Johnny Lytle: People & Love

Johnny Lytle was a big deal during the 1960s and early 1970s. In some respects, the vibraphonist and composer perfected an album model that inspired Creed Taylor's CTI label, combining jazz originals and jazzy interpretations of soul hits. In many respects, there isn't a bad Lytle album. One of my favorites was his interpretation of songs from the soundtrack to A Man and a Woman in 1967. Also terrific are Blue Vibes (1960), The Loop (1966), New and Groovy (1967) and Fast Hands (1980).

Earlier this year, Concord's Craft Recordings in partnership with Jazz Dispensary reissued a remastered vinyl version of Lytle's People & Love, out of print for more than 50 years. Recorded in August 1972 and released originally on the Milestone label that year, the LP features Johnny Lytle (vib), Marvin Cabell (fl, alto fl, ts), Daahoud Hadi (Butch Cornell) (org,el p), Bob Cranshaw (el b), Josell Carter (d), Arthur Jenkins, Jr.(conga,perc) and Betty Glamann (harp).

What makes the album exceptional is the mix of hypnotic originals and jazzy renditions of two soul standards. Two of the originals were written and arranged by Lytle and the third was by written and arranged by Hadi. The soul standards are Where Is the Love?, a hit by Roberta Flack, and the Stylistics' People Make the World Go 'Round, recorded by Lytle months before Milt Jackson's Sunflower album for CTI.

The tracks:

• Where Is the Love
• Libra (Johnny Lytle)
• Family (Lytle)
• Tawhid (Hadi)
• People Make The World Go ‘Round


People & Love features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and was pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. The jacket features original art. The addition of Betty Glamann was a stroke of genius.

Johnny Lytle died in 1995 of kidney failure at age 63.

JazzWax clips: Here's Family...




And here's Tawhid...