6 X 6 (In The Long Form)

No.#3 in a series

1) Xibaba/Donald Byrd

with Jerry Dodgion, Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin. Pepper Adams, Bill Campbell,
Hermeto Pascoal, Duke Pearson, Wally Richardson, Ron Carter, Micky Roker & Airto Moreira
Taken from 'Electric Byrd'/Blue Note Records

Donald's foray into fusion, with a much more organic result than some of his contemporaries,
largely due to the earthiness brought to it by percussionist, Airto Moreira.

2) Slightly All The Time/Soft Machine
with Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, Robert Wyatt,
Nick Evans, Elton Dean, Lyn Dobson & Rab Spall
Taken from 'Third'/Columbia Records

Soft Machine hit their stride with the release of Three, then Robert Wyatt left and the band

 became something altogether different. Though possibly the most poorly engineered LP 

in the history of recording, it was eventually remastered, improving it only slightly, 

but revealing a bit more of the musicianship involved.
The creativity and imagination however were already there from the beginning.

3) You'll Know When You Get There/Herbie Hancock
with Bennie Maupin, Julian Priester, Eddie Henderson,
Buster Williams & Billy Hart
Taken from 'Mwandishi'/Warner Brothers Records

A largely atmospheric piece from The Herbie Hancock Sextet, alternatively referred to as
the 'Mwandishi' band. One of my favorites from that period of his outstanding career.

4) Return To Forever/Chick Corea
with Joe Farrell, Stanley Clarke, Flora Purim & Airto Moreira
Taken from 'Return To Forever'/ECM Records

As with Xibaba, it is the thrust of percussionist Airto Moreira that propels this song
and helps in keeping it interesting from beginning to end.

5) De Pois Do Amor, O Vazio (After Love, Emptiness)/Wayne Shorter
with Dave Friedman, Gene Bertoncini, Ron Carter, Cecil McBee,
Billy Hart, Al Mouzon & Frank Cuomo
Taken from 'Odyssey Of Iska'/Blue Note Records

A wonderfully evocative song, aiding by a strong arrangement,
again with masterful drumming ending the piece like the rattling of bones.

6) Before The Dawn/Patrice Rushen
with Hubert Laws, George Bohannon, Oscar Brashear,
Lee Ritenour, Charles Meeks, Leon Chancler & Kenneth Nash
Taken from 'Before The Dawn'/Prestige Records

All of age 19 or something at the time of this recording, Patrice wore her Herbie Hancock influence 

on her sleeve, but who could blame her. After all, he had chops, flare, skill,

and the greatest band of the day.
If you were a young jazz musician looking to emulate somebody in 1974,

 I couldn't think of a better place to start than with Herbie.
Patrice however demonstrated some flare of her own with strong compositions

 and not so shabby a band of her own.

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