Bobby Forrester - Bobby's Blues - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Bobby Forrester was just out of his teens when R&B legend Ruth Brown discovered him playing Hammond organ in a Harlem nightclub and hired him to lead her band - he remained with her for over 25 years. In 2001, the Hammond was making a comeback in N.Y.C. and Forrester was at the forefront of the scene. He hosted a regular Sunday gig at the world famous Smalls nightclub, and this CD was recorded on a particularly heated night at the club. On tenor sax was the great Bubba Brooks, who had spent many years in Bill InchHonky TonkInch Doggett's band. The music swung hard, the ballads seethed with tenderness. Liner notes by multi-Grammy award winner Phil Schaap. Produced by ex-Mink DeVille guitarist and W.C. Handy-nominated producer Louis X. Erlanger.

Primarily known as the keyboardist and musical director for legendary R&B singer Ruth Brown for over 26 years, Bobby Forrester's funky Hammond B3 organ sound has supported a variety of well known blues and jazz artists, including Irene Reid, Gloria Lynne, Stanley Turrentine, Ray Alexander, Frank Wess, and Lena Horne. Presented here is Forrester's rare, often overlooked 1971 solo album, which should prove a boon to both lovers of the soul jazz idiom, and B3 fans the world over. Bobby Forrester (Hammond organ); Elijah Williams Jr.. (guitar); Johnny Kirkwood (drums). All selections newly re-mastered.

Grooving, hard-swinging Bebop with the last of the great organists, the now late, great Bobby Forester, recorded live in 1994 in Brookhaven Jazz Festival, in Long Island, NY. Alto Saxist Joey 'G-Clef' Cavaseno, of Illinois Jacquet and Panama Francis fame, was becoming one of the top straight ahead, hard-swinging alto saxophonists. Also featured, are guitar great William Ash, and legendary drummer of Ruth Brown fame, Tootsie Bean. This set swings ridiculously hard from top to bottom, and the group's enthusiasm is contagious. A Rare Gem!