Ray Charles - Doing HIS Thing, 1969 (24/96 lp rip)

Well I searched pretty far back and it appears that I never posted this here! My personal fave of the Tangerine albums. For some reason the Tangerine ABC recordings of Ray Charles have languished in obscurity due to lack of reissues for the entire digital age. Some of the other early ABC era stuff can be found, but the Tangerine albums have never been re-issued. I think Rhino or Bear Family will do a box someday soon, but until then we will have to be content with my digital transfer and restoration of this LP gem.

Unlike the majority of ABC material that I have heard, this is not over produced and dripping syrup, but is much more a continuation of the Atlantic years. The album is painfully short, but All Killa, No Filla! 

I had to go look for a back cover because I was confused why I had not bothered to keep one - it is because the back cover held no useful information, I'd guess... it may be that by the time I did this, my scanner had crapped out too. I also tried to find the full discograpy for the date, but even though my Fancourt / McGrath discography covers up to 1970, they apparently don't consider Ray "Blues worthy" past 1959. Hank, Fathead and Jimmy Lewis are obvious, but I wish I knew the rest; if anyone finds more complete session-ography, it would be appreciated.

 

Steve Turre - In The Spur Of The Moment (2000)

In The Spur Of The Moment, Steve Turre's debut release for Telarc Jazz, is a technically precise and elegant musical adventure through three jazz styles in which Steve Turre expresses his musical personalities in a quartet setting. In the first setting, he plays the blues in jazz with the legendary Ray Charles on piano, Peter Turre on drums, and Peter Washington on bass. The section features two original compositions by Steve titled "Ray's Collard Greens," an authentic 12-bar blues, and "Duke Rays," a song based on Duke Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone," for which Steve uses Ellington's changes but has written a new melody. "Misty" and "The Way You Look Tonight" round out the section, but are featured with the same approach to the blues. The second section of In the Spur of the Moment features Stephen Scott on piano in a modern and modal setting. His third musical setting stars Turre and Chucho Valdes playing Afro-Cuban sounds in a set that also features Peter Turre on drums, Buster Williams on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, Andy Gonzalez on bass, and the great, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez on drums and percussion. This section shows Turre at his zenith as an assured leader and sensitive collaborator with exciting accompaniment by Chucho plus the string quartet, and Quartette Indigo on "Claudia." In the Spur of the Moment concludes with an exciting finale that features Turre putting his brilliant trombone and shell skills to the test on the exciting jam, "Descarga Ahora." This CD is a glowing example of Steve Turre's exceptional finesse in the many styles of jazz. ~ by Paula Edelstein, AMG. 

Telarc Jazz, CD-83484, 2000
Recorded 14th August, 1999 (#1-4) At Avatar Studios, Studio C, New York City;
5th October, 1999 (#5-7) At Master Sound Astoria, Queens, New York and
8th October, 1999 (#8-10) At Avatar Studios, Studio A, New York City 

Personnel:
Steve Turre - Trombone (#1-4,5-7,8-10), Conch [Shells] (#1-4,5-7), Maracas (#8-10)
Ray Charles - Piano (#1-4,5-7)
Stephen Scott - Piano (#5-7)
Chucho Valdés - Piano (#8-10)
Peter Washington - Bass (#1-4)
Buster Williams - Bass (#5-7)
Andy Gonzalez - Bass (#8-10)
Peter Turre - Drums (#1-4)
Jack DeJohnette - Drums (#5-7)
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez - Drums, Timbales, Congas, Bongos, Bells [Campana] (#8-10)
Akua Dixon - Cello, Leader (#9)
Ensemble - Quartet Indigo (#9)
Richard Spencer - Viola (#9)
Gayle Dixon - Violin [First] (#9)
Sandy Billingslea - Violin [Second] (#9) 

Tracklist: 

The Blues In Jazz
01. Ray's Collard Greens {Steve Turre} (6:34)
02. Misty {Johnny Burke, Erroll Garner} (5:18)
03. Duke Rays {Steve Turre} (5:20)
04. The Way You Look Tonight {Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern} (7:01)

Modern And Modal
05. Ellington Medley: {Duke Ellington} (7:59)
5.1 Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
5.2 Five O'Clock Drag
06. Something For John {Steve Turre} (5:34)
07. In The Spur Of The Moment {Stephen Scott} (9:13)

Afro-Cuban Sounds
08. Suenos De La Habana {Steve Turre} (5:42)
09. Claudia {Chucho Valdés} (9:21)
10. Descarga Ahora {Steve Turre} (6:25)

Credits:
Producer - Myles Weinstein, Steve Turre
Recording, Mixing & Mastering Engineer - Michael Bishop
Technician [Assistant at Avatar Studios] - Andre Yankovsky, Aya Trewhella, Rory Romano
Technician [Assistant at Master Sound] - David Merrill, Ted Trewhella
Technician [Assistant] - Francisco Rodriguez, James Yates, Rob Friedrich
Art Direction - Anilda Carrasquillo
Design - Deborah Kane
Photography [Cover] - John Abbott
Management - Myles Weinstein
Liner Notes - J.J. Johnson, Steve Turre

Ray Charles Presents David Newman - Fathead (1958) [vinyl>flac]

Fathead: Ray Charles Presents David "Fathead" Newman (also referred to as Ray Charles Sextet) is the debut release of jazz saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman. Teamed with Ray Charles, ‘Bennie’ aka Hank Crawford and others; this sextet really gets down and plays a number of great tunes, three of which are written by Hank and one by David himself “Fathead”; the rest fine standards, enjoy!

The talented David Newman, who alternates on this album between tenor and alto, made his debut as a leader at this session. Since he was in Ray Charles' band at the time, Newman was able to use Charles on piano along with Hank Crawford (here called "Bennie Crawford") on baritone, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, bassist Edgar Willis, and drummer Milt Turner. The music is essentially soulful bebop, with the highlights including "Hard Times," "Fathead," "Mean to Me," and "Tin Tin Deo." Everyone plays well and this was a fine start to David "Fathead" Newman's career. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG.

Atlantic Records, SD 1304, 1960

Recorded 5^th November, 1958 at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York City

Ray Charles Sextet:

David "Fathead" Newman - Alto Sax (#A1,A3,B3), Tenor Sax (#A2,A4,B1,B2,B4)

[Bennie] Hank Crawford - Baritone Saxophone

Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet

Ray Charles - Piano

Edgar Willis - Double Bass

Milton [Milt] Turner - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Hard Times {Paul Mitchell} (4:41)

A2. Weird Beard {Bennie Crawford} (4:48)

A3. Willow Weep For Me {Ann Ronell} (4:57)

A4. Bill For Bennie {Bennie Crawford} (4:15)

B1. Sweet Eyes {Bennie Crawford} (3:44)

B2. Fathead {David "Fathead" Newman} (5:21)

B3. Mean To Me {Fred Ahlert, Roy Turk} (4:14)

B4. Tin Tin Deo {Gil Fuller, Chano Pozo} (5:19)

Credits:

Supervision - Nesuhi Ertegün, Jerry Wexler

Recording Engineer - Tom Dowd

Cover Photo - Lee Friedlander

Cover Design - Marvin Israel