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This jazz recording is considered the 'magnum opus' of master drummer, composer, arranger, producer and leader Norman Connors in a career that spans four decades. The LP is also considered by many to be the debut of legendary vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, who has had a brilliant career ever since. Connors assembled an all-star group with Herbie Hancock and Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano and Fender Rhodes, Eddie Henderson on trumpet/flugelhorn, Carlos Garnett on tenor/soprano saxophone, Gary Bartz on alto/soprano saxophone, Buster Williams on bass, drummer/vocalist Bill Summers and Kenneth Nash with his percussion instruments, and landmark, important guest appearances by master flutist Hubert Laws. For the song "Love From The Sun," Connors enlisted violinist Nathan Rubin and Terry Adams with his cello.
The 'best of the best' begins with the exotic theme of Hancock's "Revelation," wordlessly and beautifully copied by Ms. Bridgewater over Williams' bass patterns in a bouncing ostinato, with flights of fancy by Hubert Laws on flute and great, radiant solos by Henderson's exotic trumpet, Garnett's soprano sax and Hancock's Fender Rhodes. Garnett's "Carlos II" is another great composition with remarkable solos. Connors' own "Drums Around The Worlds'" is marked by African and Latin rhythms with emotional vocals by Summers and a drum-only section that grows in intensity. One of the album's highlights is Bridgewater's grand, glorious vocalization of Richard Clay's beautiful song "Love From The Sun" in one of the greatest takes of her career, arranged by Gumbs. Elmer Gibson's "Kumakucha (The Sun Has Risen)" is a blazing display of uptempo musicianship by Connor's driving drums, the powerful congas of Summers and Nash, and exciting solos by Bartz, Henderson on trumpet, and Hancock's impassioned piano solo. The set ends with the wonderful "Holy Waters," composed and arranged by Garnett in a blistering performance by Bridgewater, Garnett unleashes one of the greatest solos of his career, followed by Gumbs' inventive solo.
With my complimentsJohn Braswell
1. Revelation
2. Carlos II
3. Drums Around The World
4. Love From The Sun
5. Kumakucha
6. Holy Waters