Calvin Keys Proceed With Caution! LP

Bay Area jazz guitar legend Calvin Keys released his debut solo record, Shawn-Neeq, in 1971, and it remains one of the most beloved albums on the Black Jazz label. But that record was a mere prelude for 1974's Proceed with Caution; this time around, the arrangements were more complex, the instrumentation more diverse. In short, a quantum leap forward; indeed, as Calvin tells Pat Thomas in his liner notes for the release, "I started going to the Los Angeles School of Music studying orchestrations and I was putting it to use!" And he recruited the band to fulfill his ambitious musical visions to their fullest, including legendary drummer Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler, fellow Black Jazz mainstays Henry Franklin on bass and Kirk Lightsey on keyboards, and Charles Owens (Horace Tapscott, Buddy Rich, Terry Callier, John Mayall) on sax and flute. Despite being hugely collectible, Proceed with Caution has never been reissued on vinyl before.

Calvin Keys' 1974 album is liquid mercury: loose, slick and malleable with enough of an internal structure (provided by drummer Ndugu Leon Chancelor and bassist Nyimbo Henry Franklin) to remain firm and substantial. Keys' guitar work cuts between both liquid and solid with moments of sparking friction.