Sandy Hurvitz (AKA Essra Mohawk), Sandy's Album Is Here At Last
(Collectors' Choice Music, 2010, originally released 1969)
Essra Mohawk, Primordial Lovers (Collectors' Choice Music, 2010, originally released 1970)
Essra Mohawk, Essra Mohawk (Collectors' Choice Music, 2010, originally released 1974)
Sandy Hurvitz was a young Philadelphian songwriter, who recorded her first single at 16. It got some attention in Cashbox and Sandy managed to place song of her songs on records by the Shangri-Las, and the Vanilla Fudge. In 1967 she entered Frank Zappa's circle. FZ heard her playing the piano and offered her a spot in the Mothers of Invention! They actually performed one of her songs, a rare event for FZ. In fact, Ms. Hurvitz was "Uncle Meat". So it's no surprise that her first album was released on Zappa's Bizarre/Verve label.
It came along in 1969, was called Sandy's Album Is Here At Last and featured Sandy and a cat on the front cover looking away from the TV, where Frank Zappa announced the album's arrival. Zappa was to have produced it, but a disagreement between the singer and producer led to Frank leaving the task in the hands of Ian Underwood. Hurvitz says, "[Underwood was]…anti-producer, anti-arranger…it's like it wasn't my album…it was really raw." And "raw" is an understatement. This album sounds like demos, totally unfinished, the piano sound is hollow, as if it was recorded in a big hall with one microphone. There's something endearing about it, but it wears off rather quickly and although there are other instruments present here and there, the feeling you're left with is…"why didn't they produce this thing?" After all, the backing musicians were top-flight; Jim Pepper on sax, Jeremy Steig on flute, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Donald McDonald. The songs are quirky but interesting, the piano playing primitive, the vocals powerful and Sandy Hurvitz certainly had something to say. She would get another chance very soon.
Sandy's Album… was released with virtually no support from Verve in 1969 and by then Sandy had changed her name to Essra Hurvitz. She would then marry her next producer and become Essra Mohawk for the rest of her long career.
Warner Bros. president Mo Ostin heard Essra sing in a club in New York, and signed her to Reprise. He surrounded her with more great musicians, Dallas Taylor (from Crosby, Stills, Nash), Lee Underwood (Tim Buckley's guitarist), Doug Hastings (from Rhinoceros) and Jerry Hahn and hired Frazier Mohawk to produce. It was a winning combination. Primordial Lovers starts off with a piano and vocal track, but this time not recorded as raw and unadorned as Ian Underwood had done. This time there's context, the sound is richer and actually 'produced' so "I Am the Breeze" doesn't sound like someone singing in an empty hall. And then there's the oboe! Played by George St.John it beautifully complements Essra's smokey voice. Jerry Hahn (guitar), Mel Graves (bass) and George Marsh (percussion) really fill out the sound on "Spiral". This is just one of two backup bands that support essra Mohawk on the second album. The other is Hastings, Taylor, and bassist Jerry Penrod. Their sound is a bit more straitforward but both groups provide able support to Mohawk's piano and vocal. On a couple of tracks the sound is sweetened even further with the addition of strings and horns, but whether dressed up or alone, Ms Mohawk has one great voice, and her songwriting skills are second to none. They may be an acquired taste for some, but spend a little time with her, and you'll soon acquire the taste.
It would be a couple more years before Essra got another deal. This time she was signed to Asylum (but the album was recorded for Paramount Records and so the Asylum group felt 'creatively uninvolved'). Tom Sellers produced this time, and the album has a slick mid-seventies sound expanded by Essra's jazz leanings. Not unlike Joni Mitchell in her aspirations, Essra Mohawk adds scat singing and free-form construction to her songs. They are not easy listening by any stretch of the imagination, and yet there is a more commercial structure to the songs on this third album. Try as I might I was unable to discover who the musicians were that backed her on Essra Mohawk. Even Richie Unterberger's in-depth liner notes shed no light on the subject except for mentioning pianist Dave Kempton who said, "I know twenty-one different ways to play 'Summertime'. Which one do you want?" To which Essra replied, "Twenty-two!" He gives her a new way to sing the Gershwin classic, a rare cover version for Mohawk. Whoever the rest of the musicians are, they sound good.
There you have it. Three albums covering a period of five years, and three different record labels. Thanks to Collectors' Choice for compiling them, for adding the bonus tracks and for the fine historical liner notes by Richie Unterberger. Essra Mohawk is still active, writing songs and recording. Read all about her at her Secret Diva website .
