We could expound upon the history of this 1969 release on the Bethlehem label, but perhaps it’s best to let the producer of the album do it. You might have heard of him—THE GODFATHER OF SOUL, JAMES BROWN! Here are his words from the back cover: “Between my concerts, one-nighters, and working with people in the poverty and ‘Stay in School’ programs, I find time to fly into Cincinnati to record — and for three years now everybody’s been hippin me to dig the Dee Felice Trio. Last fall my production manager Bud Hobgood put me in a car, between sessions and between sessions we ended up at the Living Room Supper Club where the Trio was playing. After listening to the first set, I knew I had to record an album of standards with this trio backing me up, and I wasted no time in signing them to a contract — on the spot.” So not only did the Dee Felice Trio back James Brown on his 1969 King release Gettin’ Down to It, but also the Godfather turned around and produced the Trio’s In Heat for Bethlehem. We will once again cede the floor to Mr. Brown: “The music in this album is a ‘mixed bag,’ whether your ‘Stroke’ is Soul, Rock, Blues, Folk or Bossa Nova —it’s here to hear AND ALL WITH AN UNDERLYING Jazz Beat.” We’ve remastered In Heat for this reissue—like James says, “Just put the record on the box, turn up volume and Dig, Baby Dig.”
