everybodydigs# is a series of posts about Jazz, Funk, Soul & R’n’b albums released from the 20s to the 90s, you can read a brief description/review and listen to a small preview (when it’s possible). everybodydigs# is like when someone tells you “hey you should listen to this album!” and nothing less, enjoy!

Underground was recorded in 1967, about 20 years into the career of this wholly distinctive and unorthodox pianist-composer. Whenever the understated saxophone talents of Charlie Rouse accompany Thelonious Monk, one is assured of an invigorating set of music–and this collection is no exception. Supported by Larry Gales on bass and the inimitable Ben Riley on drums, Monk and Rouse elaborate on immortal compositions like “Ugly Beauty.” On “In Walked Bud,” the quartet is joined by vocalist Jon Hendricks. With jagged themes and unusual variations of meter and key, Underground showcases an aging Monk’s still-brilliant eccentricity on the piano. A good bit looser than much of Monk’s earlier work, he and Rouse infuse this date with their tag-team humor and unrelenting musical enthusiasm. –Mitch Myers

Personnel: Thelonious Monk (piano); Jon Hendricks (vocals); Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); Larry Gales (bass); Ben Riley (drums).

Rappamelo’s favorite track:

everybodydigs# is a series of posts about Jazz, Funk, Soul & R’n’b albums released from the 20s to the 90s, you can read a brief description/review and listen to a small preview (when it’s possible). everybodydigs# is like when someone tells you “hey you should listen to this album!” and nothing less, enjoy!

As he delved deeper into commercial soul-jazz and jazz-funk, Lou Donaldson became better at it. While lacking the bite of his hard bop improvisations or the hard-swinging funk of Alligator Bogaloo, Midnight Creeper succeeds where its predecessor, Mr. Shing-A-Ling failed: it offers a thoroughly enjoyable set of grooving, funky soul-jazz. The five songs — including two originals by Donaldson and one each by Lonnie Smith (who also plays organ on the record), Teddy Vann, and Harold Ousley — aren’t particularly distinguished, but the vibe is important, not the material. And the band — Donaldson, Smith, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, guitarist George Benson, and drummer Leo Morris — strikes the right note, turning in a fluid, friendly collection of bluesy funk vamps. Donaldson could frequently sound stilted on his commercial soul-jazz dates, but that’s not the case with Midnight Creeper. He rarely was quite as loose on his late-’60s/early-’70s records as he is here, and that’s what makes Midnight Creeper a keeper. (allmusic)

Rappamelo’s favorite track:

everybodydigs# is a series of posts about Jazz, Funk, Soul & R’n’b albums released from the 20s to the 90s, you can read a brief description/review and listen to a small preview (when it’s possible). everybodydigs# is like when someone tells you “hey you should listen to this album!” and nothing less, enjoy!

Recorded three years after his groundbreaking Maiden Voyage LP, this 1968 date features the pianist/composer leading a trio which includes his Miles Davis bandmate, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Mickey Roker, augmented by a three-piece horn section featuring alto flute, bass trombone, and Thad Jones on flugelhorn. This unique configuration was inspired by the orchestral timbres of Gil Evans’s voicings, filtered through a 1960s syncopated perspective. Remastered by the original session engineer, Rudy Van Gelder, Hancock’s percussive, yet flowing pianisms are more detailed in front of the evocative woodwind arrangements. Several jazz standards flowed from this date. The maze-like “Riot” and “The Sorcerer” were both recorded by Davis–as well as the dreamy bossa nova title track. Hancock plays with his patented style of “controlled freedom,” and this LP paved the way for his future forays in modern music. –Eugene Holley, Jr.

Personnel: Herbie Hancock (piano); Thad Jones (flugelhorn); Jerry Dodgion (flute); Ron Carter (bass); Peter Phillips (trombone); Mickey Roker (drums).

Rappamelo’s favorite track: