Groovin' Blue (Remastered) Curtis Amy, Frank Butler

• 1 Gone Into It 06:14
• 2 Annsome 08:38
• 3 Bobblin' 05:23
• 4 Groovin' Blue 08:18
• 5 Beautiful You 07:40
• 6 Very Frank 01:49
• Total Runtime 38:02

Info for Groovin' Blue (Remastered)

Tenor saxophonist Curtis Amy’s second Pacific Jazz album Groovin’ Blue was a hard-swinging date co-led with drummer Frank Butler that was also one of the earliest recordings to feature vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Rounding out the band are trumpeter Carmell Jones, pianist Frank Strazzeri and bassist Jimmy Bond.

Between 1960 and 1963 Texas tenor Curtis Amy (1927-2002) made six superb albums for Dick Bocks Pacific Jazz label, three of which, Groovin Blue, Way Down, and Tippin on Through, are included here. They were part of Bocks recognition of the emergence on the West Coast scene of a more groove-based, harder swinging approach than the cooler, considered style that preceded it. He chose well. Years of semi-obscurity in L.A. dance bands and organ combos had made Amy a thoroughly seasoned, assertive and inventive player in the mould of fellow tenor, Harold Land; these Pacific albums established him as a major exponent of the new music revitalizing West Coast jazz.

For these recordings, which also showcased his considerable capacity as a writer and his sensitive way with ballads, Amy was surrounded by some of the finest young lions on the scene, creative soloists who combined soul and imagination with the ability to swing hard. Adding a timeless lustre to this consistently engaging music is the sterling work of trumpeters Carmell Jones and Marcus Belgrave, vibists Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers, pianists Frank Strazzeri, Vic Feldman and John Houston, valve trombonist Roy Brewster and outstanding rhythm section men like Frank Butler, Lawrence Marable, Jimmy Bond and George Morrow.

Curtis Amy, tenor saxophone
Frank Butler, drums
Carmell Jones, trumpet
Bobby Hutcherson, vibraphone
Frank Strazzeri, piano
Jimmy Bond, bass

Recorded December 10, 1960 and January 10, 1961 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA
Produced by Richard Bock

Digitally remastered by Kevin Gray

Curtis Amy
A good soul-jazz and hard bop tenor and soprano saxophonist, Curtis Amy enjoyed a busy period in the '60s, then dropped out of sight. He had a strong tone and nice, lightly swinging style, though he wasn't a great soloist. Amy began playing clarinet as a child, then started on tenor in an Army band. He studied music education at Kentucky State College and earned his bachelor's degree in the early '50s. After teaching school a while in Tennessee and working in Midwestern clubs, Amy moved to Los Angeles in the mid-'50s. He recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1955, then worked in the early '60s with Onzy Matthews and Roy Ayers, and performed and recorded with Gerald Wilson in 1965 and 1966. Amy led bands that featured Bobby Hutcherson, Victor Feldman, Jimmy Owens, Kenny Barron, and Ayers in the '60s, and recorded for Pacific Jazz and Verve.

This album contains no booklet.