Customer Reviews

Sunny Side Up

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

WILBERT LONGMIRE IS EXCEPTIONAL AS A GUITARIST BACK IN THE DAY HE WAS CONSIDERED ANOTHER WES MONGOMERY. AS A MATTER OF FACT HE AND WES MONGOMERY WERE FRIENDS. ALSO HE AND GEORGE BOTH HAD THE PLEASURE OF PLAYING WITH THE MUITI JAZZ MUSICIAN GRAND ORGANIST/PIANIST MR. JACK MCDUFF IN FACT HE ONCE COMMENTED THAT WHEN HE SAW WILBERT AT A CONCERT HE WAS DOING HE KNEW HE HAD TO BE GOOD BECAUSE HE[WILBERT]GUITAR CASE WAS SO BANGED UP THAT MEANT HE WAS GETTING A LOT OF WORK. SO IN OTHER WORDS THAT MEANT HE WAS VERY GOOD EVEN IN GEORGE BENSON'S EYES?. UFF

Wilbert Longmire did do a couple of other l.ps back in the mid/late '70s. One was called "Champagne" (1978) and the other was "Revolution" .Both were aided by Bob James.I recall buying all three back in the '70s . But i have to say in all fairness out of the three this record was the best. Wilbert was one of the first to follow the trend set by George Benson and at one point it was hard to tell them apart. The clear semi-acoustic guitar tone was unheard of in 1976....everyone was using effect pedals,Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Dennis Budimir,Wah Wah Watson, O'Donal Levy and even Eric Gale to some extent. Here Will Longmire creates a wonderful groove. The famous single "Black Is The Colour" became a hit on the dance floor in 1976/77 and is now very much a 'rare groove' collectors item. The beautiful version of Bill Withers "Lovely Day" must've made George Benson feel like he missed out on covering it. My favourite track personally is called "Good Morning" and is just too beautiful for words.
This was a shining example of the wonderful music produced on Bob James's legendary "Tappanzee" label. This WAS the sound of 1976 jazz fusion.

I first purchased Sunny Side UP as a vinyl release in 1979. And I finally found the CD! Wilbert Longmire is an awesome guitarist! If you enjoy Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Earl Clue, you will love the music of Wilbert Longmire.

I first heard Love, Why Don't you Find Us back in the day when it was released and until this day I find it (still) my all time favorite in jazz. Mr. Longmire should indeed be ranked among jazz's best of the best. The smooth sounds ON "SUNNY SIDE UP" easily competes with today's smooth grooves in the jazz arena. I just learned it could be purchased on CD after all these years but I can say it was worth the wait! This is w/o a doubt a collectable treasure, a must have for the serious lover of quality jazz. ENJOY!

If you love the contemporary sound of artists like Norman Brown, George Benson, Russ Freeman, Ronny Jordan and Craig Chiquito, you'll love this release. Longmire has a smooth passion filled sound reminiscent of Benson's Breezin album. Think of Bob James' Touchdown album and you can easily fit Longmire in that vain. The clean production value alone makes listening to this release a must and the vocal track "Love, Won't you try to find us" is just exemplary. This track has everything. Beautiful arrangements (Rhythm and Strings), good singing without too much "overkill" and even a nice little "giddy-up" guitar solo and enterplay with drummer Harvey Mason of recent Fourplay acclaim. I think this release is a must for smooth jazz guitar lovers everywhere. By the way, every day should begin like the track "Good Morning" (my favorite) does.

Enjoy!

This is a classic album. Consider this one as jazz or crossover jazz, its still one of the greatest...I'm looking for this one on CD, seems its a rare find... The album was released 1978, on the Columbia/Tappan Zee Records label. Other artist include Harvey Mason -drums, Bob James - Fender Rhodes, Eric Gale - guitar, Patti Austin - vocals, Richard Tee - piano, David Sanborn...

Some of the best cuts are: Good Morning!; Love Why Don't You Find Us; And Bill Withers "Lovely Day"...(...)

Bob James discovered this exciting guitarist from Cincinatti back in the late 70's. This album was his only release and it's a hidden gem. For a long time, I wanted to know who did the Bill Withers cover of "Lovely Day". I found it by accident while doing an Amazon search. This album is a who's who in jazz music. From Eric Gale to Richard Tee to David Sanborn. Minus a star for such a short release, but it's still a great listen! Buy it if you can find it!