Houston Person was among the guttiest of the gutbucket saxophonists of the soul-jazz golden age -- for proof, look no further than Legends of Acid Jazz: Houston Person, which compiles two of the saxman's most popular releases, Person to Person! and Houston Express (both originally released in 1970). Express featured the "funkmaster general" of the tenor saxophone with a tight, pocket-sized ensemble (including guitarist
Grant Green and drummer
Idris Muhammad), while, on Person!, his supporting ensemble expanded to include trumpet players
Cecil Bridgewater and
Thad Jones, guitarist
Billy Butler and another kindred spirit and prince of funk on his instrument, Motown bassist
Gerry Jemmott.
Legends of Acid Jazz: Houston Person provides a high-voltage cover version extravaganza, including "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People" (
the Chi-Lites), "Close to You" (
the Carpenters), "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yester-Day" (
Stevie Wonder), "Young, Gifted and Black" (
Aretha Franklin), "Just My Imagination" (
the Temptations), and "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which
Person describes in his liner notes as the "black national anthem."
Person and friends turn every one of these, and others such as his own "Up at Joe's, Down at Jim's" and his trademark "The Houston Express" into stinging, swinging, original-sounding opuses of funk. ~ Chris Slawecki