Les Miserables? Non, Les Magnifique!

Yes, Les is once again, magnificent on this OOP recording from 1964. As can often be the case with Les McCann, his music and delivery can sneak up on you or appear far too comfortable/easy to make a quick impression. But once you've paid a little attention and think a bit beyond your head boppin', toe tappin', smilin' self, you realize that this guy is just so much fun and so sensitive to the emotions of music. Through his  piano and his voice (though he does no singing on this album) he connects as only the truest of soulful musicians can do. Since the album details, including the entire liner notes from the back cover, were available on line, I've included all the details below and I probably don't need to say much else here. But I will add a few thoughts on this generally scarce LP. Side one opens with a compelling "Could Be" that delivers a variety of moods nicely while "Stragler" & "Restin' In Jail" lead smoothly into an inspiring exercise to end the side with "Bailor the Wailer". This track impresses with Les' agile keyboard work and playful feel. Side two starts off with a tender tune, "Maleah", which includes a nice acoustic guitar solo/interlude from Dennis Budimir. Dennis is otherwise generally in the background on the album, to my disappointment, put this is his showcase for the date and you can hear him pop up momentarily here and there on a few other cuts. "Lot of Living To Do" is a Broadway tune (Bye Bye Birdie) which Les really puts his stamp on nicely, delivering a spirited bit of fun along with the album's only drum solo, a crisp complement to McCann's piano work, crafted by the accomplished Paul Humphrey. "Kathleen's Theme" is a pretty number that leads into a happy go lucky "Gus Gus". All in all, another keeper from the man McCann. The Gerald Wilson Orchestra certainly does a tasteful job, ably supporting Les' trio with tasteful strings and some great brass accents throughout. It's a very natural combination. This was released in 1965 and doesn't seem to be available, except in LP format on the used market. Unfortunately my copy is a bit used as well and you can expect to notice that you are indeed listening to vinyl. I apologize for that, did remove quite a bit of the clicking but wasn't happy with what "Click Repair" was doing, so I resorted to a manual treatment which leaves some artifacts. Someone else must have a cleaner copy out there but for now, this is certainly clean enough to enjoy. In fact, once you hear Les tickle those keys...it's Magnifique!!

Magnificent


Les McCann & The Gerald Wilson Orchestra - McCann / Wilson (1964)

Released: 1965 on Pacific Jazz # PJ-91 / ST-91 (LP)

Also: on Fontana # 688-150 [U.K.] (LP): The Wailers

Side 1 - 15:40

        Could Be (Les McCann) - 6:06
        Stragler (Les McCann) - 2:36
        Restin' In Jail (Les McCann) - 3:53
        Baylor The Wailer (Les McCann) - 3:05

Side 2 - 15:10

        Maleah (Les McCann) - 4:00
        Lot Of Living To Do (Charles Strouse/Lee Adams) - 4:58
        Kathleen's Theme (Les McCann) - 2:58
        Gus Gus (Les McCann) - 3:14

Total - 30:50

Recorded: Late 1964 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA

Musicians:
    Les McCann (piano)
    Victor Gaskin (bass)
    Paul Humphrey (drums)
    The Gerald Wilson Orchestra, featuring:
    Dennis Budimir (guitar)
    Teddy Edwards (tenor sax)
    Gerald Wilson (conductor)

Credits:
    Richard Bock (producer, audio)
    Woody Woodward (album design, photography)
    Thomas Knitch (cover artist)
    Les Carter (liner notes)

Liner Notes:

    This collaboration between LES McCANN and GERALD WILSON is a natural one and I think this album represents a highlight in Les' recording career. Les' playing here, as always, is positive and extroverted and is showcased wonderfully against the backdrop of Gerald's exciting band.

    It occurred to me one night, several months ago, while I was watching Gerald Wilson and his orchestra during one of their engagements at The Lighthouse, that if Gerald had chosen the media of motion pictures to express himself rather than music, he would surely have become a great director in the tradition of Kramer, Preminger, or Stevens.

    It should be known that I made this seemingly disjointed evaluation of Gerald during my seventh Cutty Sark at The Lighthouse. Often when I make such statements in this frame of mind they don't make a great deal of sense to me the following morning but the comparison between Gerald Wilson and great motion picture directors still seems valid to me.

    A director must do many things well. The director assembles the cast, brings his ideas to a script that has been selected, and uses his artistic judgements with the script and the actors to best achieve the results he wants. When the product is ready for the public it has been the director who is most responsible for its success or failure.

    Similarly, Gerald does all things well. He is a craftsman in every way. He hand-picks the musicians carefully (a glimpse at the personnel listing on this album will assure you that Gerald hasn't settled for second best), he selects the material (most of which he composes and arranges), and then he bolsters the band and the audience with his own enthusiasm and exuberance. Gerald is a total musician. He touches all bases, and like a good director he is the man in charge.

    Although Gerald has paid his dues for many years, his reputation has become more widely known in the past few years. He played in the trumpet section of the great bands of Lunceford, Basie, Ellington, and Gillespie, arranged and composed, for all of these bands, and led his own successful big band in the 40's, but even with his great success he left it all behind to continue studying music. His self-imposed exile was ended when he formed a big band that was recorded by Pacific Jazz and released in 1961. ("YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT" PJ-34). Many were able to hear this exciting, fresh band for the first time.

    Gerald's success has spread almost entirely word of mouth. Because of the economics of traveling across the country with a big band, Gerald's dates have been almost entirely restricted to California. Yet the news of Gerald's music spread rapidly after his first release and he soon became a best-selling artist in areas that had never seen him. Also Gerald has not had the television exposure that some of the older big bands have enjoyed, but a glance at the jazz polls shows him right at the top along with Basie, Ellington, and Herman (and with a sound that is the most modern of the big bands).

    Watching Gerald's orchestra in performance is always a great pleasure for me because I'm watching a man who clearly enjoys what he's doing and loves his work. He seems to enjoy the musicians in his band as much as the audience and when one takes an excellent solo, Gerald sometimes leads the applause.

    The one characteristic that Gerald has that makes him a rarity in jazz these days is his ability to communicate with an audience. It's this very characteristic that he has in common with the man he shared this record with.

    The success of Les McCann began as almost an underground movement. Les enjoyed a small but devoted following in Southern California and when his debut album was released on Pacific Jazz ("THE TRUTH" PJ-2) the support was just as loyal but the cult grew in numbers. His first album was an immediate success and Les has built a record of success that is almost unequalled among jazz musicians today.

    An aspect of Les McCann that has often been overlooked is his compositional abilities. Les is the composer of all but one of the selections in this album.

    "Bailor The Wailer" is an especially exuberant composition and performance. Les dedicates this to Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers (who might be described as a hard-bop basketball player). And there's the beautiful "Kathleen's Theme" (arranged and conducted by Jimmie Haskell). "Could Be" has a good Basie feeling to it.

    The arrangements with the big band on this album are by Gerald Wilson based on ideas by Les McCann.

    Les is another man who is well known for doing many things well. This album is a testimony to his writing ability and his playing. It also showcases his regular trio (Victor Gaskin on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums) one of the most successful groups in jazz and constantly in demand around the world.

    Like the two personalities involved in this record, "McCANN / WILSON" shouts with enthusiasm and exuberance. No hard sell is needed to convince you that you've just made an excellent choice in picking up this album. The names LES McCANN and GERALD WILSON speak for themselves. Listen.
-- Les Carter
    KBCA Radio, Los Angeles

This Bud's for you.......

Nothing like a little comment activity to get a sleepy blog to show some signs of life, and tonight I'm happy to toast visitors with a Bud to cool and refresh your pop jazz guitar cravings. This is, I believe, the last of the original Buddy Fite recordings that was missing from this blog and I'm sorry it took me this long to get around to it, but here it is. There's not a lot to say this time around. My other four Fite posts pretty well express my great admiration for Buddy's work and frankly this album doesn't exactly enthrall me the way "Changes" did when I first discovered the intriguing guitar sound of the 6 foot, six-inch giant of the guitar. As I've stated before, though giant in stature and sound, Buddy Fite never really got the full treatment that might have more clearly revealed his skill and one-of-a-kind sensibilities. Unfortunately his recorded legacy is not only sadly very limited in quantity, but often presents varying quality in presentation as is again the case with this, his first album, "Buddy Fite!" from 1969. It presents a mixed bag of pop jazz that can dive pretty deep into the schmaltzy side, as on "Glad Rag Doll" where the saccharin muzak female chorus nearly makes you break out in laughter. But thankfully there's a healthy dose of what Buddy can really do throughout with special note to "Here's That Rainy Day", "Watch What Happens" and the lively "For Once In My Life" among others. The way he snaps the notes and chords and makes his guitar ring with emotion according to the tune, is once again signature Buddy, despite some of the creepy elevator production ploys. Once again, I'm just glad to add more to the Fite collection here on "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and some of these are keepers that could fit in with the "Changes" album that he put out the following year (1970). There were no credits offered on the album cover and frankly I don't much care who the singers were or the orchestra and strings that accompany most of this work. The focus is Buddy's sound and feel. Buddy passed away back in 2001 so enjoy what we've got here and maybe we'll dig up some more recordings somewhere...till then, this Buds for you....

Cheers!

Buddy Fite - Buddy Fite! (1969)
Cyclone Records CY4100

Side 1
Fly Me To The Moon
When Sunny Gets Blue
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Here's That Rainy Day
What Kind Of Fool Am I
The Shadow Of Your Smile

Side 2
Stormy
Glad Rag Doll
On The Street Where You Live
Watch What Happens
So Rare
For Once In My Life

Buddy Fite - guitar
No other personnel listed.
Updated 7/23/17

If Anyone Can Sing, Les Mc Can

Since the inception of this sporadic blog of mine, I've advertized my desire to track down one of the early albums by Les McCann called simply, "Les McCann Sings". I believe my familiarity with this recording came from an old 8-track I had of it back in my college years in the 70's. Some of the beautifully rendered ballads on this album provided just the right sort of fodder for those heart broken moments of my early relationships. I can remember sitting in the stairwell of the Computer Center on the Storrs campus at UCONN just singing a couple of those songs inspired by Les McCann's easy vocals and gentle piano playing. I can still hear my voice echoing up that stairwell into the emptiness of late nights waiting for my computer programming cards to finish running in the busy room outside the stairwell. I'd listen for any signs of life so I could quickly shut up to avoid any embarrassment with passers by. McCann's timing is so true and real, his delivery so perfect yet relaxed and comforting. So I wanted to recapture these tracks, so long OOP except for a few cuts on the later collection called "More or Les McCann" released much later (and also OOP). And out of nowhere came Rick with a friendly offer to deliver the tracks in their entirety so I could enjoy them fully once again and share them with you here. This is the kind of thing that makes a blog like this of value to me. Making priceless music available to the discerning listener when it is otherwise dead to the commercial world. I'm very happy to be able to post this beautiful work that ranges from Les' soulful side to his most melancholy. Not entirely different from most of his usual fine work, but perhaps one of the more elemental examples of Les' rare talent that bridges so many feelings and colors. Never a show off, just a man to capture emotions and deliver them to your ears and to wherever you want them to go. I've said too much. Just enjoy it and remember to thank Rick!

Les Sings

Les McCann - "Les McCann Sings" (1961)
Pacific Jazz # PJ-31 / ST-31 (LP) 

1.  Wonder Why (Nicholas Brodsky/Sammy Cahn) 2:58  
2.  It's Way Past Suppertime (Les McCann/Vicki Arnold) 3:06  
3.  'Deed I Do (Walter Hirsch/Fred Rose) 2:54  
4.  Since I Fell For You (Buddy Johnson) 3:37  
5.  But Not For Me (Ira Gershwin/George Gershwin) 2:58  
6.  I Cried For You (Gus Arnheim/Abe Lyman/Arthur Freed) 2:24

(side 2)

7.  Sweet Georgia Brown (Kenneth Casey/Ben Bernie/Macio Pinkard) 2:27 
8.  Please Send Me Someone To Love (Percy Mayfield) 2:32
9.  Next Spring (Marvin Jenkins) 3:21 
10.Love Letters (Edward Heyman/Victor Young) 3:16 
11.On The Street Where You Live (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe) 3:10
12.Bye Bye Black Bird (Ray Henderson/Mort Dixon) 2:07

Aug. 1961 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA (except track 9)
Mar. 1961 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA (track 9)

Les McCann (piano, vocals)
Herbie Lewis (bass)
Ron Jefferson (drums)

Gerald Wilson (conductor, arranger) (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 & 10)



(tracks 1, 4, 6 & 8)
Harold Land, Teddy Edwards, Buddy Collette, Jack Nimitz, Charles Lloyd (reeds) Jimmy Zito, John Audino, Ray Triscari, Charlie Meeks, Bob Edmondson, John Ewing, and Kenny Shroyer (brass)

(tracks 2, 5 & 10)
Dolo Coker (rhythm piano) Jerome Reisler, Dan Lube, Carl Kalash, Darrel Terwilliger, Myron Sandler, Bobby Bruce, Edger Lustgarden, George Poole, Charles Gates (strings) (track 9) Richard "Groove" Holmes (organ) Ben Webster (tenor sax) Lawrence "Tricky" Lofton (trombone)

Richard Bock (producer, audio engineering)
Woody Woodward (cover design, back photos)
Chester Maydole (cover photo)
Vicki Arnold (liner notes)

Hits and Hurts

Yes, here is yet another Buddy Fite posting, a guitarist with very few recordings but a great sound. I've become a bit focused on collecting all of his meager number of LP's so I had to find this album, even though I knew that 6 of the 9 tracks were repeats of tracks from other albums. As noted earlier on this site, from what I can tell, Buddy only has six LP's as a leader, and of those, only one, "Buddy Fite & Friend", is free of any repeat tracks. So I went ahead and ripped the whole album here, even though only three tracks appear to be unique. Right off the bat I was shocked to hear a vocalist anchoring the first tune, "I Feel The Earth Move". I will say that the singer here does a nice job with earthy, David Clayton Thomas type vocals over a nice bluesy/jazz combo setting where Buddy takes a one minute solo in the middle. Nice enough and definitely different from anything I've heard on any of his other albums, but I have to say I was disappointed to hear something that didn't just feature Buddy throughout. With so few recordings to enjoy, I just want to hear the man play his guitar. Moving into the next few tracks on side one we get back to featuring Buddy, but this whole side is pretty different too in that it concentrates on the bluesy side of Buddy. Each of these three songs offers a different accompanist soloing on saxophone, flute and finally a nice organ over spirited scatting. All very nicely done, all very much in a combo setting, but unfortunately there is no mention of the personnel on the cover. In fact, the recording itself is noticeably of relative poor quality with inconsistencies in the integrity of the sound, volume variations at a few moments, etc. Not terrible, but I guess there's a reason why this seems to be the scarcest of the Fite LP's. Then again, as always, there really is some "tasty" guitar playing throughout. Side 2 opens with what made me completely satisfied that I sprung for a considerable sum to acquire this piece of vinyl. The tune is "Love's Been Good To Me" and Buddy's treatment is creative, unique and very pretty. Along with the opening song on side 1 and Satin Doll, this makes up the three unique tunes for this album. Satin Doll is also very nicely done in an up tempo mode. So for anyone else that has become enamored with Buddy's bright and masterful craft work, I hope you'll enjoy this small dose of new material.While each is indeed a hit with me to varying degrees, it just hurts that only three cuts are additive to the collection. But as hoped, the hits outweigh the hurts mightily...enjoy!

Hits

Buddy Fite - The Hits of Yesterday (1977)

CMI 1005

I Feel The Earth Move
Barney's Blues
Sneakin' One
No Particular Blues

Love's Been Good To Me
Summer of '42
Satin Doll
Willow Weep For Me
Angel Eyes

Buddy Fite - guitar
no other personnel listed

In Bob We Strut

Here's an early seventies album that seems to be generally MIA and upon my recent reintro-duction I'm all too happy to get it out there where it belongs. I know very little about Bobby Bryant. I see that at least one or two other LP's from Mr. Bryant are out there, but this one, which appears to be his last as a leader according to AllMusic, seems plenty worthy of joining the living. First I must say that of the seven tracks, I think the title track is perhaps the weakest. Enjoyable, somewhat funkified jazz with solid instrumentation, but not much feeling. Easy to dance to. But from there I think the rest is really solid to excellent with some impressive playing in a near big band sort of sound. "A Prayer For Peace" brings some prettier sounds and you start to hear Bobby's chops only to be followed by a beautiful interpretation of Horace Silver's "Peace". Side 2 is full of more great playing from Bobby and his supporting cast. Kriss Kross is pretty heavy stuff, and then a great surprise with "We've Only Just Begun". This Paul Williams/Carpenters tune wound up coming off beautifully with a sweet intro that breaks into a very happening workout including some clever soloing while keeping the tune intact. Another highlight of the album is John Klemmer's "The Beauty of Her Soul". This again features the sensitivity of the musicians to flow in and out of the light and airy butterfly sounds into the classic Klemmer thunder. The album closes with a more worthy "strut" in Bobby's own "Nite Crawler". Funky and full of big sounds including a long guitar workout from David T. Walker (I believe, although Arthur Adams is on board also). All in all I have to say that this is a very soulful album that successfully captures a variety of musical moods. While the "strut" is definitely in evidence, there is much more going on here. I like the mini-big band flavor and was impressed with the solo efforts coming out from all the players. Some of it borders on getting pretty loose while some captures more of a late sixties Blue Note sound. Either way it's really good, strut me...

Trust

Bobby Bryant - Swahili Strut (1971)

Cadet (CA 50011)

Swahili Strut (Bobby Bryant)
A Prayer For Peace (Herman Riley)
Peace (Horace Silver)

Kriss Kross (Red Holloway, Art Hillery)
We've Only Just Begun (Paul Williams, Roger Nichols)
The beauty of Her Soul (John Klemmer)
Nite Crawlers (Bobby Bryant)

Bobby Bryant (trumpet)
Bob Norris (congas)
Herman Riley & Charles Owens (tenor sax)
Carl Lott (drums)
Henry Cain (organ)
David T. Walker & Arthur Adams (guitar)
Willie Allen & Max Bennett (bass)

Personnel on "The Beauty of Her Soul" & "A Prayer For Peace";
Bobby Bryant, Buddy Childers, William Cat Anderson, Albert Arrons, 
       Oscar Brashear & Freddy Hill (trumpet)
Bob Norris (congas)
Herman Riley & Charles Owens (tenor sax)
Delbert Hill (baritone sax)
Carl Lott (drums)
Henry Cain (organ)
Dennis Budimir (guitar)
Gordon Maron (electric violin)
Willie Allen (bass)
Joe Sample (piano)
David Duke (French horn)
Groven Mitchell, Lou Blackburn, Mike Wimberley &
      George Bohannon (trombone)
Tommy Johnson (tuba)

"The Beauty of Her Soul" arranged & conducted by John Klemmer

Don't You Love Her Bradley...

Want to meet her Dadley...okay, another real stretch at a pun...but if you did love her madly, this Harold Bradley album just might be an appropriate backdrop. I won't pull any punches here, this is music that many would simply tag as easy listening. I found this on eBay several years ago and had no idea what to expect other than the hope that there might be some masterful guitar playing to enjoy. Then, when I ripped it I was a bit disappointed at the unusually reserved playing and also had a lot of LP noise on my vinyl. So I never thought to post it and haven't listened to it again. That is until I just today broke down and got the "ClickRepair" software that has been touted so highly of late. And now, well, it's certainly cleaned up a lot, and now I kind of like this collection of pretty tunes. Yes, it includes beautiful voices and strings lusciously arranged and conducted by Bill McElhiney, and yes, Harold's playing is decidedly deliberate and at times almost painfully slow. But, as the title suggests, this is supposed to be romantic, mood music of sorts, and as such, it has its moments and generally provides some very nice guitar sounds for the intended mood. I know very little about Harold Bradley except that he was apparently a very successful guitarist during the 50's and 60's and beyond. According to the liner notes he was particularly busy as an accompanist to many pop-country artists like Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Red Foley, Burl Ives, Patti Page, Anita Bryant and Ann Margret. He seems to have country roots but clearly understands the jazz sensibilities as he pretty much displays throughout this album of jazz-pop standards. He makes the guitar sound beautiful and every so often adds a nice run of single notes to bridge his pleasant "chordings". A few of the tunes are a bit weak, but I really think most of them have some worthwhile sounds to enjoy for even the more advanced jazz aficionado, much as I have enjoyed with the likes of Tony Mottola. Anyway, thanks to "ClickRepair", which now opens up a few more obscure LP's from my humble collection, I hope you'll enjoy this somewhat obscure old LP. Maybe you'll love it...as you're walkin' out the Doors...........(ugggghhh)

Tell Me What You Say...

Harold Bradley - Guitar for Lovers Only (1966)
Columbia (CL 2456)

Dream
Autumn Leaves
Dear Heart
Theme From "Picnic"
Love Letters
Moon Mist

Fly Me To The Moon
Serenade In Blue
As Time Goes By
Days of Wine and Roses
Moon River
Vibrations

Harold Bradley - guitar
Voices & Strings arranged & conducted by Bill McElhiney

No man is a failure that has a Buddy...

I thought the Christmas oriented subject line (quoting loosely from Clarence's famous note at the end of "It's A Wonderful Life") was appropriate in this post holiday wash into 2011, especially considering that I just purchased this LP as a Christmas gift to myself. As noted in my earlier posts, I enjoy guitar playing probably more than any other instrument, especially in the jazz vein, and often especially in the interpretation of pop music as is the case with greats like Howard Roberts and even Grant Green among many others. Once again, I want to pay tribute here to one of my most unsung heroes, the painfully under-recorded, Buddy Fite. While some may dismiss it as more pop than jazz, I could care less, and happen to believe it's as creative as most anything when one listens to the finely crafted subtleties of Buddy's comfortable and bright rendering of this collection of mostly well known tunes. His tone is true, metallic, yet warm as he rings through each song like they were old friends. My only disappointment, as I'm just beginning to fully quantify the scant discography of Buddy Fite, is that half the tracks on this record are duplicated on other Fite albums. That is truly frustrating. I am so eager to collect more of his work and find out that apparently all but one of his records include tracks that are shared. None the less, I am grateful for any track that I can add to the collection and this one offers four unique ones; "Girl Talk", "Michelle", "Summer of 42" & "Sunny". The other six can be found on his "Changes" album (also posted on this blog) or "Buddy Fite!" or "The Hits of Yesterday". I included all the tracks here for your full appreciation of this long out of print LP. I can't really pick a favorite here, each is signature Buddy. And although we have to accept that these aren't all new tracks to those of us that already enjoy his other albums, let's just be glad to have even one new Buddy.

One New Buddy

Buddy Fite - Plays For Satin Dolls (1975)

Here's That Rainy Day
I Can't Get Started
Moonlight In Vermont
Willow Weep For Me
A Day in the Life of a Fool

Summer of 42
Angel Eyes
Sunny
Michelle
Girl Talk

Buddy Fite - guitar
Other personnel not listed

More or Les....One of my favorites...

Well Christmas is on its way out again and I've been remiss with inactivity. I may find a holiday oriented post to make before the New Year celebrations close the door on the season, but I'm more excited about the album at hand, Les McCann's, "More or Les McCann". When I was enjoying my four years at UCONN in Storrs, CT I had among my collection of 8-track jazz and blues, this very same recording. It was not something that was a natural draw to me at first. It's generally quite mainstream stuff, along the lines of Ramsey Lewis' piano trio work with the upbeat pop appeal liberally applied. But somewhere around 1975-76 I was prolifically dumped by my long standing girlfriend and woe and behold, I became pretty obsessed with all things sentimental, which not so surprisingly seemed to coincide with the beginnings of my now much longer standing friendship with all things beer. So during this pathetic period of mine I became unusually captivated by the likes of Bozz Scaggs & Elton John of the pop world (e.g. "Harbor Lights", "Your Song", etc.) and all the typical sentiment that kids my age tuned into on our radio dials in those days. But with my growing passion for jazz and blues I thankfully made friends with this beautiful recording by Les McCann. The entire album is what you might say is fairly typical McCann. Tremendously soulful piano with a perfectly tuned in battery. I always love the comfortable, natural feel of Les' playing. Relatively simple perhaps, but so effective, so satisfyingly easy and joyful. But this particular album caught me most with the few vocal offerings that fit my mood so well during that emotional time that brought with it so many personal changes. Three songs, "Since I Fell For You", "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and "It's Way Past Supper Time" are the three vocal tracks here and each really showcases McCann's indisputable talent and artistic splendor. The songs are of some renown, but they are as good as any other version I've heard in each case. Probably my own personal favorite rendition of each. Again, Les is supremely relaxed and delivers the song like someone just singing to himself. You feel like your just eavesdropping from the shadows and lucky enough to catch the feelings as they ease out of his fingers and mouth. The other element to this album is that there is an addition of orchestrations from Gerald Wilson. Now this album seems to be fairly obscure. Not impossible to find on vinyl, as I recently did, but information on this recording is a bit scant. The gatefold cover itself doesn't offer a reference date of any kind, nor does the vinyl or labels. I always find that to be odd. AllMusic puts the release date at 1967 but other references have it as 1969. It sounds a bit more like 1969 to me but then I also think this is essentially a remix of earlier recordings which had been reconstructed with the addition of Mr. Wilson's orchestra. I know that two of the vocals here were also on the album "Les McCann Sings" from 1961, although I'm not sure it offers the same exact Les tracks. So from the vague liner notes it seems that this album is just dressing up a collection of previous releases, and for the most part I like the results even though I'm not sure I've ever heard the leaner originals. Arguably there are spots where the "dressing" may be a little more than is necessary, but generally it comes off tastefully and serves to accentuate the feeling that Les captures on his piano and in his vocals. The album is a continuous flow of mellow and sweet that ebbs to groovin' and swinging soul. So after so many years of searching for this painfully overdue replacement for my long since unraveled 8-track version from the 70's, I'm so glad to be able to once again listen to this timeless recording and share it here since it is nowhere to be found except OOP vinyl (trust me...). My vinyl has a couple of minor imperfections you will probably detect, but it's otherwise a decent copy to enjoy until someone chooses to re-release this little gem. Les McCann may be an acquired taste for some, but I feel my jazz sensibilities pretty much grew up with his sure handed mentoring. I think he is a much more important figure to both jazz and soul music than most people give him credit for. When it comes to Les, I will always take more...

More

Les McCann - More or Les McCann (1969)


World Pacific Jazz / ST-20166

Someone Stole My Chitlins
Since I Fell For You
Django
Falling In Love With Love

Please Send Me Someone To Love
Lavande
It's Way Past Supper Time
Narobi Nights

There are no credits listed on the album cover except a reference to bassist Herbie Lewis on the track, "Django". Otherwise, the only credit is to Gerald Wilson for orchestral arrangements and conducting.

So Guitar, So Good...

Well, it's been a tragically long hiatus but at least I'm happy to come back with this particular, long awaited post. This album is one that I've been searching for over the past couple of years since I first saw references to its curious cover art and its well respected, though under recorded, artist, one Lloyd Ellis. Most of us jazz guitar geeks are quite familiar with his other album that proclaims his prowess as the world's fastest guitarist! And so we are anxious for any other examples of his work. In the genre of the venerable Hank Garland and Chet Atkins and other fine country pickers who evolved into impeccable jazz musicians, I knew this other album existed and am glad to finally find it. The recording quality here is not so great but for the moment I will consider this much better than the former MIA status. After enjoying the 12 tunes on this album for the first time, I will say it doesn't disappoint. There isn't much to point out as off the charts, just a very solid, enjoyable listen to some jazz standards delivered with clear and spirited guitar mastery. Some of the tunes are perhaps not the most exciting, mostly brief and familiar. But Ellis brings a real sense of confidence and joy to the recording, and you do occasionally pick up on his country roots which is a nice nuance to me. Certainly you have to remark on his agility and clarity, ripping off some lively lines and licks that just ring without a doubt. Pretty impressive. But before you go, just take a good look at this album cover. His other, better known album, seems odd in that the cover proclaims this respectable jazz artist to be such a speedy rock star type champion of the guitar. That always seemed sort of out of place for a traditional jazz guitar rendering. Now you look at this album and it kind of goes the other way with this Minnesota-like lakefront scene contrasted with the "hip" album title, "So Tall, So Cool, So There". Who thought this up? It really added to the intrigue of tracking this recording down, and now I can remove it from the "Does anyone have this record" list. I think you will enjoy the discovery as well. I might dispute just how "tall" this album is, but it is clearly, so cool, and so there.....so there.

So Here

Lloyd Ellis - So Tall, So Cool, So There! - 1960
Trey Records: TLP 902
Produced by Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood.

Undecided
When Your Love Has Gone
Typsy Gypsy
Sonny Boy
Take The "A" Train
Boggs Blues

Mad Hatter
Estrellita
Friendly
Skipping Along
Lover Come Back To Me
Perdido

Lloyd Ellis - guitar
John Witt - bass
Dick Odette - drums

The Coulter Club

Well, long time no see. Too busy seeing all the other great blogs out there to find time for my own. But this album struck me recently as due some exposure. This is the 1970 Soul/Jazz creation of Clifford Coulter. According to our friends at allmusic.com this album, "East Side San Jose", was Clifford's first recording as a leader though another followed in 1971 when both were apparently released. I vaguely recall when I first rescued this from a bargain bin of vinyl that I was a little disappointed with my first listen. I'm not sure I listened to it again in the 30-ish years since! I expect it was probably because I generally wanted little to do with anything in the jazz category that brought with it vocals unless it was Lady "Day" or Eddie Jefferson. Now, so many years wiser, I must say that this is a very enjoyable album for what it is. Cliff delivers some real nice vocals on the first song on each side of the record, "Do It Again" & "Sal Si Puedes". He also does a fine job bringing it on the keyboards throughout this session. All the cuts are at least solid if not excellent, mostly groovin' and funkified with some signature guitar work from one of my favorite jazz/blues men, Mel Brown. Mel offers some chicken pickin' and wah-wah magic that keeps this thing moving and finishing all too soon. The brass and rhythm sections are also tight and mix in perfectly with Cliff & Mel. I picked up a slight "phantom" background sound at times on this LP, sometimes sounds like an intended overdub, sometimes not so much, but if you're just going with the flow you don't even notice it, very faint. My copy has a little crackle here and there but it came out fine I think, you should enjoy it if you like a fun jam session of west coast soul oriented jazz, including some bluesy and expressive singing from Cliff. If you're like me, this should lead to your enrollment in the Coulter Club...

Club

Clifford Coulter - East Side San Jose - 1970
Impulse/ABC AS-9197

Do It Again
East Side San Jose
Prayer Garden
Cliff's Place

Sal Si Puedes (Get Out If You Can)
Big Fat Funky Shirley
Alum Rock Park

(all songs written by Clifford Coulter)

Clifford Coulter - vocals, piano, Fender/Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ & guitar
Mel Brown - guitar
John Turk - trumpet
Cornelius Bumpus - tenor saxophone
Gino Landry - alto saxophone
Jerry Perez - rhythm guitar
Jimmy Calhoun - Fender bass
Joe Provost - drums
Billy Ingram - drums (Cliff's Place & Big Fat Funky Shirley)

The Eps and Downs of the 7-String Guitar...

Well, the good news is we have a great album here of traditional jazz featuring one of the great all-time guitar players, George Van Eps. The bad news is that my copy of this 1967 LP is pretty rough and I have to apologize for the somewhat excessive noise, pops and crackle that I was unable to remove on this rip. Still, I couldn't readily find a better version of this OOP album out there so I decided to post it for now because it really is absolute classic stuff. Van Eps was just so smooth and relaxed that you can't have a jazz guitar collection without a healthy dose of George in it. Of course he had that 7-string thing going on, as the album name proclaims, and that makes it all the more unique. Although the album obviously features Van Eps' 7-string guitar playing, there is also a lot of marimba player, Frank Flynn, which "frankly" I could live without here, but it has it's moments in complement to George's guitar work. The key is just listening along with this textbook guitar playing. Most of it is relatively simple or understated but it's wonderful work and brings these classic tunes to life so effortlessly. So check this out, forgive the poor quality of the vinyl, and let me know if you come across a better copy of this beautiful album as I will be happy to defer to that reference. But until then, I hope you can enjoy it as is...I did!

GVE-7

George Van Eps - George Van Eps' Seven-String Guitar - 1967
Capitol ST 2783

Satin Doll
Prelude To A Kiss
A Blues Serenade
The Very Thought Of You
Kisses
Stop, Look and Listen

Sophisticated Lady
Glad To Be Unhappy
Serenata
Baubles, Bangles and Beads
A Libra Rhapsody
Come Rain Or Come Shine

George Van Eps - 7-string guitar
Frank Flynn - marimba
Jerry Williams - drums

A Guitarra lovers home is his Kessel...

Well despite the desperate subject line here, there is something good to come of it, and that comes in the form of a 1969 album by Barney Kessel called "Guitarra". Barney Kessel was one of my early jazz guitar heroes largely by way of an 8-track recording of "The Poll Winners" and especially confirmed upon hearing his blazing work on a tune called "Nagasaki". Barney has pretty much made the grade with every recording of his I've heard since. This apparently little known LP is generally no exception, although I would have to say it's not my absolute favorite Barney recording. When confirming that this album is OOP I first thought I had identified it as an obscure recording called "Reflections In Rome" since, like "Guitarra" it was recorded in Rome in 1969 with what appears to be the same supporting cast of European artists. However, "Guitarra" has an entirely different collection of songs than what I found for the "Reflections..." album. Yet I could find no internet information on any album called "Guitarra". So, whether this is somehow one in the same as the other recording from Rome, or whether it is, as it seems, a second recording done the same year by the same musicians in the same location, it seems that either one is OOP and not easily found in the blogosphere. So here ya go, it's a fairly tame collection of relatively short tunes featuring Barney's "guitarra" and some pretty lively organ work from an Antonello Vannucchi. There's some samba and similar latinesque flavors here in keeping with the setting perhaps. Sometimes it strikes me as a little less than exciting but just as you think you might feel a little bit disappointed, Barney will come out with some fun Kessel-isms and reel you right back in to familiar ground...right back home with Barney and his guitarra...

Guitarra

Barney Kessel - Guitarra - 1969
RCA CAS-2404

B.J.'s Samba
Meu Irmao
Malibu
On the Riviera

Lison
Freeway
From My Heart
Swing Samba
Amelia

Barney Kessel - guitar
Antonello Vannucchi - organ
Giovanni Tommasco - bass
Enzo Restuccia - drums

Recorded in RCA's Studio B, Rome, Italy in May 1969
Recording Engineer: Sergio Marcotulli
Produced by Gian Piero Ricci

Released in 1970

What's a buddy without a friend?

As noted in a previous post, one of my favorite artists, among my most favorite of instruments, is guitarist Buddy Fite. A relative unknown that I discovered only by the chance of uncovering an 8 track tape of "Changes" sitting unappreciated in a crowded bargain bin at some department store back in the 80's. As bargain binners will sometimes find, the occasional decision to buy something based solely on the cover (and, in this case, the price), can pay off in spades, and as my earlier post and comments on "Changes" atest, Buddy, and everything he touched with a guitar, was pure gold to my ears. The album posted today is a later recording called "Buddy Fite & Friend", the friend being drummer Chick Colburn who ably assists Buddy through this collection of ten smooth tunes. With a couple of standards like "All The Things You Are" and "Don't Take Your Love From Me" along with a handful of great pop classics of the 60's like "This Guy's In Love With You", "My Cherie Amour" and "Something", Buddy accomplishes his usual uncanny transformation of these familiar songs into fresh and glowing jazz artworks. I love his bright metallic tone that rings at just the right moments and his knack for smoothly taking off on a theme effortlessly. Most of these cuts feature Buddy playing his signature comping/soloing while beautifully laying down the bass line all at the same time. Then there is usually an overlay of a second guitar track where he typically plays solos or duet parts. His music is never pretentious, sometimes quite simple and comforting, and then at times powerful and uplifting. Check out "This Guy's In Love..." and even "Something" to feel the wonderful ride he takes you on with those strings. While it would be easy to misread this by appearances considering the presence of two Beatle tunes and even, God forbid, two from the The Carpenters catalogue, trust me, Buddy brings out the best of each tune and if you ever liked these tunes at all you will love these versions. And if you didn't like them before, well, I think you're gonna change your mind here. This record just makes me wish Buddy were still alive today to make more recordings like this. I'd love to hear more. I do have another Fite LP I hope to post at a later date, as well. One odd thing I noticed is that track 4 and 5 on this LP were switched from what the cover documents, so I labeled the tracks according to how they were on the actual record, not the cover. Please excuse the quality being very much of LP origins. I did a lot of click removal here and for the most part I think it came out reasonably well, but it is not CD perfect by any means, offered here at 320 to all my blogster friends & buddies...enjoy!

Buddy

Buddy Fite - Buddy & Friend - 1970
Bell 6058 Stereo

This Guy's In Love With You
We've Only Just Begun
All The Things You Are
Didn't We
(They Long To Be) Close To You

I'll Never Fall In Love
Don't Take Your Love From Me
My Cherie Amour
Yesterdays/Yesterday
Something

Buddy Fite - guitar
Chick Colburn - drums
Bob Ascher - trombone (I'll Never Fall In Love Again)

Music to Ponder...

Scanning my record collection for the next subject to feature on the blog, I pondered numerous guitar heroes for the honor. It can be hard to find something that has preferably never been committed to CD publication. I was somewhat surprised to find, from my search of the web, that this 1976 work by Jimmy Ponder appears to fit the bill. I also could not remember when I had last listened to it so when the first couple of minutes of ripping "Funky Butt" came through I was a little dubious as to whether this was worth the effort. As much as I am a huge fan of Boogaloo Joe Jones, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery and many other soulful/pop/jazz guitarists, the late 70's era of politically correct funkified jazz transition had many disappointments in my mind. Even some of the most talented and tasteful of artists suffered through pathetic attempts to contort their natural strengths into commercial success or some failed sense of mid-life crisis. And, as if the name "Funky Butt" wasn't already a pretty good warning, the initial sound here drew a Parliamentary yawn. But slowly I took more notice of the flat out playing of the well known and respected Mr. Ponder, and then the wah-wah magic began to win me over. "Energy III" again flirts with a fusion styled disaster at first listen, but ultimately proves exciting and a nice contrast to the opener. Then the lovely "Jennifer" solidifies my contentment, and so this post makes it here for your own review and opinion. Side two, by the way, follows with a very similar formula of three contrasting songs that are full of Ponder's impressive techniques and general groove. I have to say that the last song, "Sabado Sombrero", is probably my favorite. It brings a variety of stylings where I can hear moments of Wes, Benson and even, dare I say it, Gabor Szabo! Ahhh, this is a winner after all. It also features some simply awesome bass work by the always awesome Ron Carter, relatively simple but beautiful signature playing. You will also notice a good deal of heavy duty keyboard wizardry from another of my soulful jazz favorites, Ron Foster! While on the surface this is clearly more of a contemporary sound with it's special guitar effects and mix of danceable rythms, even though it is now 33 years old, there is truly a diversified composite that includes traditional jazz, soul, funk, rock and pop, all flawless and enjoyable. I pretty much had a hard time not bopping my head throughout, but key for me is that I could really listen to the man's guitar playing, and it brings a smile.

So take the time to ponder...you should grow fonder...sorry about that...

Pondering

Jimmy Ponder - Illusions - 1976
ABC Impulse ASD 9313

Funky Butt
Energy III
Jennifer

Do It Baby
Illusions
Sabado Sombrero

Jimmy Ponder - Guitar
Eddie "Bongo" Brown - Percussion
Ron Carter - Acoustic & Electric Bass (except on Funky Butt)
Sonny Burke - Keyboard (Funky Butt)
Chuck Domanico - Electric Bass (Funky Butt)
James Gadsen - Drums (Funky Butt)
Mickey Tucker - Piano & Electric Piano (except Funky Butt & Sabado Sombrero)
Ronnie Foster - Synthesiser & Clavinet (except Funky Butt & Sabado Sombrero)
Grady Tate - Drums (Jennifer, Illusions & Do It Baby)
Brian Brake - Drums (Energy III)
Jerome Richardson - Alto Flute (Jennifer)
Esmond Edwards - Percussion (Sabado Sombrero)
Strings arranged and conducted by Johnny Pate (Jennifer, Do It Baby & Funky Butt)

Hot Fun...Re-Done!!

Not only have I finally gotten back to my blog, but I am finally re-posting my first significant work, Freddy Robinson's "Hot Fun in the Summertime" from 1970. And what better time than this first day of summer.

When I started doing this blog just last year, I rushed in and neglected to consider the output which was at 128 at the time. I went back and ripped another set of files at 320 and they can now be found on the original post at;

SLY

For some reason, the first side has more vinyl artifacts while side 2 was almost free of click removal, etc. Still, this should be a "bit" better than my original post for those that listen closely. It is a fun album. While "Moonglow" offers a more traditional jazz sound that showcases Freddy's tasteful skills, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is just plain happy and swinging, and much of the rest is great groovin' with the hard workin' ladies singing some righteous background parts throughout. In short, it's hot fun anytime...enjoy!

Off To Hear The Wizard...

I haven't had much time to rip LP's the last few weeks but today I was listening to a CD I created from another one of those embarrass- ing 8-track tapes a few years back. At the time I never anticipated posting some of these rips on a blog so I listened with a discriminating ear for imperfections, track breaks, or any qualitative issues that might make me feel unhappy with posting this classic 60's blues rocker instrumental gem from Mel Brown. Eight songs later I decided it was worthy of a post until a better version comes along. With the apparent popularity of Mel Brown's 60's & 70's work I am very surprised that this album seems so hard to find. It has never been committed to commercial CD, long OOP, but with all the recognition this gritty guitarist seems to have, this LP seems unusually scarce. So I decided to add it to this blog until someone can identify a better source. I have the Chicken Fat CD and all Mel's other albums, and I think this one is easily as good or better than any of the others. It's pretty straight forward, simple and pretty raw R&B with tight horns and groovin' support throughout. There are no significant vocals, just a torent of funkified blues guitar licks firing from start to finish. This reminds me somewhat of Freddy King's "Hide Away", which is an all-time favorite. I think this is up there. Keep in mind that this was taken from the lowly 8-track tape so the order of the songs reflects what was committed to that idiom. From what I hear, they were able to divvy things up so as to avoid track change interruptions, a good thing that is greatly appreciated by those of us old school music desperados that committed so many hours of listening to this ill-fated medium. This album starts out with a lively and crisp rendering of "Ode To Billie Joe" and then just sails through one rock-blues workout after another. It's fun, it's infectious, and a great time capsule for the late 60's somewhere between Memphis and Detroit, but you're definitely not in Kansas anymore Dorothy...enjoy!

Wizzy

Mel Brown - The Wizard - 1968
Impulse (8-track: AS 9169)

Ode To Billie Joe
Swamp Fever
Blues After Hours
Miss Ann
African sweets
Stop
W-2 Withholding
Chunk-A-Funk

Mel Brown, Terry Evans (guitar)
Mack Johnston (trumpet)
Clifford Solomon (tenor sax)
unknown (piano, organ)
Ronald Brown (bass)
Paul Humphrey (drums)
Roy Brown (vocals)

Los Angeles, CA, March 21, 1968

Where the deer and the guitars play....

This post is a unique one in many ways. Offering another vinyl rip from a highly regarded jazz guitarist like Howard Roberts is no surprise, of course. But this one is actually taken from one of my old 8-track tapes, something I did a few years back when I was convinced it was the only way I could ever capture this unusual, fairly obscure recording. Going back and giving it a listen today I decided that the quality wasn't so bad and I don't see much chatter about this particular work anywhere else. The other odd aspect is the content itself. I have a lot of Howard Roberts albums, LP's, CD's, and oh yeah, the 8-track. But this recording strikes me as probably the oddest of them all, which might explain the lack of attention. I really like Howard Roberts' stuff with very little exception. For some reason I am especially taken with his pop cover material of the 60's, much of which seems to be the focus of media criticism more than praise, even though he is always acknowledged to be one of the most highly skilled guitarists of his era. I enjoy interpretations of likable and familiar tunes, pop diddies, when they are treated with subtle creativity and soulful skill as Roberts so often has done over his extensive career. Then there are the more straight ahead jazz outings where he covers more traditional creative jazz works and explores the outer stretches of that genre so impeccably. Here on "Antelope Freeway" however, Roberts really moved into something different. This sort of has a slight psychadelic edge to it with sound bites and other effects all mixed into this meandering tapestry of guitar snippets which are largely rooted in more of a rock/blues side of jazz for sure. When I first rescued this from some 88 cent bargain bin back in the 70's, I have to say I was disappointed that it wasn't more what I was used to in jazz guitar icons. But listening to it again today I have to say that it really is both daring and fairly effective. It's fun and it does contain some really clever, enjoyable music. Some of it borders on brilliant if you are open to this approach at all. But alas, it remains OOP. The track titles were difficult to apply to the recording from my original 8-track; you can't see the grooves to identify transition points and many of the cuts here simply bleed into one another. It makes for a nice overall composition and creative impression but it's hard to tell where one "song" finishes and the next one starts. As a result, I chose to simply record the whole album in two sections/tracks. Checking out references for this album I saw that many reports were similarly confused with name run-ons and differing numbers of tracks all together. Kind of funny. Basically, my first "track" includes the first five cuts from the album while my second "track" includes the last four album cuts. Be my guest if you want to try your luck at distinguishing the details, but in the end, I don't think it matters, either way, you should enjoy a listen. So go ahead and find out why those antelope are crowding the freeways to hear a guitar master having some fun....

Deer and the...

Howard Roberts - Antelope Freeway -1971
Impulse! AS-9207 (LP)

1. Antelope Freeway - Part 1
2. That's America Fer Ya
3. Dark Ominous Clouds
4. De Blooz
5. Sixteen Track Firemen

6. Ballad of Fazzio Needlepoint
7. Five Gallons of Astral Flash Could Keep You Awake For Thirteen Weeks
8. Santa Clara River Bottom
9. Roadwork

Howard Roberts - electric & acoustic guitars
Bobby Bruce - violin
Mike Deasy - electric guitar
Pete Robinson, Larry Knechtel, Mike Wofford - keyboards
Brian Garofalo, Max Bennett - Fender bass
Bob Morin, John Guerin - drums

Wilkins It For All It's Worth...

Alright, that subject header is a bad pun and doesn't make a whole lot of sense but then one could say, when it comes to guitar playing, Jack Wilkins really does it for all it's worth. Foregoing my usual diatribe here, I will get to the point; Wilkins can flat out play. Ever since I heard a cut off of his album Merge, back in the early 80's, I knew he was a keeper. Unfortunately there is far too little of his work out there. You don't see him that often as a side man and he only has a handful of albums to his name. But what's there is generally great, just as you will hear in this album, "Captain Blued". This is a curious recording in that I can find very little evidence that it was ever made! It's produced by Creed Taylor on the Greenstreet Record label and it includes the accompaniment of one of the best alto sax guys you could want, the great veteran Phil Woods, along with other familiar names like Harvie Swartz on bass. Yet there is little mention of this recording anywhere. Doesn't appear to be available these days, so I felt it my duty to let folks hear what they might be missing. Some of these songs, like "Captain Blued" and "Mexico", were also recorded (different versions I believe) on other albums so you should be able to find some of that out there to buy on CD. This particular LP is definitely another winner for Wilkins. Not only is his work effortless, creative and inspiring, but the tunes are all enjoyable and nicely arranged. Add to that the wonderful voicings from Mr. Woods and great contributions from all the other supporting cast (with a good deal of solo work for all) and I will predict that you will be glad you gave this a listen. Although this is all generally straight ahead jazz, you will find diversity in the moods and stylings here. Many exciting moments to enjoy. It should make you want to hear more of this master guitarist and he does have a site that offers listens and downloads from many of his other albums, including a bunch of live gig cuts. So I hope you will agree that this guy is the cream of the crop, and cream leads to milk, and there I go milkin' it for all it's worth...

Bad Puns

Jack Wilkins - Captain Blued - 1984

Greenstreet Records GS-2004

Captain Blued

Mexico

Funny Blues

Dailey Double

Chopin Etude

Some Time Ago

Jack Wilkins - guitar

Phil Woods - alto saxophone

Albert Dailey - piano

Harvie Swartz - bass

Akira Tana - drums

Ted Moore -percussion

Drive-In Me Crazy...

Well there aren't many of these left around these days, drive-in movies that is. If you're over 40 years old you should have a fair recollection of that special experience that collected hundreds of people, in their cars, in a big old paved lot to watch one giant screen once the sun let down it's glowing curtain. Kids would run through the maze of cars and gather in special play areas where there were often swings and "dizzy-go-rounds", monkey bars and assorted other items of liability. Teenagers would hang out in their cars, free of adult supervision and do what teenagers want to do when unsupervised. Adults would settle in for an evening of popcorn, hot dogs and hamburgers (the ones that didn't actually dance and party), soda pops (some of them could dance too) and a relatively inexpensive night out to entertain the family. I remember seeing "Hard Day's Night" starring The Beatles as a particularly standout drive-in experience but there were countless others including my own teenage adventures for the likes of "Mandingo", all complete with that clumsy hunk of metal precariously dangled from the top of one of the windows (which you may have had to keep pretty well closed to keep out mosquitoes) that kept your car anchored at its post. And which post did you choose? Ahhh, the ambling about the lot looking for the best available space. Something with a decent view of the screen, not too close, not too far, decent proximity to the bathrooms and snack bar, consider the neighboring cars and the potential anxieties as you quickly profile the occupants of each. It was normal practice to explore several potential spots before settling on a final destination. Then you just had to hope the damn speaker box you got would work. Some didn't work at all, some had bags over them (out of order) and some were crackly or didn't have enough volume. All of them sounded pretty lousy but that was part of the charm I suppose. And that brings us to something that sounds pretty darn good, Mr. Freddy Robinson. As my original music post on this blog was my most coveted Freddy album, this one, "At The Drive-In ", is not quite so scarce, but it again features some fine guitar work and more of Freddy's distinctive vocals, as well. What drove me crazy here was that this is not a particularly pristine copy of the album. I bought it as a NM but it is more a VG at best. I had to do a lot of click removal and there is still a share of crackle here and there but I wouldn't post it if it were really bad so I think it is a passable version until a better one comes along. There must be other postings out there but I haven't come across one. Actually I see where a few of these tracks appear on a recent, long overdue, collection of Freddy's work called "Bluesology". I am looking to buy that as it includes quite a few never before released tracks, and i recommend you do the same. But if you want a good sample of what Freddy does with his unique mix of R&B and jazz, then check out this OOP recording from 1972 and I think you'll enjoy it, despite the less than perfect quality here. Taken from the LP at 320kbps , hopefully it will be drive-in' you crazy too, in a good way....

Crazy

Freddy Robinson - At The Drive-In - 1972

Enterprise - ENS-1025

It's The Real Thing
Sweet Clara
Miss Black America
Creepin' Lightly

I Found My Soul Last Night
At The Drive-In
Wonder What It Is
Bluesology

Freddy Robinson - vocal, guitar & harmonica
Al Vescovo - guitar
Harold Mason - drums
Paul Humphrey - drums & percussion
Joe Sample - piano & organ
Wilton Felder - bass
Monk Higgins - organ
Bobbie Hall - conga & percussion
Alex Brown & Clydie King & Vanetta Fields - vocals

Only Child Syndrome...

Many years ago, there was a child born in Waterbury, Connecticut. A proud set of parents beginning a family amidst the historic confines of Yankee tradition and the comfort of the industrial plateau. It wouldn't be long before the kindergarten years would find this same young boy coming to terms with what would be a lifelong pronouncement of, the only child. And yes, this "only child" would be me, now entrenched some 52 years in this cozy little world that has managed to define me in the eyes of Catholic families everywhere, in the minds of struggling street smart urchins, and even deep within my own shadowy world of unbridled imagination and introspection. I soon came to understand that "only child" was generally not a moniker to be proud of, especially among peers where it usually was applied to someone thought to be unfairly privileged, someone unusually coddled, a "momma's boy", protected and insulated from the spirit of the real world below. These connotations seemed to build up in my little head as I progressed through those first few years of grade school and it became a source of embarrassment, at least in my mind, that I worked hard to avoid or erase. Early on it came with undoing any effort my mother put into my appearance. She would lay out the clothes and I would do my best to dismantle the intended choreography. Sometimes I just managed to do a last minute switcheroo before bolting out the door for school, sometimes I just had to tear everything apart between the backdoor and the schoolyard, the clip-on bow tie, the knee socks, the jaunty cap, oh God, it was horrible, but fairly easy to address (or undress as the case may be). So other than the inescapable class photo days, I managed to avoid segragation, and from that point it was just being a kid with no siblings. Although the lack of Christmas day competition and singular annual birthday festivities certainly made their marks on my tendancy to expect attention, these same conditions also resulted in the inevitable lack of attention. It was easy for a family of three to operate as three independent entities, especially as I got older and could take care of myself. This was great for developing a certain confidence in survival and self-sufficiency, it proved a fertile field for my creative juices and entertaining imagination, but it also made some of the social challenges a bit more uneasy than they should be. On the one hand I was devoid of the interactions a larger family would naturally offer, while on the other hand I was somewhat unabashed in my constant mission to weasel into other people's privacy. I had enough of my own privacy so I just assumed everybody else was just as much in need of some outside interaction as I was. So I would be throwing stones at my neighbor's window trying to get my buddy to come out and play. I would knock on every door until somebody would open it wide enough for me to squeeze by, and then let the games begin! So some families took me in like some homeless wretch, I would raid their fridges, sit down to dinner and break bread, watch TV with them, run around and get in trouble (but I never would get the whoopin'), I became an appendage to more than one neighborhood family, and somehow some of these poor victims remain close friends that seem to recall those days fondly if not with a certain humorous disbelief. As far as I was concerned, it all worked out fine, I generally found ways to deal with my supposed disadvantage of what some might call an incomplete family, while at the same time enjoying the advantages of the freedoms that same situation created. My parents and I were like three separate entities all dashing about on wildly different missions on a day to day basis. I had a lot of independence, even for those days, often wandering most anywhere I wanted. There weren't many restrictions or penalties for me...fortunately that never got me in any real trouble so I guess I/we were lucky that way. It also meant that I really came to love my situation. While I came to understand the special qualities of a larger family with siblings and firm traditions and schedules, I also have relished my somewhat unique combination of chaos and calm. I have come to crave activity and social interaction but I also need my own time to be quiet, to lose myself in that same world that followed me from cradle to college. That vast world that speaks to me through all the noise in a singular voice, and fills the shadows with color and light. I have always said that I could stare at wallpaper and be relatively entertained. Boredom is inexcusable to me, there should be no such thing. Life has too much to offer, never a dull moment, depending upon your outlook. And speaking of something to offer, here I offer you another great OOP album from Cal Collins. This one is a solo effort, just Cal and his guitar, and it's a gem, from the vinyl at 320kbps. You can hear the gentle, warm feeling just melt from the strings. This is an easy going but so impressive work from Cal Collins. Bluesy, relaxed, and yet some flurries of ideas come at you at times that will have you shaking your head (that's a good thing). If you like swinging traditional jazz guitar, there is some great stuff here for you to check out...enjoy it...all by yourself.
Syndrome

Cal Collins - By Myself - 1979

Concord Jazz CJ-119

 

By Myself

Where Are You

What Is This Thing Called Love

Stairway To The Stars

No Moon At All

P.S. I Love You

Sunrise, Sunset

The Gypsy

All The Things You Are

The Nearness Of You

Route 66

Jackson County Blues