In Memoriam
Friday, October 22, 2010
Frank (October 22, 1924-August 22, 2010)
First of all, I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to all of you who have sent messages of concern and well wishes for both myself and my family. The last several months have been especially trying ones, particularly for me, and the words of support that you've offered have meant much to me. Thank you for reading and participating, and I hope I can look forward to sharing thoughts, stories, and music with you again when I return to weekly posting before years end.
My father enjoyed all sorts of music, but hands down his favorite genre late in life was gut bucket Soul Jazz featuring a powerful Hammond B3, a full toned tenor sax, and a funky drummer. He counted the duo of Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff to be high on the list of his top 10, as well as groovemeisters, Charles Earland, Brother Jack McDuff, and Richard 'Groove' Holmes. Additionally, many of Sonny Stitt's, Houston Person's, and Gene Ammon's frequent dates featuring an organ combo ranked well among his desert island discs. But without a doubt it was tenor player, Rusty Bryant who scored the highest in this school of music. Widely considered a minor B player among true aficionados, Bryant nevertheless employed a muscular, groove oriented sound that played well with a wailing B3 and the likes of drummer Idris Muhammad. Among his best known recordings was one entitled, 'Soul Liberation,' a 1970 date that featured Virgil Jones on trumpet, the mighty burner, Charles Earland at the organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and the aforementioned Muhammad on tubs. This LP de facto was my father's absolute favorite. He played it repeatedly, wearing out several copies over the years. We even listened to it while laying side by side on his death bed, spending our last days together sharing the things we both loved before he slipped into the empyrean.
I introduced my father to 'Soul Liberation' shortly after its release based oddly enough on it's singular ballad, 'The Ballad Of Oren Bliss.' I had stumbled upon '...Oren Bliss' late one night while listening to the largely rock oriented KSAN radio* and was totally knocked out by its plaintive and soulful beauty. Then after hearing its stellar line up of high octane players who knew more than a thing or two about laying down a monster groove, I knew this would be one hell of a funky record. Posthaste, I picked up a copy at my local record shop and packed it off to my old man knowing he would embrace it wholeheartedly. Like father, like son, I understood what moved him and I sensed that a little 'Soul Liberation' was something that we both could use.**
Today my father would have turned 86 years of age if not for the beastly cancer that slowly strangled his brain and ended his time on Earth with more pain and suffering than any good man deserves. He devoted his life to his family and his art, and I'll miss him always. I therefore offer this mix of some of his favorite Rusty Bryant performances as a requiem to the man I loved and called my father.
*In a demonstration of the breadth of KSAN's adventurous programming, they weren't afraid to mix something like this in with the underground rock staples of the day.
**If you'd like to hear 'Soul Liberation' as it was originally released, the playing order would be as follows: tracks 1,2,3,9, & 6.
In Memoriam
(for Rusty and for Dad)
1) Cold Duck Time
2) The Ballad Of Oren Bliss
3) Lou-Lou
4) Free At Last
5) Mister S.
6) Freeze-Dried Soul
7) With These Hands
8) The Hooker
9) Soul Liberation
10) Fire Eater
Source material for 'In Memoriam' comes from the following:
Night Train Now! (1969)
Soul Liberation (1970)
Fire Eater (1971)
My Father And His Favorite Music
My father enjoyed all sorts of music, but hands down his favorite genre late in life was gut bucket Soul Jazz featuring a powerful Hammond B3, a full toned tenor sax, and a funky drummer. He counted the duo of Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff to be high on the list of his top 10, as well as groovemeisters, Charles Earland, Brother Jack McDuff, and Richard 'Groove' Holmes. Additionally, many of Sonny Stitt's, Houston Person's, and Gene Ammon's frequent dates featuring an organ combo ranked well among his desert island discs. But without a doubt it was tenor player, Rusty Bryant who scored the highest in this school of music. Widely considered a minor B player among true aficionados, Bryant nevertheless employed a muscular, groove oriented sound that played well with a wailing B3 and the likes of drummer Idris Muhammad. Among his best known recordings was one entitled, 'Soul Liberation,' a 1970 date that featured Virgil Jones on trumpet, the mighty burner, Charles Earland at the organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and the aforementioned Muhammad on tubs. This LP de facto was my father's absolute favorite. He played it repeatedly, wearing out several copies over the years. We even listened to it while laying side by side on his death bed, spending our last days together sharing the things we both loved before he slipped into the empyrean.
I introduced my father to 'Soul Liberation' shortly after its release based oddly enough on it's singular ballad, 'The Ballad Of Oren Bliss.' I had stumbled upon '...Oren Bliss' late one night while listening to the largely rock oriented KSAN radio* and was totally knocked out by its plaintive and soulful beauty. Then after hearing its stellar line up of high octane players who knew more than a thing or two about laying down a monster groove, I knew this would be one hell of a funky record. Posthaste, I picked up a copy at my local record shop and packed it off to my old man knowing he would embrace it wholeheartedly. Like father, like son, I understood what moved him and I sensed that a little 'Soul Liberation' was something that we both could use.**
Today my father would have turned 86 years of age if not for the beastly cancer that slowly strangled his brain and ended his time on Earth with more pain and suffering than any good man deserves. He devoted his life to his family and his art, and I'll miss him always. I therefore offer this mix of some of his favorite Rusty Bryant performances as a requiem to the man I loved and called my father.
*In a demonstration of the breadth of KSAN's adventurous programming, they weren't afraid to mix something like this in with the underground rock staples of the day.
**If you'd like to hear 'Soul Liberation' as it was originally released, the playing order would be as follows: tracks 1,2,3,9, & 6.
In Memoriam
(for Rusty and for Dad)
1) Cold Duck Time
2) The Ballad Of Oren Bliss
3) Lou-Lou
4) Free At Last
5) Mister S.
6) Freeze-Dried Soul
7) With These Hands
8) The Hooker
9) Soul Liberation
10) Fire Eater
Source material for 'In Memoriam' comes from the following:
Night Train Now! (1969)
Soul Liberation (1970)
Fire Eater (1971)
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