[From the archives - a new rip of an Argo-Cadet rarity by the Chicago soul jazz pianist John Young!]
John Young Trio - Argo LP 692 (Cadet Pressing)
John Young - Piano
William Yancey - Bass
Philip Thomas - Drums
Recorded - June 6 & 7 1961, Ter Mar Recording Studios, Chicago
Engineer: Ron Malo
Supervision: Ralph Bass
Released: June 23, 1962
If you spend some time in my blog archives , you could tell that I became pretty obsessed with digging up lost LPs from Chess Records' unfairly forgotten jazz subsidiary: Argo, later Cadet Records from 2009-2010. Posting lost Argo/Cadet records was actually the original impetus-motivation for starting this blog. I've moved on in the meantime - a spell with Prestige's soul-jazz and ethnic folk records and a sometimes flirtation with Vee-Jay - but my Argo/Cadet vinyl is the heart and soul of my collection - and I guess my niche in the jazz blogosphere!
Why Argo? Firstly, there's almost something quite refreshing about Argo/Cadet which distinguishes it from other Jazz labels of the time: Blue Note, Prestige, Impulse etc.. There's no modernist pretension in album art/ sleeve design (a la Blue Note), the album art/sleeve design is simple and utilitarian, the music is refreshingly direct, melodic, and very local, as it feels like it comes from a real place and time ( ie. Chicago). You can never say that the sides on Argo were 'formulaic', something which is not always true for other labels(Blue Note/Prestige). Most importantly, I want to make an important point on the blog about Argo, and about Soul-Jazz generally as a genre. This music deserves a place in jazz history/popular narratives. Commercial success/popular appeal shouldn't be a factor in addressing the importance of this music. This music has life, soul, and heart. If you think about it, this is the jazz that most ordinary people actually listened to in the 60s (sorry Tina Brooks). If you go by the sales figures of the time, Ahmad Jamal's Poinciana and Ramsey Lewis' In Crowd were massive popular instrumental hits.
During the course of my research/advocacy about Argo/Cadet, I came across references to Argo/Cadet's 3rd 'unknown' and 'forgotten' pianist: John Young. Young was a local Chicago player who recorded as a leader briefly in the late 50s and early 60s. I've pretty much posted everything that's currently vinyl only/commercially unavailable on the blog in the past. His first side on Argo: 1956's Young John Young, Opus De Funk (actually his second proper side) recorded in 1957 but released much later in the 1970s on Vee Jay International, this particular Argo side cut in 1961: Theme and Things, and his last side on Argo: 1962's Touch of Pepper. An additional side, The Serenata recorded on the local Chicago label Dellmark in 1959 is also readily available on Itunes. After digging up his lost recordings, I lost interest in Young as I pursued other missing artists/sides. But I've recently returned to John Young and his music, and he's become one of my favorite pianists. Young passed away in Chicago in 2008. I regret I didn't discover him much earlier - based on how much I've enjoyed my interactions with John Wright, I might have learned a lot from Young.
your the man of Argo, i always wanted to get more familiar with the pressings for the label, and you gave me the change
ReplyDeletethank you very much
Looking forward to this rarity! THANK YOU for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the opportunity to listen to this unfortunately obscure musician. I like your take on the kind of jazz argo/cadet produced since I love old soul and r&b and there's such an affinity here.
ReplyDeletejohn young trio themes..
ReplyDeleteThank you for this one and particularly for your own comments !! It's always a great pleasure to follow you through your impressions and enthousiasm !!
Man, your blog just gets better and better. Fantastic!!.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this artist but I'm looking forward to checking out his music. He kept the right company and if he recorded that much for Argo, he must have a lot going for him. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeletemerci
ReplyDeleteJohn Young - Themes And Things
ReplyDeleteThanks for this nice album! Now all John Young albums have appeared either on CD or in blogland.
In the stereo version I do however hear some electric hum before the tracks and during the quieter passages that I don't hear in the mono version. Otherwise the stereo rip is nice-sounding.
Two more tracks were recorded at the sessions: "Slow Blues" and "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big". They may have been lost forever in the Universal fire a few years ago.
Apart from the albums John Young recorded, the Lord discography also shows a single on the Chance label, recorded c. 1960, containing the tunes "You Go To My Head" & "Memories Of You". That is something you may want to look for, if you want to hear a bit more John Young.
In the end, I suppose Young simply didn't sell the way Lewis and Jamal did, and therefore was dropped. In my experience, jazz labels in the 50s and 60s frequently tried new piano trios, touting the pianist as the next big name, but most were dropped after 1, 2 or 3 albums, with only a few actually becoming big names. It doesn't mean that the musical quality was lacking, but labels had to sell then too to stay in business.
Thanks very, very much for this John Young LP and for all the other amazing records you have shared.
ReplyDeleteWhile I, a marginally experienced jazz listener, had never heard of John Young, I have to imagine that the truly well informed must know him well: this record is timeless, both beautifully played and recorded.
I was happy to see that the brief discussion of Young in the Penguin Jazz Guide (5th ed. 2000) is very warm and appreciative.
Thanks again. The work, the care, and the thought you put into the sunship is really quite exceptional.
http://minus.com/mS7UITX9u
ReplyDelete