Customer Reviews

Angel Eyes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Featuring the late great Johnny Hammond Smith on B-3, the deep soulful flute / organ mix on "Blue Room" inspired me so deeply, when I did my Rememering Eddie Jefferson session, one of my conditions of using James Spaulding on alto was that he bring his flute too... Though this CD obviously has plenty of organ/tenor stuff happening, its Johnny Hammond's screaming chords with that bluesy flute that gave me goose bumps. Don't expect a lot of wild far out soloing... expect the soulful, bluesy swinging feel of an era long gone... Of course, Gene Ammon's ability to swing like a you-know-what goes without saying. JHS also plays piano - - if you dig this vibe, check out JHS's Black Coffee or Arnett Cobb's Smooth Sailing or Blow By Blow.

When this album was first released on LP, four years after it was recorded, Gene Ammons was in prison. Despite that fact it became a big hit for him. Frank Wess joined Gene on the frontline, playing tenor and flute, and organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith was also on the date. The title track, which is nearly 9 minutes long, has Gene developing his performance slowly but with great assurance; before he's done he's laid down one of his finest ballad solos on record. Other highlights include the medium-up swinger WATER JUG, and the medium blues GETTIN' AROUND, which has a real nice Wess flute solo. BLUE ROOM also finds Wess on flute and the Rogers & Hart tune gets a good reading here. Two tunes (TALK OF THE TOWN and YOU GO TO MY HEAD) were recorded in 1962 and have Mal Waldron on piano. This is a very solid album and Gene Ammons fans will not be disappointed.

Back in the sixties I had some college buddies who shared good jazz recordings with me. One such album was Angel Eyes. Gene Ammons lyrical and melodic saxaphone solos struck a chord with me and the title cut Angel Eyes conjures up haunting back ally scenes of beat despair and longing. In fact I heard this song in the early 70's in a New Orleans bar late at night and it soothed a worn out soul. The rest of the CD comes across as standard run of the mill jazz, tame when compared to the heights set by Miles, Roland Kirk, Coltrane and others of the time. But if you want that late night starry starry night feeling-"Angel Eyes" is worth the price of the CD.