Rusty Bryant – Soul Liberation (Prestige, 1970)

Rusty Bryant (ts, as); Virgil Jones (tr); Melvin Sparks (g); Charles Earland (org); Idris Muhammad (d)

Recorded on June 15, 1970

Reissued on Bryant’s Legends of Acid Jazz, Vol. 1 (Prestige, 1996)

My wife and I drove to Athens today to visit a friend.  As we went down the road, we listened to Soul Liberation and talked about the music.  Since I was driving, my wife was kind enough to jot down some notes from our discussion.  What fun to listen to such a groovy record with my best friend in the world!  Here are a few things that we noticed.

The album opens with Rusty Bryant’s version of “Cold Duck Time,” composed by Eddie Harris.  The sidemen are all Prestige soul-jazz stalwarts.  After the opening chorus, Bryant launches into his solo.  It grabs you by the throat immediately.  BAM!!!  I love the Jacquet-like growl in Bryant’s tone.  So soulful!

The second cut is “The Ballad of Oren Bliss,” a tender and bluesy ballad that's full of weariness and pain.  The way that Bryant performs this song reminds me of something I once heard Emmylou Harris discuss.  It’s a paradox that the most powerfully affecting songs sometimes require the performer to hold back a little.  Too much emotion can overwhelm the song and the listener.  Bryant walks that line beautifully here.  “Oren Bliss” is one of the album’s high points.

Melvin Sparks is the hero of “Lou Lou,” the album’s third cut.  He lays down a superb solo that moves in unexpected directions.

The unison horn parts of “Soul Liberation,” the fourth cut on the album, reminded us of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”  The band immediately lays down a delicious, swinging, day-in-the-city groove.  But when each soloist comes forward, the musical intensity ratchets up dramatically.  This gives the music a sense of expansion and contraction, of dynamism and vitality.  Again, the idea of “holding something back” before an explosive break makes the music even more visceral and exciting.  “Soul Liberation” is another high-water mark on this stone-classic of soul-jazz.

The album wraps up with the gospel-toned piece, “Freeze Dried Soul,” bringing the album to a churchy conclusion.  Rusty Bryant preaches his sermon well, and all the others do their part.  Melvin Sparks again astonishes here with a wonderful and inventive solo.

Bob Porter produced yesterday’s blog entry, Black Drops by Charles Earland.  He also produced Rusty Bryant’s Soul Liberation.  Not a coincidence.  I really dig soul-jazz produced by Bob Porter—especially the Prestige albums he produced in the late-60s and early-70s.  There’s something special about them.

More Rusty Bryant

Fire Eater (Prestige, 1971) is another powerful Bryant LP that’s easy to recommend.  Along with Bryant’s soulful sax work, the recording features amazing organ playing by Bill Mason (on Side 1) and Leon Spencer, Jr. (on Side 2).  The LP was released in digital format on Bryant’s Legends of Acid Jazz, Volume 2 (Prestige, 1996).