Unity (studio album) by Larry Young

From Jboy56 10/17/2022 06:45

Hard hardbop

From OldToad 02/22/2019 08:00

I first came upon Larry Young by way of Charlie Hunter, the virtuoso guitarist with a very organ-like sound; there was an interview in Guitar Player or somewhere, Hunter sounded like he worshiped at Young's feet. At one point, talking about quartal harmony or something, he said something like "If it's good enough for Larry Young, it's good enough for me."

This is certainly one of the great jazz organ albums of all time, you can't even argue that. Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson are obviously great players, but one of the highlights of this album is the second tune, where they lay out and it's just a Larry Young and Elvin Jones duet. Young is such an incredible player, spraying melodies everywhere. White water rafting in the form of music.

From Fischman 01/12/2018 22:36

This is fusion before there was fusion. What's more, Larry's organ playing foreshadows progressive rock greats like Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Great jazz/rock music all around. Inventive, harmonic, and still swinging, thanks to the amazing Elvin Jones on drums. Having the likes of Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson on the front line also elevates the adventurousness level and gives the album additional bite. A classic in multiple genres!

Cool little jazz album from Larry Young. Brilliant musicianship, as you would expect, help to make this a perfect chill out jazz album.