🎷 AotW: Kudu Phil Upchurch and Tennyson Stephens: Upchurch/Tennyson (Kudu Records KU-22)

Phil Upchurch and Tennyson Stephens: Upchurch/Tennyson

Kudu Records KU-22
Released 1975

• A1: You Got Style /2:34
• A2: Ave Maria /4:37
• A3: In Common /3:52
• A4: Tell Me Something Good /5:56
• B1: Don’t I Know You? /3:01
• B2: South Side Morning /3:01
• B3: Evil /3:47
• B4: Black Gold /3:30
• B5: I Wanted It Too /2:49

Alto Saxophone – David Sanborn
Arranged By, Piano, Synthesizer [Arp] – Bob James
Bass – Doug Bascomb
Design – Bob Ciano
Drums – Andrew Smith (4), Steve Gadd
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar, Bass – Eric Gale, Phil Upchurch
Mastered By – Rudy Van Gelder
Photography – Victor Skrebneski
Piano, Vocals – Tennyson Stephens
Producer – Creed Taylor

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, September, 74 and January-March, 1975


Amazon product ASIN B000160Z08

Phil Upchurch / Tennyson Stephens - Upchurch/Tennyson

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The following is a fan-contributed video, not an official label release:

 

[Rudy]

"You Got Style" starts off the album, and indeed the album is a stylish soul-jazz album (heavy emphasis on soul) that might be one of Kudu's best records. Many of the tracks feature the low-key vocals of Tennyson Stephens, along with his work on piano and Rhodes. Chicago guitar legend Phil Upchurch is the other half of the duo.

David Sanborn's alto punctuates the record throughout. He's well-featured on the Stevie Wonder tune "Tell Me Something Good" (which was later made popular by Chaka Khan), as well as Phil Upchurch's understated guitar work. Bob James contributed the instrumental "South Side Morning" as well, appearing on the Arp synthesizer. A surprise is one of the better instrumentals on the album--"Black Gold," written by Charles Stepney (who was also working with Earth, Wind & Fire at the time), where Upchurch really gets to feature his guitar throughout.