Dan Gould Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 (edited) So, in the week between Christmas and New Year's I was bored as heck at work and found myself cruising the Bastard's Upcoming Release page, and I see Johnny Almond Music Machine, Hollywood Blues and luckily the Bastard's had their stock B.S. review that happened to mention the sidemen: Curtis Amy Hadley Caliman Vi Redd Joe Pass Charles Kynard So, my interest was peaked enough to wonder about this CD which is due February 2nd but not interested enough to automatically shell out the $25+ to get it. Luckily, a VG+ copy for $7 was only a google search away. Now that I got the record, I'd like to give a heads up to all soul jazz, organ groovin' cats that if cash flow allows, this is one to get! Turns out Johnny Almond was, at the time, a 23 year old Brit who had just recently hooked up with the John Mayall band, they played the Newport Jazz Festival in the summer of '69, and in September, Leonard Feather arranged for a recording session (and got Almond to use one of his tunes, natch) with those California heavyweights listed above. The session is a definite success, with Almond pairing up with a different saxophonist on each cut, more or less, and usually holding his own. He also shows his dexterity by playing alto, tenor, flute, vibes and organ. I'm really wondering what happened to the dude-maybe one of our Brit friends knows? Anywhoo, soul and organ jazz folks are hereby encouraged to consider Johnny Almond Music Machine, Hollywood Blues when the Bastards start stocking it in February! Edited January 8, 2005 by Dan Gould Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Apparently he is currently living in San Francisco. In the early 1970s he founded the group Mark-Almond with Jon Mark. The drummer was Dannie Richmond of Mingus fame. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 Here in SF?? I don't recall seeing his name in the papers or on any local gigs. Interesting. Before Mark-Almond, he was with John Mayall (& Jon Mark) when they recorded the classic "Turning Point" album. He was one of those "cross-over" musicians who got me interested in jazz back in the early 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 http://www.johnmayall.com/fanmail_classic.html - best I can do. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 http://www.johnmayall.com/fanmail_classic.html - best I can do. Mike Interesting..........yet mysterious, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 I can't be as enthusiastic about this album as Dan is, but it's a nice little number that I've enjoyed listening to over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted February 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 UP. If anyone was intrigued by this, the Bastards now have it in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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