Lonnie Smith Think! Original release 1969 Blue Note This 2019 reissue, Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series This week the world of music lost one of the greats of the jazz organ, “Dr.” Lonnie Smith. I regret never having caught him live during his return to the spotlight, as he had quite the career. He…
Mambos, cha chas, son montunos, pachangas, Latin jazz… Tito Puente played all of those, and he apparently never liked the catch-all term “salsa” (and he stayed out of Fania Records’ orbit, for the most part). And he has a point – each of the sub-genres and rhythms (and there are many more than those listed…
Horace Tapscott Quintet The Giant Is Awakened 1969 original release, Flying Dutchman 2020, this reissue Real Gone Music RGM-1012 Juneteenth is now a federal holiday in the United States. I don’t wish to take away from the significance of that recognition, especially for those old enough to remember the days of Jim Crow. But you’ll…
Chester Thompson – Powerhouse 2021 Real Gone Music RGM-1202 / Original Release 1971 Black Jazz This is a short (seriously short, only 27 minutes) but sweet LP from future Tower of Power and Santana organist, Chester Thompson. Not to be confused with the drummer Chester Thompson, who toured with Genesis in the post-Peter Gabriel…
Marion Brown – Porto Novo Original release 1969 as Polydor 583 724 Reissued in 1975 as Arista/Freedom AL 1001 This reissue, 2020 ORG Music / Freedom (ORGM-2149) I thought a change of pace was warranted here to correspond with a new chapter in my life. Marion Brown played pretty “free” but he could still swing…
It’s a total coincidence (or is it?) that my first two posts about the Black Jazz reissues have been by keyboardists, without any brass or reeds in their band. Weird, eh? This record, “2nd Wave” is great stuff by a one-and-done mysterious key tickler, Roland Haynes. There are actually two Fender Rhodes players here,…
