Houston Person - Underground Soul! (1966) [re-rip]

In 1966, Houston Person recorded his first album as a leader Underground Soul! This launched a fruitful affiliation with Prestige Records that produced eleven albums over six years. During his tenure with Prestige, Person experimented with different formats; for this recording he teamed up with Mark Levine on trombone, Charles Boston on organ and Frank Jones on drums. In some regards these relative unknowns would soon be replaced by more familiar combos with increasing expertise and a real passion for Soul Jazz. This group nevertheless still sets a standard for Person’s bold and luxuriant tenor sound that continues to this day. Highlights include Underground Soul, Tears, Ballin' and If You Could See Me Now.

‘The jazz underground has methods of communication which challenge the speed of light for effectiveness. When a new player comes on the scene and has something to play the word spreads around town and across the continents as quickly as a transatlantic cable. Jazz has been an underground music for most of its existence, and, ironically, being American it has never entered into the mainstream of American life. This is music for those who have a taste for good jazz; it comes from the soul and it grows on you from the underground up.' ~ Excerpts from Liner Notes by Christopher Peters.

Prestige Records, PRST 7491, 1966

Recorded 16th June, 1966 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone

Mark Levine - Trombone

Charles Boston - Organ

Frank Jones - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. What The World Needs Now Is Love {Burt Bacharach, Hal David} (3:50)

A2. Underground Soul {Houston Person} (5:48)

A3. The Pimp {Houston Person} (3:43)

A4. Tears {Mark Levine} (3:44)

B1. Aleilula {Edu Lobo, Roy Guerra} (4:09)

B2. Ballin' {Danny Wright} (6:13)

B3. If You Could See Me Now {Tadd Dameron, Carl Sigman-Robbins} (4:26)

B4. Strike Up The Band {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (2:51)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley (August, 1966)

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder
Design, Photo - Don Schlitten
Liner Notes - Christopher Peters