2 sides of sweet electric grooving from
Houston Person – records that feature his soulful tenor set in larger arrangements than on his earlier small combo Prestige sessions, in a mode that's a bit like some of the larger jazz sets coming out on CTI and Kudu at the time! Like Stanley Turrentine, who also made a similar shift during this period,
Houston turns out to be an extremely strong soloist in this sort of setting – hitting new notes on the laidback ballads, and playing
with a richly expressive style that somehow seems even more possible than before, since the core rhythms and melodies are handled by the other players in the ensemble, and
Houston's main job is just to blow freely on his solos. There's a few funky numbers on the set, but the mellow tracks are actually pretty darn great too – thanks to work by players that include Bernard Purdie, Joe Beck,
Ron Carter, Ernie Hayes, and Grady Tate. Titles include "Sweet Buns & Barbeque", "Put It Where You Want It", "Groove Thang", "Down Here On The Ground", "Let's Call This", "The Pimp", "A Song For You", and "This Masquerade".
(Out of print, cutout notch through spine.)