1976 Hal - Mel “Alone Together” on Opus 43

I happened to notice the other night that this FANTASTIC record has just been reissued by some dudes outta N’awlins, and all I have to say to them is, thank you for recognizing genius. Tell you what, I rarely give out hot Super Bowl betting tips or which horses to box the Exacta at Santa Anita with, but if you’re inclined to take some advice in 2025, I highly recommend adding this record to your stack. Hal and Mel are not, in fact, Hal Singer and incorrectly spelled Mal Waldron, they’re Harold Battiste (organ, piano) and Melvin Lastie (flugelhorn, trumpet, cornet, percussion). The duo never really gained national traction, but are early Rock and Roll heroes of the very specific gumbo variety who come together here for a wholly unexpected soul/funk/compositionally avant blowout that sounds like if Julian Priester and Jack McDuff did a two year residency at Professor Longhair’s Free Jazz Symposium. Who else is on the record? Oh, only Mr. Chuck Rainey and Mr. Cornell Dupree. Battiste toured with Sam Cooke and Dr. John, plus was a talent scout for the mighty Specialty Records, while Lastie was his partner in founding the imprint A.F.O. Anyway, this record RULES, and if you don’t need it, you probably don’t need anything, which is a skill all its own.