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Jesse Jones, Jr.: Soul Serenade
by Douglas Payne
If you mixed Eddie Harris, Cannonball Adderley and Hank Crawford, you'd get Jesse Jones, Jr. He out-Manns Herbie Mann (on a hard, slow jam of “Comin' Home Baby") and at times even hints at Arthur Blythe ("Precious"). The alto player / flautist / vocalist makes his recording debut here at the age of 52 with a ...
Jerry Gonzalez And The Fort Apache Band: Fire Dance
by Douglas Payne
Seems Jerry Gonzalez can do no wrong. His Fort Apache band has recorded sporadically since 1979, yet has maintained a remarkable unity that continues to strengthen with each recording. Fire Dance is a gem of a performance, caught live at DC's famed (and overpriced) Blues Alley (February 2-6, 1996) and most beautifully recorded by ace producer ...
Benny Green: Kaleidoscope
by Douglas Payne
One must suppose the folks at Blue Note strive to uphold a certain tradition. Kaleidoscope seems to fit the bill; yet, like Benny Green's other Blue Note releases, it's all rather too derivative. The pianist clearly fares better as an accompanist (Ray Brown, Freddie Hubbard and many singers) where his sensitivity to style is an asset. ...
Stanley Turrentine: Easy Walker
by Douglas Payne
Hot on the heels of the recently re-issued Stanley Turrentine Blue Note classic, The Spoiler (Sept. 22, 1966), comes the welcome re-release of Easy Walker. Although released as part of the label's “Rare Groove" series, very little of this rare, soulful jazz will be thought of as funk or acid jazz. With the exception of the ...
Stanley Turrentine Featuring Shirley Scott: Common Touch
by Douglas Payne
Blue Note's been digging deep in the vaults and turned up one long-forgotten gem in Common Touch , a joint production between the former husband-and-wife team of Stanley Turrentine and Shirley Scott. Ms. Scott has always been a vastly underrated organ player who crafted her own light and airy sound out of some dead-serious blues. She ...
Jimmy McGriff: Electric Funk
by Douglas Payne
This 1969 Sonny Lester production was one nearly hopelessly lost slab of solid funk. It often popped up in cut-out bins when records were still waxed. When used-record stores started disappearing, beauties like this started vanishing too. But Blue Note's blessed Rare Groove series has exhumed all 32 minutes of this hard-hitting fon-kee gem (and, to ...
Bob Mintzer: Big Band Trane
by Douglas Payne
Talented Bob Mintzer, no slouch as a leader, arranger, writer or saxophonist, delivers one disappointing tribute to one of his heroes. The idea is certainly noble -- though it's too easy to compare Mintzer's less favorable work here to Eric Dolphy's `arrangements' during the Africa/Brass sessions. And certainly many lesser Trane tributes exist. But this one ...
Hank Crawford: Tight
by Douglas Payne
Here's a most pleasant surprise from the familiar tenor of Hank Crawford - a terrific collection of familiar soul/jazz tunes worthy of his deeply soulful skills and abundant talent. The former Ray Charles section leader has always known how to craft bluesy, soulful sessions - from many, many Atlantic dates in the 60s and terrific soul/disco ...
David Sanchez: Street Scenes
by Douglas Payne
Like James Carter, David Sanchez is an awesomely talented, highly hyped tenor/soprano saxophonist who's lucky enough to be recording for a major label. That means lots of people will hear him and his music. It doesn't hurt that, like Carter too, he's very attractive and stunningly photogenic. In the MTV age, that goes a long way ...
Kenny Burrell, Leny White, et al.: Primal Blue
by Douglas Payne
Drummer Lenny White never shortchanges his listeners on star talent--or tremendous musical combinations. Here, he nominally leads a dream band featuring guitarist Kenny Burrell (who, by virtue of the alphabet, gets first billing), pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter Tim Hagans and reedman Craig Handy. This set of easy, relaxed blues seems, at first listen, ...
