Gene Ammons - The Black Cat! (1970) [re-rip>true flac]

One of Gene Ammons' best late-period albums, 1970's Black Cat is a bluesy, low-key album and a comparative anomaly: a primarily acoustic soul-jazz album! Ammons was experimenting heavily with the amplified, feedback-laced electric saxophone during this period, but for Black Cat he sticks to his familiar unamplified tenor, playing raunchy gutbucket lines over Ron Carter's warm, deep-toned bass, Idris Muhammad's laid-back drums, and Harold Mabern's twinkling piano (yes, piano, not the soul-jazz cliché Hammond organ). Most of the time, only guitarist George Freeman is plugged in, but even he plays with clean-toned restraint. The centerpiece tracks are the funky soul-jazz blues "Piece to Keep Away Evil Spirits" and the more danceable, groove-oriented "Jug Eyes," which would become two of Ammons' most popular tracks, but the surprises are a pair of pop covers, Gary White's "Long Long Time" (popularized by Melanie and Linda Ronstadt) and the Beatles' "Something." Most soul-jazz covers of pop songs sound like boring, uninspired feints towards radio airplay, but Ammons turns both of these melodic ballads into solo showcases for himself and Mabern that show off both players at their finest. ~ Stewart Mason, AMG.

Prestige Records, PRST 10006, 1971

Recorded 11^th November, 1970 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Track Listing:

A1. The Black Cat! {George Freeman} (5:34)

A2. Long Long Time {Gary White} (4:28)

A3. Piece To Keep Away Evil Spirits {Gene Easton} (7:48)

B1. Jug Eyes {Gene Ammons} (8:07)

B2. Something {George Harrison} (3:18)

B3. Hi Ruth! {Gene Ammons} (5:07)

Personnel:

Gene Ammons - Tenor Saxophone

Harold Mabern - Piano, Rhodes Piano (#A2,B2)

George Freeman - Guitar

Ron Carter - Bass

Idris Muhammad - Drums

Bill Fisher - Conductor [Strings] (#A2,B2)

Credits:

Producer - Bob Porter

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Arranger - Bill Fisher (#A2,B2)

Design - Don Schlitten

Liner Notes - Harry Abraham, WHAM, N.Y. (January 1971)

One of the great funky albums that Gene Ammons cut for Prestige at the start of the 70s - quite different than his earlier work for the label, and a very different showcase for his tenor genius! The whole lineup here is amazing - a quintet that features heavy drums from Idris Muhammad, piano and Fender Rhodes from Harold Mabern, bass from Ron Carter, and some tremendously smoking guitar from the great George Freeman! Freeman goes nuts on the funky cut "The Black Cat" - and other tracks include "Jug Eyes", "Hi Ruth", "Something", and "Piece To Keep Away Evil Spirits". © Dusty Groove, Inc.