Soul Stream

Henry Cain is actually a vey good organist. I dig that record. The fact they covered The Way I Feel is just a bonus. Not an individual stylist. But a good organist just the same that knew a good song when he heard it. But I think you are right about Capitol trying to cash in on the organ thing...

Leroy Williams had what might be called a "wider beat" than many other drummers Patton played with at the time. But to say he was undermining the session is a misread, miscalculation and misinformed. On the contrary, he's adding a lot of musicality to the proceedings. To suggest John would have done a Blue Note session with an unqualified friend (especially a drummer) is a joke. Charlie Hunter doesn't know what he's talking about. If Hunter wants four on the floor with his funk/jazz, that's fine. Just don't expect it from John Patton. Leroy Williams doesn't describe himself as a typical organ drummer, or John a typical organist. As Leroy said..."We were just loose and free and young an happy. That was a special period in my life, It was a beautiful time." Leroy spent 4 or 5 years with John Patton. They were very, very compatable musically. Hunter's just a goof.

Yes, I'm thinking about filing charges...

When I did an Amazon.com search to see what Patton discs were still in print, I was horrified to see that all but Along Came John, Let Em Roll and Got A Good Thing Going are unavailable. There was a time in the mid-nineties when they had quite a few titles out there....Accent On The Blues, Boogaloo, Understanding, Memphis To New York Spirit. Of course there's the select, but... I wish they would RVG a Patton title and get some more things out there. It's criminal to think they haven't done at least one of his titles in the RVG series.

Yes, I saw these guys at the Vanguard and it was one of the best musical experiences of my life. Was Ralph LaLama there? He really blew me away when I saw them, of course it's hard to pick favorite from that band, but LaLama was a gem among gems. And Michael Weiss is just a killer.

Yeah, I really love Caesar on the Gary Chandler session. That record is a real sleeper for those that love funky soul jazz. I don't think many people are hip to it. I can't imagine it sold that many copies to begin with...I'm sure the og vinyl is expensive.

One Elvin Jones performance I didn't care for much was the sessions he did with Hank Jones and Art Davis billed as the Great Jazz Trio I believe. I didn't thing the brothers playing jelled at all. Elvin didn't seem to want to play a supportive role all that much. I great example of Elvin being a total team player was the sessions he did with Larry Young for Blue Note....very sublime.

Yeah, Caesar left Lou Donaldson to work with Marvin Gaye in 1974. I think Caesar might have been the last true organist Lou used until reviving the organ lineup again in the 90's. Caesar was originally from Indianopolis...rising up from that great scene...Funk Inc., Bill Mason...not to mention Ronnie Foster, Billy Nunn, McDuff, Winston Walls, Grant Green all went through there...and that sort of thing was happening. Super organ town and Caesar was the best of the best at that time. That's why Lou picked him up, Lou only had the best as his roster of legendary organists shows.

I think that's one of the most insightful statements I've every heard about Patton. You really nailed it in two sentences.

That's Him!

Yeah, he's really great. Coming out along the lines of Leon Spencer Jr., whom he followed in the Donaldson band. "Hail Caesar!" is an all out classic...his version of "Make It With You" is one of the all time great organ tracks. Up there with "Someday My Prince Will Come" by Leon. I actually met Caesar a couple of years back at Lou Donaldson's gig at the Vanguard. Super sweet cat who was more than eager to talk. I was really excited to see him, and I think he was surprised I knew who he was. I talked to him on the phone not long after that and he recounted a lot of interesting organ history from back in the day. He's still actively playing, although more piano than organ it seems, in Florida. Would love to see him perform. He had great style and facility. One of the forgotten giants of the organ imho.

Just to hop in here.... I'm pretty biased, but I don't think Big John ever made a bad recording. All his solo releases are worth having for sure. Of those that are currently in print, Let Em Roll and Got A Good Thing Goin' are going to be great to add to your collection. Start there and I think you'll be wanting more soon....

Wow, these are all really fascinating stories. Love to hear more, if there are more out there.

This story was on T.V. and I then walked into my son's room and he and his friend are playing some massacre video game...his friend just blurts out with joy.."It's so much fun killing people!" I think that pretty much says it all these days....

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. Who knows what the back story on this is. Maybe he's made a deal with the child to talk at certain times of the day, and he's dropping everything he's doing to make the call and she refuses to pick up the phone because she's mad at him or whatever. I've seen some 12 year olds that are pretty damn manipulative. Perhaps the straw had broken his back so to speak. Of course I know nothing of it, but it seems like when a voicemail like this hits the media on a high profile divorce case...there may be more to the story.

Thanks for the stories! (amazing!) Would love to hear more!

I.M.O. The best sounding ( 33 RPM ) reissue`s you can buy at the moment are the EMI-Toshiba ( Japanese), but they are 4 times expensive as your local Capitol`s. But what about the Capitol quality?.... For the price, they seem pretty damn good to my (admitidly) unqualified ears... Quality is not bad and I`m sure you enjoy these records. Hurry and go for the George Braith albums. Yes, I had purchased Two Souls in One quite a while back! Saw Lee Morgan's "Indeed" and almost bought that yesterday, but was low on cash....

Really a sad day. We're slowing losing the people who made that era what it was. I'll have to put on Dialouge...

I.M.O. The best sounding ( 33 RPM ) reissue`s you can buy at the moment are the EMI-Toshiba ( Japanese), but they are 4 times expensive as your local Capitol`s. But what about the Capitol quality?.... For the price, they seem pretty damn good to my (admitidly) unqualified ears...

I think Elvin was pretty much always Elvin. I hear it on the Sonny stuff too. Sure, he really came into his own with Trane, but his concept was pure from the get-go more or less it seems. I don't think we can fully appreciate the watermark that Elvin had on jazz drumming. The pre-Elvin drummer and post-Elvin drummer in jazz are very different animals.

I'm not going crazy on his leader work in particular, although I do think "Bass On Top" is just a classic album. I'm more talking about his body of work as a musician. The Prestige stuff with Coltrane solo, Garland solo and with the Miles group. He's got a huge sound and his choice of notes is just very compelling to me. What a golden era. Does anybody know how he died?

For those of us who never had the chance to see John Coltrane perfom. I wondered if those who did could share their story(ies).....

How in the hell did he get so good, so fast. He was a phenom at a young age. Everytime I hear him I'm blown away. Been listening to his first leader session..."Chambers' Music" lately. Damn. Maybe it's just a Coltrane connection, but he and Jimmy Garrison are just about my favorites....(with Doug Watkins pretty damn close.)

I see a lot of these Blue Note reissues at my local record shops. You know the ones....great titles hovering around 10 to 12 bucks. Issued by Capitol.... My question is...how good are these relatively speaking? I actually really love buying them. New vinyl at a great price and great titles...

John Coltrane...."Coltrane" on Impulse