5.0 out of 5 stars
Billy Larkin's Groovalicious Grooves, February 25, 2011
This review is from: Organ Grooves & Soul Brothers (Audio CD)
During the 1960s soul jazz or organ-jazz became a popular front runner in the world of jazz music with its emphasis on the "groove" usually played by an organist. "Organ Grooves and Soul Brothers: The Best of Billy Larkin and the Delegates" is aptly named as it covers tracks from 6 of his 7 albums recorded for the World Pacific label between 1964 and 1968. Billy Larkin, organist, and his Delegates, i.e. Hank Swarn, guitarist, Mel Brown, drummer, and Clifford Scott, Texas tenor saxman, are a tight soul jazz organ combo that lay down some memorable killer grooves. This compilation includes some of their best: Pigmy ( parts 1 & 2 ), Killer Joe, G'Won Train, Cuchy Frito Man, On Broadway, Ode To Billie Joe, and Ain't That A Groove. Twenty-four selections were chosen from six of their albums for a total of nearly seventy-four minutes of "groovalicious" grooves laid down by Larkin's Hammond Organ with great accompaniment as evidenced by the superb drumming, skillful guitar comping, and a rich r&b sounding sax.The bass lines never cease beginning with the first groove,The Peeper, to the last, Ode to Billie Joe. Think of it as a trip through time, the 1960s, when these tunes were at the cutting edge of "what's hip". A very enjoyable trip indeed! Unfortunately, it's said "all good things come to an end". Billy Larkin and the Delegates successful run ended with the demise of soul jazz at the end of the 1960s. Nevertheless, this CD is their legacy and preserves for posterity all the formulaic features of soul jazz . . . based on these repetitive basic bass line grooves, it rises up and lives again!
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