OLIVER SAIN – Main Man

Description

After many hours I spent among high society buggers at clean mansion parties lately it is time to go back to the streets and crawl through some nasty gin palaces for the real stuff, the dirty, the hot blooded and unrestrained grooves and striking melodies. And so we end up in some hell hole of a backstreet barroom where half dressed beauties dance around the rods and a mean looking bunch of black guys in shiny outfits lounge around the stage and play some steamy and ever pulsating soul and funk with enough dirt beneath the fingernails to prove their ghetto origins. And when I open my eyes again I am here in my comfort zone, the living room of my apartment and I listen to some vinyl turning on my turntable but still shiver from the experience I made in my dream. What is this all about? Oliver Sain (1932 – 2003) was a bandleader extraordinaire and brought his crew to play at highest levels while still retaining an honest feeling. Most songs on this first album of his group come as instrumentals with the occasional commanding shout by the master himself and you will for sure recognize a few fairly popular melodies and indeed, there are adaptions of classics like “Georgia” and the “Harlem nocturne” played with an enormous dedication which of course goes for all the performances here. Oliver Sain and his band do not just play down their tunes, they live out each note with the fire burning within their hearts. Especially the expressive saxophone playing will leave you as a listener floored. Eruptive lines that could come straight from the vaults of the great late John Coltrane meet a rather relaxed and laid back funk sound, can you dig it? There is steam heat and sheer love pouring from these well executed compositions and adaptions. Prices for originals of this rare vinyl go up to 180 Euros, so we can shiver with anticipation to get our hand on the beautiful Funky Planet reissue quite soon. Black music aficionados with a special fondness for 60s and 70s stuff will feel like a child in a sweets shop. It’s all good and groovy here.