Creed Taylor's "Cool Revolution"

As it happens and just like that, something is made out of nothing. Yes, just like that, like I was sitting idly that October 2010 evening wondering what would be my next step from a whole lot of complicated issues -- books I'm still thinking if I should put together, the troubled and political atmosphere around the globe and all that stuff, I reflected back the days of my childhood and how jazz music was changed forever when Creed Taylor founded CTI and Kudu Records.

In 1970, Duke University psychology trained-turned producer and engineer founded CTI and its sister label Kudu Records. Its style and discriminating quality transformed jazz when Taylor assembled and developed a historic cast of artists creating the kind of albums that would set a standard in what is today jazz-fusion. The success of CTI's recording in a profound influence of jazz, pop and R&B is what is now echoing with the release of "Cool Revolution," remastered for the first time using the original two-track analog tapes. This brand new 4 CD sets celebrates the vintage years of CTI, when a "distinctive style and sound was born. Each disc represents an aspect of CTI personality straight-up jazz, big hits, the Brazilian influence, and cool, classic sounds."

But despite all the masterpieces in this great project of CTI's 40th Anniversary of crossing over to what had been coined as jazz-fusion, the blend of all musical genres, something seemed to be amiss in this amazing collection: Hank Crwaford's "Tico Rico."

As a teenager and all that jam sessions Lagos was known for, the album "Tico Rico" had been all over the air waves including the record shops blasting it all out loud. It was just fresh from the stables of Creed Taylor International (CTI). And I have begun to know the meaning of jazz fusion and how the magnificent producer Creed Taylor had assembled the best during the Kudu years. And going deep into what was at Kudu Records -- George Benson, Grover Washington Jr., Esther Philips, Stanley Turrentine, Wes Montgomery, Idris Muhammad, Johnny Hammond, Deodato, Mongo Santamaria, Hubert Laws, Bob James, Earl Klugh, Ron Carter, the Cajun man himself Crawford, Eric Gale, Joe Beck, Phil Upchurch, Tennyson Stephens, Grant Green, David Mathews, Thus Spoke Z and others -- jazz fussion came into the fore of my interests in music.

And while "Tico Rico" was driving everybody nuts, I had not been familiar with Crawford's other projects. There was "Help me make it through the night," Jazz Funk," "We Got a Good Thing," and "Wildflower" which was among Crawford's finest projects, which is why "Cool Collection" shouldn't have negated the Cajun man in such finest of projects. But there are reasons though.

The tracks in these amazing collection includes: Milt Jackson's "Sunflower," George Benson's "White Rabbit," Paul Desmond's " Pure Desmond," Jim Hall's "Concirto," Deodato's (Brazilian infleunce) "Prelude," Ron Carter's "All Blues," Hubert Laws' "Morning Star," Stanley Turrentine's "Sugar," Chet Baker's "She was Too Good To Me," Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Stone Flower," Kenny Burrell's "God Bless The Child" and several other tracks that makes this 39 tracks on 4 themed CDs, remastered to capture the classic sounds of the original LPs lavishly illustrated 20 page booklet containing rare photographs and new liner notes including comments by CTI artists and jazz enthusiasts one of the best projects I have encountered in recent times.

Great project from Sony's Masterworks!