The Visitors - Neptune [24/48 vinyl rip]

The first record from the nephews of John Coltrane, originally released on Cobblestone, later on Muse.

"The Visitors were a modern jazz quintet out of Philadelphia led by saxophone-playing brothers Carl Grubbs (alto) and Earl Grubbs (tenor and soprano) and also featuring Sid Simmons on piano, John Goldsmith on drums, and a young Stanley Clarke on bass. Carl and Earl actually took sax lessons in the mid-'50s from none other than John Coltrane, who just happened to be dating their cousin Naima (Coltrane later married her). To say that Coltrane was an influence would be an understatement, and when the brothers formed the Visitors in the early '70s, observers noted that the group sounded like two Coltranes playing at once. The Visitors recorded four interesting albums for Muse Records between 1972 and 1975: Rebirth, In My Youth, Neptune, and Motherland. Earl Grubbs passed in 1989. Carl Grubbs has continued as an active jazz performer, composer, and educator, and runs his own record label, B&C Productions."

The Visitors – Rebirth – 24/48 vinyl rip

A repost request for this, the best of the Visitors albums. 

"Wonderful work from the vastly-overlooked team of Earl and Carl Grubbs – two incredibly soulful players from Philly who really carried on a tremendous post-Coltrane legacy. Earl plays tenor and Carl plays alto – and the record shines with that rare Traneish approach to free creative soloing and spirituality, in a mode that we'd reserve for an elite group of work, such as the early albums by Gary Bartz on Milestone, or some of the better 70s group recordings of Andrew White. The whole album's fantastic – with backing by Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, and Albert Heath – and it's got a sense of majesty that's simply stunning for two players who've never really made the pages of jazz history as well as they should have. Titles include "Gone Are The Days", "Glad to Be Sad", "Black Smoke", "Love Is Magic", and "Two Wives"."

Philly Bands in the 70's - The Visitors and Catalyst Complete Works

 The Visitors - Neptune
Muse 5195, 1972 (1980)

Neptune (12:02)
Naima (4:40)
Reflections (2:39)
China (5:30)
Pisces (4:05)
Pat´s Tune (2:24)

Bass – Edward Crockett (tracks: B2), John Hicks
Congas – Robert Kenyatta
Drums – Bill Roy, Richard Lee Wiggins (tracks: B2)
Electric Piano – Ron Burton
Percussion – John Goldsmith, Sherman Ferguson
Piano – Elmer Gibson, Sid Simmons
Producer – Skip Drinkwater
Saxophones – Carl Grubbs, Earl Grubbs

 Catalyst - Catalyst
Muse 5170, 1972

01. Ain’t The Truth
02. East
03. Catalyst Is Coming
04. Jabali
05. New-Found Truths
06. Salaam

 Eddie Green (keyboards, vocals), Sherman Ferguson (percussion), Odean Pope (saxophone, flute, oboe), Alphonso Johnson (bass)

 Earl & Carl Grubbs (The Visitors) - In My Youth
Cobblestone 1972, Muse 5024, 1976

1. In My Youth (E. Grubbs) (8:11)
2. The Juggler (E. Grubbs) (7:48)
3. The Visit (E. Grubbs) (7:38)
4. Mood Seekers (E. Grubbs) (6:52)
5. Giant Steps (J. Coltrane) (6:45)
6. In My Youth (alternate take) (E. Grubbs) (7:54)

Carl Grubbs (alto saxophone)
Earl Grubbs (soprano saxophone 1, 6; tenor saxophone 2-5)
Sid Simmons (piano)
Stanley Clarke (bass 1-4, 6), James Glenn (bass 5)
John Goldsmith (drums, shakers)
Richard Lee Wiggins (bells 1)

 Catalyst - Perception
Muse 5025, 1972

A1 Perception 15:10    
A2 Uzuri     2:59    
B1 Celestial Bodies     9:20    
B2 Ile Ife     7:02    
B3 Got To Be There 2:44

    Bass – Zuri Tyrone Brown*
    Congas, Percussion – Farel Johnson
    Drums, Percussion – Onaje Sherman Ferguson*
    Electric Piano – Sanifu Eddie Green*
    Guitar – Norman Harris
    Percussion – Jabali Billy Hart*
    Synthesizer [Arp] – Pat Gleason
    Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Nwalinu Odean Pope*
on b3 - Bass – Anthony Jackson Congas – Larry Washington

 The Visitors – Rebirth
Muse Records – MR 5047
Vinyl, LP 1974
A1 Glad To Be Sad 5:58
A2 Black Smoke 9:44
A3 Love Is Magic 5:19
B1 Two Wives 8:04
B2 Gone Are The Days 5:32
B3 Joy 7:02

Bass – Buster Williams
Drums – Albert Heath
Percussion – Sonny Morgan
Piano – Kenny Barron
Saxophone [Alto] – Carl Grubbs
Saxophone [Tenor] – Earl Grubbs

 Catalyst - Unity
Muse 5042, 1974

A1 A Country Song 6:20
    Bass – Alphonso Johnson Drums, Percussion – Jabali Billy Hart*
A2 Little Miss Lady 4:53    
A3 Maze     5:17    
B1 Athene 5:27
    Flute – Connie Hamilton, Shirley Byrne Brown, Steve Tanzer Percussion – Jabali Billy Hart* Violin – Gail Murdaugh Violin, Soloist – John Blake
B2 Mail Order 6:12
    Percussion – Jabali Billy Hart*
B3 Shorter Street     3:53    

    Bass – Zuri Tyrone Brown*
    Drums, Percussion – Onaje Sherman Ferguson*
    Electric Piano – Sanifu Eddie Green*
    Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Mwalimu Odean Pope*

 The Visitors - Motherland
Muse 5094, 1975

A1 Kimball     7:23    
A2 Body & Soul     6:20    
A3 Levelf     6:23    
B1 Motherland     3:20    
B2 Fables Of Africa     6:03    
B3 I Want To Talk About You   5:27  
B4 A Touch Of Warm     3:15

Bass – John Lee
Drums – Victor Lewis
Piano – Joe Bonner
Alto Saxophone – Carl Grubbs
Tenor, Soprano Saxophone – Earl Grubbs    
Producer – Michael Cuscuna
Recorded at Blue Rock Studios, New York City on Oct. 27 & 28, 1975.

Catalyst - A Tear and a Smile
Muse 5069, 1976

A1 The Demon Pt. 1     4:10    
A2 The Demon Pt. 2  3:10
    Vocals – Eddie Green (3)
A3 A Tear And A Smile 4:34    
A4 Fifty Second Street Boogie Down 3:56    
B1 Suite For Albeniz 6:15
    Cello – Michael Peebles Clarinet, Flute – George Taylor (6) Flute – Shirley Byrne Brown Flute [Alto], Flute – Steve Tanzer Viola – Aliza Appel Violin [Soloist] – John Blake
B2 A Prayer Dance     5:54    
B3 Bahia     6:15    

    Design [Album] – Ron Warwell
    Drums, Marimba, Percussion – Sherman Ferguson
    Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass – Tyrone Brown
    Electric Guitar – Charles Ellerbe*
    Electric Piano, Piano [Acoustic], Synthesizer [Moog] – Eddie Green (3)
    Engineer [Mastering] – George Horn
    Engineer [Recording] – Bob Kosiba, Joel Fein
    Engineer [Remix] – Ken Hopkins, Skip Drinkwater
    Liner Notes – Onaje Sherman Ferguson*
    Photography By [Cover] – Hugh Bell (2)
    Photography By [Liner] – Abe Simbu
    Producer – Skip Drinkwater
    Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Flute [Alto] – Odean Pope
    Vocals – Sharon Scott (3)
    Vocals [Chant], Percussion [Misc.] – Farel Johnson

These two bands charted a very similar course between 1972 and 1976 and both are nearly forgotten today. The Visitors are a spiritual jazz band lead by two of Coltrane's nephews; names like Ron Burton, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Barron pass thru the ranks of this fine band. Catalyst is more of a Mwandishi style fusion band  lead by Eddie Green, Sherman Fergusson and Odean Pope that first featured Alphonso Johnson on bass and later Tyrone Brown. I would imagine that these two groups likely played the same clubs about town so pairing them together just seemed logical to my twisted brain. Another of the Philly mainstays on the club scene was of course Pat Martino who periodically sat in with Catalyst and at one point used the rhythm core of Green, Fergusson and Brown in his own group. Get out those bell bottoms and freaky shirts and fire one up, time to go back to the 70's!