MOE KOFFMAN QUARTET - Live at Expo 67
(Transcription Radio Canada LP, 1967)
There are some good solos by reed player Moe Koffman on this album but he was clearly trying to be "with it" by chasing trends of the era. The repertoire (which includes "Comin' Home Baby," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Watermelon Man" and a remake of Koffman's big seller "Swinging Shepherd Blues") is dominated by jazz hits of the era and Koffman, who sometimes plays two tenors at once (sounding like a one-handed Rahsaan Roland Kirk!), also plays an electrified sax but is best on his flute. The Montreal-based organ-bass-drums rhythm section does their job well and there are enough worthwhile Koffman solos (particularly on the medium-up tempo "Spectacular" which is really "There Will Never Be Another You") to make this set worth picking up (...) (AMG).
Considering that the LP come from a pile of rubbish, it is a miracle that it was still in listenable condition. I took it last week to Records Magician Paul D. who applied his wizardry to it and came up with a wonderfully clean sound which we are now offering you. Wow! Couldn't believe that nice crisp sound - without scratches and other pops - came from my old battered LP. The Wizard did it again! And there's more coming soon ...
Warning: it's in WAV and it's a big file. Be patient and you won't regret it.
Credits and tracks:
Personnel: Moe Koffman (flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Art Ayre (organ), Gary Binsted (e-bass), Andy Cree (drums).
Trivia:
Art Ayre was for a while the organist of Jack London & the Sparrows, which, after the arrival of East-Germany born singer John Kay would eventually mutate into Steppenwolf.
n.b.: this is not the back cover of the LP. It's taken from the Web. After all the hard work to make the old LP listenable we realised it had been re-issued on CD in 1999. Listen and then buy it here.
(Transcription Radio Canada LP, 1967)
Over the years, I've found LPs in some unlikely places. For instance, this LP was salvaged from the trash can of Radio Comores - a small archipelago in the South West Indian Ocean - in the late Nineties. It is a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Cortporation) transcription of a concert given by the Moe Koffman Quartet at the Montreal World Expo 1967.
It was recorded at the Canadian Pavillon as part of a series of concerts showcasing the best of Canadian jazz (for more info on Montreal 67 Expo jazz concerts, click HERE).There are some good solos by reed player Moe Koffman on this album but he was clearly trying to be "with it" by chasing trends of the era. The repertoire (which includes "Comin' Home Baby," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Watermelon Man" and a remake of Koffman's big seller "Swinging Shepherd Blues") is dominated by jazz hits of the era and Koffman, who sometimes plays two tenors at once (sounding like a one-handed Rahsaan Roland Kirk!), also plays an electrified sax but is best on his flute. The Montreal-based organ-bass-drums rhythm section does their job well and there are enough worthwhile Koffman solos (particularly on the medium-up tempo "Spectacular" which is really "There Will Never Be Another You") to make this set worth picking up (...) (AMG).
Considering that the LP come from a pile of rubbish, it is a miracle that it was still in listenable condition. I took it last week to Records Magician Paul D. who applied his wizardry to it and came up with a wonderfully clean sound which we are now offering you. Wow! Couldn't believe that nice crisp sound - without scratches and other pops - came from my old battered LP. The Wizard did it again! And there's more coming soon ...
Warning: it's in WAV and it's a big file. Be patient and you won't regret it.
Credits and tracks:
Personnel: Moe Koffman (flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Art Ayre (organ), Gary Binsted (e-bass), Andy Cree (drums).
Trivia:
Art Ayre was for a while the organist of Jack London & the Sparrows, which, after the arrival of East-Germany born singer John Kay would eventually mutate into Steppenwolf.
n.b.: this is not the back cover of the LP. It's taken from the Web. After all the hard work to make the old LP listenable we realised it had been re-issued on CD in 1999. Listen and then buy it here.