Billy Hawks
played the organ and sang the blues -- a combination that in the late '60s, when
Hawks
recorded and released
The New Genius of the Blues
and
More Heavy Soul!
for
Prestige
, meant that he was most certainly a practitioner of soul-jazz. Working in a similar vein to
Jimmy Smith
,
Jimmy McGriff
, and other funky professors of the Hammond organ,
didn't play straight-up jazz on either of his
LPs, here captured on a single-disc 2014 reissue by
Ace
. For one thing, he sang, a choice that positions his recordings much closer to R&B than jazz. Clearly,
Ray Charles
made an impression on
-- "I Got a Woman" shows up on
New Genius
, "Drown in My Own Tears" on
-- but with his intimate trio (on
, he's supported by guitarist
Joseph Jones
and drummer
Henry Terrell
; on
by,
Maynard Parker
sits in for
Jones
, and
Buddy Terry
is added on tenor sax), he was grittier and funkier than
Charles
was in the '60s, walking the line between mod-jazz and soul. This is especially true on
, the better of the two records because it's harder to classify. With plenty of slow-burning tempos and shouted vocals,
is heavy on the blues ("I'll Wait for You Baby" goes so far to find a place for a harmonica), but
positively swings. It's nimble and funky, a late-'60s party record through and through, an unheard classic that deserves a cult because it at once captures the spirit of its time but sounds like nothing else from that year.
is fun, but
is where
truly suggested he could live up to the promise in the title of his debut. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine