Don Patterson with Booker Ervin - Hip Cake Walk (1964) [vinyl>flac]

A massive pairing of the tenor of Booker Ervin and Hammond of Don Patterson – a record that's got a very famous cover image, and which marks for one of the greatest meetings of soul and modernism at mid-60s Prestige Records! There's no bass at all on the set – just lots of quick, tight rhythm lines from Patterson on the pedals of the Hammond – mixed with drums from Billy James, and served up with plenty of space for Ervin to open up on tenor – blowing with more soul than on some of his modernist sides of the time! The title cut – "Hip Cake Walk" – is a 16 minute groover, and other tracks include "Rosetta", "Sister Ruth", and "Donald Duck". Very cool cover, too! © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Organist Don Patterson went through a richly productive period in the 1960s, fashioning a fortress of funky organ jazz hi-fi on the Prestige label. Various brave knights marched forth through the massive gates which can be imagined as fronting this real estate, their identity at times key to decisions made by fussy collectors regarding which Don Patterson album to own, which to stroll on by. Hip Cake Walk can also get the nod based on album title coolness, a set of standards promoted by individuals who absorb this kind of information as if blotting up anaesthetic. Meanwhile the aforementioned scouts have identified brave knight Booker Ervin, a favourite of tenor saxophone fans one and all, the man who plays a beat as if winning the penalty kick, whose horn was once used to cook fish soup for Pancho Villa. The presence of one solid Patterson original after the other, from the title tune through the holistic introduction of 'Sister Ruth' and the webbed-foot swing of 'Donald Duck', trumps any previously stated reason for this album's special status. 'Hip Cake Walk' is sliced and strolled with for more than a quarter-of-an-hour, alto saxophonist Leonard Houston jousting, knocking burning candles off drummer Billy James' head which he then replaces with icing dripped off his sticks. Cover material is also nicely selected, an Earl Hines classic given a clever updating and 'Under The Boardwalk' allowed to conclude the program with an enduring vision of the Drifters drifting out to sea, clinging to the keys of Patterson's organ, a lifesaver indeed. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide.

Prestige Records, PR 7349, 1965

Recorded 12^th May (#B1) 10^th July (#A1-A3,B2), 1964 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Don Patterson - Organ

Booker Ervin - Tenor Saxophone (#A1-A3)

Leonard Houston - Alto Saxophone (#B1)

Billy James - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Sister Ruth {Don Patterson} (4:56)

A2. Donald Duck {Don Patterson} (5:48)

A3. Rosetta {Earl Hines, Henri Woode} (8:02)

B1. Hip Cake Walk {Don Patterson} (16:30)

B2. Under The Boardwalk {Arthur Resnick, Kenny Young} (3:02)

Credits:

Producer - Ozzie Cadena

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Liner Notes - Walter Catt (Oct. 1964)