Legends of Acid Jazz, Vol. 2: Just Friends (1999)

About this title: 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 ... read more

Tracks:

1. Red Top [Ammons]
2. Freddie Tooks Jr. [Patterson]
3. Last Train From Overbrook [Moody]
4. Embraceable You [Gershwin/Gershwin]
5. Sandu [Brown]
6. Sister Ruth [Patterson]
7. Donald Duck [Patterson]
8. Rosetta [Hines/Woode]
9. Under the Boardwalk [Resnick/Young]
10. Sentimental Journey [Brown/Homer/Green]
11. Theme for Dee [Patterson]
12. Just Friends [Klenner/Lewis]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.