Albert Heath - Kwanza (The First), vinyl rip

Well folks...here we are again. Long time friends will recall that this was long one of my Holy Grail's from the Muse catalog. Once I had finally acquired what appeared to be a nice copy I was heartbroken to discover that side one was flawed with a fierce crackle or groove noise that I wasn't able to remove via software nor cleaning. Eventually I tried so many times to clean side 1 of this record that I likely caused new damage. My attempt to re-rip one last time yesterday was too just too flawed to work with, so I went back to my last, best rip and decided to see if the spectral denoising of Isotope RX4 Advanced could finally rid me of the flaw. It took some experimentation and a couple of junked tries, but I managed to sweep the vast majority of the noise away without messing with the music! The wonders of modern editing software!

So this is still the 16/48 rip from last year, but it is very clearly cleaner and a better listen. I recommend that you upgrade!

    Bass – Percy Heath
    Drums, Timpani [Tympani], Chimes – Albert Heath
    Electric Piano, Piano – Kenny Barron
    Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jimmy Heath
    Guitar – Ted Dunbar
    Trombone – Curtis Fuller
 Recorded By – Paul Goodman
    Liner Notes – Gary Giddins
    Producer – Don Schlitten, Design, Photography By – Don Schlitten



Preceding the Strata East 1975 release "Marchin' On" by two years, this could be considered the first Heath Brothers release. A lovely set of spiritual modal jazz that has that 70's feel I can't resist. All the compositions are originals, written either collectively or individually by the brothers; each one a new gem. For me this one is a classic of the genre.

Sonny Rollins - Sonny's Time (1957)

A great compilation of Sonny’s work heralding from 1957 and his time with Riverside. He surrounds himself with an exciting array of players all well-known contemporaries of equal status. An LP full of jazz standards and two of his own tunes. The majority of the tracks come from his album ‘The Sound Of Sonny’ and two from ‘Jazz Contrasts’ led by Kenny Dorham.

Jazzland Records, JLP 972, 1962

Recorded 19^th June, 1957 (#A1-A3); 12^th June 1957 (#A4,B1);

27^th May, 1957 (#B2) & 21^st May, 1957 (#B3)

At Reeves Sound Studios, New York City

Musicians:

Sonny Rollins - Tenor Saxophone

Kenny Dorham - Trumpet (#B2,B3)

Betty Glamann - Harp (#B2)

Sonny Clark - Piano (#A1,A3-B1)

Hank Jones - Piano (#B2,B3)

Paul Chambers - Bass (#A1-A3)

Percy Heath - Bass (#A4,B1)

Oscar Pettiford - Bass (#B2,B3)

Roy Haynes - Drums (#A1-B1)

Max Roach - Drums (#B2,B3)

Tracks:

A1. Funky Blues Hotel {Sonny Rollins} (6:00)

A2. The Last Time I Saw Paris {Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern} (2:55)

A3. What Is There To Say? {E.Y. Harburg, Vernon Duke} (4:54)

A4. Cutie {Sonny Rollins} (5:52)

B1. Mangoes {Sid Wayne, Dee Libbey} (5:32)

B2. My Old Flame {Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston} (5:22)

B3. La Villa {Kenny Dorham} (7:01)

Credits:

Producer - Orrin Keepnews

Recording & Remastering Engineer - Jack Higgins

Album Design - Ken Deardoff

Liner Notes - Joe Goldberg

Notes:

Compilation of tracks from Riverside albums:

Various - Blues For Tomorrow [RLP-243]

Sonny Rollins - The Sound Of Sonny [RLP-241]

Kenny Dorham - Jazz Contrasts [RLP-239]