Baron Von Ohlen Quartet- The Baron

Do not sleep on Creative World, there's several cool titles to hit up on that label... yes!
One joint that really sticks out though seems to be The Baron LP from 1972.
This is a record featuring a group lead by drummer Baron Von Ohlen.
Equipt with extensive liner notes on the musicians which I'm not going to quote here, instruments includes: drums, electric piano, organ, with a few vocals and abstract singing.
The line-up is a little bit out of the ordinary, there is no bassist present but two keyboard players where the organist plays the bass part as well as taking leads and solos.
With the two keyboards Fender Rhodes and Farfisa organ complementing each other it creates a thick mellowed out groove and gives the music a distinct and blissful sound.
A fave track off here is the opening cut entitled Tergiversation (The Whistling Tune).
I'm not sure if Baron Von Ohlen ever put out other records, and was this guy a real baron or was it a self-proclaimed title?

Creme Fraiche- Plays Compositions By Lars Togeby

Picking up on Storyville as I mentioned there's other releases on the label thats worth talking about.
I'm proud to say that my uncle Lars Togeby actually put out a record on that label, yes!
The album features his bigband Creme Fraiche consistant of mainly Danish players with all music composed by Lars Togeby, from 1978 this is modern electric jazz borderline fusion with some slight latin elements.
If this LP had been recorded by Rudy Van Gelder it would have fitted straight into the CTI catalogue, no doubt Lars Togeby was inspired by the early 70's US bigband sound themes and complex arrangements.
I do have a favourite cut off the album, Thats All has a almost spooky soundtrack like groove with Mads Vinding laying down the foundation, a looping bassline with the brass section remenisent of those classic CTI records, the track has some nice Rhodes breaks with spacey reverb and the following piano solo progresses into a somewhat Herbie Hancock flavored vibe, not bad at all.
I heard Creme Fraiche preform this track at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival acouple of years ago and it was pure fire!!
In the late 70's Lars Togeby was negotiating to sign with Stan Kenton's Creative World for a US release of Creme Fraiche, unfortunately Kenton passed away before the deal was closed and the album has remained a DK only gem.

Green Line

On a Steve Marcus related note, today I'm flossing a Danish album recorded in Japan 1970 by four musicians from Europe and the US.
Green Line is very rare and one the most sort after LP's on Storyville, a Danish jazz label that did mainly traditional releases but with a few exeptions.
The players include Steve Marcus, sax, Miroslav Vitous, bass, Sonny Sharrock, guitar and Daniel Humair on drums.
With tracks exploring avant-garde jazz, I wouldnt really have kept this joint if it wasnt for the (for me) stand out cut Melvin.
Yes this is what its all about, Melvin penned by Humair opens with hardcore modal jazzfunk held down by a tough upright bass + guitar riff...definitely recommendable for the funk jazz collectro.
As you can see the cover is not in the best of conditions but the vinyl is fortunately near mint.
I found it many years ago, I recall that the shop had a whole pile of these glued together due to water damage, I literally pulled them apart one by one and chose the least damaged, thing is I only bought one copy, they were under a dollar a piece and I should have copped the entire stack of course, they would have made me a small ebay fortune today!

Steve Marcus- Tomorrow Never Knows

YES...Tomorrow Never Knows with Steve Marcus is the first record that I'll be flossing up in here.
Its on the US prog jazz label Vortex, I'm not really familiar with a lot of releases on that label, just Joe Zawinul's Third Stream album.
As far as I know Steve Marcus's other outings on Vortex are more leftfield and a bit noisier than Tomorrow Never Knows, please give me a shout if you have anything to add about he's Vortex albums cause I dont know them that well.
From 1968 side 1 echoes the sounds of the late 60's contemporary rock scene with some Donavan and Beatles, not easy listening styled but raw and in your face-ish.
Side 2 is where its at though, shifting gears into a progressive jazz mode with the title track, (11:07 min. long and also a Beatles thingy btw) a mellow theme over rumbling fuzz guitar with a modal (funk) bassline and rock drumming, wow... Ahead of its time and at this point sounds like electric Miles did a few years later. The track proceeds in what I'd describe as psychedelic jazz, then changes mood with a long acoustic piano stretch for the middle part.
The last cut is good too, reminds me of a 1997 hiphop sample or some shit off a Cadet Concept record with John Klemmer.
There's no musicians credited on the cover, Steve Marcus plays saxophone(s), other than that instruments featured includes drums, fenderbass, ac. piano, hapsicord and el. guitar.
Produced by Herbie Mann.