I just finished listening to Small Club boot for the first time in ages. What really stood out to me was just how amazing Atlanta Bliss played that night. I'm a trumpet player as well and I always thought although he was good, he had nothing over what Eric Leeds was playing on his sax. Anway, I've never heard Atlanta better than on this disk. Eric couldn't make the gig (I think I read somewhere he was feeling ill that night), so Atlanta was the only horn. Maybe he felt he had something to prove because he tears it up on his solos on "Housequake" (where Eric would usully solo) and on the blues medley. I never see his name mentioned here so I thought I'd start the official "Atlanta Bliss Appreciation Thread"

In Finland where I live, one music journalist suspected in his review of "Sign O´The Times" that Atlanta Bliss actually is an alter ego of Miles Davis - ´nuff said! I´m a bit of a multi-instrumentalist myself but I know better than to try my hand on horns, so basically, I respect anybody with any expertise in that area. I haven´t heard the boot you mentioned but I thoroughly appreciate Matt´s playing, even if Eric always got most of the attention.

Karri

Atlanta!

yeah count me in.

those lines during the mid 80s, in tandem with leeds, brought a lot of texture to the music. Most of the time these were played very tight but i dont know if they wrote all the lines. His solo spots were interesting in the bootlegs (apart from one where prince said 'Atlanta shut the f**k up') but maybe he had technical problems. On some songs there are lines that have been changed (eg Housequake) from other performances in that period, so that shows they experimented and kept a song fresh (and one of the great things in hearing bootlegs).

I play a bit and i know how hard it is to reach those high notes and the instrument requires real dedication and constant practice to make a decent recording (not like some guitar styles i can think of).

spoida said:[quote]

those lines during the mid 80s, in tandem with leeds, brought a lot of texture to the music. Most of the time these were played very tight but i dont know if they wrote all the lines.


I think Prince wrote most of the horn parts and Eric & Atlanta arranged them, although Leeds wrote some of the parts. On "It´s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night", Leeds is credited as a co-writer, alongside with Prince and Dr. Fink. If memory serves, on "Billy Jack Bitch", Prince even shares the horn arrangement credits (with Michael B. Nelson).

His solo spots were interesting in the bootlegs (apart from one where prince said 'Atlanta shut the f**k up') ...

Man, that´s a nasty thing to say! All in all, Atlanta seems to go pretty much unnoticed and when he´s mentioned, it´s usually in tandem with Eric Leeds. It´s a shame, although it´s true that Eric´s style is more recognizable
In the "Sign O´The Times" film, though, on "It´s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night", Prince says something to Greg Brooks, then Brooks says "Yeah, kick some ass, Bliss!", Prince yells "KICK SOME ASS!!!" and then Eric & Atlanta come in with the theme from "Slow Love" and it develops into this intense jam. It kicks major ass indeed.


Karri

spoida said:

Wasn't it "Eric shut the fuck up"??