Red Prysock - Cryin' My Heart Out

Side 1

1. Wiggles

2. Cryin' My Heart Out

3. Jump For George

4. Hard Rock

5. The Hammer

6. Jackpot

7. Rock The House

8. 125th Street Sunrise

Side 2

1. Body And Soul

2. Red Speaks

3. Hey There

4. Short Circuit

5. Finger Tips

6. Head Snappin'

7. Teenage Rock

8. Paquino Walk

“Red Prysock is a tenor man who swims smack-dab in the mainstream of jazz. By mainstream I mean that belly part of the water where many years ago you could find Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Herschel Evans, Vido Musso and literally hundreds of musicians who surrounded the melodic line with their big, fat tones and pronounced vibratos and honked unashamedly with passion and muscle.”

- Lou Sidran

Wilbert “Red” Prysock started playing the saxophone around 1943. His favourite players during that period were Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Lester Young, Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon. From 1944 to 1947 he served in the armed forces. On his return to civilian life he became a professional musician when he was discovered by Tiny Grimes. He played with the Grimes band on sessions for Atlantic and Gotham, before joining Roy Milton for a very brief spell in 1950.

However it was Red’s spell with the Tiny Bradshaw band through 1951 and 1952 which really brought him to the attention of honk fans. He played on frantic numbers like “Bradshaw Boogie” and “The Train Kept A Rollin’” and in October 1952 he was playing lead on his own composition, the big instrumental hit “Soft”. He recorded one more session with Bradshaw before moving on (being replaced by Sil Austin) in early 1953 to the Cootie Williams orchestra.

In March 1954 Red was leading his own band at his first session for Mercury. Red went on to great success with the company with whom he stayed until 1961, releasing 5 LPs and numerous singles including his big hit “Hand Clappin’”. His muscular style was highly suited to the emerging rock and roll music. He recorded a blistering number called “Rock’n Roll” in January 1955 and played live dates as a member of the Alan Freed Rock and Roll Orchestra.

The tracks on side A (tracks 1-8) of this 1983 compilation were recorded for Bobby Robinson’s Red Robin label. Tracks 1-6 were Red’s first recordings as a bandleader made in January 1952 while he was still with the Bradshaw outfit. “Cryin’ My Heart Out” is the only slow track from this session, the rest being rousing swingers. “The Hammer” is a particularly torrid performance. Tracks 7 and 8 are unreleased tracks from a 1953 Tiny Grimes session. “Rock The House” sounds like a rehearsal track with the band vocals rendered almost inaudible in the mix.

All the tracks on side B were recorded for Mercury, ranging from the first session in March 1954 (“Body and Soul”) to January 1957 (“Head Snappin’”). “Body and Soul” and “Hey There” are good ballad performances. The rest of the tracks are wild blasters which will please all you honk fans out there.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

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