Craft Recordings is set to celebrate the centennial of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with a brand-new, four-album collection, featuring the tenor saxophonist’s celebrated 1958 Cookbook albums with organist Shirley Scott.
Set for release on February 3 in 180-gram vinyl 4-LP, 4-CD, and digital configurations, Cookin’ with Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums compiles four classic soul-jazz albums: Cookbook, Vol. 1, Cookbook, Vol. 2, Cookbook, Vol. 3, and Smokin’, all of which were recorded in stereo by the celebrated engineer, Rudy Van Gelder.
Available for pre-order beginning today (11/15), Cookin’ with Jaws and the Queen has been newly remastered from the original analog tapes by the Grammy-winning engineer, Bernie Grundman. Produced by Nick Phillips, the all-analog 4-LP edition (limited to 5,000 copies worldwide) is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, while each LP is individually housed in a tip-on jacket, featuring the original Prestige Records album artwork.
The 4-CD and digital editions feature three bonus tracks that were recorded in the 1958 sessions but didn’t appear on the original LP releases: “Avalon,” “Willow Weep For Me,” and an alternate take of “But Beautiful.” Rounding out the vinyl and CD packages is a deluxe booklet featuring recording session photos and offering new, in-depth liner notes by jazz journalist Willard Jenkins, who serves as the artistic director for the DC Jazzfest.
When tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Hammond B-3 organist Shirley Scott entered Rudy Van Gelder’s hallowed Hackensack, NJ studio in 1958, it was clear that something special was about to take place. For roughly three years, Scott and Davis had been at the forefront of the soul-jazz sound, setting the gold standard for the tenor sax/organ combo.
Davis and Scott certainly did have plenty to accomplish, following these phenomenal sessions. The two musicians would continue to collaborate through the end of the decade, recording such albums as Jaws in Orbit and Bacalao (both released in 1959), as well as Misty (1963).
Pre-order Cookin’ with Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums.