King Curtis • It's Party Time With King Curtis

 

Biography

Curtis 'King Curtis' Ousley was already a well-respected Jazz tenor saxophonist in 1952 when he moved to New York, to concentrate on doing session work for the growing Pop and R&B markets. Over the next decade, saxophone became the pre-eminent lead instrument within Rhythm & Blues/Rock n' Roll, and King Curtis became its leading exponent, spicing up massive numbers of hits with ear catching solos, sealing his reputation as one of the leading instrumentalists of that era. Perhaps he'll be most remembered as blowing that solo on The Coasters 1958 smash “Yakety Yak.”

King Curtis was originally part of the late 40's honking Texas tenor sax brigade, counting Arnett Cobb, Earl Bostic, and Illinois Jacquet as influences. He played in bands of Lionel Hampton and Horace Silver. Upon moving to New York from Fort Worth TX (his 1934 birthplace), he was already well grounded in Jazz, R&B, and Pop. Curtis could play any style on a moment's notice. Curtis had also pursued a highly successful solo career, primarily in contemporary R&B. But he also stretched out with the best Jazzmen: about half of his Prestige output circa 1960-62 he's surrounded by top line players like Jack McDuff, Billy Butler, Billy Gale, Ray Lucas, and Willie Rodriguez. On his classic “Soul Meeting,” the personnel includes: King Curtis (tenor saxophone); Nat Adderly (cornet); Wynton Kelly (piano); Paul Chambers, Sam Jones (bass); Oliver Jackson, Belton Evans (drums)

Recording with Capitol, Epic, and Atlantic, he garnered instrumental hits like 1962's “Soul Twist,” and 1967's “Memphis Soul Stew,” . That same year he did a successful cover of “Ode To Billie Joe.”

He made a big impression in the late 60's, hooking up with artists like Eric Clapton who performed on King's “Teasin'” album in 1970. The saxophonist had meanwhile put together a superb studio group: The Kingpins, with Richard Tee, Cornell Dupree, Jerry Jemmott and Bernard Purdie, all of whom contributed to several of Aretha Franklin's finest records. King Curtis topped the R&B charts in 1971, handling the sax on Aretha Franklin's version of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” and played on several tracks on John Lennon's 'Imagine' album that same year.

When King Curtis departed this world in 1971 -the victim of a brutal stabbing outside his apartment- he wasn't yet 40, but was at the apex of his career. In 2000, King Curtis was inducted into the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame.

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Biografía

Curtis 'King Curtis' Ousley ya era un respetado saxofonista tenor de Jazz en 1952 cuando se mudó a Nueva York, para concentrarse en hacer trabajo de sesión para los crecientes mercados de Pop y R&B. Durante la siguiente década, el saxofón se convirtió en el principal instrumento del Rhythm & Blues/Rock n' Roll, y King Curtis se convirtió en su principal exponente, condimentando un gran número de éxitos con solos que atrapan las orejas, sellando su reputación como uno de los principales instrumentistas de esa época. Tal vez sea más recordado por soplar ese solo en Los Posavasos de 1958 y aplastar "Yakety Yak".

King Curtis fue originalmente parte de la brigada de saxos tenor de Texas a finales de los 40, contando a Arnett Cobb, Earl Bostic e Illinois Jacquet como influencias. Tocó en bandas de Lionel Hampton y Horace Silver. Al mudarse a Nueva York desde Fort Worth TX (su lugar de nacimiento en 1934), ya estaba bien arraigado en el Jazz, el R&B y el Pop. Curtis podía tocar cualquier estilo en un momento. Curtis también había desarrollado una exitosa carrera en solitario, principalmente en el R&B contemporáneo. Pero también se extendió con los mejores Jazzmen: alrededor de la mitad de su producción de Prestige alrededor de 1960-62 está rodeado de jugadores de primera línea como Jack McDuff, Billy Butler, Billy Gale, Ray Lucas, y Willie Rodríguez. En su clásico "Soul Meeting", el personal incluye: King Curtis (saxo tenor); Nat Adderly (corneta); Wynton Kelly (piano); Paul Chambers, Sam Jones (bajo); Oliver Jackson, Belton Evans (batería)

Grabando con Capitol, Epic y Atlantic, obtuvo éxitos instrumentales como "Soul Twist" de 1962 y "Memphis Soul Stew" de 1967. Ese mismo año hizo una exitosa portada de "Oda a Billie Joe".

Causó una gran impresión a finales de los 60's, uniéndose a artistas como Eric Clapton, quien actuó en el álbum "Teasin'" de King en 1970. Mientras tanto, el saxofonista había formado un magnífico grupo de estudio: The Kingpins, con Richard Tee, Cornell Dupree, Jerry Jemmott y Bernard Purdie, todos los cuales contribuyeron a varios de los mejores discos de Aretha Franklin. King Curtis encabezó las listas de éxitos de R&B en 1971, manejando el saxo en la versión de "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" de Aretha Franklin, y tocó en varios temas del álbum'Imagine' de John Lennon ese mismo año.

Cuando el rey Curtis partió de este mundo en 1971 -víctima de una brutal puñalada fuera de su apartamento- aún no tenía 40 años, pero estaba en la cúspide de su carrera. En el año 2000, King Curtis fue admitido en el Rock&Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Little Richard • The Fabulous - LP London HA U 2193

 

 

Lou Bennett Trio • Jazz

  

 

Lou Bennett began as a bop pianist, then switched to organ and became a solid player in the late '50s. With Jimmy Smith's virtuostic approach as inspiration, Bennett left piano behind in 1956, and toured the East and Midwest with his organ trio from 1957 through 1959. Bennett left America for Paris in 1960. He recorded there, played at the city's Blue Note club with Jimmy Gourley and fellow expatriate Kenny Clarke, who became one of his regulars alongside Rene Thomas. Bennett made only one return visit to America, appearing at the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival. He led his own group during the '80s." -All Music Guide

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Lou Bennett fue el nombre artístico de Jean-Louis Benoît (n. Filadelfia, Estados Unidos, 18 de mayo de 1926 - Le Chesnay, Francia, 10 de febrero de 1997), músico organista de jazz norteamericano.

Lou Bennett tocó primero bebop al piano en algunos locales de Baltimore hasta 1956 y se decide por consagrarse al órgano tras escuchar la música de Jimmy Smith.

Gira por Estados Unidos con un trío de órgano entre 1957 y 1959, y se traslada a París en 1960 para iniciar su carrera europea, allí toca y graba en Blue Note con Jimmy Gourley y Kenny Clarke, así como con René Thomas, volverá solo en una ocasión a América, al Newport Jazz Festival de 1964.

Grabó además en los años 60 con Philip Catherine y Franco Manzecchi. En los años 80 tocó en su propio quinteto junto a Gerard Badini, entre otros, en ese período realizó giras por España, pasando por escenarios de Almería, Barcelona, La Coruña, Segovia y Madrid. En 1966 graba un disco junto a la cantante catalana Núria Feliu: Núria Feliu amb Lou Bennett i els seus amics y su disco Now hear my meaning editado en 1993 fue grabado en vivo en Barcelona.

Eddie Cleanhead Vinson • Kidney Stew (The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions)

 

Detroit 67 The Year That Changed Soul

 

Detroit 67 is the story of Motor City in the year that changed everything. Twelve chapters take you on a turbulent year-long journey through the drama and chaos that ripped through the city in 1967 and tore it apart in personal, political and interracial disputes. It is the story of Motown, the break-up of The Supremes and the damaging disputes at the heart of the most successful African-American music label ever.

Set against a backdrop of urban riots, escalating war in Vietnam and police corruption, the book weaves its way through a year when soul music came of age and the underground counterculture flourished. LSD arrived in the city with hallucinogenic power and local guitar band MC5 – self-styled holy barbarians of rock – went to war with mainstream America. A summer of street-level rebellion turned Detroit into one of the most notorious cities on earth, known for its unique creativity, its unpredictability and self-lacerating crime rates.

The year 1967 ended in social meltdown, rancour and intense legal warfare as the complex threads that held Detroit together finally unravelled.

 

Stuart Cosgrove (Autor)  

 

Memphis 68 The Tragedy of Southern Soul

 

In the 1950s and 1960s, Memphis, Tennessee, was the launch pad of musical pioneers such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Al Green and Isaac Hayes, and by 1968 was a city synonymous with soul music. It was a deeply segregated city, ill at ease with the modern world and yet to adjust to the era of civil rights and racial integration. Stax Records offered an escape from the turmoil of the real world for many soul and blues musicians, with much of the music created there becoming the soundtrack to the civil rights movements. The book opens with the death of the city’s most famous recording artist, Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash in the nal days of 1967, and then follows the fortunes of Redding’s label, Stax/Volt Records, as its fortunes fall and rise again. But, as the tense year unfolds, the city dominates world headlines for the worst of reasons: the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

 

Stuart Cosgrove (Autor)  

 

Harlem 69 The Future of Soul

 

 

Harlem, 1969, and the vibrant community around 125th Street is rife with creative innovation. Troubled genius Donny Hathaway, bandleader King Curtis, and Miles Davis and his visionary wife Betty Mabry are reinventing black music. Jimi Hendrix is staging a benefit concert in support of the Biafran famine victims, and helping him behind the scenes is flamboyant indie label owner and heroin kingpin, Fat Jack Taylor. The Apollo Theater is bringing the best of soul music to the crowded streets, and at the height of a blistering summer Harlem plays host to Black Woodstock, a series of free concerts starring Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone.

Meanwhile, a city-wide raid has led to the arrest of twenty-one members of the Black Panther Party - and ultimately to one of the most controversial trials of the era - and a heroin epidemic is spiralling out of control. Young people are dying on the streets of Harlem faster than the body count in Vietnam.

Harlem 69 has all the trademarks of its predecessors - deep research, compelling storytelling and a keen awareness of social change - and maps out how Harlem became the genesis of future musical forms including jazz-funk, psychedelic soul, disco, boogie, rap and hip-hop amidst intense social change.

Stuart Cosgrove's critically acclaimed trilogy began with Detroit 67 and was followed by Memphis 68, which won the Penderyn Prize for Music Book of the Year in 2018. Harlem 69 brings his epic story of sixties soul to its triumphant conclusion.

 

Stuart Cosgrove (Autor)  

 

Jesse Powell • The R&B Years

  

Artist Biography by Michael Erlewine

Texas tenorman Jesse Powell was born February 2, 1924. There is very little biographical information about his early years, other than his working with Hot Lips Page, Louis Armstrong, and Luis Russell. He joined Count Basie's Band in 1946, replacing the great sax player Illinois Jacquet, which says something about his abilities.

Powell appears on a number of blues recordings in the late 1940s with people like Brownie McGhee, Willie Jordan, and Doc Pomus. He also worked with Champion Jack Dupree and continued to play jazz, touring France with Howard McGee in 1948. He played bop and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1949. During the 1950s, as bebop fell out of favor, Powell found steady work with a variety of R&B artists.

He recorded as a leader for Federal in 1951 and 1953 and had established himself with the Josie label by 1954, which included groups like the Cadillacs. His R&B work included a number of singles, and studio work with Atlantic/Atco in the late 1950s. His work can be seen on the classic single "Mr. Lee," by the Bobbettes, where he takes the tenor solo.

Powell was back recording jazz in the early 1960s. In 1961, he recorded Party Time for a subsidiary of Prestige. In his later years, he worked in Harlem and made only a few recordings.

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Traducción Automática:

Biografía del artista por Michael Erlewine

El teniente de Texas Jesse Powell nació el 2 de febrero de 1924. Hay muy poca información biográfica sobre sus primeros años, aparte de su trabajo con Hot Lips Page, Louis Armstrong y Luis Russell. Se unió a Count Basie's Band en 1946, reemplazando al gran saxofonista Illinois Jacquet, que dice algo acerca de sus habilidades.

Powell aparece en una serie de grabaciones de blues a finales de la década de 1940 con personas como Brownie McGhee, Willie Jordan y Doc Pomus. También trabajó con el campeón Jack Dupree y continuó tocando jazz, recorriendo Francia con Howard McGee en 1948. Tocó bop y grabó con Dizzy Gillespie en 1949. Durante la década de 1950, cuando el bebop cayó en desgracia, Powell encontró un trabajo estable con una variedad. de artistas del R&B.

Grabó como líder para el Federal en 1951 y 1953 y se estableció con el sello Josie en 1954, que incluía grupos como los Cadillacs. Su trabajo en R&B incluyó varios solteros y trabajo en estudio con Atlantic / Atco a fines de los años cincuenta. Su trabajo se puede ver en el clásico single "Mr. Lee", de Bobbettes, donde toma el solo de tenor.

Powell estaba de vuelta grabando jazz a principios de los sesenta. En 1961, grabó Party Time para una subsidiaria de Prestige. En sus últimos años, trabajó en Harlem y realizó solo algunas grabaciones. 

 

 

 

Phil Upchurch • Tell The Truth

 

Review
by Paula Edelstein
The world-renowned guitarist Phil Upchurch plays 13 great songs on Tell the Truth. This CD is a gem. Playing blues, soul, R&B, and jazz, Upchurch shows his remarkable versatility on such great songs as "Jive Samba," "La Costa," the title track, and "St. Louis Blues." He performs a flamenco version of "La Costa" with beauty and style, and flaunts his "stride guitar" technique on a solo rendition of "St. Louis Blues." His inimitably smooth and soulful phrasing shines on "Manhattan," and he doubles on harmonica on his original composition "She's Alright." However, the highlights of this great program are "Tell the Truth," a song Upchurch wrote with Ray Charles in mind, and his great arrangement of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," which he plays much in the same way as he did on George Benson's smash hit "Breezin'." Joined by David Arnay on piano, Kevin Axt on bass, Vince Wilburn, Jr. on drums, and Mike Smith on percussion, this great CD comes 40 years after Upchurch's first recording as a leader, and it's priceless.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/tell-the-truth%21-mw0000588735

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Reseña
por Paula Edelstein
El mundialmente conocido guitarrista Phil Upchurch toca 13 grandes canciones en Tell the Truth. Este CD es una joya. Tocando blues, soul, R&B y jazz, Upchurch muestra su notable versatilidad en temas tan buenos como "Jive Samba", "La Costa", el tema que da título al disco y "St. Louis Blues". Louis. Interpreta una versión flamenca de "La Costa" con belleza y estilo, y hace alarde de su técnica de "stride guitar" en una interpretación en solitario de "St. Su fraseo inimitablemente suave y conmovedor brilla en "Manhattan", y dobla la armónica en su composición original "She's Alright". Sin embargo, lo más destacado de este gran programa es "Tell the Truth", una canción que Upchurch escribió pensando en Ray Charles, y su gran arreglo de "Take Five" de Dave Brubeck, que toca de forma muy parecida a como lo hizo en el gran éxito de George Benson "Breezin'". Acompañado por David Arnay al piano, Kevin Axt al bajo, Vince Wilburn, Jr. a la batería y Mike Smith a la percusión, este gran CD llega 40 años después de la primera grabación de Upchurch como líder, y no tiene precio.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/tell-the-truth%21-mw0000588735

www.philupchurch.com ...

Junior Walker • Soul Session

 

King Curtis • King Of The Sax

Review by Steve Leggett

King Curtis and his bubbling, stutter-style tenor sax playing brought a touch of jazz and a whole ton of R&B to countless rock & roll tracks in the early '60s, and his funky edge is one of the reasons records by the Coasters, for instance, continue to sound good 40 years later. This collection brings together a nice set of solo Curtis singles, kicking off with his first hit, "Soul Twist," and its B-side, "Twisting Time," which came out on Enjoy Records in 1962. Curtis was a more versatile musician than many people realize (he did sessions with artists as varied as Lonnie Donegan and Andy Williams, and shows it here by going sans sax, playing a solid electric guitar and handling the vocals on a two-part version of the Ray Charles classic "What'd I Say." Curtis shows himself right at home in Memphis soul territory, too, with the Booker T. & the MG's-styled "Hot Potato (Piping Hot)." The haunting and slightly ominous instrumental "Midnight Blue" is another highlight included here, although one wishes room could have been found for one of Curtis' best tunes, "Soul Serenade," which featured Curtis on saxello. That omission aside, King of the Sax makes for a fine introduction to this extraordinary musician.

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Reseña de Steve Leggett

King Curtis y su saxo tenor burbujeante y tartamudo aportó un toque de jazz y una tonelada de R&B a innumerables temas de rock & roll a principios de los 60, y su toque funky es una de las razones por las que los discos de los Coasters, por ejemplo, siguen sonando bien 40 años después. Esta colección reúne un buen conjunto de singles de Curtis en solitario, comenzando con su primer éxito, "Soul Twist", y su lado B, "Twisting Time", que salió en Enjoy Records en 1962. Curtis era un músico más versátil de lo que mucha gente cree (hizo sesiones con artistas tan variados como Lonnie Donegan y Andy Williams, y lo muestra aquí yendo sin saxo, tocando una sólida guitarra eléctrica y manejando las voces en una versión a dos partes del clásico de Ray Charles "What'd I Say". Curtis también se siente en casa en el territorio del soul de Memphis, con el Booker T. y el MG "Hot Potato (Piping Hot)". El inquietante y ligeramente ominoso instrumental "Midnight Blue" es otro punto culminante incluido aquí, aunque uno desearía que se hubiera encontrado espacio para una de las mejores melodías de Curtis, "Soul Serenade", que presentaba a Curtis en saxo. Aparte de esa omisión, "King of the Sax" es una buena introducción a este extraordinario músico.

 

 

 

VA • Kings of Boogie Woogie

Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Blind John Davis ...

 

 

VA • Ace Story

 

Little over 30 years ago, the R&B and rock'n'roll loving directorate of Chiswick Records decided that it might be fun to start a sister label, which did for the recordings of what was then a mere 20 years previously what Chiswick was doing for the more current stuff. Chiswick itself had sprung from small beginnings involving two men with a market stall full of golden oldies both common and rare, so this was not something that surprised too many people who witnessed the birth of this new reissue label which shared the name of one of the most famous imprints in rock'n'roll/R&B history and which, in 2010, still goes by the name of Ace Records.

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Hace poco más de 30 años, la dirección de Chiswick Records, amante del R&B y el rock'n'roll, decidió que sería divertido crear un sello hermano que hiciera por las grabaciones de apenas 20 años antes lo que Chiswick hacía por las más actuales. El propio Chiswick había surgido de unos comienzos modestos en los que dos hombres tenían un puesto en el mercado repleto de viejos éxitos tanto comunes como raros, así que esto no sorprendió a demasiada gente que presenció el nacimiento de este nuevo sello de reediciones que compartía el nombre de uno de los sellos más famosos de la historia del rock'n'roll/R&B y que, en 2010, sigue llamándose Ace Records.
    

Daddy's Rebels • Jive Party

 

Bo Diddley • Have A Good Time Tonight

 

Bo Diddley • A Man Amongst Men

 

Bo Diddley • Rare & Well Done

www.bodiddley.com ...

 

Maria Vincent & The Millionaires • Presenting…

Bo Diddley • Go Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley • Bo Diddley