Tag Archives: California

Natalie Cole: Stardust

On September 24, 1996, “Elektra” label released “Stardust”, the 15th Natalie Cole album. It was recorded June – September 1996, at “Ocean Way Recording”, “Capitol Studios”, “Conway Studios” and “LeGonks West” in Hollywood, “Record Plant” in Los Angeles, “Chartmaker Studios” in Malibu, California, “The Hit Factory” and “Sony Music Studios” in New York, “The Shire” in Bedford, New York, “Wisseloord Studios” in Hilversum, Netherlands, and was produced by George Duke, David Foster, Phil Ramone and Natalie Cole. At the 39th “Grammy Awards”, Natalie Cole won the “Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals” for the song “When I Fall in Love”, a duet with Nat King Cole. The song also won the “Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s)” for arrangers Alan Broadbent and David Foster.

Personnel:

  • Natalie Cole – lead and backing vocals, vocal and music arrangements, album concept, executive producer
  • Nat King Cole – lead vocals, Hammond B3 organ
  • John Chiodini – guitar, acoustic guitar
  • John Pizzarelli – guitar
  • Paul Jackson Jr. – electric guitar
  • Lee Ritenour – guitar
  • Terry Trotter – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards
  • Michael Lang – acoustic piano
  • Rob Mounsey – acoustic piano, keyboards, music arrangements
  • George Duke – acoustic piano, keyboards, vibraphone, music arrangements, horn arrangements, vocals arrangements
  • Bob James – keyboards, acoustic piano, music arrangements
  • Toots Thielemans – harmonica 
  • Jim Hughart – bass, music arrangements
  • Chuck Domanico – bass
  • David Finck – bass
  • Reggie Hamilton – bass
  • Chuck Berghofer – bass
  • Nathan East – bass
  • Harold Jones – drums
  • Ralph Penland – drums
  • Chris Parker – drums
  • John Guerin – drums
  • John Robinson – drums
  • Harvey Mason – drums
  • Bashiri Johnson – percussion
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion
  • Rafael Padilla – percussion
  • Dan Higgins – saxophone
  • Everette Harp – alto saxophone
  • Michael Brecker – saxophone
  • Wynton Marsalis – trumpet
  • George Bohanon – trombone
  • Jon Clarke – oboe
  • Alan Broadbent – music arrangements
  • John Clayton – music arrangements
  • David Foster – music and vocals arrangements
  • Johnny Mandel – music arrangements
  • Charles Floyd – music arrangements
  • Gordon Jenkins – original music arrangements
  • Clare Fischer – strings arrangements
  • Jerry Hey – horns arrangements
  • Janis Siegel – backing and harmony vocals
  • Al Schmitt – recording, mixing
  • Elliot Scheiner, Erik Zobler, Dave Reitzas – recording
  • Felipe Elgueta, Wayne Holmes, Henk Korff, John Patterson, Patrick Ulenberg – additional engineering
  • Jeffrey Demorris, Peter Doell, Koji Ejawa, Rob Frank, Barry Goldberg, John Hendrickson, Glenn Marchese, Eddie Miller, Charlie Paakkari, Rail Rogut, Robbes Stieglitz – engineer assistant
  • Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction
  • Emily Rich – design
  • Rocky Schenck – photography
  • Simon Ramone, Corrine Duke – production assistant
  • Shari Sutcliffe – project coordinator
  • Dick La Palm – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. There’s a Lull in My Life – Mack Gordon, Harrye Revel
  2. Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish
  3. Let’s Face the Music and Dance – Irving Berlin
  4. Teach Me Tonight – Sammy Cahn, Gene de Paul
  5. When I Fall in Love – Edward Heyman, Victor Young
  6. What a Difference a Day Made – Stanley Adams, María Méndez Grever
  7. Love Letters – Edward Heyman, Victor Young
  8. He Was Too Good to Me – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
  9. Dindi – Ray Gilbert, Antônio Carlos Jobim
  10. Two for the Blues – Neal Hefti, Jon Hendricks
  11. If Love Ain’t There – Johnny Burke
  12. To Whom It May Concern – Nat King Cole, Charlotte Hawkins
  13. Where Can I Go Without You? – Victor Young, Peggy Lee
  14. Ahmad’s Blues – Ahmad Jamal. Bobby Williams
  15. Pick Yourself Up – Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern
  16. If You Could See Me Now – Tadd Dameron, Carl Sigman
  17. Like a Lover – Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Nelson Motta
  18. This Morning It Was Summer – Bob Haynes
  19. When I Fall in Love (Spanish version) – Victor Young, Edward Heyman

Devendra Banhart: Flying Wig

On September 22, 2023, “Mexican Summer” label released “Flying Wig”, the eleventh Devendra Banhart studio album. It was recorded in 2023, at “Cabin Studio” in Tapanga, California, and was produced by Cate Le Bon.

Personnel:

  • Devendra Banhart – vocals, guitar, synthesizer
  • Nicole Lawrence – guitar, pedal steel guitar
  • Cate Le Bon – vocals, bass, synthesizer, percussion
  • Todd Dahlhoff – bass
  • Gregory Rogove – drums, percussion
  • Euan Hinshelwood – saxophone
  • Samur Khouja – backing vocals, engineer, mixing
  • Heba Kadry – mastering
  • Alex Tults – design, layout
  • Dana Trippe – photography

Track listing:

All tracks are written by Devendra Banhart and Cate le Bon, except where noted.

  1. Feeling
  2. Fireflies
  3. Nun
  4. Sight Seer
  5. Sirens
  6. Charger
  7. Flying Wig – Devendra Banhart
  8. Twin – Devendra Banhart, Cate Le Bon, Nicole Lawrence
  9. May – Devendra Banhart
  10. The Party

B. B. King: B. B. King & Friends 80

On September 13, 2005, “Geffen” label released “B. B. King & Friends: 80”, the forty-first B.B. King album. It was recorded in 2005, at “Avatar Studios” and “Right Track Recording” in New York City, “Caesar’s Palace Showroom” in Las Vegas, Nevada, “Conway Recording Studios” in Los Angeles, “O’Henry Studios” in Burbank, California, “Ocean Way Recording” and “Olympic Studios” in London. At the 48th “Annual Grammy Awards”, “B. B. King & Friends: 80” won “Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album”.

Personnel:

  • B. B. King – vocals, guitar
  • Van Morrison – vocals, harmonica
  • Billy F Gibbons – vocals, guitar
  • John Mayer – vocals, guitar
  • Glenn Frey – vocals, guitar
  • Eric Clapton – guitar
  • Clem Clempson – guitar
  • Mark Knopfler – guitar
  • Davey Johnstone – guitar
  • Larry Campbell – guitar
  • Dean Parks – rhythm guitar
  • Elton John – vocals, piano
  • Chris Stainton – keyboards
  • Brian Mitchell – keyboards
  • Guy Babylon – keyboards
  • Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, Hammond organ
  • Luke Smith – Hammond organ
  • Sheryl Crow – vocals
  • Bob Birch – bass guitar
  • Leland Sklar – bass guitar
  • T-Bone Wolk – bass guitar
  • Yolanda Charles – bass guitar
  • Russ Kunkel – drums
  • Billy Ward – drums
  • Ian Thomas – drums
  • Nigel Olsson – drums
  • John Mahon – percussion
  • Brandon Fields – saxophone
  • Jerry Hey – trumpet
  • Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trumpet
  • Gary Grant – trumpet
  • Nathaniel Kunkel – shaker

Track listing:

  1. Early in the Morning – Dallas Bartley, Louis Jordan, Leo Hickman
  2. Tired of Your Jive – Janet Despenza, Johnny Pate
  3. The Thrill is Gone – Roy Hawkins, Rick Darnell
  4. Need Your Love So Bad – Little Willie John, Mertis John Jr.
  5. Ain’t Nobody Home – Jerry Ragovou
  6. Hummingbird – Leon Russell
  7. All Over Again – Carl B. Adams
  8. Drivin’ Wheel – Roosevelt Sykes
  9. There Must Be a Better World Somewhere – Doc Pomus, Mac Rebennack
  10. Never Make Your Move Too Soon – Stix Hooper, Will Jennings
  11. Funny How Time Slips Away – Willie Nelson
  12. Rock This House – James A. Lane

Mars Volta: Amputechture

On September 12, 2006, “Gold Standard Laboratories” and “Universal” label released “Amputechture”, the third Mars Volta studio album. It was recorded November 2005 – May 2006, in Los Angeles, California, El Paso, Texas and Melbourne, Australia, and was produced by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez,

Personnel:

  • Omar Rodríguez-López – guitars, bass, sitar, direction
  • Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals, tanpura
  • Juan Alderete – bass guitar
  • Jon Theodore – drums
  • Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez – percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, drums
  • Isaiah “Ikey” Owens – keyboards
  • Adrián Terrazas-González – flute, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, percussion
  • John Frusciante – rhythm guitar, lead guitar
  • Sara Christina Gross – saxophone
  • Paul Hinojos – sound manipulation
  • Jonathon Debaun – engineer
  • Robert Carranza – engineer
  • Paul Fig – engineer
  • Rich Costey – mixing
  • Pablo Arraya – mixing assistant
  • Vlado Meller – mastering
  • Jeff Jordan – artwork
  • Sonny Kay – layout

Track listing:

All lyrics by Cedric Bixler-Zavala, all music by Omar Rodríguez-López.

  1. Vicarious Atonement
  2. Tetragrammaton
  3. Vermicide
  4. Meccamputechture
  5. Asilos Magdalena
  6. Viscera Eyes
  7. Day of the Baphomets
  8. El Ciervo Vulnerado

The Gun Club: Fire Of Love

On August 31, 1981, “Ruby Records” label released “Fire of Love”, the debut Gun Club (The) album. It was recorded in 1981, at “Studio America” in Pasadena, California, “Quad Teck” in Los Angeles, and was produced by Tito Larriva and Chris D.

Personnel:

  • Jeffrey Lee Pierce – vocals, backing vocals, slide guitar, arrangements
  • Ward Dotson – guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals
  • Rob Ritter – bass
  • Terry Graham – drums
  • Chris D. – backing vocals
  • Lois Graham – backing vocals
  • Pat Burnette, Noah Shark – engineer
  • Chris D. – design
  • Judith Bell – bottle label drawings

Track listing:

All tracks by Jeffrey Lee Pierce, except where noted.

  1. Sex Beat
  2. Preaching the Blues – Robert Johnson
  3. Promise Me
  4. She’s Like Heroin to Me
  5. For the Love of Ivy – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Kid Congo Powers
  6. Fire Spirit
  7. Ghost on the Highway
  8. Jack on Fire
  9. Black Train
  10. Cool Drink of Water – Tommy Johnson, traditional
  11. Goodbye Johnny

Robert Cray Band: Nothin But Love

On August 28, 2012, “Provogue” label released “Nothin but Love”, the 16th Robert Cray studio album. It was recorded in 2012, at “Revolver Recordings” in Thousand Oaks, California, and was produced by Kevin Shirley.

Personnel:

  • Robert Cray – vocals, guitar
  • Jim Pugh – piano, Hammond organ
  • Richard Cousins – bass
  • Tony Braunagel – drums
  • Ron Dziubla – saxophone
  • Lee Thornburg – trumpet, trombone, horn arrangements
  • Jeff Bova – string arrangements
  • Jared Kvitka – engineer
  • Kevin Shirley – mixing
  • Leon Zervos – mastering
  • Roy Koch – artwork
  • Vincenzo Giammanco – photography
  • Jeff Katz – photography

Track listing:

All tracks by Robert Cray, except where noted.

  1. Won’t Be Coming Home – Richard Cousins, Hendrix Ackle
  2. Worry – Jim Pugh, Tony Braunagel
  3. I’ll Always Remember You – Jim Pugh
  4. Side Dish
  5. A Memo – Richard Cousins, Hendrix Ackle
  6. Blues Get Off My Shoulder – Bobby Parker Jr.
  7. Fix This
  8. I’m Done Cryin’
  9. Great Big Old House
  10. Sadder Days

Bobbie Gentry: Ode To Billie Joe

On August 21, 1967, “Capitol” label released “Ode to Billie Joe”, the debut Bobbie Gentry studio album. It was recorded February – July 1967, at “Whitney” in Glendale, California, “Capitol Studios” in Hollywood, and was produced by Kelly Gordon. At the 10th “Annual Grammy Awards”, Bobbie Gentry won “Best New Artists”, the album won “Best Arrangements, Instrumental and Vocal”, “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” and “Best Contemporary Female Solo Vocal Performance”.

Personnel:

  • Bobbie Gentry – vocals
  • Kelly Gordon, Jimmie Haskell – arranger, conductor
  • Joe Polito – engineer
  • Ed Simpson – cover photography

Track listing:

All tracks by Bobbie Gentry, except where noted.

  1. Mississippi Delta
  2. I Saw and Angel Die
  3. Chickasaw County Child
  4. Sunday Best
  5. Niki Hoeky – Jim Ford, Lolly Vegas, Pat Vegas
  6. Papa, Won’t You Let Me Go to Town With You
  7. Bugs
  8. Hurry, Tuesday Child
  9. Lazy Willie
  10. Ode to Billie Joe

Lorde: Solar Power

On August 20, 2021, “Universal Music New Zealand” label released “Solar Power”, the third Lorde studio album. It was recorded 2019 – 2021, at “Electric Lady” in New York City, “Conway” in Los Angeles, “Roundhead” in Auckland, “Rough Customer” in Brooklyn, and was produced by Lorde, Malay and Jack Antonoff.

Personnel:

  • Lorde (Ella Yelich-O’Connor) – vocals
  • Jack Antonoff – acoustic and electric guitars, string acoustic guitar, bass, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, keyboards, Mellotron, Farfisa, drums, percussion, programming, mixing
  • Malay – bass, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, programming
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion, programming
  • Evan Smith – flute, saxophone, keyboards
  • Cole Kamen-Green – trumpet
  • Bobby Hawk – violin
  • Robyn – vocals
  • Clairo – backing vocals
  • Lawrence Arabia – backing vocals
  • Marlon Williams – backing vocals
  • Phoebe Bridgers – backing vocal
  • Mark “Spike” Stent – mixing
  • Laura Sisk – mixing
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Will Quinnell – mastering assistant
  • Matt Wolach – mixing assistant

Track listing:

  1. The Path – Ella Yelich-O’Connor
  2. Solar Power – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  3. California – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  4. Stoned at the Nail Salon – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  5. Fallen Fruit – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  6. Secrets from a Girl (Who See It All) – lyrics by Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff, Robin Carlsson, music by Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  7. The Man with the Axe – lyrics by Ella Yelich-O’Connor, music by Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Malay
  8. Dominoes – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  9. Big Star – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  10. Leader of a New Regime – lyrics by Ella Yelich-O’Connor, music by Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Malay
  11. Mood Ring – Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Jack Antonoff
  12. Oceanic Feeling – Ella Yelich-O’Connor

Planet Drum: In The Groove

On August 5, 2022, “Valley Entertainment” label released “In the Groove”, the fifth Planet Drum album. It was recorded in 2022, at “Studio X” in Sebastopol, California, and was produced by Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussain.

Personnel:

  • Mickey Hart – beats, bass beams (monochord), RAMU (Random Access Musical Universe), the beast, piccolo drums, V-drums, MalletKAT, gamelan, glass bowls, thumb piano, conch, metal, arrangements, mixing
  • Zakir Hussain – vocals, tabla, shakers, madal, dholak, balafon, arrangements, mixing
  • Sikiru Adepoju – apala
  • Giovanni Hidalgo – vocals, congas, bahia, timbales
  • Isaac Eady – drum set
  • Mañengue Hidalgo – congas
  • Melissa Hie – vocals, balafon, doum, djembe, metal, shekere, claps
  • Ophelia Hie – vocals, balafon, metal, shekere, claps
  • Edgardo “Kako” Maldanado – guiro
  • Baba Olatunje – vocals
  • Noel Rosado – bells
  • Jatinder Singh – Rajasthani folk vocals
  • India sessions – bass drum, duff, bottles and hi percussion, buckets, Pune dhol, vocal shouts, tabla, tasha, trash percussion, dimdi, ghumka, halgi, sambhal, sleigh bell, zanj, chondka, Nashik dhol, chenda, dholak, metal percussion, big ghungru, chimpta, dhol, matka, padhant, UduPune dhol, udu
  • Tom Lattanand – arrangements, recording, mixing
  • Adam Tenenbaum – arrangements
  • Michal Menert, Cherron Arens, Jerome Forney, Jonathan Koh, Bill Wolter, Jason Reed – recording
  • Michael Romanowski – mastering
  • Tim Bremner – artwork
  • Reya Hart – associate producer

 Track listing:

  1. King Clave
  2. Storm Drum
  3. Tides
  4. Drops
  5. Phil Da Glass
  6. Gadago Gadago

Teenage Wrist: Still Love

On August 4, 2023, “Epitaph” label released “Still Love”, the third Teenage Wrist studio album. It was recorded in 2022, at “The Steakhouse” in Hollywood, “Red Hawk Residency” in Yucca Valley, California, “Guy Luxe Studio” in Glendale, California, and was produced by Kevin McCombs, Marshall Gallagher and Anthony Salazar.

Personnel:

  • Marshall Gallagher – vocals, guitars, bass
  • Anthony Salazar – vocals, drums, percussion
  • SA Martinez – vocal
  • Mercedes Arn-Horn – vocal
  • Sister Void (Lindsey Nico Mann) – vocal
  • David Marion – vocal
  • Fear Before the March of Flames
  • Heavenward
  • Kyle McAulay, Sam Madill, Nathaniel Motte — engineer, mixing
  • Josh Wilbur — mixing
  • Ted Jensen — mastering

Track listing:

All tracks by Marshall Gallagher and Anthony Salazar, except where noted.

  1. Sunshine
  2. Dark Sky – Marshall Gallagher, Anthony Salazar, Doug Martinez
  3. Still Love – Mercedes Arn-Horn, Phoenix Arn-Horn, Marshall Gallagher, Anthony Salazar
  4. Digital Self
  5. Something Good
  6. Wax Poetic – Marshall Gallagher, Lindsey Nico Mann, Anthony Salazar
  7. Diorama
  8. Cold Case
  9. Cigarette Two Steps – Marshall Gallagher, David Marion, Anthony Salazar
  10. Humbug – Marshall Gallagher, Kamtin Mohager, Anthony Salazar
  11. Sprawled
  12. Paloma a.k.a. Ketamine