Bozo Mark's Hot Pix In The CD Player For Autumn (September, October, & November)

This time around I thought I'd spotlight the latest releases by all the great guest stars who'll be appearing on BOZO allegro's upcoming CD, Relentless Cheerful. All this stuff is highly recommended.

1. STEVE KHAN	Steve Khan & Rob Mounsey	You Are Here	Siam
	The Caribbean Jazz Project	New Horizons	Concord Picante

Those who only know Khan's electric fretwork from Steely Dan or The Brecker Brothers will be surprised by these two recent releases - he mostly plays acoustic and nylon string guitars throughout (and the latter is what he plays on BOZO's album). These are both collaborative efforts (Dave Samuels on mallets and Dave Valentin on flute make up the rest of the CJP). Khan and keyboardist Mounsey co-wrote all but three of the eight tunes on their album, with each of them solely penning a number and one by Manolo Badrena. It features nice grooves, tasty playing, and impeccable production. Their collaboration has been unfairly labeled as "new-age" (one of their albums - maybe it was this one - got a Grammy nomination in that category) but the progressions and the playing are far above and beyond that usual pentatonic-diatonic noodling. This is relaxing, but it's anything but simple. On my last listing of CD picks I praised the CRP's first two albums with Andy Narell and Paquito D'Rivera, and New Horizon is the latest with Samuels being the only returning member (I guess he must be the boss, huh?). Khan is the high point throughout. He penned three tunes, which are all cool, and his playing consistently snaps and sizzles. The band is still exploring the Caribbean and South American genres, but this one is a little lighter and smoother than the first two, mostly due to the flute-instead-of-sax component. I'd recommend hearing all three. For more information, visit Khan's website at www.stevekhan.com

2. ROB MOUNSEY	Flying Monkey Orchestra	Back In The Pool	Monkeyville
	Flying Monkey Orchestra	Mango Theory	Monkeyville

These are both terrific. In addition to Mounsey, Michael Brecker, Steve Khan, Lew Soloff, George Young, and Will Lee appear on both discs. Mounsey's music defies description. Some of the tunes are beautiful jazz tone poems, some are goofy little songs with peculiar/intriguing/what-did-he-say? lyrics, some are indescribable. Mounsey works mostly as a constructionalist, building his songs from the bottom up in the studio. It's common for him to invite a player in, have them blow over the tracks while recording everything, and then cut and paste to his heart's content later on. He loves to set up funky grooves and let a hot soloist like Soloff or Brecker loose on top of them. The results are extremely satisfying. I guarantee you'll have at least one good laugh and one solid booty shaker per album. I love to put these two on - sometimes with, sometimes without the Mounsey/Khan album - and spiral between them. This is the music you want to be playing when the smart set comes over for martinis and snappy repartee. "Don't quibble, Sybil" - "Nice music, what?" - "Darling, only dull people are brilliant at breakfast..." - Try it, you'll like it. For more information, check out Mounsey's website at www.flyingmonkey.com

3. LEW SOLOFF		With A Song In My Heart	Milestone
	Lew Soloff and Company	Rainbow Mountain	32 Jazz

Soloff is one hot trumpeter, no doubt about that, and these two albums - his two most recent - showcase very different sides of his personality. On the first, he works with a traditional jazz trio of piano (Mulgrew Miller), bass (George Mraz), and drums (Victor Lewis) - solid pros all - for a swinging straight-ahead set of standards ("Come Rain Or Come Shine," "The Way You Look Tonight," "I'm A Fool To Want You," and the eponymous track) coupled with cool originals. Soloff plays with a Harmon mute throughout, which evokes Miles, of course, but both his sound and his swing are impeccably his own. This is wonderful seduction music. On Rainbow Mountain, Soloff teams with one of his regular touring groups - Joe Beck, guitar, Lou Marini, saxes and flute, Mark Egan, bass, and Danny Gottlieb, drums - for more of a fusion romp. The originals - three by Marini, one each by Beck, Egan, and Delmar Brown - are wonderful blends of latin, funk, rock, and swing. And the covers! Dig this: "Susie Q," "Up From The Skies," "Born On The Bayou," and "Stairway To Heaven" (!). Very cool. Soloff and Marini are the standout soloists on this one, but it's more about the grooves, which are really bitchin'. I like both of these, and especially enjoy spiraling between the two.

4. STEVE SWALLOW	Deconstructed	XtraWATT/BMG
	Always Pack Your Uniform On Top	XtraWATT/ECM

Swallow is probably better known for who he's played bass for - first Gary Burton, now Carla Bley - but he's been releasing cool solo albums for years. These two, the most recent, pair nicely, for they feature the same instrumentation and almost the same personnel ( Swallow - bass, Chris Potter - tenor sax, Mick Goodrick - guitar, Adam Nussbaum - drums, with trumpeters Ryan Kisor and Barry Ries, respectively), all the tunes are Swallow's, and the first is a studio album while the second finds the mostly-same band live at Ronnie Scott's in London. Great tunes, great playing, great solos. All great! One of the things I've really liked about the last three of Swallow's albums is that he's been including the lead sheets to all the tunes, which really enriches the listening process. Of special note is Swallow's playing - it's an interesting hybrid of styles: he's originally a string bassist/pianist, but he uses a pick and favors the upper register of his five-string electric, which gives him more of a guitar sound - but he doesn't think like a guitarist. Intriguing lines and interesting articulation. This is one of his best bands, doing what they do so well. Enjoy.

5. FRED WESLEY	Swing And Be Funky	Minor Music
	Amalgamation	Minor Music

I've praised Wesley and his work several times in this column, this is only the latest. If you haven't heard his work, you should. As Matthew Zimmerman, my engineer and co-producer, remarked as we recorded his solos for the new album, "He's the best trombonist I've ever heard." I second that emotion! This is his touring band, and like Swallow's recordings one of these - the first - is live, the other is a studio endeavor. Hugh Ragin on trumpet, Karl Denson on saxes, Peter Madsen on keyboards, Dwayne Dolphin on bass, and Bruce Cox on drums make up the rest of the band, and they are all hot muthas. The live album features longer solos and some extended funk grooves, and the studio album has tighter charts and more compositional scope. Wesley, as I've said before, is the only guy I know who swings as well as he funks and vice versa. If you've never heard him play before, these two are great places to start. Get them now!

And, of course, all of the five great players above will be featured on BOZO allegro's new CD, Relentlessly Cheerful, which should be out in early 2001. Stay tuned for details!