This is the most definitive Soul Jazz I’ve ever heard. Recorded in November 1968 in Paschal’s La Carousel Club in Atlanta, and issued in America in 1970, it’s the only one of Smith’s Verve releases not issued in Britain. Verve was sold to Polydor soon afterwards, so it disappeared until last year. It’s theoretically available in Britain, but I had a copy on order from Spillers for months, before I gave up and got an American copy the other day.
The band was really ON IT; George Benson plays better than usual, though not at his peak; Donald Bailey swings as ever; and Smith is inspired. Throughout the album, he plays stuff like nothing I’ve ever heard him attempt.
What makes this album definitive Soul Jazz is not the music but the exceptionally well-recorded audience. It’s muted during This Guy’s in Love With You, so I guess that was recorded before the club filled up. During the other four cuts, the audience is very loud and, to its eternal credit, seems to be completely ignoring what’s happening on the bandstand, except for a couple of dozen enthusiasts upfront. It sounds exactly like Friday night at Wetherspoon’s; a continuous babble of voices as people party the night away. This album makes it absolutely clear that the purpose of Smith and Co having been hired was to accompany the party. And that is the essence of Soul Jazz. No wonder they never issued it in Britain.
The CD is a missed opportunity. Several tracks fade out halfway through solos and there are five un-issued tracks from the gig - AM
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