Anteater

Well, even if you hate 'Nineteen', I'd be surprised if anyone could outright hate 'Rainforest', particularly if you derive any enjoyment whatsoever from Sega Genesis or N64 music.

Second, although this won't convert the uninitiated in all likelihood, Hardcastle has evolved quite a bit since 1985. His debut record is a rather important footnote in the establishment of contemporary jazz as a genre, not unlike Grover Washington Jr's Winelight a couple of years before, thus I felt it might be a decent place to start for my journal.

That being said, the next couple of albums/artists I'll be spotlighting should be a bit more appealing to you and other readers as far as musicality goes. Stay tuned and all that, lol!

Oh, and just to give you a bit of perspective, here's how he sounds as of 2011. Guess he's stuck in '95.

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Perhaps the single best jazz guitarist alive on the planet today, there's nobody who isn't somebody in the world of jazz-anything who hasn't worked with or wanted to work with Pat Metheny, including the late Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius. The man has a massive discography that travels throughout every corner of the genre, including straight-ahead, Bossa Nova, Fusion and soundtrack-oriented stuff.

THE ALBUM

Although every album that Pat Metheny's Group has done since forming in the early 80's is considered top notch material in the realm of modern jazz, 2005's The Way Up (the ensemble's latest record as of 2012) is particularly interesting, as its a four-part suite that attempts to bridge the gap between contemporary jazz and certain aspects of progressive rock, and from a compositional perspective it succeeds in doing exactly that. Hell, it even won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Record later that year.

WHY YOU WANT THIS

From my perspective, there's actually nothing better at introducing contemporary jazz to the hardline cynic than an LP from Mr. Metheny. His fluidity from moment to moment, whether he's armed with 6-string, 12-string, or even something crazy like a 42-string, is undeniable to the point of gospel. He walks the walk, talks the talk, and then some! On top of that, his band is complimented by a variety of talents, including keyboard/programming maestro Lyle Mays and harmonica beast Grégoire Maret.

The Way Up is quite the epic really, made up of an opening number and three distinct parts that constitute the suite itself. Metheny changes guitars a couple of times throughout the movements, and various motifs intermingle and then turn on a dime into completely new progressions. There's a lot of soloing (trumpet, guitar, keyboards, etc.), but Lyle Mays never lets Metheny get too below the stratosphere, and thus despite gradual shifts in tonality and an emphasis on complex chord changes, the intensity they're going for is never lost regardless of pace or tempo. Brilliant stuff, really, and certainly worth a run through or two from those who aren't adverse to instrumental adventures.

CLOSING REMARKS

Despite a distinct lack of saxophone and the predominance of lengthy "noodling", this is indeed a contemporary jazz album stylistically, and a class act at that. It's technical level is such that it demonstrates just how complex and interesting "smooth" jazz can become if the ideas are grand enough, and while Metheny never blows you out of the room like his luminiary John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra) might have done back in 1975, there is a LOT to admire here. Essentially...its essential.

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Geekoid

haha. Yes!!! I just posted in the "unpopular music opinions" thread that I love Muzak! This is my kind of music! (well, one of them, at least) I had a good feeling about your taste from reading your AOR journal

Seriously, I think it takes a really patient, laid back kind of person to enjoy smooth jazz. You just align yourself with the overall vibe, and you're all set. I'm really going to like this thread, since I'm only starting to learn more about the genre.

Geekoid

^^^
I looked up the Rippingtons, and [not to do your blog a disservice by saying this] apparently they did the background music for The Weather Channel's local forecasts at one point. That's some quality, well-orchestrated muzak.

I miss that lush, tropical, laid-back sound of the 80s and early 90s that brings back good memories and makes you just want to relax on a hot summer's day. I can just imagine how "modern" they would have seemed back in then. Can't wait to get my hands on some of their stuff. Thanks for featuring them!

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Co-creator of the guitar synthesizer and one of Japan's most prominent jazz fusion prioneers, Ryo Kawasaki is a guitarist among guitarists and has contributed a lot to the genre of contemporary fusion through both his solo output from the 70's onward and his desire to develop new technological innovations in both recording and performance contexts.

THE ALBUM

One of the first Japanese artists of any kind to get signed to a major U.S. record label (in this case, RCA), Ryo's debut record Juice was something of a milestone for jazz fusion: it had the technicality in places of a Return To Forever record, but its emphasis on groove made it more accessible for your typical late night radio browser than, say, anything Miles Davis was doing at the time. Along with Breezin' by George Benson that year and the output of Lonnie Liston Smith around the same period, Ryo paved the market for what would later be known as smooth or contemporary jazz in ensuing decades. Whether or not such credit includes opening the path for Kenny G....I could not say. :P

WHY YOU WANT THIS

Unlike a lot of the synthed up, sax-led contemporary jazz that would be popping up a decade after this particular record arrived on scene, Juice's funk and fusion connections are both obvious and attractively immediate to the ear. Ryo's playing is fluid and groovy, electrifying even the slower numbers here in the same way Eddie Hazel gave Funkadelic that extra surge on records like Maggot Brain.

From hip-hop pillaged opening rumbler 'Raisins' to the spacey blues shuffle of 'El Toro', this is a fun, lean rollercoaster into the world of smooth fusion, clocking at 38 minutes over seven cuts. Ryo tries out a lot of interesting tones throughout, with particular kudos to the watery samba reverb that carries 'The Breeze & I' into a glorious Brazilian sunset.

CLOSING REMARKS

One of the so-called 'impetus' records of contemporary jazz, I'd say this sucker will appeal to anyone who utterly despises what the 80's would bring. Bossa nova, hard funk, even the occasional free jazz sax snarl...it's all here!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Blarobbarg

Anteater, you may have accomplished the impossible. You might have made me... enjoy some smooth jazz. *thundercrack*

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Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Classically trained in piano from a young age and proficient in a variety of other instruments as well, Kit Walker made a splash in the late 80's through Windham Hill at a time when contemporary jazz radio was in full swing. Influenced in equal measures by World music as he is Stevie Wonder and John McLaughlin, Mr. Walker's style is hard to pin down, tending to tread an ambiguous middle ground between Ambient music and the spacey jazz of the late 70's.

THE ALBUM

His first of two records released during his brief label stay, 1987's Dancing On The Edge Of The World was a huge success upon release, sitting up in the Top Ten Contemporary Jazz airplay charts for nearly half a decade afterwards. Steve Smith, drummer of Journey, contributed on every track and does a spectacular job in the groove department. Keith Jones, a bassist who is rather well known for his work with Wayne Shorter, is heard throughout these tracks as well.

WHY YOU WANT THIS

Although it certainly sounds like a late 80's record in the production department (immaculate as it is), Dancing On The Edge Of The World also sounds surprisingly different from what you'd expect out of a smooth jazz record. There's an emphasis on space, deep synths, percussion, flute and intricate basslines as opposed to saxophone, horns, etc. Two tracks in particular, the stargazing 'Temple Of The Stars' and the celestial yet cinematic 'Gates Of The Sun', are unbelievably gorgeous cuts that owe more to Bill Evans and Peter Gabriel than anything Kenny G cooked up around the same time period.

In many ways, this album is a late 80's smooth jazz-fusion record as opposed to a "smooth" jazz one. The arrangements are far more complex than average, there's very little brass and the New Age/ambient/World elements that categorize a lot of Windham Hill's output from the 70's and 80's are in full force from the very get-go. If anything, only a couple Walker's pad/timbre choices and a preference for melody over oodles of noodling made this marketable on radio at all.

CLOSING REMARKS

One of the best contemporary jazz records to come out of the 80's overall and a fine debut from an even finer keyboardist, this is a fun record to chill with and a must-own for fans of Harold Budd, Brian Eno, or David Sylvian from the same era. Bon appétit!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

German arranger, composer and orchestrator Claus Ogerman was, for a great number of years, one of Verve Records' secret weapons back in the 50's and 60's. Whether it was Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim or Bill Evans, Claus was usually there behind the scenes to give Lord knows how many classic records that extra "oomph" factor they might have been lacking otherwise in the orchestration department -- generally with fantastic results. Once the 70's rolled around though, Mr. Ogerman began to stretch his muscles by collaborating more directly with others under his own name, and thus we come to...

THE ALBUM

While this isn't the first or last of Ogerman's various solo recordings, 1977's Gate Of Dreams is a Third Stream (jazz meets classical music) masterpiece that sort of looms over the rest of his recorded output like Mt. Everest. It features an all star cast in realms both pop and experimental jazz alike, including saxophone prodigy Michael Brecker, a young and newly famous guitarist named George Benson and pianist Joe Sample (among others).

WHY YOU WANT THIS

To put it mildly, this record's really smokin'. The opening suite in and of itself, a gorgeous string-led tour de force called 'Time Passed Autumn' is the kind of track that set the stage sonically for everyone from latter day Philip Glass to frequent Studio Ghibli soundtrack-master Joe Hisaishi. Romantic woodwind sweeps and soaring arrangements surge like river eddies toward a waterfall, broken in places by guitar and sax and then coming back together again into a harmonic flow.

After a monstrous cut like that, you'd think Claus would be out of ideas, but the other four tracks are wonderful in their own right -- 'A Sketch Of Eden' has a cool bassoon/flute combination leading it on toward the close, whilst 'Night Will Fall' goes for broke on a smoldering laid-back funk groove with Brecker's sax at the forefront, good for the bleary-eyed dawntreader in all of us.

CLOSING REMARKS

More romantic and tasteful as opposed to tending towards the schlocky (like some of the other attempts at blending jazz & classical I've run across over the years), Ogerman was making his mark on contemporary jazz long before there was anything resembling such a genre in the musical marketplace of the day, and his talent at blending cruise-friendly jazz-funk with celestial orchestral composition-sense is nothing short of killer. A big thumbs up on this one for you smooth jazz cynics out there, yessirree!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

misspoptart

OMG I totally read this as "early morning sex," which was EXACTLY what I was thinking about while listening to the tracks you posted. LOL.

Anyway I love what you posted. LOVE it. But then again, I already love nu-jazz and Japanese people, so it was a marriage foretold in the heavens.

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Special EFX is the brainchild of one Italian-American guitarist Chieli Minucci, who is also known for his various musical contributions to film and TV. The band has been releasing material since the early 80's, with nearly two dozen studio records under their belt as of 2013. They were nominated for Grammys quite often back in the day, but as contemporary jazz's popularity began to decline in the late 90's, those...stopped happening I suppose. Fun Fact: Minucci is the guy behind ALL of the music in Dora The Explorer!

THE ALBUM

Released two years after the death of Special EFX co-founder and percussionist George Jinda in 2001, Party also serves as the first album from the band in the wake of that loss. Minucci serves as the main songwriter and producer this time around, and he brought in some considerable sidemen to perfect the lineup (including David Mann on flute and sax!)

WHY YOU WANT THIS

One of the few smooth jazz records I've heard over the last ten years where clubby electronic elements are actually effectively used in conjunction with the typical guitar lite-fusion approach, Party is the group's top record of the 2000's, as well as being one of the best albums in their twenty-some year discography. Like most smooth jazz records, this is fairly straight ahead, groove oriented material -- its uniqueness comes from its sonic makeup. The keyboard programming on cuts like 'Dream Come True', 'Dusk Til' Dawn' and the swirling, beautiful 'No Money, No Honey' is a major cut above the norm for this genre, and everything sounds really clear and punchy in the mix department as well. The flute and electric guitar give the album a wider palette to work from than usual also, which would make it interesting even to those who don't normally dig this sort of background wizardry.

CLOSING REMARKS

Although nothing mindblowing in the composition or technicality department like some of the output of Pat Metheny or Ken Navarro is, Chieli Minucci is a talented guitarist and producer in his own right: the fact he could make a smooth jazz album as catchy and listenable as Party in the first place is quite an achievement in this musical subset, and it remains a nice slice of contemporary jazztronica even a decade later!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette