Al Di Meola - Casino

 

I follow Mr. Di Meola of FaceBook, and he recently reminded us that this is the 45th anniversary of the release of the album "Casino". This is a record I have owned for well over 40 years, and it has provided me with many hours of listening pleasure. It has much to recommend it; Al's guitar playing is off the charts, the musicianship of all of the contributors is exemplary, the songs are real songs. and not just a "chops fest" for all concerned (in other words, musical). Mr. Di Meola also  produced and arranged the recoding. The sound is excellent and well balanced. I especially like the way the keyboards are included. Not only are they used for solos, the variety of sounds and textures that they provide are used to enrich the sound of the songs and provide harmonic structure. There is a strong latin (or Spanish) feel to much of the album, and we get to hear some of Al's tasteful classical guitar playing on a few tracks. The term "fusion" can sometimes have negative connotations, and I'm not sure I would classify this record under that genre, but if that is where it belongs, then is an example of that type of jazz as its best.     

Wynton Kelly Trio Wes Montgomery "Smokin' in Seattle"

            

“Smokin’ in Seattle” is the title of a 2017 release on the Resonance label of a pair of live performances featuring the Wynton Kelly Trio with Wes Montgomery. The recordings originated from the Penthouse, a jazz club in (naturally) Seattle. King FM, a local radio station, had an agreement with the club that they could broadcast a weekly radio show featuring live performances from the artists who were booked into the venue. According to the booklet accompanying the CD, the performance was captured using a four channel tube mixer and line amplifier, and four microphones. Jim Wilke, an employee of the radio station, who was the engineer who set up the equipment, indicated that he set the microphones on the stage, placed the mixer and amp on a table next to the stage and attached a telephone line connected back to the studio. He also said “It was a live mix with no EQ, no reverb, no compression and no rehearsal. Over 200 broadcast from the penthouse were aired live this way and simultaneously taped on the studio Ampex, as they were broadcast”. 

These particular shows occurred on April 14th and 26th, 1966. The broadcasts were from the first 30 minutes of each of the two shows. Wynton’s trio opened up, with Wes joining in after a couple of tunes. Wynton’s trio consisted of himself on piano, Jimmy Cobb on drums and Ron McClure on bass. The trio is in excellent form, and provide exemplary support for Wes, who is heard on 6 of the 10 tracks. The band really lets loose and the description in the title of “Smokin,” is no exaggeration when it comes to the music in this release. The sound is also excellent (kudos to the production and mastering crew at Resonance). 

Jazz fans are no doubt overjoyed at being to hear a historic (and high quality) performance from Wes and this trio, (which so perfectly supports him) which heretofore was unavailable. Thanks to Resonance for releasing this amazing gem. I would also add in passing that the CD incudes a very informative 40 page booklet with several interviews, including ones with two surviving band members; Jimmy Cobb and Ron McClure, and great period photos. As I am wont to say, highly recommended.