CD review – Cool Heat: The Best of CTI Records

Cool Heat: The Best of CTI Records
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Former jazz trumpeter and successful record producer Creed Taylor started his independent label CTI in 1970 when jazz was beginning to broaden its appeal and its reach by entering the jazz-funk and smooth jazz markets.

With an impressive roster of artists, Taylor was able to capitalise on this emerging trend as this 25-track, double CD set shows.

Standout tracks include Eumir Deodato’s still impressive take on Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathrustra”, the original of which has been used as the theme for Stanley Kubrick’s sc-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

A No 2 in the US and a No 7 in the UK it’s accompanied here by the equally funky “Super Strut” from 1973.

Taylor also captured guitarist George Benson before he came a global megastar with the engaging “Supership”. Three other top guitarists are also featured: Gabor Szabo with the Carole King-penned”It’s Going to Take Some Time”, Kenny Burrell with a bluesy version of “God Bless the Child” and Eric Gale with title track of his Forecast album.

Vocal offerings come from the redoutable Esther Phillips with the hard-hitting “Home is Where the Hatred Is” and the disco-flavoured “What a Diff’rence a Day Made” and the inimitable Nina Simone with the Randy Newman song “Baltimore”.

Altogether, it’s an appealing and significant collection that’s well worth investigating.

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