A really incredible spiritual jazz treasure from the New Orleans scene – one that features a student group led by legendary Nola
musician Alvin Batiste, but delivered in a style that's much more like some of the hipper jazz collectives in cities like Detroit, Chicago, or Philly at the time! The tracks are long and flowing – filled with rhythm progressions that run deep, often with some modal energy – and almost all tracks have these really great vocals from Eddie Perkins, a soulful singer with a style that's in the territory of Andy Bey or Joe Lee Wilson – which, as you can imagine, makes for a really great addition to the
music! Other players include Batiste on clarinet, James McElroy on soprano, Ernest Nation on trumpet, Alphonso Rodriguez on guitar, Richard
Hunter on percussion, and a young
Charlie Singleton on bass – and this rare set was only originally given away as a souvenir for the group's trip to West Africa in 1973. Titles include "Clean Air", "Holdin Meetin", "Nanigo", "Samba Dee", "Ah Je Gu Da Ba", and "
Music Came". This reissue also features two rare bonus instrumentals – "Samba Dee" and "
Music Came".
(Great pressing – with a huge booklet of notes!)