Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Reissue of the Month - Gary Bartz: "The Shadow Do!"

CD Reissue of the Month
Gary Bartz: "The Shadow Do!" (Prestige) 1975/2009

Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?... The Shadow Do!
First ever CD reissue of one of Gary's best sessions for Prestige in the mid 70s, now available in Japan by Universal on the "Prestige Sixtieth Anniversary" series.
Featuring: Hubert Eaves, Reggie Lucas, the incredibly underrated bassist Michael Henderson (fresh from his stint with Miles Davis), Mtume, Howard King and the Mizell Brothers.
Bartz, himself a former Miles sideman, is heard on alto & soprano saxophones, synthesizers and lead & background vocals.
Produced by Larry and Fonce Mizell, who also worked in one of my favorite Johnny Hammond albums, "Gambler's Life," released on CTI's subsidiary Salvation label.

Here in the USA the CD can be ordered through DustyGroove:
http://www.dustygroove.com/browse.php?kwfilter=%22Shadow+Do%22&incl_oos=1&incl_cs=1

That's what they say about "The Shadow Do!":
"A key early pairing of saxophonist Gary Bartz and producer Larry Mizell -- working here together before their more famous collaboration on Capitol Records, in a sound that's even more freewheeling and open-ended! Bartz still has a bit of an edge in his horn here -- the style laid down heavily on his NTU Troop records from a few years before -- and Mizell takes that edge and runs with it nicely, helping Gary to focus his rhythms a bit more, and reach out with some really wonderful electric sounds. Hubert Eaves plays keyboards here -- and Mizell brings in a bit too -- and the blend of keys and reeds is really great, with that double-edged depth that makes Gary Bartz so great on his best albums! A bunch of the cuts have that airy Mizell feel to them we totally love, including "Love Tones", "Gentle Smiles (Saxy)", "Sea Gypsy", and "Winding Roads"."

No comments: