Blue Note Rare Groovin' With Reuben Wilson

Reuben Wilson Is a Monster in the acid-jazz soul-jazz community. The Hammond organist recorded 5 terrific albums for Blue Note Records from 1968 to 1971.

 Each record is a delightful melange of funk, R&B styles, jazz, and soul-jazz delivered into an urban stew.

The debut from Reuben, On Broadway, an album from 1968, and produced after Alfred Lyon sold Blue Note to Liberty Records is a stellar soul-jazz record.

The highlight of the album is the 9 minute plus "Ronnie's Bonnie', a killer soul groove number that stirs the pot like no other from the album.

Then Love Bug and Blue Mode were released in 1969, make no mistake about it, this music is about workin' the groove, and wringing every last ounce out of the vibe.

"Bamboo" and the title track are the bookends on Blue Mode and they will surely get your toes tapping. It is hard to believe these Blue Notes were not bigger sellers back in the late 60's.

 It took nearly 30 years for the beat doctors and hip-hop artists to recognize the gold in those vinyl grooves.

I always loved the accessible dance grooves, with the honest to god jazzy saxophone jammin' along side a gut bucket blues guitar style, what's not to love about that?

Sure I like complex post bop jazz too, I know Wilson won't be mistaken for Larry Young or his masterpiece Unity, But Reuben Wilson is still around, nearing the age of 80 has nothing to be ashamed of, sometimes it takes a while for genius to be recognized.

 He did play with Saxophonist San River, Lee Morgan, and Grant Green at times, which proves his real jazz chops.

Personally I feel the first 3 albums Reuben did for the label are the best, the two that followed are not exactly the same in style:  A Groovy Situation and Set us Free, both even more commercial in nature, still not bad, but not as hot soul-jazz wise, and not nearly as earthy as the first 3 are.

Set Us Free has a heavy pop element, with almost a psychedelic vibe, just different all together. 

Reuben then went on to Groove Merchant and Released a few albums like The Sweet Life and The Cisco Kid that removed some of the sugary sweetness and harkened back to the first 3 Blue Notes. He pretty much quit recording for about 20 years as far as I can tell.

 Later artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Us3 Sampled many of Reuben's grooves, and by the mid 90's he was experiencing a career renaissance as a result.

These Blue Note LP's are still highly collectible, and have not nearly risen to the astronomical heights of the 50's and early pre Liberty records have.

 You can get any of Reuben's Blue Notes for less than 50 dollars if you search around.