About

Brown Sugar was the album that Roach made to capture the energy of soul jazz. To somehow take the sounds in the city, in the clubs, and bring them to a record. In his original liner notes, Roach writes that the album is an ode to late nights and loud clubs, to backs damp with sweat, arms wrapped around waists. “Not caring for the moment about troubles or problems,” he wrote of people dancing, “their bodies quivering under smiles that seemed to promise ‘after the dance.’”

After talking to Alfred Lion, president of Blue Note, they decided that the album needed to be made up of standards — not the standards of the stage or screen, but the standards of the people. “To get the ‘soul,’” Roach wrote, “I decided to do show soul tunes.” - Vinyl Me, Please