The The Groove Masters Series: The Opening Round

by Houston Person

Overview

A fun and personable mix of jazz and soul classics plus a couple of originals by guitarist Rodney Jones, Houston Person's The Opening Round: Groove Masters Series, Vol. 1 isn't a jazz album for the ages, but it's start-to-finish entertaining. It's a straight-up groove album, with Person in front of a four-piece organ combo anchored by the legendary Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums next to ex-Waitresses-bassist-turned-session-star Tracy Wormworth. Joey DeFrancesco, a disciple of the late Jimmy McGriff, adds funky Hammond B-3 throughout, and the song selection seems to have been chosen specifically to highlight his interplay with Person. Heavy on the '70s soul classics, it features effective though hardly groundbreaking takes on classics like "What's Going On," "Let's Stay Together," and "When a Man Loves a Woman," staying close to the original melody lines but thankfully not replicating the original vocal parts on sax the way that so many smooth jazz lamers do. Moving back a bit, Person essays both the Showboat standard "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" and, surprisingly, the old folk tune "Shenandoah," which he and the group transform into a bittersweet, elegiac theme. ~ Stewart Mason

Product Details

Release Date:	07/01/1997
Label:	Savant Records (Jazz) / Savant
UPC:	0633842200521
Rank:	7773

Tracks

1. Sweet Sucker
2. Let's Stay Together
3. Can't Help Lovin' That Man
4. What's Going On?
5. When a Man Loves a Woman
6. Blue Spring
7. Song For a Rainbow
8. Shenandoah

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Houston Person   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Tracy Wormworth   Bass (Electric)
Rodney Jones   Guitar
Joey DeFrancesco   Guest Artist,Organ (Hammond)
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie   Drums,Guest Artist

Technical Credits

Rudy Van Gelder   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Houston Person   Audio Production,Producer
Al Cleveland   Composer
Al Jackson, Jr.   Composer
Al Green   Composer
Willie Mitchell   Composer
J.A. Griffin   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Renaldo Benson   Composer
R. Jones   Composer
Marvin Gaye   Composer
Jody Watley   Composer
Larry Campbell   Composer
Bill Milkowski   Liner Notes
Jerome Kern   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Hal Wilson   Illustrations,Design