In 1982, the Japanese label King Records – which has manufactured and distributed CTI-related product in Japan since 1970, and continues to do so to this day – launched a provocative set of compilations in what it called the “Super Fusion 1900” series. The series comprised 16 records and totally eschewed the usual “Best…
Just Added – “Early CTI: The A&M Years (1967-70)
I am pleased to finally post the entirety of my essay “Early CTI: The A&M Years (1967-70)” online. This project began about eight years ago as a set of liner notes to a CD box set that unfortunately never happened. There were many problems along the way, but I just kept writing as though this…
Revisiting “Jaws” – Lalo Schifrin (1976)
In a detailed post last month, I covered Lalo Schifrin’s 1976 disco-oriented version of John Williams’s familiar theme to the movie Jaws, the world’s first blockbuster film and a hit from the previous summer. There are very few covers of the Williams theme and Schifrin – himself a notable composer for film and TV –…
Gabor Szabo – “Macho” at 50
I. By the time Gabor Szabo entered the studio in April 1975 to record Macho, it had been nearly 19 months since the jazz guitarist waxed his previous solo album, Rambler (1974). That was the longest span of time between records in the guitarist’s relatively brief solo career, which lasted from only 1965 to 1979.…