Customer Reviews

Hunter

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

 

 

The Hunter is probably his finest work yet so hard to get..grab this one before its gone for good.You may have to pay more due to supply and demand but still get it especially NEW.

While I have been a Crusaders fan for years, I have especially enjoyed some of the solo work done by keyboardist Joe Sample on the side. Ever since I was introduced to this recording years ago when an LA radio station played Night Flight as I was driving away from LAX having just arrived on one, The Hunter has been my favorite Sample solo album. I wore out my cassette tape years ago and have been looking for this here and in music stores for years without success until now. What a treat indeed to find that it is available once again!
There is nothing not to like here. Every song is a masterpiece and every song exudes the virtuosity of Joe Sample. My favorites are the jazzy and driving title cut, the smooth and easy Blue Ballet, the rhythmic Beauty and the Beast with its bold horn interludes, the pounding Wings of Fire, the laid-back Just A Little Higher, and the hypnotic Night Flight. Guess I like the whole CD, because that's all of it!
The Hunter is one of Joe Sample's least known, most overlooked, and hardest-to-find albums. If you liked the Crusaders' Street Life and haven't heard The Hunter yet, then this should be for you. You may find yourself playing it over and over like I have as the music induces a mood of mellow relaxation. Get this gem while it is yet available, you won't regret it.

It has been a few years since i've had a hard time trying to one of Joe Sample's best albums, now three years later or more I finally got The Hunter CD and i listen to all six songs including the title track to the album, Beauty And The Beast,Wings of fire and one of my favorite songs from the the album is Night flight.

Albums like this are rare; where every aspect of the artists' creativity is laid bare in every track. This one brings all of Joe to his listener. It is one of those rare easy listening albums that is subliminally absorbing. It does not disturb or prevent you doing other things, but it comands your attention - both spiritually as well as acoustically. By the time you get to "Night Flight", you are having an other worldly listening experience. In earlier tracks you can feel Marcus Miller's heart massaging base as it gives Joe a lauching pad to do his improv' magic. Not only is this album so well arranged and organized, the sublime "Night Flight" really leaves you wanting more at the end of it.

I bought this album as a freshman high school student with all of my pocket money when it was released for a princely sum of GBP 6.99, on the off chance it would live up to Joe's live piano Solo intro in "Royal Jam" - The Crusders Featuring BB King at the Royal Festival Hall in London 1981. It surpassed all my expectations. The album saw me through my "O' Levels, "A" levels, undergraduate, graduate and professional qualifications. I have been looking for it now for 6 months and have finally found a "new" copy to replace my scratched LP.

Indeed, it is because of this album that I started to experiment when buying LP's and albums of jazz artists I knew only as session musicians.

Joe Sample is one of my favorite artist. The Hunter was one of his earliest solo projects and in my opinion argualbly his best. No filler tracks here they are all superb but my favorite track is Night Flight which is nine minutes of pure listening pleasure. I can't explain it but this cut reminds me of the Steve McQeen character in the movie The Crown Height's Affair. The music's mood is sombe and mysterious but not depressing and when Joe lets loose with one of his uptempo solos you can hear why he is consideed one of the finest piano players in the world. For those of you who are not familliar with his earlier projects, do check this overlooked album out and you will be enchanted.