Houston Person - Sweet Buns & Barbeque (1972) [re-rip]

One of those Prestige records sessions from the early 70's that has more of an electric keyboard groove than a hard organ one, but still a nice set of sweetly funky tracks from Houston Person and his funky tenor. There's a nice cover of "Down Here On The Ground", plus the cuts "Put It Where You Want It", "Groove Thang", and "Sweet Buns & Barbeque", which has some nice hard drums on the intro. Plus, the whole thing's got a cover that features Sweet Buns dripping with barbeque sauce – proof again that shooting soul food in a record album photo just never works! © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Prestige Records, PRT-10055, 1973

Recorded 11^th September and 7^th November, 1972
at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone

Ernie Royal - Trumpet (#B2-B4)

Victor Paz - Trumpet (#B2-B4)

Frank Wess - Flute, Baritone Saxophone (#B2-B4)

Richard Tee - Organ, Electric Piano, Piano (#A1-A3)

Jimmy Watson - Organ (#B1)

Joe Beck - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar (#A1,A2,A4-B3)

Hugh McCracklin - Acoustic Guitar (#A3)

Ron Carter - Bass (#A1-A3), Guitar (#A3)

George Duvivier - Bass, Electric Bass (#A4-B4)

Grady Tate - Drums

Buddy Caldwell - Congas, Percussion (#A4,B1,B3,B4)

Tracks:

A1. A Song For You {Leon Russell} (4:26)

A2. The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye {Bergmanns, The, Dave Grusin} (4:00)

A3. Scared To Be Alone {Dory Previn} (4:08)

A4. Sweet Buns And Barbeque {Houston Person, Billy Ver Planck} (3:03)

B1. This Masquerade {Leon Russell} (6:07)

B2. Down Here On The Ground {Gale Garnett, Lalo Schifrin} (3:38)

B3. Put It Where You Want It {Joe Sample} (3:05)

B4. Groove Thang {Johnny Bristol} (3:01)

Credits:

Producer - Ozzie Cadena

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Arranger - Joe Beck (#A1-A3), Billy Ver Planck (#A4-B4)

Art Direction, Photography [Cover] - Tony Lane

Photography [Back Cover] - Lee Friedlander

Houston Person - Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (1972) [re-rip]

This is the tenth Album by Houston Person released on Prestige Records.

This LP in many ways is atypical of the earlier albums Houston released in the mid to late sixties. In the early seventies he started moving away from smaller combos towards larger groups with a range of musical charts and at times orchestral arrangements. Jazz as we know it was under the pressure of newer forms of music; Rock and Pop music were dominating. Some musicians started to dabble in Free Jazz, Fusion and Funk. As a result many jazz artists including Houston turned their attention to interpreting some of the more popular tunes of the day. This album is one such an attempt to claw back some interest in jazz. Some jazz critics have denounced these explorations as direct commercial exploits. Forty years have passed and jazz aficionados are returning to this period with newer ears. Broken Windows, Empty Hallways contains a unique assortment of tunes, mostly pop oriented with only one penned by Houston ‘Bleecker Street ‘and another by Thelonious Monk ‘Let's Call This’. Houston steps up grandly to the challenge adding further richness to his powerful soulful tenor readings. This is especially noticeable when launching into some of the ballads. He seems to be able blow a lot more freely on his solos leaving main development of rhythm to rest of the players. This is enhanced by the orchestral arrangements of Billy Ver Planck and the musical scores of Ozzie Cadena who also contributes a tune ‘Moan Er-uh Lisa’. Houston is joined by some fine musicians including Joe Wilder & Victor Paz on trumpet, organist Ernest Hayes, Hubert Laws on flute & tenor, Cedar Walton on piano and drummer Grady Tate; to name a few. In time with repeated listens this album will prove to be of great merit amongst the rest of Houston’s vast discography. Enjoy!

Prestige Records, PRST-10044, 1972

Recorded 1^st May, 1972 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone

Joe Wilder - Trumpet

Victor Paz - Trumpet [Solo #B1]

Hubert Laws - Flute, Tenor Saxophone

Buzz Brauner - Baritone & Tenor Saxophones, English horn, Oboe, Piccolo, Clarinet, Flute

Ronnie Jannelli - Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute

Jim Buffington - French horn

Ernest Hayes - Organ

Jimmy Watson - Organ (#B4)

Cedar Walton - Piano

Grady Tate - Drums

Bunny Briggs - Tap Dancing (#A4)

Billy Ver Planck - Orchestrations

Track Listing:

A1. I Think It's Going To Rain Today {Randy Newman} (6:05)

A2. Don't Mess With Bill {William Robinson} (3:04)

A3. Everything's Alright {Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber} (4:25)

A4. Mr. Bojangles {Jerry Jeff Walker} (4:05)

B1. Moan Er-uh Lisa {Ozzie Cadena} (6:21)

B2. Imagine {John Lennon} (5:01)

B3. Let's Call This {Thelonious Monk} (4:10)

B4. Bleecker Street [The Pimp] {Houston Person} (4:10)

Credits:

Musical Charts, Supervision - Ozzie Cadena

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Art Direction - Tony Lane

Photography - Lee Friedlander

Eddie Palmieri - Salsa-Jazz-Descarga "Exploration" (1978) [vinyl>flac]

One of Eddie Palmieri's greatest albums - and certainly one of the most mindblowingly creative! The album encompasses all the grooves stated in the title, and then some - as Eddie works with a mix of acoustic and electric instruments, crafting tunes that are long and exploratory, tightly jazzy but also free, and with more than a bit of funk in the mix on the best numbers. And far from confusing, the whole thing comes together with a really cohesive sound - the kind of broad vision in one fell stroke that only Palmieri could pull off! Titles include "Cobarde", "Chocolate Ice Cream", "The Mod Scene", "Random Thoughts", "Resemblance", and "Condiciones Que Existen". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

And to prove Palmieri's Latin-jazz chops go way back, here's a compilation of earlier excursions, as varied as they come. In case you're all Eddied up already and shun duplication, the fine, very varied tracks in question are "Cobarde," "Chocolate Ice Cream," "Resemblance," "The Mod Scene," "Condiciones Que Existen" and "Random Thoughts." ~ by John Storm Roberts, AMG.

Coco Records, CLP 151X, 1978

Personnel:

Eddie Palmieri - Piano, Electric Piano

Charlie Palmieri - Organ (#A2,B1)

Victor Paz - Trumpets

Ronnie Cuber - Baritone & Soprano Saxes, Flute

Mario Rivera - Baritone & Tenor Saxophones

Barry Rogers - Trombone

Jose Rodriguez - Trombone

Harry Viggiano - Electric Guitar

Alfredo De La Fe - Violin

Andy Gonzalez - Bass

Nicky Marrero - Timbales & Percussion

Tommy 'Chuckie' Lopez, Jr. - Bongo

Eledio Perez - Conga

Ismael Quintana, Jimmy Sabater, Willie Torres - Coro

Track Listing:

A1. Cobarde {Eddie Palmieri} (10:42)

A2. Chocolate Ice Cream {Alfredo Armenteros, Eddie Palmieri} (10:43)

A3. Ressemblance {Eddie Palmieri} (4:48)

B1. The Mod Scene {Eddie Palmieri} (12:28)

B2. Condiciones Que Existen {Eddie Palmieri} (3:59)

B3. Random Thoughts {Eddie Palmieri} (6:20)

Credits:

Producer - Harry Averne, Eddie Palmieri

Album Design & Illustration - Jorge Vargas