2021 RE of ’77 OG Ron Everett “The Glitter Of The City” on Jazzman

It’s entirely possible that this is the greatest soul jazz RE of all time. At least if you determine that by 1. The pure joyful excellence of the music (check), 2. Killer drums & bass (check), 3. The chances of finding the original anywhere, at any price (virtually none. Released by Ron himself on Vagabond King, most were ruined in a storeroom flood, apparently there really is only a small handful extant, of which most were sold by hand by Ron in street-side Philly. So, check) 4. Never-before-heard essential groove plus a huge middle finger to any notion of commerciality (check), and 5. Pure, gritty, Chicago/Philly honest gutbucket down-low after hours juke joint dancing & bourbon expression (big-ass check). I LOVE this record. Which is basically all there is from Ron, except a bunch of singles with The Castelles, a doo-woppy jump outfit that goes back to 1953. There are a couple of Euro grey market boots that sound exactly like what they are, so you have to give huge thanks to Jazzman for finally releasing a top-quality repop. Oh, did I mention those slick drum licks come from the mighty Lex Humphries (Ra Arkestra), plus trumpet from Nate Jones (JB’s), and stomping alto/baritone from Jimmy Savage and Bobby Zankel. Man, I dunno, this is just one of those sides that makes it all worth it.