The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – East-West (1966)

“East-West is the second album by The Butterfield Blues Band, released in 1966 on Elektra Records, EKS 7315 in stereo, EKL 315 in mono. It was recorded at the famed Chess Studios on 2120 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. It peaked at #65 on the Billboard pop albums chart, but is regarded as highly influential by rock and blues music historians. Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player and singer. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his native Chicago, where he met Muddy Waters and other blues greats, who provided encouragement and opportunities for him to join in jam sessions. … In 1963, he formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which recorded several successful albums and were popular on the late-1960s concert and festival circuit, with performances at the Fillmore West, in San Francisco; the Fillmore East, in New York City; the Monterey Pop Festival; and Woodstock. … Both panels noted his harmonica skills and his contributions to bringing blues music to a younger and broader audience. Like the band’s record debut, this album features traditional blues covers and the guitar work of Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop. Unlike the band’s debut album, Bishop also contributed guitar solos; drummer Sam Lay had left the band due to illness to be replaced by the more jazz-oriented Billy Davenport. The social complexion of the band changed as well; ruled by Butterfield in the beginning, it evolved into more of a democracy both in terms of financial reward and input into repertoire. One result was the inclusion of two all-instrumental extended jams at the instigation of Bloomfield following the group’s successful appearance at The Fillmore in San Francisco during March alongside Jefferson Airplane. Both reflected his love of jazz, as ‘Work Song’ had become a hard bop standard, and the title track ‘East-West’ used elements of modal jazz as introduced by Miles Davis on his ground-breaking Kind of Blue album. Bloomfield had become enamored of work by John Coltrane in that area, especially his incorporation of ideas from Indian raga music. The album also included Michael Nesmith’s song ‘Mary, Mary,’ which Nesmith would soon record with his band The Monkees – although original pressings of East-West did not include a songwriter’s credit for this track. …”
The Turntable Jukebox (Video)
W – East-West
amazon
YouTube: EAST WEST (FULL ALBUM)