sábado, 25 de fevereiro de 2012

Booker Little - Out Front (1961)

Booker Little was the first trumpet soloist to emerge in jazz after the death of Clifford Brown to have his own sound. His tragically brief life (he died at age 23 later in 1961) cut short what would have certainly been a major career. Little, on this sextet date with multi-reedist Eric Dolphy, trombonist Julian Priester, and drummer Max Roach, shows that his playing was really beyond bebop. His seven now-obscure originals (several of which deserve to be revived) are challenging for the soloists and there are many strong moments during these consistently challenging and satisfying performances.
By Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - We Speak (06:46)
02 - Strenght and Sanity (06:17)
03 - Quiet Please (08:10)
04 - Moods in Free Time (05:44)
05 - Man of Words (04:51)
06 - Hazy Hues (06:41)
07 - A New Day (05:31)

Line-up:
Booker Little - trumpet
Julian Priester - trombone
Eric Dolphy - alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
Don Friedman - piano
Art Davis - bass
Max Roach - drums, timpani, vibraphone

sábado, 11 de fevereiro de 2012

George Benson - The Other Side of Abbey Road (1970)

Just three weeks after the U.S. release of the Beatles' swan song, Abbey Road, Creed Taylor ushered George Benson into the studio to begin a remarkably successful pop-jazz translation of the record (complete with a parody of the famous cover, showing Benson with guitar crossing an Eastern urban street). It is a lyrical album, with a hint of the mystery and a lot of the cohesive concept of the Beatles' original despite the scrambled order of the tunes. Benson is given some room to stretch out on guitar, sometimes in a bluesy groove, and there are more samples of his honeyed vocals than ever before (oddly, his voice would not be heard again by record-buyers until he signed with Warner Bros.). Don Sebesky's arrangements roam freely from baroque strings to a full-throated big band, and Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Fortune, and Hubert Laws get some worthy solo space. Yet for all its diversity, the record fits together as a whole more tightly than any other George Benson project, thanks to his versatile talents and the miraculous overarching unity of the Beatles' songs. One wonders if the Fab Four liked it, too.
By Richard S. Ginell in All Music Guide

Style:
Crossover-Jazz
Jazz Pop
Guitar Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Golden Slumbers/ You Never Give Me Your Money (04:48)
02 - Because / Come Together (07:23)
03 - Oh! Darling (03:59)
04 - Here Comes the Sun / I Want You (She's So Heavy) (09:02)
05 - Something / Octopus's Garden / The End (06:23)

Line-up:
George Benson – guitar, vocal
Herbie Hancock - piano, organ, harpsichord
Ernie Hayes - piano
Bob James - piano
Ron Carter - Bass guitar
Gerry Jemmott - Bass guitar
Idris Muhammad - drums
Ed Shaughnessy - drums
Ray Barretto - percussion
Andy Gonzalez - percussion
Wayne Andre - trombone, euphonium
Don Ashworth - baritone saxophone
Sonny Fortune - alto saxophone
Jerome Richardson - tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute
Mel Davis - trumpet, flugelhorn
Bernie Glow - trumpet
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
Marvin Stamm - trumpet
Phil Bodner - flute, oboe
Hubert Laws - flute
Raoul Poliakin - violin
Max Pollikoff - violin
George Ricci - cello
Emanuel Vardi - viola

domingo, 5 de fevereiro de 2012

Charles Earland - Living Black! (1970)

Recorded in 1970 at the Key Club, Living Black! is notable for many reasons, not the least of which is that it showcased Earland in a live setting at his most inspired. From choosing his sidemen to material to reading the audience to pure instrumental execution, there isn't a weak moment on this date, nor a sedentary one. Earland makes the band roll on all burners from the git and never lets up. Consisting of four extended tunes, there's the burning rhythm and stomp of "Key Club Cookout," which blazes with wisdom and rhythm fire. Earland's own soloing is revelatory, but it is the way he drags absolutely unexpected performances from his sidemen that makes him so special as a bandleader. In this case, Grover Washington never played like this again on a record; deep in the soul groove on his tenor, he turned it inside out, looking for new embouchures in which to get the sounds out of the horn. He dug deep inside his trick bag and left no one wanting. Likewise, guitarist Maynard Parker, who came from the Chicago blues school, gets to exercise that side of his West Side soul personality -- check out his break on "Westbound No. 9." The long blues strut of "Killer Joe" is what drives the tune, the longest track on the record. It features a slow, strolling horn line from Washington and trumpeter Gary Chandler that opens out onto a gorgeously pastoral frame before popping out with the blues feel once again. Parker's guitar playing fills all the places Earland chooses not to, so the band's density is total. There is a moving and instrumentally astonishing short version of "Milestones" that closes the set, but it wasn't even necessary. Everybody who was there, no doubt -- as well as any listener with blood instead of sawdust in her or his veins -- had their minds blown long before.
By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Jazz Funk
Soul Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Key Club Cookout (09:31)
02 - Westbound No. 9 (08:19)
03 - Killer Joe (14:28)
04 -Milestones (04:34)
05 - More Today Than Yesterday (08:20)
06 -Message from a Black Man (09:59)

Line-up:
Charles Earland - organ
Grover Washington Jr. - alto
saxophone, tenor saxophone
Maynard Parker - guitar
Gary Chandler - trumpet
Jesse Kilpatrick - drums
Buddy Caldwell - congas

quarta-feira, 1 de fevereiro de 2012

Ted Curson - Tears for Dolphy (1964)

Although the term "avant-garde" is used several times in the liner notes, this quartet outing by trumpeter Ted Curson, tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, bassist Herb Bushler and drummer Dick Berk actually falls between hard bop and free bop. Curson and Barron in particular made for a potent team and their interplay on nine originals (five by Curson, four by Barron) is quite impressive, swinging and occasionally witty. This CD reissue brings back the entire Tears for Dolphy album plus three of the six songs from the Flip Top LP, all recorded the same day. Although the title cut does not live up to its potential, such tunes as "Kassim," "7/4 Funny Time," "Quicksand" and "Searchin' for the Blues" manage to be both explorative and surprisingly accessible.
By Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Kassim (07:41)
02 - East 6th Street (05:38)
03 - 7/4 Funny Time (05:28)
04 - Tears for Dolphy (08:32)
05 - Quicksand (06:39)
06 - Reava's Waltz (07:10)
07 - Searching for the Blues (07:47)
08 - Desolation (08:45)
09 - Light Blue (03:43)

Line-up:
Ted Curson - trumpet, pocket trumpet
Bill Barron - tenor saxophone, clarinet
Herb Bushler - double bass
Dick Berk - drums