Phil Upchurch - Feeling Blue '1967 [2004]

Tracks list

Phil Upchurch was a celebrated, in-demand sideman in R&B, blues, and jazz before
he recorded Feeling Blue, his 1967 Milestone debut as a leader. Hed already
worked with everyone from Jimmy Reed and Curtis Mayfield to John Lee Hooker and
B.B. King, and would go on to accompany many more and release a string of killer
solo albums. There is more than the seed of genius at work on Feelin Blue. These
ten cuts were recorded over two days in September and October with two different
ensembles.

Half the record is a collection of soul-jazz tunes played by an octet that
included bassist Chuck Rainey, drummer Pretty Purdie, and Sun Ras John Gilmore
among the reed players, while the other placed him in the context of a quintet
whose section included pianist Wynton Kelly, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Richard
Davis, and percussionist Montego Joe. Standout tracks here include the title,
which opens the set with hard-swinging grooves and features the reeds going head
to head with Upchurchs stinging lead lines, an intimate, beautifully articulated
read of Corcovado, the expansive bop of Tangerine, a swirling take on Up Up and
Away, the lithe, airy Israel, and the extended blues I Want a Little Girl, which
reflects Grant Greens influence. Yet, fine as it is, Feeling Blue was only a
hint of the great things to come.


Tracks:

01 - Feeling Blue
02 - Stop and Listen
03 - Corcovado
04 - Really Sincere
05 - Tangerine
06 - Up, Up and Away
07 - Israel
08 - Sabaceous Lament
09 - Muscle Soul
10 - I Want a Little Girl

Personnel:

Phil Upchurch - guitar
Wallace Davenport - trumpet
Ed Pazant, John Gilmore, Pat Patrick - reeds
Wynton Kelly - piano
Al Williams - piano, celeste
Richard Davis - bass
Chuck Rainey - electric bass
Jimmy Cobb - drums
Bernard Purdie - drums
Montegeo Joe - conga
Warren Smith - conga, vibraharp

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