Shawn Phillips - Spaced

Here's something a little off the beaten path for all you Kozmigroovers... although it came up a time or two on the old k-groov mailing list. This release proves the point that Jazz Satellites drove home over a decade ago: that k-groov can come from artists not normally thought of as being part of the jazz/funk/soul arena. I'm going to post the words of the inimitable DW on this record for 2 reasons:

1) He pretty much wraps it up better than I ever could, and
2) To spread the word on the original home of the kozmigroov index, freeform.org (where his words were ripped from). On the off chance you don't already know this site, you must check it out, it really is the motherlode of all things kg.

Anyway, here's DW's take on this release (linkage in comments):

"Spaced seems to be an album of unreleased pieces recorded during 1969-1977. Fans of the Headhunters might wanna track down a copy since it's got this 16 minute funk jam called, "I Don't Want to Leave You, I Just Came to Say Goodbye." On this and one other instrumental, the Clark/Jackson/Summers rhythm section kicks out in full effect. Very sweet although I keep getting this phantom itch for Herbie (Pete Robinson, of Contraband notoriety, plays the surrogate.) The track itself is very Thrust-like. Nice 'n' tacky album jacket too, with Phillips fully decked in silver spacesuit and posing before a Sportscoach RV. [DW]"

Yuji Imamura & Air

If you liked the Miles post here's something else you might enjoy... I've seen some traces of this in the blogosphere (is there anything that HASN'T already been upped?) but this is ripped from the (I believe) now OP Japanese CD issue as opposed to vinyl. I'm holding my breath waiting for this to turn up on SACD like some other recent 3 Blind Mice reappearances, but in the meantime if you aren't familiar with this one and you like that Miles 'In A Silent Way' sort of floating space-jazz-rock thing you might really like this one. Great in the best 70's experimental way. Links in comments...

Bitches Brew - The Singles

Recently I decided to expand the scope of the blog to include some uncommon digital stuff also, actually it is kind of shocking how much great music is on CDs that aren't available any more. So while I'm converting a few things, here's a little snack - it is a promo only disc of 4 singles edits issued to commemorate the release of the Bitches Brew box set a few years ago. In keeping with the spirit of the original release, this will be a limited edition - available a short time only :)

Spanish Fly
Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
Great Expectations
Little Blue Frog

Contraband - Time & Space

Here's one I came across in the course of researching my "Jazz Satellites II" re-issue project. There's more to come on that front (watch this space as they say), but I thought this record was too interesting to delay posting... for one thing it has some of the sickest ring-modulator abuse this side of Mwandishi, for another the bassist Bruce Cale has to be heard to be believed, this guy is a serious musician. I'd rate it a very compelling jazz-rock effort that brings to mind contemporous efforts of Weather Report and of course Miles. If that sounds interesting at all to you don't miss this. As always, check the comments for linkage.

Personnel on this jazz-fusion-noise-space odyssey (Epic 30814 - 1971):

David Pritchard: guitar
Charles Orena: tenor and soprano saxophones, flute
Pete Robinson: piano, electric piano, organ, melodica, ring modulator
Bruce Cale: bass, electric bass, violin
Brian Moffatt: drums, percussion

Track Listing:
Shadow On The Mountain
Intune
Interlock
Reverie
To Miles
The One Who Knows
Crimson Sunsets
An Aborted Eddie Harris Tune

Jazz Satellites II (Original Version)

In 1996 Virgin Records released a compilation in the Ambient series (curated by Kevin Martin) entitled "Jazz Satellites Volume 1: Electrification". You can read an excellent post about that release here, but if you are reading this the odds are you've heard it. That original release was important for the way it illuminated some common threads in music from very disparate sources- in my case it set me off on a journey that continues to this day.

The plot thickened with the discovery that there were plans for "Jazz Satellites Volume 2" that were never realized... until now, that is. You can read more of the particulars on the excellent Destination Out blog (respect to Doug W, who contributed much valuable info to the comments in that post, and who upped the cover pic you see here), and check the comments for links to the first issue of this previously unreleased comp.

Here's the track listing (links in comments).

Mahavishnu Orchestra “Miles Out”
George Russell “Events I-VII”
Weather Report “Boogie Woogie Waltz”
Olatunji “Dakun”
Carl Craig/Innerzone Orchestra “Bug in the Bass Bin”
Joe Zawinul “Arrival in New York”
Chris Bowden “Life Support”
Ray Russell Quartet “A Day in the Life of a Slave in Lower Egypt”
White Noise “The Black Mass”
Howard Shore/Ornette Coleman “Interzone Suite”
Marc Moulin “Tohubohu”
Peter Brotzmann/Bill Laswell “Death Rattle”
Joe Harriott “Multani”
AMM “Convergence”
Lights in a Fat City “When I Go Up (I Feel Like Shouting)”
Yusef Lateef “Sound Wave”
Charlie Mariano “Madras”
Masabumi Kikuchi “Auroral Flare”
Sonny Sharrock “Many Mansions”
Pat Martino “Baiyina”
Terumasa Hino “Aboriginal”

raison d'être

After spending a few hours trying to straighten out the mess the spammers made of the k-groov forums, I have come to the painful realization I just don't have the time or inclination to be a policeman. So, with apologies to the handful of kindred souls out there (you know who you are), I am abandoning the resurrection effort. Unless/until someone comes up with a better idea, I'm going to use this space to post some news/observations about music I come across that some of you might find of interest. Probably it will tend towards raves about re-issues of obscure psych-jazz LPs from the early 70's... but you guessed that already :) Possibly it will be very sporadic. Eventually I'll turn the comments feature back on, meantime here we go...

Oh, and one more thing (lest we forget):

The Kozmigroov email list was birthed in 1997 by Jason Witherspoon and Doug Watson. Respect is also due the list's long time admin, Graham Spice. The list provided a forum for the discussion of jazz/funk/soul/groove/fusion music which has cosmic or psychedelic leanings. Subjects have included Miles Davis' early '70's "degenerate-era", P-Funk, Herbie Hancock & Headhunters, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Don Cherry, Larry Young, Ornette Coleman, Fela Kuti, Last Exit, Graham Haynes, Carl Craig, Erik Truffaz, and the Thirsty Ear Blue Series.