{"product_id":"milt-jackson-and-the-monty-alexander-trio-soul-fusion-1978-japanese-pablo-vinyl-lp","title":"Milt Jackson and the Monty Alexander Trio - Soul Fusion (1978 Japanese Pablo Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMilt Jackson and the Monty Alexander Trio - \u003cem\u003eSoul Fusion\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP, 1978 Japanese Pablo (MTF 1090, Polydor K.K., Gatefold)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMilt Jackson’s vibraphone with the Monty Alexander Trio\u003c\/strong\u003e (John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums), recorded June 1 and 2, 1977 at Group IV Recording Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Norman Granz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEight tracks mixing blues, bossa nova, a Stevie Wonder cover and originals\u003c\/strong\u003e, with Alexander’s swinging, bluesy piano complementing Jackson’s warm, singing vibes tone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJapanese gatefold pressing\u003c\/strong\u003e with obi and insert, manufactured by Polydor K.K., with liner notes by Benny Green and Japanese insert notes by Hideki Sato\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMilt Jackson and Monty Alexander had first recorded together in 1969, and by the time of \u003cem\u003eSoul Fusion\u003c\/em\u003e they had already played the Montreux Jazz Festival together and knew how their musical temperaments fit. Jackson was a founding member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and had spent two decades in that group’s precisely arranged, chamber-like setting. Alexander, born in Kingston, Jamaica, plays piano with a rhythmic directness and a bluesy warmth that brought out a different side of Jackson’s playing: looser, more groove-oriented, less concerned with formal structure. John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton (who would later co-found the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) form a rhythm section that is both supple and firm, responding to the two leaders’ shifts between swing, Latin feels and ballad tempos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe programme covers a lot of ground in eight tracks. “Parking Lot Blues” and the title track “Soul Fusion” sit in bop territory. “Isn’t She Lovely” is Stevie Wonder’s song from \u003cem\u003eSongs in the Key of Life\u003c\/em\u003e, given a jazz treatment that keeps the melody’s joy while opening it up for improvisation. “Once I Loved” is the Jobim standard (“O Amor em Paz”), and “Bossa Nova do Marilla” extends the Brazilian thread on side B. “3,000 Miles Ago” is more reflective. Norman Granz produced: the same man who founded Verve Records, ran Jazz at the Philharmonic, and championed integrated audiences at a time when that required courage. Pablo Records was his late-career label, founded in 1973, and its sessions have a relaxed, musician-first character that Granz cultivated deliberately. Val Valentin engineered. Benny Green (the British jazz critic and broadcaster, not the pianist) wrote the liner notes. Phil Stern photographed the cover. This 1978 Japanese pressing is a gatefold manufactured by Polydor K.K. Catalogue number MTF 1090 (original US Pablo catalogue: 2310 804).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pablo Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44755501973563,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_9309.jpg?v=1792996194","url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/products\/milt-jackson-and-the-monty-alexander-trio-soul-fusion-1978-japanese-pablo-vinyl-lp","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}