Lloyd McNeill - Treasures. 1976 USA-Washington D.C.

I've spoken about my admiration for Lloyd McNeill on the Asha album post, so I won't cover that here again. Five years after his 3rd (and arguably best) effort Washington Suite, McNeill returns with Treasures. Right from the opening 16 minute 'Griot' time stands still as the music sounds every bit like a 1971 McNeill effort. Along for the ride are some Brazilian musicians he befriended along the way during various travels, including most prominently pianist Dom Salvador. The middle two tracks demonstrate the South American influence, with a bit more of a rock rhythm and some happy flute from McNeill. The closer is closer to a jazz ballad, and points to an earlier period. Great album overall, and a must for McNeill fans.

Ownership: CD: 2019 Soul Jazz (UK). Purchased from an online retailer upon release. Comes with a history of McNeill, a couple of photos, and his full discography in pictures. Long overdue and much needed reissue.

1/28/22 (new entry)

Yusef Lateef - Detroit Latitude 42° 30' Longitude 83°. 1969 USA-Michigan

Yusef Lateef is a name I'm familiar with, but as I'm something of a novice when it comes to jazz, I cannot say I've heard any of his albums until now. I'm sure his earlier work is more traditional, though I'm reading he incorporated more Asian influences than most. On Detroit Latitude 42° 30' Longitude 83°, Lateef has joined in with the funk crowd, with a bit of psychedelia. His primary instrument here is flute, and his playing recalls the great Lloyd McNeill at times. I was completely sold at the opener 'Bishop School', which is darn near perfect for the style. 'Eastern Market' is a another highlight. And so it goes. Only the finale, the noirish smoky jazz of 'That Lucky Old Sun', could be considered traditional. Overall a wonderful piece of music, and I look forward to discovering more from Lateef.

Ownership: LP: 1969 Atlantic. Single sleeve. Promo. This will be the first of many albums I will be reporting on from the RT Collection. RT is a local collector and a customer/friend of Purple Peak Records. He has thousands of albums strewn about everywhere, and has asked us to help him curate them. His interest is in 60s folk (and we found many already for his permanent collection), so we'll end up with the rest per agreement. As you can imagine, most of the albums are junk - either good for mailers or, at best, $1 bin items. Of course there's plenty more good stuff to sell at the shows or trade locally. For the first few hundred, this is the only album I've kept so far. I have a few more I've pulled to listen to though. Tons more to go through. And that's just the first batch! This will be a huge undertaking.

Lloyd McNeill - Elegia. 1980 USA-Washington D.C.

This is the last of the 6 album run that Lloyd McNeill started with Asha in 1969. He did not change with the times. Despite being from 1980, it sounds every bit like a jazz record from the 1960s. Few, if any, could put the spirit in spiritual jazz like McNeill. In many cases the term is just a euphemism for free blow. Not with McNeill. All his pieces are highly composed and often times have a groove that just won't quit. One doesn't have to go any further than the opener 'Samba for the Animals' to underscore that latter point. McNeill also recreates his initial signature piece with 'Asha II', one of the most beautiful flute driven jazz pieces one can ever hear. Closer 'Memory Cycle' is another composition in this style of spiritual jazz. The one diversion here is 'Elegiac Suite for Elizabeth', an incredibly powerful track dedicated to the passing of his 80 year old mom Elizabeth B. McNeill. Here, McNeill and his mostly Brazilian backing band are joined by soprano singer Susan Osborn. It's not an easy listen, rather an intense portrayal. It's hard to imagine any album that was as out of time as Elegia was in 1980. This would be the end of the line for McNeill on the release front (for all intents and purposes), but he continued on with all of his artistic pursuits.

Ownership: CD: 2019 Soul Jazz. The CD is superb though the booklet is largely a retelling of Soul Jazz's prior reissues of McNeill's incredibly rich life with a brief summary at the beginning about Elegia. There are no bonus tracks.

12/19/19 (entry)

The Lloyd McNeill Quartet - Asha. 1969 USA-Washington D.C.

Lloyd McNeill is one of those creative geniuses that only come along once in a blue moon. He's a poet, painter, and of course a master musician, primarily on the flute. He ran with the intellectual 1960s crowd at the vanguard of the Civil Rights Movement, spent a few years in Paris, and those experiences shaped him immensely.

Asha (meaning Hope in the Hindi language) is McNeill's debut solo album and is at once intense, yet beautiful. This is far removed from your ordinary jazz flute album where one solos painfully over a few chords. There's melodies throughout, often times sublime. The rest of the band is also quite accomplished, and there's some beautiful piano to behold as well. This is not a radical album by any means, very much in line with the late 60s jazz movement. It's just exceptionally well done. Lloyd McNeill is an extraordinary individual - and all his passion comes through on this recording. Essential.

Ownership: LP: 1969 Asha. Single sleeve. Acquired online (2003).

CD: 2010 Universal Sound (UK). Comes in an oversized plastic case, similar to what houses a DVD, but smaller. The booklet is loaded with biographical details of Mr. McNeill and the recording at hand. The sound quality is awesome as well.

7/8/03 (acquired); 2010; 2/1/19 (review / new entry)

The Ebony Godfather (Joe Thomas) - Moog Fluting. 1974 USA

So imagine being an African American gentleman who plays the effeminate flute. You've played R&B, gospel, jazz, and everything in between. You have a dull name like Joe Thomas and you're pushing 40. And it's 1971. So what's a brother to do? Well duh, you pimp your look, sit next to a couple of hotties, and tell the world that you are - in fact - The Ebony Godfather. A little blaxploitation never hurt, eh? 3 years later, Thomas took it a step further and just called himself The Ebony Godfather. After this bit of silliness, and probably realizing he could have called himself The Black Tooth Fairy and no one would care, he took back his name... and, oh look, here comes disco.... and off Thomas went to make a few more bucks before calling it a career in the early 1980s.

But the moniker isn't the only curve ball here. Next up is the title. With a name like Moog Fluting, one would expect some Moog with your flute perhaps? Uh, no. In fact, I cannot for the life of me figure out the usage of the term Moog here. I've seen other reviews mention its use, but I don't hear it. Further, neither do the liner notes, which are old fashioned 60s styled jazz type back cover notes with much detail and hype quotes from media and industry veterans. In those notes, no mention of a Moog can be found. Maybe the name just sounded cool? I dunno.

And the music... well it's pretty much your regular instrumental jazz flute album with a rhythm section. Some originals, some cover tunes. On the same level as Herbie Mann and Hubert Laws, but this is no Chris Hinze album that's for sure. Certainly pleasant enough for the genre, with no real surprises, though 'Orcabessa' does open with promise.

LP: 1974 GRC

No reissues exist as I write this entry.

Last listen: September 30, 2017