Howard Roberts: The Real Howard Roberts

AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow

Most of guitarist Howard Roberts' recordings through the years (particularly a long string for Capitol in the 1960s) were quite commercial, featuring brief versions of current pop tunes. A versatile studio player, Roberts finally had an opportunity in 1977 to record some no-nonsense, straight-ahead jazz. This set (reissued on CD) matches Roberts in a quartet with pianist Ross Tompkins, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Jimmie Smith playing some standards (including Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance," "Gone With the Wind," and "Angel Eyes"), Michael Franks' "Lady Wants to Know," and Brown's "Parking Lot Blues." This is one of the few examples of Howard Roberts showing what a strong jazz player he could be.

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By Amazon Customer on May 25, 2003;

Howard Roberts was well-known as an educator (he was a founder of GIT), studio musician (he clocked so many session hours as an LA studio musician that he was referred to as "The Fifth Monkey"), and as columnist for Guitar Player Magazine (Roberts and colleague Jerry Hahn practically invented the "guitar columnist" genre). One might therefore expect this to be an album of interest primarily to aficionados of jazz guitar. In fact, The Real Howard Roberts is as accessible as any jazz album ever recorded. Even so, Roberts' consummate musicianship is everywhere in evidence. Recorded in a single August day in Hollywood in 1977, Roberts leads a tight quartet (with the late great Ray Brown on bass) through pop tunes (a stunning version of Michael Franks' "Lady Wants to Know"), standards ("Darn that Dream", "Gone with the Wind") and jazz classics ("Dolphin Dance"). There is real virtuosity on display in each cut. If you're curious about Roberts, this is the place to begin. And be prepared to enjoy every last minute...

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Tracklist:
01.Dolphin Dance (Herbie Hancock)...(00:00) 02.Darn That Dream (James Van Heusen)...(05:29) 03.Lady Wants To Know (Michael Franks)...(10:25) 04.Parking Lot Blues (Ray Brown)...(14:26) 05.Gone With The Wind (H.Magidson/A.Wrubel)...(20:15) 06.Serenata (Leroy Anderson)...(25:47) 07.Angel Eyes (E.Brent/M.Dennis)...(31:48).



____ Personnel: 1.Howard Roberts - guitar 2.Ross Tompkins - piano 3.Ray Brown - bass 4.Jimmie Smith - drums.

____ Recorded: at Sunwest Recording Studios,Hollywood,C.A;August 26,1977.
Label:Concord Jazz – CJ-53