Blacks and Blues

Released

It took until 1971 for Blue Note to sign a woman who specialized in playing an instrument, and not long after that for her to deliver a masterpiece. While there were excellent moments on the flautist’s first two albums for the label — 1971’s Flute In and ’72 follow-up Dig This! — Bobbi Humphrey’s first session with the Mizell Brothers behind the boards was packed with cuts that range among the best soul-jazz sides ever recorded, with her piercing, melodious yet intense soloing gracing some of the most dance-motivating backing of the label’s prime funk-fusion era. The opening one-two of the tense glide “Chicago, Damn” and the top-down breeziness of “Harlem River Drive” alone see to that, with the title cut making for a radio-ready slice of urban-pastoral uplift and the moody explorations of “Baby’s Gone” as the coup de grace.

Nate Patrin