Sergio Otanazetra with Patrice Gelsi in Afro-Brasilian music, 1983

 

I'll post this one too, since Patrice Gelsi's piano is so similar here to the previous one. Here, it's more like the library music we'd expect from the above Canopo cover.  Very similar to the other album, Ailleurs, is a track called Gislaine:

Info here. Otanazetra is the drummer, obviously.

Patrice Gelsi's Ailleurs... 1983

Great cover photo again.  Thank god this was requested because I would otherwise have never known about it, and it's for sure a lost treasure.  The mix here is distinctly the French fusion style with influences from Magma, and perhaps the solo albums of Patrick Gauthier (eg Bebe Godzilla).

Here's an online review which in my opinion slightly overstates the case and also makes up for the music itself by overraving it:

French latin jazz fusion best kept secret ! Ultra rare single album by pianist Patrice Gelsi featuring some great musicians : Réjane Perrimond, one of the leading voices of Starmania, the brazilian percussionist Sergio Otanazetra, bassist Christophe Levan from Jazz à Marseille beyond others. The whole album is a brilliant mix of modal jazz, jazz-funk, latin grooves sprinkled by a bit of fusion. "On Chant d'Ailleurs" the superb female vocal solo is just amazing, this tune is instantly reminds Cortex Troupeau Bleu ! The Brazilian influenced jazz-funk "Utopie" & "Duchesses (+)" are my favorites on this masterpiece but actually I can't decide which track is the best as the play of Gelsi has something magic on every track he composed. "Quelque part ... Autre part" is also one of my favorite.

Sadly his only album, and evidently completely forgotten and lost, since there are so few copies available, ever, for sale. Information here. Don't ask how I managed to get this usually several hundred dollar and/or unavailable album, it was a long and complicated process and thanks to everyone who assisted.

First track which introduces the sound perfectly, note the influence of French impressionist piano eg Debussy, Ravel, which really permeates the whole album:

Then the aforementioned song Duchesses, which really hammers home the zeuhl / fusion influence:

Enjoy it! And thanks for the requests!

RMS complete, By Request

 

Posted in connection with Ray Russell's stuff, back here.

Description:

RMS is a jazz fusion band formed in 1982. It consists of three well known and acclaimed British session musicians. Guitarist, Ray Russell, bass player, Mo Foster and drummer Simon Phillips.

Destroyer pointed out that Henry Lowther played trumpet with them too.

The live album replicates the same tracks as on Centennial Park even in the same order as the studio version which came later, unfortunately.  However there's a CD release of it with bonus stuff.  Sadly the album with Gil Evans is just cover versions.  As a former Jimi Hendrix fan, it's difficult to come to terms with alternate versions of his immortal Little Wing, and Stone Free.  Then on the second side are a Gershwin standard called Gone and Mingus' tired old Goodbye Porkpie, played for the trillionth time in history here.  It's difficult for me to detect the Gil Evans influence, unfortunately, because usually he does some brilliant arrangements but everything seems really meandering here and somewhat aimless, and incredibly long too. A bit like Bitches Brew maybe?

The first track (Broadway Rundown) from the live at the Venue 1982 CD gives you a clear idea of the contents, luckily the sound is quite good here:

1970s Output of Swedish organist / composer, Merit Hemmingson, By Request

 

Discogged thusly and rather sparesly: 

Swedish organist, composer and singer, born August 30, 1940 in the village of Gärdsta in Marby parish in Jämtland. She became famous in the late 1960's for her modern pop arrangements of Swedish folk music.

I think the first thing that most of us will notice is, the band is naked in the woods on that last album.  If you, like me, are curious for verification from the verso you'll be disappointed, there's just a drawing of Merit.  No butts.  And no more images of that really pretty blonde flautist (Josefine Mellander).  Obviously if you learned anything about that time period you learned nudism and stuff like communes with free sex were a big deal back then, thankfully the fad is long gone and passed today. 

Similarly the music is for sure a style that would never show its face today: Hammond Organ backed by different instrumentation but usually a rhythm section and sometimes orchestra playing a mix of jazz, ethnic folk, and baroque fugues, sometimes all 3 in one track.  At one point you get a jews harp playing percussion under a jazz-skat singing folk tune-- you get the idea:

Sometimes she sings, sometimes in the very annoying jazzy style of Dudziak, and sometimes there are cover versions.  In the later albums there are covers of famous classical tunes, and I have to honestly say her version of Ravel's beautiful Pavane pour une Infante Defunte is the single worst classical rendition I have ever heard, out of all the many I've heard.

In terms of more listenable samples, from 1972's Trollsang, opener called Mandom etc. demontrates the occasional funky sounds (mixed with baroque patterns):

From 1973's Bergtagen, Elverumvisan:

From 1975's Balsam, Balsam a la Sebastian demonstrates the classical influence as well as the inescapable organ sound:

The 1979 free sex/ nudist album Gastabud features a wonderfully sly-chorded and interesting vocal track called Harem which I definitely don't want to know the lyrics to:

The penultimate track on that album, called Trade Mark is genuinely beautiful (here the guitarist is Michael Lundqvist):

I should mention too that our beloved Janne Schaffer and Georg Wadenius appear on the 1977 album.  B.J. Lindh on the other hand shows up on the 1975, the uniquitous but unfortunately named Toots Thielemans on harmonica.

Overall, from this the blog, the albums of Berndt Egerbladh are the most similar with the heavy dependence on folk.

Some Requests: Eddy Palermo's 1985 Jazz Fusion Mood and Gerard Marais's 1986 BBG (Big Band de Guitares) [FLAC limited time only]

 

Eddy Palermo is an Italian guitarist. This album appears with his ensemble discogged here.  It's quite light fusion with pleasant sounds, typical of the era, all instrumental. 

A Song for You:

I threw in the album called Eddy Loves Frank, made up of big band versions of Frank Zappa. It's a little bit interesting, note the Regyptian Strut cover:

Unfortunately I was not too pleased with some of the other versions, such as the immortal Echidna's Arf.  And it oddly enough ends with a rendition of America the Beautiful, rather than 'America the empire wannabe'.  I guess it kinda makes sense considering it came out in 2009.

Gerard Marais, who was in my Instants Chavires with Pifarely posted so long ago, is typical French progressive jazz, as you can easily discern and detect form my sample called Sagittaire: