Leon Spencer Jr. ''Sneak Preview!''

Leon Spencer Jr.

''Sneak Preview!''
( LP Prestige Records, 1971 )
Catalog # PR 10011
(Re-issue)

Tracklisting:
First Gravy
Sneak Preview!
Message From The Meters
5-10-15-20
Someday My Prince Will Come
The Slide

Personnel & Notes:
Virgil Jones (tp)
Grover Washington Jr. (ts)
Leon Spencer Jr. (org)
Melvin Sparks (g)
Idris Muhammad (d)
Buddy Caldwell (cga)
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 7, 1970

Read more here.

Review:
Forget the preview, because Leon Spencer is already the main attraction on this key early album for Prestige! The date may well be one of the organist's greatest -- and is a lean, mean session cut with that stretched out funky style that Prestige was really laying down at the time -- open-ended tunes that take off from the Lou Donaldson late 60s style at Blue Note, with plenty of room for all players to do their thing! Idris Muhammad plays plenty of funky drums on the record, alongside trumpet from Virgil Jones, tenor from Grover Washington Jr, and guitar from Melvin Sparks -- plus some kicking conga at the bottom from Buddy Caldwell. Spencer's sound on the Hammond is full and mighty -- burning up from the get-go with a round, wall of sound sort of approach. The vibe is quite similar to Melvin Sparks' albums from the same time for Prestige -- and titles include "The Slide", "Sneak Preview", "Message From the Meters", and "First Gravy".
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By Andy