Before Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith and the legendary producer tag-team of Larry & Fonce Mizell recorded the 1974 jazz-funk masterpiece Gears, the two parties first came together one year earlier to record the often overlooked album Gambler’s Life. Even though the album collectively isn’t as revered or groundbreaking as Gears, the Gambler’s Life sessions helped showcase the kind of brilliance and potential this collaboration could, and ultimately would achieve with the follow-up session. This can be found mostly true on the track “Star Borne”, which has that classic signature Mizell Brothers jazz-funk sound, which is prevalent throughout their productions. The remainder of the record has a number of strong breaks, however the other track that resonates with me is the mellow-groover “Call On Me,” a perfect selection to drop in the middle of that warm summertime afternoon set.

I’m not trying to make the argument that Gambler’s Life is on the same playing field as Gears, however the session probably played a significant role in laying the foundation for what was later to come from this collaboration.