31878

John Patton - Boogaloo

Released - 1995

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, August 9, 1968
Vincent McEwan, trumpet; Harold Alexander, flute, tenor sax; John Patton, organ; George Edward Brown, drums; Richie 'Pablo' Landrum, congas.

3074 tk.4 Boogaloo Boogie
3075 tk.6 Spirit
3076 tk.7 Barefootin'
3077 tk.8 B & J (Two Sisters)
3078 tk.10 Milk And Honey
3079 tk.11 Shoutin' But No Poutin'

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images / 
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Boogaloo Boogie	John Patton	August 9 1968
Milk & Honey	John Patton	August 9 1968
Barefootin'	R. Parker	August 9 1968
Side Two
Shoutin' But No Poutin'	John Patton	August 9 1968
Spirit	John Patton	August 9 1968
B & J (Two Sisters)	John Patton	August 9 1968

Liner Notes

Not many jazz players in the sixties went untouched by the powerful originality of the avant garde. The innovations of Ayler, Ornette and Cecil Taylor affected many of the more established musicians who, coming out of the 'hard bop' fifties welcomed a new approach and a new generation of players. Miles, Jackie McLean, Sonny Rollins and Coltrane were just a few of the players who were not afraid of alienating their usual crowd by exploring some new frontiers in search of sounds they'd never heard before.

Coming out of the Jimmy Smith R&B/Soul organ tradition, a few modern organists in the 1960's also found inspiration in these new sounds - Don Patterson, Larry Young and John Patton being perhaps the most successful exponents of the 'modern' organ school. The album you are holding was recorded in 1968 and sat in the vaults unheard for over 25 years (excepting a few titles on a British John Patton compilation released in 1994), but it is another beautiful example of how John has managed to use these more modern harmonies and textures while still retaining his deep feeling for the blues. He doesn't just 'put on' another style like a fashionable new suit of clothes, he integrates it wholly into his musical vision and what gasses me most about what John Patton does is how natural it all sounds. This is, in a sense, a living folk music/dance music and rehearsing with John at his house in Montclair, New Jersey confirmed to me how much of a community music this is. John sings and plays the parts to his musicians in his inimitable way (one doesn't 'play' John's melodies, one 'says' them).

Surrounded by his whole family of friends and neighbors, and his loving wife Thelma everyone fully supportive of every head, every solo, every note. The atmosphere had much more of the feeling of a downhome picnic than a rehearsal, with plenty of potato salad, sandwiches and good feelings. John brings that same vibe with him wherever and whenever he plays, and this date is no exception.

Recorded toward the end of his tenure with Blue Note, BOOGALOO fits in as his penultimate recording for the label, and his second recording with Harold Alexander on tenor and flute.

John remembers: "When me and 'Jazzbo' got together we had all the fun in the world. He would say 'Man, play anything, what are you kidding?...start playing!' and I don't know where we would Stan, but that's how we did it. He was so supportive. Oh, I loved 'Jazzbo'."

Harold Alexander, or 'Jazzbo' as he was more affectionately known, was a big fan of Eric Dolphy, but you'll hear no imitation in his soloing on either tenor or flute he was very much his own man. He plays his ass off on this date, taking it 'all the way out' and bringing it back in to a gutbucket blues in his solos. His association with John was a long and fruitful one and we are fortunate indeed to have another recorded example of their work together.

One doesn't hear trumpet often with organ players trumpet and organ is a difficult blend to make work (Blue Mitchell was perhaps the most successful at it). Vince McEwan plays well throughout, but the balance of the mix doesn't help him much and he consistently sounds a little too separate from the rest of the band. This seems to be one of his only recorded documents, which is a shame, because he's got a nice sound and his own thing happening.

One of the most exciting things about this date is John's interaction with the remarkable drummer George Edward Brown. With no guitar player the rhythm section is more free and open than usual and Brown's complex polyrythmic, soloistic style seems a perfect foil for Patton (who's always looking for a little more BOT-TOM), and they get into it in more than a few places here.

Not much is known of George Edward Brown, but his playing on this outing alone confirms his place in jazz history as one serious mother******! Patton does recall a year or so of playing together, mostly in a trio with tenor saxophone genius Pharoah Sanders, which must have been truly astounding. Brown's funky sense of time, tight tuning and creative, aggressive accompaniment continually blows my mind here, in particular on "Milk & Honey".

Patton's own playing and writing has always been simple, direct, blues-drenched and deep in the best sense of the word. These recordings more than bear this out. As guitarist Robert Quine has said to me on many an occasion, "Let the Boss Man speak!"

John's soloing has that funky edge one would expect from a keyboard player whose long-time associate and favorite guitarist is Grant Green. His left hand is legend throughout the music cognoscenti (tuba virtuoso Bob Stewart has told me how much he's learned from the 'spank' of Patton's left thumb). His tunes here are varied in tempo, mood, and meter, but still retain that distinctive bluesy flavor that is so much a part of his soul. No matter how 'out' it gets, or how modern he plays, he'll always kick it off with his 'Pattonted' "1...2...you know what to do" count off that tells us in essence, to cut out the crap and get down!

John has always been his own worst critic, continually pushing himself, and even today he admits that there is so much more he'd like to get to, "I always felt like what I was playing just wasn't hip enough that I needed to follow through more on the concept. You know, at that time Wayne (Shorter), Herbie (Hancock), Freddie (Hubbard) and Larry Young were smokin' man, and I felt like they gave me the incentive to keep trying to get to that level. More progressive."

But there is so much that John Patton has accomplished, and it's great that Blue Note has finally seen fit to begin releasing a lot of the prime material he recorded during Jazz organ's 'Golden Age'. Let's all look forward to more of John's releases in the near future, and cherish this one now because on it, he's at the top of his form.

—John Zorn
Composer