2xLPLP
£14.99 GBP £19.99

Ronnie Mathews' first session as a leader appeared in the jazz racks in the '60s, it would have been logical to assume that he was providing funky, down-home, R&B-drenched soul-jazz. Doin' the Thang sounds like the title of a soul-jazz release; also, one of the tracks is titled "Let's Get Down." And when jazz improvisers used that much African-American slang in the '60s, it often meant that they were going after the soul-jazz/organ combo market (which was relatively lucrative at a time when commercially, jazz had lost a lot of ground to rock and R&B).

But this 1963 session is more than soul-jazz. Rather, the LP's focus is modal post-bop and hard bop. But even though the material isn't soul-jazz, Mathews' quintet is certainly soulful. That is true on "The Thang" (a blues) as well as two Asian-influenced post-bop offerings that Mathews wrote: "The Orient" and "Ichi-Ban."

There's no shortage of soulfulness on the acoustic pianist's interpretation of Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss." The cohesive, hard-swinging quintet that Mathews leads on this LP employs Charles Davis on baritone sax, Eddie Kahn on bass, Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums, and a young Freddie Hubbard on trumpet. Hubbard, who was only 25, brings not only fire, guts, and passion, but also a big, highly appealing tone. One that owed a lot to Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro, but still quite distinct and original.

With Doin' the Thang, Mathews' recording career as a leader was off to an impressive start.

Tracklisting

  • The Thang
  • Ihci Ban
  • The Orient
  • Let's Get Down
  • Prelude To A Kiss
  • 1239-A
No Singles
£17.99 GBP
Nirvana
£25.99 GBP
Come Away With ESG
£19.99 GBP
Chutes Too Narrow
£19.99 GBP
Thirteen
£18.99 GBP
Blue Banisters
£34.99 GBP
Citizen Of Glass
£24.99 GBP
Wild Mood Swings
£28.99 GBP
Harry Pussy
£15.99 GBP
Liquid Skin
£21.99 GBP
The Age Of Quarrel
£28.99 GBP
The Dragon Flies Away
£14.99 GBP £21.99
We (Picture Disc)
£19.99 GBP
Choose Life
£14.99 GBP £21.99
Gulp!
£19.99 GBP
Angel
£14.99 GBP £21.99
Private Sector
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Drecksound
£14.99 GBP £21.99
(Self-Titled)
£14.99 GBP
Is It?
From £14.99 GBP £24.99
Death of a Cheerleader
£14.99 GBP £22.99
Surrender
£14.99 GBP £21.99
Screamadelica
£27.99 GBP
Young Hearts
£27.99 GBP
Lisbon
£27.99 GBP
Beneath The Eyrie
£14.99 GBP £24.99
ÁTTA
£22.99 GBP £34.99
The Undertones
£17.99 GBP £24.99
Strawberries
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Call The Comet
£14.99 GBP £24.99
Fever Dreams Pts. 1 - 4
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Nevermind
£27.99 GBP
Cartwheel
£23.99 GBP
KOKORO
£21.99 GBP