With Lee Morgan, Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers in 1959, the fabulous trombonist at the threshold of his Jazz Messengers stint, with dates for Miles, Sonny Clark and John Coltrane already under his belt.
Hair-down rock and roll, artful blues balladry and deep soul, for labels like King and Checker, with musicians like Mickey Baker and Specs Powell in NYC, and Allen Toussaint and Lee Allen in New Orleans.
Following Alan Lomax, Daptone placed a small local ad, asking singers to show at Mt Marian Church a certain Saturday. This marvellous record of acappella gospel is the result, including everyone who showed up.
Ornette brought the pianist to ESP in 1965.
With Milford Graves and Gary Peacock.
Exuberant, celebratory, citational Gappy, over an original rhythm; plus a poised Miss Kjah on the flip, coolly making Ain’t That Loving You her own.
Out originally in 1979, on the Wackies’ imprint Hardwax. (The original cover celebrated the first year of Honest Jon’s new reggae shop Maroons Tunes, Bullwackies’ UK distributor.)
Leroy Sibbles and Joe Auxumite, Drifter and Skylarking… Sibbles guides a tough selection, as well as sharing bass duties. There are versions of his classic composition Guiding Star and stylish Wackies heavyweight, This World; and Tribute To Studio One reworks Heptones Gonna Fight / Hail Don D. as modern steppers, with the kit-drums — as throughout this album — supplemented effectively by the in ting from Japan. Drifter and Skylarking put in appearances; and two full Joe Auxumite vocals from the solo album scheduled for release around this time, but abandoned when most of the tapes were lost. A dub version of Delroy Wilson’s Rain From The Skies rounds out proceedings.