Search - James Earland :: Slammin & Jammin

Earland goes the distance and never lets up

J. Levinson | Media, PA USA | 11/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder at hand to capture the proceedings, Earland and his lean, mean, dream team go the distance relentlessly. This album starts out with a solo blues guitar intro by Melvin Sparks on "Honky Tonk", but once the Mighty Burner kicks in, he never lets up. Next is "Sugar", Stanley Turrentine's quintessential soul-jazz composition, which is executed flawlessly. "Mercy Mercy", Joe Zawinul's gospel-influenced classic jazz ballad, is also given a soulful workout. "Johnny" starts with the drum intro and takes off into a deep organ groove, until Charlie pauses to let Purdie reiterate and embellish the ominous underlying martial beat just before the coda. "Organyk Groove" introduces Carlos Garnett, who eloquently states the sinewy minor-key melody on tenor, followed by concise organ, guitar, and sax solos. "Let the Music Play" is a funk-jazz toe-tapper, with Carlos again adding the requisite horn accents, and the quartet stretches it out with long, hard-hitting solos all around."Blues for Sheila" is another blues-based jam which Charles rips into immediately with more of his trademark descending symmetric patterns, sustains, and crescendoes. Melvin also goes in for the kill, delivering his blues-tinged jazz licks with laser accuracy. "Mister Magic" closes out the session, with Carlos providing the sax voice that links it to Grover Washington's original recording, before everyone gets their turn to pound the funky groove and work the slick chord changes.Another priceless soul-jazz triumph from the late, great Hammond B-3 wizard, who recorded this only little more than a year before he finally left this planet."

The BURNER goes for the K.O.

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 10/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's the '90s, and Charlie hits Rudy Van Gelder's studio yet again with the killer organ groove dream team Bernard Purdie and Melvin Sparks... No one knew his time on this planet would be limited, yet by the way Earland played,one might of thought he was rallying his strength for yet one more K.O. - - yet in many ways it was business as usual for the Burner... that's how he played... growling, grunting, feet swinging, sweating and with a frenzic energy, especially when it came to electrifying rooms with his expected signature rendition of MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY. - - In many ways, this album was business as usual for the burner, but in my opinion, SUGAR represented another landmark in his smoking career, burning and thumping those soulful basslines via that soulful turnaround, delivering those rapidfire funky licks of his. He would also go back in time and pay homage to one of his early influences, Bill Dogett, and Mr. Magic would get plenty of air play. - - Charles Earland, over a career spanning the '60s, '70s, '80s and final moments of the '90s never ran out of steam, and this album I believe stands among one of his finest moments. Get this CD, and hear the man who put the funk, groove and soul in Jazz the way few other's did !"

Well above average

William Jones | Rockville, MD USA | 10/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With Bernard Purdie (drums) and Melvin Sparks (guitar). The version of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" has the same marching drum intro as the Jimmy Smith version. Funk and Jazz at its best."