Hammond organ maestro Freddie Roach recorded five albums for Blue Note between 1962 and 1964, ‘Brown Sugar’ was the fourth of these and was recorded on 19th March 1964. This quartet features tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, guitarist Eddie Wright and drummer Clarence Johnston. The album kicks off with the R&B stomper ‘Brown Sugar’. It has a gutsy groove that has that nasty dirty Blues feel. Joe Henderson, unusually for his Blue Note, is in honking territory, whilst Roach gets down in Jimmy Smith style. ‘Brown Sugar’ has a mix of Blues tinged tracks and brighter funky grooves. The Blues oozes out of the slow ‘The Night Time’; it is a tune that combines a depressive feel with a hopeful intent. Henderson is the star with a solo that breathes Soul from every pore. ‘Have You Ever Had The Blues’ is a gritty down to the bootstraps performance that has a more uplifting feel than is suggested by the title. Indeed, there is a Baptist church feel. Co-penned by Quincy Jones and sung by Sarah Vaughn ‘The Midnight Sun Will Never Set’ has a mournful quality that the band encapsulate. ‘The Next Time You See Me’ is another Blues inflected tune that has a downbeat vibe flowing through it from start to finish. ‘All Night Long’ extenuates the Blues even more. ‘Brown Sugar’ is highly regarded as the finest Blue Note album of Freddie Roach’s Blue Note career. It is certainly a fine album that lives and breathes that Blues feel which Hammond organ albums generate.
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