Walter Bishop Jr. - Part 2

Back again to continue our look into NYC keyboardist, Walter Bishop Jr. 

Immediately out of the gate, our first album shifts from the straight ahead sound we've heard so far to something closer to fusion and jazz-funk. Released as Walter Bishop Jr.'s 4th Cycle, Keeper Of My Soul was released in 1973, again on the Black Jazz Records label. 

We have a quintet on this one and joining Walter we have the great Ronnie Laws on flute and sax, Woody Murray on vibes, Gerald Brown on bass, Shakur Abdulla on percussion with Bahir Hassan on drums. 

All originals here aside from another rendition of "Summertime" and "Blue Bossa", both which feature great play from Bishop on the organ. "Soul Village", the title track and "Sweet Rosa" are all fantastic tunes. The addition of Brown on electric bass and hearing Bishop on a variety of electric keyboards is a welcomed change for me. Excellent album through and through. 

The next album I have here was released 4 years later, in 1977, on Muse Records. Soul Village might be my favorite album of the bunch. With the addition of a guitarist they've leaned into the jazz-funk/fusion sound we heard on the previous album.

Please check the link if you're interested in personnel, Randy Brecker and Steve Kahn are the only names I recognize on the list. It appears to be mostly session guys. More excellent stuff here with "Soul Turnaround", "Philadelphia Bright" (!!!) and the title track being my personal favorites. The addition of a percussionist on these last two albums adds a very nice layer to me. Another great album. 

The same year, Walter released a straight-ahead, trio album on the East Wind label. Old Folks features Sam Jones on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Nothing wrong with this record, I just prefer the electric sound from our first two albums. The opening Manha de Carnaval/Black Orpheus would be my favorite tune here. A standard I enjoy quite a bit. 

Enjoy!! I have one more post for WBJ.