Twisting The Jug - Gene Ammons

 

Born To Be Blue

Twisting The Jug

Gene Ammons

With Joe Newman & Jack McDuff

Supervision: Esmond Edwards

Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder

Recorded November 28, 1961

Prestige 7238

Gene Ammons - Tenor Sax

Joe Newman - Trumpet

Jack McDuff - Organ

Wendell Perkins - Bass

Walter Perkins - Drums

Ray Barretto - Conga

From the back cover: Don't let the title Twisting The Jug scare you. This is not one of those teen-age party albums consisting of twelve non-melodic, hard swinging(?), twang ridden, noisy, tunes. True, you can twist to this album, but this is mainly a good jazz album. The twist, as I am sure you all know, has come to great prominence within the last year or so. I believe that this dance has sold more phonograph records in a short period of time than any other dance. To say the least, it has helped everybody in the music business, from the artists, to the publishers, and to the record companies themselves. Another great asset of this dance is that it is readily compatible to jazz, as you shall hear within. It might be of little note, that Gene Ammons made an album in 1959 for Prestige called the Twister (PRLP 7176). However, most music lovers today give the credit for this dance to a young Rock And Roll singer from Philadelphia. In any event, Ammons is a Twister, and in fact a good one.

Perhaps a mistake was made in titling this album. It might have been called Twisting Marathon, or How To Loose Twenty Pounds In Seven Minutes, or maybe Dr. Ammons New Cure For Stiff Backs. Being an old fan of the twist myself, I find this album, and in particular the title tune to be one of the most substantial twists ever conceived. To say the least, it swings. – Elliot F. Mazer

From Billboard - March 23, 1960: Gene Ammons, the tenor sax star currently on top with the bossa nova LP, teams with organist Jack McDuff and trumpeter Joe Newman for a swinging set that could get stiff jazz, r&b and pop action. The album features solid tenor sax and organ duets with that walking, rocking tempo that's become so popular. "Twisting The Jug," "Moten Swing" and "Stormy Monday Blues" are solid tracks.

Twisting The Jug

Born To Be Blue

Satin Doll

Moten Swing

Stormy Monday Blues

Down The Line