Lew Tabackin & Warne Marsh - Tenor Gladness

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:08
Size: 89,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:47) 1. Basic No. 2
(6:03) 2. Easy
(6:23) 3. March Of The Tadpoles
(8:22) 4. Hangin' Loose
(3:59) 5. New-ance
(7:31) 6. Basic 1

A great little session that features some of the best 70s work from these two tenorists a great little record that has Warn Marsh and Lew Tabackin really opening up next to each other! Toshiko Akiyoshi produced the album for the pair and although she plays piano on one track, most of the set is piano-less and opens with this great reed interplay over rhythms from Larry Bunker on drums and John Heard on bass a very cool setting that's kind of an update of older west coast modes, but with more 70s edges overall! Titles include "Basic #2", "Easy", "March Of The Tadpoles", and "Hangin Loose".
© 1996-2022, Dusty Groove, Inc.https://www.dustygroove.com/item/106220/Lew-Tabackin-Warne-Marsh:Tenor-Gladness

Personnel: Lew Tabackin, Warne Marsh – tenor saxophone; Toshiko Akiyoshi – piano; John Heard – bass; Larry Bunker – drums

Tenor Gladness

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Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin Big Band - Kogun

Styles: Piano And Saxophone
Year: 1974
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:19
Size: 95,1 MB
Art: Front

( 9:13) 1. Elegy
(10:21) 2. Memory
( 6:48) 3. Kogun
( 5:48) 4. American Ballad
( 9:08) 5. Henpecked Old Man

As a writer known for her incorporation of traditional Japanese music into idiomatic big band writing, it is only on the title track of this 1974 recording that this propensity is exhibited. The rest of the album is dedicated to more traditional big band approaches, but, in the hands of Toshiko Akiyoshi, "traditional" techniques always manage to sound fresh. Few of the many twists and turns on display in the five songs off of Kogun fail either to surprise or to work. Although straight-ahead cookers such as "Elegy" (which features a wicked piano solo by the leader) succeed marvelously, it is when Akiyoshi turns to more unconventional writing techniques, such as the spoken word fragments that are interspersed throughout the extraordinary "Memory" or the endlessly shifting form and mood of "Kogun," that her muse is most clearly on display.

This is big band as orchestra, and it is evocative in a way that most other big band records simply are not. Although Akiyoshi's contributions are impossible to downplay, the reason for this record's sublimity must also rest in the orchestra itself, co-led by tenor (and hubby) Lew Tabackin. From trumpeter Bobby Shew to alto saxophonist Dick Spencer, the winds are uniformly excellent, and the rhythm section of Gene Cherico and Peter Donald cook without being heavy-handed. Kogun easily displays why Akiyoshi is such a treasure. It's a record that is simultaneously driving, romantic, and experimental, seductive in its implications and undeniable in its swing. A difficult combination, to be sure, but one for which Akiyoshi clearly has the winning formula.
By Daniel Gioffre https://www.allmusic.com/album/kogun-mw0000351554

Personnel: Toshiko Akiyoshi – piano; Lew Tabackin – tenor saxophone; Tom Peterson – tenor saxophone; Dick Spencer – alto saxophone; Gary Foster – alto saxophone; Bill Perkins – baritone saxophone; Bobby Shew – trumpet; John Madrid – trumpet; Don Rader – trumpet; Mike Price – trumpet; Charles Loper – trombone; Jim Sawyer – trombone; Britt Woodman – trombone; Phil Teele – bass trombone; Gene Cherico – bass; Peter Donald – drums; Scott Ellsworth – voice (on "Memory")

Kogun

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Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin Big Band - Salted Ginko Nuts

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1978
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 41:19
Size: 66,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:39)  1. Elusive Dreams
(6:25)  2. Lazy Day
(6:58)  3. Chasing After Love
(7:00)  4. Salted Ginko Nuts
(7:02)  5. Time Stream
(6:13)  6. Son Of Road Time

The Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Orchestra's first few recordings were made for RCA (usually released first in Japan and then later in the U.S.) but, after that association ended in 1978, most of the big band's recordings ended up being released by their own private Ascent label. The orchestra (based in Los Angeles) was one of the finest big bands of the era, as can be heard on this superior outing with Akiyoshi on piano, Tabackin displaying very different styles on tenor and flute, altoists Gary Foster and Dick Spencer, and trumpeter Bobby Shew. The leader's arrangements reflect both her roots in swinging bop and her Asian heritage. Highlights of the excellent set are "Chasing After Love" (based on "Lover"), the lyrical "Elusive Dream," and "Son of Road Time." 

~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/salted-ginko-nuts-mw0000351555

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano);  Bobby Shew (trumpet);  Gary Foster (alto saxophone).

Salted Ginko Nuts

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