Merry Olde Soul

Merry Olde Soul is an album by vibraphonist/pianist Victor Feldman recorded in early 1961 (with one track from December 1960) and originally released on the Riverside label.^[1][2]

Merry Olde Soul
Studio album by Victor Feldman
Released	1961
Recorded	16 December 1960 and 6 & 11 January 1961
Studio	Plaza Sound Studios, NYC
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:25
Label	RiversideRLP/S9 366
Producer	Orrin Keepnews
Victor Feldman chronology
Latinsville! (1959) Merry Olde Soul (1961) Stop the World I Want to Get Off (1962)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
DownBeat	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]

The contemporaneous DownBeat reviewer picked "Serenity" – "a beautiful and touching work" – as the highlight, and praised the contributions of all the musicians.^[4] The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "Feldman is in excellent form on a straight-ahead set. The trio/quartet performs five standards that for the most part are not overly familiar, plus four of the leader's originals. Tasteful and swinging music".^[3] On All About Jazz Samuel Chell observed "As impressive as is his earlier date, The Arrival of Victor Feldman, Merry Olde Soul is overall a more satisfying session ... Merry Olde Soul exhibits more warmth and variety in its textures. It's also a more "groove-oriented session" thanks to the use of Cannonball Adderley's rhythm team".^[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Victor Feldman except where noted.

1. "For Dancers Only" (Sy Oliver, Don Raye, Vic Schoen) – 4:43
2. "Lisa" (Victor Feldman, Torrie Zito) – 4:05
3. "Serenity" – 4:38
4. "You Make Me Feel So Young" (Josef Myrow, Mack Gordon) – 5:18
5. "Come Sunday" (Duke Ellington) – 2:17
6. "The Man I Love" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 6:27
7. "Bloke's Blues" – 5:34
8. "I Want to Be Wanted" (Kim Gannon, Pino Spotti, Alberto Testa) – 3:44
9. "Mosey on Down" – 3:58

• Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, NYC on 16 December 1960 (track 4) and 6 & 11 January 1961 (tracks 1–3 & 5–9)

Personnel

• Victor Feldman – vibraphone (tracks 2, 5, 6 & 9), piano (tracks 1, 3, 4, 7 & 8)
• Hank Jones – piano (tracks 2, 5 & 9)
• Sam Jones (tracks 1–3, 5–9), Andy Simpkins (track 4) – bass
• Louis Hayes – drums