bridge: crying for love
Francisco Espregueira
Via HIGH JAZZ* RECORDS we have the pleasure of listening and sharing the reissue of a dusty gold-standard 1981 album by the Oakland/Berkeley-based septet Bridge. Crying For Love, due to the conflicts within the group, was released for the first time in 1999, nearly 20 years after it was completed. Now, the valuable hands of HIGH JAZZ* picks it up from the lost archives and re-releases it for contemporary audiences after a tumultuous story of dissension.
Considering the quality of the vocalists, instrumentalists, and songwriters - led by the drummer Paul Smith - Bridge could’ve achieved a very different status. This record, comprised by 16 tracks, ‘bridges’ the gap between diverse genres and styles: from soul to gospel, from disco to funk, from jazz to rock. And does it in a remarkable way, much like Earth, Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder were doing it around the same time. We go back in time: to 1981, to 1999, to this impressive Crying For Love and its incredible story written in detail on the album notes. Available in vinyl.
Paul Smith: Drums
Jon Bendich: Congas & Percussion
Adrian Barrios (R.I.P.): Bass
Pat Duffey: Guitar
Michael Robinson: Keyboards
Claytoven Richardson: Vocals & Sax
Derick Hughes: Vocals
Debravon Lewis: Vocals