Original 1971
Inmate-Made Album
Ohio Penitentiary
511 Jazz Ensemble
HARD LUCK SOUL
•••••••••••••
Aragorn
1860's
Very rare and desired Vinyl LP Record


This is an extremely scarce opportunity to own an original HARD LUCK SOUL album from the Ohio Penitentiary. Many people were put to death in this prison. Among them are gangster Harry Pierpont (John Dillinger gang), Anna Marie Hahn (first woman in OH Chair), Professor James Howard Snook (Gold Medal Winning Olympian and Professor at Ohio State University), Harry and Henry Dingledine (Father and Son), Charles Justice (had previously made improvements to Electric Chair).


Description
If musical accomplishment is anything to go by, the members of the Ohio Penitentiary 511 Jazz Ensemble would immediately be given their pardon. Their privately-pressed LP from 1971 is a legend in obscurity, and a master class in what can be achieved in the most trying of circumstances.

The 511 Jazz Ensemble was made up entirely of serving prisoners in the Ohio State Penitentiary. It was founded in 1971 to give those prisoners with a musical aptitude an opportunity to be productive and creative.

Band leader Reynard Birtha was originally from North Carolina, where he played in a band called 'The Outer Limits' before getting into a scrape with the law and being incarcerated by the local Sheriff's office. During a stint on a Southern style road gang he escaped and ended up in Cincinnati, and through a mutual passion for music he met fellow musician Logan Rollins, nephew of jazz legend Sonny Rollins. They became friends and jammed at local clubs before both ended up in the State penitentiary, for reasons not entirely clear. At the time it was customary for musicians to visit the prison and give concerts, especially during the Christmas period. Reynard remembers renowned musicians such as Art Blakey and Kai Winding giving recitals at the prison. These visits were not only a source of entertainment for the prisoners, but they were also a source of inspiration for musicians like Reynard. He and Logan formed the 511 Jazz Ensemble, incorporating the remnants of the prison Pit Band. Reynard recalls that "the number 511 was the PO box address of the prison, and we would perform in the yard during every holiday, while the prisoners marched around and got their food".

Both Reynard and Logan had been to music conservatory and could read, write and arrange music as well as play in any musical key, unlike most of the rest of the band, which gave rise to difficulties in keeping the project going. However, with their enthusiasm and perseverance came success, when the visiting Ohio State University Band were so impressed after jamming with the inmates that they returned to make a record. Funding was put forward by a wealthy club owner and his conglomerates from Columbus, microphones and studio equipment were brought in from the outside and the recordings were made in the auditorium of the prison chapel. Unfortunately, as far as the business side of things was concerned, Reynard admits he was 'green' and didn't receive any payment for his efforts. In fact to this day he has not even seen let alone owned a copy of the LP, the album which contains his sole recorded output, "All I knew what to do was how to read, write and play music."

The 'Hard Luck Blues' LP was the band's only recording, and the group disbanded after the release of Logan and Rollins. The music on the album comprises of four long tracks, each allowing the soloists to express themselves without restriction. Free of chains at the time the music is made, the result is a unique, compelling insight into the freedom that jazz can afford, giving a sense of hope and liberty to free and incarcerated men alike.


Hard Luck Soul, originally pressed in 1971, is the result of a single recording session by the Ohio Penitentiary 511 Jazz Ensemble, a group led by Ohio State Penitentiary inmates Reynard Birtha and Logan Rollins, nephew of Sonny. The story goes that the two men – on trumpet and alto sax, respectively – were the lone talents in their ensemble, left to choose from the slim pickings of the prison pit band. One fateful day, however, the prison was visited by the Ohio State University Band. Members of the University Band were so impressed after jamming with Birtha and Rollins, they insisted on making a record with the two inmates as featured players, to be bankrolled by an unnamed wealthy investor. Hard Luck Soul, captured live in the auditorium of the prison chapel, is the result of that unlikely meeting.

The four tunes here are rhythmically rich, large ensemble hard bop tunes with heavy Latin colorations and very little in the way of blues – the quintessence of soul jazz. Nothing ever gets too fiery or outside, and none of these soloists will likely be mistaken for Wayne Shorter or Logan’s uncle Sonny, but the mellow modal framework allows the soloists to stretch out and explore tastefully, improvising competently over the mellow gait of the rhythm section.

“Psych City” boasts an infectious chordal chorus that sounds very much like what we now consider ‘spiritual jazz,’ but don’t let that turn you off – this is more akin to a Gary Bartz side or the Phil Cohran- assisted Arkestra grooves like Fate In A Pleasant Mood or We Travel the Spaceways than anything too hippy-dippy. “Mantra Dance” is a fairly basic hard bop tune, and the only skip-able track here (it’s also the shortest), but it’s more than redeemed by the moody “Counterry Bosa Devan,” a zoned-out organ and guitar-heavy jammer that appears to be in no particular hurry to get wherever it’s going – definitely one for the enhancement smokers. The album ends with the boisterous “Java Man,” marked by thudding and juddering shuffle grooves, while insistent organ stabs again recall some of the straighter Saturn material. The rhythm section here steals the show, double timing the band and belying a strong Art Blakey influence, but the front line swings hard, horns fanning out with gusto throughout the track’s all-to brief five minutes.

What few liner notes exist are confusing – both Rollins and a (non-inmate) tenor player named Jesse Barrett are alternately and separately credited with arranging and composing the material, and little is offered in the way of recording dates or session notes. Additionally, though the material is said to have been culled from the collaborative sessions between Birtha, Rollins and the Ohio State University Band (and the music on the LP would certainly seem to confirm this), the photos of twelve scowling middle-aged men on the back cover of the LP look like no University Band I have ever seen.
-aquariumdrunkard




Tracklist

A1     Psych City    
A2     Mantra Dance    
B1     Counterry Bosa Davan    
B2     Java Man    

Credits

    Bass – Charles Peterson
    Composed By, Arranged By – Logan Rollins

    Congas [Congo Drums] – Ricky Lewis (Cincinnati, OH)
    Design, Illustration – Luke Lauch
    Drums – Dave Bennett (Detroit, Michigan)
    Guitar – Richard Stokes (Canton, OH)
    Guitar [Lead] – George Williams (Cleveland, OH)
    Narrator – Peter H. Gunn (Meridan, Conn)
    Organ – John Grady (Columbus, OH)
    Other [Advisor] – Robert Vandagriff
    Performer [Charicas] – Julius T. Johnson (Cleveland)
    Piano – Richard Wise (Cincinnati)
    Saxophone [Alto] – Logan Rollins (Cincinnati)
    Saxophone [Tenor] – Jesse Barrett, Sonny Ward (Dayton)
    Trumpet – Reynard Birtha (Columbus)

Keep an eye on my current and upcoming auctions that will feature additional vintage museum quality items.
Ohio Penitentiary photos, post mortem criminal mug shot, sphinx stereoview, Auburn Prison Stereopticon,
negro cast iron bank, Native American Sterling Silver Spoon, nude statue, a daguerreotype, tintype, real photo postcard and CDV collection.


Will ship domestically to the following states for $4.00: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. International bidders feel free to ask for a shipping quote. Payment appreciated and expected within 7 days.