The Wooden Glass feat. Billy Wooten - Recorded Live (1972)

The Wooden Glass feat. Billy Wooten - Recorded Live (1972) -  2004

Mad funky vibes from The Wooden Glass – a group led by vibist Billy Wooten – an obscure player in the history books, but one who has had a huge influence on 21st Century groove! Billy's got a hard style on the vibes that's like Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers at their soulful best – working here with a tight combo that includes guitar and organ, very much in the mode of his classic work with the slightly more famous (although equally obscure) Indianapolis combo The Ninteenth Whole! The set's a live one, but it really cooks with a sweet electric feel – echoey, funky, and soulful – as tunes spin out in a staggering approach to the vibes that's unmatched by any record of its time. Billy was a huge influence on Madlib and the sound of Yesterday's New Quintet – and hearing this set, it's virtually a blueprint for that group's current work! Includes great covers of "In The Rain", "Day Dreaming", and "Love Is Here" – plus Wooten's excellent original tracks "Monkey Hips & Rice" and "Joy Ride"

The late Billy Wooten isn’t particularly well known among vibraphone players, and when you live in a world with the likes of Victor Feldman, Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson, it’s easy to get lost.  Wooten did some recording in the early 1970s as a member of Grant Green’s band for Blue Note, and after that, he settled down in Indianapolis and became a local fixture.

A live recording of Wooten’s band, The Wooden Glass, playing at the 19th Hole club in Indianapolis was released on a local label, Interim Records, in 1972 under the title The Wooden Glass Recorded Live.

The album sold modestly, as small independent releases are likely to do, but at some point, the album caught on with collectors, who loved its mixture of jazz, soul and funk, with prominent vibes, organ and funky guitar.  Original copies of the album on the Interim label have sold for as much as $3000 and even copies in so-so condition usually sell for $1000 or so.

In 2004, the Japanese reissue label P-Vine issued a limited edition pressing of The Wooden Glass, pressed on 180 gram vinyl, and as far as we know, this was the only authorized reissue of the album.  The pressing sold out almost immediately and is now long out of print.

01. Monkey Hips and Rice

02. We've Only Just Begin

03. Joy Ride

04. In the Rain

05. Day Dreaming

06. Love Is Here

07. 6 Variations of 'In the Rain' (feat. Madlib)

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