LP-750

Ramsey Lewis Trio & Jean DuShon - You Better Believe Me

Released 1965

Recording and Session Information

Ronald Wilson, alto saxophone, flute; Ramsey Lewis, piano; Roland Faulkner, guitar; Eldee Young, bass; Redd Holt, drums; Jean DuShon, vocals
Universal Recording Studio, Chicago, December 19 1964

13637 Who can I turn to? [When nobody needs me]
13638 Night time is the right time
13639 Something you got
13640 He was too good to me
13641 Goodbye lover, hello friend
13642 You'd better believe me

Ramsey Lewis, piano; Eldee Young, bass,cello; Cleveland Eaton, bass; Redd Holt, drums
Universal Recording Studio, Chicago, January 14 1965

13667 Corcovado [Quiet nights]
13668 Tain't nobody's business if I do
13669 Let it be me
13670 It had better be tonight
13671 My coloring book
13672 I'm beginning to see the light

Track Listing

You'd Better Believe Me	Buddy Johnson	December 19 1964
Who Can I Turn To	Bricusse / Newley	December 19 1964
Night Time	Joe Bailey	December 19 1964
Something You Got	Chriss Kenner	December 19 1964
He Was Too Good To Me	Rodgers / Hart	December 19 1964
Goodbye Lover, Hello Friend	Norman Newell / Micharl Carr	December 19 1964
Corcovado (Quiet Nights)	Antonio Carlos Jobin / Gene Lees	January 14 1965
Ain't Nobody's Business	William York	January 14 1965
Let It Be Me	Becaud/Delance/Curtis	January 14 1965
It Had Better Be Tonight	Mancini/Mercer/Stasera	January 14 1965
My Coloring Book	John Kander/Fred Ebb	January 14 1965
I'm Beginning To See The Light	Hodges/George/Ellington/James	January 14 1965

Liner Notes

IF YOU want a good album, don't buy this one, because it's great — and "YOU BETTER BELIEVE ME"! The combination of the swinging Ramsey Lewis Trio and remarkable Jean DuShon — augmented on some tracks with flute, guitar aed sax — marks a departure for the Trio and a new high in listening pleasure for you.

Jean DuShon is making her second recorded appearance on ARGO. Her first album, which rapidly drew rave reviews and many plays from disc jockeys throughout the country, was recorded bast summer. This album can only help to add to the well-deserved praise and recognition that her first ARGO effort won for her.

Youngest of twelve children, whose parents died when she was only five, Jean attended the Detroit Conservatory of Music and began her professional career at the age of 15. In 1960, she made that legendary trip to New York with the Lloyd Price Band and since then has sung with the Cootie Williams group and the ever-popular Fats Domino aggregation. Finally, only a few months ago, she cut herself loose and began making solo appearances after gaining the valuable musical experience that only singing in front of a band can give a vocalist.

As for Jean's singing ability, just try on "Who Can I Turn To" size. There can be no doubt after the first few bars that Jean has an unusu depth and quality to her voice — and that she doesn't employ the gimmicks that have come to be standard equipment with almost every female vocalist singing today. Jean possesses an almost uncanny ability to get inside the lyric and project all the emotion, all the feeling, all real meaning — and more — that the composer meant it to have.

On this, her second ARGO outing, Jean also does a mose competent job of letting you know immediatelv that she can't be type-cast as just a ballad singer. She adequately proves this on the swinging "Something You Got" which is only recommended to the listener when all doors and windows are locked and the right person is there to share Jean's mood with you. "You'd Better Believe Me" certainly can't hurt you either, for that matter, and Jean's emotionally-packed "He Was Too Good To Me" pours a whole new supply of fuel into this great "torch" tune. If you've survived all of this emotionally, don't miss Jean's "Night Time" and a rather swing rendition of "Goodbye Lover, Hello Friend". Jean in the parlance of the trade, is "too much" and a most welcome addition to a world full of women who either rely on vocal tricks or who try to sound like someone they aren't and can never hope to be.

Backing up Jean on this album is the fabulous Ramsey Lewis Trio — and what words can describe them adequately. I think that Ramsey said it best himself several ARGO albums ago when he wrote that "After fourteen years of playing together, our trio is very close to achieving something that every group of musicians strives for. That is, to be able to think and play as one."

Ramsey, Red Holt on drums, and Eldee Young on bass and cello, have reached a point of perfection rarely touched by any jazz instrumental group. Having played together for so many years, their performance as a group is sometimes beyond belief. Their individual solos — be it funk, progressive or commercial jazz — continue to reach new heights of swinging excellence. Perhaps the best way to express it is for you to take your own hands and tightly intertwine your fingers — for that's the way they think, play, and perforrn, closely knit and almost as one.

If you've been hiding in a cave or for some reason havcn't heard this group before, treat yourself to the Trio's fresh approach to "Quiet Nights". Their rendition of this current favorite gives the tune a whole new flavor, a brand new feeling. Then there is the swinging romp through "It Had Better Be Tonight" which can only leave you breathless at best. When you hear "My Coloring Book", "Let It Be Me", or "Ain't Nobody's Business", you know that Ramsey, Red and Eldee are not only performing great music — they are enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Finally, you are again treated to another of those unique musical experiences as Eldee Young embraces his cello for a revival of that great oldie, "I'm Beginning To see The Light".

If vou haven't seen "the light" by the time you've reached this point with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, you're in big trouble. Ramsey, Red, Eldee and something new and great called Jean DuShon have said it all right here in this album. I think you'll their message.

-CHUCK TAYLOR