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Legends of Acid Jazz
by Various Artists (Prestige)
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Reviewed by Douglas Payne
Funny how long it
takes Americans to appreciate the art of their own
culture. London DJs Gilles Peterson and Chris Bangs
created the entire "acid jazz" movement back in
1987 when they began playing old, obscure jazz as dance
music for the club set. This music had elements of funk,
r&b, rock, psychedelia and anything else that was
"crossing over" in jazz between, say, 1965 and
1975. The DJs found a wealth of material in
long-neglected Prestige and Blue Note albums. Shortly
thereafter, the "acid jazz" craze took off and
Europeans and Japanese fans gobbled up all the old
records -- even coming to American stores and paying a
mint for records most Americans couldn't have cared less
about. Eventually, Fantasy licensed many of the records
to the great UK label Beat Goes Public to issue on CD
(individual tracks were also licensed to the Bay Area
label Luv N' Haight for CD issue). Then "acid
jazz" became a musical style young dance bands
started to claim as their own. A decade later, American
labels like Prestige and Blue Note have begun making this
formerly sacrilegious music available again. Now
Americans have started paying attention to acid jazz.
Fantasy, which owns the rich Prestige catalog,
home of all the "acid jazz" greats, introduced
the Legends of Acid Jazz series last year. Most
of the discs contain at least two full albums and feature
retro-hippie cover graphics (fortunately, the original
cover art is reproduced inside -- often with original
liner notes or updated information). Previous releases in
the series have included Rusty Bryant, Johnny Hammond
Smith, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Pucho, Don Patterson/Booker
Ervin, Melvin Sparks, Houston Person, Sonny Stitt,
Bernard Purdie and Idris Muhammad. The following new
reissues are covered here:
Legends
of Acid Jazz -- Jack McDuff features the organist's famed quartet with
guitar prodigy George Benson, tenor man Red Holloway and
Joe Dukes on drums. All 12 tracks on this 70-minute CD
compilation were recorded in July 1964 (three tracks from
Stockholm also feature Benny Golson's crack big band) and
released over six Prestige albums between 1965 and 1969.
Even though this is probably a bit early to qualify as
"acid jazz" -- this disk cooks throughout. It's
exactly the kind of "chitlin circuit" menu
you'd expect at many of the jazz clubs in poor
neighborhoods -- when such things existed back in the
sixties. Everyone's in top form here, but Benson is
stunning. Sounding more like Grant Green than ever, he is
flawless, fast and furious and lets loose one good idea
after another. McDuff, who still churns out prime fatback
for Concord (check out his new one, That's
The Way I Feel About It), is always
strolling down different roads in search of good grooves.
There's plenty here. Highlights, oddly enough, are the
bop classics "Au Privave" and "Opus de
Funk." Recommended -- especially to those who just
like good, hot jazz.
Legends
of Acid Jazz -- Leon Spencer is a welcome
combination of the obscure organist's great debut, Sneak
Preview (1970), and its more commercial
follow-up, Louisiana Slim
(1971). In the early 70s, Spencer memorably helmed the
Hammond B-3 in the bands of Melvin Sparks (Sparks!),
Lou Donaldson ("The Caterpillar"), Rusty Bryant
(Fire Eater) and Sonny Stitt
(the dope "Turn it On"). He knows how to set a
commanding presence with the B-3's pedals, then buoys
that with dazzling, often spare left-handed ideas. His
tunes are about as simple as they come; all riff-based
and catchy. But he uses these as launch pads to execute
dynamic -- almost outside -- solos. Here, he's
accompanied effectively by trumpeter Virgil Jones, future
puffball Grover Washington, guitarist Melvin Sparks,
drummer Idris Muhammad and conga man Buddy Caldwell. The
best tunes are Spencer-penned rockers ("The
Slide," "First Gravy," "Sneak
Preview" and "Louisiana Slim"), the
dancefloor classic, "Message From The Meters"
and a kickass cover of "Someday My Prince Will
Come." R&B cover tunes, like "Mercy Mercy
Me," "Close To You," sweeten the program a
bit too much. But Spencer and fast-fingered Melvin Sparks
offer hard-edged groove solos that make even these
redeemable. Spencer made two more records for Prestige,
then disappeared into the obscurity of Houston, Texas,
where he only occasionally plays today. None of his
albums are classics. But each has moments of first-rate
playing and solid groove. Legends of Acid
Jazz -- Leon Spencer has several.
Legends
of Acid Jazz -- Sonny Phillipsrescues another forgotten organist from
oblivion. Phillips, who took lessons from Ahmad Jamal,
switched to organ in 1959 after hearing Jimmy Smith, who
he most resembles in sound and style. He played with
Eddie Harris in 1966, and was brought to the Prestige
label in 1969 by employer, Houston Person. Phillips
remained in Person's band throughout the 70s, penning at
least two of Person's best numbers ("Kittitian
Carnival" in 1973 and "Preachin and
Teachin" in 1978). Phillips still plays
professionally, and often gets included in "acid
jazz" revival concerts. Here, his debut solo album, Sure
'Nuff (1969), is combined with his third
and final Prestige album, Black on Black
(1970) (Phillips' second album, Black Magic!,
was combined with Sure 'Nuff on
CD by the UK label BGP some years back). Both records are
guided by groovemeister Bernard Purdie, while the first
features Virgil Jones on trumpet, Houston Person on
tenor, Boogaloo "Joe" Jones on guitar and Bob
Bushnell on electric bass. For Black on Black,
Rusty Bryant replaces Person, Melvin Sparks fills in for
Jones and Jimmy Lewis replaces Bushnell. Phillips sets up
heavily blues-drenched grooves throughout. But more often
than not, he lets the horns do the talking. The originals
are all basic blues grinders that allow the players to
unwind (each of the players gets a writing credit on
"Black on Black"). Phillips employs a bit of
exciting flair in his covers of Sonny Rollins'
"Oleo," Grant Green's "Blues in Maude's
Flat" and even CCR's "Proud Mary."
Phillips probably never had enough muster to lead his own
bands. But there's nothing wrong with these ten tracks.
Each one offers satisfying music (even the off-kilter
sounding "Sure 'Nuff, Sure 'Nuff"). There's
much to appreciate here -- and most of it seems more
timeless than one would initially suspect. Especially
recommended to fans of Houston Person and Rusty Bryant.
Legends of Acid Jazz -- Richard
"Groove" Holmes finds this heavyweight organist (1931-1991)
basking in the glories of his 1966 hit version of
"Misty." He recorded ten albums for Prestige
between 1965 and 1968. The two combined on this disc were
the last. The Groover (1968)
features the organist with drummer Billy Jackson and
incredible guitarist George Freeman alternating duties
with Earl Maddox. That Healin' Feelin' (1968)
features Rusty Bryant on tenor (alto on
"Laura"), Billy Butler on guitar and Herbie
Lovelle on drums. Holmes gives his sound distinction with
fast footwork, a bell-like tone in the upper registers
and a true affection for the bop language spiced with
unabashed chitlin groove. Predictably, after
"Misty," one finds many covers here. There's
the high-energy "Speak Low," the lazy
"Blue Moon, "I'll Remember April,"
"Laura" and the hotter-than-expected "On A
Clear Day." As for the "acid jazz" quota,
Freeman's "The Walrus," Les McCann's "That
Healin' Feelin'" and Billy Butler's "Irene
Court" are the hands-down winners. Billy Butler's
unique sound is also heard to wonderful effect on
"See See Rider." I've often found there's more
to appreciate in Holmes' musicianship than his groove
sensibilities. As in his Groove Merchant records from the
70s and the Muse dates during the 80s, it's true here
too. This is just good playing. Not too much that's
memorable. But enjoyable none the less.
Legends
of Acid Jazz -- Gene Ammons saves the best for last. It's also the only one
of this batch that doesn't feature an organist. Gene
Ammons (1925-1974) was one of the great tenor players of
all time. He recorded for many labels, but mostly for
Prestige throughout his 30-year career; playing bop as
easily as R&B, swinging as quick as he was to please
with popular favorites. Moreover, he had one of the most
distinctive, commanding tones on tenor -- a low, guttural
surge of emotion that was unmistakably his own. The
hard-to-find sessions found here include The
Black Cat (1970), You Talk That
Talk (1971 -- with Sonny Stitt) and two
edited tracks from 1962 featured on a compilation record
called Soul/Jazz Giants. The
two full-length sessions from 70s were made during a
frantic recording spell between his release from a long
prison stay in 1969 and his death in 1974. You
Talk That Talk features Ammons and Stitt in
one of their innumerable tenor duels with Leon Spencer on
organ, George Freeman on guitar and Idris Muhammad on
drums. Both Ammons and Stitt are in good form -- but the
session is more enjoyable than it is memorable and less
invigorating as their next and last pairing, Together
Again For The Last Time (1973). Ammons is
on Veritone for "The People's Choice,"
"Out Of It" and "Katea's Dance."
While not as inspired as Eddie Harris on the electric
sax, Ammons still sounds good, offering a low
trumpet-like wail that contrasts surprisingly nicely to
Stitt's traditional tenor. The Black Cat is
a scorcher, though. This session features Freeman and
Muhammad with Harold Mabern on piano and Ron Carter on
bass. The piano/guitar combination works especially well
behind Ammons -- who's acoustic all the way here. There
are some blistering blues ("Piece To Keep The Evil
Spirits Away," "The Black Cat," "Hi
Ruth!"), the scintillating dancefloor classic
"Jug Eyes" and surprisingly good renditions of
Linda Ronstadt's "Long Long Time" and The
Beatles' "Something." The program is filled to
the 75-minute brink with two 1962 foot-tapping quartet
covers highlighting Mr. Ammons' ability to swing within
familiar regions (Don Patterson's on organ for these with
Paul Weeden on guitar and Billy James on drums). There's
plenty of worthwhile Gene Ammons available on CD, but
some of this music adds up to his very best playing after
1969. Worth checking out.
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