Leon Spencer - Where I’m Coming From (7242066) LP

The very definition of ‘70s soulful jazz, Where I’m Coming From has all the hallmarks of Prestige Records at its finest, with an all-star cast of sidemen (The legendary Idris Muhammad! Hello to Madlib’s uncle, Jon Faddis! Greetings to the funky flute of Hubert Laws!) recorded at Van Gelder’s studio and packed with down and dirty grooves top to bottom. From the opening cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” through to the low-slung original headnodder “Where I’m Coming From,” with stops along the way for dips into the catalogs of Curtis Mayfield (“Give Me Your Love”), Marvin Gaye (“Trouble Man”) and the Four Tops (“Keeper Of The Castle”), Leon Spencer’s rippling organ lines sear this prime example of groove jazz. This 180-gram Jazz Dispensary reissue of Where I’m Coming From! was cut from the original analogue tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI, and comes packaged in a tip-on jacket.

1. Superstition
2. Give Me Your Love
3. Keeper Of the Castle
4. Trouble Man
5. The Price A Po’ Man’s Got to Pay
6. Where I’m Coming From
7. Thanks