Paul Gonzalves Quartet  “Boom-Jackie, Boom-Chick”  (1964)  Vocalion Records (UK)  One of the most expensive and toughest albums to track down.  This sells for over a grand on ebay if it shows up .  Only 500 copies were pressed .  The latin-flavored title track is a dedication to Jack Sharpe, one time jazz club owner, taxi driver and legendary London character.  Gonsalves was a good mate of Sharpe’s, and Jackie “supervised” the album. Gonsalves died in Sharpe’s flat in 1974.  Tremendous work from saxophonist Paul Gonsalves — one of his rare UK sessions from the 60s, all of which show that he had a tremendous sound that went way beyond his more famous work with Duke Ellington! The style here is tight, hip, and very grooving — work by a quartet that features Gonsalves on tenor, plus Pat Smythe on piano, Kenny Napper on bass, and Ronnie Stevenson on drums — all hitting a soulful hardbop style that’s very much like the best Tubby Hayes records from the time!  Gonsalves’ tone is incredible — with that raspy, almost flatted mode that he used with Ellington — and it really stretches out here with plenty of room for creativity, in a way that makes us wonder why nobody ever got this one issued over on our side of the Atlantic.  – Dusty Groove

(26 votes, average: 3.85 out of 5)

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