Imagine recording an album and waiting three years for it to come out. That's what happened to saxophonist George Braith with Extension (Blue Note), after recording it in 1964 The delay surely had something to do with the fact that he had already released two other LPs for the label—Soulstream (1963) and Laughing Soul (1966). Or it could have been that the album sounded remarkably like Larry Young's Into Something and Unity, released around the same period. Who knows?
The group on Extension featured George Braith (ss,as,ts), Billy Gardner (org), Grant Green (g) and Clarence Johnston (d).
Braith isn't well known as a 1960s Blue Note artist but should be. His compositions are extraordinary, and the ensemble he assembled is superb. The mystery figure is organist Billy Gardner. He only recorded on 11 albums, from 1960 to 1968. As you can hear, he was spectacular. For more on Gardner, go here. Grant Green plays some might tasty guitar, and Braith was a gorgeous reed player and songwriter, and he's still with us.
Here's George Braith's Extension without ad interruptions...
The group on Extension featured George Braith (ss,as,ts), Billy Gardner (org), Grant Green (g) and Clarence Johnston (d).
Braith isn't well known as a 1960s Blue Note artist but should be. His compositions are extraordinary, and the ensemble he assembled is superb. The mystery figure is organist Billy Gardner. He only recorded on 11 albums, from 1960 to 1968. As you can hear, he was spectacular. For more on Gardner, go here. Grant Green plays some might tasty guitar, and Braith was a gorgeous reed player and songwriter, and he's still with us.
Here's George Braith's Extension without ad interruptions...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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