John Young Trio - Opus De Funk - Vee-Jay International VJS-3060,Mono, Sealed
John Young - Piano
Herb Brown - Bass
Larry Jackson - Drums
Recorded - December 1957, Chicago? [Only date listed on the sleeve but according to a discography - B2, B3, B4 recorded November 19, 1957 and A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 & B1 recorded November 21, 1957, both Chicago]
Production - [uncredited]
Released - 1974?
Well after a bit of a break from regular posting, we're back with a real beauty - a nice and rather scarce side by John Young! Young, the somewhat undeservably obscure Chicago pianist, Argo unsung hero, and one of this blog's true favorites, cut this side for another legendary Chicago label, Vee-Jay in late 1957. Vee-Jay then proceeded to sit on it for some 17 years before belatedly issuing it in 1974... and then the LP promptly disappeared into a black hole, never making it into the CD era.
It's a shame as this is another energetic and wonderful side by Young with the same personnel from his first Argo side 'Young John Young' posted here last month. I love Young's sense of dynamics and drama on the piano - he sneaks right up on you so pay attention! Perfect fidelity, in stereo, off a (formerly) sealed vinyl.
Get it
Thanks for still more John Young.
ReplyDeleteAnother rare one, many thanks.(yet again!!)
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Do you have anything by John Wright? He was a pianist that recorded for Ardo in the '60's also.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you back,I was worried the net nazis had been hassling you.Good on you for posting this great music
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to take and use on your blog the Bess Bonnier Argo The Tall One which you can find on my blog.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see this one. Thank you for all you do for the music loving internet community.
ReplyDeleteJOHN YOUNG - OPUS DE FUNK
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for this rarity! With Vee-Jay being another Chicago label, it fits very well into your Argo profile.
However, I must correct one thing: This is definitely mono. There is nothing wrong with the rip; the surface noise is audibly in stereo; it's just that the music itself is in mono. This is not so strange, since the record labels where just starting to switch over to also recording in in stereo in 1957. It may have been recorded in mono only, or the stereo tapes may have gone missing by the time of the release in the 70s. Although stereo was introduced in the late 50s, mono continued to be the dominant format on the market for many years.
The Lord discography does list a Japanese CD reissue, but this must be an early very rare CD, because I can't find a trace of it on Amazon or similar.
I also want to echo motown_jazz's request for John Wright. He was another soulful Chicago pianist who recorded five albums for Prestige in 1960-62. Three of those were reissued on OJC CDs, but "Makin' Out" has never come out on CD, and "The Last Amen" has only come out on a rare Japanese CD (according to Lord), which seems just as impossible to find any trace of as the John Young one.
JOHN YOUNG - OPUS DE FUNK
ReplyDeleteA small correction: One of the three John Wright OJC CDs I mentioned was not an actual OJC CD, but a fairly recent Japanese CD, which may still not be entirely impossible to find. After Concord bought Fantasy, the OJC series came to a halt, but some further Prestige titles have since come out in Japan.