A pair of late 60s gems from
Jackie Gleason – back to back on a single CD! Silk N Brass features smooth groovy sounds from
Jackie Gleason – a set that definitely serves up the silk and brass promised in the title – but which also features some nice solo work too – thanks to tenor from Charlie Ventura and trumpet from Pee Wee Ervin! There's a slight mid 60s groove to the record – one that's different than the sleepier sounds of
Jackie's work from the previous decade – and arrangements by George Williams have a nice bounce at points. Titles include "Real Live Girl", "Girl From Ipanema", "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", "Begin To Love", "It's Such A Happy Day", and "Starry-Eyed & Breathless". The Now Sound is a record that's definitely after our own heart – in case you couldn't tell from the title! The set has
Jackie Gleason expanding his bag a bit for the late 60s – moving from the easy sound to the "Now Sound" – with the help of some cool electric sitar, pictured on the front of the set – and other hip instrumentation from Tom Scott on flutes, Milt Holland on tabla, and Emil Richards on a range of exotic percussion! The album's as totally wild and exotic as similar efforts on Impulse or Verve, but the record's still a great batch of "establishment hip" instrumentals – which shows
Jackie trying to get a little hip for the times. George Williams handles arrangements, still with lots of the trademark
Gleason strings – and titles include "Live For Life", "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "It Must Be Him", and "I Won't Cry Anymore".