Originally an understudy of Jimmy McGriff, organist Charles Earland asserted a more open-eared approach than his mentor upon going solo. By the time of the 71’ to 73’ stretch revisited on this recent Prestige compilation his sound was in full flower drawing in funk, soul and even free jazz leanings with Larry Young a prime influence. The ten tracks herein offer a mélange of these styles. Sadly some of the wine has soured to vinegar with the aging process and several cuts come off as painfully dated. Others, particularly the two featuring a tentet with Lee Morgan, Billy Harper and Sonny Morgan (Sunny Murray’s old ESP running mate) on trumpet, tenor and conga respectively, crackle with barely bottled potency.
Sprawling at ten minutes plus, the title cut makes use of the talent pool beautifully. Deploying on a percolating rhythm the well-girthed band dispenses with a punchy head and defers to Morgan’s loquacious brass. Flautist Hubert Laws follows blowing gelid gusts as drummer Billy Cobham and Morgan keep the beat bouncing at a jaunty clip. Harper’s Trane-scented solo arrives next, ripping through short stack of keening choruses as Earland vamps with thick juicy slabs of notes. The leader’s statement slathers on the tension, contrasting a whirring harmonic drone with jabbing right hand arpeggios as Cobham’s tree-felling sticks punctuate the action.
The ensemble ends up taking a breather until the disc’s final two cuts. “Grab ‘Hole Dis!!” is pretty much out of a straight funk bag with a backbeat-stoked vamp supplying the ballast for another string of solos initiated by trumpeter Virgil Jones. Harper’s extemporization is greasier and less emphatic, but just as arresting as his opener. Earland ramps up another syncopated sustain-dyed solo in tandem with Cobham who then gets his own chance at impersonating the mighty Clyde Stubblefield as funky drummer par excellence. Curiously, Morgan and Harper are the only horns on the closing rundown of the trumpeter’s own “Speedball.”
The other two bands showcased are less impressive, both on paper and in aural evidence. “Don’t Le Me Lose This Dream” and “Never Can Say Goodbye” make use of a pared down septet with tenorist Houston Person and sax doubler Jimmy Vass joining the trumpet of Gary Chandler as horn section. Both tunes are rendered as unadventurous groovers with the former in particular showing its mothball-redolent age. The latter at rises a bit above its R&B staple origins with the help of a tight rhythm and a prickly solo from session guitarist Maynard Parker.
Four tracks employ a thirteen-piece ensemble. Eight horns dominate the group and include a returning Harper who shines on the modal “Charles III” amidst a rhythmic chaparral of teeming Brazilian style percussion. Earland’s switch to electric piano and the subtle acoustic guitar accents of Stuart Scharf embellish even more to the congenial island lounge vibe. The version of “My Favorite Things” feels half-baked and longwinded with an uncredited anemic soprano solo (presumably by Seldon Powell) further stymieing the works. Harper’s galloping tenor retort and a spate of combative comping by the leader are about the tune’s only saving graces. The trite posturings of “Auburn Delight” with bathetic lyrics that seem almost an insult to vocalist Joe Lee Wilson represent another misfire.
There’s a fair amount of chaff here along with the grist, but the keepers outweigh the castoffs. As an aperture exposing Earland’s art circa the early 70s this compilation succeeds.
~ Derek Taylor
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