BARBARA LYNN / PATTI AUSTIN (JAR16)

So Good / In & Out Of Love

 

There are many artists for whom a few words can never truly do justice, and Jai Alai are proud to present two such legends with both tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time; title tracks from CD-only album releases.

Texas-born Barbara Lynn Ozen was only 20 years old when she had a chart-topping hit with her very first release, “You’ll Lose A Good Thing”. Up to this point, she had been a budding song-writer with enough material for an album, and was duly signed to Jamie Records who had on their roster one of her musical idols, guitarist Duanne Eddy.

Over the next 5 years her self-penned R&B hits were the foundation for a long and fruitful relationship with Houston-based Huey Meaux, who produced most of her releases for the next 20 years across a number of labels, including hits “I’m A Good Woman”, “I Don’t Want A Playboy (Tribe)”, and “You’re Losing Me” (Atlantic).

The partnership continued into the 70s on Atlantic, on Meaux’s Jetstream Records with the dancer “Moving On A Groove” (1976 Jetstar), which is undoubtedly her most sought-after release.

Further successes came in the 80s with various producers on “I’m Still The Same” (1983 Jamstone) and the album You Don’t Have To Go (1988 Ichiban), which contained new versions of some of her earlier hits, most notably, “You’re Losing Me”.

By now, she was adored by fans of R&B, Northern, and Modern Soul and has been recognised as the greatest female left-handed blues guitarist of all time. On the Latin-infused “So Good”, the title track of her bluesy album (1994 Rounder Blues), she shows that with a little help from the Muscle Shoals Horns the song title sums her up completely.

Patti Austin is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter arguably best appreciated for her work with Quincy Jones, she first emerged under the guidance of Creed Taylor with her mainly self-penned album End Of A Rainbow (1976 CTI) which was not gutsy enough for the burgeoning Jazz Funk scene, and not really soulful enough to make an impact on the fast changing Modern Soul scene. On reflection, the clues were all there, because the following year she finally made an impact with the mid-paced “We’re In Love”.

A couple of albums (plus a Best Of...) later, and having already collaborated with Paul Simon, Frankie Valli, Billy Joel and Tom Browne, she moved to Quincy Jones’ label Qwest Records, and fortunes changed. Magical tracks like “Jazzamatazz” and “Betcha Wouldn’t Hurt Me” launched her into a different sphere and Grammy awards rained down like confetti, cementing her reputation as one of the most successful female artists of all time.

(Steve Hobbs)

 

BARBARA LYNN – SO GOOD

PATTI AUSTIN – IN & OUT OF LOVE