First Releases Include Albums by Gene Harris, Bobbi Humphrey and Jeremy SteigChicago's Dusty Groove record store stands on Ashland just south of Division in the city's Wicker Park area. But for music lovers around the globe who have either made the pilgrimage or bought from its online store, Dusty Groove stands squarely (or, rather, hiply) at the intersection of soul, funk, jazz, hip hop and world music as purveyors of the rarest, coolest and freshest sounds around. Now, Real Gone Music, the upstart, eclectic reissue label distributed by Sony via Razor & Tie, is proud to announce that it is teaming up with Dusty Groove to produce reissues drawn from the store's 16-year experience selling to its dedicated audience of collectors, deejays, devotees and fans; these titles are all time-tested yet impossible to find on compact disc. And the first releases in the joint venture—all out December 4—hit right on that soul-jazz-funk sweet spot.
All three titles hail from the legendary Blue Note label, with CD debuts all around; the first, from soul jazz guru Gene Harris, presents two albums taken from his early-‘70s peak. 1971’s Gene Harris/The Three Sounds is easily one of the hippest and funkiest records Harris made with his group the Three Sounds. Arrangements are by Monk Higgins – but the sound is even heavier than the Higgins/Harris work of the late 60s – and quite different than the straight trio material of their roots. Meanwhile, 1972’s Gene Harris of the Three Sounds has him stepping away from his previous trio and really shining as the lead man on the record. The session features Harris with some righteous work on acoustic keys, but getting a sweet electric vibe from Wade Marcus, who handles all the backings on the date. A wonderfully soulful pairing, with notes by Pat Thomas
Discovered by Dizzy Gillespie, jazz flautist Bobbi Humphrey broke through a lot of barriers during her stint at the Blue Note label, where she was among the first female instrumentalists signed to the imprint and where she pioneered a highly influential brand of jazz-funk fusion. Dig This, her second album for the label, puts Bobbi’s flute out front of great arrangements from Alphonse Mouzon, Horace Ott, and Wade Marcus – all of whom give the record a feel that’s plenty rich, yet lean enough to let the Humphrey’s sweet flute solos really take off. Real Gone’s releases include the original 1972 album art, with notes by Pat Thomas.
One of the hippest, funkiest, most soulful albums ever from flute man Jeremy Steig, Wayfaring Stranger offers a bit more stripped down feel than other Steig albums of the time, with an especially strong focus on the bass of Eddie Gomez, who really gives the record a soulful sparkle. Don Alias plays drums, and there’s also some sweet guitar from Sam Brown on the record too. Produced in 1970 by Sonny Lester—reissued with new liner notes by Pat Thomas and the original gatefold art featuring Gomez’s original notes!
About Real Gone Music
Real Gone Music, formed and helmed by industry vets Gordon Anderson and Gabby Castellana, is an eclectic and prolific catalog and reissue label with distribution through Sony via Razor & Tie. Anderson and Castellana each started businesses in 1993 — Collectors’ Choice Music and Hep Cat Records & Distribution, respectively — that became two of the most important outlets for buyers and sellers of vintage music recordings. They joined forces in 2011 to launch Real Gone Music, which serves both the collector community and the casual music fan with a robust release schedule combining big-name artists with esoteric cult favorites. Real Gone Music is dedicated to combing the vaults for sounds that aren’t just gone — they’re REAL gone.
Out 12/4/2012 from Real Gone Music & Dusty Groove
Gene Harris: Gene Harris/The Three Sounds/Gene Harris of the Three Sounds
Bobbi Humphrey: Dig This
Jeremy Steig: Wayfaring Stranger