Soul Stew: King Curtis

There aren’t too many parts of the recording process that King Curtis didn’t have a hand in. He wrote, orchestrated, directed, produced and played on some of the most important recordings in a variety of genres – some that you wouldn’t even associate the saxophonist with. You know he wrote “Reminiscing” by Buddy Holly, right? That’s crazy.

In his all too brief time here – he was stabbed in the heart while carrying an air conditioner up to his apartment in New York – King Curtis worked on some pretty important discs from Aretha Franklin as well as some other more rock oriented material.

The disc that he’s probably most remembered for – at least one that he led the date on – is Live at the Fillmore West. That disc served as something of a bridge between jazz sensibilities and the funky soul music that had become popular thanks to the likes of Motown Records and Stax. The disc, which included not only Billy Preston, but also the Memphis Horns in the band, was released just a prior to Curtis’ murder. But it included the seven minute lead off, “Memphis Soul Stew,” which has played its part in at least a few hip hop tracks. Regardless, though, that contribution alone solidified a spot for the sax player in the emerging soul, RnB and funk markets that were, at that time, becoming more and more a significant portion of the record buying/selling market.

But for the previous twenty years or so, King Curtis had been recording work under his own name with a variety of players, over a number of different labels and in disparate styles. While he’s still most oft associated with rhythm and blues, at the beginning of his career, Curtis played a bit of jazz. And on The New Scene of King Curtis the tenor man is joined by Nat Adderley, Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers – all of whom either put in time with Miles or Coltrane.

Even with that title affixed to the disc, The New Scene isn’t anything out of the ordinary for the time that it was recorded. 1960 could be considered the year that the new thing in jazz started to get recorded properly. But that’s not what this disc is. Even if King Curtis mostly trafficked in soul music, here he’s playing some straight jazz. Four of the five tracks are his own compositions and find the band working in or around ballads. There are a few that move beyond basic bop territory. But even with a title like “In a Funky Groove,” Curtis doesn’t move all too far into soul jazz territory.

The disc, while a more than competent bop album has been paired as a reissue with Soul Meeting. So finding this as a single offering might not be worth the cost. But for those of you who do really just enjoy owning albums, the cover is pretty similar to a Brother Jack McDuff disc from roughly the same time. And oddly, both offerings sit in similar territories. The New Scene isn’t gonna blow anyone away, but that bowed Paul Chambers solo is pretty entertaining.