Crate Digger’s Gold: Houston Person – Wild Flower
Houston Person
Wild Flower
Muse Records (MR 5161)1978
I was in Chicago, stopped by Dusty Groove, and found this album in the “new used” crate. With tenor saxophonist Houston Person, the provocative cover art (by Hal Wilson), the Muse label, the sidemen, and the reasonable price ($8.99-$9.36 is the median price on Discogs), I snatched it up. Based on the album art, the era (1977), the players, and the label, I assumed it would be soul jazz (it is). Turns out it is a well-regarded album and was never reissued digitally (on CD or streaming), so it is a nice find. It is in very good condition as advertised (plays without skipping, but features noticeable cosmetic wear and audible surface noise).
I really like the album as it is smooth without being smooth jazz. Houston Person always has a great tone, and it really shines on this album, backed by a soulful rhythm section: organist Sonny Phillips, drummer Idris Muhammad, and guitarist Jimmy Ponder. Person is underrated in the jazz world, but I’ve liked everything I have ever listened to. He has a unique ability to be a legitimate jazz cat while still being approachable and easy to listen to, without being easy listening.
Per the liner notes (Russ Chase, Record Review Editor, IAJRC JOURNAL):
Whether you hear Houston Person in person or via recordings, the first reaction is to marvel at the glorious floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall sound that he generates, apparently effortlessly. It is one of the more awesome that you are likely to ever hear, filled with the explosive power and, to use an old but appropriately descriptive phrase, the bursting-at-the-seams emotion that evokes the jazz sound. Once you have assimilated his tone, you’ll be boggled by the prodigious technique.
Players:
Houston Person – Tenor Saxophone
Bill Hardman – Trumpet
Sonny Phillips – Organ
Jimmy Ponder – Guitar
Idris Muhammad – Drums
Larry Killian – Congas, Percussion
Produced by Houston Person and recorded September 12, 1977, at Van Gelder Studio (engineered by Rudy Van Gelder).
Tracklist:
Side A
1. “Preachin’ and Teachin‘” (Sonny Phillips) — 7:40
2. “Dameron” (Tadd Dameron) — 7:30
Side B
1. “Wildflower” (Doug Edwards & Dave Richardson) — 6:50
2. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf) — 6:00
3. “My Romance” (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) — 5:30
Not available on streaming services.
Great find — a Muse pressing of Houston Person’s Wild Flower from the Dusty Groove used bins is exactly the kind of crate-digging win that keeps me going. The Van Gelder Studio lineage and that personnel lineup (Sonny Phillips on organ, Idris Muhammad on drums) make this one especially interesting, and it’s good to know it’s not on streaming so the vinyl is the way to hear it. The note about it being smooth without tipping into smooth jazz nails why Person’s records hold up. I run a tiny online station, and this write-up gave me ideas for a segment where the idents are cut with an ai jingle generator.