Hank Crawford - Double Cross

Saxophonist Hank Crawford is firmly in the soul jazz camp for Double Cross (Atlantic, 1968), which is not surprising since it was released at the height of popularity of saxophone and/or organ led combos.

Crawford's alto takes the vast majority of the solo space, although tenor heavyweight David (Fathead) Newman is along to provide support as are trumpeters Joe Newman and Melvin Lastie. Guitarist Carl Lynch works in quite a few licks as well.

What better track to choose as a single than the Quincy Jones-penned theme for In the Heat of the Night, one of the biggest movie hits of 1967 and winner of five Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor (Rod Steiger).

The single, at 2:13, is about half the length of the LP track. But unlike a lot of jazz singles this one isn't merely faded out when convenient. It has actually been edited into a reasonably coherent track by cutting some of Crawford's solo. The 45 likely was designed mainly for DJ and jukebox use as I can't see many jazz fans opting for a single over the album. If you like what you hear you'll probably want the full version.

Note for trivia buffs: The piano fills on In the Heat of the Night are by Brother Jack McDuff, who's usually heard on organ.

In the Heat of the Night (45 edit)



Double Cross received a first-rate CD release in 2001, a two-on-one issue on the Collectables label that pairs it with an earlier Crawford album on Atlantic, True Blue. It's available directly from the company at Oldies.com, at a very reasonable price.

Double Cross is also available from most of the major sources as a download issued by Rhino/Atlantic.

Wrapping it up, here's another tune from the album, also taken from a 45 apparently.

Jimmy McGriff - I Can't Get No Satisfaction (45 single)

With the exception of a few of Jimmy McGriff's early singles for Sue Records his 45s were almost exclusively designed to promote his LPs. McGriff singles like I Got a Woman, All About My Girl and Kiko were chart hits in the early to mid-'60s and the albums containing those tracks were issued later.

But most of the organist's later singles for labels like Capitol, Groove Merchant and Solid State were mere promotional releases for his albums.

A notable exception was the 1967 single of I Can't Get No Satisfaction/I Can't Give You Anything But Love Baby. Neither of these tracks ever appeared on a McGriff LP.

There is no indication of the personnel involved in the recording session, other than producer Sonny Lester.

I Can't Get No Satisfaction



McGriff's cover version of the Rolling Stones' hit was listed on Billboard's Bubbling Under chart at No. 130 in May 1967 but never climbed into the Hot 100. Neither this track nor the flip side is available in a digital format. However, copies of the vinyl single seem to turn up fairly often on eBay and other online sites.

The selection below, The Worm, is from a 1968 session for Solid State that featured saxophonist Fats Theus and trumpeter Blue Mitchell.

Lou Donaldson - Light Foot (Post #2)

This superb LP from alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson's early days on Blue Note was discussed in a post in March 2013. All the background and availability information is still relevant, so you can click here to read it.

The track contained in the previous post was the laid-back Day Dreams, which was put on the "B" side of a single to promote the album to jazz radio stations.

On the "A" side was a bluesy Donaldson original, Hog Maw. Again, as on Day Dreams (an original by the pianist on the session, Herman Foster), Blue Note managed to squeeze almost six minutes of music onto a 45. That's the source of the track you can listen to below.

Hog Maw



Here's something from Lou Donaldson's funk period in the late 1960s. Jazz purists scoffed at these recordings of course, but a lot of people dug them. This is from Mr. Shing-A-Ling (Blue Note, 1967).

Perry & the Harmonics - Intrigue with Soul

Music from and inspired by the James Bond films is the theme of Intrigue with Soul (Mercury, 1965), the only album released by Perry & the Harmonics, a Chicago-based group.

The recognizable name among the five musicians is Ed Townsend, who had a 1958 vocal hit on Capitol with For Your Love. Townsend, who produced and plays piano on Intrigue with Soul, later co-write the 1970s hit Let's Get It On with Marvin Gaye.

The other members of Perry & the Harmonics are Clarence Perry on tenor sax, Richard McCrea on organ, guitarist Paul Pratt and drummer Maurice Wells. There are also vocals and narration on several tracks, courtesy of Townsend.

Among the soul-jazz offerings from the group is a version of From Russia with Love.

From Russia with Love



Do the Monkey with James was pulled from Intrigue with Soul as a single, but neither it nor the LP had any impact. Both are now collector's items. The one LP is the entire recorded output of Perry & the Harmonics. It has not been released in a digital format.

Here's another track from the album.

Rusty Bryant - Fire Eater (45 single)

The tenor saxophone of Rusty Bryant (1929-1991) graced some fine soul-jazz albums for Prestige in the late 1960s and early '70s. He'd come up through the rhythm-and-blues ranks in the '50s, recording several sessions that were issued on Dot. Among the tunes recorded was a frantic version of Night Train that was re-titled All Nite Long and became something of a jukebox hit.

But ... back to those Prestige recordings. Fire Eater was the title tune of a 1971 album that included Wilbert Longmire on guitar, Leon Spencer and Bill Mason alternating on organ and Idris Muhammad on drums.

For jazz DJs Prestige issued a single, Fire Eater/The Hooker, with severely truncated versions of those album tracks -- three minutes as opposed to about nine minutes on the LP. Here's the Fire Eater single. Mason is the organist on this track.

Fire Eater



Fire Eater and another Rusty Bryant album from 1971, Wildfire, were combined on a 1991 Prestige CD, Legends of Acid Jazz, Vol. 2. You'll have no trouble scoring a copy of this as cheap copies (some for less than $5) abound online.

From YouTube here's a sample of Bryant's hard driving R&B style from 1956.

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Ebb Tide (single)

Kentucky-born John Robert Smith (1933-1997) was one of a handful of jazz musicians who was nicknamed after his instrument -- in this case the Hammond organ. Smith chose the moniker to distinguish himself from jazz guitarist Johnny Smith and the more well-known organist Jimmy Smith.

Johnny "Hammond Smith" recorded a mittful of well-received soul-jazz albums for Prestige between 1959 and 1970, including a 1967 release that was originally titled Gettin' Up.

When a track from it, Ebb Tide, started getting DJ and jukebox play the title of the LP was changed to match the single.

The MP3 is taken from the 45.

Ebb Tide



Accompanying Smith on Ebb Tide are trumpeter Virgil Jones, saxophonist Houston Person, guitarist Thornel Schwartz (who played on many of Jimmy Smith's Blue Note recordings), Jimmy Lewis on bass guitar and John Harris on drums.

In 2000, the Ebb Tide LP was combined with a 1968 date, Nasty, on a Prestige CD called The Soulful Blues.

This album is easily obtainable either on disc or as a download. A used CD can be had for as little as $6.00.

Here's another track from the Gettin' Up/Ebb Tide LP, Stand By Me. This was also the flip side of the Ebb Tide single. Thanks to Groove Addict for the YouTube video.

Freddie McCoy - Beans & Greens

Vibraphonist Freddie McCoy was firmly in the soul-jazz camp in the handful of recordings he made for Prestige and Cobblestone between 1963 and 1971. McCoy disappeared from the music scene after the latter label folded and he passed away in 2009.

The LP Beans & Greens was recorded in 1967 and below you can listen to the title track Beans 'N Greens. And yes there is a difference in the spelling of the album and track titles. Note the addition of crowd noise, perhaps hoping to duplicate the success of Ramsey Lewis (The In Crowd, 1965), who recorded in a similar vein.

Beans 'N Greens



Personnel on the track besides McCoy included pianist Joanne Brackeen, Dave Blume on organ, Don Payne, bass guitar and Ray Lucas, drums. A couple of horn players and a guitarist were added on some of the other selections.

None of McCoy's recordings under his own name are available as downloads and only one album, Spider Man, has been released on CD -- and that's an expensive Japanese import.

Some of Freddie McCoy's work as a sideman with organist Johnny (Hammond) Smith is available as a download album, Jazz Essentials.

Here's another sample from the Beans & Greens album.

David T. Walker - Plum Happy

Most of guitarist David T. Walker's albums have been in the funk and soul jazz vein, including this 1970 release. Walker was previously spotlighted in this post and you can read more about him there.

Zea Records released Plum Happy in November of '70 and a single Love Vibrations/Doo Doo was issued to promote the album.

Doo Doo on the 45 was about a minute shorter than the album version, contrary to what was printed on the label.

Doo Doo (45 version)



Plum Happy is not available on CD or as a download. Fortunately David T. Walker himself has uploaded the "A" side of the single, Love Vibrations, to YouTube.

Luther Randolph & Johnny Stiles - Cross Roads (single)

Luther Randolph and Johnny Stiles were two-thirds of the trio (Weldon McDougal III was the other) behind the Philadelphia soul label Harthon in the 1960s. The label put out some great singles by Barbara Mason, Herb Ward and others.

Randolph, who played organ, and Stiles, a guitarist, also released at least three singles under their own names, including the two-part Cross Roads, issued on Harthon in 1960 and later picked up for national distribution by the leading Philadelphia label of the period, Cameo/Parkway. The Cameo 45 was re-released in 1963 when it bubbled under Billboard's Hot 100 (July-August), but never actually made the chart itself.

Cross Roads is a slice of funky soul-jazz with just organ, guitar and drums. You can grab it from the link below. For the MP3, taken from the Cameo 45, I edited the two parts together for a 4 1/2-minute jam.

Cross Roads (Parts 1 & 2) 

As far as I know Cross Roads has never made an appearance in a digital format. And it doesn't seem to have turned up on LP either. However, the 45 did appear with a rather odd picture sleeve when it was released in The Netherlands.

Shirley Scott - Satin Doll

This 1963 release, which was recorded two years earlier, was one of two Duke Ellington tributes that organist Shirley Scott (1934-2002) recorded for the Prestige label.

The bare bones session had Scott backed by just bass (George Tucker) and drums (Mack Simpkins) and the music is a little more sedate than what you'll find on most of the organist's LPs.

To promote Satin Doll to radio DJs Prestige issued a 45 single of the title tune backed with C Jam Blues. Both sides were considerably shortened from the album tracks. From the link below you can grab the 45 edit of C Jam Blues.

C Jam Blues

The Satin Doll album has not been released on CD and its availability as a legal download appears to be limited to the U.K.

From YouTube here's the full album version of the title track.

For another sample of Shirley Scott's work view this post.

Jimmy McGriff - One of Mine

Organist Jimmy McGriff (1936-2008) regularly placed his singles on the R&B charts in the 1960s, beginning with his instrumental version of Ray Charles's I Got a Woman in 1962. That was also the title of his debut album for Sue Records.

One of Mine (1963) was his second album, again containing lots of jukebox and radio ready grooves sure to garner plenty of exposure. The title cut and The Last Minute were the prime singles from this LP. On the flip of the One of Mine 45 was Broadway, in a version considerably shortened from the album cut, which ran about 5:40. The single version is available from the link below.

Broadway



One of Mine was released on CD by the ever reliable Collectables label in 1996 with this cover:

It is widely available and prices start at less than $5 in the Amazon Marketplace.

Some of McGriff's Sue recordings (Broadway is not among them) are available via downloads from various sources.

From YouTube here's the 45 version of One of Mine. Again, the LP cut is considerably longer.