Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXVIII & XXIX)

 Eldee Young & Co. - Just For Kicks

An early solo album cut by Eldee Young, back in the days when he was Ramsey Lewis' bassist, and before he formed the Young-Holt trio. The record's a good example of the strong humor that Eldee would later display in the Young-Holt group, and it's got a great batch of groovy tracks that have a tight soulful sound, with lots of nice tricks and surprises. The group includes Leo Wright, Mal Waldron, Redd Holt, and Richard Evans, who plays bass on some tracks while Eldee picks up the cello. The album's got a great version of Oscar Brown's "Mr. Kicks", plus the tracks "Just For Kicks", "Truly", "Big Brother", and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", done in a very groovy way! *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Red Holt - Look Out!! Look Out!!

Red Holt led this album for Arco in December 1961. It's essentially the Ramsey Lewis Trio (Lewis on piano, Eldee Young on bass and Holt on drums) with a guitarist named Roland Faulkner backing Floyd Marvin on trombone and Wallace Burton on alto sax.

The music is straight ahead jazz with 1960s pop interwoven — a format that Ramsey Lewis perfected — with an easy swing that is more like the West Coast variant of jazz that was popular during that era than the Chicago flavored music that this really is.

Most of the tracks are typical standards, but the inclusion of "Ghost Riders" is interesting. That was a popular song with country and western connotations that had been covered by a number of groups and vocalists. It seems to have been inserted into the mix for popular appeal. Another interesting track is "Sanctified Indian" that sounds suspiciously like Wilbur de Paris' 1958 recording titled "In A Persian Market" (it's a 1920 composition by Albert William Ketelbey).

Overall this is a foot tapping album that is easy to listen to without having to concentrate on the music to enjoy. In that respect it is atypical of most jazz, but it still swings and does not cross over into gratuitous pop. Kudos to the producer for that. *Mike Tarrani*

Eldee Young & Co. - Just For Kicks

And

Red Holt - Look Out!! Look Out!!

Bassist Eldee Young and drummer Issac Red Holt were founding members of the hugely successful Ramsey Lewis Trio in 1956, and made their first sessions as leaders with the two fine albums included here.

Recorded in Chicago in December 1961, they feature two warmly delivered sets of originals and standards. As he shows in Just for Kicks, Young was a competent bassist, direct and forceful, with a pleasing flair for lighthearted drama. This dates prime musical asset is, perhaps, altoist and flutist Leo Wright, who plays well throughout, and stunningly (on alto) on "Cry Me a River". Young also plays soul cello on several numbers, providing moments of real beauty as flute and cello blend. Under the blunderbuss performances of Young and Wright, pianist Mal Waldron keeps much of his work simple and basic, always to the point.

On Holts Look Out!! Look Out!! the Ramsey Lewis trio is intact, augmented by the almost barrel-house trombonist Floyd Marvin on "Ghost Riders", and by altoist Wallace Burton and guitarist Roland Faulkner on the rest of the album, excluding both drum-and-bass Look Out tunes. Burton shows flawless intonation and instinctively good phrasing, while Faulkner is strongly blues-rooted on a session swung hard by the rhythm section, with Ramsey Lewis adding his solo strength consistently to the mix. *Jordi Pujol*

1 - When Johnny Comes Marching Home

(Patrick Gilmore)

2 - Goodbye

(Gordon Jenkins)

3 - Crazy She Calls Me

(Russell, Sigman)

4 - Big Brother

(Eldee Young)

5 - Cry Me A River

(Arthur Hamilton)

6 - Truly

(Eldee Young)

7 - Mr. Kicks

(Oscar Brown, Jr.)

8 - Motherless Child

(Trad. Arr. Eldee Young)

9 - Just For Kicks

(Eldee Young)

10 - John Henry

(Trad. Arr. Eldee Young)

11 - Look Out No. 3

(Red Holt)

12 - Little Liza Jane

(Trad. arr.: Redd Holt)

13 - My Favorite Things

(Rodgers, Hammerstein II)

14 - Red Sails In the Sunset

(Kennedy, Williams)

15 - Drum Drunk

(Red Holt)

16 - Soul Mist

(Holt, Lewis, Young)

17 - Ghost Riders

(Edward J. Kay)

18 - Stella by Starlight

(Young, Washington)

19 - Sanctified Indian

(Red Holt)

20 - I Cover the Waterfront

(Green, Heyman)

21 - Tonight

(Leonard Bernstein)

22 - Look Out No. 1

(Red Holt)

#1 to #10: from the album Just For Kicks (Argo LPS 699)

Leo Wright (alto sax, flute), Mal Waldron (piano), 

Eldee Young (bass [#1 to #5], cello [#6 to #10], vocals [#7]),

Richard Evans (bass [#6 to #10]), Issac "Red" Holt (drums).

Recorded at Ter-Mar Recording Studio, Chicago, Illinois, December 28, 1961

#11 to #22: from the album Look Out!! Look Out!! (Argo LPS 696)

Floyd Marvin (trombone), Wallace Burton (alto sax), Ramsey Lewis (piano),

Roland Faulkner (guitar), Eldee Young (bass), Issac "Red" Holt (drums).

Recorded at Ter-Mar Recording Studio, Chicago, Illinois, December, 1961