Albums That Deserve Another Listen

Hal Singer - Paris Soul Food (1969)

Tracklist:

01. Paris Soul Food 

02. Brother, I'm With You 

03. Malcolm X 

04. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa

05. Saturday Night In Watts, Act One

06. Green Onions 

07. Jumpin' Jack Flash 

08. Good To Me 

09. Son Of A Preacher Man 

10. Kansas City

11. Hey Jude 

Musicians:

Tenor Saxophone - Hal Singer, Manu Dibango

Vocals - Hal Singer

Chorus - Don Corinaldi, Glynda Morton, Jackie Miller, Jane Jarest

Drums - Lucien Dobat

Guitar - Slim Pezin

Handclaps - Bernard Estardy

Organ - Bernard Estardy, Manu Dibango

Percussion - Jean-Louis Proust, Lucien Dobat

Piano - Bernard Estardy

Soprano Saxophone - Mam Houari

Tambourine - Jean-Louis Proust

Recorded in France in 1969 and produced by Robin Hemingway with Manu Dibango's band.

Born in 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harold "Hal" Singer studied violin as a child but later switched to reed instruments. He ultimately settled on the tenor saxophone influenced by hearing Ben Webster and Lester Young.

From the late 1930s, he began performing in local bands, including Ernie Fields', before joining Jay McShann's orchestra in 1943 and then moving to New York. After working in other bands, he joined "Hot Lips" Page's band in 1947 and began working as a session musician with King Records.

In early 1948, he left Page, formed his own small group, and was signed to Mercury Records where he cut his first single "Fine As Wine" with a B side "Rock Around the Clock" (not the same tune as the Bill Haley recording). For the Savoy label, he recorded the instrumental "Cornbread", which made No. 1 on the R&B charts in September 1948, and raised Singer's profile and became his nickname. 

In the early and mid-1950s, he recorded with Mercury, toured with R&B artists such as The Orioles and Charles Brown, and increasingly worked as a session musician. In 1958, he began recording with Prestige Records as a jazz soloist and performing at the Metropole Cafe in New York with jazz musicians such as Roy Eldridge and Coleman Hawkins.

In 1965, after touring Europe with Earl Hines' group, Singer remained in France, settling near Paris. 

In 1992, he received the title of “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” from the French government. He released his last album in 2010 with David Murray, before quietly enjoying his retirement with his family. He passed away in Paris on August 18, 2020, just 2 months shy of his 101st birthday.

Singer's 1969 album, Paris Soul Food, featured him on saxophone and vocals; with Robin Hemingway, vocals, arrangements and album production; and Manu Dibango, saxophone, organ and arrangements, and won a French Record Academy award for best international LP. It's a flawless album, exquisitely performed and pleasant to listen to, that combines elements of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, and even rock/pop. 

And it's most definitely an album that deserves another listen.

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