David "Fathead" Newman House Of David CD

Originally released in 1967. With dazzling playing on Bob Dylans 'Just Like A Woman'. 'I Wish You Love' and 'The Holy Land', David Newman reaches new heights on his first recorded album after leaving the Ray Charles band. 2002.

Personnel: David Newman (tenor saxophone, flute); Kossie Gardner (organ); Tod
Dunbar (guitar); Milt Turner (drums).
Originally released on Atlantic (1489). Includes liner notes by Alvin Baxter.
The House of David was David "Fathead" Newman's comeback album of sorts, marking his first release after the end of his association with Ray Charles and a few years spent with his family in his hometown of Dallas. Organist Kossie Gardner, guitarist Ted Dunbar, and drummer Milt Turner support Newman's gritty "Texas tenor" sound, which captures the straightforwardness of R&B pop and the improvisational elements of jazz. Newman plays the flute on the spunky "Miss Minnie," but one of the most interesting songs on the album is the untypical rendition of a Bob Dylan tune, "Just Like a Woman." the artist's warm tenor lifts this song to angelic heights, and it's fathomed that he had only heard the song a few times before laying down this recording. Other standouts on the album include the Cedar Walton penned closer, "The Holy Land," and the original blues numbers such as the title track and "New Blues." This album boils with inventive hooks and the soulful combination of organ and guitar that would become more pop-oriented on subsequent Newman recordings. ~ Jeff Schwachter
Recorded after a period of relative quiet for saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman, HOUSE OF DAVID is a very inspired release. On this 1967 record, Newman is matched up with an organ trio and together the band plays a blend of hard bop and soul jazz. Certain tracks are undeniably dated, but not in a negative way. For example, the rock-inflected numbers "One Room Paradise" and "Miss Minnie" both scream late-1960s funk, but this quality fits the tunes wonderfully. Elsewhere, Newman's thoughtful cover of the classic Bob Dylan song "Just Like a Woman" proves to be a standout.
HOUSE OF DAVID begins with the reflective ballad "I Wish You Love," featuring a lengthy tenor solo from Newman. Here his improvisational skills are not only expressive, but unique; although one can hear echoes of Lester Young and James Moody in his solo, these influences have been expertly filtered through Newman's own creative voice.