2 LPs on 1 CD
STEREO
24 BIT
DIGITALLY REMASTERED
Jimmy Witherspoon was more than just a pitch-perfect blues belter, able to bend a note or a phrase with great expressiveness, with the attack and blues feeling to stamp his individuality on the idiom. He was also blessed with the musicality, taste, sheer jazz feel and lyric smoothness that allowed him to perform persuasively in more sophisticated settings.
Both sides of his musical personality are encompassed in two late-50s, early-60s albums made in stellar company. The first, Spoon , was produced by David Axelrod in 1959 for Hollywood s HiFi Records, but the label cancelled its jazz series before the album came out. Spoon wouldn t see the light until 1961, when Reprise took over the master and released it. It was a great two-date session featuring a swinging all-star orchestra arranged and conducted by Bob Florence, and with such soloists as Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Lanny Morgan and Gerry Wiggins.
Reprise later recorded Hey, Mrs. Jones! , giving Witherspoon s forceful, vigorous and exuberant voice an excellent backing by the fresh, deft arrangements of H.B. Barnum. In a wide-ranging program strings and rhythm feature on some pieces, and a brassy big band on others, with Spoon s vocals garnished by good solos from tenors Harold Land and Ben Webster. Together, these albums amply show the range of one of the greatest of all blues singers.
STEREO
24 BIT
DIGITALLY REMASTERED
Jimmy Witherspoon was more than just a pitch-perfect blues belter, able to bend a note or a phrase with great expressiveness, with the attack and blues feeling to stamp his individuality on the idiom. He was also blessed with the musicality, taste, sheer jazz feel and lyric smoothness that allowed him to perform persuasively in more sophisticated settings.
Both sides of his musical personality are encompassed in two late-50s, early-60s albums made in stellar company. The first, Spoon , was produced by David Axelrod in 1959 for Hollywood s HiFi Records, but the label cancelled its jazz series before the album came out. Spoon wouldn t see the light until 1961, when Reprise took over the master and released it. It was a great two-date session featuring a swinging all-star orchestra arranged and conducted by Bob Florence, and with such soloists as Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Lanny Morgan and Gerry Wiggins.
Reprise later recorded Hey, Mrs. Jones! , giving Witherspoon s forceful, vigorous and exuberant voice an excellent backing by the fresh, deft arrangements of H.B. Barnum. In a wide-ranging program strings and rhythm feature on some pieces, and a brassy big band on others, with Spoon s vocals garnished by good solos from tenors Harold Land and Ben Webster. Together, these albums amply show the range of one of the greatest of all blues singers.
