Quartet (1996) is an album by the Pat Metheny Group. The album features Pat Metheny on guitar, Lyle Mays on keyboards, Steve Rodby on bass, and Paul Wertico on drums. Most of the tracks were loosely written or improvised, using several unusual instruments. The Group itself never played these songs live, though Metheny played "When We Were Free" with his trio and recorded a live version on the album Day Trip. "As I Am" was played during trio concerts with Michael Brecker. Metheny remarked in a podcast retrospective that the improvisational late-middle portions of, Quartet contain some of the darkest music the Group has ever recorded. He also stated that "When We Were Free" is a personal standout for him, especially Mays's piano solo.

Since the 70s, Steve Gadd has pretty much seen it and done it all, and recognized as one of the most influential drummers of the modern era, spanning numerous musical genres. His slippery cross-sticking between the hi-hat and snare drum amid new ways and means to generate a funk groove, along with his famous drum solo on the title track of Steely Dan's 1977 landmark album "Aja," are just a few noteworthy accreditations of a distinguished career. For example, he's performed on seminal jazz fusion albums for guitarist Al Di Meola and keyboardist Chick Corea while navigating tricky time signatures with the greatest of ease. Thus 70 Strong is a celebration of his 70th birthday as he performs with an all-star crew on an album that is a bit more up-tempo and briskly in the pocket than the rather discreet and probing, Gattitude (BFM Jazz, 2013).

Cet album est conçu comme un »best of« des principales créations que j’ai pu réaliser ces dix dernières années, suite à mon passage à l’Orchestre national de Jazz. Un travail de réécriture, de transcription et d’adaptation a été nécessaire pour ce nouveau groupe, composé de musiciens qui partagent mon parcours artistique depuis bien longtemps déjà.

Truth in Shredding is the first studio album by the Mark Varney Project (MVP), released in 1990 through Legato Records and reissued on November 4, 2003 through Tone Center Records. MVP was a short-lived collaborative project put together by Mark Varney, brother of Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney. Mark founded Legato in the 1980s, which served as a jazz-oriented counterpart to the rock stylings of Shrapnel. This incarnation of the group features guitarists Frank Gambale and Allan Holdsworth. Besides one track written by Gambale, the rest are covers of existing jazz fusion compositions.

Animal Logic is the kind of band that could've existed only in the late '80s – a cross between fusion, art rock, and album rock, all blended with a slight eye on the charts. Since Stewart Copeland and Stanley Clarke provided the musical backbone of the project, there's little question that the outfit had the potential to be a dynamic exploration of the middle ground between adventurous rock and jazz.

„The grass is greener on the other side“ scheint der künstlerische Leitspruch von dem österreichischen Ausnahmetrompeter aus Berlin - Richard Koch - zu sein. Dabei wohnt er streng genommen gar nicht mehr in Berlin, sondern ist im letzten Winter ins Umland in eine Brandenburgische Landkommune – 40 km von der Hauptstadt entfernt - gezogen. Doch zum Musizieren zieht es ihn nach wie vor in die Stadt, wo er u.a. mit Nils Frahm, Jimi Tenor, Peter Fox oder den Beatsteaks Platten aufnimmt und Konzerte bestreitet. Insofern passt es, dass er das zweite Studio-Album seines Quartetts, das am 06.11.2020 bei XJAZZ Music erscheint, „Stadt“ genannt hat. Sein Debütalbum in der Funktion als Bandleader aus dem Jahre 2018 nannte er „Wald“, komponiert wurde es aber auf der niederländischen Insel Vlieland und Koch reiste mit dem Album im Gepäck schließlich bis nach Athen.

Primarily a bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Marcus Miller has worked on hundreds of sessions — crossing jazz, R&B, and rock — and has released several solo recordings since his late-'70s beginnings with Bobbi Humphrey and Lonnie Liston Smith. Despite the many hats he has worn — improviser, interpreter, arranger, songwriter, film-music composer, bassist, clarinetist, saxophonist — none of them have been put on for the sake of a whim. Never one to merely get his feet wet, Miller has been a utility player in the most extreme and prolific sense.

More often than not, the steel pans are used for playing the traditional sounds of Trinidad. Andy Narell has successfully utilized them in a variety of non-traditional ways. On the ambitious and highly eclectic fusion release Slow Motion, elements of everything from Afro-Cuban salsa to Brazilian samba to African music are fair game for the adventurous, even visionary improviser (who is also heard on electric keyboards).

Seawind is a band formed in Hawaii in the mid-seventies that prominently featured a horn section of University of Indiana alums. Seawind was more than just a springboard for Jerry Hey and the Seawind horns however. Seawind was also a highly musical and accomplished band that released four records during their career.

Kevin Eubanks' first album with a string section is a triumph of good taste, both in the guitarist's gently swinging work and in GRP chief Dave Grusin's unobtrusive, intelligent, unsentimental string charts. Grusin's gorgeously recorded strings seem to seep into the texture, filling the spaces with just enough mortar. The backings alternate between an electric group – with Marcus Miller on bass and Grusin applying the Yamaha DX7 electric piano sound – and often just Ron Carter on acoustic bass (plus the strings, of course).

Joe Zawinul was a fantastic composer, musical visionary who pioneered the use of electric piano/synthesizers in modern music. He composed the soul jazz hit Mercy Mercy Mercy for Cannonball Adderly. In a Silent Way (1969) and Pharaoh's Dance for the seminal album Bitches Brew (1970) for Miles Davis and formed the Jazz Rock Fusion Band Weather Report with saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter in 1970. After the demise of WR he formed his own world fusion band called The Zawiful Syndicate in 1988 and recorded three albums.

Pata Negra is a famous flamenco band in the history of Spanish music. Formed in 3000 Housing neighborhood of the city of Seville. Founded by brothers Raimundo Amador (singer and guitarist) and Rafael Amador (guitarist and singer) after separation of the band Poison (which was formed by the two brothers mentioned above and musician Kiko Veneno). His style drift rhythms based on flamenco and blues, which they christened "blueslería" trendsetter among other modern bands flamenco. Pata Negra has six recorded between 1981 and 1995.

Something rare in jazz, Conjunction is billed to a rhythm section: drummer Mike Clark, bassist Paul Jackson, and vibraphonist Marc Wagnon, although the latter gets a leading role in this outfit, thanks to his great technique and his use of MIDI vibes to expand the soloing range of his instrument. This trio is completed by four guest musicians: guitarist extraordinaire David "Fuze" Fiuczynski, tenor sax Jed Levy, trombonist Josh Roseman, and reedist Chris Speed. This impressive lineup can be reduced to a quartet ("Horta-Culture") and go up to a sextet (on five tracks).

Stuff was an American, New York City-based jazz-funk band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The members were Gordon Edwards (bass), Richard Tee (keyboards), Eric Gale (guitar), Cornell Dupree (guitar), Chris Parker (drums), and later Steve Gadd (drums). Collection includes: Stuff (1976); More Staff (1977); Live Staff (1978); Staff It (1979); Live in New York (1980).

A collection of tracks made during the first month of the pandemic lockdown. A wide range of compositions from song to vamp to microtonal et al. A record stated for my wife art show that never happened due to the pandemic. This music should be somewhat of antidote for the feelings we've all been having during this rough period. I sincerely hope you enjoy this work.