Jazz LP BLUE NOTE 4068 BABY FACE WILLETTE Face to Face mono RVG ear W63 NYC NICE

$

80

Artist:   ‘BABY FACE’ WILLETTE

Title:   “Face to Face”

Label:   BLUE NOTE.  Monaural pressing on medium weight vinyl.  Labels are blue/white, without deep groove.  Catalog number is BLP 4068.  (1961)

Label address is “BLUE NOTE RECORDS INC * 47 WEST 63RD * NYC” on both sides. 

Label has “R” symbol under Blue Note logo.

“RVG” is stamped in the runout groove on both sides.  The Plastylite (“ear”) symbol is on both sides. 

Jacket address is as follows:  “For Complete Catalog Write to BLUE NOTE RECORDS INC., 43 West 61st St., New York 23”

Personnel:  

Clifford Brown – trumpet

Gigi Gryce - alto sax, flute (Side 1)

Lou Donaldson – alto sax (Side 2)

Charlie Rouse – tenor sax (Side 1)

John Lewis – piano (Side 1)

Elmo Hope – piano (Side 2)

Percy Heath – bass

Art Blakey – drums (Side 1)

“Philly” Joe Jones – drums (Side 2). 

Condition: 

DISC:  Vinyl is nice VG++ with full original gloss.  Has been played a small number of times and handled with care.  There are a few light paper scuffs.  There is one mark at the end of Side One that may produce some soft tics.  Side 1 label is clean and bright; Side 2 label has light staining.  A very nice playing copy.    

JACKET:   Jacket is EXCELLENT.  Front panel is clean and bright.  Excellent seams and spine.  Corners have been lightly bumped.  Reverse has some light ring wear. 

Track Listing: 

Side One: 

• Swingin’ At Sugar Ray’s
• Goin’ Down
• Whatever Lola Wants

Side Two:

• Face to Face
• Somethin’ Strange
• High ‘n Low                              

Review:

While it's true that Baby Face Willette's Stop and Listen is widely regarded as his finest recording, this, his Blue Note debut from January of 1961, should not by any means be overlooked.  After all, before this session he had the same lot as most Blue Note artists at the time; they played as sidemen on other's recordings before being allowed to headline their own dates.  Willette performed on dates by Grant Green (Grant’s First Stand) and Lou Donaldson (Here ‘Tis).  Face to Face boasts a mighty meat and potatoes soul-jazz lineup: Green on guitar, Fred Jackson on tenor, and drummer Ben Dixon.   Comprised of six cuts, five of them are Willette originals.  The evidence of the rough and rowdy side of Willette's playing is evident from the opener, "Swinging at Sugar Ray's."  His approach to the B-3 is far more percussive than Jimmy Smith's, each note is a distinct punch; not only in his solos, but in his chord and head approaches.  His solo is a nasty, knotty blues sprint that encompasses gospel licks and R&B fills, too.  The other notable thing about the cut is Green's guitar break that shows a side of him we seldom got to hear early on, where he's bending strings, playing in the high register, and using intense single-note runs.  It's nearly a breathless way to open a record.  Things slow down on the blues "Goin' Down" that features a nice emotive solo by Jackson.  The mambo-infused "Whatever Lola Wants" by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross comes next and includes some beautiful stop-and-and start moves in the melody, as well as beautiful call and response between Jackson and Willette, while Dixon's drums shift around the outside before the whole thing breaks down into a groover.  The poppin' funky title track has one of those beautiful hard bop heads that's instantly memorable.  Sure, it's not terribly sophisticated but it's full of soul and a relaxed yet quick group of changes before Jackson begins to blow.  "Somethin' Strange" is pure blues, Chicago style, before moving into tough funky soul.  The set closes with "High 'N' Low," a relaxed show-closing groove joint; it's all blues with fine contributions from Green, Jackson, and Willette.  The two alternates are not necessarily revelatory, but they do keep the solid vibes happening for another 13 minutes or so.  Certainly it's true that these compositions don't show a ton of imagination conceptually, but that doesn't mean anything.  The group interplay here is the thing, it works seamlessly.  The other notable is the looseness with which Green was playing on the date, and the true introduction of Willette's trademark approach to the B-3.  That's all here. These tunes have their own little trademark knots and notches all over them.  Highly recommended.”

(courtesy Thom Jurek, allmusic.com.)

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