The Ray Brown Trio – Soular Energy (2LPs, 45rpm, Analogue Productions)

In 1972, when pioneering jazz labels like Blue Note and Prestige had already been sold and their catalogs were merely being managed, car dealer Carl E. Jefferson founded his own record company. A few years earlier, he had already founded the Concord Jazz Festival, and now he wanted to capture his favorite musicians on vinyl. Concord Records released several outstanding musical and sonic treasures and the Ray Brown Trio’s 1985 recording, “Soular Energy,” is one of them. The recording, featuring Ray Brown, Gene Harris, and Gerryck King, has long been considered not only straightforward jazz but also an audiophile gem. For “Soular Energy,” the trio, joined by Red Holloway and Emily Remler, entered the Coast Recorders studio in San Francisco. None other than the “Father of Modern Recording,” Bill Putnam, was responsible for its creation. Outstanding musicians, a first-class studio, standards brimming with energy and verveit’s no wonder that “Soular Energy” continues to delight future generations of jazz lovers. Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio has done an exceptional job of mastering this 45 rpm double LP.