Harold Corbin
SOUL BROTHER
- THE DRIVING NEW JAZZ PIANO OF HAROLD CORBIN + BONUS TRACKS
Personnel:
Harold
Corbin (p), Spanky DeBrest (b), Eddie Campbell (d)
Reference: FSRCD 1667
Pianist
Edwin Harold Corbin (1933-1962) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where
he began classical piano study when he was seven. At 20 he switched from
classical to popular music and formed his own trio, working daytime as a city
inspector and supplementing his income by playing as house pianist in several
Philadelphia jazz spots until 1961. That year, he composed and recorded Soul
Sister, which became a local hit single on the 20th Century label (tracks 11
& 12) and led to a contract with the Roulette Recording Company and top
booking engagements.
In his debut
album for Roulette, he revealed an eclectic style influenced by some of the
greatest on the instrument, such as Garner and Jamal. He had the ability to
write pieces redolent of his era, at times allied to a certain flair for
fashionable funkmanship. His touch is percussive, spicing his lines with
emphatic chord voicings, but he soloes with honest, unflashy guts. The
effortlessly swinging support by Spanky DeBrest and Eddie Campbell is sensitive
and restrained throughout, lending this set the easy, unforced quality. This
was a persuasively driving and unaffected trio. Unfortunately, Corbins career
ended in tragedy when he died of an overdose on April 1st, 1962, less than five
months after the release of this album.
Tracklisting:
01. Soul
Sister (Corbin) 3:01
02. Dont
Blame Me (McHugh-Fields) 2:30
03. Rene
(Corbin) 3:05
04. The
Gypsy (Reed) 3:02
05. Caroline
(Corbin) 3:32
06. JAMFs
(Corbin) 3:39
07. Ive
Never Been In Love Before (Loesser) 2:46
08. The Girl
in the Window (Corbin) 3:16
09. Soul
Brother (Corbin) 3:20
10. Tunga
(Corbin) 3:27
11. Our Love
Is Here to Stay
(G. & I.
Gershwin) 2:47 *
12. Soul
Sister (Corbin) 2:41 *
(*) Non-LP
tracks
Sources:
Tracks #1-10: from the album Soul Brother
The Driving
New Jazz Piano of Harold Corbin
(Roulette SR
52079)
Bonus tracks #11 & 12: from the 45 rpm
Twentieth
Century 1215
Personnel in all tracks:
Harold
Corbin, piano; Spanky DeBrest, bass; and Eddie Campbell, drums.
Recorded in
New York City, June 1961 [#1-10], Philadelphia, early 1961 [#11-12]
Roulette
recordings produced by Henry Glover
20th Century
single produced & engineered by
Irvin Ballen
(Gotham Records)
Cover photo:
Chuck Stewart
Design:
Moskoff & Morrison Assoc.
This CD
release produced by Jordi Pujol
Stereo /
Hi-Fi · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered