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James
Leary- James II
Release
Date: 1992
James Leary/Bass,
Eddie Harris/Vocal & Sax, Billy Childs/Piano, Ralph Penland/Drums
1. Joshua 
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2. Have You Met Miss Jones?
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3. A Flower is a Lonesome Thing
4.
Seven Steps To Heaven
5. Spiral
6. Laugh, Laugh Again
7. Oleo
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8.
Hold My Hand
Review
I
am very fortunate to own this CD. This is a sentimental
favorite; the difficulty in obtaining this CD enhances
its preciousness. This CD is put out by VTL, aka Vacuum
Tube Logic of America, an audiophile company specializing
in manufacturing high quality audio pre- and power amplifiers.
It does not usually make CDs. But in order to fulfill
its buyers' satisfaction with its equipment, in 1992,
VTL put out a set of 12 CDs, each recorded by a prominent
jazz, blues or classical artist while coated in the
ambiance of an audiophile recording. I first heard some
of these amazing CDs at my uncle's home in Los Angeles.
During the listening session, I was most impressed by
James Leary's second CD, simply entitled "James
II" by the company. I asked my uncle where he got
the CDs and he told me the VTL owner gave them to him.
Jealous,
I went to my computer and typed in "James Leary"
in eBay.
I
saw a completed copy which nobody bought. And the bid
price was only $1.00. So I e-mailed the seller and said
I would buy the CD for $2.00 He never replied. Fortunately,
the same item was on bid again and I finally bought
the damn thing for $1.00. It was a good deal and I was
happy.
Aside
from the Freudian adventure, the CD itself is a blast.
The sound is of course wonderful. Leary plays with a
dedicate heart, paying tribute to Rodgers & Hart
(Miss Jones), Miles Davis (7 Steps), Coltrane (Spiral)
and Sonny Rollins (Oleo). His own compositions are
less successful but certainly worth a try. The first
song "Joshua" sets the tone for this lush,
classy album which is rare and hard to find.
Also
what's a bonus is that Leary invites Eddie Harris,
the legendary saxophone player and free jazz artist
who has been missed by the jazz world in decades. He
comes back and joins the quartet in full throttle, demonstrating
greatly his straight-ahead ability. If you have other
VTL CDs, please e-mail or call me and share your experience
in how you obtained them. I'm sure we'll spend a day
talking on the telephone.
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