Don Patterson - Legends of Acid Jazz, Vol. 2: Just Friends

Although this is a fine collection highlighting three unjustly overlooked players of the '60s, it doesn't really rate inclusion in Prestige's long-running Legends Of Acid Jazz series. This isn't acid jazz, or even '60s-style soul-jazz, but straight-ahead hard bop. (The one exception is Don Patterson's Hammond organ-led take on a very faithful and brief rendition of The Drifters' pop hit "Under the Boardwalk," possibly an attempt at Ramsey Lewis-style crossover success.) The two tenors, the barrel-toned Houston Person and the much more aggressive, R&B-influenced honker Booker Ervin, are in control of this session, trading soloists with the intensity of an old-fashioned cutting contest. Read More