Category: Instrumental Music

Music that has no lyrics, and is also differentiated from “jazz” or “classical” categories.

Leo Kottke, Guitarist VV-024

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:10 — 36.0MB)

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M1  Cripple Creek (Traditional), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:56)…………………………………………………………..

M2 Stealing (Kottke), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:35)…………………………………………………………………………

M3 Machine #2 (Kottke), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (3:00)…………………………………………………………………….

M4 Bourree (J.S. Bach), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:26)………………………………………………………………………

M5 Easter (Kottke), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (3:18)…………………………………………………………..

M6 June Bug (Kottke), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (2:20)………………………………………………………

M7 Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring (J.S.Bach), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (2:00)………………………..

M8 Twilight Property (Kottke), Dreams and All That Stuff, Capitol Records 1974 (3:11)……………………………………

M9 Vertical Trees (Kottke), Dreams and All That Stuff, Capitol Records 1974 (2:34)

Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of American composer, arranger, and acoustic guitarist LEO KOTTKE.  Leo Kottke was born in 1945 in Athens Georgia.  As a youth he  lived in several states, including Oklahoma ,,and Missouri and Minnesota  and eventually settled in the Twin Cities. He released his first record on the Oblivion label in 1969 … and just 2 years later he signed on with Capitol Records … it was 1971 he was just 25 years old.

Kottke produces instrumental songs, mostly…. but on a few songs he adds his vocals. I selected the instrumental songs because I believe these best showcase his unique guitar and arrangement talent. For his guitars, Kottke uses signature Taylor 12-string and Taylor 6 string.. Kottke plays guitar by an innovative style of fingerpicking, and his style is considered “unconventional”. His style enables the mimicking of a rhythm section, His genres of music include jazz, rock, bluegrass, classical, and folk.

Kottke has also been “Different” as far his guitar tuning. He’s used different variations ranging from open tuning to tuning his guitar two steps below the traditional tuning.  This produces a full and warm guitar sound.

When Kottke was younger, he suffered significant hearing loss from two events – –  first from a firecracker incident as a youngster, and later during live-fire exercises while serving in the Naval Reserves.

He was inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame in 1978 and scored two Grammy nominations — 1988 and 1991

Kottke has released 40 records in 40 year period.

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass-VV023

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Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the great trumpeter, arranger and producer, Herb Alpert.

M1  The Lonely Bull, (Sol Lake), Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, The Lonely Bull, A&M Records, 1962 (2:29).

M2 South of the Border (Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Carr), Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, South of the Border, A&M Records, 1964 (2:06)   

M3 I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe), Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, South of the Border, A&M Records, 1964 (2:25)   

M4 A Taste of Honey, (Bobby Scott), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965, (2:43).

M5 More and More Amor (Sol Lake), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Going Places, A&M Records, 1965 (2:44).

M6 Mae (Riz Ortolani), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Going Places, A&M Records, 1965 (2:27).

M7 Shades of Blue (Julias Wechter), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sounds Like, A&M Records, 1967 (2:44 ).

M8 Wade in the Water” (Traditional) – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sounds Like, A&M Records, 1967 (3:03).

M9 “Treasure of San Miguel” (Roger Nichols), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sounds Like, A&M Records, 1967 (2:14)

Herb Alpert was born in 1935, and is an American trumpeter who led the band “Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass” in the 1960s. He was born and raised in the Eastside Los Angeles. His parents were Tillie and Louis Alpert —they were Jewish immigrants to the U.S., coming here from the Ukraine and from Romania.

Alpert was born into a family of musicians. His father was a mandolin player and his mother taught violin. Herb’s older brother was a drummer.  Herb began to play trumpet at the age of eight. While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years.

In the 1960s Alpert co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss, A for Alpert and M for Moss.

There are many, many measures of success in the area of popular music by which to measure the success of Herb Alpert – – ….here are just a few:

  • He sold some 72 million records worldwide.
  • And 28 of his albums landed on the Billboard 200 chart
  • 5 of his albums became No. 1 albums
  • He achieved #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as instrumentalist
  • He has had 14 platinum albums (sold 1 million) and 15 gold albums (sold 500,000).
  • He has received a Tony Award, eight Grammy Awards, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
  • He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006….
  • and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Barack Obama in 2013.

One of the recording techniques Herb Alpert used in these early records was the overdubbing of the trumpet part, Starting with his first album, THE LONELY BULL, and the title track 1 on side 1.  According to Herb Alpert, he said that he had been trying to find the right trumpet voice. He tried emulating the trumpet styles of Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. Oddly enough, he got inspiration NOT from these famous trumpeters, but from a guitarist named …Les Paul. Les Paul had been using multitracking his guitar  recordings. So Alpert tried multitracking his trumpet … and that multitracking became one of the signature sounds we will hear. Here is an example of the overdubbed trumpet from the song A QUIET TEAR…….

(Play an example of Herb’s overdubbed trumpet on the song   A QUIET TEAR  song side 2 track 6)

In this overdub Herb Alpert is recording each part with the same phrasing and time … but playing the second part in harmony.

Additionally Alpert does a fair amount of overdubbing and playing both parts in unison. This double-recording of one part gives Herb’s trumpet an even more rich and full sound, added resonance of the instrument and added reverb or echo of the room. So overdubbing while playing the trumpet part in unison or in harmony was a signature sound of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. Here is an example from THE LONELY BULL intro….

(Play an example of Herb’s overdubbed trumpet on the song THE LONELY BULL  song side 1 track 1)

That’s overdubbing and playing the dub in unison with the first part. It creates a richer and deeper sound of the trumpet.

Frank Zappa Instrumentals VV022

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Today’s show features Frank Zappa, an American musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist,  and record producer. He lived from 1940 to 1993. Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion and orchestral works. He is known for his work with the band The Mothers of Invention, producing over 60 albums with the Mothers, and he is also known for his prolific work as a Solo Artist. Zappa was one of the great guitarists of our time, and he was a sophisticated composer and highly accomplished multi-instrumental musician.

Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer. He studied and wrote classical music in high school, played drums in R&B bands. He later took to the Electric Guitar.

He has been described as the godfather of comedy rock, a critic of mainstream education and organized religion, advocating for freedom of speech and political participation. The phases of his life included different musical genres including experimental rock, jazz, classical, comedy rock, doo-wap, prog-rock, avant jazz, and pop.

Frank Zappa was prolific. His discography contains 62 albums produced during his lifetime. Zappa died much too early… at the young age 53, from prostate cancer. Following his death in 1993 , The Zappa Family Trust has overseen the release of another 57 official albums…that’s a total of 129 albums of songs recording the genius of Frank Zappa.

In the book, Frank Zappa: A Biography, by Barry Miles, Zappa describes his works in these words:

“It’s all one album. All the material in the albums is organically related and if I had the master tapes and I could take a razor blade[2] and cut them apart and put it together again in a different order it still would make one piece of music you can listen to…. I could do this twenty ways. The material is definitely related.”

Which brings us to the subject of today’s show. Each album seems like an eclectic work, combining songs of Rock, Jazz and Classical genres. It is a difficult assignment for anyone to make the right selection from those 129 albums… let alone a proper selection of the individual songs that would best capture the genius of Frank Zappa in a few sound impressions.

One way to accomplish this selection is to attribute each of Zappa’s songs as being either a Song with lyrics, (and this is 401 songs, about 2/3 of his works), and instrumental compositions, (there are 172 instrumentals).  I then compiled an instrumental list from my own vinyl collection, and then shortened that list down to just to 8 instrumental pieces that would fit into this podcast format.  Each instrumental piece is brilliant.

This short list of Frank Zappa Instrumentals is what we will review today.

M1 Chunga’s Revenge, Frank Zappa, Chunga’s Revenge, 1970, Reprise/Warner Brothers, (6:16)…………………………….

M2 Twenty Small Cigars, Frank Zappa, Chunga’s Revenge, 1970, Reprise/Warner Brothers, (2:17)…………………………..

M3 Idiot Bastard Son, Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa, World Pacific Jazz, 1970, (4:00)

M4 The Little House I Used to Live In, Frank Zappa Music, The Mothers – Fillmore East June 1971 (4:58)…………………

M5 Peaches En Regalia, Frank Zappa Music, The Mothers – Fillmore East June 1971 (3:22)…………………………………..

M6 The Grand Wazoo, Frank Zappa Music, The Grand Wazoo, 1972 Warner Records, (13:24)………………………………

M7 Eat That Question, Frank Zappa Music, The Grand Wazoo, 1972 Warner Records, (6:41)………………………………

M8 Blessed Relief, Frank Zappa Music, The Grand Wazoo , 1972 Warner Records, (6:41)………………………………….

John McLaughlin, Guitarist VV-021

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Today’s show features John McLaughlin, an English guitarist, composer and band leader, born in 1942 in Doncaster, a city in South Yorkshire, that’s located in northern England. His mother was a concert violinist. He studied violin and piano as a child and then took up the guitar at age 11.

His childhood musical influences included MILES DAVIS and LUDVIG VON BEETHOVEN, and more contemporary artists were JOHN COLTRANE and JIMMY HENDRIX

McLaughlin is a pioneer of Jazz Fusion. In his music, one can clearly pick out elements of ROCK, JAZZ and BLUES…and also additional elements later on such as WORLD MUSIC, and Western Classical Music.

In the 1960s at about age 20, he moved to London where he contributed to several British groups and did session work. One of those British Groups was the Graham Bond Quartet with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker of Cream. Another rare opportunity was working with Miles Davis.  And he gave guitar lessons too, and one of his students was Jimmy Page, founder of Led Zeppelin.

M1 Arjen’s Bag (John McLaughlin) EXTRAPOLATION, Marmalade Records, released 1969 in UK, Re-released on Polydor Records, 1972, 4:25.

M2 Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, (Charles Mingus 1959) My Goal’s Beyond, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, Douglas 9 Released 1971(solo album) 3:15            .

M3- Dawn (John McLaughlin), Inner Mounting Flame, The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin, Columbia, Released 1971 (5:15)

M4 Birds of Fire(John McLaughlin), Birds of Fire, Mahavishnu Orchestra, CBS Columbia, Released 1973 (5:50)..

M5 Sanctuary (John McLaughlin), Birds of Fire, Mahavishnu Orchestra, CBS Columbia, Released 1973 (5:05).

M6 WINGS of KARMA(John McLaughlin), Apocalypse, Mahavishnu Orchestra, with London Symphony Orchestra, CBS Columbia, Released 1974 (6:12)

M7- La Danse du Bonheur, Shakti with John McLaughlin, Columbia, 1977 (4:48).

rev4 04Jan2023 17:30

Jeff Beck Guitar Part 2 VV-019

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JEFF BECK EARLY YEARS 1975-1976

Today’s show is JEFF BECK GUITAR EARLY YEARS — PART 2

During the two years of 1975 – 1976, two Jeff Beck albums BLOW BY BLOW and WIRED, set a standard for instrumental rock.  In today’s podcast episode, JEFF BECK GUITAR PART 2, we review 4 works from the album BLOW BY BLOW, released in 1975, and 3 works from the album WIRED, released in 1976.  In the previous episode JEFF BECK GUITAR PART 1, we reviewed the early years of British, blues-based fusion guitarist Jeff Beck during his recordings with THE YARDBIRDS in 1966, and then his formation of the JEFF BECK GROUP in 1968. By 1975, Beck’s band consisted of Phil Chen on bass, Richard Bailey on drums and Max Middleton on keyboards. Middleton continued on from the earlier Jeff Beck Group. The sound with this new group and this album is instrumental Jazz Fusion It is a sound with influences from Miles Davis, and Mahavishnu Orchestra.

PROGRAM LIST

  1. Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers (Stevie Wonder) Rec Oct 1974, BLOW BY BLOW, Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment, 1975, 5:42
  2. Freeway Jam (Max Middleton), Rec Oct 1974, BLOW BY BLOW, Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment, 1975, 4:58
  3. Diamond Dust (Bernie Holland) Rec Oct 1974, BLOW BY BLOW, Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment, 1975, 8:26
  4. Led Boots (Max Middleton), Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 4:03
  5. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Charles Mingus, 1959) Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 5:31
  6. Blue Wind (Jan Hammer) Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 5:54
  7. Love is Green (Narada Michael Walden) Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 2:30

9-4-20 at 1333

Larry Coryell Guitar VV-007

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PROGRAM NOTES

In today’s VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, we explore jazz guitarist and composer Larry Coryell.

INTRO TO  “LARRY CORYELL”:

Larry Coryell was born in 1943 in Galveston. He is an american jazz fusion guitarist. A long background as a musician, he played in local bands in Texas and later in the Seattle area.  He moved to NYC in 1965  – age 22 – and was part of Chico Hamilton’s quartet. In the late 1960s he recorded with jazz vibraphonist great, great Gary Burton. He also played in the band Free Spirits.  He formed his own group, The Eleventh House, in 1973. Later in the 1970s  in 1979, Coryell formed “The Guitar Trio” with jazz fusion guitarist John McLaughlin and flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. Coryell’s music combined influences and styles of rock, jazz and eastern. That eastern influence was not doubt a result of his interest in the spiritual leader Sri Chimnoy. Coryell’s discography is impressive.  As leader, there are 36 albums, and as sideman, there are many other albums. This podcast follows Larry Coryell’s work from a rich time in his younger years, 1968-1975, or from age 25-32, recording in New York City for Vanguard Apostolic, Mega records  and Arista.

In today’s podcast we will hear six of Larry Coryell’s best !! Starting with…

  • M1 Song Treats Style Album Lady Coryell
  • M2 Song After Later Album Larry Coryell at the Village Gate
  • M3 Song Further Explorations for Albert Stinson Album Fairyland
  • M4 Song Low-Lee-Tah Album Introducing the Eleventh House w Larry Coryell
  • M5 Song Pavane For A Dead Princess Album The Restful Mind
  • M6 Song Level One Album Level One Album Artist Eleventh House featuring Larry Coryell

 

M1  Song Treats Style Album Lady Coryell. Album Artist Larry Coryell. Composer Jim Garrison

 

Larry Coryell was just 25 when this album was recorded in 1968. It is his first album as a leader.By now, LC had recorded two albums with vibraphonist Gary Burton, in his group The Free Spirits. Decades of collaboration would follow between LC and jazz-great Burton, king of the four-mallet style, on jazz vibes. And now in 1968, two more jazz masters are with Coryell  – – Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums … guest artists on this album. Bassist and song composer Garrison played as a sideman with the John Coltrane classic quartet — along with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, from 1962-1967. Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones formed the “rhythm section” of the John Coltrane Quartet.  They gave bold physicality to Coltrane, due to the focused intensity of their rhythm section.   You will hear that focused intensity of the rhythm section on this song. This rhythm machine, plus Coryell’s licks provide an outstanding TRIO performance. And there is a Milestone Event for Coryell …on this song, “Treats Style”, Coryell takes his first guitar solo!! Larry Coryell’s blues guitar signature is imitated but never duplicated, such as his solo here in TREATS STYLE.  This is great early LC, in his formative years, in the 1960s,   as jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and co-producer. The album was produced by David Weiss and LC. Treats Style, was composed by the bassist, Jimmy Garrison, who was 35 at the time of this album. By Vanguard Apostolic. Year 1969

Featuring the trio – – –

  • Larry Coryell guitar
  • Jim Garrison Bass
  • Elvin Jones drums

M2 Song After Later, Album Larry Coryell at the Village Gate, Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Larry Coryell, Year 1971, By Vanguard Recording Society

Featuring

  • Larry Coryell guitar
  • Mervin Bronson bass
  • Harry Wilkinson drums

Larry Coryell is almost 28 at the time of this show at the Village Gate in NYC. After Later is a jazz-rock guitar instrumental, done, in 10/4 time. On this song we have the driven lead guitar jazz rock style of LC, with distortion and feedback effects.

Some of that overdrive is the unique combination of LC’s choice of what is typically a jazz guitar, a hollow-bodied Gibson ES-185 guitar, very sympathetic to stage vibration, such as from Coryell’s amplifier, feeding back into the guitar body. We also hear the use of the wah-pedal later in the lead guitar and even some guitar-shredding style is heard, to produce those ferocious 16th or 32nd note flurries. And finally, the bending of the notes – owed to blues and rock.

I hear a bit of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in this song. A historical note, Hendrix had died just months before this show, in September of 1970. Maybe it’s my imagination, the connection from Hendrix into Coryell’s powerful lead lines in this song, After Later.

Melodic and powerful. This is an early combination of a jazz-type of guitar (such as the gibson ES-185)  and rock-like effects, like guitar overdrive, feedback and a strong rhythm section supplied by bass and drums to 10/4. This was early Jazz Rock and very exciting, Coryell was definitely on to something, and breaking new ground with this unique guitar sound. This is a jazz format, with the song intro and ending using a formal theme, and the “in between” segment, containing a lengthy guitar improvisation supplied by Coryell. It’s not unlike a fine novel, propped up by two book-ends.

I would have loved to be at that show in 1971, “Larry Coryell at the Village Gate”, New York City. What was I doing. I was a freshman in college…and I had to get my hands on this incredible live album, his fifth album.

I missed the show, but I have played this song, After Later, EASILY a hundred …maybe two hundred or more times !

M3 Song Further Explorations for Albert Stinson, Album Fairyland ,Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Larry Coryell, Year 1971 recorded live at Montreux Switzerland, By Mega Records & Tapes

Featuring

  • Larry Coryell guitar
  • Chuck Rainey Bass
  • Pretty Purdie Drums

Coryell is 28 at the is time of this live album, released in 1971. The album was recorded at Montreux, Switzerland. This is again a trio. Again, you can hear Coryell’s large hollow-bodied electric guitar. From the album cover, it appears to be a Gibson ES-185, a very LARGE electric guitar indeed.

Albert Stinson was a American jazz double-bassist who worked with Larry Coryell in 1967-1969. He was nicknamed “sparky” because of his huge, bright tone, and aggressive attack. Stinson died in 1969, of a heroin overdose, while on tour with Coryell. Stinson was 24. His bass playing with Coryell can be found on another 1969 Vanguard album titled “Coryell”, where he supplies the bass tracks for two of the album’s seven cuts. Bassist Chuck Rainey supplies the other bass tracks for the album. And here, on today’s show, from the Fairyland album, Chuck Rainey performs on Further Explorations for Albert Stinson, the song, no doubt, is a tribute to this promising young bassist.

This time period was a particularly TRAGIC one for the music world, with MANY prominent artists lost in the three years of 1969, 1970 and 1971, including Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, Albert Stinson, the subject of this song, Jimi Hendrix, Alan ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson of Canned Heat, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.

M4 Song Low-Lee-Tah, Album Introducing the Eleventh House w Larry Coryell, Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Larry Coryell, Year 1974, By Vanguard Recording Society

Featuring

  • Larry Coryell guitar
  • Randy Brecker trumpet
  • Alphonse Mouzon percussion
  • Mike Mandel piano & synth
  • Danny Trifan bass

Coryell is 31 at the time of this album, in 1974.

He had created the group Eleventh House in 1973 —and it was active for 3 years. The Eleventh House was a change in format for Coryell.  He does create a new sound with Eleventh House. Coryell composes this angular, Mahavishnu sounding piece. It’s a rock instrumental, with off beats, improvisation for guitar and trumpet. Earlier, Coryell had played in a trio format, such as from the three albums we heard earlier, LADY CORYELL,  LIVE AT THE VILLAGE GATE, and FAIRYLAND. Eleventh House will add two parts to the trio format. In addition to the trio’s bass-drums-guitar, we add the keyboard-synth of Mike Mandel, and Trumpet of Randy Brecker. Pretty cool. A trumpet part that can drive just as fast, and just as strong as the HOUSE’s lead guitar part. Brecker’s trumpet sound is reminiscent of Miles Davis with reverb, and a mix of melodic lines with …angular lines..The percussionist, Alphonse Mouzon gives a command performance. Alphonse Mouzon was supplied courtesy of Blue Note Records.   This is a jazz format, with a long middle section of improvisation. Coryell composed this angular, Mahavishnu sounding piece.  The song is in mixed time. It’s approximately 4/4, but rhythm is broken into segments having 8-beats measures, followed by several 6+8 beat measures. It’s a pretty catchy rhythm, more of the cerebral level of appeal, a sophisticated style and sound, that sets it apart from anyone else on the jazz-rock scene. Coryell uses pedal effects, including EQ and a synthesizer-like sound effect, sweeping across the soundscape. This song LOW LEE TAH, is directed toward the trumpet line and solo, with Larry Coryell in the role of guitar sideman, with his “Sri Chimnoy” or Mahavishnu sounding rhythm guitar backing and brief guitar solo.

M5 Song Pavane For A Dead Princess, Album The Restful Mind, Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Maurice Ravel 1899, Year 1975, By Vanguard Records.

Featuring

  • Larry Coryell in a solo performance on guitar

On THE RESTFUL MIND album we hear another, fantastic side of guitarist Larry Coryell in Pavane For A Dead Princess.

Coryell is 32 at the time of this recording. If you like the work of Maurice Ravel, the french composer, who lived between 1875-1937, you may recognize this song. But the song title, means nothing, as RAVEL stated…”Do not be surprised, that title has nothing to do with the composition. I simply liked the sound of those words and I put them there, c’est tout”. So, the Pavane, title meaning nothing,  …is in slow, 2/2 time. This Ravel song, composed in 1899, received luke-warm early reviews, but has enjoyed popularity both in French and English forms.  The song was written for solo piano.  This is Larry Coryell’s interpretation — he plays the Lo Prinzi acoustic guitar.

 

M6 Song Level One,  Album Level One, Album Artist Eleventh House featuring Larry Coryell, Composer Mike Mandel, Year 1975, By Arista Records

Featuring

  • Larry Coryell guitar
  • Michael Lawrence trumpet and flugelhorn
  • Alphonse Mouzon percussion
  • Mike Mandel piano & synth
  • John Lee bass
  • Steve Kahn 12-string guitar

With Level One, we hear more of the angular Eleventh House sound, now with Michael Lawrence on Trumpet. Larry Coryell, and his lead guitar performance on Level One is against a rhythm framework supplied by the fiery percussion of Alphonse Mouzon and bass of John Lee.  Eleventh House featured the dynamic keyboard synth sounds of Mike Mandel, the composer of this tune. LEVEL ONE is similar in terms of the impact and the feel of the music with  John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

The 1971 Mahavishnu album My Goal’s Beyond, was inspired by John McLaughlin’s decision to follow the Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, to whom he had been introduced in 1970 ….by Larry Coryell’s manager. Coryell and McLaughlin worked together in 1974 in the group SPACES and again in 1979 with a guitar trio of McLaughlin, Coryell and flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia.  Collaboration continues today with McLaughlin and Coryell,   as recently as 2011.

That was

Song Level One 

Album Level One

Album Artist Eleventh House featuring Larry Coryell

Composer Mike Mandel

Odd Meters VV-006

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:27 — 39.6MB)

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PROGRAM NOTES

In today’s VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, we explore Odd Meters. First, a quick primer on meter.  If you are a musician… bear with me if you will…Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds in time. …Meter places time into groupings, called measures or bars. The meter signature, also known as the time signature, is noted as two numbers stacked one above the other….like a fraction. For example: 4/4. On top—–The number of beats in a bar or measure. And on bottom—-the type of note that represents one beat, most commonly it is a quarter note. Two most common time signatures are

  • 3/4 three-four for three quarternotes per measure
  • 4/4 four-four ….for four quarternotes per measure

We find 3/4 time in the waltz, a simple 1-2-3 dance step, it’s a simple signature comprised of 3 quarter notes.

 

And 4/4 time can be found throughout pop, rock, country, even the classics, its a simple “even” signature comprised of 4 quarter notes.

In today’s podcast we will hear ODD METERS starting with…

  • 1 “The Rite of Spring”.  Part II (The Sacrifice) “Sacrificial Dance”, Igor Stravinsky
  • 2 “Take Five”, Dave Brubeck Quartet, album Time Out
  • 3 “Toads of the Short Forest” Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, album Weasles Ripped My Flesh
  • 4 “Money”  Pink Floyd, album  The Dark Side of the Moon
  • 5 “Good Morning, Good Morning”, album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles
  • 6 “Living in the Past”, Jethro Tull, stand-alone single

M1 The Rite of Spring”.  Part II (The Sacrifice) Sacrificial Dance by Igor Stravinsky 

Experts have said that the ballet The Rite of Spring, composed in 1913, changed music forever. It is famous for causing a riot in 1913 at its premiere in Paris. This is because the music and dancing was so different than anything people had heard before. The energy, rhythms and colorful sounds are amazing, even a century later. Igor Stravinsky was one of the first to introduce odd meters into western classical music in his “The Rite of Spring”. Rite of Spring is an example of THE ABSENCE OF A PREDICTABLE METRE or REFUSAL TO ADHERE TO TRADITIONAL METRE. At the time, “traditional” meant Ballet dance with 3/4 metre, a demure orchestra supporting, building, mirroring, the dance choreography. Instead, Rite of Spring demonstrates the uses of pulses and rhythms in music and dance.  This is a complete departure from the norm.  Dancers beat the pulse of music with their feet and arms. Dancers gather and disperse like the rhythmic formations in the music. The rhythm is blatant and out front. To create further tension (and frustration to the 1913 audience), the dance rhythm breaks from the music rhythm, in the last movement – Sacrificial Dance.  The style of music is that there is no consistent downbeat. This arrangement was an outrage !! No consistent time ! Not done before. The Rite of Spring was premiered on Thursday, May 29, 1913 in Paris and was conducted by Pierre Monteux. The intensely rhythmic score and primitive stage performance shocked the audience —as Nijinsky’s choreography was a radical departure from classical ballet.  The audience began to boo loudly. There were loud arguments in the audience followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. Unrest turned into a riot. The Paris police arrived …but even so, chaos reigned for the remainder of the performance. Music critic Abigail Wagner described it well – “The1913 audience’s shock at hearing Rite was akin to that of someone who has only read verse in iambic pentameter, reading a prose novel for the first  time”. This is the climactic final of The Rite of Spring, the closing episode of the Sacrificial Dance from The Rite of Spring”.   Igor Stravinsky 

M2 Take Five, Dave Brubeck Quartet Album Time Out. Recorded in New York at Columbia Records in 1959

American Jazz pianist born 1920. Brubeck had studied with the French composer Darius Milhaud, who in turn had been strongly influenced by Stravinsky, and is credited with the introduction of shifting rhythms that sparked a far-reaching surge of interest in jazz and popular music in the 1960s. Brubek shook up the jazz world in 1959 by his use of odd meters. He started to experiment in polyrhythms. After returning from a trip to Turkey in 1958, he produced an album of all original compositions in a variety of time signatures. This album “Time Out” was almost rejected by Columbia Records …But the third cut, “Take Five,” soon became the biggest-selling jazz single of all time. It is in 5/4 time . Take Five is in quintuple 5/4 time, that’s one-two-three-one-two-one-two-three-one-two-. The song is a jazz classic. There are 7 tracks on the album. ..all songs in odd or changing time. Such as 9/8, 5/4, 3/4, 6/4, and salted in with 4/4.

Personnel

Appeared on the album Time Out in 1959  Columbia Records on 7″ record format

M3 Toads of the Short Forest by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention the album Weasles Ripped My Flesh . Toads of the Short Forest”  was recorded 1969. Frank Zappa began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer drummer and guitarist. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with improvisations and sound collages.  This song uses multiple time signatures a polyrhythm. You will hear zappa well into the song saying what time each musician is playing in.

In “Toads Of The Short Forest” (from the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh), composer Frank Zappa explains: “At this very moment on stage we have drummer A playing in 7/8, drummer B playing in 3/4, the bass playing in 3/4, the organ playing in 5/8, the tambourine playing in 3/4, and the alto sax blowing his nose” (Mothers of Invention 1970).

Personnel

Produced in 1970 on Bizarre/Reprise Records

M4 Money Pink Floyd in  7/4 time. The album – The Dark Side of the Moon

7/4 time, That’s ONE-two-three-four-five-six-seven. The song switches into 4/4 time for the excellent guitar solo by David Gilmour. This is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. This song opens side two of the album. One distinctive element of “Money” is the rhythmic sequence of sound effects that begins the track and is heard throughout the first several bars. This was created by splicing together recordings Waters had made of clinking coins, a ringing cash register, tearing paper, a clicking machine…to construct a seven-beat effects loop!!  The wonder and beauty of tape recorded effects — in the early years.

Personnel

Composer -the bassist, Roger Waters, composed all songs. Produced by Pink Floyd. Recorded at Abby Roads Studios London 1972-1973. Released by Gramaphone Company Ltd 1973

M5 Good Morning, Good Morning‘ from album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song has been transcribed as a mixture of 4/4, 3/4 and 5/4. Composed by John Lennon, credited to Lennon/McCartney. Recorded 1967, The guitar solo was played by Paul McCartney.  Left handed, no doubt. Performed by The Beatles on the 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. The song has an unusual rhythmical feel. It  does not use the same time signature throughout. Produced by George Martin

Personnel

 

M6 Living in the Past song by Jethro Tull composed 1969 and a 1969 single release. Composed by Ian Anderson

It is notable for being written in the unusual 5/4 time signature. The 5/4 time signature is quickly noted from the beginning rhythmic bass pattern. ….1-2-3-1-2 …1-2-3-1-2

Personnel

Released in the US in the same year as their STAND UP album, in 1969, as a stand-alone single.Produced by Island Records. Also is on a 1972 compilation album, Living in the Past, by Jethro Tull.

Solo Albums VV-003

~ vinylvibrationsbrianfrederick

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Today we look at four Solo Album Artists… These are solo albums in the sense that the music was composed, arranged, performed, often recorded /mixed and produced by the solo artist. These albums are all from the time period of 1970-1972.

1. Pete Townshend and his 1972 solo album, “Who Came First”, on MCA
2. Stevie Wonder and his 1972 solo album, “Music Of My Mind” on Tamla records
3. Paul McCartney and his 1970 solo album titled “McCartney”, on Apple.
4. Todd Rundgren and his 1972 solo album, “Something-Anything”, produced on Warner Bros

M1 We know Pete Townshend as an english rock guitarist vocalist and songwriter — perhaps most famous for his rock opera “Tommy” — and for his over 100 songs composed and the dozen or so studio-produced albums of The Who. But Townshend is also an accomplished singer, keyboardist, synth, bass and accordion player as well as drummer. Amazing fact — he never had formal lessons on the instruments he plays! Here we are in 1972, and Pete Townshend comes out with this solo album ‘Who Came First’. We listen first to his song “Sheraton Gibson” from that solo album “Wh o Came First”, produced in 1972 by MCA –here on Vinyl Vibrations.

M2 Stevie Wonder’s Music of My Mind album, on Tamla, came out in 1972, and is a gem in his series of classic albums full of pop hits in the 1970s. Music of My Mind was produced by Stevie Wonder and written by Wonder, the album is described as ‘virtually the work of one man’. Every single instrument is performed by Stevie Wonder. Compositions, arrangements, performances, production – all Stevie. in 1972 –here on Vinyl Vibrations.

M3 Paul McCartney is one of the most influential songwriters of modern time. With Lennon Harrison and Starr, the Beatles changed the face of pop music forever. McCartney’s first solo album was an amazing work – released on Apple in 1970 – just two weeks before the last Beatles album “Let It Be” was released. On his solo album, McCartney plays the bass, and sings, of course, but he also plays the guitars, piano, drums and organ. The album credits indicate that all instruments and vocals are by Paul, and harmonies are by Linda McCartney. The album was written and produced by Paul. We listen now to “Maybe I’m Amazed” with a beautifully composed and skilled playing of his guitar solo, from the “McCartney” solo album LP in 1970 on Apple –here on Vinyl Vibrations.

M4 Todd Rundgren and “I Saw The Light” from his solo album “Something/Anything” on Warner in 1972. A double album, Something/Anything was an amazing work – all instruments, all voices, all songs, arranged and produced by Todd Rundgren in 1972 on Warner. Rundgren provides all instruments and vocals on three of four sides of these 2-LP set. Instruments include: vocals, keyboard, drums, lead and bass guitars, and percussion. Rundgren is a solid rock lead guitarist, and to have the added talent to play all parts, – it’s amazing. –here on Vinyl Vibrations.

M5 We listen now to On Breathless, Rundgren does overdubs on the keyboard parts, adds drums and percussion and sequencer /sample sounds, plays piano and guitar. In this instrumental composition we have a very colorful melody moving along with lots of musical harmonies –here on Vinyl Vibrations.

M6  Paul McCartney and “Sing Along Junk” from the “McCartney” solo album LP in 1970 on Apple. Paul is on rhythm and lead guitars, piano, drum set and synth. There is a full song version with vocals on that same album, a song titled “Junk”. The song you just heard is the “Junk” version WITHOUT vocals, the “karaoke” version, or “music plus one” version, if you will, and it is titled “Singalong Junk”. What a beautiful composition and instrumental on its own from solo artist Paul McCartney –here on Vinyl Vibrations.

M7 We close out today’s show with Stevie Wonder’s hit song “Superwoman”, from his solo album ‘Music of My Mind’. Here Stevie plays the keyboards, drums and bass, composes the song and produces the album. NOTE that there is a lead guitar solo provided by stand-in Buzzy Feiton. I do remember seeing Stevie Wonder in about 1968, at the Rubber Bowl in Akron Ohio, where Stevie was opening for the Rolling Stones. I remember Stevie’s show, he moved from keyboard to drums back to keyboard and to bass, moving all around that stage. It was a sight to see, knowing Steve is himself blind. Again, the song is Superwoman”, from Stevie Wonder’s solo album ‘Music of My Mind’, in 1972, –here on Vinyl Vibrations.