Eddie Harris Second Movement CD

Personnel: Eddie Harris (tenor & electric saxophones); Les McCann (vocals, Fender Rhodes piano); Cornell Dupree (electric guitar); James Rowser (acoustic bass); Jerry Jemmott (electric bass); Bernard Purdie (drums, tambourine); Donald Dean (drums); Buck Clark (African drums, percussion); Cissy Houston, Judy Clay, Deidre Tuck, Rennelle Stafford (background vocals).
Producer: Arif Mardin.
Reissue producer: Joel Dorn.
Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, New York on January 25, 1971. Originally released on Atlantic (1583). Includes liner notes by Joel Dorn.
Digitally remastered by Gene Paul (DB Plus Digital Services, New York, New York).
Personnel: Eddie Harris (saxophone); Les McCann (piano); Cissy Houston (vocals).
Eddie Harris and Les McCann's Second Movement is the second and last duet recording by Harris and McCann, and the follow-up to their 1969 "live" recording Swiss Movement. It is among the series from Label M which launched its reissue series from the Atlantic Records' archives in November 2000. The tenor saxophonist and the vocalist and pianist display their brand of showmanship and musicality that rivaled such great pairings as Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine, or Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons. This CD is a soul/jazz funk workout and features great technology that emphasizes one of their best songs, "Shorty Rides Again."These technological enhancements add to the explosive chemistry of McCann and Harris as well as waking up the resonance and excitement inherent in the compositions, vocals of Cissy Houston, and the extended vamps ignited by Harris on electric sax. The original album released in 1971 was panned by critics for abandoning straight-ahead jazz for commercial, experimental for self-indulgent purposes, however, when measured by 21st century standards, this CD is a gem that continues to inspire a new generation of soul/jazz musicians. ~ Paula Edelstein
In the late 1960s and early '70s, many diehard jazz fans turned their noses up at soul-jazz experiments, as formerly straight-ahead jazz musicians began fusing bop with funk and R&B. In hindsight, however, it is clear that these musicians were ahead of the curve with their adventurous, accessible fusions. As on their hugely popular first collaboration, SWISS MOVEMENT, tenor man Eddie Harris and keyboardist/vocalist Les McCann generate some truly irresistible grooves on SECOND MOVEMENT, blurring the line between jazz, R&B, funk, and pop.
It's hard to argue with the simmering instrumental "Shorty Rides Again," for example. Harris's percolating sax riffs keep the tune soaring over a punchy guitar/bass/drums rhythm that would make the JB's proud. McCann's takes a turn on vocals with the lush, ballad-like "Universal Prisoner" and the head-nodding "Carry On Brother," both of which deal with pressing social issues of racial and economic inequality. The record's final two tracks, "Set Us Free" and "Samia," mine smooth, fusion-flavored pulses, with notable playing by Harris on each. Overlooked soul-jazz outings such as this are the subject of album-collecting dreams.