soul jazz

Sidemen sing the blues and Red Garland is one of them. Performing alongside some of the most important innovators in jazz history afforded the pianist the ability to hear and witness some of the most important musical shifts in the history of American music, but it still didn’t make him a star. Surely, he got to lead a number of dates – and even incorporated some of those better known associates into the proceedings – but he never become supremely famous. And by the time that the mid ‘60s rolled around, Garland headed back to his native Texas for a few years in semi-retirement. That life obviously didn’t suite him and as the ‘70s dawned he headed back into the studio. Read more

Attempting to complete a discography for Lee Morgan would be akin to replicating Mount Kilamanjaro with peanut butter. It sounds good – or delicious – but would probably prove too difficult to ever achieve. Over just 33 years on this god forsaken earth, Morgan performed with Gillespie, Coltrane, Blakey and Moncur III, got Wayne Shorter a job and inadvertently launched soul jazz into the charts with a song that he believed was filler. “Sidewinder” isn’t a joke, but when looking into Morgan’s catalog, it’s understandable as to why the trumpeter felt that some of his more challenging material wasn’t given the same deference by the Blue Note folks, who he primarily worked with. Read more

Houston Person began pounding out music on a piano when he was pretty young. Shortly, though, he switched to the saxophone, which would be the instrument that he spent the rest of his life with. He would go on to study music in college in his native South Carolina. But he was also necessitated to join the army. And oddly enough, while in service, he was introduced to and played with Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton, Leo Wright as well as Don Ellis. Read more