CHARLES EARLAND
''BLOWING THE BLUES AWAY''
1997
52:02
1 /Blowin' the Blues Away
Horace Silver/4:56
2 /Sweet Love
Anita Baker / Gary Bias / Louis Johnson / Lionel Richie/6:04
3 /For the Love of You
The Isley Brothers / Chris Jasper/6:11
4 /This Is the Day (The Lord Has Made)
Traditional/7:08
5 /Dolphin Dance
Herbie Hancock/6:36
6 /Put It Where You Want It
Joe Sample/7:38
7 /Strollin'
Horace Silver/6:15
8 /Quicksilver
Horace Silver/7:14
Eric Alexander - Tenor sax
Bob DeVos - Guitar
Charles Earland - Hammond B3
Greg Rockingham - Drums
Jim Rotondi - Trumpet
Review
by Scott Yanow
Organist Charles Earland and his regular quintet of the time jam through three Horace Silver songs (a high-powered "Blowing the Blues Away," "Strollin'," and "Quicksilver"), Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance," Joe Sample's funky "Put It Where You Want It," the traditional gospel tune "This Is the Day," and a pair of R&B hits ("Sweet Love" and "For the Love of You"). Although the R&B numbers are less interesting, the powerful title cut and the solos throughout of Earland, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, and trumpeter James Rotondi, along with the support generated by guitarist Bob DeVos and drummer Greg Rockingham, make this a highly enjoyable date. Charles Earland shows once again why his title of "the Mighty Burner" perfectly fit his playing and his music.
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.
Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 formed his first group. He started playing the organ after playing with Pat Martino, and joined Lou Donaldson's band from 1968 to 1969.
The group that he led from 1970, including Grover Washington, Jr., was successful, and he eventually started playing soprano saxophone and synthesizer. His hard, simmering grooves earned him the nickname "The Mighty Burner".
In 1978, Earland hit the disco/club scene with a track recorded on Mercury Records called "Let the Music Play", written by Randy Muller from the funk group Brass Construction. The record was in the U.S. charts for five weeks and reached number 46 in the UK Singles Chart. With Earland's playing on synthesizer, the track also has an uncredited female vocalist. He had several moderate Billboard R&B chart hits in the mid-1970s and early '80s on Mercury and later Columbia Records.
Earland traveled extensively from 1988 until his death in 1999, performing throughout the USA and abroad. One of the highlights of his latter years was playing at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1994. Among the musicians that performed with him at the Berlin Jazz Festival was the Alabama-born Chicago resident, Zimbabu Hamilton. on the drums. Earland died in Kansas City, Missouri, of heart failure at the age of 58.
''BLOWING THE BLUES AWAY''
1997
52:02
1 /Blowin' the Blues Away
Horace Silver/4:56
2 /Sweet Love
Anita Baker / Gary Bias / Louis Johnson / Lionel Richie/6:04
3 /For the Love of You
The Isley Brothers / Chris Jasper/6:11
4 /This Is the Day (The Lord Has Made)
Traditional/7:08
5 /Dolphin Dance
Herbie Hancock/6:36
6 /Put It Where You Want It
Joe Sample/7:38
7 /Strollin'
Horace Silver/6:15
8 /Quicksilver
Horace Silver/7:14
Eric Alexander - Tenor sax
Bob DeVos - Guitar
Charles Earland - Hammond B3
Greg Rockingham - Drums
Jim Rotondi - Trumpet
Review
by Scott Yanow
Organist Charles Earland and his regular quintet of the time jam through three Horace Silver songs (a high-powered "Blowing the Blues Away," "Strollin'," and "Quicksilver"), Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance," Joe Sample's funky "Put It Where You Want It," the traditional gospel tune "This Is the Day," and a pair of R&B hits ("Sweet Love" and "For the Love of You"). Although the R&B numbers are less interesting, the powerful title cut and the solos throughout of Earland, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, and trumpeter James Rotondi, along with the support generated by guitarist Bob DeVos and drummer Greg Rockingham, make this a highly enjoyable date. Charles Earland shows once again why his title of "the Mighty Burner" perfectly fit his playing and his music.
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.
Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 formed his first group. He started playing the organ after playing with Pat Martino, and joined Lou Donaldson's band from 1968 to 1969.
The group that he led from 1970, including Grover Washington, Jr., was successful, and he eventually started playing soprano saxophone and synthesizer. His hard, simmering grooves earned him the nickname "The Mighty Burner".
In 1978, Earland hit the disco/club scene with a track recorded on Mercury Records called "Let the Music Play", written by Randy Muller from the funk group Brass Construction. The record was in the U.S. charts for five weeks and reached number 46 in the UK Singles Chart. With Earland's playing on synthesizer, the track also has an uncredited female vocalist. He had several moderate Billboard R&B chart hits in the mid-1970s and early '80s on Mercury and later Columbia Records.
Earland traveled extensively from 1988 until his death in 1999, performing throughout the USA and abroad. One of the highlights of his latter years was playing at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1994. Among the musicians that performed with him at the Berlin Jazz Festival was the Alabama-born Chicago resident, Zimbabu Hamilton. on the drums. Earland died in Kansas City, Missouri, of heart failure at the age of 58.