Booker Ervin The Freedom Book

180g Vinyl LP!
Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes by Kevin Gray!
Plated & Pressed at QRP!
Booker Ervin's recordings with Charles Mingus and Randy Westen earned the tenor saxophonist positive reviews. But it was his series on Prestige Records that made him known everywhere as a gigantic jazz musician. Ervin's saxophone breathes Texas seclusion and vastness as well as the sigh of the American Southwest. But his style goes beyond that, combining bebop and echoes of free jazz. The Freedom Book from 1963 is one of Ervin's masterpieces. He is supported with strength and energy by Jaki Byard (piano), Richard Davis (bass) and Alan Dawson (drums).
Booker Ervin's recordings with Charles Mingus and Randy Weston brought him good reviews and a bit of notoriety. But it was his series of Song Books for Prestige Records that broadcast the stentorian announcement that a jazz orator of gigantic stature had arrived. Ervin's tenor saxophone sound was haunted by the loneliness and spaciousness of the Texas plains where he was raised. The Southwest moan was an integral part of his playing. But his style went beyond the classic Texas tenor tradition to incorporate the intricacies of bebop and suggestions of the free jazz that was initiating one of the periods of self-renewal that keeps jazz fresh and interesting. The Freedom Book, recorded at the end of 1963, was one of Ervin's masterpieces. He is abetted by the power and drive of Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, and Alan Dawson.
"...the band's energy is clearly and dynamically captured, with a decent sense of air and focus. Kevin Gray did the mastering of this excellent QRP platter, so the quality of this welcome reissue is as good as it gets." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound Buyer's Guide 2016, Music 4/5, Sonics 3.5/5

Features:

• 180g Vinyl
• Stereo
• Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes by Kevin Gray
• Plated by Gary Salstrom
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Musicians:

• Booker Ervin, tenor sax
• Jaki Byard, piano
• Richard Davis, bass
• Alan Dawson, drums

Selections:

Side A
1. A Lunar Tune
2. Cry Me Not
3. Grant's Stand
Side B
1. A Day To Mourn
2. Al's In