7 Comments

The mention of Robin Trower in a piece about jazz made my heart leap for joy. Great piece, I have to check the ones I haven’t heard yet. Thanks

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74 was the year I was introduced to jazz through a live performance with Chick Corea and RTF at the Mainpoint in Philadelphia. I was 16. And these recordings you list were a map of sorts over the years since. I will refer to this list again in the future. Thanks

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Fantastic list! Such a stellar year.

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Roswell Rudd’s Flexible Flyer was another masterpiece that year.

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The number of fantastic artists that put out jazz albums in 1974 leaves me speechless. I have about a third of your list. It is lists like this that convince me that my music purchases will never end.

🤘😎🤘

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There are so many great jazz albums from 1974 on this list, as well as others that didn't make it on the list, which are worth investigating. I was glad, however, to see Masekela's and Carlos Garnett's albums make it!

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I have given myself the challenge of finding a particular track that I heard years ago during a dance performance. I don’t even know where to begin, but it’s definitely fusion, 70’s jazz and it has to be among these albums that you have listed in this post (in case you can figure out exactly what the hell I am talking about, song begins with a fade up on a stabbing trumpet scale (Miles?), then commences a groove that is Latin with a steady conga throughout. A gorgeous velvety bassline weaves in and out of the song and it charms the response of exotic sounding strings. The overall vibe is woozy and hypnotic and almost psychedelic. Herbie Mann”s “Incense” has a very adjacent feel to the song I am describing. Not limited to 1974. Now either I am describing every jazz fusion number from the 70’s or you know exactly which piece I am talking about!!!)

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