Quintessence "Sonoma Rag"

Hey everyone, I’ve had this one ready for awhile and keep thinking I’ll have time to do a little write up to accompany the post but I don’t think it’s gonna happen. I’ve been way too busy burning the candle at both ends trying to get this little coffee shop I’m trying to open off the ground. Anyways, the review below is complements of O-dub AKA Oliver Wang. Hope you all enjoy this rare slice of private press jazz.

From what I've been told (and can infer), this was put out by a jazz group in the northern part of the Bay Area (where Sonoma is located). 2/3rds of it is a fairly striaght-ahead jazz album except for two, very notable tracks. The first is "Cotati Funk" which kicks off the B-side, and starts off with a simple bassline and then drummer Ken Ilusorio drops the beat hammer and the songs swings into one helluva soul-jazz smash, practically eight minutes of non-stop illistics. This is followed by another killer groove, "Salsa de Santa Rosa" which is more uptempo, adds in some Afro-Latin flavor and some swinging horn melodies. S.F.'s Luv N' Haight was wise to this LP back in the day and put out both cuts on two different compilations in the early '90s. The album itself though came out on a small independent label so it's a tough one to track down.



Billy Browning – Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax, Flute
Frederick Coleman – Trumpet, Fluglehorn
Joe Kennedy – Piano
John Goodman – Bass
Ken Ilusorio – Percussion

Wish me luck with the coffe shop. I'll be back when the time presents itself.

Peace........................Dr. Fever