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Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Wild Horses Rock Steady
by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Born John Robert Smith on December 16, 1933 (in Louisville, KY), formerly known as Johnny Hammond Smith, and later as Johnnny Hammond, one of the all-time best jazz organists passed away on June 4, 1997, in Chicago, Illinois. For some of his early fans, some of the best albums he recorded were done for Prestige in the Sixties. A younger generation, who grew up listening to the hip-hop influenced jazz sounds of the 1990s, prefers Johnny's over-produced sessions for Milestone ...
Continue ReadingEric Gale: Forecast
by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Eric Gale (born on September 20, 1938, of Barbadian parents, in Brooklyn, NY) recorded over 500 albums as sideman, backing such stars as Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Dianna Ross, Paul Simon, Lena Horne, Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Van Morrison, Milton Nascimento, Billy Joel, Gato Barbieri and Mongo Santamaria, to name a few. Gale's association with Creed Taylor began when the celebrated producer was working at Verve Records. ...
Continue ReadingPepper Adams: Saxophone Trailblazer
by David A. Orthmann
Pepper Adams: Saxophone Trailblazer Gary Carner 240 ISBN: #9781438494357 Excelsior Editions2023 Baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams was essential to this reviewer's formative years as a jazz enthusiast. During the 1970s, in Storrs, Connecticut, New York City, northern New Jersey, and Kansas City, Missouri, I had many opportunities to witness Adams's blazing talent. Regardless of the setting and the capabilities of the musicians surrounding him, he was always on. It was heady stuff. Lengthy ...
Continue ReadingPepper Adams: Live at Room at the Top
by Edward Blanco
The late, great baritone saxophonist Park Frederick “Pepper" Adams III may be gone but he is certainly not forgotten, as Live at Room at the Top reveals in a spellbinding and blistering engagement documented but not released until now. Recorded at the University of Alberta Student Union at the Top, in September 1972, Adams and the Canadian rhythm section of pianist Tommy Banks, bassist Bobby Cairns and drummer Tom Doran delivered a scorching performance, including a host of relentless solo ...
Continue ReadingPepper Adams: Live at Room at the Top
by Mike Jurkovic
Recorded live in Alberta, Canada, in late September, 1972, Live at Room at the Top hits a top spot. Brought to light by intrepid saxophonist Cory Weeds and his archival Reel to Reel label (part of his Cellar Music Group) Pepper powers his way to the front of the bandstand poised, muscular and insistent with a versatility born from instinct and endurance. Like a lit fuse, Thad Jones inaugural burner “Three and One" finds Adams' smooth but boisterous ...
Continue ReadingPepper Adams and the Tommy Banks Trio: Live at Room at the Top
by Pierre Giroux
In a foreword by Jim Merod to Gary Carner's biography of Pepper Adams “Reflectory: The Life and Music of Pepper Adams," he describes Adams as follows: “Pepper was essentially alone in his magnificent command of his big horn's imposing challenges. He set a standard for its lyric power and boisterous allure." In this double LP 180 gram vinyl release by Reel To Real Records, Live at Room At The Top , Adams demonstrates his creative power ...
Continue ReadingLee Morgan: The Cooker
by Samuel Chell
Although Lee Morgan had already made a handful of albums at the age of 19, The Cooker (1957) represents his throwing down the gauntlet as successor to Clifford Brown's vacated throne. It's close to being a pure bebop session, suggestive of a date like For Musicians Only (Verve, 1956), on which Gillespie, Stitt and Getz set some sort of record for NPS (notes per second). At the same time, the precocious trumpeter, already brimming with confidence, is not about to ...
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