Charles Earland - If Only for One Night (2002)

Less than two months before his sudden death, Charles Earland recorded this final rewarding effort. One of the most inventive of the organists to come up after Jimmy Smith, Earland contributed five originals to the set and shows that one can play funky and still be creative and unpredictable. The main surprise of the outing is that Najee, a saxophonist best known for his R&B-ish/crossover records, fits in quite well to the hard bop and soul-jazz jams. Also in fine form as a soloist is underrated guitarist Melvin Sparks. Earland sounds inspired by his sidemen and is heard in excellent form this one last time.