NEW MUSIC: DAVID GIBSON – INNER AGENT; ELLERY ESKELIN TRIO – WILLISAU LIVE; WILSON PICKETT – THE COMPLETE ATLANTIC SINGLES VOL. 1

DAVID GIBSON – INNER AGENT

Soulful genius from trombonist David Gibson – a player who works here with a slightly larger group than usual for some of the Posi-tone label sessions, but one who's able to make the whole thing come off with a compact groove that's totally wonderful all the way through! Gibson's got a way of making the sound come down totally right on the money – especially on his wonderful original tracks for the album, which are nestled in nicely alongside tracks by Curtis Fuller, and some other earlier giants – played by an excellent septet that features Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, Doug Webb on tenor, Caleb Curtis on alto, and Theo Hell on piano. The mix of Hendrix and Gibson is especially great – and titles include "Axe Grinder", "Sweetness", "The Scythe", "The Court", "AJ", "Gravy", "Inner Agent", and "I Wish I Knew".  ~ Dusty Groove

ELLERY ESKELIN TRIO – WILLISAU LIVE

Tenorist Ellery Eskelin's in a very compelling setting here – a trio that has the great Gerry Hemmingway on drums, and organist Gary Versace on the Hammond B3 – an instrument we're not sure we've ever heard on any other records from Ellery! Yet the set's hardly a conventional version of tenor and organ jazz – as the Hammond's often used in ways that are a sonically creative as Eskelin's approach to tenor, with waves of sound that are often far beyond music, but which also can hit some tuneful moments as well – all over the course of songs that are familiar, but which are completely transformed by the process! The group does hit a slightly soulful vibe on a reading of "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance Without You", but really takes off on versions of "We See", "East Of The Sun", "Blue & Sentimental", and "My Melancholy Baby" – as well as their own "On Or About".  ~ Dusty Groove

WILSON PICKETT – THE COMPLETE ATLANTIC SINGLES VOL. 1

Are you ready for the wickedest Real Gone soul collection yet? Here, in one smokin’ hot set, are the first 22 single sides that the great Wilson Pickett recorded for the Atlantic label, some of the most hallowed recordings in the history of soul music. Along with the intoxicating mix of hits—“In the Midnight Hour,” “Mustang Sally,” “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.),” “Land of 1000 Dances,” “Don’t Fight It,” and more—and rare B-sides that come with the territory on a singles collection, you also get those punchy mono single mixes/versions that bring out the raw excitement of these seminal performances, not to mention the incredible musicianship of folks like Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Isaac Hayes. Indeed, even if you purchased Rhino Handmade’s collection of Pickett’s complete Atlantic studio sessions, you don’t own the single versions—this volume (and the two to come after it) are necessary complements to that outstanding set. Remastered by Mike Milchner from sources derived from the original tapes, and annotated by Joe Marchese, who penned the notes on Real Gone’s previous collection of the Wicked Pickett’s RCA recordings, The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. One presents some of the greatest soul ever waxed exactly how it was originally waxed—as singles for airplay on the radio. It’s the material that made Wilson Pickett a legend.