Leon Spencer Jr. was and remains one of my favorite organists. In the early 1970s, he was part of Prestige's stable of soul-jazz musicians who recorded relentlessly as leaders and sidemen on other artists' albums for the label. One of my first jazz albums purchased, in 1971, was Spencer's Louisiana Slim. Backing Spencer are Virgil Jones (tp) Grover Washington, Jr. (ts, flute), Melvin Sparks (g) Idris Muhammad (d) and Buddy Caldwell (congas)—the classic Prestige organ-jazz lineup at the time. Bob Porter produced and the engineer was Rudy Van Gelder.
The album is absolutely perfect. The tracks are Louisiana Slim, Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), (They Long to Be) Close to You, Our Love Will Never Die and The Trouble With Love. After all these years, I still love this record and now I'm passing it on to you.
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