Rick Laird - Tom Grant - Soft Focus - Mystified

(Absord Japan)

Soft Focus is non-fusion, straight-ahead jazz. Bassist Rick Laird (Mahavishnu Orchestra) led studio sessions that included Tom Grant on piano, Ron Steen on drums and saxophonist Joe Henderson. Though Laird is playing electric bass, his lines could easily have come from a double bass. There are no efforts at great volume or distortion. His solo is an enjoyable experience full of easy melody. Fans of his Mahavishnu power would probably be surprised by his grace. "Soft Focus" also shows Laird's above-average compositional skills.

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Note : This will be my last post for the year as I'll be off for about 2 weeks. Happy holidays to all of you and I'll see you back in 2009.

George Duke - Keyboard Giant

(Universal)

A collection of George Duke's recordings for the MPS label .. Although Duke's probably best known for his smoother, more soul-based sides for Columbia, he got his biggest start on the MPS label in the early 70s -- working out a groove that was part jazz, part fusion, part funk, and part cosmic soul -- wrapped up in keyboards. .... George plays plenty of Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp on these sides -- and most numbers feature small combo instrumentation, which really helps keep a nice sort of edge. (Dusty Groove)

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Gato Barbieri - The Third World Revisited (1988)

This release is not a reissue of the original The Third World LP (1969), but instead it contains Flying Dutchman's releases "Yesterday" plus half of El Pampero - Live in Montreux

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