The late '60s and early '70s were a very productive time for Charles Earland. At his best, the organist delivered five-star gems during that period, such as Black Talk and Living Black -- and at his worst, he provided decent, if unremarkable, albums like Black Drops. Although not in a class with Black Talk or Living Black, this Bob Porter-produced soul-jazz/hard bop LP is satisfying and generally enjoyable. Earland surrounds himself with mostly fellow Philadelphians, including tenor and soprano saxophonist Jimmy Heath, guitarist Maynard Parker, trombonist Clayton Pruden, and drummer Jimmy Turner - in fact, the only non-Philadelphian on Black Drops is trumpeter Virgil Jones. Highlights of the LP range from the driving hard bop of Earland's "Buck Green" and John Coltrane's "Lazybird" to a funky workout on Sly Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" and some mellow, congenial grooving on "Don't Say Goodbye," and Burt Bacharach's "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." ~ by Alex Henderson, AMG.
Prestige Records, P-7815, 1970
Original Jazz Classics, OJCCD-1079-2, 2002
Recorded 1st June, 1970 at
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Musicians:
Charles Earland - Organ
Virgil Jones - Trumpet
Jimmy Heath - Tenor Sax,
Soprano Sax, Flute
Clayton Pruden - Trombone
Maynard Parker - Guitar
Jimmy Turner - Drums
Tracks:
1. Sing A Simple Song
{Sylvester Stewart} (5:44)
2. Don't Say Goodbye {Charles
Earland} (7:09)
3. Lazy Bird {John Coltrane}
(7:18)
4. Letha {Charles Earland,
Leon Fisher} (7:23)
5. Raindrops Keep Falling On
My Hand {Burt Bacharach, Hal David} (3:48)
6. Buck Green {Charles
Earland, Leon Fisher} (7:17)
Total Time: 38:42
Credits:
Producer, Supervisor - Bob
Porter
Recording Engineer - Rudy van
Gelder
Remastering - Kirk Felton
[Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, 2002]
Liner Notes - Sonny Hopson
