Sparks! cover

Sparks!

Released

Texan guitarist Melvin Sparks made three albums for Prestige Records in the early 70s. Sparks was the first and maybe the funkiest, with drum warrior Idris Muhammad providing a solid but agile rhythmic backbone to four funk jazz tracks and one deftly swinging soul-jazz track, I Didn’t Know What Time It Was. The choice of material — pop songs Spill The Wine and Charlie Brown along with Rodgers and Harts’ I Didn’t Know What Time It Was — are all given a thorough drenching in church-flavoured Hammond organ and the jazziest of funky drumming over which Sparks and his band happily exchange solos.

Harold Heath

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