Fuse One

Fuse One – Silk (1981/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · February 7, 2023 · Comments off

At his worst, Creed Taylor had a way of smothering a potentially great jazz album by producing it to death. But when he didn’t overproduce — when he gave musicians the right amount of guidance and direction yet let them have enough room to stretch out and improvise — Taylor created some real winners. One of them was Fuse One’s Silk, an all-star jazz-pop-funk project that boasted Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, Tom Browne or Wynton Marsalis on trumpet, Ronnie Foster on electric keyboards, Stanley Clarke on electric bass, Eric Gale or George Benson on electric guitar, Sammy Figueroa on percussion, and Leon “Ndugu” Chancler on drums. With Taylor doing the producing and Clarke serving as musical director, congenial pieces like Foster’s “Sunwalk” and Chancler’s “Silk” offer a healthy blend of jazz, R&B, and pop elements. It’s interesting to hear a 19-year-old Marsalis letting loose on Chancler’s Latin-flavored “Hot Fire” (which originally appeared on George Duke’s Reach for It album in 1977), and note how he sounded in 1981 — at that point, he wasn’t emulating Miles Davis and had a big, brassy sound along the lines of Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. Considering how strident a jazz purist Marsalis would become, it’s surprising to hear him playing crossover. Not that Silk is “watered down” or anything like that. Though the material proved to be accessible to pop and R&B fans, it’s also quite creative and doesn’t toss jazz considerations to the wind. Unfortunately, this LP remains out of print and has yet to be reissued on CD.

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Fuse One – Fuse One (1980/2013) DSF DSD64

SACD / DSD By admin · February 5, 2023 · Comments off

This disc is a welcome addition to the discography of the now almost forgotten woodwind master Joe Farrell. Farrell was a multi-instrumentalist who chose to concentrate on tenor and soprano saxophones and flute. From the late 1960s onwards he was a highly sought after session player who appeared on many of the most significant recordings right until his early demise in 1986. He played with the Elvin Jones Trio, Chick Corea’s Return To Forever and the earliest editions of Mingus Dynasty. My first recollection of him is as the player who produced the wonderful obligatos on Roberta Flack’s first major album, ” Quiet Fire.”

Farrell is the featured soloist on the majority of this all star date and acquits himself with his usual aplomb and immaculate taste. He was a performer who was equally at home on straight ahead jazz, crossover music or more popular styles. He seemed to have the ability to adapt his talent to whatever was required without losing one iota of integrity. Although no credit is given in the personnel listing it is obviously Farrell playing the wonderful flute solos on many of the selections here.

Unlike the majority of the recent CTI reissues, this one is made up of original material and is none the worse for this. The other players are a veritable who’ s who of session musicians associated with this style, and indeed, with this particular label. Apparently this record proved to be not so popular at the time of its release – hopefully this new appearance will redress the balance. –Dick Stafford, MusicWeb International

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