Jack Wilkins – Windows LP Wewantsounds (UK)

2019 repress. Wewantsounds present the first ever reissue Jack Wilkins’s highly sought-after Mainstream Records album Windows, originally released in 1973. Produced by Bob Shad, the album, which is on many want-lists, is especially cult for his rendition of Freddie Hubbard’s classic “Red Clay”, notably sampled by A Tribe Called Quest (on “Sucka Nigga”) and Chance The Rapper. Recorded in 1973 at New York’s Record Plant, this superb session sees guitarist Jack Wilkins in a trio setting accompanied by Mike Moore on bass and young seasoned west coast drummer Bill Goodwin (Gabor Szabo, Gary Burton, Paul Horn, Tom Waits). Together, the trio plays mix of classics including John Coltrane’s “Naima”, Wayne Shorter’s “Pinocchio”, and Chick Corea’s “Windows”, showcasing their instant rapport. Jack Wilkins is an underrated guitarist; he’s accompanied such stars as Stanley Turrentine, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, and Sammy Davis Jr. but he has remained more of a musician’s musician. Windows has reached cult status for the fact that its slow funk version of Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” has been sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for “Sucka Nigga” from their masterpiece Midnight Marauders (1993). ATCQ’s jazz samples have always garnered a huge amount of attention from DJs and hip-hop fans and this one has had an instant effect on Windows’s popularity, making it one of the most sought-after albums released on Mainstream. Chance the Rapper has also sampled “Red Clay”, in the song “Nana” which featured on his second mixtape, Acid Rap (2013). This reissue is thus a great opportunity to (re)discover a great guitarist. Comes in gatefold sleeve featuring never-seen session photos and new liner notes by leading UK journalist, Kevin Le Gendre (Jazzwise, Echoes, BBC’s Jazz Line Up).