Ivan Conti (1984) The Human Factor (LP) Milestone (M-9127)

Ivan Conti
The Human Factor
Milestone (M-9127)
1984
Produced, written & arranged by Ivan Conti

*** noteworthy

Solo outing from the drummer for the Brazilian jazz-funk trio Azymuth, here Conti offering up a mixed bag–regarding styles and quality–starting off with a rather uneventful version of fusion, perhaps a notch above most of the fusion from this era but that’s not really saying that much. Fortunately, about ten minutes into the proceedings–about halfway through the first side–Arturzinho’s popping baseline rises in the middle of the second cut. This focus on rhythm leads us to the third cut that closes the side–the tribal percussion workout “Pantanal II (Swamp)” taking us into the massive wetlands of Conti’s homeland.

The original electronic-heavy “Pantanal” from Azymuth’s 1980 album used electronic sounds to likely mimic the buzzing/chirping/squealing of the swamp fauna, while the sequel on this album discards the keyboards and focuses on four percussionists running down the voodoo and doing their thing, a frantic dance around the fire, a run through the jungle, the rhythm of the hunt, the beat of the heart. A fourth musician offers some whistles to help paint the wetland scene, and Conti doubles up with some vocoder to apparently represent the growl of some sort of fauna, all the instruments sounding like they are conversing, the mix of old tribal and new electronics both recalling the roots of fusion put down by Miles Davis and Weather Report and helping to reveal the jungle roots of that innovative music. With its percussion-heavy tribal electronics, this cut also helps pave the way for things to come. While the selection isn’t groundbreaking, it does get the earth shaking, causing the listener to stand up and take notice.

The flipside eases into the proceedings with moderately enjoyable jazz fusion, picking up the pace with a jazz-trio piece (drums, acoustic piano, and electric bass), and slowing down again with a brief solo number–the drummer offering vocals, acoustic guitar and splashes of synthesizers. The set concludes with the title track, another multi-tracked Conti solo number, this one just drums and synthesizers, sounding extremely dated and fairly charming, very intentional and robotic–in many ways in sharp contrast to the closer of side one. While the rest of the set was recorded in Rio, this title track was recorded where the set was mastered and mixed–in Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.

This isn’t an essential outing, but for better or worse, it has plenty of variety, and the more interesting selections make this set at least worth a listen.

 

— winch (author of

Antonio Carlos Jobim (LP) The Composer of Desafinado, Plays (1963) Verve V6-8547

Antonio Carlos Jobim
The Composer of Desafinado, Plays
Verve V6-8547
1963
Produced by Creed Taylor
Arranged by Claus Ogerman 

 

Recommended ****


Jobim’s first U.S. album, every cut a Jobim original, every one on its way to becoming a standard, quite the feat for the man from Rio, here backed with breezy Ogerman arrangements, produced by Creed with his signature swatches of flute and such, Jobim on piano and guitar, some improvisation but mostly just simple presentations of some beautiful tunes from Brazil.

— winch

Vince Guaraldi: Black Orpheus (1962) LP

Vince Guaraldi Trio 
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
Fantasy 3337 
1962
Rating: ***** (Good Shit)
With the bossa nova craze taking off, Fantasy packaged this set to point out the focus of side one.  For the cuts on that side, Guaraldi took the music from the Brazilian film and brought it to San Francisco, taking the bossa nova into an established style of this era–cool jazz.
While the popularity of the film might have had a lot to do with this album getting airplay, the music soon took on a life of its own.  “Samba De Orpheus” was the single from the album, but when DJs starting spinning the b-side, an original called “Cast Your Fate To the Wind,” Guaraldi was on his way to becoming a household name.
While “Cast Your Fate” might have originally been tacked on for filler, the two-sided single was actually a small mirror of the entire album.  The A side of the single opens the album and introduces the Brazilian focus of side one.  The B side of the single opens side two and introduces the United States focus of the second half of the set.  And while the Brazilian compositions are part of the sound of this album, even those cuts are transformed into cool jazz. 

This set is pure early 60s San Francisco, but it ended up being a timeless classic with a sound all its own.  If cool jazz often came across as a shallow version of jazz, Guaraldi proved this music could have depth and soul.  While Vince might be remembered by most as the pianist who brought us those wonderful soundtracks for the Peanuts, this is the set that introduced Guaraldi to the world.

— winch

(author of Kalamazoo: Growing Up Sideways in the 1970s)

http://eight-track.com/kalamazoo.html

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008V260V2