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LionsMouth
Paul Serrano Quintet - Blues Holiday LP

Here is a nice example of where crate-digging for lesser known jazz gems works out. I'd never heard of Serrano, but my thought process was as follows:

Cool cover? Check.

Riverside Records? Check, classic label

Lineup? Pete La Roca on drums, this has to be good...

Back cover notes? A Cannonball Adderley Production...okay, I'm probably going to just buy this.

Dropped the needle at the shop to confirm, and it's energetic hard bop on the first track. Nice. Played the record after an RCM clean and the whole album is solid. Pick this one up if you run across it. My copy is in mono, but there is a stereo version as well.

Hella good find! Riverside is a no brainer and Cannonball Adderley, I'd be all over that in two seconds flat.

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Quote
LionsMouth
Paul Serrano Quintet - Blues Holiday LP

I'm vaguely familiar with Paul Serrano, but haven't heard this one before. Sounds pretty good. I'll always pick up anything I run across on Riverside. A great label with very few disappointments in their catalog.

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Leon Thomas - Spirits Known And Unknown
Flying Dutchman, 1969



The first solo album from one of the most unique vocalists in the history of jazz. Thomas finds himself and his crazy yodeling style with a fantastic group on this one, with players including Pharoah Sanders, James Spaulding, Cecil McBee, Lonnie Liston Smith, and Roy Haynes among others.

I'm not normally the biggest fan of vocal jazz, but Thomas is chief among the exceptions to that. Among appearances on a bunch of other LPs, he provided vocals on Pharoah Sanders' monumental Karma record, which on any given day I would name as my personal favorite album ever made by anyone. He also did stints with everyone from Count Basie to Santana throughout his wild ride of a career. If you're not familiar with his style, check out some of the songs from this album in the videos below.

On a totally unrelated note, the walls of my house aren't yellow or brown like they look in some of they pictures I post. I have to use soft yellow lights at night so my bird will go to sleep. If I have any blue or white lights on, he thinks it's time to come out and play.













Discogs - Spirits Known And Unknown

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^I dunno about the yodeling, but otherwise his voice sounds very nice - rich, deep, expressive. I'm guessing this is one of those records that's sort of an acquired taste. The Sanders connection is interesting...I still need to explore his catalog too.

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Eddie Fisher - The Third Cup



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Guitar and organ-based soul-jazz from the late 60s. This is one of the albums I took a chance on in my last little round of jazz purchases. Turned out to be a good move, as this album is really nice. Worth getting if you come across it. My copy looks like an early 70s reissue pressing, unfortunately pressed on very thin, almost Dynaflex-esque vinyl. Watch out for warps if you come happen on a copy like this. Mine was dished but my record weight mostly flattened it out.

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