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Quincy Jones - Smackwater Jack Audio CD

A fair review of the Quincy Jones "Smackwater Jack" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Quincy Jones reviews here, or go back to the Quincy Jones tabs.

Quincy Jones Band: Quincy Jones
Title: Smackwater Jack
Rating:
Release Date: 2009-08-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Smackwater Jack 2: Cast Your Fate to the Wind 3: Ironside 4: What's Going On 5: Theme from "The Anderson Tapes" {From the Anderson Tapes} 6: Brown Ballad 7: Hikky-Burr - Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones 8: Guitar Blues Odyssey: From Roots to Fruits

Among Q's Most Rewarding Records
Surprise! This really fine early-1970s recording has received an excellent transfer to CD. Having read some (likely justified) complaints from reviewers here about other releases in the Universal Music Group "Originals" series, I approached this one with rather low expectations. I was impressed with the room-shaking bass energy captured on the disc, but the bass doesn't dominate the sound or upset the overall balance. Everything that should be heard, can be heard with clarity.
For those who aren't familiar with this album, Quincy Jones assembled an amazing group of session musicians, many of them jazz giants, and presented them with arrangements of his own and other composers' works. Q had begun, by this album, to incorporate more contemporary musical influences into his sound, but there are some really good jazz moments here. And given his sensibilities for popular appeal (he produced Lesley Gore in the '60s, and Michael Jackson's biggest-selling albums of the '80s), it is hard to imagine anyone not liking at least SOMETHING here.
I impulsively bought this recording years ago, not having heard a thing on it, but hoping that the "Ironside" theme listed on the cover would be the same recording being used on the TV series (it was), and also that "The Bill Cosby Show" theme--aka "Hikky-Burr"--would be the TV version (it wasn't; more on this later). When I took the record home and listened, I was gratified to find many delights, such as a tastefully mellow arrangement of Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", and a multifaceted treatment of the Marvin Gaye hit "What's Going On" (some hot jazz playing in this one). Ray Brown (a co-producer of the record) contributed "Brown Ballad", very pleasant listening; and Q's own "Theme from 'The Anderson Tapes'" really swings. I hadn't counted on all the musical styles I found here, nor the virtuosity of the playing (not yet having seen the list of musicians involved).
As for "Hikky-Burr": again, it isn't the wonderful original recording used on Bill Cosby's late-60s TV show, but I have to say it has grown on me over time. There are at least a couple of places in this one that Cosby, in what I would have to call a kind of comical scat vocal, finds a good groove; they are brief moments, but they leave an impression. Cos and Q cook together.
I can't say enough how glad I am that there is finally a domestic CD release of this wonderful album. I would have been happy anyway, but having heard the high quality of the transfer to disc, I am almost beyond words. The CD may sound better than my LP did! This album represents an important phase in the long career of Quincy Jones, and if you are a fan of his at all--and don't already own this recording--you should definitely seek it out.
A word about the packaging: the CD is housed in a Digipak, evidently intended to somewhat resemble the gatefold sleeve in which the LP was released. All text and notes are reproduced to the original scale, i. e. , practically unreadable without a magnifying lens. Although the packaging is not ideal, this is an essential disc for jazz lovers, and for anyone who has followed the remarkable musical odyssey of a gifted composer, producer, and arranger.

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You can see a complete list of all Quincy Jones discography, or go back to the Quincy Jones tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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