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Tina Brooks "Minor Move"....


sal

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Street Singer is composed of tracks released on the US RVG of Jackie's Bag and I believe another title I just forgot and am too lazy to check out now  -_-

Street Singer (Toshiba TOCJ-66080) has these personnel and tracks:

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on September 1, 1960

Personnel:

Blue Mitchell - trumpet

Jackie McLean - alto saxophone

Tina Brooks - tenor saxophone

Kenny Drew - piano

Paul Chambers - bass

Arthur Taylor - drums

Tracks:

Melonae's Dance

Appointment in Ghana

Medina

Isle of Java

Street Singer

A Ballad for Doll

All tracks appear on the U.S. RVG Jackie's Bag, which also has these personnel and tracks:

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio on January 18, 1959

Personnel:

Donald Byrd - trumpet

Jackie McLean - alto saxophone

Sonny Clark - piano

Paul Chambers - bass

Philly Joe Jones - drums

Tracks:

Quadrangle

Blues Inn

Fidel

The original LP and the TOCJ of Jackie's Bag only have these tracks:

Quadrangle

Blues Inn

Fidel

Appointment in Ghana

A Ballad for Doll

Isle of Java

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I wrote the liner notes for the early 1980s Japanese Blue Note LP original issue of "Minor Move" but have not seen the current American CD reissue (or maybe I did but didn't buy it because I have the Mosaic set). Anyway, does someone who does have the current issue of "Minor Move" tell me whether my notes are used there. Just curious.

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I wrote them in English and they appeared that way over here; maybe they were translated into Japanese for that market, maybe not--I certainly couldn't tell. A fair number of Blue Notes, some (maybe all) previously unissued at the time, came out over here on LP by way of Japan in the early '80s -- for example, Mobley's "Poppin,'" Grant Green's "Matador," the two-trombone album with Slide Hampton and Curtis Fuller, the Sonny Clark with Wilbur Ware, etc. Pretty sure that all of that stuff has made it onto CD in one way or another. I'm still hoping for a Conn. version of Tyrone Washington's "Natural Essence." I have the old LP, but in terms of sound quality (not music) it was not what it should have been for a Van Gelder-engineered recording, undoubtedly for reasons that were beyond his control.

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I had the Mosaic and sold it on ebay after re-buying Back to the Tracks, True Blue & The Waiting Game on CD. Minor MOve was the session I played the least often - it has a vibe of Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark & Art Blakey showing the shy youngster where the hammer hangs - and the ride cymbal was recorded too hotz and sounds distorted. To me, not one of the most successfull 1950's Blue Note sessions.

I have almost all of Tina, and find Back to the Tracks, True Blue and Street Singer to be the indispensable ones.

And yes, the disco in the Mosaic is complete - that's all there is, there ain't no mo'!

The Felsted Howard McGhee probably is the one that's most difficult to find - but I once listened to a reissue CD and was a little disappointed.

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The Felsted Howard McGhee probably is the one that's most difficult to find - but I once listened to a reissue CD and was a little disappointed.

My copy was issued by the British Boplicity label, under both Freddie Redd and Howard McGhee names, but it is not listed anymore on their website even if they mention it (on the left part).

Edited by Vincent, Paris
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I recall having a conversation about Tina with Lamont Johnson, and Lamont shared with me that while he and others made a strong effort to "mentor" Tina away from

drugs, their efforts ultimately went unrewarded. It wouldn't surprise me if this was the primary reason why Tina wasn't recorded more frequently.

And count me among the group that prizes True Blue the most, followed by Back to the Tracks, and Minor Move.

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It's truly a sad sad story. One gets the feeling that maybe Tina only had a few good years in him. Heroin addiction is the most serious addiction I have had to deal with. There is no way to deal with the addict other than to unconditionally love them. It feels as if there were many who cared about him, Brooks never allowed himself to get too close to others. In that world it's a battle of wills with yourself and its a poison that does not suffer fools gladly. While youmay always love that person, a seamier side ultimately kicks in. The side that will cheat you and steal from you, the side that takes and takes without remorse. It's the hardest thing to do to see someone wither away but it's a more difficult thing I've ever had to do, to stay with someone and hope that they will soon see the light and then too see them wither away and die. It changes you...either way.

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Sorry to get all serious and heavy there.

Yeah I like Street Singer (BTTT) the most, followed by True Blue and then Minor Move. I have to admit, that I put on Minor Move after saying that it sucked, basically. I didn't want to come back straight away and say "Yeah, its a good session" but now I am gonna just say it. It's a good session! :)

As a stylist, Brooks was okay, but it's easy to see how he got lost n the shuffle within the confines of BN at that time period. There were simply so many great players at the time. One wonders what would have happned had Tina fallen into the Presitge crowd and cut some sides with Jack McDuff et, al.

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That Howard McGhee version of THE CONNECTION with Tina is one of my prized posessions, I have it in a 24-bit CD edition from Japan a few years back (scored from Dusty Groove last year). It's not just good but GREAT Tina; his solo on "Wigglin'" may be his best on record. My enthusiasm is NOT just due to this date's scarcity - I figured it would be nice to add to my Tina collection but that it would be little played, but nothing could be further from the truth. Honestly I feel this CONNECTION is far superior to the Freddie Redd BN version (which I love, so that tells you how much I like the Felsted).

Tina fans: DO NOT miss it.

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