Album Liner Notes
Capricorn Princess
Capricorn Princess is not a minor sideman footnote. It is Esther Phillips closing out her Kudu run with a polished 1976 studio album that sits on the line between soul, jazz, disco, and CTI-style production craft, and Jeff Berlin is on half the program.
Overview
The main reason this record matters is context. Esther Phillips was coming off her crossover success with 'What a Diff'rence a Day Makes,' and Capricorn Princess became her seventh and final album for Kudu before she moved to Mercury the next year. It is a closing statement for a label era, not a random catalog item.
Jeff's role is specific and worth hearing in detail. He is not spread across the whole LP; he plays on four of the eight tracks, while Anthony Jackson handles the others. That split makes the album unusually useful for studying how different bass personalities sit inside the same larger production aesthetic.
It also gives the page real historical weight beyond Jeff alone. Allan Holdsworth turns up on pedal steel guitar on 'Boy, I Really Tied One On,' the Brecker brothers and Jon Faddis appear in the horn charts, and the engineering path runs through Mediasound and Van Gelder Studio. This is a serious New York session record with names all over it.
Quick Snapshot
- Wikipedia's Esther Phillips discography lists Capricorn Princess as a 1976 Kudu/CTI release that reached No. 150 on the Billboard 200, No. 23 on the jazz chart, and No. 40 on the R&B chart.
- Discogs-style session documentation credits Jeff Berlin on four tracks: 'Magic's in the Air,' 'Boy, I Really Tied One On,' '(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher & Higher,' and 'All the Way Down.'
- The production chain is fully documented: Creed Taylor produced, David Matthews arranged seven tracks, Pee Wee Ellis arranged 'Candy,' and Rudy Van Gelder mixed and mastered.
Final Kudu album
Presto's reissue notes and Esther Phillips's discography both place Capricorn Princess at the end of her Kudu run before the move to Mercury.
Jeff and Anthony on the same LP
The bass chair is split between Jeff Berlin and Anthony Jackson, which gives the record a built-in point of comparison from track to track.
Van Gelder in the chain
Rudy Van Gelder is credited for engineering, mixing, and mastering, which immediately raises the production interest level.
Listen For
Magic's in the Air
Jeff opens the album with Andy Newmark, Don Grolnick, Barry Miles, Ronnie Cuber, Michael Brecker, Sam Burtis, Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, and Ralph MacDonald behind Esther Phillips.
Boy, I Really Tied One On
This is the oddball personnel favorite: Jeff on bass, Eric Gale on guitar, Bobby Lyle on clavinet, and Allan Holdsworth on pedal steel guitar.
All the Way Down
Jeff's last track on the album pairs him with Andy Newmark, John Tropea, Don Grolnick, Hugh McCracken, Joe Farrell, Ronnie Cuber, and Ralph MacDonald on one of the record's longest cuts.
Track Listing
- 1. Magic's in the Air — 2:56
- 2. I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do — 3:41
- 3. Boy, I Really Tied One On — 3:49
- 4. Candy — 5:19
- 5. A Beautiful Friendship — 2:55
- 6. (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher & Higher — 3:57
- 7. All the Way Down — 6:21
- 8. Dream — 3:52
Musicians
- Esther Phillips: vocals
- Jeff Berlin: bass on tracks 1, 3, 6, and 7
- Anthony Jackson: bass on tracks 2, 4, 5, and 8
- Andy Newmark: drums on tracks 1, 3, 6, and 7
- Steve Gadd: drums on tracks 2, 4, 5, and 8
- Don Grolnick: organ and piano on track 1; organ on track 4; clavinet on tracks 6 and 7
- Michael Abene: piano on tracks 2, 5, and 8
- Barry Miles: synthesizer on tracks 1 and 8
- Bobby Lyle: clavinet on track 3
- John Tropea: guitar on tracks 1 and 7
- Eric Gale: guitar on tracks 3, 4, and 6
- Steve Khan: guitar on tracks 2, 5, and 8
- Allan Holdsworth: pedal steel guitar on track 3
- Hugh McCracken: harmonica on track 7
- Joe Farrell: flute and saxophone on track 7
- Ronnie Cuber: saxophone on tracks 1, 3, 6, and 7
- Michael Brecker: saxophone on tracks 1, 3, and 6
- Sam Burtis: trombone on tracks 1, 3, and 6
- Barry Rogers: trombone on tracks 4 and 8
- Randy Brecker: trumpet on tracks 1, 3, and 6
- Jon Faddis: trumpet on tracks 1, 3, and 6
- John Gatchell: trumpet on tracks 4 and 8
- Pee Wee Ellis: saxophone on tracks 4 and 8; arranger on track 4
- Ralph MacDonald: percussion on tracks 1, 3, 6, and 7
- Sue Evans: percussion on tracks 2 and 8
- John Blair: violin on track 2
- Babi Floyd, Frank Floyd, William Eaton, Zachary Sanders: background vocals
- Chuck Israels: bass in the additional ensemble credits
- Alfred Brown, Emanuel Vardi, Julien Barber, Lamar Alsop: viola
- Barry Finclair, David Nadien, Guy Lumia, Harold Kohon, Harry Lookofsky, Kathryn Kienke, Lewis Eley, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Max Pollikoff, Paul Gershman, Raoul Poliakin, Richard Sortomme: violin
Technical Credits
- Producer: Creed Taylor
- Arranger: David Matthews on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8
- Arranger: Pee Wee Ellis on track 4
- Engineer: Alan Varner
- Engineer: Joe Jorgensen
- Engineer, mixing, mastering: Rudy Van Gelder
- Recorded at Mediasound and Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
- All vocals recorded at Van Gelder Studio
- Recorded in May, July, and September 1976
- Design: Rene Schumacher
- Photography: Richard Alcorn
- Produced for CTI Records
- Copyright and phonographic copyright: Creed Taylor, Inc.
Liner Notes Details
The site cover image was upgraded from a 600x600 file to a larger 1430x1430 image sourced from the Apple Music expanded-edition artwork, which uses the same front-cover design.
The 2016 expanded edition is documented as including extensive notes by A. Scott Galloway.