BOBBI HUMPREY — Dig This! (1972) RM | Two Version | Blue Note, The Masterworks Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Dig This, recorded and released in 1972, is the second of Bobbi Humphrey's seven Blue Note albums; it is also her sophomore recording. The album was produced by then-label president George Butler. He had signed Humphrey and helmed her debut, Flute In, the previous year. Recorded at A&R Studios, the young flutist was teamed with bassists Ron Carter and Wilbur Bascomb, Jr., powerhouse drummer Alphonse Mouzon, guitarists David Spinozza and William Fontaine, and keyboardists Harry Whitaker and Paul Griffin. While the album’s formula didn’t deviate that much from her debut -- an easy, tasty balance of soul, pop, and jazz tunes -- the material, production, and Humphrey’s confidence all stand out here. Check her reading of Bill Withers' “Lonely Town, Lonely Street,” as she stretches the melody to meet Bascomb's and Spinozza’s funky grooves. While strings swoop and hover, threatening to overtake the mix, her plaintive style goes right at them with meaty, in-the-pocket phrasing. Her version of Whitfield and Strong’s “Smiling Faces Sometimes” is well-known in pop culture for the sample that appeared on Common’s “Puppy Chow,” but taking the tune in full, Humphrey’s gift as a soloist is revealed in full, as she winds around and through funky clavinets, Rhodes, strings, guitars, and Mouzon’s popping snare. The reading of Stevie Wonder's “I Love Every Little Thing About You,” with its bubbling basslines and Humphrey’s understatement of the melody, make this a bright, shining jazz-funk number. “El Mundo de Maravillas (A World of Beauty),” is one of two fine Mouzon compositions to appear here, this one commences with a cello in a spacy, soulful ballad that showcases Humphrey’s classical chops before it moves into funk terrain and then back again. The set closer is a souled-out reading of Kenny Barron's “Nubian Lady,” with chunky guitars, Bascomb’s Fender bass, shuffling drums, and Humphrey adding air and space to the knotty groove. While Dig This is not the revelation that Blacks and Blues is (it appeared two years later), it is nonetheless a stone killer example of jazz-funk in its prime, and should be considered an essential part of the canon.

-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <- 
Tracklist :
1. Lonely Town, Lonely Street 4:35  
(Bill Withers) 
2. Is This All? 3:43
(Henry Johnson) 
3. Smiling Faces Sometimes 6:19
 (Barrett Strong-Norman Whitfield) 
4. Virtue 4:28
(Alphonse Mouzon) 
5. I Love Every Little Thing About You 4:19
(Stevie Wonder) 
6. Love Theme from "Fuzz" 3:47
(Dave Grusin) 
7. Eo Mundo de Maravillas (A World of Beauty) 7:31
 (Alphonse Mouzon) 
8. Nubian Lady 4:47
(Kenny Barron) 
Credits :
Bobbi Humphrey - Flute
George Marge - Oboe, English Horn
Seymour Berman, Paul Gershman, Irving Spice, Paul Winter - Violin
Julian Barber (Viola), Seymour Barab (Cello), Eugene Bianco (Harp)
Harry Whitaker (Electric Piano), Paul Griffin (Electric Piano, Clavinet)
William Fontaine, David Spinozza - Guitar
Ron Carter - Bass
Wilbur Bascomb Jr. - Electric Bass
Alphonse Mouzon - Drums, Bell Tree, Arranger
Warren Smith (Percussion)
Wade Marcus, Horace Ott - Arranger

REUBEN WILSON — Set Us Free (1971-2008) RM | Blue Note Rare Groove Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Set Us Free, Reuben Wilson's final album for Blue Note, was issued in 1971. Since that time it has become an immortal and much sought classic by beatheads for a single track: "We're in Love." DJ Premier sampled it liberally -- for its Hammond B-3 vamps, backing vocals, and decorative percussion -- for use on rapper Nas' smash "Memory Lane." Hip-hop fans suddenly had to hear more, and as a result not only is Wilson active again on the circuit, but there has also been terrific interest in his catalog. Not only did Blue Note's Michael Cuscuna reissue this all but forgotten nugget for the label's killer Rare Groove series (before August 2008 it had never been available on CD in America), but Chicago's Dusty Groove re-released 1975's funky Cadet burner Got to Get Your Own during the same month. Set Us Free stands almost completely outside the space inhabited by the rest of Wilson's Blue Note titles. Produced by the late George Butler, it's a wildly textured and seamless aural meld of gritty B-3 jams, smooth yet psychedelic soul, rock, pop, and funk. Wilson and Butler employed a killer band for this date that included reedman Jerome Richardson, bassist Richard Davis, guitarist David Spinozza (who also plays some electric sitar on the date), drummer Jimmy Johnson, conguero Ray Armando, percussionist Specs Powell, and Gene Bianco on harp; the entire proceeding was arranged by the great Wade Marcus.

Vocal arranger Jimmy Briggs was brought in to write charts for a female backing chorus on a funky Latinized blues version of "Mr. Big Stuff," the lush psych-soul babymaker "We're in Love," and Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (The Ecology)." This isn't to say that there aren't slamming organ jams on the set; Marcus' "Right on with This Mess" makes that abundantly clear. That said, even on these back-to-basics numbers, Wilson's B-3 may be up front and slamming, but Richardson's sweet soprano saxophone (which, to be fair, wails in its solo), the warm guitar lines, and the congas add depth and dimension -- even while Johnson's drums are breaking all over the place. The title track, written by Eddie Harris, is smooth instrumental soul at its best -- Richardson's soprano and the hand drums are up front with Davis' slowly rolling bassline and the hand drums. But it cuts loose in places, with Wilson adding textural flourishes in his solo rather than soaring above the mix. The closest thing to the hard bopping blues Wilson's other recording showcased are sections of the closer, "Tom's Thumb," but even here, with its harp adornment, augmented major sevenths by Spinozza, and the shuffling one-two one-two of Johnson, this comes off as exotic -- especially with the wonderful percussion section laying in the cut as he breaks often and true. Wilson is the only one letting it rip. Yet somehow, this ambitious, lushly orchestrated album not only sounds current, but still ahead of its time. Highly recommended.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1 Set Us Free 5:08
Written-By – Eddie Harris
2 We're In Love 3:27
Written-By – P. Barsella, R. Wilson
3 Sho-Nuff Mellow 4:32
Written-By – Reuben Wilson
4 Mr. Big Stuff 4:37
Written-By – C. Washington, J. Broussard, R. Williams
5 Right On With This Mess 4:38
Written-By – W. Marcus Bey
6 Mercy, Mercy, Me (The Ecology) 3:39
Written-By – Marvin Gaye
7 Tom's Thumb 5:30
Written-By – Reuben Wilson
Credits :
Arranged By – Wade Marcus
Arranged By [Vocals] – Jimmy Briggs (tracks: 2, 4, 6)
Bass – Richard Davis
Congas – Ray Armando
Drums – Jimmy Johnson
Guitar, Sitar – David Spinozza
Harp – Gene Bianco
Organ – Reuben Wilson
Percussion – Gordon (Spec) Powell
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jerome Richardson
Vocals [Essence] – Mildred Brown (tracks: 2, 4, 6), Naomi Thomas (tracks: 2, 4, 6), Rosalyn Brown (tracks: 2, 4, 6)