Freddie McCoy ”Spider Man”

Freddie McCoy

”Spider Man”
( LP Prestige Records, 1965 )
Catalog # PR 7444

Tracklisting:
That’s All
Hav’ Mercy
Speak Out Deagan
Yesterdays
The Girl From Ipanema
Spider Man

Personnel & Notes:
Freddie McCoy (vib)
Charles L. Wilson (p)
Steve Davis (b)
Rudy Lawless (d)
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 6, 1965

Biography:
Soul-jazz vibraphonist Freddie McCoy was never a hit with the critics, spending most of his time laying down coolly funky grooves and covering contemporary R&B and pop tunes (or doing original material in a similarly accessible vein). However, his albums later became underground collector’s items among acid jazz and rare-groove enthusiasts. McCoy started out with Johnny “Hammond” Smith in 1961, then signed with Prestige and cut his first album, Lonely Avenue, in 1963. Over the next five years, McCoy cut seven albums for the label, highlighted by 1965’s Spider Man, 1967’s Beans and Greens, and 1968’s Listen Here. His groups usually featured pianist/organist Joanne Brackeen, in some of her first work after temporarily retiring to raise her family. McCoy later recorded for the small Buddah subsidiary Cobblestone, debuting with Gimme Some!, a circa-1971 jazz-funk session featuring some trippy electric piano work. However, the label was short-lived, and McCoy disappeared from jazz after its demise.
By Steve Huey (AMG)

Other info here.

Review:
A striking little set from vibesman Freddie McCoy — not just for the cool superhero image on the front cover, but also for the tight grooves underneath! The album’s one of McCoy’s most unified for Prestige — as all tracks feature a core quartet with Freddie on vibes, Charlie Wilson on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Rudy Lawless on drums — not your usual Prestige players, and all musicians who really make the album sparkle! There’s a bold soul jazz vibe running through the set — similar to some of Freddie’s other work, but a bit more open too — and titles include a groovy take on “Girl From Ipanema”, plus the soul jazz classics “Speak Out, Deagan!” and “Hav’ Mercy” — as well as the cuts “Yesterdays” and “Spider Man”.
© 1996-2009, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Cover here.

Courtesy of Lee