A year ago I began a series of interviews with area musicians who released their own albums. These very limited private press editions often fetch outrageous prices on the collectors’ market. Fortunately, select record companies have tapped these sometimes neglected resources for affordable reissues. Here are some suggestions for your local music fan’s holiday tote bag:
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The Best of Hilton Felton (Jazzman).
Kevin Coombe, who documents local music history on DC Soul, recommends this reissue of funky jazz from the early 1970s work of a long-time Washington favorite. Felton recorded a few dozen albums during his lifetime and acted as musical director of theatrical works like like the touring production of Five Guys Named Moe. Even if the name doesn’t sound familiar, you may well have heard Felton, who died in 2007, on your way to Tower Records on Pennsylvania Avenue back in the day; for years, he was the house pianist at Kinkead’s. Felton’s original records fetch hundreds of dollars, so this is a great way to learn about this local legend. The Jazzman label has also reissued George Smallwood’s 1980 album Just 4 You—see below for more from the Hyattsville crooner.
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Danny Gatton — Redneck Jazz (NRG Records)
Lauded in Guitar magazine and Rolling Stone, Gatton is best known to guitar circles and old-timers. In my September piece on Gatton and the Anacostia Delta tribute project, I wrote that, “Gatton released the album Redneck Jazz in 1978 on the NRG label, run by his mother-manager Norma Gatton. The album is a great example of both Gatton’s proficiency and of why he never made it big. The frenetic rockabilly/western swinger “Truck Drivin’ Romance,” with vocals by local rockabilly revivalist Evan Johns, opens the album with fantastic Gatton solos and fills on banjo, pedal steel, and a regular Les Paul guitar. The title track has more blistering solos, which doesn’t seem fair to be called either redneck or jazz, and that was part of the issue. Gatton could play anything, but what did you call what he played?” A CD reissue of the original album with extra tracks is available at various online sources but keep it local and pick it up at Joe’s Record Paradise, whose bins of albums by local artists include more than a few obscure private press releases.
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George Smallwood, Loser (PPU).
People’s Potential Limited has championed George Smallwood over the years, releasing various 45s and 12″ singles and even a performance video of the Hyattsville soul man. This latest release taps live recordings Smallwood has made since the 1970s on a cassette recorder issued by the National Library Service for the Blind. Smallwood performs originals like “Touching Is My Thing” and cover versions with his own original spin. PPU is celebrating the launch of its new website, so you can take 30 percent off everything on the site with a discount code. All proceeds go to the artist. Read my interview with George Smallwood here.
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Wicked Witch — Chaos: 1978-86 (Em Records)
This collection gathers late ’70s and early ’80s recordings led by Rick Simms, aka Wicked Witch. Simms and his group played an intense, unique blend of prog rock, hard funk, and jazz. Forced Exposure, which distributes the reissue, describes it as, “An evil mass of machine-funk with lashings of rhythm and blues and fusion delivered direct from the heart of the Witch, a misunderstood psycho-genius weaving his solo web deep within the dark studio walls.” Read my interview with Wicket Witch drummer Pastor Virgil Roberts here.
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Thesda — Spaced Out (Left Ear Records)
The mastermind of one-time Assistant Postmaster General Eugene Hagburg, original copies of this album go for $825. Fortunately, Australian record company is planning an officially licensed vinyl reissue. The album isn’t due out until January, but call it a procrastinator’s Christmas present. Read my interview with Hagburg here.
