Encounter Bernard Purdie

Being born into an enormous family, Bernard Purdie was pretty immediately appreciated. While in his early teens, he began playing drums professionally, adding much needed income to his household. So even at such an age, Purdie realized that music was the way in which he would make himself famous.

But, Purdie is famous for countless reasons. He’s the funkiest drummer you’ve ever heard, he’s played with King Curtis, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. And even beyond that during a great deal of the ‘70s he released some funky material under his own name, leading groups.

Purdie claims to be the most recorded drummer in music history. And while there’s no way for me to confirm or deny that, the fact that it’s even remotely possible is pretty impressive. But on top of all of this recorded history he leaves in his wake, Purdie managed a short lived record label.

The Encounter label, which has less written about it than one would like, existed only for a very short time during the early 1970s. It was an outlet that didn’t specialize in music strictly related to what Purdie was accustomed to playing. Encounter featured a bit more soul oriented fair. It was still funky, but not in the same way Purdie was funky.

The label only managed to release five albums over the course of its life. And while that might not seem like a great deal, considering this occurred over the space of a single year is pretty impressive.

Acts like East Coast, Seldon Powell, the Sands of Time, Frank Owens and Sir Edward made up the entirety of the Encounter roster.

But in this last man, Sir Edward, sits an even more intriguing story.

Sir Edward was actually Harold Vick, recording under a pseudonym. The sax and flute player unloosed this lone disc for Encounter in an attempt to work in a more commercially oriented jazz setting. Purdie had recorded for CTI, who were at their height at this time, and Vick must have seen an opportunity to broaden his fan base. Subsequent work of his pointed towards an even more commercialized sound decried by purists.

What the players on this album, The Power of Feeling, understand is that there can be a melding of traditional jazz instrumentation with rock and experimental (to jazz at least) tendencies working to draw in a broader swath of fans.

Even when compared to other work by Vick, this release isn’t all too astounding. He always maintained a pretty rich and pleasant tone on his instrument, regardless of what he was playing. But this was the only disc he would release under this name. And there is, in fact, still debate as to whether or not it was actually Vick here – an image on the front cover shows the band leader in shadow, thus obscuring his identity.

But disregarding that minor point of contention, all of these recordings wouldn’t have been possible if not for Bernard Purdie. So, regardless of his scurrilous claims about Beatles recordings, he should be considered an American musical giant.