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Gerald
Wilson Orchestra: California Soul
LP: World Pacific WP ST-20135
CD: Included on The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson
and His Orchestra (Mosaic MD5-198)
Tracks & Composers (Original LP)
1 Calfornia Soul (Ashford, Simpson)
2 Light My Fire (The Doors)
3 Channel Island (Wilson)
4
Lullaby from Rosemary's Baby (Komeda)
5 Sunshine of Your Love (Bruce, Brown, Clapton)
6 Russian River (Wilson)
7 Yesterlove (Robinson, Cleveland)
8 Down Here on the Ground (Schifrin, Garnett)
9 El Presidente (Wilson)
Hutcherson on all tracks except 2, 5, 6 & 8
Personnel
Larry McGuire, Alex Rodriguez, Tony Rusch, Ollie Mitchell, Dalton Smith
(tp); Thurman Green, Lester Robertson, Frank Strong (tb); Mike Wimberly
(bass tb); Dave Duke (F horn); Art Maebe (frh, tu); Ramon Borjorquez (as);
Anthony Ortega (as, fl, picc); Hadley Caliman, Harold Land (ts); Richard
Aplanalp (bari sax); Alan Beutler, Henry DeVega, William Green, Pete Terry
(reeds); Bobby Hutcherson (vib); Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Rowles (p, org,
el-hpsc); Mike Anthony (g); Stan Gilbert (b); Wilton Felder (el-b); Carl
Lott (d); Hugh Anderson, Joe Porcaro (per); Gerald Wilson (arr)
Recording Date & Location
7, 16 Aug 1968; 2 Sept 1968, Los Angeles, CA
Commentary
Wilson released this album on World Pacific, rather than Pacific
Jazz. I’m not sure whether that was meant to imply that the album would
have less jazz content than his previous albums. Regardless, that is certainly
the case with this LP.
If you can get beyond some of the cheesier, time-bound elements of the
title song, "California Soul" does sound good. Just check out the arrangement,
which is very catchy. Hutch takes the first solo and it sounds great.
So does the tenorist that follows him. The same comments about time-bound
quality apply to "Channel Island." Again, the arrangement is
at the center of the song, rather than any soloist. But Bobby does take
one good solo.
"Lullaby from Rosemary’s Baby" never really goes anywhere;
plus, there's not much in the way of jazz feeling. Neither "Light
My Fire" nor "Sunshine of Your Love" work for me either.
Other tracks like Wilson's "El Presidente" feature electric
harpsichord, coming off a bit like the Munster’s theme.
I absolutely love Gerald Wilson. But there's not much to write home about
here. It's probably the weakest LP in his run of recordings for Dick Bock's
Pacific Jazz / World Pacific label.
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