Tuesday, September 23, 2008

15 great rhodes albums


A reader recently asked me to give a "Top Ten" of rhodes albums. This is not that - I avoid things like 'Top Tens" because they change all the time for me – something I was excited about ten years ago, and might be sick of now, may be completely new and exciting to someone else - and also, I judge albums on overall criterion, not just on the "rhodes content".

If I was forced into a “Top Ten” of all time, I guess there’d be lots of Herbie Hancock, Lonnie Liston Smith, early Patrice Rushen etc. etc., and some albums from here like George Duke's "Inner Source" and Bill Evans' "Symbiosis"....

But instead, here's a random list of some rhodes-flavoured jazz albums I've recently been enjoying or re-listening to from other blogs over the past year, with a few classics thrown in as well.

So, not a top ten, but a random fifteen.

( 6-years-later note : files from dead blogs and dead posts now re-upped! )



"Hairpin Circus” – Masabumi Kikuchi from El Goog Ja



"Call" - Michael Naura,  from Ish







”Four Corners” – Second Direction originally from The Growing Bin and Forrealheadz






39 comments:

Simon666 said...

Feel free to add your own recommendations below, preferably with blog links ...

keviekev said...

Great post. Once again you have outdone yourself. Thanks lots.

Art Simon said...

Great list! Some favorites, and some that are completely new. I could see some other top lists: afro-jazz, spiritual jazz, etc.

(just hoping)

Thanks!

Gianni aka Cesare Barbetta said...

hi simon,
I agree with your choices.
wonderful lps
anyway "second direction" was a big surprise for me.
while "hairpin circus" is a gem
(thanks and respect to El Goog).

AMM said...

many thanks for thses links simon!
missed quite a few of these-your a TOP BANANA M8!
english compliment by the way!!!!!!!!!!!

Simon666 said...

"Top Banana" is English? I always though it was American - well there's my education for the day!

Thanks for comments guys, and great to see you all dropping comments on the other blogs too.

Dr. Johnny Fever said...

Hey Simon,

Thought you might enjoy this one if you don't already have it. It's a very unlikely candidate, considering it's Oscar Peterson on the Rhodes but you should check it out. It sort of surprised the hell out of me when I stumbled upon it.

Peace......... Dr. Fever

http://tantosjazzcompany.blogspot.com/2008/09/oscar-peterson-quartet-night-child-1979.html

Simon666 said...

Thanks for the tip Dr johnny, I'll check that out for sure ...

johnv said...

Great list Simon--looking forward to hearing the Naura and Hawes albums which are the only one I don't have.

avocado kid said...

cool list - most of these are off my radar!!!

Maro said...

Thanks SImon!!

great stuff here...

blacksatinamazonfireenginecrybaby said...

Wow the Baron-Von Ohlen album's first track is so profoundly and subtly beautiful... damn!!!!!! never heard of the cat!!!!

blondasse said...

hi there..really nice blog mate
for fender rhodes sound i really love "we'll be together again"..an old album from gil goldstein and pat martino..

i love the rhodes versions of joni mitchell "woodstock" too

Anonymous said...

Tnx & congratz ... As for "Sagittarius" & "Poo sun" : those links are no longer active ...

Simon666 said...

Thanks anonymous -

I've changed the links over to the new MFS site - better than using the rapidshare links, so people can go there and thank Jazzypier for ripping, sharing etc ... which keeps blogs alive ... anyway, thanks for pointing out the dead links!

"Poo Sun" is now nowhere to be found, didn't know that blog had disappeared. I'll re-up on Monday and let you know here.

Anonymous said...

Finding Michael Naura was a revelation. "Call" is a great album! I'm a big Gary Burton fan so this was right up my alley.

I noticed on MPS-Love that there had once been a link to Naura's "Rainbow Runner" but it no longer works. Any chance you could upload it here? The album cover is certainly intriguing.

Thanks so much for your blog.

Anonymous said...

OH ! Alas !
but where, O , where ! is POO_SUN to be found ?
/
THANK YOU for offering SO much.
Sad to see your lovely blog seems to have ended ?
...

V.Dorje

Simon666 said...

Found new blog links for all of these except for Kikuchi and the Cunimondos, will re-up those myself later ...

Simon666 said...

OK, all 15 albums now working ...

Anonymous said...

Thanks Simon - just helped myself to some more ... as ever, much appreciated.

JazzedMontage said...

Wow, Thank you so much for the re-ups! I only found your blog earlier this year and for a jazz head I'm grateful for the effort on your side!Much love from the tip of Africa!

Simon666 said...

Hey JazzedMontage, glad you're enjoying it :)

Anonymous said...

Hey simon - thanks much for the list. Lots of new material for me here! Rich stuff

Captain Dan said...

Ah, SO nice... I saw Ahmad Jamal in Atlanta in May 2014 and was blown away... thanks for posting this album here that apparently has never been reissued on CD. You're the MAN, Simon!

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the Frank C LPs!

Cao Sao Vang said...

Simon666! Thanks so much for all the musical knowledge that you gave!

Simon666 said...

Thanks for the comments Cao, Captain Dan and the anonymous posters :)

KingsGroove said...

Hi Simon, would love to hear these reccs as all the albums on your Blog are just superb! Only problem is with your 'ADrive' links all I get is

Error 503 Service Unavailable

Service Unavailable
Guru Meditation:

Any ideas on this - would appreciate it

Thanks for a great Blog

A committed Rhodes fan!

Simon666 said...

Hi Kingsgrove - no idea what to suggest sorry, I haven't had anyone else with that problem. just tried a download from a friend's computer from this post, and had no problems at all ....

KingsGroove said...

Hi Simon, thanks for the reply. It seems to be some sort of config issue with 'Apache Servers' and possibly due to my use of a VPN. I haven't experienced the problem with any other file hosts so I'll try again from a different computer and IP address. Thanks so much for the Herbie Hancock comp absolutely superb, keep 'em coming if you can - Regards KG

den said...

Thanks for this great introduction to some great music.

Unknown said...

A personal favorite...Milt Jackson Soul Route with Gene Harris on keys. I personally prefer Harris over Peterson, more soul.

gr8dane said...

Wow.What a great collection of rhodes albums.
Thanks so much.

APB said...

WOW. Great collection of stuff I haven't heard. Thanks so much for all the effort. I'll be combing through your other posts for a while!

Anonymous said...

Great list! I love Rhodes / Wurlitzer jazz albums a lot. Here's 3 more!

Les Mcann - Layers
https://youtu.be/3-wMz1SFhE8

Monk Montgomery - Bass Odyssey
*killer electric bass and joe sample on keys
https://youtu.be/M4ZiFt6hSRQ

Jamey Aebersold - Movin On
*instructional album but great keys nonetheless
https://youtu.be/vZJu3NCwZVg

Anonymous said...

Great post, thanks for sharing this music.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the reuploads, your blog and dedication are a real treasure. Greetings from Paraguay

Unknown said...

Nice post !! Great albums !!

HB said...

Thanks for this inspiring blog with loads of brilliant music!! What a pity all the Zippy-links are gone now!