A Soul Jazz Treat
Ron Frankl | Hendersonville, NC | 03/13/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This 2 CD set is a real treat. Don Wilkerson is now almost forgotten, but in the mid-1950's he was the saxophone soloist in Ray Charles' band on many of the singer's earliest and biggest hits. Wilkerson went on to record a few jazz albums for Blue Note in the early '60's before disappearing from the scene. This package includes all three of Wilkerson's Blue Note releases.The "soul jazz" movement of the Fifties and Sixties was an attempt to marry the energy and passion of rhythm & blues with jazz, and represented the last real attempt to market jazz as pop music. For a few years it worked, due to such talents as Hank Mobley, Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan and King Curtis. The movement broke little new ground but produced some worthwhile music, before it lost favor with both the musicians and the public.Despite his lack of fame, Wilkerson proves to be a master of the genre. What sets him apart is a highly original sound on the tenor sax, as he possesses an unusually light and emotive voice on the instrument. He's a solid improviser, too.Accompanying Wilkerson are some of the finest musicians in the Blue Note stable, including such favorites as pianist Sonny Clark and guitarist Grant Green. Both Clark and Green shine here, and their rapport with Wilkerson is impressive.This set belongs in the collections of any fan of soul jazz, the Blue Note sound, and Sixties jazz in general. Fifteen years after the saxophonist's death, this release should go far in establishing Wilkerson as one of the major talents of his era."
Roadhouse Jazz
J. Davidson | Boston, MA USA | 02/27/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Don Wilkerson was the sax player for Ray Charles in the 50's. This box set collects his three early 60's Blue Note recordings, and, as one might expect from those references, it straddles the line between R&B and Jazz.First discovered some of these recordings on some of the Blue Note collection discs (i.e. the "Groovy" and "Funky" compilations). If, like me, you loved Wilkerson's songs there, you'll love this box set as well. These are amazing, soulful songs that really groove. Grant Green plays on all the recordings and if you're a fan of GG, as I am, you'll dig this almost as much for his presence and licks. (If you ever wondered what a collaboration between Grant Green and King Curtis, for example, might have sounded like, wonder no more.) This is the kind of R&B/Jazz with Soul that you could picture being played in a roadhouse on a Friday night.As remastered, the sound quality of these recordings is also excellent, clean and crisp and detailed but not too sharp. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes their Jazz to groove."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
