The accessible and enjoyable material on this Blue Note album was not released for the first time until 1986. The popular Three Sounds (pianist Gene Harris, bassist Andy Simpkins, and drummer Bill Dowdy) perform mostly standards on the album, infusing their swinging music with funk, soul, and sincere feeling….
The Three Sounds open their signature sound a bit on the romantic Moods. They retain the same light touch that made their early albums so enjoyable, but they add more textures to the mix. Light Latin rhythms permeate Moods, from the inventive reworking of Cole Porter‘s “Love for Sale” to Harris‘ original “Tammy’s Breeze.”…
Soul Symphony was the last album cut by the Three Sounds, of which pianist Gene Harris remained the only original member. Bassist Andy Simpkins left after 1968’s wonderful Elegant Soul LP, and was replaced on this date by “the Skipper,” Henry Franklin. This date is a direct follow-up to…
Shortly after the Vibrations sessions, the Three Sounds had their first major personnel shakeup when William Dowdy left the group. Donald Bailey replaced the drummer, and the group played a number of live dates over the course of 1967. During that summer, their concerts at the famed Los Angeles…
By 1966, Larry Young was playing music that fell between advanced hard bop/soul-jazz and the avant-garde. For this stimulating Blue Note date, the organist meets up with trumpeter Eddie Gale (who was playing with Cecil Taylor during this era), altoist/flutist James Spaulding, and three obscure but fine sidemen: tenor…
Organist Larry Young’s final Blue Note album, Mother Ship, was not released until 1980. Teamed up with tenor saxophonist Herbert Morgan, the great trumpeter Lee Morgan, and drummer Eddie Gladden, Young performs five of his originals, which range from the funky “Street Scene” and the samba “Love Drops” to…
Larry Young who like most organists originally sounded close to Jimmy Smith, took a big step away from the organ’s dominant influence on this adventurous and colorful set, which was his debut as a leader for Blue Note. Performing with a quartet also including tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers, guitarist…
Although a four-LP Mosaic box set purportedly includes every recording led by the obscure but talented tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, this 1994 CD has previously unreleased alternate takes of “True Blue” and “Good Old Soul” that Mosaic overlooked. Brooks is teamed with the young trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (on one…
Like two of his other three albums, Tina Brooks’ final session as a leader (in March 1961) was sequenced and prepared for release, but remained on the shelves until well after the tenor’s tragically early death. That’s why the title of The Waiting Game is not only apt, but…
