Billy Harper
Black Saint
Black Saint (Italy) 1980
BSR 0001 (LP) EMI Italiana S.p.A.
sleeve : EX-(wear on corner, light dirts)
media : EX-/EX-(some slightly noise caused by slightly hairlines. side A has some pop noise)
Released in 1975, this album is by American saxophonist Billy Harper, who performed with the Gil Evans Jazz Orchestra and worked in groups led by such great musicians as Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Lee Morgan. He also delivered outstanding performances on celebrated rare-groove classics by artists including Leon Thomas and Bobbi Humphrey.
This was the inaugural release on Black Saint, the Italian jazz label that would subsequently produce numerous masterpieces. Harper leads a quintet featuring Virgil Jones on trumpet, Joe Bonner on piano, David Friesen on bass, and Malcolm Pinson on drums. A masterpiece among masterpieces, the album allows listeners to fully experience Harper’s bright, sharply articulated saxophone over deeply satisfying grooves, while Bonner’s showering cascades of piano are equally exceptional. Every track is superb. Highly recommended. This is an EMI-distributed Italian pressing, apparently released sometime between 1976 and 1979.
A1: Dance, Eternal, Spirits, Dance!
A2: Crouet Ballet
B1: Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart