Check this out. The stereo we had at my house in the early seventies was made up of the inner workings of a jukebox that my grandfather absconded 😉 from a work site restoration of a closed-down restaurant. Dad made some beautiful wooden cabinets for the speakers, and sprung for a brand new Garrard turntable. It sounded great, I guess, and we listened to it for years.

I’ve always been a listener, and my life is filled with music. My first real nice albums (yes, albums!) I inherited from my older brother Will, after he left for the Air Force in 1974. His collection of albums included Osibissa, Barrabas, Gypsy, King Crimson, Isley Brothers, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and a whole slew of other artists, like Malo and Santana, Yes, and Caldera. Before that, I had a few 45’s, and I even listened to my dad’s music, like The Sandpipers, Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass, etc.

Nevertheless, I had friends with really nice components. I remember Junior ‘Lagarto’ system with like 75 watts and AR 2ax speakers. Awesome sound! There I listened to Tower of Power, Al Di Meola, Four Seasons and others. His dad was retired military and we would buy packs of Marlboros from him, at a discount, thru his bedroom window. Weird….
Anyway, it wasn’t until the mid to late 70s, when I was turned on to Chick Corea and Return to Forever, that I discovered my favorite music style: Fusion. I would listen to music at my friends’ Peter Fernandez and Bobby Olson. I spent many an afternoon and evening listening to their great collection of albums of John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tania Maria, Passport, Return to Forever, Jeff Beck and Weather Report with Jaco Pastorius (probably the best bass player in the world). I listened to some of the best Reggae, Brazil and New Wave music with those two guys too. Continue reading →