Curtis Amy

Curtis Amy – Katanga (1963/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 35:43 minutes | 691 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

Who are these guys? That’s the usual reaction of anyone fortunate enough to have come across this remarkable (and remarkably rare) session from 1963. The last of six albums saxophonist Curtis Amy recorded for Pacific Jazz in the early-1960s, Katanga! transcends not only the rest but plenty of other recorded jazz from that period as well. Trumpeter Dupree Bolton’s brilliant playing here is simply breathtaking in one of his very few recorded appearances during a career plagued with personal problems. Bolton and Amy are joined by guitarist Ray Crawford, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Victor Gaskin, and drummer Doug Sides on this gem of an album.

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Curtis Amy – Eye to Eye (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:43:52 minutes | 1,19 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © nagel heyer records

Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was a jazz saxophonist. Amy was born in Houston, Texas. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the tenor saxophone. After his discharge, he attended and graduated from Kentucky State College. He worked as an educator in Tennessee while playing in midwestern jazz clubs. In the mid-1950s he relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Pacific Jazz Records, often playing with organist Paul Bryant. In the mid-60s he spent three years as musical director of Ray Charles’ orchestra, together with his wife, Merry Clayton, and Steve Huffsteter.

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