Walter Bishop Jr Soul Village

Last Friday, I had my mates John Clement and Kevin Horsewood over for one of our regular soul and curry nights. John brought round a copy of the above album to stir the memories.

Walter Bishop Jr's album was one of my favourite jazz sounds in 1978 and represented a turning point in my jazz collecting as my tastes started to go deeper after being stirred by the then jazz funk boom in the clubs.

The album has now been reissued:

An album on Muse, but one with the same hip grooves as Walter Bishop's excellent work on the Black Jazz label! Like those gems, this set features Bishop working on Fender Rhodes -- hitting a groove we never would have expected in the old days, and really going for a style that's at the hippest end of the soul jazz spectrum of the 70s! Other players include Randy Brecker on trumpet, Gerry Niewood on tenor and flute, and George Young on soprano and alto sax -- and the horns are all arranged tightly by Mitch Farber, in a way that adds an extra edge to the record, but still leaves plenty of space for Bishop's solo flights on the keys! Titles include great versions of "Soul Village", "Coral Keys", and "Soul Turnaround" -- plus the cuts "Philadelphia Bright", "Sweet Rosa", and "Valerie". Dusty Groove