John McLaughlin "Are You The One? Are You The One?"

From John McLaughlin's 1978 "Electric Guitarist" album, McLaughlin on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass, and Tony Williams on drums, ask, "Are You The One?"

Hermann Szobel: "Szobel", 1976

Austrian jazz fusion pianist and composer, produced his one and only album, at age 18, in 1976, and this is it.  Herman Szobel was a child prodigy pianist, starting at age six.  Szobel disappeared from the world of music after cutting this record.  Szobel was influenced by Martial Solai and Keith Jarrett.  The music is jazz, blended with western classical music, and rock, so it surely fits into the fusion category and has been likened to the music of Frank Zappa.  It is a real mysterious and yet great record.  The band lineup is:

Herman Szobel: piano, keyboards
Michael Visceglia: bass
Bob Goldman: drums
Dave Samuels: percussion, marimba, vibraphone
Vadim Vyadro: woodwinds (tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute)

The track listing is:

1. Mr. Softee
2. The Szuite
3. Between 7 & 11
4. Transcendental Floss
5. New York City, 6AM

The Hang All Stars - Leverkusener Jazztage 2009

The Hang All Stars performing live at Leverkeusner Jazztage, in Germany in 2009.  The band lineup is:

Lee Ritenour: guitar
Dave Grusin: piano
Don Grusin: keyboards
Nils Wulker: trumpet & flugelhorn
Wolfgang Schmid: drums
Will Kennedy: drums

The track listing:

1. Shuffle City
2. Wes Bound
3. Maroni Moreno
4. Lincoln Blvd.
5. Stone Flower
6. Memphis Stomp (solo: Dave Grusin)
7. Smoke & Mirrors
8. Number 8
9. Catwalk

The Staples Singers "Pray On"

Consider this, a Friday bonus post, as we honor the birth of Roebuck "Pops" Staples.  From the early years of The Staples Singers, Roebuck "Pops" Staples, born on this day in 1914 in Winona, Mississippi. In the early 1950s, Pops co-founded the Staple Singers with son Pervis and daughters Cleotha, Mavis and Yvonne. Here's the group in 1966 performing "Pray On" with Mavis on lead vocal, Pops on guitar and Willie Dixon on bass.

Brecker Brothers Live In Barcelona

Check out this performance by the Brecker Brothers live in Barcelona, Spain.  Return of the Brecker Brothers.  Recorded live at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Spain, as the Brecker Brothers reunited after a decade as individual solo artists.

The band lineup is:

Mike Stern - Guitar
James Genus - Bass
George Whitty - Keyboards
Dennis Chambers - Drums
Michael Brecker - Tenor Saxophone & Akai EWI
Randy Brecker - Trumpet

Little Milton "Feel So Bad"

Little Milton plays a groovy rendition of "Feel So Bad", a bluesy tune, written, by another legend.  Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins. 

Rory Gallagher & Peter Green "Showbiz Blues"

Rory Gallagher and Peter Green, playing "Showbiz Blues".  Or, this could be Gallagher's tribute to Green.  Either way, it is fantastic, as the two of them are legendary players we lost way too soon.  This track comes from the album "Rattlesnake Guitar, The Music of Peter Green".