Pete York, Brian Auger & Colin Hodgkinson – Steaming (1985)

I guess, every serious fan ofRock & Jazz music should know this names:

Pete York – Brian Auger – Colin Hodgkinson:

Everyone has a great career and everyone is a real important part in the history of Rock & Jazz music …use wikipedia to discover them …

A digital live recording of the trio in Freiburg, Germany, in April 1985. After their fine work the previous year with Spencer Davis, the tightness of York and Hodgkinson’s interplay on this release comes as little surprise. Auger makes for a fine third, though, with his electric piano lines wafting effortlessly over the rhythm section of “For No One.” Despite a long and loping cover of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” and a Hammond romp through a Jimmy McGriff number, the emphasis brought by Auger’s presence is on electric jazz-rock. The band even gamely covers a couple Billy Strayhorn chestnuts mid-show. Like the York/Hodgkinson concerts with Spencer Davis, though, it’s Hodgkinson’s solo bits that steal the spotlight. His sinewy “Catcote Rag” bass solo features some lovely glissando playing, and the “San Francisco Bay Blues” hearkens back to his string-shredding bass blues with Back Door. (by by Paul Collins)

In other words:

What more can I say? Listen to this exciting and rare Jazz-Rock album …

Personnel:
Brian Auger (keyboards, vocals)
Colin Hodgkinson (bass, vocals)
Pete York (drums)

Tracklist;
01. No One (Brunell) 4.40
02. Freedom Jazz Dance (Harris) 6.15
03. Catcote Rag (Hodgkinson) 3.04
04. San Francisco Bay Blues (Fuller) 3.23
05. Take the “A” Train (Strayhorn) 2.42
06. Prelude To A Kiss (Ellington/Gordon/Mills) 3.23
07. The Hawk Talk (Bellson) 3.27
08. Season Of The Witch (Leitch) 11.46
09. All About My Girl (McGriff) 6.12
10. Going Down Slow (Burnett) 5.06
11. Compared to What (McDaniels) 10.07

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More rarities from Inak Records:

Colin Hodgkinson – The Bottom Line (1998)

Colin Hodgkinson’s extraordinary talents on the bass guitar are still woefully underpublicized; his groundbreaking albums from the 1970s with Back Door, where the bass was played like a lead guitar (and was indeed the actual lead instrument), have always been difficult to find. On other albums with collaborators like Brian Auger and Spencer Davis, listeners have been teased with the occasional bass-only song. What a treat, then, to find a release that is in effect an entire album of bass solos. On songs like “32-20 Blues,” “San Francisco Bay Blues,” and “Sliding Delta” he chops his way through old blues numbers with nothing but a bass and his own voice, and the effect is startling. A few other songs, such as “Sons and Brothers and “All Blues,” are played as a trio. But, as the title indicates, it all comes down to his righteous bass riffs. This is, quite simply, an album that every bass guitarist should own. (by Paul Collins)

I’ve never heard anything like it on the electric bass. Staggering virtuosity, but completely in the service of the music. Hodgkinson plays the bass like a finger-picked guitar, but with all that wonderful rich depth and tone, which is tastefully used.
Very beautiful melodies, harmony, and fine, evocative singing. What blues is really about. (by an amazon customer)

Personnel:
Colin Hodgkinson (bass, vocals)
+
Wolfgang Norman Dalheimer (keyboards on 09. + 10.)
Frank Diez (guitar on 03.)
Wolfgang Haffner (drums bei 08. – 10.)

Tracklist:
01. 32-20 Blues (Johnson) 3.43
02. Blues For Jimmy Yancey (Hodgkinson) 2.26
03. The Black Mirror (Hodgkinson) 2.50
04. The San Francisco Bay Blues (Fuller) 4.31
05. Southpaw Rag (Hodgkinson) 2.24
06. The Sliding Delta (Hurt) 5.04
07. Jenny’s Rag (Hodgkinson) 2.50
08. Sons And Brothers (Hodgkinson) 4.40
09. Thight Lines And Screaming Reels (Hodgkinson) 6.03
10. All Blues (Davis) 8.38
11. Are You Sure? (Hodgkinson) 2.42

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York – Auger – Hodgkinson – Steaming (1985)

A digital live recording of the trio in Freiburg, Germany, in April 1985. After their fine work the previous year with Spencer Davis, the tightness of York and Hodgkinson’s interplay on this release comes as little surprise. Auger makes for a fine third, though, with his electric piano lines wafting effortlessly over the rhythm section of “For No One.” Despite a long and loping cover of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” and a Hammond romp through a Jimmy McGriff number, the emphasis brought by Auger’s presence is on electric jazz-rock. The band even gamely covers a couple Billy Strayhorn chestnuts mid-show. Like the York/Hodgkinson concerts with Spencer Davis, though, it’s Hodgkinson’s solo bits that steal the spotlight. His sinewy “Catcote Rag” bass solo features some lovely glissando playing, and the “San Francisco Bay Blues” hearkens back to his string-shredding bass blues with Back Door. (by Paul Collins)

This is a very rare album, released in Germany only and it´s a great album by three masters of the British jazz + blues – scene !

Personnel:
Brian Auger (keyboards, vocals)
Colin Hodgkinson (bass, vocals)
Pete York (drums)

Tracklist:
01. No One (Brunell) 4.41
02. Freedom Jazz Dance (Harris) 6.15
03. Catcote Rag (Hodgkinson) 3.05
04. San Francisco Bay Blues (Fuller) 3.22
05. Take The “A” Train (Strayhorn) 2.43
06. Prelude To A Kiss (Ellington/Gordon/Mills) 3.24
07. The Hawk Talk (Bellson) 3.27
08. Season Of The Witch (Leitch) 11.46
09. All About My Girl (McGriff) 6.12
10. Going Down Slow (Burnett) 5.07
11. Compared To What (McDaniels) 10.08

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