prestontw Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hi, Some exciting news that I thought I'd share with fellow board members... I spoke on the phone this morning with the great Chicago soul jazz pianist John Wright and his wife in Chicago! John, who recorded five classic Prestige sides in the early 60s remains active in Chicago today gigging, after retiring from his second career working in the Illinois corrections system. Very warm and genial guy, who retains very clear memories of recording his Prestige sides with Rudy Van Gelder and Esmond Edwards. I'm in the process of arranging a longer followup and more detailed interview next week with John about his career and life in jazz for a major piece on my blog. What I would like to ask here is: do any board members have any questions, input about what I can ask John? Please PM or email (prestontw@yahoo.com) me direct with your comments and suggestions. best trevor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Very cool! Good luck with that interview! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jostber Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Very nice! Please post a link to the interview when it's ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikelz777 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) It appears that South Side Soul and Mr. Soul were the only releases on CD of his '60s work. I'm a big fan of both and was wondering if there was anything else "in the can" from the 60's that wasn't released and will we ever see that or any of his other official '60s releases on CD? (Nice 'n' Tasty, Makin' Out, or The Last Amen) Edited February 25, 2012 by mikelz777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlitweiler Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Good for you. John Wright has played occasionally at the Sunday evening Hyde Park Jazz Society events here in Chicago. We've wanted him to play at the Chicago Jazz Festival but he's declined because that's always on Labor Day weekend, the weekend of his annual family reunion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epistrophy007 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 I adddddooooooorrrrreeeee John Wright, in fact my very first question here was about him (and his 'La Salle St After Hours', which I consider as the most "sexy" piano tune ever recorded) =) j. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prestontw Posted February 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Thanks, I'll ask John. Talked both with him and his wife again last night - he remembers all his recordings quite well, but doesn't own the original vinyl - he seemed bemused when I told him originals sell for big bucks on ebay! He finally saw an original when his grandaughter bought "South Side Soul" off ebay. Also - very interestingly - he hasn't received any royalties since the Fantasy sale in the early 70s. Zilch, nada.... This is going to be a big project - John is very eager to talk at length. Great stories of the old Chicago jazz scene, John is an old friend of Ahmad Jamal - told me he was actually in the audience when "Jamal at the Pershing" was recorded- and his working trio of Wendell Roberts (b), Walter McCants (d)even replaced Jamal at the Pershing. -trevor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 It appears that South Side Soul and Mr. Soul were the only releases on CD of his '60s work. I'm a big fan of both and was wondering if there was anything else "in the can" from the 60's that wasn't released and will we ever see that or any of his other official '60s releases on CD? (Nice 'n' Tasty, Makin' Out, or The Last Amen) Nice n' tasty came out on CD in Japan. S'nice... and tasty. What I want to know is, apart from the Prestige recordings, are there any other John Wright albums? Or sideman appearances? MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) What I want to know is, apart from the Prestige recordings, are there any other John Wright albums? Or sideman appearances? MG MG, there are two volumes of The Wright Feeling, but you have to contact Wright directly to purchase them. I emailed an associate of his to get Wright's email address, but I never got around to emailing him and the albums have languished on my wishlist. Edited February 29, 2012 by Justin V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikelz777 Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 What I want to know is, apart from the Prestige recordings, are there any other John Wright albums? Or sideman appearances? MG MG, there are two volumes of The Wright Feeling, but you have to contact Wright directly to purchase them. I emailed an associate of his to get Wright's email address, but I never got around to emailing him and the albums have languished on my wishlist. Re: The Wright Feeling, more information please. What's on it? How does it compare with South Side Soul and Mr. Soul? How many discs? Cost? Still available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 What I want to know is, apart from the Prestige recordings, are there any other John Wright albums? Or sideman appearances? MG MG, there are two volumes of The Wright Feeling, but you have to contact Wright directly to purchase them. I emailed an associate of his to get Wright's email address, but I never got around to emailing him and the albums have languished on my wishlist. Re: The Wright Feeling, more information please. What's on it? How does it compare with South Side Soul and Mr. Soul? How many discs? Cost? Still available? They're still on my wishlist, so I haven't heard them. I'm hoping that someone here will buy them and report back. You can find a review for one of the discs here. As of 2010, Wright's email address, managed by his wife Jean, was johnwrightinc[at]comcast[dot]net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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