Reuben Wilson - Love Bug
Released - June 1969
Recording and Session Information
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, March 21, 1969
Lee Morgan, trumpet; George Coleman, tenor sax; Reuben Wilson, organ; Grant Green, guitar; Leo Morris, drums.
3959 tk.3/4 Love Bug
3961 tk.9 Back Out
3960 tk.12 Stormy
3956 tk.15 Hot Rod
3958 tk.16 I Say A Little Prayer
3957 tk.17 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
Session Photos
 |
| Lee Morgan at rehearsal |
Photos: Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images /
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/
Track Listing
| Side One | ||
| Title | Author | Recording Date |
| Hot Rod | Reuben Wilson | March 21 1969 |
| I'm Gonna Make You Love Me | Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Jerry Ross | March 21 1969 |
| I Say a Little Prayer | Bacharach, David | March 21 1969 |
| Side Two | ||
| Love Bug | Reuben Wilson | March 21 1969 |
| Stormy | Buddy Buie, J.R. Cobb | March 21 1969 |
| Back Out | Reuben Wilson | March 21 1969 |
Liner Notes
It hardly seems possible, In this age when new talent proliferates on such a massive scale — particularly in the Hammond organ department — that any artist can emerge from the crowd and become, after relatively limited record exposure, a figure to reckon with in the immediate future. Such, however, would appear to be the case with Reuben Wilson.
Having made a potent impression with his first album (On Broadway, Blue Note 4295), Wilson returned recently to the studios for a session that presents him in a new and stimulating light.
On the Initial date he was accompanied by tenor sax, guitar and drums. The addition of Lee Morgan’s trumpet lends the combo a more organized, orchestral sound, while leaving ample room for all hands to stretch out soulfully.
The present sides represent a new professional peak in a career that began seven years ago In Los Angeles. Reuben is one of those somewhat rare organists who began their professional lives playing this instrument, without paying any prior dues as a pianist.
Born April 9, 1935 in Mounds, Okla., he moved at age 5 with his family to California, settling in Pasadena, where his schoolmates included bassist Herb Lewis and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.
“Except for a half dozen basic lessons with Austin McCoy,” says Reuben, “I was self-taught as a pianist. But before I could even get seriously involved with the piano, a friend introduced me to the organ, and I knew this was the direction I wanted to take.”
Teaching himself all the complexities of the console, Reuben moved to Los Angeles at 17 and was soon playing a local club, the Caribbean, with a trio featuring Eddie Williams on drums and George Freeman on guitar. Later, tenor saxophonist Clifford Scott was added.
After making the round of the L.A. night life spots, Reuben took off for Las Vegas, where he spent five months, part of that time in a club called, coincidentally, Ruben’s. “Las Vegas was a big drag,” he recalled, not to my surprise. “There was nothing happening there musically, so I moved back to Los Angeles.
“Richard Groove Holmes was working around town then, and he became my big influence, though my original inspiration had been Billy Larkin, of the Delegates. Later I listened to Jimmy Smith and learned a lot from him, of course.”
Around Christmas of 1966 came the decisive move: he settled in New York. ‘I soon noticed,” he says, “that there was a different approach to music. The way of lite affects your playing; in New York you really have to get your thing together.”
The particular thing that Reuben got together, aside from his own playing, was a trio known as the Wildare Express. “That was a combination of two names: mine and Tommy Derrick, the drummer who played on my first Blue Note album. We worked around town together for about six months; then I decided to get into studying more seriously.”
As Wilson’s work continued to mature, he found himself gigging in the company of more and more distinguished musicians, among them Grant Green, Sam Rivers and Roy Haynes.
A demonstration record that had been sent to Blue Note before he arrived in New York finally paid off with a contract. On Broadway was the first fruit of this alliance.
Of the men on the new date, Wilson accurately observes: “They speak for themselves with the sound of their own music. It seemed as though everything jelled as soon as we began playing together.”
To introduce Lee Morgan to Blue Note fans would be like Introducing Dan Rowan to Dick Martin. His track record (or his record of tracks) ¡s too long and distinguished to call for repetition here. Memphis-born George Coleman, a prominent voice in the Miles Davis 1963-4 quintet, has also gained a measure of his reputation via this label on sessions with Jimmy Smith, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock and others.
Grant Green made his Blue Note bow back in 1960 and has been a respected and influential guitarist ever since then. Drummer Leo Morris was, of course, a member of the team that made a best seller out of Lou Donaldson’s Alligator Bogaloo.
Hot Rod, Reuben says, “was named after my son, Roderick, or Rod as we call him. I promised him a tune. Appropriately, it’s a thing in today’s vein. It turned out to be a favorite of Leo Morris’, so we gave him a lot of room to do his thing.” Reuben and Leo set up a mood before the horns to make their blue-on-blue statement.
Of I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, Reuben comments: “This is a tune we heard in that Takin’ Care of Business album which the Temptations and the Supremes made together. I wrote the arrangement for our group.” George Coleman is particularly fluent here (notice how the continued rhythmic figure spurs him on), as are Grant and Reuben.
I Say a Little Prayer brings us a special situation. The Burt Bacharach melody appealed strongly to Reuben, but its odd construction, with lengthened bars and unorthodox overall form, precluded easy improvisation. Accordingly, after the statement of the theme, Reuben went into a vamp which provides the basis for the blowing passages. “Grant has a fantastic way of getting a Latin flavor going on this type of vamp,” says Reuben.
Love Bug, another Wilson original, consists of a 16-bar passage in F followed by an eight-bar sequence with minor chords. Lee Morgan fits firmly into the blues-oriented feeling, with urgent punctuations by Reuben, whose own solo is perhaps the funkiest in the album, and certainly a brilliant example of his present level of creativity.
Stormy was converted into a bossa nova — an idea suggested by Lee. “I liked the way this tune moves. harmonically,” Reuben remarks. “It was nice to play around with.” Lee’s beautiful tone, George’s big and personal sound, Reuben’s affirmative statements are all individually in evidence.
Back Out, last of the three R.W. specials written for this date, is my personal favorite, for reason made clear by the composer: “This has a sanctified, happy sound, all built on seventh chords; but it also has an unusual construction, with an 11-bar release.” The old-timey flavor of the tune offers an admirable departure point for the cooking of Messrs. Green, Coleman, Morgan and Wilson.
On the basis of his contributions to date, I can assure Reuben Wilson of a prominent place, for what it is worth, in the next edition of The Encyclopedia of Jazz.
—LEONARD FEATHER (Author of The Encyclopedia of Jazz In The Sixties)
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