Jump to content

Bill Cosby & Quincy Jones - 1969 sessions


Stefan Wood

Recommended Posts

Here's the track listing from an online site:

1. Hikky-Burr (Kincaid Kinfolk)

2. Groovy Gravy

3. Oh Happy Day

4. Jimmy Cookin' On Top (interlude)

5. Toe Jam

6. Jive Den

7. Eubie Walkin'

8. Monty, Is That You?

9. The Drawing Room

10. Hikky-Burr featuring Bill Cosby

12. Hikky-Burr (remix)

The Hikky-Burr theme has been featured on a Quincy Jones lp from this time (Smackwater Jack, 1971) period and is a corker! (Whole lp is pretty good!)

Edited by jazzbo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Musicians include: Les McCann, Ernie Watts, Eddie Harris, Jimmy Smith, Milt Jackson, Arthur Adams, Ray Brown, Mony Alexander, Joe Sample, Paul Humphrey, Claire Fischer, and a few others less known. Tracks are: Hikky-Burr, Groovy Gravy, Oh Happy Day, Jimmy Cookin on Top, Toe Jam, Jive Den, Eubie Walkin, Monty, Is that You?, The Drawing Room, and a remix version of Hicky-Burr.

These were taken from private transfers -- apparently the original masters have vanished, which explains a little the hard edge sound. But overall it sounds good. Good and funky!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That Hicky-Burr thing was the theme song to Cosby's first sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show, the one where he played gym teacher/coach Chet Kincaide. Good show, w/lots of good music.

Is this the soundtrack from that show? Some of the song titles suggest this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest akanalog

in this whitney balliet (spelling is probably wrong-dont feel like finding the book) jazz book i have of his collected reviews and thoughts on jazz, he seems to always be blown away by bill cosby and his band. when he reviews something like the newport jazz fest he always mentions cosby and how tight he and his group are. this made me interested in finding some cosby-led jazz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I picked this up and besides some nice Ray Brown and some standard jamming by the horn players, its really not worth your money unless you really dig bill cosby saying hikky burr (which I have to admit is hilarious no matter how many time you hear it). They were out of stuff to reissue so they decided to release some haphazard novelty stuff. its what I call "scraping the bottom of the barrel."

Good thing Concord just acquired the entire Fantasy/Riverside/Prestige vaults. Talk about reissue power. Concord seems to have a really viable business plan. Their pop/hip hop/folky/showtunes bases are really covered. And Stretch Records is MONEY. I hope they keep Avishai Cohen on the payroll. I know they're keeping Chick. He is their other cashcow besides Michael Feinstein.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but what is Bill Cosby's roll in this?

not much other than it's his show but....

While Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby are today considered two of the most accomplished entertainers in America, the 52-episodes of NBC’s “The Bill Cosby Show” (1969-1971) were among their first notable television credits. Jones, as musical director, assembled a crack team of prominent jazz and funk artists to create a soundtrack and essentially left the tape recorder running during numerous informal jams. The sessions, however, ended up in the vault and were forgotten until over 30 years later when the “lost tapes” were rediscovered during an office move. Quincy Jones Music and Concord Records now present those sessions on two separate, yet equally unique and ultra-cool, recordings.

From the first notes of Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby: The Original Jam Sessions 1969, you know you are in for a quite a musical ride. Authentic interplay, vintage 1969, the heaviest musicians on the planetæ Jimmy Smith, Milt Jackson, Les McCann, Monty Alexander, Ray Brown, Joe Sample, and Tom Scott and among themæenjoying a fresh, loose, funk-loving romp.

"There are only geniuses on this CD and Quincy Jones is the conductor.

Enjoy and feel the fun that permeated in the studio." - Bill Cosby

“We discovered some boxes labeled ‘Quincy, Jimmy Smith and Oscar, 1969,’ and about fell out of our chairs,” explains Marc Cazorla, executive producer for Quincy Jones Music, who along with producing partner Nancie Stern suggested the release of two separate albums. Jones quickly gave his go ahead. Cazorla explains, “A lot of people don’t really realize the impact that jazz has had on modern music, and Quincy’s always looking to turn people on to something fresh. Both he and Bill were completely supportive of the idea.”

There are two original session versions of the near-cult favorite “Hikky-Burr” on The Original Jam Sessions, one instrumental and one with Bill Cosby on vocals. The EMMY Award-nominated song (Jones’ first of four nominations; he won for “Roots”) became the theme for the NBC television show but also a hit single for Jones when he re-recorded the track for his early 1970s GRAMMY® Award-winning album, Smackwater Jack. Mix Master Mike turns it into a modern-day funk-classic with Cosby’s vocals and several choice elements from the original sessions on The New Mixes album.

During the original jam sessions, Jones would give ideas or themes to the musicians and then just let them play. It is obvious from “Hikky Burr” and all the other tracks included on The Original Jam Sessions that the jazz giants in the studio were having fun and savoring the opportunity to stretch their jazz legs. The New Mixes mirrored that same unscripted approach with artists encouraged “to take creative liberties.” The result is an irreverent nod to the pastæa recording that deftly retains the funk-loving spirit of the original music while firmly supplanting it in today’s contemporary music scene. “All of these artists were psyched to work with Jones’ music,” says Cazorla, “and Quincy really flipped when I played everything for him.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...