One of the stalwarts of the LA studio scene, guitarist Phil Upchurch (b 1941) still plays once in awhile at the local clubs like The Baked Potato, making his n ame on countless sessions for artists like Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and George Benson.
Here, he taps into his inner Chitlin’ Circuit for some party attitudes on organ groovedmaterial with Cornell Muldrown-Howard Whaley/org, David Brooks/ts, Mack Johnson/tp and Joe H adrick/dr. The focus is on creating music for the latest dance crazes (tis is 1961, after all), there are deep rivulets for songs like”The Twist” “The Fly”, “The Swim”, and “The Mambo”. The big hit of the Dovell’s, “ You Can’t Sit Down”, is stretched out over two parts, and a version of the doo wop classic “Running Bear” is simply a hoot. This album is not for the Kenny G crowd-if you’re not on the dance floor with someone, or cruising on the highway 10 miles per hour faster than you should, you’re not getting it.