Now THIS is a rhythm section

Funk 'N' Stein · #1 07-22-2008, 06:17 AM

Found this absolute gem while surfing youtube . My guess is that it is from the early 80's?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLtREvE4AxQ

Honestly...this is the best piece of music I've heard in a LONG time.

Steve Gadd's drumming is just sublime...faultless!!

Lee Ritenour's playing is superb....those riffs!!! Eric Gale's funk scratching (2:15) in the 'B' section is simply incredible. Dave Grusin...WHOA!!! Go Dave

...and Anthony Jackson...Bass octave master class from 3:35 onward. EVERY note he plays is absolute perfection.

Good music NEVER goes out of style.

Any thoughts??

PS...it sounds much better through 'phones

fenderhutz · #2 07-22-2008, 06:53 AM

The one YouTube comment was right.

"The Kenny G of jazz guitar."

moomoocajoo · #3 07-22-2008, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk 'N' Stein

Good music NEVER goes out of style.

**KJung** · #4 07-22-2008, 07:32 AM

I agree with the above that Ritenour, as good of a player as he is, just has a way of making the music he's associated with sound a little cheezy.

If you dig these guys, there are a number of other contexts which are amazing:

1) The Gadd Gang recordings.... amazing grooves and funk

2) The Paul Simon work using many of these guys as his back-up band.. stunning.

3) The GRP All Stars recordings with Carlos Vega on drums... amazing!

4) The 'Section' recordings... kind of the mirror image of the Gadd Gang, with Leland Sklar, etc. (James Taylor's original back-up section).

5) The wonderful Ritenour DVD called 'Overtime'. It's a career retrospective with some amazing playing, and Lee at his 'non cheezy best' IMO. (seeing Anthony Jackson play Captain Fingers is worth the price of the DVD)

All wonderful stuff IMO!

Blake Bass · #5 07-22-2008, 07:44 AM

No doubt that is great group of players. But I have to agree that it sounds really dated and cheesy.

Alexander Eddy · #6 07-22-2008, 08:11 AM

Tight!

AK Rev · #7 07-22-2008, 08:40 AM

tight cheese

T-MOST · #8 07-22-2008, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

The one YouTube comment was right.

"The Kenny G of jazz guitar."

I have to disagree with this. Lee has chops and great taste. he's definately definately among the best Jazz and R&B guitarists alive. IMO

JimK · #9 07-22-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

The 'Section' recordings... kind of the mirror image of the Gadd Gang, with Leland Sklar, etc. (James Taylor's original back-up section).

I finally picked up one of The Section albums last week. I'm not hearing them as a mirror of the Gadd Gang. What did I miss?
Hate to say it...the Gadd Gang (w/ the great Eddie Gomez on bass, no less) kinda bores me.

An aside-
The Section's guitarist Danny Kortchmar had another band made up of some '70s Rock/Pop session guys: Jo Mama...I picked this up last week, too. Bassist Charles Larkey (best known, I guess, for Carole King's Tapestry...see the current Bass Player mag for a review) has some nice R&B/Motown/Jamerson inspired grooves.

jerry · #10 07-22-2008, 10:39 AM

IMHO, the 80's were tough on the commercial jazz scene[soundwise]. Labels like GRP that started out great in the late 70's started releasing product that was just overproduced for music that is jazz based. Lee Ritenour's 70's albums had much more balls than his 80's output. It wasn't his/their fault, it was just the times. There were a lot of things that happened at the same time, drum machines/ gated drums, MIDI keyboards that just got out of hand etc.
You put that together with the then new CD format and dreaded DDD recordings that were being hyped, and it was the perfect storm for processed cheeze.

BuffaloBass · #11 07-22-2008, 11:54 AM

Yeah, I was in the US Army in the 80's, mostly tune "restricted". Didnt miss much from that decade. Big hair and I had none!

Anthony J is too freakin' cool !

HashbrownCOBM · #12 07-22-2008, 04:53 PM

Oh my God. I feel like I just took a bath in high fructose corn syrup and I'm diabetic. That's not good. Can't deny they know what they're doin but that was just ugh.

fenderhutz · #13 07-22-2008, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk 'N' Stein

Good music NEVER goes out of style.

I am glad those hairstyles did though......wow.

hublocker · #14 07-22-2008, 05:03 PM

The best played elevator music I've ever heard.

fenderhutz · #15 07-22-2008, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hublocker

The best played elevator music I've ever heard.

K-Mart radio.

projectMalamute · #16 07-22-2008, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerry

IMHO, the 80's were tough on the commercial jazz scene[soundwise]. Labels like GRP that started out great in the late 70's started releasing product that was just overproduced for music that is jazz based. Lee Ritenour's 70's albums had much more balls than his 80's output. It wasn't his/their fault, it was just the times. There were a lot of things that happened at the same time, drum machines/ gated drums, MIDI keyboards that just got out of hand etc.
You put that together with the then new CD format and dreaded DDD recordings that were being hyped, and it was the perfect storm for processed cheeze.

Who's fault was it? If you choose to jump on the latest trend and make some crappy music because you think it will sell it is absolutely your fault when it sounds absurdly dated down the road. Lots of people made great records in the 80's.

Funk 'N' Stein · #17 07-22-2008, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by projectMalamute

Who's fault was it? If you choose to jump on the latest trend and make some crappy music because you think it will sell it is absolutely your fault when it sounds absurdly dated down the road. Lots of people made great records in the 80's.

I certainly dont think this particular example is crappy music...far from it. A little dated perhaps...yes. Crappy?...hell no.

Matt Till · #18 07-23-2008, 12:18 AM

Get rid of the synths and vocals, and it wouldn't sound so horrendously dated.

jellymax · #19 07-23-2008, 12:36 AM

i can't imagine steve gadd & the rest of them looking back on this video with
any fondness...

try to dance to it, you might have to do the robot...

**KJung** · #20 07-23-2008, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimK

I finally picked up one of The Section albums last week. I'm not hearing them as a mirror of the Gadd Gang. What did I miss?
Hate to say it...the Gadd Gang (w/ the great Eddie Gomez on bass, no less) kinda bores me.

Not sure if the above post means you like one and not the other, or what

By 'mirror', what I meant is that the Sklar, Kunkle 'Section' was, to my ear, a great 'pop/folk/country rock rhythm section (Carol King, James Taylor, etc.) that actually put out some reasonable legitimate 'hard fusion' recordings under the name the 'Section'.

The Gadd gang came out of the pop/jazz thing directly (Paul Simon, Grover Washington, etc.), and IMO really kept that whole vibe and feel in the Gadd Gang recordings.

That being said, I agree with you that the song writing was not the greatest with any of these 'rhythm section' solo recordings (I feel the same way about all the Booker T stuff). However, as a rhythm section player and sideman, I TOTALLY love these recordings for the groove, taste, and musicianship involved.

And, yeah, the 80's were not a particularly good time for these guys, and GRP seemed to push them a bit too commercial for my tastes, but that has nothing to do with their larger body of work, and the fact that these guys comprised the best rhythm sections of all time in pop music.

To the very negative posters above, if you are limited in your appreciation to 1,4,5 blues tunes, IMO, you should at least try to expand your horizons a little bit. Sometimes, you can actually learn and incorporate some stuff you might not particularly like into your own playing to improve time, execution, and to develop an actual voice on bass.