Friday, November 11, 2011

Al Grey - Having A Ball [Argo]



Al Grey - Having A Ball - Argo LP 718 - Original Argo Pressing, Grey Label, Mono

Al Grey - Trombone
David Burns - Trumpet
Hugh Lawson - Piano
Calvin Newborne - Guitar
Herman Wright - Bass
Otis Finch - Drums
Bobby Hutcherson - Vibes

Recorded - January 29, 1963, Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Supervision - Esmond Edwards
Engineer - Rudy Van Gelder
Cover Design - Don Bronstein
Cover Photo - Jim Marshall

Released - November 30, 1963

Here's some unfinished Argo business from my favorite era of the label - the Soul Jazz years of producer Esmond Edwards from 1962-67: Al Grey's Having A Ball! Grey was certainly one of the most prolific artists on Argo in the early sixties with seven sides as a leader, but he's largely forgotten these days. This is a nice energetic, bouncy and rather light Soul Jazz side with an appearance by a young Bobby Hutcherson on vibes.

This side is most notable for two things - it has remained officially unreleased on CD (an unofficial Spanish release in Hutcherson's name omits two tracks - A2 &B3 ) and it was released the week after JFK's assassination (which may account for it quickly fading from view).

Get it
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10 comments:

  1. ajnabi1957November 12, 2011 at 6:13 AM

    Thank you for this rarity. Love his trombone playing!

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  2. crispycritterNovember 13, 2011 at 1:53 AM

    Thank you greatly for this wonderful post and edification I have learned so much from you and appreciate the simplicity & integrity of mediafire as well as your high quality rips.

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  3. MelanchthonNovember 13, 2011 at 5:54 AM

    Thank you very much.

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  4. BillNovember 13, 2011 at 6:41 AM

    Thanks for this and ALL the GREAT stuff in your archives.I have and am pillaging your older posts.There`s some brilliant stuff there,please accept this as a thank you for the all the downloads. GREAT BLOG!!!

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  5. UnknownNovember 14, 2011 at 1:37 AM

    Thank you

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  6. the jazzmanNovember 14, 2011 at 11:26 PM

    Thank you.

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  7. AnonymousNovember 15, 2011 at 6:37 PM

    Interesujące. Życzę powodzenia. Pozdrawiam.
    http://punkt30.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 16, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    great cover great music great blog
    sunbop

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  9. NickDecember 26, 2011 at 10:49 AM

    Never knew about this -- thank you for one more piece in the Bobby Hutcherson puzzle! It's much appreciated.

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  10. LPRJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:02 PM

    Fun stuff, thanks so much! A few skips in track A1, but who cares with such a rare album - great share!

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