Turn Circle is the debut album of the quartet led by guitarist and composer Ray Russell. Recorded in 1968 for CBS’s ‘Realm Jazz’ series and arguably Ray’s finest jazz album, it mixes compositions by such notable figures as Wayne Shorter (Footprints) and Charles Lloyd (Sombrero Sam) with Ray Russell originals. The best known of these is the suite in three movements A Day in the Working Life of a Slave of Lower Egypt. This remarkable work blends modal writing and free collective improvisation to stunning effect while showcasing the individual talents in the quartet, which are Roy Fry (piano), Ron Mathewson (double bass) and Alan Rushton (drums).

"As Oliver Lomax points out in his liner notes to this reissue of guitarist Ray Russell's first CBS album (recorded in 1968), distortion and feedback, wah-wah and other special effects were everywhere being applied to guitar playing at the time, courtesy of Jimi Hendrix et al., but Russell (mostly) eschews them. As those who've witnessed his recent gigs at the Vortex will know, Russell can provide some of the sharpest, neatest runs you're likely to hear, his articulation clean and fleet, his musical imagination always fertile. On this album, he's joined by one of the UK 's most accomplished and versatile bassists, Ron Mathewson, sometime Graham Bond drummer Alan Rushton and pianist Roy Fry, but the focus is very much on Russell, both as absorbing soloist and composer, providing as he does all but two of the album's pieces. The opener, Wayne Shorter's classic 'Footprints', sets the tone: although it starts in 6/8, it shifts almost imperceptibly into 4/4 during Russell's solo, imbuing the whole with a highly effective rhythmic ambiguity. Such understated subtlety is the band's hallmark, whether they're musing through the odd ballad ('Bonita'), indulging in bouts of free improvisation during the propulsively vigorous original 'Peruvian Triangle', or easing their way through Charles Lloyd's relatively straightforward 'Sombrero Sam'. Concluding with a richly varied three-piece suite, 'A Day in the Working Life of a Slave of Lower Egypt', which touches all the above bases, this is a fascinating glimpse of a fine musician launching himself, apparently already fully formed, on a career that would later see him perform with the likes of Mike Gibbs, Ian Carr and Gil Evans, not to mention composing for TV ('Bergerac', 'A Bit of a Do' etc.) and playing with touring outfits such as the Four Tops and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band."
Chris Parker, vortexjazz.co.uk, Winter 2007

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Singer Elaine Delmar’s 1968 CBS album Sneakin’ Up On You. Elaine, who is long-established as one of Britain’s finest singers of jazz and popular music, performs a wide variety of material on this beautiful album ranging from modern popular songs to jazz and bossa novas, as well as some of the less well-known songs from musicals and shows. Among the delights on offer are the slow-burning, funky big band grooves of Sneakin’ Up On You, the lush bossa nova rhythms of Jobim’s Come for a Dream and Elaine’s sophisticated jazz interpretation of the Mary Hopkins hit Those Were the Days.

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Some of the funkiest, most soulful disco grooves ever committed to vinyl are heard on this Vocalion release, comprising Keith Mansfield’s 1979 Night Bird album. As well as being among the UK ’s leading composer-arrangers, Keith is one of the legendary names within the world of library music. During the late 1960s and ’70s, along with names like Alan Hawkshaw, Brian Bennett and John ny Pearson, he was responsible for many of the best jazzy, funky moments contained within the catalogues of publishers including KPM, Amphonic Music, Bruton Music and Conroy. Indeed, Night Bird was recorded in 1979 – the height of the disco era – for Amphonic Music, and here receives its first ever commercial release (library music is normally available only to professionals in the broadcast industries). Recorded at the famous, and now sadly defunct, Lansdowne Studios in London ’s Holland Park , Night Bird demonstrates why Keith is so highly regarded.

The music slots into the same category as the sophisticated disco-funk being produced in America at the same time by composer-producers such as Norman Connors and Eumir Deodato. All the Keith Mansfield trademarks are present: the pulsating rhythms of Gladiator complete with exciting tenor and soprano sax solos and punchy brass; the relaxed, slinky grooves of Night Bird, Don’t Call Collect and Asleep in Your Shadow; and the sheer, relentless funk of Making the Cut and Thunderfoot. Keith’s pedigree as a big band arranger comes to the fore in many of the tracks due to his superb brass writing (in the late 1960s and early ’70s he was trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson’s arranger and producer). Night Bird features the instrumental skills of several well-known UK session musicians including keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw, drummer Barry Morgan and bass guitarist Dave Richmond, who bring Keith’s vibrant scores brilliantly to life. Simply put, this release contains some of the most exciting, exquisitely produced disco-funk you’re ever likely to hear.

Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

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Johnny Keating’s name was legendary within big band and jazz circles in both the UK and America during the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Through his association with the Decca Record Company and many of its artistes – most notably the Ted Heath Orchestra for whom he was chief arranger from 1954-1971 – Keating’s remarkable gifts as a composer-arranger became world-renowned. His lengthy career has seen him active in many different areas of music including scoring films; however, only three motion pictures feature his work. His score for the 1967 UK crime-thriller film Robbery is arguably his best, and is the subject of this Vocalion release.

Based on the Great Train Robbery of 1963, Robbery stars Stanley Baker as hardened criminal and ex-convict Paul Clifton, who’s determined to pull-off the biggest job of his career – robbing the overnight mail train from Glasgow to London . Keating’s brilliant score underlines and heightens the drama, suspense and action, especially during the tense opening sequence (Diamond Robbery). The score is composed in the modern big band style, but also features some gorgeous, tender underscores as heard in Kate’s Theme (for Paul Clifton’s wife, played by Joanna Pettet) and Robinson – Portrait of a Loser (for currency expert Robinson, played by Frank Finlay). Passing the Mail Bags, Breaking into the Mail Van and Gang’s Arrest are tension-filled big band scores, while Born to Lose (not heard in the film) sung by session vocalist Jackie Lee is as good an example of bright, optimistic big band pop as you could wish to hear. If you haven’t seen Robbery, listening to John ny Keating’s gripping score will certainly make you want to.

Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

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The music of British multi-instrumentalist John ny Almond is the focus of this Vocalion release, containing his 1970 album recorded for Decca’s legendary Deram subsidiary. Shortly before recording the album, Almond had appeared at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival with John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, whom he had joined in June of that year. According to reports the 1969 Newport festival was a rather chaotic occasion; it was the year jazz-rock fusion became the dominant force in jazz, which apparently had caused some friction between fans of the old and new schools at that year’s Newport event. John Mayall’s group was one of the few that managed to please the audience, due in no small part to Almond’s contribution. It was while Almond was in the U.S. that his producer Mike Vernon decided the time had arrived for Almond to make his American recording debut. Hollywood Blues was the result, and featured Almond in a jazz-meets-blues-meets-rock setting backed by a supporting cast of American musicians.

Through a varied selection of tracks including jazz standards and original compositions, Almond plays tenor and alto sax, flute and alto flute, vibes and Hammond organ – not bad! With support from players such as Earl Palmer and Joe Harris (drums), Ray Neapolitan (bass guitar) and Curtis Amy and Hadley Caliman (reeds), Almond solos brilliantly on numbers such as Kwei Ying Fu, It’s the Water and Funkville U.S.A. (the latter written by the album’s co-producer and legendary jazz historian Leonard Feather). The album closes with one of the best ever arrangements of Juan Tizol’s jazz standard Perdido. Here it becomes a feature for the alto saxes of Almond and Vi Redd, is taken at just the right tempo, and also contains a wonderfully fluent Hammond organ solo from Almond.

Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

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For the past fifty years the Keith Prowse/Peter Maurice (KPM) library has been, and continues to be, the world’s leading supplier of pre-recorded (‘library’) music to the film, television and radio industries. During KPM’s 1960s and ’70s heyday many of the UK ’s foremost big band composers wrote for its now-legendary ‘1000’ series of recordings; this Vocalion release brings together some of the best examples of their work recorded between 1967 and 1975. The disc kicks off with David Lindup’s brilliant 1970 album When the Saints Go, featuring an all-star British big band led by Lindup. Originally issued on KPM’s commercially distributed ‘Aristocrat’ imprint, the tracks were shortly afterwards issued (in mono) under different titles in the ‘1000’ series; all are presented here in their original, full-length stereo versions. Among the many highlights is the pounding, funky big band groove of The Killing of Brother Dragon (aka The Zodiac), famous for its inclusion in the 1997 UK comedy film ‘The Full Monty’. And let’s not forget the raucous funk of Dance for the King of France (aka French Kick) featuring a distorted electric guitar freakout from ace session-man Alan Parker. Also on offer are the beautiful, relaxed grooves of The Visionary and Full Circle plus the exhilarating, punchy big band jazz of Bolt from the Blue, The Talisman and To Hounds, which feature typically excellent contributions from stalwarts of the British jazz scene such as Kenny Wheeler, Ray Swinfield and Laurie Holloway.

The second half of the disc compiles some of the very best modern big band music written for the ‘1000’ series throughout the late 1960s and ’70s, representing several of the UK ’s most gifted composer-arrangers. Keith Mansfield delivers hard-hitting, dramatic funk with Behind the Scene (1970), Hot Property (1973) and Man with a Mission (1974), as does David Lindup with The Fast Machine (1972) and Grand Slam (1975). John ny Pearson’s A Reasonable Amount of Sanity (1968) and Motion Underscore (1968) keep things swinging yet progressive, the former sporting excellent trumpet and double bass solo spots. Syd Dale chips in with three excellent scores, one of which showcases a particularly stunning tenor sax solo by the inimitable Tony Coe (Huckleberry Fine, 1969), while British jazz legend Kenny Wheeler provides two fantastic examples of big band jazz in Early Bird (1970) and City Sequence (1970). There is much more to savour on this superb release, which presents many of the pieces in stereo for the first time.

Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

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Shakatak are the most successful group to have emerged from the UK’s late 1970s/early ’80s jazz-funk scene. From their early days performing at jazz-funk ‘all-dayers’ and ‘weekenders’ to their superstar status in the mid-1980s, when they enjoyed a string of Top 40 chart hits, the original line-up – minus Nigel Wright (keyboards) and Keith Winter (guitar) – of Bill Sharpe (keyboards), George Anderson (bass guitar), Roger Odell (drums) and Jill Saward (vocals) remains intact. This Vocalion release comprises ‘Night Birds’, their second album and the one that really put them on the map, as well as two tracks previously only available on 12-inch singles. ‘Night Birds’ established Shakatak’s trademark smooth and sophisticated jazz-funk sound, and contains two of the band’s biggest hits, Easier Said than Done and Night Birds, the former reaching the No.12 spot in 1981, the latter climbing to No.9 in the following year. The album also features contributions from the late Dick Morrisey, one of the greatest saxophonists the UK has produced, whose sultry, elegant solos are featured on Streetwalkin’ and Light on My Life. The vocal trio of Jill Saward, Lorna Bannon and Jackie Rawe are on hand to add atmospheric vocal lines (particularly so in the title track, Easier Said than Done, Bitch to the Boys and Fly the Wind), while George Anderson’s ‘slap bass’ provides a grooving, funky foundation throughout. Rounding off this superb reissue are Go for It, a bright instrumental originally issued on the B-side of the 1982 Streetwalkin’ 12-inch single, and Fly the Wind re-mix, an extended version of the ‘Night Birds’ album track and originally issued on the B-side of the 1983 single If You Could See Me Now. Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

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Originally released on the Hobo label in 1979, ‘Magician’ is by far the hippest, funkiest, jazziest album made by British arranger-composer Stan Butcher. It’s a superb example of the sophisticated jazz-fusion style prevalent at the end of the 1970s, expertly blending elements of jazz, funk and rock into one coherent and exhilarating whole. Recorded at London’s famous Morgan Studios in January 1978, the album features a stellar line-up of British jazz/session musicians including Barry Morgan (drums), Fiachra Trench (Fender Rhodes), Barbara Thompson (saxes/reeds), Les Hurdle and Mo Foster (bass guitar) and Ray Russell (guitar). In fact, ‘Magician’ is intrinsically linked to Morgan Studios because the Hobo label was owned and run by Morgan’s co-owner Monty Babson (who also produced ‘Magician’), while Monty’s business partners Leon Calvert (trumpet) and Barry Morgan were in the band heard on the album. The music ranges from the laidback, streetwise grooves of House of the Purple Mist and Musk to the joyous up-tempo funk of Playground and Morass, all of which are ignited by Barry Morgan’s superlative drumming. Each track features Barbara Thompson’s lithe, virtuosic tenor sax and/or flute solos, while the 5/4 groove of Bazaar is a showcase for her suitably exotic ‘throat flute’ extemporisations. First time on CD and remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

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Turning Point was one of the finest British jazz-rock ensembles of the mid-late 1970s, co-founded by leading British bassist Jeff Clyne and vocalist Pepi Lemer. Jeff has an extremely distinguished pedigree in the world of jazz, having played in groups led by Stan Tracey, Tubby Hayes and Dudley Moore, and on film scores by greats such as Roy Budd (1972’s ‘Fear is the Key’ being a fine example). Having started out as an acoustic bassist, in the late 1960s/early ’70s Jeff switched over to bass guitar (although not exclusively) and began exploring the possibilities offered by the jazz-rock genre. Following stints in jazz-rock outfits including trumpeter Ian Carr’s Nucleus and guitarist Gary Boyle’s Isotope, in 1976 he formed the five-piece Turning Point with Pepi Lemer, the line-up featuring keyboardist Brian Miller, who had played alongside Jeff in Isotope. Turning Point cut their first album, ‘Creatures of the Night’, in 1977 for the Gull label, followed the next year by ‘Silent Promise’, and Vocalion is proud to present them here on CD for the first time. Both are shining examples of just how exciting and creative jazz-rock could be in the hands of musicians such as those who made up Turning Point. Among the many highlights throughout these albums are the futuristic grooves of Rain Dance, Mirror Mirror, Queen of the White E, Princess Aura and Green Tranquillity, all of which feature the inspired improvisation and musicianship of Jeff and Pepi, Brian Miller, David Tidball (saxes) and Paul Robinson (drums). Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes.

2 CD SET - CDSML 8448

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This Vocalion release features a superb big band, made up of the finest British jazz musicians, playing the brilliant arrangements and compositions of the late Allan Ganley. Allan, who died in 2008, was one of Britain’s leading drummers, and throughout his lengthy career played in bands and groups led by luminaries such as John Dankworth and Tubby Hayes and for Nelson Riddle, Henry Mancini and many, many others. He was also one of the most gifted arranger-composers of his generation, and this CD is a tribute to his genius. Recorded in 2009 and produced by Keith Mansfield, the world-class big band heard here is led by saxophonist Andy Panayi and includes in its ranks virtuosos such as Mark Nightingale, Cliff Hardie and Gordon Campbell (trombones), Henry Lowther, Martin Shaw and Tony Fisher (trumpets), Julian Siegel (tenor sax) and Mike Smith (drums). The music shows off the various facets of Allan’s skill as an arranger and composer, ranging from the hard-swinging, up-tempo Victor and the sublime harmonies of Two for the Road and June Time through to the joyous, uplifting samba grooves of Allisamba, among many others. An unmissable release for all who appreciate the finest in big band music.

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2 CD SET CDSML 8462

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