“Season of Lights” Laura Nyro in Concert.   Columbia Records   (1976)   Cover art by Rokuro Taniuchi.   Originally conceived as a double live album,   the full set is finally now available as a Japanese CD release.   The band included jazz players John Tropea, Richard Davis, and Mike Mainieri that had performed on Nyro’s then-current studio album ‘Smile’.   I saw her at Tanglewood in Massachusettes on June 26, 1976 (Section 4, Row D, Seat 21) on this “comeback” tour and some of the songs from that night’s show are included on this album.

(31 votes, average: 2.87 out of 5)

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LP cover lover Ruben, writes us:   “Hello LP COVER LOVERS!   I love this cover – maybe it is in your collection, maybe not.   Great site you have.   Regards.”

“Porgy and Bess”   Dianne Carroll and The Andre Previn Trio   United Artists Records

I don’t think of Ms. Carroll so much for her jazz vocal chops as much as her beauty and   the TV show she starred in – Julia.   I think she broke the color barrier as a black woman starring in her own series (and she was a single mom on the show), but that didn’t mean much to me.   At 8, she just seemed cool and I was in love with her.     Thanks for reminding me Ruben.

(49 votes, average: 3.94 out of 5)

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Buddy Childers Quartet   With Arnold Ross, piano; Harry Babasin, bass; Boone Stines, drums.   Recorded in 1956   Liberty Records   LIH-6013   Here’s a rare record offered up by lp cover lover, Michel in France who writes, “Buddy Childers’s first (of two) liberty albums : a fine session, with a guy that could have been the missing link between Chet and Miles.”

TRACKS:   Buffy; You Call It Madness; Holiday House Take 1; Holiday House Take 2; It’s Gotta Be Happy;   You Go To My Head; Indiana; Bernie’s Tune

(31 votes, average: 3.65 out of 5)

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The Dizzy Gillespie Sextet   “Jazz Time Paris”   French Vogue Records   (1952) NAT PECK – WADE LEGGE – ARNOLD ROSS – LOU HACKNEY – JOE BENJAMIN – AL JONES – BILL CLARK – JOE CARROLL – BILL GRAHAM

(44 votes, average: 4.77 out of 5)

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“The Plastic Cow Goes MOOOOOOg”   Composer/arranger/performer Mike Melvoin.   Dot Records   (1970)

Listen up: The Ballad of John and Yoko

From the Liner Notes: “This album is based on musicianship, performances, and repertoire more than effects. I think it’s the first pop electronic album with a soul. It’s a very human electronic album.”

The Moog is an electronic device that can create the four different basic sound waves with their characteristic tambours. After the initial production of the basic sound wave, a variety of different modulation devices enable the player to create innumerable different sounds and effects. The sounds of “old” standard musical instruments can be simulated, but more importantly, as in this album, entirely new musical instruments can be created.

The first recording session for this album produced the rhythm tracks for all the cuts.   Guitarist Dennis Budimir, drummers Paul Humphrey, Earl Palmer, and Colin Bailey, and Melvoin playing the bass register on the Moog laid down the rhythmic base for all the tunes. Future sessions involved Melvoin playing only the Moog as a composer/conductor “plays” an orchestra. The sounds in this album are within the ranges of all the standard musical instruments, but were not designed to duplicate their sounds.

Technical assistance was provided by Bernie Krause and Paul Beaver, electronic masters of the Moog synthesizer. They, along with producer Tom Mack, and Melvoin are the men responsible for the creation of the new Moog language needed to put together this album.   Listen, if you will, for such onomatopoetic sounds as a “phased rubber band,” a “glass shower,” “damped bells,” and a “soprano with a gurgle.” They’re there. You’ve never heard them before, but you will hear them again!

Mike Melvoin, originally from the jazz world, was the Musical Director of the nationally syndicated Woody Woodbury television show, and in the last several years has recorded with and for every major West Coast recording artist as a keyboard performer. One of America’s most talented young musicians, he here makes great inroads in the electronic music field. The trail has been blazed, the sound has been phased. Sopranos with a gurgle . . . and listeners with an ear . . . may never be the same!

Thanks to 36 15 Moog for the download!

(42 votes, average: 3.48 out of 5)

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“Mr. Big Stuff”   Jean Knight on Stax Records   (1971)   The song “Mr. Big Stuff”   reached #2 on the pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart. It went double platinum, was one of the label’s biggest hits and received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance (she lost to Aretha Franklin’s version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”) And what a cool cover!   Unfortunately, Jean never reached such commercial heights again.

I saw her perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1992 (her home town) and she was great!   I remember everyone in Congo Square grooving to “Dont Talk About Jody” (also on this album).   I hope you enjoy it too.

(53 votes, average: 4.38 out of 5)

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MC5 “Kick Out the Jams” (“motherfuckers”)   1969 Elektra Records   Vocals, Rob Tyner; Guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred “Sonic” Smith (Later Mr. Patti Smith); Michael Fraser on vocals/bass and Grant Palmer on drums.

Radical and revolutionary. in the late sixties MC5 was banging out hard punk jams that meshed out jazz, political anger and garage band rock.   MC5 was signed to Elektra in 1969 along with fellow motor city madmen The Stooges.

Stupefaction hips us to this site of MC5 drummer Dennis “Machinegun” Thompson.   Check it out.

(49 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)

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“Louis and the Good Book”   Louis Armstrong with the Sy Oliver Choir and the All-Stars   (1958) Decca Records

This is a collection of gospel songs, spirituals, homilies, and comic vignettes.   This is Armstrong at his most essential. It’s the real honest him. Armstrong takes a few trumpet solos, but his voice is what is showcased, and God is honored here.

Personnel includes: Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet); Sy Oliver Choir (vocals); Trummy Young (trombone); Hank D’Amico, Edmond Hall, Dave McRae (clarinet); Billy Kyle (piano); Nickie Tragg, Harry Mills (organ); George Barnes (guitar); Joe Benjamin, Mort Herbert (bass); Johnny Blowers, Barrett Deems (drums).   Backed by a gospel vocal group led by   jazz arranger Sy Oliver.

Recorded in August 1950 in New York, New York.   Produced by Mort Gabler. Liner notes by Martin Williams.,

Includes:   “Ezekiel Saw De Wheel,” “Going to Shout All Over God’s Heaven,” and “Didn’t it Rain,” as well as “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from GUYS AND DOLLS.     Also “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” “Shadrack,”   “Go Down, Moses,”   “Rock My Soul,”   “Ezekiel Saw de Wheel,” “On My Way,” “Down by the Riverside,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” “Jonah and the Whale,” and “This Train”

(36 votes, average: 3.83 out of 5)

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Harlem River Drive   Eddie Palmieri   Roulette Records   With Charlie Palmieri on Organ and Jimmy Norman, Vocals.   (1971)   Seminal early mix of latin, salsa, soul, funk and jazz.   Have a listen to The 01-harlem-river-drive-theme.

(50 votes, average: 4.02 out of 5)

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“After the Riot at Newport”   The Nashvilled All-Stars   RCA Victor   Cover art by the always whimsical and wonderful Jim Flora.   (1960)   A weird collection of western swing and be-bop by Hank Garland, Chet Atkins (guitars), Gary Burton (Vibes), Brenton Banks (violin, piano), Floyd Cramer (piano), Bob Moore (bass), Buddy Harman (drums), Boots Randolph (tenor sax).

Songs include: “Relaxin'” (Jimmy Guinn); “Nashville to Newport” (Chet Atkins); “Opus de Funk” (Horace Silver); “S’Wonderful” (Gershwin); “‘Round Midnight” (Monk); “Frankie and Johnny” (Traditional); “Riot-Chous” (Hank Garland, Boots Randolph).

The All-Stars Newport Jazz Festival performance was cancelled after the infamous 1960 “riot” that caused George Wein and organizers to shut down the festival.   The band performed never-the-less at one of those Newport mansions where they recorded this record.   George Wein wrote the liner notes.

(54 votes, average: 3.89 out of 5)

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