got his start at Motown, where he was responsible for an untold number of arrangements there (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Chuck Jackson, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Originals, The Marvelettes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Supremes & The Four Tops) and most notably on Stevie Wonder's huge hit "For Once In My Life."

Strangely, it was the Atlantic-distributed Cotillion label that issued Wade Marcus' debut solo album, A New Era, the first of only two albums released under his name, in 1971. Although Marcus didn't have much of an association with this particular label, it came right between the end of his association with Motown and the beginning of his association with Blue Note.

A New Era is a terrifically funky take on a number of pop tunes of the era, highlighted by such prominent soloists as guitarists Eric Gale and Vincent (Vinnie) Bell, keyboardists Richard Tee and Paul Griffin and an early show of Marcus' fondness for the harp with nice spots for harpist Gene Bianco. "Feelin' Alright" and "Spinning Wheel" have both become well-deserved DJ favorites from this album.

Following a trend that found the fledgling CTI Records successful with its Don Sebesky arrangements, Marcus, along with Ott, became something of an in-house arranger for Blue Note starting in 1971.

Other than the fact that CTI records were selling when most other jazz records were not, Blue Note didn't seem too convinced of this direction in the music. Certainly, "arranged" music was not the Blue Note métier. Marcus seemed to sense this and kept his participation at a minimum. It's almost like he got the players to just play funky and when that wasn't enough - he overdubbed horns or strings that took them that one step further.

If anyone could do it, Wade Marcus could. You can't knock his funk: a soulful blend of structured sound and rhythmic conciousness.

It's a shame the folks at Blue Note have not stepped out to celebrate the contributions Wade Marcus made to the label during the 1970s with some sort of sampler or compilation disc as they have done for the Mizell Brothers. I'm sure a lot of groove hounds and crate diggers would appreciate a sampler of what this man did at just this one label. There's plenty of good stuff to choose from, as noted below.

Set Us Free - Reuben Wilson (Blue Note, 1971): For organist Reuben Wilson's fourth and final Blue Note album, Wade Marcus assembled a small studio group featuring Jerome Richardson on sax, David Spinozza on guitar, Richard David on bass, Jimmy Johnson on drums, Ray Armando and Specs Powell on percussion and, notably, Gene Bianco on harp. The inspired addition of the harp gives the album a sound unlike any other organ record made and truly makes it one of Wilson's best sounding albums. Wilson always was funky, so teaming him with Marcus was a good idea. Marcus also adds the vocal group Essence to "We're In Love," "Mr. Big Stuff" and "Mercy, Mercy Me," which also works much better than it sounds. The program consists of a few soulful covers ("Mercy, Mercy Me," "Mr. Big Stuff" and Eddie Harris' excellent "Set Us Free") three Wilson pieces and one by Marcus himself. The highlights are plentiful, but I would first choose "Set Us Free" and Marcus' own "Right On With This Mess" followed by Wilson's three originals, "We're In Love," Sho-Nuff Mellow" and "Tom's Thumb." Marcus also contributes arrangement to Reuben Wilson's long treasured Got To Get Your Own (Cadet, 1974), which Dusty Groove recently issued on CD. Set Us Free was issued on CD as part of Blue Note's Rare Groove series in 2008 with new liner notes that inconceivably don't even mention Marcus' participation or contribution.

Flute-In - Bobbi Humphrey (Blue Note, 1971): Flautist Bobbi Humphrey's debut solo album is a mixed bag of pop covers, retro-boogaloo and thinking-man's (woman's?) jazz funk that succeeds mostly because the small-group settings provided by Wade Marcus complement the flautist's soulful improvisational style. Humphrey was a protégé of Lee Morgan and the trumpeter appears on three of the album's jazzier tracks: the odd reprise of Morgan's hit "The Sidewinder," "Journey to Morrocco" and "Set Us Free" (the Eddie Harris tune Marcus previously scored for Reuben Wilson). Tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, who was in Morgan's band at the time, appears on several cuts too and Gene Bertoncini offers up a good foot-tapping groove on wakka-wakka guitar. Marcus contributes two originals to the program, "Don't Knock My Funk," which he would reprise as "Countdown" on Johnny Hammond's Forever Taurus (Milestone, 1976), and "Journey to Morocco," which he would revisit on his own album, Metamorphosis (ABC Impulse, 1976). The highlight here is "Don't Knock My Funk." But the pop covers of "Ain't No Sunshine," "It's Too Late" and "Spanish Harlem" all sound pretty groovy too.

Shades of Green - Grant Green (Blue Note, 1971): Guitarist Grant Green recorded this excellent bit of soulful funk as part of a small group in Los Angeles during November 1971 that included his band's Billy Wooten on vibes and Emmanuel Riggins on keyboards with sessioneers (Crusader) Wilton Felder on electric bass, (Crusader) Stix Hooper on drums, King Errisson on conga and Harold Caldwell on percussion. The following month, Wade Marcus overdubbed horn parts in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and the result was something sensational; surely the best of the guitarist's late period (1969-1979) output. Marcus' charts are a study in expert, soulful horn scoring. What he does on the James Brown medley, Green's "California Green" (titled, no doubt, to commemorate one of Green's only West Coast recordings), "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "In The Middle" are terrific displays in a signature groove that could be no one else's but Wade Marcus. Anyone familiar with Marcus' work on Mile Davis' "Red China Blues" will certainly recognize what he accomplishes on "In the Middle." (Check out Bo Diddley's Big Bad Bo for further evidence of Marcus' signature soul style on horns.) This program consists mostly of R&B/soul cover tunes (James Brown's "In the Middle" and "I Don't Want Nobody…/Cold Sweat," Michael Jackson's "Got To Be There" and Stevie Wonder's "If You Really Love Me") as well as those from the pop world (The Associations' "Never My Love"), show tunes ("Sunrise, Sunset") and jazz (Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate To The Wind"). The album's highlights are all the up-tempo groovers, "I Don't Want Nobody…/Cold Sweat," "California Green" and "In the Middle," where Green's group lays down a firm foundation that elicits tasty playing from the guitarist and spicy adds from Wade Marcus. Issued on Japanese CD in May 2009.

The Final Comedown - Grant Green (Blue Note, 1971): Always billed as a Grant Green album, The Final Comedown is much more properly attributed to Wade Marcus, who composed, conducted and arranged the score to this little-known 1971 film (also known as Blast) featuring Billy Dee Williams in an early role. While the score only occasionally showcases the guitarist ("The Final Comedown," "Soul Food," "Slight Fear and Terror," "Luanna's Theme" and (probably) noodling behind the beat of "Afro Party"), there is no denying these tunes are the album's best-known bits and give it its slightly misleading reputation as a break-beat classic. For the record, I think some of the front-line guitar work heard here is actually Cornell Dupree and not Grant Green. Marcus crafts a fairly typical blaxploitation score here but peoples it with some of New York's finest jazz musicians, notably Marvin Stamm ("Fountain Scene"), Phil Bodner ("African Shop"), Harold Vick ("Afro Party"), Richard Tee ("The Final Comedown," "Father's Lament") and Grady Tate, George Devens and Ralph MacDonald ("One Second After Death"). Highlights: The definitely funky and oft-sampled "The Final Comedown," "Afro Party" and the brief but strangely affecting "Slight Fear and Terror."

Note: My copy of The Final Comedown is the 2003 European CD, which presents the album's 11 tunes in a different and presumably incorrect order than the line-up listed on the CD's jacket (which matches the tune line-up from the original LP). The CD's actual playing order is as follows: 1 = Past, Present and Future" (correct), 2 = "Fountain Scene," 3 = "Soul Food - African Shop," 4 = "Slight Fear And Terror," 5 = "Luanna's Theme," 6 = "The Final Comedown," 7 = "Afro Party" (correct), 8 = "One Second After Death," 9 = "Traveling To Get To Doc," 10 = "Father's Lament" and 11 = "Battle Scene."

Two Headed Freap - Ronnie Foster (Blue Note, 1972): Ronnie Foster's debut album finds the keyboardist and vocalist sticking strictly to the organ here - probably at the insistence of the Blue Note brass in a futile search for an heir to Jimmy Smith's artistic and money-making legacy. The thing is, though, Foster is an excellent organist who displays a unique and attractive technique. It's all the better for being surrounded in arranger Wade Marcus' urban funk groove - something he began showing a particular flair for at this point. Assembled to support Foster here is Gene Bertoncini on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, Gordon Edwards on electric bass, Jimmy Johnson on drums, Arthur Jenkins on congas, Geoerge Devens on vibes and percussion and Gene Bianco on harp. Aside from the two bassists, who take turns applying tasty accents here and there, Devens' vibes make an exceptionally nice complement to Foster's sound here. The program features five Foster originals plus Joe Simon's "Downing In The Sea Of Love," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and Wilson Pickett's "Don't Knock My Love." The highlight here is unquestionably Foster's intoxicating Latinate "Summer Song." But there is much here to appreciate and enjoy, from "Chunky" and "Drowning in a Sea of Love" to "The Two-Headed Freap" and "Kentucky Fried Chicken" - particularly in Foster's soloing. Issued on CD as part of Blue Note's Rare Groove series in 1995, but, sadly, now out of print.

Natural Illusions - Bobby Hutcherson (Blue Note, 1972): Bobby Hutcherson's first-ever orchestrated record is a mostly low-key production that finds the vibraphonist with Hank Jones on piano, Gene Bertoncini on guitar, Ron Carter or George Duvivier on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Gene Bianco on harp aided by Wade Marcus's arrangements for four flutes, one oboe, one bassoon, two violins, two violas and one cello. Hutcherson sounds in fine, if somewhat restrictive, mettle on this set of mostly ballads, covering standards ("Lush Life," "Sophisticated Lady," "The Folks Who Live on the Hill"), B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone," Horace Silver's "Shirl" and Hutcherson's own very pretty "When You're Near." Marcus shows a restraint that is most remarkable, never using all the instruments at his command and only "sweetening" when it helps propel the leader along to his destination. The one wild-card here is Loonis McGlohon's somewhat out-of-place and otherwise unknown "Rain Every Thursday," a moody bit of soulful funk that gets a startling string arrangement from Marcus. The strings are so far in front here, that the success of this track is due as much, if not more, to Marcus as to Hutcherson. An undiscovered funk gem and true classic of the form, "Rain Every Thursday" is the album's single most exciting moment and makes it worth the price of admission alone. Issued on Japanese CD in May 2009.

Gene Harris Of The Three Sounds - Gene Harris (Blue Note, 1972): Like many of the many Three Sounds albums before it, pianist Gene Harris' debut under his own name promises more funk than it delivers. Producer and arranger Wade Marcus keeps it simple, only enhancing Harris' familiar trio sound with the occasional rhythm guitar (Cornell Dupree or Sam Brown) and percussion (Johnny Rodriguez, Omar Clay). Drummer Freddie Waits and bassist Ron Carter contribute significantly to the groove that gets going here, providing Harris with a different, more contemporary vibe than the Three Sounds had previously established - which, no doubt, was the point. The album's zenith is the slithery groove of Eddie Harris' always interesting "Listen Here" but the Bill Withers classic "Lean on Me" sounds pretty solid too.

Dig It! - Bobbi Humphrey (Blue Note, 1972): Wade Marcus only figures on three songs from flautist Bobbi Humphrey's second album, "Is This All," "Smiling Faces Sometimes" and "Love Theme From Fuzz." But the cover of Norman Whitfield's brilliant "Smiling Faces Sometimes," made famous by both The Temptations and The Undisputed Truth, is the hands-down funk classic here. Humphrey accords herself nicely here, with just the right touch of something suggesting deeper emotions, overtop Marcus' scintillating, smoldering groove.

Marlena - Marlena Shaw (Blue Note, 1972): Singer Marlena Shaw's Blue Note debut finds her beautifully enveloped by Wade Marcus' sensuously swinging strings. The program consists mostly of show ballads and slow soul numbers. The bluesy "Wipe Away the Evil," launched by Marcus' appropriation of "All Blues," is as funky as it gets here - but listen to the string work Marcus contributes to the track's breaks. Shaw is a tremendous singer who deserves to better known outside of her burgeoning cult and Marcus knows how to effectively frame her voice without ever overtaking it.

Sophisticated Lou - Lou Donaldson (Blue Note, 1972): Unfortunately, I don't know this album. But here's an interesting comment from Lou Donaldson I found listed on the be.jazz blog: "My name was on albums like Sophisticated Lou, Sassy Soul Strut, Pretty Things—and they earned me a lot of money. What would happen there: they’d record it, and I just overdubbed it. A lot of times, I never saw the musicians; I don’t even know who was on the dates, unless you tell me. Because it was a drag to me, anyway. They’d say: “Why don’t you come and rehearse with the group?” and I’d say: “Not really—because if I do, I’d most likely have the arranger change all the music. So just put it on tape and I’ll come and play it. I’m not going to play it but once, anyway.” I never played ‘em more than once; I listened to it one time, and then I’d cut it—that was it. Because it was nothing to play—everything else was already there. But see, with that commercially packaged kind of stuff, you can’t do that; there’s nothing spontaneous about those records. It’s just one of those things, man. But fortunately, it didn’t hurt me at all; financially, it worked out fine."

From The Depths of My Soul - Marlena Shaw (Blue Note, 1973): Vocalist Marlena Shaw's second collaboration with Wade Marcus is a bit more engaging than the first, with a little more groove thrown in for good measure. But Marcus' marvelous strings still swirl throughout in grand fashion. Alan O'Day's "Easy Evil" (also covered by Dusty Springfield, Lulu, Tony Orlando, Captain & Tennille, John Travolta and many others) the album's funky laid-back single, is easily the highlight here, driven by (probably) Wilbur Bascomb's electric bass and Marcus' brilliant lower-brass accents (similar to what he'd do again in Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You").

When Joanna Loved Me - Dom Minasi (Blue Note, 1974): Little-known guitarist Dom Minasi, whose only previous recording was an Audio Fidelity album with Sal Salvador, issued two albums on the Blue Note label in the mid 1970s. When Joanna Loved Me is the first of these and even though Minasi seems to have chosen the program (well-known tunes that would appeal to everybody), he wasn't happy with the result. Wade Marcus not only produced the session but was responsible for arranging and conducting the extremely brief string parts on several pieces ("When Joanna Loved Me," "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Ill Only Miss Her (When I Think of Her)"). Even though the songs presented here are mostly well known, they don't sound exceedingly familiar. That's a good thing - but it may be a little disconcerting to some. It's a strange record, to be sure, and Marcus' more-than-unusual - yet minimal - string writing compliments Minasi's unique and strangely appealing approach. Not the funkiest thing on the planet. But a nice listen nonetheless.

Silver 'N Brass - Horace Silver (Blue Note, 1975): The Horace Silver quintet with a brass section arranged by Wade Marcus overdubbed. Unfortunately, I don't know this album.

Places and Spaces - Donald Byrd (Blue Note, 1975): A classic by any measure, the fourth of five albums trumpeter Donald Byrd made with the Mizell brothers is also a ripping good record; a snapshot in time, perhaps, but what a picture. Wade Marcus was brought in to add strings overtop the Mizells' monster mellow funk throughout and the results are often stunning. This is the place to hear how remarkable Wade Marcus can be at string writing (another example is "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "A Crazy Mixed Up World" from Sonny Stitt's otherwise disappointing Satan, Cadet, 1974). The whole album is a winner, but listen to "Change," "Wind Parade," the entrancing "Places And Spaces" and "Just My Imagination" (which almost suggests what Marcus would go on to do on The Tavares' "More Than A Woman") to hear Wade Marcus lay down some strings that really help a groove soar. Issued on CD as part of Blue Note's Rare Groove series in 1997.

Silver 'N Wood - Horace Silver (Blue Note, 1976): The Horace Silver quintet with woodwinds arranged by Wade Marcus overdubbed. Unfortunately, I don't know this album.

Caricatures - Donald Byrd (Blue Note, 1976): A Mizell Brothers production that adds Wade Marcus' strings rather perfunctorily to only two tracks ("Wild Life," "Dancing in the Street"). Undoubtedly, Caricatures is a funky good album, but it's not because of Wade Marcus.

Silver 'N Strings Play The Music of Spheres - Horace Silver (Blue Note, 1979): The last official Blue Note release before the label's 1985 resurrection was pianist Horace Silver's double LP about health, kindness, spiritual peacefulness and quasi-religious themes. The album is unfortunately dominated too frequently by vocalists, with Dale Oehler's strings overdubbed on sides 1 and 2 and Wade Marcus' strings on sides 3 and 4. Silver's definitive piano is much in evidence, supported by Tom Harrell on flugelhorn, Larry Schneider on sax, Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums. But most of it is buried under lyrics that are sung and rather too preachy to enjoy. The fourth side, though, is instrumental and Marcus' strings briefly highlight the proceedings, but not to great advantage by any measure. Not the best way to hear any of these folks and considering this is the guy who wrote a tune called "Opus de Funk," there is really no funk whatsoever to be heard here.

Wade Marcus' funky work can also be heard on many other albums during this period, especially those R&B albums (Carolyn Franklin, The Dramatics, Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Sylvers, The Tavares, Peaches & Herb, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr., Prana People, Pure Energy - and that only scratches the surface!) that are a little outside of my listening experience.

But he's also touched a great deal of work I have heard, and brings his funky talents to a wide variety of recordings including "Red China Blues" from Miles Davis' Get Up With It (Columbia, 1974), "Bite You" and "Hit or Miss" from Bo Diddley's Big Bad Bo (Chess, 1974), Marcus' own "Everybody Come On Out" from Stanley Turrentine's Everybody Come On Out (Fantasy, 1976), the Marcus originals "Countdown," "Ghetto Samba" and "Winds of Change" from Johnny Hammond's Forever Taurus (Milestone, 1976), "If I Can't Have You" and "More Than A Woman" from Saturday Night Fever (RSO, 1977), "Christo Redentor" from Donald Byrd's Thank You…For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (Elektra, 1978), "Inflation" from Stanley Turrentine's Inflation (Elektra, 1980) and "Uptown Conversation" from Ron Carter's Super Strings (Milestone, 1981).

Plus, you can check out my West Coast Fusion post to find out even more of Wade Marcus' funky handiwork with Brass Fever, Sonny Stitt and the second of Marcus' two solo albums, the wonderful Metamorphosis (ABC Impulse, 1976).

Reconsidering George Benson

After spending years and years and years dismissing - or laughing off - any of the post-CTI work George Benson (b. 1943, Pittsburgh) has issued, I find it's time for a well-deserved reassessment of the guitarist and pop vocalist's 1976-93 output on the Warner Bros. label and, probably, some sort of an apology for my unexplainable snobbishness toward this stuff.

My first thought in this direction happened nearly a decade ago with the fantastic Absolute Benson (GRP, 2000), something I picked up out of curiosity and have never tired of enjoying since. I enjoy it so much that it feels timeless. It feels like it only came out only last year. So it surprises me that so much time has gone by since then.

I remember thinking at the time that this was the first of Benson's discs that got back into that groove I perceived he'd perfected on so many of his great CTI records like Beyond The Blue Horizon (1971), Body Talk (1973), Bad Benson (1974), Benson & Farrell (1976) and, most especially, Good King Bad (1975) and its equally wonderful album of outtakes, Pacific Fire (issued in 1983).

But I'd have no way of knowing this, particularly since I only knew the Warner Bros. period of Benson's work by his well-known radio hits ("This Masquerade," "The Greatest Love Of All," "Love Ballad," "Give Me The Night," "Turn Your Love Around" and "Lady Love Me"). I just assumed the rest of these albums all sounded like this, which, to a large extent they do. But since these songs - all pretty good, for what they are - were not what I wanted to hear Benson doing, I steered clear of George Benson albums altogether.

Now, after several postings reconsidering the remarkable artistry of George Benson during this period, a reader has reminded me that Benson's Warner Bros. catalog contains far more worth reconsidering too. How right he is and how much I've missed.

I owe this particular posting to his encouragement and, moreover, providing me with many of the "drive-by" albums that I've wrongly ignored for all these years.

Breezin' (1976): George Benson's breakout album is probably the most satisfying "jazz" album the guitarist and vocalist made during his nearly two decades at Warner Bros. Five of the album's six titles are instrumentals and feature a nice backing group comprised of Phil Upchurch, Ronnie Foster, Jorge Dalto, Stanley Banks, Harvey Mason and Ralph MacDonald, highlighted by arranger Claus Ogerman's effervescent strings. From the start, almost nothing is wrong with this album. Highlights include Bobby Womack's "Breezin'" (originally recorded by guitarist Gabor Szabo in 1971), Jose Feliciano's delicious "Affirmation" (a signature Benson piece) and Benson's own "So This Is Love?" (especially the solo). The remaining three tracks are all highly worthwhile as well, particularly if you want to bask in Benson's beautiful guitar playing. Benson hit with "This Masquerade" and "Breezin'" from this record. The 25th anniversary CD issued in 2001 also features the remarkable "Shark Bite," which first saw the light of day as the b-side to Benson's 1984 45 "20/20." Read more here.

In Flight (1977): After Breezin' hit the big time in 1976, producer Tommy LiPuma reconvened the prior album's cast for something of a sequel (for the record, Benson & Farrell was recorded between Breezin' and In Flight to help Benson fulfill contractual obligations to CTI). In Flight pairs rather nicely with Breezin', but the vocal numbers increase substantially and disco rhythms tend to infiltrate a bit more. Still, even on the album's four vocal tracks, Benson's guitar gets prominence throughout. This would change dramatically in only a few short years, making this album something worth savoring. There are only two complete instrumentals here, and they are among the album's very best tracks: Ronnie Foster's "The Wind And I (aka Hot Stuff)" and Donny Hathaway's "Valdez In The Country" (which, in addition to "Breezin'" from the previous album, was selected by arranger Claus Ogerman to feature on his magnum opus, The Man Behind The Music). Benson had a moderate hit here with "Everything Must Change." But the album's single best moment is probably the captivating - and surprising - cover of War's "The World Is A Ghetto," which starts off like an instrumental and proceeds to find Benson lending his warm and sincere vocals (and another great scat solo) to the piece - scoring a home run in the process and, something that stands strong on its own or along side Benson's cover of Donny Hathaway's "The Ghetto" (from Absolute Benson). Postscript: There is a promotional 12-inch of the full 9-minute, 41-second version of "The World Is A Ghetto" available on Warner Bros. PRO-661, that allows the spaces on the vinyl to open up to hear this song in all its beautiful glory.


Weekend In L.A. (1978): During the summer of 1978, this album was a huge hit, selling millions of copies, spurred on by the surprising success of Benson's lively remake of The Drifters' 1963 hit "On Broadway" (oddly, this was the year that also found Jackson Brown hitting with Maurice Williams' 1960 "Stay," Linda Ronstadt hitting with The Miracles' 1965 "Ooh Baby Baby" and James Taylor hitting with Jimmy Jones' 1960 hit "Handy Man"). Benson takes charge of the song, owning its "I won't quit till I'm a star" ethos and offering a tremendously invigorating scat solo in addition, something which not too many pop-rock audiences were accustomed to hearing at the time. It's hard to believe that the millions who flocked to hear "On Broadway" and the like on this album were satisfied with the excellent mostly jazz-flavored program Benson and company present here. Benson's group features the same guys who brought Breezin' and In Flight to life - less arranger Claus Ogerman's backgrounds. One of the things that makes this one of the better live albums of the era (remember, Frampton Comes Alive changed everyone's expectations for live albums back in the day) is that there is a terrific combination of totally new material with pleasingly little, if not completely unknown, retreads of old material to be heard here. Uniformly great playing from all concerned and highlights abound: Benson's own "Weekend In L.A.," Benson's "California P.M.," Neil Larson's "Windsong," Benson's gorgeous "Ode to a Kudu" (first heard on the 1971 album Beyond The Blue Horizon) and Ronnie Foster's "We As Love." Note the higher quotient of Benson originals featured here. All in all, quite beautiful stuff.

Livin' Inside Your Love (1979): This double-album seemed like a bit of hubris even back then. But Benson had the goods - and he was selling millions of records to boot. Now, some three decades later, it's nice to have this wealth of music available. Even though Benson could pretty much do whatever he wanted at the time, this whole album seems like a bit too much. If I were to guess, though, it's probably the closest to Benson's heart. This is exactly the kind of music Benson wanted to be making: a 50/50 split between silky soul numbers and light jazz takes that fans of either style would have no problem accepting if they crossed the line into Benson's domain. This is one of the last albums to feature most of Benson's successful working group, present on the previous three Warners albums. Added here is a number of studio pros (Steve Gadd, Will Lee, Greg Phillinganes and Robert Popwell, Jr.) and former Benson protégé Earl Klugh (on the title track only) to season the action, which really is not all that bad. Slick, yes, but this one seems driven by artistic concerns first and commercial concerns second. Claus Ogerman, in the last of his three Benson collaborations, helms the orchestra for all but three of the album's tracks ("Prelude to Fall," "Livin' Inside Your Love" and the album's moderately successful hit single, "Love Ballad"). These three tracks are helmed by vibist Mike Maineri - who, given his work elsewhere around this time, might have done magical things with Benson if the two had more of an opportunity to work together. There is something of a transition in this album. Benson sort of perfected a smooth approach here that was toughened up or overproduced by later producers. This is pretty much the end of Benson's jazz career too. From here on in, it was all about hit attempts. The guitar became an occasional solo thing and, in many cases, disappeared from most of the music altogether. All of this makes Livin' Inside Your Love something to appreciate and enjoy. Highlights: Ronnie Foster's "Nassau Day" (also a DJ fave) and "Prelude to Fall" as well as George Benson's seemingly unpromising "You're Never Too Far From Me" and "Before You Go."

Give Me The Night (1980): Pairing Quincy Jones with George Benson was an inspired idea that yielded this hit album, which is really quite good, the first on Jones' own Qwest label. By this time, Jones had become well known as the magician behind Michael Jackson's mega-hit album Off The Wall (Epic, 1979), which would only be eclipsed by the pair's later Thriller (Epic, 1982). Jones, like Benson, had a background in jazz and the composer, arranger, film scoring-producer-turned guru, like the guitarist turned vocal hit-maker, had a backlog of hits of his own and others (Aretha Franklin, The Brothers Johnson and Rufus) to his credit. Here, Jones assembles a top-shelf coterie of musicians (Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock, Louis Johnson, the Seawind horns, Patti Austin), writers (Rod Temperton, Ivans Lins) and arrangers for a first-class effort that sounded like nothing else at the time other than other Quincy Jones productions. Slick, but artful, Give Me The Night is pure pop pleasure. The artistry is evident even on the album's finely crafted title-track hit, but most appreciable in the album's only two instrumentals, Rod Temperton's well-done "Off Broadway" (a jokey reference, no doubt, to Benson's 1978 hit) and "Dinorah, Dinorah," one of two Ivan Lins tunes here. Even the vocal tunes here maintain an artistic integrity that allows each of the participants to contribute creatively, rather than by rote. Vocalist Patti Austin is evident throughout, particularly on the well-handled cover of "Moody's Mood," and turns out to be perfectly partnered with Benson as a vocalist - in the first of many such pairings. While a slew of singles were issued from this album following the hit title cut ("Love X Love," "Midnight Love Affair" and "What's On Your Mind"), the highlights remain the instrumentals: "Off Broadway" (oddly enough, not on the Best of George Benson: The Instrumentals, rendering that 1997 CD nearly useless) and "Dinorah, Dinorah." It's surprising - and rather a shame - that Quincy Jones and George Benson didn't reunite for any additional or substantial recordings other than Benson's guest appearance on Jones' own Back on the Block (Qwest, 1989).

In Your Eyes (1983): This Arif Mardin production puts pop out in front - way in front - of any of George Benson's talents or capabilities and the result is, along with 1986's dismal While The City Sleeps, probably one of the most dated recordings Benson ever made. Still, Benson scored a hit with David Paich and James Newton Howard's decent, but very 80s sounding "Lady Love Me (One More Time)." For the record, Toto's lead man, David Paich, is working with Benson on an upcoming disc, and Paich's famed father, Marty Paich, did the almost negligible strings heard on this track. Also, it should be obvious that Howard, who I only knew at the time from his work in Elton John's mid-70s band, has gone on to become a hugely successful film composer in Hollywood. Of the vocal pieces here, the average "Love Will Come Again" is as good at it gets and features Benson playing some very welcome guitar in a way that works very well in a pop structure (Chaka Khan is also featured here on background vocals). The instrumentals here are a bit on the bloodless side, but are still worth hearing: (drummer) Omar Hakim's "Being With You" (with nice strings arranged by Mardin - and a lovely solo by Benson) and Adam Falcon's "In Search of A Dream." All in all, it's ok, but nothing worth going out of anybody's way for.

20/20 (1985): An unbelievably bright and lively pop confection, produced for the most part by Russ Titleman (b. 1944). Titleman was responsible for many Warner Bros. pop acts including Little Feat, Ry Cooder, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, Randy Newman and Paul Simon and had something of a reputation for getting hits out of all these guys, even the hits-shy of the bunch. So you know what everyone was going for here. One might assume that Benson was demoted to Titleman here as the producer has hardly shown the talent for artistry that Benson's previous producers brought to the guitarist-slash-vocal hitman. But he (or somebody) assembled a pretty decent set of tunes here. The program screams radio-friendly mid-1980s fare (yuck), yet the tunes themselves are pretty much above-average and Benson delivers them all like he means them. First and foremost is Randy Goodrum and Steve Kipner's delightful title track, this album's best-known hit. It actually boasts some great synth programming (by Goodrum), a highly catchy refrain and a far-too brief scat solo Benson takes at the end of the song in unison with Patti Austin. There were quite a few singles issued here, too: the remarkable "20/20," of course, as well as "I Just Wanna Hang Around You," "No One Emotion," "New Day" and the jazzy and slightly out-of-place "Beyond The Sea (La Mer)" (featuring the Count Basie Orchestra, led by Frank Foster). "The Greatest Love Of All" co-writer Michael Masser contributes equally memorable tracks here, too: "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" and "You Are The Light Of My Life" (a duet with Roberta Flack). Each one of these is surprisingly memorable and, if I were to guess, strives to capture what Benson caught with Quincy Jones on 1980's Give Me The Night. Obviously, Benson's hit-making power was now far behind Quincy Jones' post-Thriller star-making (or money-making) power and everyone here seems like they might be in some sort of copy-cat or catch-up mode. Still, the odds add up to much more than even I would have expected. Highlights: The wonderful "20/20" and Neil Larsen's average-at-best "Stand Up" (the only instrumental here) - and, for those that are interested, the pop songs mentioned above. Postscript: "20/20" was also issued in a 6-minute, 32-second extended dance 12-inch remix mixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez on Warner Bros. PRO-A-2251, which I REALLY hope to hear someday (the song was also, confusingly, issued in its 4-minute, 5-second album version on the Warner Bros. 12-inch PRO-A-2231). Check out the "20/20" video here.

Collaboration (1987): Benson reteamed with guitarist Earl Klugh after 1971's White Rabbit, 1973's Body Talk and 1979's Livin' Inside Your Love and producer Tommy LiPuma (Benson's first four Warner Bros. albums made between 1976 and 1979, including Livin' Inside Your Love, their last work together) for this 1987 collaboration, Benson's first all-out jazz record in more than a decade. The two guitarists front a small group featuring Greg Phillinganes on keyboards, Paul Jackson on rhythm guitar, Marcus Miller on bass, Harvey Mason on drums and Paulhino Da Costa on percussion. In the years since Benson had recorded in this mode, fusion had pretty much become extinct, replaced with what was rapidly becoming known as smooth jazz. Collaboration is prototypical smooth jazz, boasting a program that is driven by what would have been recognized at the time as Klugh's pleasant groove. It makes for easy listening; smart, well-played and nothing that would offend anyone in a supermarket or doctor's office. While it's easy enough to walk away from this album and forget all about it after it's over, it is remarkably engaging while it's on. The program consists of Benson's "Mimosa," two Klugh originals ("Brazilian Stomp" and the characteristic "Since You're Gone"), two Marcus Miller pieces ("Dreamin'," "Mt. Airy Road") and two by "20/20" writer Randy Goodrum ("Jamaica" and, with Harvey Mason, "Collaboration"). None of the music here is terribly remarkable. But Benson brings life to each piece, simply when he solos, showing his astonishing agility throughout for taking a groove and lifting it bodily with his life-affirming playing. Highlights: "Mt. Airy Road," "Brazilian Stomp," "Since You're Gone" (the album's single) and "Collaboration." Unfortunately, Benson's own "Mimosa" is one of the album's most unremarkable moments but it probably ranks higher than most of the material Benson recorded for Warner Bros. after this.

Also: George Benson kept busy during his Warner Bros. years lending his fine guitar to notable jazz work of others including, "Time Passed Autumn (Part II)" from The Claus Ogerman Orchestra's Gate of Dreams (Warner Bros., 1977), the disappointing "Gotcha!" from Pee Wee Ellis' Home In The Country (Savoy, 1977), the excellent "Mister Mellow" from Maynard Ferguson's Conquistador (Columbia, 1977), "To Her Ladyship" from Freddie Hubbard's Super Blue (Columbia, 1978), a brief bit on "Love Island" from Deodato's Love Island (Warner Bros., 1978), "Coming Back Home" and Benson's own funky "Hip Skip" from Tony Williams' The Joy of Flying (Columbia, 1979), the particularly jazzy "Gotham City" and "Hi-Fly" from Dexter Gordon's Gotham City (Columbia, 1981), the outstanding "Orange Express" from Sadao Watanabe's Orange Express (Columbia, 1981), Jimmy Smith's Off The Top (Elektra Musician, 1982), Stanley Turrentine's Straight Ahead (Blue Note, 1984) and "Sunrise" and "A Mouse In The House" from Chet Atkins' Stay Tuned (Columbia, 1985).

To hear Benson as a guest vocalist, check out "What's Goin' On" from Harvey Mason's Funk In A Mason Jar (Arista, 1977), "Street Tattoo" from Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack to Boulevard Nights (Warner Bros., 1978) and "I've Got Your Love" from Ronnie Foster's Delight (Columbia, 1979). There may be others, but I just don't know.