LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

At the peak of the gospel jazz phenomenon three decades ago, many leading musicians integrated the influence of black American church music into their work, in some cases with gratifying and enduring results. One of the purest expressions of the church tradition by a jazzman was in the little-known album by Gene Ammons, whose celebrated big sound and singer's phrasing made his tenor saxophone an ideal vehicle for the peace and passion carried by hymns. He is accompanied by an organ trio that could have come straight out of a Baptist church. . . or a Southside Chicago nightclub.Sweet Hour, Yield Not, Abide With Me, Blessed Assurance, The Prayer, You'll Never Walk Alone, I Believe, Precious Memories, What a Friend, Holy Holy, The Lightwith Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson, Sylvester Hickman, Dorral Anderson