Awareness is Buddy Terry’s first album for Mainstream Records out of the three he recorded for Bob Shad’s label. This is pure undiluted spiritual jazz both deep and funky. Prior to that Terry had recorded a couple of soul jazz albums for Prestige Record, “Electric Soul” in 1967 and “Natural Soul” in 1968. He then went under the radar until the recording of this album, an undisputed buried treasure Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue.
1971 saw him picked up by the ever active Bob Shad who had just decided to produce a new crop of young jazzmen in tune with the sonic revolution of the time with John coltrane’s Eastern influences and Miles Davis’ experiments drawned from the music Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.
Awareness is a pure result of this incredible blend which saw labels like Black Jazz or Strata East transform jazz into a hip and cool genre adorned by the Woodstock generation. Featuring a glittering line up composed of Strata East co-founder Stanley Cowell on piano and Rhodes, Cecil Bridgewater on Trumpet, Buster Williams and Victor Gaskin on bass, Roland Prince on guitar, Mickey Roker on drums and a young Mtume on percussion.
Together they play a superb mix of deep and funky jazz in the best tradition of the genre. Both hypnotic (Kamili) and funky (check Cowell signature tune Abscretions), the album is a pure delight graced by Shad’s tight production values. It will ravish all lovers of early 70s spiritual jazz.
Buddy Terry recorded another two great albums for Mainstream and played on Art Blakey superb Child’s Dance from 1972 gracing the record with his wonderful soprano sax playing. A great player worth (re)discovering. This release will be augmented by never-seen session photos by Raymond Ross as two CD bonuses in the form of two single versions of “Babylon” and “Stealin’ Gold” well as new liner notes by French journalist Jacques Denis (Liberation/Superfly
