Houston Person - Pure Pleasure (1976) [vinyl>alac]

Slicker than usual for Houston Person, but still a pretty nice album of tighly produced R&B-oriented jazz. The group includes a lot of hip players, like Cecil Bridgewater, Paul Griffin, and Bruce Nazarian – and the record has arrangements by Jimmy Roach. Tracks are long, and titles include "Deja Vu", "Pure Pleasure", "Inseparable", and "Dancing Feet". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Mighty tenor saxophone player Houston Person released this LP in 1976 on Mercury Records, it features a great line-up of players like Cecil Bridgewater, Bruce Nazarian, Paul Griffin, Bob Babbit, Alan Schwartzberg, Lawrence Killian and strings & vocals.

Mercury Records, SRM-1-1104, 1976

Recorded & Re-Mixed at Blue Rock Studios, New York

Personnel:

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone

Cecil Bridgewater - Trumpet

Paul Griffin - Piano [Grand], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes],
Clavinet, Organ [Hammond]

Bruce Nazarian - Guitar, Synthesizer [Arp]

Bob Babbitt - Bass

Allan Schwartzberg - Drums

Lawrence Killian - Congas, Percussion

David Sackson, Seymour Berman - Viola

Deborah Idol, Elliot Rosoff, Louis Haber, Louis Stone, Robert Rozek - Violin

Irving Spice - Violin [1st]

Maurice Bialkin, Seymour Barab - Cello

Gwen Guthrie, Patti Austin, Vivian Cherry - Backing Vocals

Tracks:

A1. Pure Pleasure (9:15)

A2. Déja Vu (6:37)

B1. Dancing Feet (6:54)

B2. Soul Serenade (6:12)

B3. Inseparable (5:34)

Credits:

Producer - Houston Person, Jimmy Roach, Robin McBride

Engineer - Eddie Korvin

Mastering - Gilbert Kong

Arranger, Conductor - Jimmy Roach

Art Direction - Jim Schubert

Photography - Don Hunstein

Red Rodney with Ira Sullivan - Night And Day (1981) [vinyl]

The Red Rodney-Ira Sullivan Quintet was one of the finest groups of the early 1980s. Rodney had an opportunity to play fresh material; Sullivan gained more exposure than he ever had in his career; and pianist Garry Dial was given high-profile and challenging writing assignments; bassist Barry Smith and drummer Steve Bagby completed the band in mid-1981. On this Muse LP (their fourth of six recordings), the musicians perform fresh versions of two standards ("Night and Day" and "You Leave Me Breathless"), plus four challenging originals. Sullivan plays trumpet on three of the six pieces, alto on two, and soprano on one. The exciting "Dial-A-Brew" is a highlight of this recommended (but sadly out of print) set. ~ by Scott Yanow, AMG.

This studio date was the final Muse session for this band and it is truly a monster! Ira plays trumpet along with Red on three of the tunes, alto on a couple and one on soprano. It is kind of a rare sound with two trumpets fronting a quintet but Ira's versatility gives this band a lot of sounds to work with; as a result none of these albums sounds quite like the last. Ira's alto solo on Muck and Meyer is so strong you have to wonder why he didn't use that horn more. Well worth repeated listens, Enjoy!

Muse Records, MR 5274, 1981

Recorded 15^th & 16tth June, 1981 at Nola Studio, New York City

Musicians:

Red Rodney - Trumpet (#A1,B3), Flugelhorn (#A2-B2)

Ira Sullivan - Trumpet (#A1,B3), Alto Sax (#A1,B1), Soprano Sax (#A2)

Garry Dial - Piano

Barry Smith - Double Bass

Steve Bagby - Drums

Tracks:

A1. Night And Day {Cole Porter} (4:03)

A2. You Leave Me Breathless {Frederick Hollander, Ralph Freed} (6:20)

A3. Babies {Jeff Meyer} (5:55)

B1. Muck And Meyer {Jeff Meyer} (5:25)

B2. Frito Mistos {Jeff Meyer} (5:20)

B3. Dial-A-Brew {Garry Dial} (6:11)

Credits:

Producer - Bob Porter

Engineer - Malcolm Addey

Mastering Engineer - Joe Bresco at The Master Cutting Room, NYC

Cover Concept and Photo - Arthur Paxton

Back Photo - Hugh Bell

Liner Notes - Richard M. Sudhalter