Both were produced by Brad McCuen, which was weird, since McCuen was a country music heavyweight for RCA at the time and highly regarded. Here's what Gary Burton had to say about him (here). McCuen loved jazz and must have known Lockjaw or loved his horn.
Lock, the Fox is exceptional on every level—the song choices, the groove and Lockjaw's tough sass. McCuen clearly knew how to get maximum value out of recording artists. Backing Lockjaw was Ross Tompkins (p), Les Spann (g), Russell George (b), Chuck Lampkin (d) and Ray Barretto (cga). Hopefully someone will post Lockjaw's The Fox and the Hounds soon.
Until then, here's Lock, the Fox (RCA) without ad interruptions...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.