By Don Berryman
Two great jazz albums that have been out of print for nearly half a century, Woody Shaw’s Love Dance and Joe Chambers’ Double Exposure have been remastered and reissued by producer Zev Feldman (a.k.a. The Jazz Detective) on the archival label Time Traveler Recordings as part of its Muse Master Edition Series. Both were issued on 180-gram LPs (pressed at Germany’s Optimal Media), analog mastered directly from the original tapes by Matthew Lutthans.
Double Exposure
On Double Exposure Paul Chambers plays piano on four tracks and drums on only two with Larry Young playing B3 organ on all but one track. Although known primarily as a jazz drummer, Chambers’ first instrument was piano. This is an unusual album in that it is a rare duet between B3 organ and piano. What is even more unusual is how well it worked. On side A Young primarily plays a supporting role supplying the bass and his subtle but complex chords waft in and out, The opening track on side B, “After The Rain” is a solo piano piece. The final two tracks have Chambers exuberantly playing on drums while Young displays a less subtle voice on organ.
Two tracks, “The Orge” and “Message From Mars”, were written by Larry Young and the rest by Chambers.
Side A
- Hello To The Wind 8:50
- The Orge 5:30
- Mind Rain 9:00
Side B
- After The Rain 4:30
- Message From Mars 6:07
- Rock Pile 5:50
Love Dance
Recorded in 1975 for Muse records, Love Dance, features Woody Shaw on trumpet, Steve Turre on trombone and bass trombone, Rene McLean on soprano sax and alto sax, Billy Harper on tenor sax, Joe Bonner on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, Victor Lewis on drums, Guilherme Franco on percussion, and Tony Waters on congas. This album has a kind of infectious funkiness to it that makes it highly listenable. Great solos abound.
This album has a Larry Young connection too. Young wrote the tune”Obsequious”, which is the second track. And although Woody SHaw is an accomplished composer, the only Woody Shaw original tune on Love Dance is “Zoltan” which Shaw had debuted a decade earlier on Larry Young’s Blue Note classic Unity which features two more of Shaw’s compositions..
Side A
- Love Dance 12:37
- Obsequious 9:28
Side B
- Sunbath 6:33
- Zoltan 6:48
- Soulfully I Love You (Black Spiritual Of Love) 8:13
