GEORGE DUKE- A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR- LP: SUMMER MUSIC

GEORGE DUKE- A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR- LP- EPIC RECORDS- 1979
For the second straight day it's been 50 degrees plus in the Twin Cities, which for mid-March is a miracle, or a sure sign of global warming, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, the weather's got me thinking 'bout spring and summer and few tunes say "warm weather" like George Duke's brilliant "Brazilian Love Affair" off of this LP. George Duke's use of Brazilian percussion, (maned by the legendary percussionist Airto) guitars, and vocal harmonies, as well as his standard synth experimentation, give this joint a unique sound that makes you feel like you're at the beach in Rio, or at least somewhere warm. The LP features a great cast of Brazilian musicians who help create great jazz/funk/soul/Brazilian fusion, including Flora Purim, Raul De Souza, Milton Nascimento and the aforementioned Airto. Enjoy the song and the warm weather, those of you in MN.

A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR

Spiritual Jazz: Doug & Jean Carn- Higher Ground LP

DOUG & JEAN CARN- HIGHER GROUND- LP- OVATION RECORDS- 1976
High quality vocal spiritual jazz LP by the husband-wife duo of Doug and Jean Carn. The players on the album are a who's who of rare groove soul-funk-jazz of the time and the near future: Doug Carn on keys and vocals, Ronnie Laws on sax, Calvin Keys on guitar, Big Black on percussion, Harvey Mason (called Harold on the record cover) on drums. Jean Carn would go on to a successful career in more mainstream soul/funk, but this shows you where she and Doug were at with there music in the mid-70s. The cover of Coltrane's "Naima" is my personal favorite track on the LP.

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