King Curtis

After having lived in semi-obscurity ever since his deal with King/Federal fell through in the mid-1960s, the Blues Boom that was spreading across America and the UK in the late '60s gave Freddie King the opportunity to revive his career. He did so by signing on to Atlantic Record's subsidiary Cotillion.
Having been known mostly for his ferocious instrumental workouts ("Hide Away", "Just Pickin'", "San-Ho-Zay", "The Stumble"), soul genius and sax player King Curtis, who would produce the blues man's entire Cotillion output - decided to put an emphasis on King's vocal prowess as well. 'Freddie King Is a Blues Master' is therefore divided in a vocal and an instrumental side…

The mid-to-late Sixties was a strange and difficult time for many Blues men - most were without contracts, forgotten and under-appreciated. Then the Blues boom happened (particularly in the UK) and many had their careers kick-started all over again. Freddie King was no exception. His last album had been for Federal in 1964, but with a new lease of life on the mighty Atlantic label, he produced two much revered LPs in rapid succession. The first was "Freddie King Is A Blues Master" released in 1969 on SD 9004 - and then this peach - "My Feeling For The Blues" on Cotillion SD 9016 released in early 1970.

Freddie at his finest, tenderest, searing, blistering. If this album doesn't bring tears to your eyes, you're not human. King Curtis guides Freddie through an hour of his great and thunderous voice and smoking guitar…

20 Original albums on 10 CDs! King Curtis, Illinois Jacquet, Gene Ammons, Shirley Scott, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Roland Kirk and more!
The tenor sax was to Rhythm & Blues-hits of the 40s and 50s, what the guitar went on to become to RocknRoll. Put on an R&B-single from that era and you will most likely hear a tenor sax break or solo. Eventually, the tenor players stepped out to make records under their own name. These Soul Tenors were expressing themselves by honkin, shoutin, riffin, riding high on a single note or barking out a guttural howl, as Ted Gioia described it in The History of Jazz, all the while, carrying the moan in their tone, according to Cannonball Adderley…