Newman David

As a teenager, David Newman played professionally around Dallas and Fort Worth with Charlie Parker's mentor, Buster Smith, and also with Ornette Coleman in a band led by tenor saxophonist Red Connors. In the early '50s, Newman worked locally with such R&B musicians as Lowell Fulson and T-Bone Walker. In 1952, Newman formed his longest-lasting and most important musical association with Ray Charles, who had played piano in Fulson's group. Newman stayed with Charles' band from 1954-1964, while concurrently recording as a leader and a sideman with, among others, his hometown associate, tenor saxophonist James Clay.

David 'Fathead' Newman - Diamondhead (2008) {HighNote HCD 7179}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 334 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 132 Mb
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© 2008 HighNote Records | HCD 7179
Jazz / Bop / Jazz Blues / Mainstream Jazz / Saxophone

Diamondhead is the ninth of David "Fathead" Newman's HighNote recordings (not the seventh, as the disc's notes state) and it's a typically enjoyable outing of soulful bop with no surprises but some exceedingly fine playing that holds up well after multiple listens. It was issued a few weeks short of his 75th birthday with his longtime collaborator and friend Houston Person as co-producer. The band assembled for this date is made up of longtime associates of the reedman; most of whom have actually appeared on his High Note releases. Fellow Texas native Cedar Walton is in the piano chair (virtually the same age, the pair attended the same high school but didn't play together until the '60s), and legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller is on the other horn – he has known Newman and played with him since the '80s, as has bassist Peter Washington.

David "Fathead" Newman - Fathead - Ray Charles Presents David Newman (1958) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27039}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 239 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 194 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1958, 2012 Warner Japan / Atlantic / Rhino | WPCR-27039 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. David Newman's first album as a leader – recorded under the Ray Charles banner, and featuring Ray himself on piano! The set's a really surprising one – as it's much more jazz-based than we'd expect, given the Charles connection – and really steps out with some lively solo work that goes way past the usual Ray Charles groove. The group's a small one – with Newman on alto and tenor, Ray on piano, Bennie Crawford on baritone, and a young Marcus Belgrave on trumpet – and the tunes have a really solid soul jazz approach, one that sounds a heck of a lot more like a late 50s session for Prestige Records than it does for Atlantic!

The House of David was David "Fathead" Newman's comeback album of sorts, marking his first release after the end of his association with Ray Charles and a few years spent with his family in his hometown of Dallas. Organist Kossie Gardner, guitarist Ted Dunbar, and drummer Milt Turner support Newman's gritty "Texas tenor" sound, which captures the straightforwardness of R&B pop and the improvisational elements of jazz. Newman plays the flute on the spunky "Miss Minnie," but one of the most interesting songs on the album is the untypical rendition of a Bob Dylan tune, "Just Like a Woman." the artist's warm tenor lifts this song to angelic heights, and it's fathomed that he had only heard the song a few times before laying down this recording…

David "Fathead" Newman - House Of David (1967) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27471}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 246 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 136 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1967, 2013 Atlantic / Rhino / WEA / Warner Japan | WPCR-27471 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The House of David was David "Fathead" Newman's comeback album of sorts, marking his first release after the end of his association with Ray Charles and a few years spent with his family in his hometown of Dallas. Organist Kossie Gardner, guitarist Ted Dunbar, and drummer Milt Turner support Newman's gritty "Texas tenor" sound, which captures the straightforwardness of R&B pop and the improvisational elements of jazz.

The House of David was David "Fathead" Newman's comeback album of sorts, marking his first release after the end of his association with Ray Charles and a few years spent with his family in his hometown of Dallas. Organist Kossie Gardner, guitarist Ted Dunbar, and drummer Milt Turner support Newman's gritty "Texas tenor" sound, which captures the straightforwardness of R&B pop and the improvisational elements of jazz. Newman plays the flute on the spunky "Miss Minnie," but one of the most interesting songs on the album is the untypical rendition of a Bob Dylan tune, "Just Like a Woman." the artist's warm tenor lifts this song to angelic heights, and it's fathomed that he had only heard the song a few times before laying down this recording…

David "Fathead" Newman - Bigger & Better (1968) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27128}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 210 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 76 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 198 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1968, 2012 Atlantic / Warner Japan / WEA / Rhino | WPCR-27128 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Jazz Blues / Saxophone

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The sessions that resulted in Bigger & Better feature Newman with a string section and studio musicians for forgettable versions of two Beatles songs, a pair of Sam Cooke R&B pieces and a couple of lesser items. David "Fathead" Newman probaly is not the best saxophone player you will ever listen to. But he is a lyrical player and he has such a signature sound that you just got to love him. Like Hank Mobley, David "Fat Head" Newman kinda gets lost in the shuffle when you compare him to Sonny, Trane, Dexter, or even Stanley Turrentine!