The psychedelic jazz-rock band Sweet Smoke was formed in Brooklyn in 1967, originally named Sweet Smoke Of The Happy Pipeful, but was active from 1969-1974 in what was then West Germany.

Their debut album, Just A Poke, was released by EMI Columbia in Germany in 1970. It was also released in Italy, the Netherlands and France, where, due to their stage presence in those countries, they were quite popular. They were completely unknown in the United Kingdom, since the album in question was not released there, resulting in the band being a mystery to the British for a long time.

Sweet Smoke released three albums, the last two of which have a quite different line-up. However, between 1970’s Just A Poke, 1973’s Darkness To Light and 1974’s live Sweet Smoke Live, Just A Poke is considered the best.

The album features the four founding members of the group, Andy Dershin on bass, Jay Dorfman on percussion and drums, Marvin Kaminowitz on lead guitar and vocals, Michael Paris on alto and tenor saxophone, vocals and percussion, and Steve Rosenstein on rhythm guitar and vocals. Just A Poke was produced by Rosie Schmitz and Winfried Ebert and recorded by Conrad Plank and Klaus Löhmer. Applying innovative studio technologies, Plank could easily be called the German pioneer of electronic sound.

With a total running time of 32:46 minutes, the album has only two tracks in total. The track titles were mixed up either on the album cover or the album label, causing even experts to disagree slightly. In the end, the best solution was chosen based on what the label says. The track on the A-side is called “Baby Night” and on the B-side “Silly Sally”.

So, apart from the coherent structure of the tracks that seems to move on smooth ground, “Baby Night” is an enjoyable melody, while “Silly Sally” offers a surprisingly delicate drum solo. The lyrics are not so important as they seem like fragments of text within the general improvisation of the group.

“Baby Night”, which I select, begins with a meditative folk tempo and with the wonderful melody of saxophonist Michael Paris and is supported only by the guitars. Marvin Kaminowitz’s soft, innocent voice is supported by dreamy flute sounds. Then, the guitar sticks with a solo without any outbursts, but with strong repetitive riffs and before returning to the original theme, the vocals bring us back to a meditative mood, framed by the sounds of the conga.

Tracklist

A. Baby Night 16:24
B. Silly Sally 16:22