Soul Stream

My next suggestion (maybe seriously), could be a tune off Larry Young's "Mother Ship". Just hafta listen to it again, and see if any of them stand out as reasonable for an organ trio with guitar, since the original had two horns and no guitar. I'm glad you're taking it easy now and being more reasonable..."Mothership!"

You guys are gonna kill me! I've always wanted to do Moontrane but it's a harder tune that it sounds. I'll have to work on that puppy! I like these ideas. Keep 'em coming. Moontrane? Man, these guys aren't throwin' any softballs are they.... ...oh, and by the way, can you do a note-perfect version of jimmy smith's "live at small's paradise" Indiana??? B)

Maybe you could tell us the "classic" organ tunes you already have in your book. That way, we could maybe get a few that are already in rotation....

This has been reissued on vinyl. Hence all the "mint" vinyl for sale.

two more questions, is it MOSTLY larry on organ, joe on drums? also, how's the sound quality.... thanks..

Well, if your grocer wears sharp dark-colored suits, stingey-brimmed hats, and blows like charlie parker over a boogaloo beat you might be in luck. But, for reals....go buy some Lou Donaldson CDs now or you won't be allowed back in the clubhouse.

This is a freaky album. Don't dig the soundscape so much, but shit like "Chunky Cheeks" and the like...well, you've GOT to have it. The compositions are soul-jazz through the ears of George Braith. So you KNOW it's got to be different, AND super-soulful.....

How's Larry on this. Is he playing organ? Any thoughts???

I've been dumbfounded myself at many weekday shows at major jazz clubs in NYC. Take away the japanese tourist element and it really would look bad. ...but I'll have to quote yet again my favorite Chet Baker line..."The cultural level in the states is dismally low. There's almost no jazz clubs left to play there."

Lonnie NEEDS to put out a double CD of a live trio show. Period. THAT would spread the word as to his greatness.

"Nothing more" merely acknowledges that the "purpose" of the music was to entertain, not to go off into any cosmic explorations or political manifestos. As we've discussed in other threads, the notion that "entertainment" is by definition a "lesser" pursuit is indeed a fallacious one, thus my 2nd half of the statement - "and certainly nothing less". A culture is a complex weave of varying strands, and Lou's particular strand was of the highest possible quality. To differentiate it from different strands is in no way an attempt to assign relative value. Anythung but! It's merely an attempt to focus on exactly what that strand was, which can give one greater clarity as to how all the strands come togehter to form the whole. Ok - in some circles, the heavy duty spiritual/political stuff takes precedence, but I'll tell you what - without a STRONG cultural foundation to launch from, that stuff gets pretty silly pretty quick. And that's where Lou and others came in - making sure the foundation was as solid as it could possibly be, that nobody forgot their roots, that there would always be a commumity for those who moved out (or away) to remember as a defining force wherever they went. Ain't nothin' "easy" about THAT! I even agree with Jim when I disagreed!

...nothing more. Hmmm. I don't know if I agree on that point. That seems to imply that what they were doing is easy to do. Easily replicated, duplicated. I've heard many lesser attempts in this genre, and the musicality Lou and Co. bring to the table is unparralled. I tend to link what these guys were doing is right up there with the best that music has to offer of any brand. However, that's just my opinion. Super-biased that it is.

No, this is NOT the CD. It's called "The Organizer" and is on Amazon, Tower, ect. It has Anthony Wilson on guitar on some of the tracks.... Also, on the link provided above, click "new organ trio album." that's it... Red is a super-versatile cat who can play a lot of different "styles" of organ. Usually, in my experince, this isn't a good thing (jack of all trades master of none). However, that doesn't apply here. That said, that CD "Brother Red" is more of a swing and blues-rock thing I believe. If you dig that style, you'l probably like it. "'The Organizer" is more of a straight-ahead jazz organ trio thing in the tradition. Still, it will only give you a glimpse of his abilities. Think "Mothership" in person and that comes closer to the truth.

Red Young is a phenomenal organist that has been in Austin for the last couple of years. He's originally from Ft. Worth but made his way to L.A. and remained there for many years playing with just about everybody from my understanding. I've not really mentioned him since he didn't really have a CD out that people could check out. Now he does. It's called "The Organizer." The CD isn't all that representative of his powers, but it's a nice CD worth checking out. Here in Austin, Red works a trio...drums/organ/trumpet with Brannen Temple and Ephraim Owens respectively. These guys are about as good as it gets. It's Miles Davis' 60's quintet were if it were an organ trio...that might give you an idea of what they sound like. Monstrous. They take a piece of music and twist it around and play with it till they wring it dry. And it's all organic (no pun intended). No posing here. Red is a powerhouse. He has the ability to play super uptempo pieces on pedals while comping with the left hand and spinning out lines with the right. All totally independent of each other. I've never seen anything like it. I've seen many of the giants of the organ, and I dare say any one of them match Red's ability on pedals. Not to mention his concept is devoid of any identifyable influence. I'd say Miles Davis's 60's stuff as a whole might be the factor that pops up most in his playing. Oh, and did I mention he CAN do all the McDuff, Jimmy Smith, Holmes stuff as well when the situation calls for it. The CD is pretty much in that style. Well, I've got to let the cat out of the bag on this guy. He's pretty astounding.

Yes! Well, I'll have to take credit for the recommendation. This is just simply one of the best modern jazz organ dates in the last 20 years imho.

You ignore commercial considerations. This is what I find amazing. Even a great jazz musician playing in a conventional style may, and often does, have trouble finding steady work. What about those playing outside? I can't imagine that being an easy road in many, many ways. Not in the least, how do you survive financially? For every "successful" unconventional musician, Andrew Hill, Larry Young, Lester Bowie, ect., how many others' contributions aren't recognized because their offerings were smothered early on. Or were never accepted. George Braith comes to mind as someone I know first hand. Outside of his limited recognition from the Blue Note years, he's virtually forgotten. Despite the fact that he constantly writes and records new material (in his living room). W/o a label or live playing support, it's a pretty tough row to hoe imho.

Imho, Lou's blue note organ sides virually DEFINE soul-jazz. That said, not diggin' "Alligator Boogaloo"....???? To each his own, but that's kind of like saying I'm a fan of Jazz Tenors, except for Lester Young.

....does anybody have "The Phantom?" That's what I would basically be ordering the Peason for. I have much of the rest. Is "The Phantom" worth it??? I know nothing of this album except it has one of the coolest titles and covers of the liberty era.

Wow. A totally revealing insight into the times. Thanks Chuck. The thought of those Blue Notes coming into a record shop, totally unheard by the general public. And the thought of cats actually WAITING for them with anticipation. Oh, to think of a time when this stuff was happening right then. I can only imagine.

Happy Birthday....put on some John Patton and reflect....

Just to chime in on Jsngry's point about being a "licks" player. That is a non-starter argument for me. Everyone plays certain phrases over and over and over again. Some have a wider vocabulary of pet licks, but it's still the same. The human brain does not spew out original material endlessly by nature, no matter who it is.

Personally, I think the lineup that is on the date was destined to be there. Scheduling or no, that's the album. I can't imagine a different player in any of the roles.

That's a shame to hear about the sound. Is it all that bad? I mean, I don't deem very much "unlistenable." A Fickle Sonance is one of the few I virually cannot listen to without getting a near "telephone eq" headache. That said, thanks for the head up. I do wish Mosaic would get a new name or two on the remastering.

Well, keepin' it to the organists.... My top 10 most important Soul-Jazz organ records...in no particular order. Some of these artists made more important albums musically, but those albums don't contain as much of a certain element essential for what I would call "Soul-Jazz," that is GROOOOVE. 1. Lou Donaldson "Alligator Bogaloo". This is the greatest soul-jazz record ever made. After this, these all are a distant second... 2. Jimmy Smith "Back At The Chicken Shack" 3. Jack McDuff "Live" 4. Jimmy McGriff "All About My Girl" 5. Don Patterson "Brothers 4" 6. Baby Face Willette "Face To Face" 7. John Patton "Got A Good Thing Goin'" 8. Reuben Wilson "Love Bug" 9. Charles Earland "Black Talk" 10. Leon Spencer Jr. "Sneak Preview"

I'm no leaf expert. But when I lived in Boston, I actually found the old rake faster for me than blowing leaves. Maybe my technique was bad, but I LIKE the physical activity and slow, methodical, mind-freeing activity of raking leaves!