George Braith

George Braith - The Complete Blue Note Sessions (2001) {2CD Set, Blue Note Connoisseur CD Series 24558 rec 1963-1964}
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© 1963-64, 2001 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 24558 2 9 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

The use of multiphonics in jazz has been mastered by very few players, and while at times shrill and thin, can be enlivening and exciting. Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Albert Mangelsdorff set the gold standard, while several trumpeters like Rayse Biggs and Corey Wilkes have tried it with two brass instruments, and contemporary saxophonist Jeff Coffin gives it ago. George Braith holds a singularly unique place in the pantheon of these stylistas, following the path of Kirk in playing two saxophones while combining bop and soul-jazz. This set represents the complete works of Braith on Blue Note in 1963 and 1964 from the albums Two Souls in One, Soul Stream, and Extension.

George Braith - Musart (1967) {Prestige–Real Gone Music RGM-0167 rel 2013}
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© 1967, 2013 Prestige / Real Gone Music / Dusty Groove / Concord | RGM-0167
Jazz / Post Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Saxophonist and composer George Braith released five recordings during the 1960s before going silent for a couple of decades. He is well known as an innovator, able to play two saxophones at once – he was inspired after seeing Roland Kirk in a Philly club – though he used that technique only when a tune warranted it. Braith's first four albums – Laughing Soul, Soul Stream, Two Souls in One, Extension (all cut for Blue Note except Laughing Soul) – wove hard bop and soul-jazz that was ubiquitous for both labels at the time. His final offering for Prestige, 1967's Musart, is a whole other thing.

Blue Note's So Blue, So Funky, Vol. 1 is a 12-track compilation that highlights the funkiest soul-jazz organists that recorded for the label, whether it was a leader or as a sideman. Although there's a handful of cuts from the early '60s, such as "Face to Face" by the terrific, underrated Baby Face Willette, the compilation leans toward the funky fusions of the late '60s, such as Big John Patton's "Fat Judy," Lou Donaldson's "Everything I Do Is Gon' Be Funky (From Now On)," Jack McDuff's "Butter for Yo' Popcorn" and Grant Green's "Ain't It Funky Now." The best thing about this comp is that even though it has familiar names, not all of the material is readily available on CD, which makes it of interest to casual groove fans and serious collectors alike.

Big John Patton - Blue John (1963) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD UCCQ-5008 rel 2014} (24-192 remaster)
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© 1963, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | UCCQ-5008
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Organ

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. Insanely wonderful – and pretty darn rare! This album by John Patton was cut during the 60s, but never issued until the 80s – and even then, only briefly – yet it's easily one of our favorite records ever by this legendary Hammond player, thanks to lots of weird twists and turns! Although the record's led by Patton, it's more in the mad style of George Braith – who plays some wonderful sax on the session, in the manner of his excellent Laughing Soul album – a Prestige Records session cut with Patton and Grant Green around the same time.

Grant Green - Retrospective 1961-1966 (2002) {4CD Set Blue Note}
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© 1961-66, 2002 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 40851 2 3 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Guitar

Simply put, this is a very decent four-disc collection of the work of guitarist Grant Green. It features tracks from his many albums as a leader and some as a sideman with others, such as Lee Morgan, John Patton, Baby Face Willette, and Sonny Clark. His early-'60s sides are here along with most of his defining cuts from the '60s, from hard bop to soul-jazz to ballads to gospel – everything most fans would ever want is here, including his late blues sides recorded in the bars of Detroit in 1970. While Green's own albums can never be replaced, this is a solid portrait of one of the most influential jazz guitarists in history.