The totally unknown US fusion band Jasmine, 1979

 

Smooth US fusion along the familiar lines of so much posted here like the recent Manzanita Pirate Lady, the well-known Landress - Hart Group's Dancing Moments, etc., etc...

Information here.  Obviously, a one-off, or unfortunately I should say.

From the blurb on the back:

Jasmine is the fruition of a dream of four young men who first met over two years ago as members of Mongo Santamaria's band. They decided they would like to form a band whose material reflected their various musical influences, which include jazz, latin, and pop. Although relatively young in years, they have had extensive experience with major artists.

Saxophonist (plus flute, clarinet) Roger Rosenberg has worked with big bands led by Buddy Rich, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, George Russell and Slide Hampton.  He has also been a featured soloist in small units led by Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, and Terry Nakamura.

Bill O'Connell, who plays keyboards for Jasmine, has worked with Robin Kenyatta, Ray Barretto, Ted Curson and Lionel Hampton. 

Philly-born Lee Smith has played bass with various pop and soul groups such as Billy Paul, the Delfonics, Major Harris and Blue Magic.

Steve Berrios who plays drums and percussion on the record, has worked and recorded with a diverse group pof musical personalities who include Randy Weston, Miriam Makenba, Harry Belafonte, Ronnie Dyson, Leon Thomas, Tito Puente, and David Amram.

The music on the album is made up of original material.  The group felt it would be easier to write new tunes that reflect their musical personalities than to try to adapt existing music to their style. The combination of some very heavy musical credentials plus a good helping of genuine musical talent creates in Jasmine a very special musical experience.

NB missing on the above list, Carmen Lundy vocalist on the one non-instrumental song Angelica.

Standout track is by Rosenberg and it's called Hokus Pokus and indeed to my ears sounds like magic partly due to the gorgeous reverberated flute sound, like a flock of birds taking flight:

More Jazz in the Classroom: Volume XV from 1975 (?)

Oddly enough not assembled with his siblings in the databased Jazz in the Classroom, this guy can be found here instead with artist entered as VA, logically enough.  Really, apt to blow the minds of those discogs databasers in the basement.  Then again, there's little info on that page anyways. Looking at the names on the verso I don't recognize a whole lot familiar but then again I'm not as well versed in the jazz artist nomenclatura as others of course.  The sound is quite a bit smoother as you'd expect from the later year, possibly this was the last in the series released, which is too bad since other college band assemblages went much later of course, think the fabulous NTSU (check the label or do a search at the top left).  Accordingly a little more enjoyable to my tired ears.  A little thing called Gemini:

Some other nice compositions to discover in there.

Back to More Jazz in the Classroom with Volume XI

Just to recap the wonderful adventure, so far we have heard X (Charlie Mariano), XII, XIII (Jacob's Tailor), here comes the missing XI, so still missing and worth locating is 14.

Information such as it is can be found here on discogs.  Among those who achieved brilliance subsequently, note Charlie Mariano already on the first track, Miroslav Vitous on bass, and John Abercrombie on guitar on one track, shocking.

The last track is called Vzdycky Me Maticka and, you'd think, was written by Vitous:

Mike Maran's Fair Warning from 1973, by request

 

This is standard SSW stuff with orchestrations such as was so commonplace in Britain for this era (think Nick Drake's Bryter Layter), these done quite magisterially by Michael Gibbs who has appeared before in here of course, on the right inside of the gatefold the liner notes by John Peel are quite hilarious at times, being both complimentary and ridiculing 'yet another' ssw album.  I guess the artists were so proud of their lyrics they printed them all on both inside and verso, but at times, perhaps the majority of those, these are so high schoolish they are comical.  Some lyrics are by Maran and some by a lyricist called Steele.  The skilful arrangements are evident on a track called Monday Boy:

Considering how popular this kind of music is I was surprised it wasn't available digitally-- until now.  Because I wasn't sure of the contents I went cheap and got a less than NM LP this time--apologies for that or as I used to say, sorry about that, chief.

Gordon Brisker in Collective Consciousness, USA 1981

Recall he composed for the Magnussons, father and son, in Two Generations of Music (1982).  As a matter of fact notice that Bob Magnusson appears on this release databased here, as well as the familiar name of (keyboardist) Bill Mays.  This is the 6th post relating to Mr. Mays, but I still liked his Kaleidoscope the best.  Surprisingly our old favourite guitarist Don Mock is also here, but only on side a, and no Peter Sprague this time.  Mock's name has been repeated numerous times as a point of reference (though I guess James Vincent takes the cake on that score), I'm hoping everyone recalls his magnificent fusion opus Mock One.

On this LP the sound is fusiony in the late manner but there is a big band sound that is quite pleasant with Brisker's saxes augmented by trumpet and trombone.  Some of it is the inevitable commercialized fuzak but some is more composed in the chamber style we heard before on Two Generations, e.g. the Orientale track that closes it out:

It shouldn't be a surprise that Brisker was an alumnus of Berklee in Boston.

The last track on side one with Don Mock is oddly entitled Funny Fox (odd, in  conjunction with the music) but is appealingly smooth and film noir-ish:

 

 Then on the title track which opens side two, I'm surprised the music is not more intellectual rather than generic 'post-bop' contemporary jazz styling.