Prysock

Primarily known as a jazz singer with a distinctive baritone, vocalist Arthur Prysock began his career in 1944 as a vocalist in Buddy Johnson’s band and sang on several of Johnson’s hits. In 1952 Prysock went solo and scored a big R&B hit with "I Didn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night.” Over the years Prysock switched easily between jazz and R&B and in the mid-1960’s was recording with the Count Basie band. In the 1970’s, Prysock had a surprise disco hit with "When Love Is New." His brother, Red Prysock, the noted tenor sax player, appeared on many of Arthur's records. Presented here is Arthur’s rare, soul/disco album “Arthur Prysock Does It Again!,” originally released in 1977. All selections newly remastered.

Arthur Prysock/Count Basie documents a set of wonderful mid-'60s cuts in which Arthur Prysock came the closest of any replacements to duplicating the Joe Williams sound in the Basie orchestra. Seven saxes are led by Lockjaw Davis in a big band that drives Prysock. Of the 14 songs, the best are "I Could Write a Book" and "Don't Go to Strangers."

A member in good standing of those deep-throated baritones who plied their trade in the 1950s and beyond, this album compiles work that Arthur Prysock did for the Old Town, Verve, and Mercury labels. Along with Johnny Hartman, Al Hibbler, and Billy Eckstine to whom's voice Prysock's bears a striking resemblance, Prysock was one of those black crooners who reached a level of popularity among the lovers of traditional pop and standard material. Prysock also had some success with rhythm & blues, especially with "I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night." Morning, Noon, and Night compiles more traditional material recorded by the South Carolina native. The one R&B number is a funky B.B. King- penned "Woke up This Morning" featuring the tenor sax of Prysock's brother Wilbert "Red" Prysock. This cut is one of the highlights of the album.

Count Basie was among the most important bandleaders of the swing era. With the exception of a brief period in the early '50s, he led a big band from 1935 until his death almost 50 years later, and the band continued to perform after he died. Basie's orchestra was characterized by a light, swinging rhythm section that he led from the piano, lively ensemble work, and generous soloing. Basie was not a composer like Duke Ellington or an important soloist like Benny Goodman. His instrument was his band, which was considered the epitome of swing and became broadly influential on jazz.

Amazon review by Runmentionable
This is a comprehensive, well-selected and obviously well-informed collection of late 40s jazz and R&B (in the old sense) of the type you might expect to hear in nightclub scenes in films noir. Appropriately enough, both discs are bookended by the theme music from classics of the genre.
Some of the selections are very familiar - Monk's original recording of Round Midnight - while others are drawn from deeper wells, like Leo Parker's exquisite Solitude. The key point is - they're all excellent representations of their genres. After that, it's down to personal tastes. I prefer Billie Holiday in more sprightly mode, but lots of people love the tracks here which I find a bit too self-pitying, and the difference of opinion don't signify when it comes to assessing this excellent compilation.

"Let's Do It! 60 Years of Verve Records" is a compilation album released in 2016 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Verve Records, a label known for its rich catalog of jazz, pop, and blues music. This album features a collection of tracks by various artists who have been pivotal in shaping the label's legacy over the decades.

This set brings together the finest R&B instrumentals recorded in 1957, putting the spotlight both on long-forgotten records by established artists and fabulous obscurities by long-forgotten ones! It's a cracking compilation from start to finish: Mid-West electric blues, Southern swamp rock, spicy New Orleans rhythms, sophisticated West-Coast productions and East Coast city blues, dominated by guitarists and saxophonists but interspersed with a few organists, accordionists, pianists and harmonicists .

WELCOME TO THE CLUB! And our latest adventures in U.K. Club Land where we continue our exploration of the 'Club Beat' - the roots of Mod, R&B and Soul - that coalesced in the bohemian melting pot of Soho, London, post WW2.In this chapter we explore the sound of 'Rhythm & Blues' that first resonated on these shores in and around Soho at the turn of the Sixties. R&B was born out of a blend of upbeat jazz and jump-blues in the Southern states of North America and came to the fore in the fifties, a Black antidote to rock 'n' roll, popularized by the likes of Bo Diddley who graces our cover and features here with his U.K. #34 pop hit 'Bring It To Jerome'.