Charles Earland (org); Virgil Jones
(tr); Jimmy Heath (ts, ss); Clayton Pruden (tb); Maynard Parker (g); Jimmy
Turner (d)
Recorded on June 1, 1970
After making three relatively obscure albums
for other labels, Charles Earland signed with Prestige in 1969. He quickly made a splash. Within a year, he’d recorded three
outstanding soul-jazz LPs, all produced by Bob Porter. Recorded on December 1969, Earland’s first
Prestige album, Black Talk!, is now widely recognized as a soul-jazz
classic. In June, Earland returned to
the studio and made his second album for Prestige, Black Drops. Not long after that, in September 1970, sound engineers
captured Earland’s working group during a live set at the Key Club in New
Jersey. This third album, featuring an as
yet unknown Grover Washington, Jr., was titled Living Black! (Incidentally, Earland’s final LP before
joining Prestige established the precedent for using “black” in his album titles. It was called Black Power. Obviously, Earland wanted to clearly identify his
albums’ intended audience!)
Black Drops isn’t regarded as highly as its
predecessor (or successor), but it’s the Earland album that I like best. I spin it over-and-over again, and I never get tired of it. I think that has something to do with the
selection of tunes. Three of the six cuts are bluesy and affecting Earland originals, and the covers run the gamut from Sly Stone’s “Sing
a Simple Song” (the LPs opening cut) to Coltrane’s “Lazy Bird” to Bacharach
& David’s “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” The band sounds great. Guitarist Maynard Parker makes an especially
notable impression throughout. Virgil Jones' soulful trumpet is always a plus too.
Earland’s nickname was “The Mighty
Burner.” Listen to this music, and you’ll
understand why. His sound is big, hot, and
heavy. The organ is an inherently heavy-sounding
instrument, but Earland’s approach to the instrument makes it sound even mightier
and heavier.
More Charles Earland
Along with the albums described above,
my favorite Charles Earland records from the decade are Leaving Planet Earth
(Prestige, 1973), an ambitious two-LP set featuring Freddie Hubbard and Joe
Henderson, and Infant Eyes (Muse, 1979).
As you might guess from the title, Leaving Planet Earth touches
on science-fiction themes à la Sun Ra or P-Funk, whereas Infant Eyes
feels like a return to the straightforward soul-jazz verities of his early-70s work with Bob Porter. The latter album also features stellar sax work
by Frank Wess.
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