Bob Shaut

Artist: Bob Shaut
Album: Shaut's Thoughts
Label: Bee-Ess Records
Year: 1981

1. Worms
2. Sayin' Yeah
3. Serenity
4. What You've Done For Me
5. Departure
6. Clark's Calypso
7. Bumps
8. This One's For My Lady
9. Mystery

Bob Shaut: saxophones, flute
Joe Lomoriello: electric & acoustic basses
Chris Starpoli: drums, percussion, synare
Danny Schliftman: keyboards
Dave Pratt: trumpet, flugelhorn
Ira Getter: keyboards on "Mystery"
Paul Rossman, Ron Lapierre: percussion
Frank Molley: acoustic guitar on "What You've Done For Me"

I found this one at a thrift store in Los Angeles, and as always, I was intrigued by the fact that it was obviously a private pressing and appeared to have mainly jazz instrumentation. I really enjoy this whole album, with jazz tracks that go from upbeat CTI-Kudu fusion ("Bumps" and "Worms") to warmer and more mellow ballads ("Serenity" and "Mystery"). The back provides Bob Shaut's thoughts about the songs on the album:

Serenity and Mystery are two movements from a jazz suite entitled 'Quiescence', which I composed as a peace piece during the Vietnam War. Coincidentally, its first complete performance as the week of the peace treaty signing.

Departure comes from 'Space Music' for saxophone octet. The drum effect was produced by hitting the keys of a tenor saxophone. The 'bird' sound is a soprano saxophone mouthpiece with added echo.

Sayin' Yeah is for my parental family. Hi Mom!

Clark is my cat with a crooked ear. He enjoys jumping on recently washed Lincoln Continentals.

Use your imagination for Worms and Bumps.

Special thanks to My Lady, Linda, and my little man Dan, for being patient, for being inspiring, and for just being. What You've Done For Me has been to show me love and beauty.

When trying to find information about Bob for my own benefit, I discovered that there was a high school jazz teacher in the New York area by the same name, and wondered if it was in fact the same man. I found the website of the man's daughter, also a musician by the name of Andrea Shaut, and I sent a message asking if the jazz band instructor was the same Shaut from the album. I received this response:

Hi, 

My daughter Andrea forwarded your note, regarding "Shaut's Thoughts".  This is pretty cool - that was recorded in 1980 and was the last one that I did, so I hope that you like it.  I just retired from a teaching gig that kept me from recording, so I'm hoping to get into the studios soon.  The logo of a little kid playing a soprano sax (on the back of the album) is my 1 year old son who is now 31, plays saxophone and took my position as a music teacher.  Let me know if you have any other questions about the album. 

Thanks for interest.  
Bob Shaut

With that, I highly recommend you check out this album, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps (mp3). Download the album here.


Much love,

This Mutha

Herbie Hancock

 

So I've been really busy this past week, and I have not been able to post a whole album and a review. Instead, I thought I'd just post this cool "Herbie Hancock Demonstrates The Rhodes Sound," a promotional flexi-disc with Herbie explaining the Rhodes and the different sound modulations he uses. It even has a little jam on "Actual Proof" at the end of Side B, from the "Thrust" album, and also the title track from the soundtrack he did for "The Spook Who Sat By The Door".

This was sent to me by a friend, and as a result it was not imported at high-quality 320 kbps. However, it still sounds good and would be great for any little instrumental fills or vocal samples.

Download here.


Much love,

This Mutha

Matti Caspi

Artist: Matti Caspi
Album: Twilight
Label: CBS Records
Year: 1981

1. You'll Yet Find Your Way
2. Ivri Reggae
3. Tell Me
4. Everyone
5. A Song
6. Night Trilogy
7. You'll Have The House
8. Twilight
9. Days Of Drought
10. Allegro Vivace (You'll Have The House)
11. Those Who Sing

Matti Caspi is an Israeli composer, singer and musician, and is regarded as one of Israel's top musicians. If you don't believe me, you can check his wiki page here; that's literally what the first sentence says.

The article also states his varied musical influences, and that it is "possible to hear all of these influences in his music." From listening to this album, that idea could be misleading. Rather than melding many elements and creating some kind of musical amalgam, "Twilight" contains tracks from several different and distinct genres. There are songs in the style of prog-rock, Brazilian bossa-nova and samba, reggae, pop ballads, and even a funk-dance number ("Everyone").

Though at times the songs sound like forced replications of other genres, it is nonetheless a fun album to check out, with really clean production and good instrumentation.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps (mp3). Download the album here.


Much love,

This Mutha