Pierre Cardin
Présente Jean-Luc Ponty "Experience"
Live In
Montreux 72
Les Disques Pierre Cardin – STEC 133 France, 1972
Jean Luc Ponty’s performance in the 1972
Montreux Jazz Festival was on the more experimental side of fusion. Not the most memorable Ponty’s album but I
still prefer it to the more commercial fusion and histrionics he went
for later in his career. This album was released
on the short lived Pierre Cardin
label, in a sleeve with round corners.
There are a few other LP on the
Pierre Cardin label well worth searching for:
Bernard Lubat & his Mad Ducks
/ Lubat, Louiss, Engel – Montreux 72 / Jean Claude Fohrenbach – Electronic Band
/ Phil Woods & his European Rhythm Machine
Tracklist
Sonata Erotica 17:55
A) Preludio
B) Pizzacato Con Fuocco E Con Echo (Did You See
My Bow?)
There was a
request for this album in the comments of the Fra Fra Big Band post. Here it is!
Although not as
well known in the United States as they are in parts of Western Europe, Fra Fra
Sound is a Dutch jazz institution and has been active in the Netherlands since
the early '80s. Fra Fra has also recorded as the Fra Fra Big Band, which is essentially
Fra Fra Sound with more musicians and an expanded, more elaborate lineup. But
whether they're calling themselves Fra Fra Sound or the Fra Fra Big Band, the
Amsterdam-based outfit has a reputation for being adventurous, unpredictable,
and risk-taking. Fra Fra's specialty is a blend of jazz and world music --
especially African, Caribbean, and Latin music. And when it comes to jazz
influences, the band is all over the place. They've been influenced by hard
bop; some of their arrangements recall Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers'
classic Blue Note recordings of the '50s and '60s. But post-bop, modal jazz,
fusion and jazz-funk have affected them as well; Fra Fra also brings to mind
everyone from John Coltrane, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, and Abdullah Ibrahim
(aka Dollar Brand), to Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco
Pastorius, and Spyro Gyra. Because of the Caribbean influences, Sonny Rollins
(who is famous for combining hard bop and calypso) is another obvious
comparison. And whatever type of jazz they're being influenced by -- be it hard
bop, modal post-bop, fusion or soul-jazz -- Fra Fra Sound and the Fra Fra Big
Band always bring some type of world music influence to their albums (many of
which have been easier to find in Western Europe than in North America).
Fra Fra Sound
was founded by bassist/producer Vincent Henar in Amsterdam in 1980, and he has
been their leader ever since. Henar got the name Fra Fra from the Surinamese
language, which is spoken in the South American country of Suriname (formerly
known as Dutch Guyana). The term has different meanings in that language; it
can refer to a hybrid (which is exactly what Fra Fra Sound's music has been),
or it can mean strange, mysterious, unorthodox, or unusual. Along the way, Fra
Fra Sound has had different lineups; in 2003, Henar was leading a seven-person
lineup that also included Michael Simon on trumpet and flugelhorn, Efraim
Trujillo on tenor sax, Andro Biswane on guitar, Robin VanGeerke on piano, Guno
Kramer on drums, and Calo Ulrichi Hoop on percussion.
Fra Fra started recording
in the '80s; their first album, Panja Gazz + 4, came out in the Netherlands in
1987, and they went on to put out Third Life Stream in 1990, Kalinha's Serenade
in 1993, Worship Mother Earth in 1994, Global Village Residents in 1996, Kaseko
Revisited: Kotabra in 1997, Mali Jazz in 1999, and Kultiplex in 2003 (the year
that marked the band's 23rd anniversary). All of those albums were Fra Fra
Sound projects; their releases as the larger Fra Fra Big Band have included A
Tan So in 1993 and Maspoti Makandra in 1997. (Alex Anderson – AMG)
Credits
Bass, Lead
Vocals – Vincent Henar
Congas,
Percussion, Bells, Timbales, Djembe – Carlo Ulrichi
Drums – Guno
Kramer
Guitar –
Sterling Peterson
Piano, Keyboards
– Robin Van Geerke
Saxophone –
Efraim Trujillo*
Trumpet –
Michael Varekamp
Tracklist
1 Ken Bo Ta 4:40
2 One For All 5:07
3 Sebie Jarie 7:00
4 Blakawatra 6:05
5 Langadang 5:15
6 Little Giant 9:28
7 Poem For Rosa 7:04
8 Worship Mother Earth 13:12
9 Fruits From The Kasbah 8:58
There is a
great live version of Worship Mother Earth on YouTube, recorded at the
Ouagadougou Jazz Festival.
Disques
Somethin' Else – 849 497 BY, France, 1969
I’ve always
enjoyed this album. Bought it when I was
still a student, in the earlyseventies, at the “Pele Mele”, now one of the most
famous second-hand books and records (and DVD, computer games etc) shops in
Brussels. I’m talking about the "old" Pele Mele , when it was still run by Monsieur Henri and his elderly mother. Pele Mele is still there: different
location(s), - they moved a few times but always in the same vicinity - different
management but always a popular cratedigging place although their selection of
records (CD especially) has dwindled and the prices have expended (but they’re still very
reasonable). So many of my records came
from that place!
It was pretty cheap in
those days. I could buy three or four
second-hand albums at Pele Mele for the price of a new one elsewhere. For many years I never bought a new album. I am
of the opinion that good music is like wine, it gets better with age.
.
For some forty
years this album fooled me into believing that Joe Harriott was playing o it
because that’s what on the sleeve notes on the back of this French LP.
“ Avec la
participation de : Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Kenny Wheeler / Alto Saxophone – Joe Harriott / Flute – Chris Taylor / Piano – Pat Smythe / Double
Bass – Coleridge Goode / Drums – Alan Ganley / Violin, Harpsichord – John Mayer
/ Sitar – Diwan Motihar / Tabla – Keshav Sathe / Tambura – Chandrahas Paigankar”
Well, as I
recently discovered, it is almost completely wrong: exit Joe Harriott, Kenny Wheeler and Alan
Ganley. Enter Tony Coe, Ian Hamer and John Marshall.
The actual
line-up:
Trumpet /
Flugelhorn – Ian Hamer
Tenor Saxophone/
Clarinet – Tony Coe
Flute – Chris
Taylor
Piano – Pat
Smythe
Bass – Coleridge
Goode
Drums – John
Marshall
Violin – John
Mayer
Sitar – Diwan
Motihar
Tabla – Keshav
Sathe,
Tambora – Viram
Jasani
Because of the
absence of Joe Harriott, this album is not as highly regarded as the previous
Indo-Jazz Fusion albums. I do not
agree. Tony Coe on reeds, Ian Hamer –
already a veteran, he’d been playing since the 50s - on trumpet and flugelhorn
and John Marshall (the youngest in the band) on drums are top-notch players who
bring their own individuality into the band.
Bur the music remains definitely John Mayer’s own. “Inclassable” as I’d
put it in French, Delightful music from a bygone era when the expression “World
Music” hadn’t been invented yet.
N.B This is the
same album as “Etudes” released in the UK on Sonet with the right credits in
the sleeve notes.
FRA FRA SOUND - KALINHA'S SERENADE (NL, SURINAM, NL ANTILLES, US - 1992-94)
First album by Holland-based FRA FRA SOUND, an International little big band composed of musicians from Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles, Mexico (tenor sax Efraim Trujillo) and the US (trumpet/ fluegelhorn player Charles Green).
What does FRA FRA mean? There is no literal translation for the concept of "Fra Fra Sound". It has to do with balance, equilibrium. The balance within the variegated Surinam culturethat is connected with the country's multiracial character, its history of coming into existence and the unique location between the Caribbean and the Latin-American hinterland. Additionnally, there is an ethnic group in northwestern Ghana known as "Fra Fra", which refers to the strong historical and cultural ties between West Africa and Surinam. (from the CD notes) Band members:
Charles Green trumpet & fluegelhorn Efraim Trujillo tenor saxophone (1 & 8) Patrick Sedoc guitar Vincent Henar bass Robin van Geerke piano & keyboards Carlo Ulrichi conga, timbales, bells & percussions Guno Kramer drums
Guests:
Ponda O'Bryan : percussions (2-3-9) Kenrick Gunther: conga & percussions (7-9) José Lopretti: piano & synthetiser (7-8) Jeff Gordon : tenor sax on all tracks except 1 & 8 Sharif Wagidhossain: alto sax (7) Ronald Esseboon: tenor tuba (7)
Tracks:
1. Rhythm for the Fox 2. Pikin'Uma 3. Jangaman 4. Tuckayana Shout 5. Kooked Little Man 6. Little People 7. All Blues 8a A Zulu Folktale 8b. When the crocodlie smiles, beware! 9. Szopo
Check YouTube for live performances of Fra Fra Sound and Fra Fra Big Band.
Next post will be a rare 25 cm of Belgian 50s Be Bop feat. Bobby Jaspar ... coming soon!
ROBBIE JANSEN – VASTRAP ISLAND (1991, South Africa)
In the comments of a previous South African Jazz post (Cape Jazz – 24 Sept. 2011), a visitor (thejazzmd) wrote “Love SA Jazz, and there is so little Robbie Jansen out there- so thank you!”
Well, mate, this one is for you! Hope you’ll enjoy it.
It is Robbie Jansen’s first album as a leader and I reckon it is a bit of a mixed bag of afro-rock / smooth jazz / Cape Music, not entirely convincing (especially after hearing his contribution to the Sabenza album by Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee) but even in such a context Robbie’s flute and alto are always a pleasure to the ears. It is also a great party record that goes well with a few beers and a braai!
WARNING TO THE JAZZ AYATOLLAHS: Beware, I wouldn’t call this a “jazz” album, rather a Cape Music album with a jazzy tinge.
Electric keyboards: Hilton Schilder, Murray Anderson
Acoustic piano: Hilton Schilder
Bass: Stephen Erasmus
Ripped from a currently OOP CD.
p.s.: I'm not sure whether Sabenza has been posted on a blog already. It's a beautiful album that any fan of Cape Jazz should possess. If there is a demand, I'll rip my LP when I'll get a chance.
03 Feb. 2012: somebody was faster than me ... listen to Sabenza HERE
Jean Luc Ponty’s performance in the 1972
Montreux Jazz Festival was on the more experimental side of fusion. Not the most memorable Ponty’s album but I
still prefer it to the more commercial fusion and histrionics he went
for later in his career. This album was released
on the short lived Pierre Cardin
label, in a sleeve with round corners. 
.jpeg)
