Second Direction - Four Corners & Steps Ahead (1976/2018)

A Reissue Of The Rare Jazz, Funk & Fusion Library Lp "four Corners" By Second Direction. A Project Of The Saxophonist And Flutist Fritz Münzer, Produced In 1976 At Tonstudio Bauer In Ludwigsburg. The New Release Includes Six Additional Recordings From The Band's Second Unreleased Album From 1978, Entitled "steps Ahead", Recently Pulled From The Archives Of Producer And "joy Unlimited" Founder Klaus R. Nagel. A Long Play-cd And 2lp-set, Including The Great Jazz Funk Tracks "steamer", Steps Ahead", "keep Going" Plus The Brazilian Tinged Jazz Dancers´"four Corners" And "flying Carpet Ride". All Music Transferred And Carefully Restored From The Original Master Tapes.

West Germany In The 70's Of The Last Century. Composer And Arranger Fritz Münzer (1934-2007) Is One Of The Country's Best Jazz Saxophonists And Flutists. After A Career In The 50's And 60's As A Hip Musician On The German Hard Bop And Westcoast Scene, The Man From Mannheim First Refuses To Establish His Own Band, But Then Forms "second Direction". With This Formation He Records "four Corners", A So Called Library Lp For The Small Publishing Label "trend Records". The Album Was Produced In 1976 By "joy Unlimited" Founder And Guitarist Klaus R. Nagel With Top Notch Musicians At Tonstudio Bauer In Ludwigsburg. Münzer Is Now Active Behind The Scenes, Writing Music And Is Heard On Countless Recordings For Different Music Publishers.

Amongst Connoisseurs "four Corners" Is Considered One Of The Really Outstanding Jazz Funk Fusion Albums From Germany. Münzer Is Joined By Gerhard Spirka On Electric Bass, Val Hargreaves On Drums, Karl-heinz Merkel On Fender Rhodes And Occasionally Jörg Gebhardt On Congas. However, The Finished Lp Did Not Appear In Shops. It Was Exclusively Available To Broadcasters And Foreign Sub-publishers By Nagel's Publisher "badenia-vineta", For Use On Radio And Television. Therefore, Background Information And Visual Material Regarding Second Direction Is Missing. There Is No Band Story, Band Photos Or Anything, With The Exception Of An Unusual Artistic Designed Front Cover By Karl Hans Merkel. His Artwork Shows Four Stylized Profile Views Of The Musicians.

For A Long Time, The Album Remained A Secret. Then, In The Mid-90s, It Is Suddenly Discovered In Alternative German Music Clubs And Discotheques. During The "acid Jazz" Revival In The United Kingdom, The Dancers At Mojo, Unique And Atomic Café Not Only Move To Electronic Music, But Also To Jazz And Funk Again. Now The "rare Grooves" Of Second Direction Are On The Playlists. Dj Rainer Trüby Curates His Internationally Successful "glücklich" Compilations With European, Brazilian & Fusion Jazz Of The 70's And 80's. In 1996 On The Second Volume, He Presents Second Direction's "flying Carpet Ride". And So Begins The Hunt For The Extremely Rare Lp. "high Class Fusion And Brazilian Beats Made In Germany" On A Level With Bands Such As Weather Report Or Azimuth! The Track Is Frequently Played At Trüby's "rootdown" Parties And You Just Had To Have It! In Addition To The High Musical Quality, It Is Above All The Rarity And Obscurity Of The Record That Makes It Interesting For Djs And Collectors Alike Around The World Today.

Tracklist:
01. Second Direction - Freeland
02. Second Direction - Storm Flute
03. Second Direction - Peace
04. Second Direction - Praeludium No. 3
05. Second Direction - Steamer
06. Second Direction - Flying Carpet Ride
07. Second Direction - Blue Dilemma
08. Second Direction - Four Corners
09. Second Direction - Steps Ahead
10. Second Direction - Feeling Free
11. Second Direction - Moving Fantasy
12. Second Direction - Keep Going
13. Second Direction - Tony's Choice
14. Second Direction - Last Minute