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...Now usually as soon as the last chourus is blown, performances like these will fade away except, of course, from the memory of the participants. But Wahington D.C. based trumpeter, Allen Houser, has searched his archives to find eight excellent performances by sundry groups he has worked with in the seventies and eighties. He's the only constant from track to track with tenor saxophonist Buck Hill,the biggest name here, on two tracks. Valve trombonist Bob Balthis is on four, and tenor saxophonist Joe Clark on three. The rhythm section changes over completely with each of the five groups represented. And the venues include a bar, a church hall, an auditorium as well as Balthis's basement and Houser's attic. But, the quality of the music is constant. The sound, while not up to audiophile quality, is far better than most bootlegs I've heard, as good as low-budget on-location recordings can be. The final three tracks featuring a quartet of Clark and Houser, with Reggie Johnson on bass and Jimmy Johnson on drums has the clearest sound, and some of the most adventurous music. A must for aficionados of D.C. jazz and highly recommended to all lovers of regional sounds. David Dupont - Cadence Magazine 1995 Culled from informal sessions taped by veteran trumpter Allen Houser, 1970-1980, Looking Back provides powerful testimony to the vitality of the kind of straight-from-the-gut playing that's always percolated just beyond the bounds of the music biz....It's often raw and rough-and-tumble, but that's exactly what jazz used to wear as a badge of honor. Yeah! Chuck Berg - JazzTimes April 1995 ***THE VENUES & GROUPS*** 1974: The Rogue & Jar - The Allen Houser Quintet "Four" Allen Houser - Trumpet Buck Hill - Tenor Saxophone Rueben Brown - Electric Piano Marshall Hawkins - Bass Harold Chavis - Drums 1985: Baird Auditorium - The Allen Houser Quintet "Monk's Mood" Allen Houser - Trumpet Bob Balthis - Valve Trombone Bob Butta - Piano Steve Bernstien - Bass Bob Willis Jones - Drums 1977: Bob Balthis's Basement - The Allen Houser Sextet "Dizzy Atmosphere" Allen Houser - Trumpet Buck Hill - Tenor Saxophone Bob Balthis - Valve Trombne Vince Genova - Piano Steve Novosesl - Bass Mike Smith - Drums 1970: St. Margaret'Church - The Julio Miranda Sextet "Song for My Father" "Our Day Will Come" Julio Miranda - Conga Drums Allen Houser - Trumpet Bob Balthis - Valve Trombone Malcom (Professor) Colbert - Piano Jerome Gaskins - Baby Bass George Dansie - Timbales 1979: Houser's Attic - The Joe Clark Quartet "Doxy" "Blues for Philly Joe" "Peace" Joe Clark - Tenor Saxophone Allen Houser - Trumpet Reggie Johnson - Acoustic Bass Jimmy (Jihimmini) Johnson - Drums Check out the artist's website: http://cdbaby.com/cd/ahouser/2 Track List: 1. Four 2. Monk's Mood 3. Dizzy Atmosphere 4. Song for My Father 5. Our Day Will Come 6. Doxy 7. Blues for Phlly Joe 8. Peace Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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