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Dick Heath View Drop Down
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Points: 12818 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Best jazz rock WITH vocals
    Posted: November 01 2007 at 11:41
Inspired by a parallel thread dealing with favourite instrumental tunes (surely songs are tunes with words....?), what are folks favourite jazz rock songs with space made for vocals. Here's a few of mine:
 
Joni Mitchell: Shadows & Light
Bruford: Feels Good To Me
Allan Holdsworth: Road Games & IOU
Susan Weinert: Running Out Of Time
Flora Purim: Open Your Eyes You Can Fly
Jan Hammer Group: Oh Yeah!
and for a one off: Weather Report & Manhattan Transfer: Birdland
Jack Bruce across his own solo jazz-oriented recordings, and especially those done with Michael Mantler (Mantler have brought some remarkable performances from left field(?) singers: Marianne Faithful, Bruce, Wyatt, Kevin Coyne), and Kip Hanrahan.
Then Robert Wyatt, again, on Nick Mason's (surely strictly Carla Bley's)  Fictious Sports.
Richard Sinclair guesting on 3 tracks of  Theo Travis's Earth To Ether album.
Then a few Steely Dan and Donald Fagen's first solo; ditto Cassandra Wilson (especially her Miles tribute). I'm afraid Gayle Moran does  nothing for me.
 


Edited by Dick Heath - November 02 2007 at 09:12
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andu View Drop Down
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Points: 3089 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 01 2007 at 14:20
Can I count the Softies' "Hope for Happines" in? Big%20smile Actually we shouldn't, if we had Canterbury in, it would all be sooo easy. Smile

I'd say "What game shall we play today?" from Return to Forever, the album.
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Points: 12818 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 02 2007 at 09:11
Originally posted by andu andu wrote:

Can I count the Softies' "Hope for Happines" in? Big%20smile Actually we shouldn't, if we had Canterbury in, it would all be sooo easy. Smile

I'd say "What game shall we play today?" from Return to Forever, the album.
 
That's Flora again, isn't it?
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andu View Drop Down
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Points: 3089 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 02 2007 at 09:13
Yes, that's her.

Still thinking for some other good JRF with vocals...
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Dick Heath View Drop Down
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Points: 12818 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 02 2007 at 09:26
Originally posted by andu andu wrote:

Yes, that's her.

Still thinking for some other good JRF with vocals...
 
For some reason it is a sub-genre many people assume is vocal-free - but as you pointed out indirectly with reference to  Hope For Happiness (although personally I hear the versions with Ratledge on, as left field psychedelia, the one without Ratledge as raga-influenced rock), one part of jazz rock fusion grew out rock musicians moving into jazz (especially the European side), hence vocals were not out of place. Which has sparked off the thought:
 
Tasavallan Presidentti: Lambertland.
 
And just reminded myself, Tony Williams did a couple of eerie vocals on Lifetime's Turn It Over
 
Holdsworth has done one vocal, found on his collaborative album with Gordon Beck: Sunbird - sort of reminded me of Chet Baker's soulful but one octave range vocal recordings and so I'm tempted to ask for more!


Edited by Dick Heath - November 02 2007 at 09:29
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Points: 4460 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 02 2007 at 14:33
"When I Look Into Your Eyes" - Santana - "Welcome" (Leon Thomas, vocals)
"Sound of Love" - David Sancious & Tone - "True Stories" (Alex Ligertwood, vocals)
"Street Life" - Crusaders - "Street Life" (Randy Crawford, vocals)
"Raging Waters" - Al Jarreau - "Live in London" (Al Jarreau, vocals)
"Who Do You Love" - Lenny White - "Present Tense" (Chaka Khan, vocals)
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Points: 1008 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 02 2007 at 23:17
My favourites are
 
Elegy (the Valentyne Suite) - Colosseum
 
Also Colosseum's version of "Theme for an Imaginary Western" on the Reunion Tour 1994.
 
"IF" are also well worth a listen but their studio albums lacked the brilliance of their live act..  The 1972 live CD (released about 10 years ago) is rather good.
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Points: 3449 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 02 2007 at 23:41

I'm with those who mentioned Flora's vocals with RTF, and yes! the Santana songs from Welcome.  And let's consider perhaps Bob Tench with the Jeff Beck Group as well.
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Points: 4373 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 03 2007 at 00:22
Most of the tunes off the first three Chicago albums.
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Points: 10678 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 03 2007 at 00:47
There is always Alex Ligertwood's vocals on those live Brian Auger Oblivion Express albums, Brian's vocals are OK sometimes and grating at other times.
Also when you think of early jazzy rock albums by bands like Santana and Allman Brothers, it seems like the vocals were just a set up for the jam part.
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Points: 1008 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 03 2007 at 01:13
mmm yes.  Chicago Transit Authority in particular is quite exceptional.
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Points: 2463 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2007 at 10:19
Robert Wyatt's new COMICOPERA is jazzier than he's ever been (there's rock as well), it features vocals AND it's superb!
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Points: 4460 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2007 at 15:30
A forgotten classic: Ten Wheel Drive w\Genya Raven
 
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Dick Heath View Drop Down
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Points: 12818 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 10 2007 at 14:01
Anybody come across the  80's (?) US fusion band Kittyhawk - I know their song Race To The Oasis.
And of course there is Brecker Brothers' East River, La Di Da
If Chicago gets mentioned have to also mention a couple of vocalists for BST - Dave Clayton Thomas (Canadian but hales from the same town as Judy Andrews & me , Walton  on Thames in SE England) - but never quite got to grips with Al Kooper's voice. BST do a get cover of Billy Holliday's God Bless The Child.


Edited by Dick Heath - November 10 2007 at 14:02
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Points: 3252 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 10 2007 at 18:39
               THE  underrated  Gino Vannelli  Canadian italian singer and composer  
 
 
 
 
 
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Points: 3252 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 10 2007 at 18:57
Some songs of Chicago
 
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Points: 3659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 10:04
Originally posted by Dick Heath Dick Heath wrote:

Inspired by a parallel thread dealing with favourite instrumental tunes (surely songs are tunes with words....?), what are folks favourite jazz rock songs with space made for vocals. Here's a few of mine:
 
Joni Mitchell: Shadows & Light
Bruford: Feels Good To Me
Allan Holdsworth: Road Games & IOU
Susan Weinert: Running Out Of Time
Flora Purim: Open Your Eyes You Can Fly
Jan Hammer Group: Oh Yeah!
and for a one off: Weather Report & Manhattan Transfer: Birdland
Jack Bruce across his own solo jazz-oriented recordings, and especially those done with Michael Mantler (Mantler have brought some remarkable performances from left field(?) singers: Marianne Faithful, Bruce, Wyatt, Kevin Coyne), and Kip Hanrahan.
Then Robert Wyatt, again, on Nick Mason's (surely strictly Carla Bley's)  Fictious Sports.
Richard Sinclair guesting on 3 tracks of  Theo Travis's Earth To Ether album.
Then a few Steely Dan and Donald Fagen's first solo; ditto Cassandra Wilson (especially her Miles tribute). I'm afraid Gayle Moran does  nothing for me.
 
 
Although I wasn't a fan of Manhattan Transfer I thought they worked very well with Weather Report on the track Where the Moon Goes from Procession.
 
Donald Fagen's first solo album is a classic as is much of Steely Dan. Thumbs%20Up
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Points: 4460 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 10:55
David Sancious and Tone : "True Stories".  An excellent mix of dynamic keyboards (David Sancious) and lead vocals (Alex Ligertwood).
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Points: 1264 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 12:30
Being some Allan Holdsworth stuff already mentioned, I'll add a couple more that I consider excellent jazz rock with vocals:

- Metal Fatigue (1985)
- Wardenclyffe Tower (1992)

Big%20smile
The best you can is good enough...
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Points: 448 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 14:25
Originally posted by ten years after ten years after wrote:

My favourites are
 
Elegy (the Valentyne Suite) - Colosseum
 
Also Colosseum's version of "Theme for an Imaginary Western" on the Reunion Tour 1994.
 
"IF" are also well worth a listen but their studio albums lacked the brilliance of their live act..  The 1972 live CD (released about 10 years ago) is rather good.
 
True !  Clap
 
In that context my favourites :
Chris Farlowe on Colosseum's Live album in 'Rope Ladder To The Moon'
Paul Williams on Dick Heckstall-Smith's  'A Story Ended' album in 'Crabs'
 
'Sundown,yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast.....
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.'

Bob Dylan
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