Description
Big John Patton – Let ‘Em Roll – Tone Poet 180 Gram Vinyl Record
Big John Patton’s Let ’Em Roll has the warmth and momentum of a strong organ-jazz session, along with an instrumental combination that gives it a character of its own. Patton leads on Hammond B-3, joined by Grant Green on guitar, Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone and Otis Finch on drums. The absence of a horn leaves more room for the contrast between organ, guitar and vibes: one instrument sustains, another picks out a clear line, and another lets its notes ring into the space around them. Recorded in 1965, the album brings those colors together across six performances that are grounded in groove and shaped by attentive ensemble playing.
Patton’s organ supplies much of the music’s weight, giving the quartet a full sound without a separate bass player. Green’s guitar adds a leaner, more sharply outlined voice, while Hutcherson’s vibraphone opens the texture with its bright attack and lingering resonance. Finch keeps the performances moving beneath that changing foreground. It is an especially appealing group for listeners who enjoy hearing an organ session broaden its palette: there is plenty of rhythmic drive, but there are also opportunities to follow the way the instruments overlap and answer one another. A held chord, a short guitar phrase or a ringing vibraphone figure can change the atmosphere of an entire passage.
The title track starts the album with Patton’s personality firmly in place, and “Latona” continues the first side before the group turns to “The Shadow of Your Smile.” That ballad brings a familiar melody into a setting capable of giving it considerable warmth and space. The contrast is part of the record’s appeal. The quartet can establish a strong pulse, then reveal a gentler side without losing its identity. Patton’s instrument is particularly effective at holding the harmony together while the other voices move across it, and the presence of both Green and Hutcherson means there is always another melodic or textural possibility waiting within the arrangement.
“The Turnaround,” a Hank Mobley composition, opens the second side, followed by “Jakey” and “One Step Ahead.” The program balances Patton’s own writing with outside material, offering enough variety to make the album feel like a complete session rather than a single mood prolonged. For fans of Green or Hutcherson, it is also a rewarding chance to hear those players in a supporting setting where their individual sounds remain essential to the result. The solos are part of the attraction, but so is the accompaniment around them. Listening to the whole quartet reveals how easily a blues-based groove can support subtle changes in color, emphasis and musical direction. Those exchanges give the album much of its lasting replay value.
This Blue Note Tone Poet release presents Let ’Em Roll on 180 gram vinyl, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog tapes and pressed at RTI. The album is housed in a gatefold tip-on jacket and retains the original six-track sequence. It fits naturally beside classic soul-jazz records while offering something distinctive through its organ, guitar and vibraphone front line. For a listener beginning to explore Patton’s work, the session provides a clear sense of his ability to lead through feel, tone and ensemble balance. For an established Blue Note collection, it is a satisfying meeting of recognizable musicians whose combined sound has an easy warmth and a great deal happening beneath the surface.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Side A
Let 'Em Roll
Latona
The Shadow of Your Smile
Side B
The Turnaround
Jakey
One Step Ahead
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