Welcome back, music lovers. I am going to go for a change of pace this week. Depending how it goes, I might continue to mine this for a while. By this point, you have figured out that I am nothing if not eclectic in my tastes. The common thread is that I like artists who take a few chances and express themselves. There has never been a shortage in my lifetime, and for that I am grateful.
I may not be a jazzhead in any traditional sense of the term, but there is a good deal that I enjoy, and my personal collection is pretty extensive. When I did some college radio DJ work, for a while I hosted a couple hours of jazz programming each week. I’d usually do themed shows that were either free jazz, or themed shows focusing on a phenomenon of the 1970s, kozmigroov:
For a while in the 1990s there was a site called Kozmigroov Index. It eventually morphed into The Kozmigroov Connection. So what is Kozmigroov?
Kozmigroov is a transgressive improvisational music which combines elements of psychedelia, spirituality, jazz, rock, soul, funk, and African, Latin, Brazillian, Indian and Asian influences culminating into an all encompassing cosmic groove. At its most accomplished, Kozmigroov is both expansive and highly rhythmic, and simultaneously finds connections with the mind, soul and body.
The impression I get is that club DJs in the acid jazz scene in the late 1980s (and I do have some acid jazz in my collection, to probably no surprise to anyone), were going through a lot of used records bins and digging up just about anything they could from the 1970s that would give them a good groove. Thanks to those crate diggers, listeners began to explore where those sampled bass lines, etc. were coming from with the end result being a lot of stuff got reissued on CD for the duration of the 1990s and into the first few years of this century. We even got new kozmigroov artists, who were inspired by these early artists, but who offered their own very 1990s spin. The best work is not only danceable, but emotionally moving in ways I cannot even begin to describe.
Hopefully Pharoah Sanders’ “Morning Prayer” is a fair introduction to this unique jazz thread. I will have more.
This is side A to Julian Priester’s first LP on the ECM label, Love, Love. I usually think of Priester as more of a free jazz band leader or sideman, but for a couple LPs, he tried something a bit different and it worked beautifully. If I ever do a themed post on the early ECM sound, I will have to recycle this one.
Here’s one more Julian Priester track – this one from his second and final ECM LP, Polarization:
It was a mellower album than its predecessor, but when it grooves, it grooves. I always thought Polarization was underrated and underappreciated. Both albums are gorgeous and one will hear something new each time over many repeated listenings.
Some much more recent kozmigroov:
Madlib has been recording as Yesterday’s New Quintet for the past couple decades now. Any time he wants to drop a new album, it’s a joyous occasion. Often times his albums will have covers that are very reminiscent of the classic Blue Note era – something I’ve also seen on albums by rappers influenced by jazz (the late Guru’s Jazzmatazz albums come to mind). This is a form that continues to evolve.
Most people remember Mtume as an R&B artist and as a producer. Before that, he was a percussionist in Miles Davis’ septet that was active from 1971-1975, and as a sideman on some other jazz recordings. There are two kozmigroov albums he is credited with: Alkebu-Lan (released on Strata-East in 1972) and Rebirth Cycle, which was released in 1977, three years after its recording. By that point, Mtume was already heading in a different direction. At the start of the 1970s, there was an album titled Kawaida that I have seen copies of credited usually to Albert Heath (one of Mtume’s uncles) or Herbie Hancock, or practically anyone but Mtume, even though it is generally acknowledged that the album was really his session. I’m going to give you some music from Rebirth Cycle. The song “Yebo” was recorded with some fellow sidemen from Miles Davis’ band at the time. I’ll give you the version released in Japan, followed by the US version:
And one more, just because it is a bit more on the experimental side:
That last one would not be out of place on an Art Ensemble of Chicago session. It does showcase what Mtume was capable of as a percussionist, aided with the electronics available at the time.
Don Cherry gets included as well. Brown Rice is very much fitting as far as format. He was a veteran free jazzer for a good couple decades before that album’s release. I always think of him more as a world music performer in the broadest sense of the term.
Steve Reid recorded several solo LPs in the mid to late 1970s before laying low until the new century. When he came back, he brought in Kieran Hebden (FourTet) as one of his collaborators and arguably recorded some of the best tracks of his life – the two released some intriguing duet albums (Hebden is more of an electronics musician, so a drummer-electronic duet is a bit of a unique combo). In the meantime, enjoy this slice of mid-1970s kozmigroov.
A little more Pharoah Sanders with guitarist Tisziji Muñoz (whose unique guitar work is due to an injury that left him permanently disabled). This track has been one of my favorites when I want some soothing night music:
I’d be remiss if I did not include Alice Coltrane:
She was a formidable artist in her own right before she married John Coltrane and became part of his post-Classic Quartet ensemble. After John passed away, she released a series of albums – first on Impulse! and later on Warner Bros. – that further cemented her legacy as a pianist, harpist (very few performers use this as a lead instrument), and composer. She went off in a completely different direction after the mid-1970s, but left music lovers with plenty of beautiful tracks and inspired others interested in world music/world fusion, and what would later become kozmigroov.
This track is a personal favorite, and was one that got me through a very rough patch in the late 1990s.
Miles Davis’ work from around 1969-1975 ends up mentioned on kozmigroov sites quite frequently. My dad turned me on to his work when I was very young. He was more into the cool jazz stuff he did early on. I loved his electric stuff, but there is work from every era during his career that I cherish. By the time of this gig, Miles was in poor health (mostly self-inflicted) and he was giving more space to his band members to do their thing. He’d also gotten really into stuff Stockhausen was doing, and so he was often playing around with synths instead of the trumpet. A bootleg of lost sessions from 1976 was controversial at the time because Miles’ horn could not be heard anywhere. In reality, he probably was just noodling around on the synth.
This track is really a variation of “Ife” which was part of his regular rotation live around that time. I love the opening to this one. It almost sounds like something a French Impressionist composer might have cooked up if allowed to travel in time to the late 20th century.
Thanks for indulging me this week. I know this week’s diary has a much different vibe. I think being related to a drummer who played professionally for a brief while was quite ear-opening for me. If this one doesn’t quite work out, I’ll do something different next week. Otherwise, I do have a near encyclopedic knowledge of this particular sub-genre.
My favorite artist from this genre is Herbie Hancock. Here is Rain Dance from the Sextant album (1973), which fits the experimental and atmospheric nature of the songs you’ve included.
I prefer his next album, “Headhunters.” My favorite track is Chameleon. This version is from “Flood.”
Glad you included Herbie Hancock. “Rain Dance” almost sounds like it could be an ambient tune in spots. Of course “Chameleon” is arguably his signature song from the Headhunters era – one that spawned several excellent albums. That stuff just sounded ahead of its time.
Wednesday was National Kahlua Day, so I’m sharing Kahlua and Cream Milkshake from Tipsy Bartender.
Kahlua is worth celebrating. For me it’s probably a Big Lebowski thing – the White Russian is the beverage of choice. Helps to keep my mind limber.
Saturday was National Banana Cream Pie Day, so for what will probably be the last day this diary is on the rec list, I’m serving Banana Cream Pie Shots.
I am actually amazed this stayed on the rec list as long as it has. Thanks obviously to those who indulged me a bit here.