
Herbie Mann – Live at the Whisky A Go Go
Vinyl rip in 24 bit 192 khz | Art at 300 dpi
1.22 GB 24-192 khz| 24 bit 96 khz – 611 MB | 211 MB 16-bit 44.1 khz
Atlantic SD 1536 | Released 1969 | Soul-jazz / jazz-funk / fusion
Dr. Vibes’ Twelve Days of Christmas – Day 2:
I am not sure that anyone feels as passionately one way or another about Herbie Mann as they do about, say, marmite or The Grateful Dead, but he certainly seems to divide people. Adjectives like “lightweight” and “phony” have been thrown around when I’ve posted his work here. His recording output was prolific and many titles are very common, lining the cut-out bins of many a trusty record shop. But one thing is hard to deny – he sure could put together a solid lineup when he wanted to. I mean just look at the list of musicians on this. Miroslav Vitous and Roy Ayers? Sonny Sharrock? Since I mentioned him in yesterday’s 12 Days of Christmas post, I figured this album would provide some continuity. But in truth Sharrock is pretty under-utilized – he plays chunky rhythm guitar through all but the last few minutes of the album, where he takes an abrupt free jazz solo on Rufus Thomas’ “Philly Dog”. Makes me laugh a little every time I hear it. The first side of the album is a stretched out jam of a song written by Chris Hills (of the group Everything Is Everything) which appeared on a Vanguard Apostolic album in the same year of 1969. So I guess it is no coincidence that group’s second (and final) studio album was produced by Herbie Mann and issued on his vanity label, Embryo Records.
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