Jackson, Bobby - The Cafe Extra-Ordinaire Story
SKU
05-JMAN 035CD
So, in hipster circles, there's thing genre called 'deep jazz' and many very, very obscure albums are being exhumed and reissued. The genre can mean almost anything and many pretty lukewarm albums have been reissued under that rubric. This however, actually is a pretty deep and inspired album, just like it says below. I never heard of this guy before and I never heard of any of the sidemen either, but this is a very good, somewhat McCoy Tyner-esque jazz album with nice work from everyone (tenor sax, trombone, trumpet, piano/electric piano, bass and drums). The sound occasionally touches on early jazz/rock, but only slightly - but the electric piano when it appears is quite appealing as is this entire release. The sound is basically quite poor (think "Sun Ra studio quality"), but it has a booklet of great photos and notes and the music is genuinely excellent. Highly recommended.
"Jazzman Records reissues this private press jazz LP from Bobby Jackson. You won't find the name Bobby Jackson in the jazz books. Yet here is a remarkable man who did more than anyone to promote live jazz in his hometown of Minneapolis, risking everything to open a venue for jazz lovers and putting on such luminaries as Freddie Hubbard, Roland Kirk and Elvin Jones. In so doing, he rode the wave of financial insecurity, dealt with problems involving drugs, the law and the police, not to mention the issues and temperaments of the musicians themselves. Yet he still managed to keep things together enough to record a truly deep and inspired album with his band -- although it took another 8 years before it was finally released, albeit in minimal quantities and with zero distribution! And so, the seventh release in Jazzman's Holy Grail series tells the story of Bobby Jackson and his Café Extra-Ordinaire. The music is deep, modal and progressive jazz. The story is one of bearded, coffee-drinking jazz-heads, Elvin Jones shedding tears, silver foil backdrops, and Jazzman also reveals what happened when a young man named Prince ventured into the café one day with the intention to sit in on a jam session! The CD also contains a 12-page color booklet with previously-unpublished pictures provided by Bobby Jackson himself. Interviews with Jackson and his band help to make up the extensive liner notes, telling the engaging story of the Café Extra-Ordinaire and all who took part in it."