Two early 70s albums by Lucky Thompson – back to back in a single set! First up is Goodbye Yesterday – an album that has Lucky Thompson working in a mode that's quite different than his early years – working in a cool group that includes
Cedar Walton on electric piano and celeste, Larry Ridley on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums! While most cuts are relatively straight, they've got an open soulful approach that's quite different from most of Lucky's other work – much more in the vein of recordings by
Walton from the time, with an arch soul jazz righteousness to them, and a bit of an electric vibe when
Cedar hits the keyboards. Titles include "Fillet Of Soul", "Back To The World", "Home Come'n", "Tea Time", and "Soul Lullaby". I Offer You is an excellent album of mellow soulful tracks by Lucky Thompson – with a sweet 70s groove that's quite different from most of his other recordings! The album's got a cool mellow feel – with Lucky veering much more towards a CTI-ish electric mode than the style he used on most of his other earlier albums, which were in a soul jazz or hardbop style. Thompson plays both tenor and soprano sax – sometimes with hints of a post-Coltrane influence, in lines that are nice and snakey! The group's great too – with
Cedar Walton on acoustic and electric piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – all very soulful players that help bring a righteous sort of energy to the album! Titles include "Munsoon", "Sun Out", "Aliyah", and a good cover of "Moment Of Truth".