Eric Gale • Touch of Silk

 

Review by Thom Jurek
In 1980, guitarist and composer Eric Gale came off the commercial success of 1979's Part of You (produced by Ralph MacDonald) and didn't do the obvious thing. Rather than make another record that swung for the smooth jazz fences, he made a darker, deeper, funkier, and bluesier album with legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint. The sessions included the cream of the Crescent City's jazz-funk crop as well as mates Charlie Earland, Grover Washington, Jr., and Idris Muhammad, three of soul-jazz's greatest lights -- with special guest Arthur Blythe on the Charlie Parker nugget "Au Privave" as a curve ball. Toussaint wrote four of the album's seven tracks, and they range from the murky blue soul-jazz of "You Got My Life in Your Hands" to the sweet, boudoir-perfect urban-styled title track. Gale is a consummate soloist, full of lilting and biting grooves, with stunning phrasing that maximizes the rhythmic effect of his high strings (such as on "War Paint"), and he never plays an extra note. The beautiful ballad "With You I'm Born Again" has Washington playing some of his most haunting soprano, and the wildly funked-up "Au Privave," a holdover from the bop generation that keeps its original flavor despite the three-instrument front line of Earland's B-3, Blythe's alto, and Gale's chunky bottom strings (which are accented in his comping through the changes), is nothing short of astonishing. This is one of the great versions of the tune, especially in this modern context, and offers solid proof of Gale's bebop roots.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/touch-of-silk-mw0000740343

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Reseña de Thom Jurek
En 1980, el guitarrista y compositor Eric Gale salió del éxito comercial de Part of You (producido por Ralph MacDonald) de 1979 y no hizo lo obvio. En lugar de hacer otro disco que se decantara por el smooth jazz, hizo un álbum más oscuro, profundo, funky y blues con el legendario productor de Nueva Orleans Allen Toussaint. Las sesiones incluyeron a la flor y nata de la cosecha de jazz-funk de la ciudad de la Media Luna, así como a sus compañeros Charlie Earland, Grover Washington, Jr. e Idris Muhammad, tres de las mayores luminarias del soul-jazz, con el invitado especial Arthur Blythe en la pieza de Charlie Parker "Au Privave" como pelotazo. Toussaint escribió cuatro de los siete temas del álbum, que van desde el turbio soul-jazz azul de "You Got My Life in Your Hands" hasta la dulce y perfecta canción urbana del título. Gale es un solista consumado, lleno de ritmos cadenciosos y mordaces, con un fraseo impresionante que maximiza el efecto rítmico de sus cuerdas altas (como en "War Paint"), y nunca toca una nota de más. La hermosa balada "With You I'm Born Again" tiene a Washington tocando algunas de sus más inquietantes sopranos, y la salvajemente funked-up "Au Privave", un remanente de la generación del bop que mantiene su sabor original a pesar de la línea frontal de tres instrumentos de Earland B-3, Blythe alto, y las cuerdas bajas gruesas de Gale (que se acentúan en su composición a través de los cambios), es nada menos que sorprendente. Esta es una de las grandes versiones de la melodía, especialmente en este contexto moderno, y ofrece una sólida prueba de las raíces bebop de Gale.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/touch-of-silk-mw0000740343

Tracklist:
1 - You Got My Life In Your Hands -
2 - Touch Of Silk -
3 - War Paint -
4 - Once In A Smile -
5 - With You I'm Born Again -
6 - Au Private -
7 - Live To Love -


Credits:
    Bass – David Barard
    Drums – Idris Muhammad (tracks: 5, 6), James Black
    Guitar – Eric Gale
    Keyboards – Allen R. Toussaint*, Robert Dabon (tracks: 4)
    Organ – Charles Earland (tracks: 5, 6)
    Percussion – Kenneth Williams (2)
    Producer – Allen R. Toussaint*
    Saxophone – Arthur Blythe (tracks: 6), Gary Brown (2) (tracks: 1), Grover Washington, Jr. (tracks: 5), Harold Vick (tracks: 6)


Label: Columbia
Genre: Jazz
Style: Soul-Jazz
1980
https://www.discogs.com/master/view/84870

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