The liner notes rave about the first successful meeting of jazz and rock. Which is exactly the kind of exaggeration found in so many liner notes of more commercially oriented albums in those days.
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| Original US cover |
If you like this kind of diverting pop/soul-jazz album, you shouldn't pass this by as it is a really enjoyable example of it's kind.
P.S.: Both Bruyninckx and jazzdisco.org locate these sessions at the Rudy Van Gelder studios. Yet the album's liner notes list one Val Valentine as director of engineering, without any mention of RVG or Englewood Cliffs. Also, almost all other Verve sessions in 1967 were recorded in New York City studios.
Jerome Richardson: Groove Merchant
Verve V/V6-8729, US 1967
Groove Merchant (Richardson)
To Sir, With Love (Black / London)
Gimme Little Sign (Winn / Smith / Hooven)
No Matter What Shape... (Granville / Sascha / Burland)
Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Diamond)
Knock On Wood (Floyd / Cropper)
Ode To Billie Joe (Gentry)
Sunny (Hebb)
Where Is Love ? (Bart)
Up, Up And Away (Webb)
Snooky Young, Joe Newman (tp) Alan Raph (tb) Jerome Richardson (ss,ts,fl) Buddy Lucas (bs) Ernie Hayes (p,org) Eric Gale, Carl Lynch (g) Chuck Rainey (b) Grady Tate (d) Warren Smith (perc) Benny Golson (arr, cond)
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., October 13 & 17, 1967
Someone put the whole album up on youtube:
10 comments:
http://freetexthost.com/bh5e4ogvzb
pass: hideaway
PR, you know you have me with this one. Many, many thanks.
Glad to see that you're still dropping by, Philip, even if there wasn't much for you lately. I'm planning a little run of "groovy" jazz albums, maybe you'll find more to enjoy.
A big thanks for this gem!
I've always been a fan of the groovy type jazz covers of pop songs by the likes of Gabor Szabo, Wes Montgomery, etc. etc. and this one is really nice too. As you said, there are some GREAT arrangements here. I thought "Ode To Billie Joe" was flat out amazing with the tension and mystery it evokes but the whole thing is really a beautiful example of the jazz-pop genre. Thank you LPR!
Agree, Kris, Billie Joe stands out. You can almost feel the heat and dusty country roads.
Richardson didn't record much under his own name. His last session as a leader had been in '62 and it wasn't before, i guess, the '80s that he would lead another session. Considering his skills, that's really a pity. But it seems that he led a secure live as a studio player. Just check on how many sessions you'll find his name in the credits.
hey porco...why not post this one also on the RVG-blog??
peer,
i did and you even left a comment ;-)
Thank you LPRouge, great opportunity to upgrade my lossy files. Btw I had the honor and luck to have, back in the seventies in LA, a clinic with this great guy and musician. Long, long time ago ... sigh !
Lucky you, Pippo!
Interesting to hear that a busy session player still had time and interest in giving clinics.
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