Our Gang – Anthony Wilson Trio – Groove Note (2 vinyls)

by | Jan 26, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Our Gang – Anthony Wilson Trio – Groove Note GRV 1008-1 (2 discs: one 33 1/3, one at 45 rpm) *****:

(Anthony Wilson: guitar; Joe Bagg: B-3; Mark Ferber: drums)

Anthony is the son of famed composer-arranger-bandleader Gerald Wilson and one of the most brilliant guitarists in jazz today. His latest album for Groove Note has come out in this remastered limited edition with two additional tracks (not repeats), each on one side or the other of a second 45 rpm disc. This is a departure from the usual practice of having two vinyls, both at 45 rpm, which consitute the original album at 33 1/3 speed (since the grooves take up more space at the higher speed). The label also did this same thing with some earlier vinyl releases. Joe Harley was the producer.

Wilson’s easy-going style has references here to Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. He’s been playing for the past nearly three years with the B-3 musician and the drummer, so this not a first-time aggregation like many jazz sessions on record. Wilson is the composer of three of the eight tracks, and he does one tune by Kenny Burrell. It is somewhat surprising to find a Beatles tune among the eight, “I Want You,” and it gets an over nine-minute extended treatment with much variety.

There is a definite enhancement of richness and realism on the two 45 rpm tracks vs. the standard LP, but the last track is less than five minutes long and perhaps hardly worth the trouble. The distinctive timbre of the B-3 really comes thru on the 45 rpm sides, though.

TrackLists:
Side A of LP: Our Gang. Chitlins Con Carne, Britta’s Blues
Side B of LP: Luck Be a Lady, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), Prelude to a Kiss
Side A of 45 rpm: Time Flies
Side B of 45 rpm: Road Trip

—John Henry

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