Supertramp enjoyed massive world-wide success in the mid to late 70's, with their distinctive sound, catchy melodies and original arrangements. Band members Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, contributed greatly to this sharing the duties for vocals and writing as well as on some brilliantly effective Wurlitzer playing. The prominent use of electric piano on many of Supertramp's classic hits stands out as some of the best ever in the rock field. Crime Of The Century was the group's break through record and contains some superb moments like Rick's near minute long intro on Bloody Well Right(1). Roger takes his turn on the hit Dreamer(2) which is driven along by some great rhythmic playing while on Hide In Your Shell(3) he starts with a mellower approach.

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Joe Sample has had a successful solo career running alongside his duties with The Crusaders. This project was released in 1994 and features Joe on electric and acoustic pianos playing tight, soulful funk with some top session men. There are lots of great cuts, the solo on the version of Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder(1) is really cool, another track I really love is The Last Buzz(2) which is very reminiscent of The Crusaders. All in all another great achievement for the impeccable Joe.

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This CD single is out now (June 1999) on F Communications, the French label that has been releasing good quality house/techno for several years. I don't know much about Alexkid himself except that it's him on the cover showing, aged three, an early interest in keyboards. Two cuts feature Rhodes piano on this instrumental four tracker, and no less than three e.p. players get credit on the sleeve. Soul College(1) is the funky title cut and it contains some nice spots, but it's Esmeralda (meet you at the fun fair)(2) that does it for me - a mellow house track with Rhodes all the way through. I can almost forgive the label for Mr Oizo.... :-)

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As the title states all tracks on this CD were recorded in Rio De Janeiro for Far Out records producer Joe Davis. This is the second volume of a project that features both established and up and coming talents exploring the incredibly rich musical heritage of Brazil. Pianist/producer Fabio Fonseca plays a variety of keyboards on many of the tracks. On Dona Cora he provides increasingly urgent Rhodes, and Zona Sul contains excellent playing on e.p. and Hammond organ. Many of the other vocal and instrumental tracks also feature Rhodes confirming the Brazilian affinity to this instrument. I highly recommend this album to lovers of mellow Latin/fusion.

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Patrice Rushen is known best for the club hit Forget Me Nots, which was interpolated by Will Smith for the movie theme Men In Black. This song was part of a run of hits she had in the 80's, several of which contained e.p. work that hinted at her jazz-funk roots. Some may be surprised to learn that her debut album, which came out on Prestige, was released as early as 1974 when Patrice was just 20 years old. It was called Prelusion and is coupled with it's 1975 follow-up Before The Dawn on this 2 for 1 reissue. The first album contains mainly acoustic piano accept on Haw-Right Now(1) where her taste for Rhodes is revealed. The cuts from the second album are right in the funk/fusion groove of that era, electric piano features more prominently this time on tracks like Kickin' Back(2), and Razzia(3).

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A nice serving of U.S. style acid-jazz from Slide Five, the San Francisco based band who record for the excellent Ubiquity label. Dave Warrin plays keyboards and there is e.p. present on all the tracks. The title cut Rhode Trip(1) is of course dominated by the piano, and there are good solos on Up & Out(2) and also Tribute(3). This is a really good debut from 1994 that contrasts horns against electric piano very effectively. Another good release from Ubiquity whose complete catalogue is worth investigating if you like funky stuff.

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