Acquired this today and another one when a store in the city had a jazz drop. Arrived 10 minutes before they opened and was first there. Another guy came and it was just the two of us waiting. I told him I was after this Henry Franklin first and foremost and he was eyeing another title. While chatting we realized that we both followed each other on Instagram. Nice guy.
This album is something else. Fantastic 70’s jazz, just like the other Franklin I got, also on Black Jazz. The post-bop tunes are insanely good and some overall favorites are Chick Corea’s ”What Was” on which trumpeter Oscar Brashear and Charles Owens on tenor really cooks, ”The Magic Boy” which is a quintessential uptempo post-bop burner with Skipper on fire, the soothing slow tempo ”Soft Spirit”, which features some beautiful flute playing by Kirk Lightsey , and another beautiful flute heavy tune called ”Waltz for Boobuss”.
The bass playing is outstanding by the leader throughout and is very much in focus and upfront in the mix. He definitely is one of my favorite bassists in jazz.
For me, one of the best on the Black Jazz label and from the 70’s era overall. A beautiful copy. The vinyl plays magnificent and the cover was in the shrink when I bought it. It came off of course. The usual Black Jazz punch hole is also present.
