GARY BARTZ ULTRA-RARE MINT UNPLAYED DJ PROMO COPY "THE SHADOW DO" 1975 CHECK IT OUT!
The Shadow Do!  Review  

by Andy Kellman

 ALL MUSIC.COM

Not as known as the later  -- which was an even further departure, in its increased smoothness, from his  dates, and more popular by virtue of being released on Blue Note -- The Shadow Do! was the first time Gary Bartz sought production assistance from  and , the sibling duo who enlivened many sessions throughout the '70s with their soaring fusion of soul, funk, and (as Bartz would say) "the j-word." At this point, some j-word purists were hip to the  program, what with dates from , , and  already in circulation. Checking the back of this Prestige release supplied all the info they needed to know: production by , and four people credited with playing some form of synthesizer. Keyboardist , bassist , guitarist , percussionist , and drummer  help lend a sound that is a little funkier and heavier than most -guided sessions, but it's no less sweet. The second through fourth songs of side one exude joy and love, anchoring the album in a sense of contentedness so infectious that it might have even won over a few cold souls expecting straight jazz. Bartz's saxophones are at their melodic best, dancing, skipping, and trilling through the arrangements. He also sings lead, present on most of the songs, and though he probably didn't win any publication's best vocalist award, no one sounds like him, and ' own background harmonies are on-point as ever. 

USER REVIEW

Wesley Bevels

March 29, 2019

  Great Jazz album by Gary Bartz featuring my favorite track on the album, The Shadow Do! - Gentle Smile (Saxy) later sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on the single, Butter from the 1991 outstanding hit Jazz Rap album, The Low End Theory. Of note: very slight abrasion at the corners and a one inch seam split on the lower right corner (see photo)