Norman Mapp - jazz ain't nothin' but soul

2012 European CD collection.

Discovered by Dinah Washington in a Harlem nightclub, Norman Mapp (1928-1988) was a singer and composer whose public renown never quite matched either his talent or the high regard in which he was held within the jazz community. That much is clear from even a cursory glance at the personnel on these fine sessions from the start of the Sixties. They include such notables as trumpeter Clark Terry, multi-reedman Seldon Powell, pianist Tommy Flanagan and drummer Dave Bailey, who do so much to showcase Mapp at his best here.

The singer wrote eight of the ten tunes on Jazz Aint Nothin But Soul, his most celebrated album, investing the music with the warmth, taste and sensitivity for which he was celebrated. Both as accompanist and as soloists, Terry, Powell and Flanagan respond inventively to the singer and the material, creating a gem of its kind.

As a bonus, three tracks from We Paid Our Dues with Seldon Powells quartet and its leaders vastly under-rated tenor in Lesterian mode, are included.