Primo Kim – To Be Near (PRIMO-01)

A totally amazing vocal jazz album from the early 70s — an obscure private pressing album from Primo Kim, an obscure singer — but a great one too! Primo’s got a very hip approach to his work — a sound that’s somewhere in the territory of Mark Murphy or Bobby Cole — light years from mainstream male vocals, and often served up with some very jazzy grooves in the background! Many tracks here are originals by Primo, and a few others are well-chosen covers too — and in a way, the feel is quite like some of Mark Murphy’s best overseas work of the 60s, or Bobby Cole’s landmark album from the early 60s — a set without compare, and with a freshness that’s just getting appreciated all these many years later.