Woody Shaw - The Moontrane (1974)

In a genre full of tragically short-lived performers, Woody Shaw's story is exceptionally tragic. Legally blind and beset with emotional problems, he was killed in a subway accident in 1989 without ever attaining the recognition attentive listeners knew he deserved. The Mosaic box set of his Columbia recordings a few years ago placed him in a linear development of trumpet players between Hubbard and Marsalis; this was, no doubt, a highly questionable analysis (mainly because it left out Miles Davis altogether), but it indicated the high regard and influence Shaw has had — or should have had — over other trumpet players.

The Moontrane, recorded in late 1974, was Shaw's breakthrough album. It is aptly named, for although Shaw was during his lifetime routinely (and with relative inaccuracy) compared to Hubbard, he sounds more like John Coltrane. Now to replicate Coltrane's lightning runs and dense harmonic lines on trumpet is no mean feat; Shaw not only does it repeatedly, but with impeccable precision and taste. The Moontrane sports the Coltrane-ish tenor and soprano man Azar Lawrence, who was also part of McCoy Tyner's Coltrane-ish modal recordings of the early Seventies.
"Sanyas," by a young Steve Turre, who is also part of Shaw's basic quartet, is a modal workout with some intense soprano work by Lawrence, recalling the reedy Eastern feel of many of Coltrane's soprano recordings. Shaw is simply stunning here, with long clean lines to take the breath away. Then comes pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs, a Shaw favorite, playing unplugged on this track a first-rate McCoy Tyner impersonation. Cecil McBee plays bass on three tracks, Buster Williams on two. (There are also two alternates, both featuring McBee.) Victor Lewis on drums keeps things going, but doesn't light any fires. Percussionists Tony Waters and Guilherme Franco join in here and there.
"The Moontrane" became Shaw's signature tune. Here it gets a straightforward reading enlivened by the sterling trumpet of the master himself. "Tapscott's Blues" is more passionate, with Lawrence and Shaw vying intriguingly for Best Post-Coltrane Solo honors. Turre sounds throughout the disc a little less developed than the trombonist he has subsequently become, but that doesn't mean he doesn't hold up his end. Actually, as the only one of the frontmen not to be deeply influenced by the Coltrane Quartet, he adds piquancy to the sound.
"Katrina Ballerina" is a boppish tune with more stunning work from Shaw, whose fluency in the trumpet's lower register is just as striking as his speed.
Gumbs shines on his own "Are They Only Dreams," as does Turre on the opening sections of his "Sanyas." Shaw himself penned "The Moontrane" and "Katrina Ballerina," putting him in the group of great jazz performers who could write their own great tunes. Alas that he didn't write more.

By Robert Spencer in All About Jazz

Styles:
Hard-Bop
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - The Moontrane (06:54)
02 - Sanyas (13:05)
03 - Tapscott´s Blues (06:41)
04 - Katrina Ballerina (07:36)
05 - Are They Only Dreams (09:12)
06 - Tapscott´s Blues (Alt.) (06:50)
07 - Katrina Ballerina (Alt.) (08:01)

Line-up:
Woody Shaw - Trumpet
Azar Lawrence - Sax tenor
Steve Turre - Trombone
Onaje Allen Gumbs - Piano
Cecil McBee - Bass except 1, 5
Buster Williams - Bass
Victor Lewis - Drums
Tony Waters - Conga
Guilherme Franco - Percussion on 2, 4, 5, 7

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (1976)

The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man was Rahsaan Roland Kirk's first album for Warner Brothers, recorded before the stroke that impaired him. Kirk is at full creative and musical strength. These seven tracks are an utter astonishment. Kirk's playing of saxophones, harmonica, flutes, and euphonium is deep, soulful, and even profound in places. "Theme for the Eulipions" (which opens the album), "Giant Steps," and "There Will Never Be Another You" features an all-star band that includes Charlie Persip, a young Hilton Ruiz, bassist Buster Williams, Romeo Perique on baritone saxophone, and Howard Johnson on tuba. The version of "Sweet Georgia Brown," with its wacky percussion and whistling, is so utterly joyful and funky it's perhaps the definitive jazz version of the tune. But it's the readings of Minnie Riperton's "Loving You" and Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" that take the album to an entirely new place. They are, though very different from one another, so utterly moving and aesthetically beautiful, they elevate music to the level of poetry. This is one that's utterly necessary for fans, and a very fitting intro for the novice.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Modal
Modern Creative
Hard Bop

Tracks:
01 - Theme for the Eulipions (09:30)
02 - Sweet Georgia Brown (04:47)
03 - I'll Be Seeing You (06:09)
04 - Loving You (04:49)
05 - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (06:22)
06 - There Will Never Be Another You (05:09)
07 - Giant Steps (06:12)

Line-up:
Roland Kirk: tenor saxophone, manzello, stritch, clarinet, flute, harmonica, euphonium
Howard Johnson: tuba (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Romeo Penque: baritone saxophone, oboe (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Hilton Ruiz: piano, celesta (tracks 1 & 4-7)
Buster Williams: bass (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Charlie Persip: drums (tracks 1, 6 & 7)
Joe Habao Texidor: percussion, vocals (tracks 1 & 4-7)
Betty Neals: recitation (track 1)
Maeretha Stewart: vocals (track 1)
Hank Jones: piano (track 2)
Milt Hinton: bass (track 2)
Fred Moore: washboard (track 2)
Wilton Eaton: whistling (track 2)
Trudy Pitts: organ (track 3)
William Butler: guitar (tracks 3-5)
Bill Carney: drums (tracks 3-5)
Arthur Jenkins: keyboards (tracks 4 & 5)
Matathias Pearson: bass (tracks 4 & 5)
Jerry Griffin: drums (tracks 4 & 5)
Warren Smith: percussion (tracks 4 & 5)

Herbie Hancock - Sextant (1972)

When Herbie Hancock left Warner Bros. in 1971 after releasing three musically sound but critically and commercially underappreciated albums -- The Crossing, Mwandishi, and Fat Albert's Groove -- he was struggling. At odds with a jazz establishment that longed for his return to his Blue Note sound and a fierce consciousness struggle with free music and the full-on embrace of electricity since his tenure with Miles Davis, Hancock was clearly looking for a voice. Before diving into the commercial waters that would become Headhunters in 1973, Hancock and his tough group (including Billy Hart, Julian Priester, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Bennie Maupin, and Buster Williams) cut this gem for their new label, Columbia. Like its Warner predecessors, the album features a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing the edges of funk. The three long tracks are exploratory investigations into the nature of how mode and interval can be boiled down into a minimal stew and then extrapolated upon for soloing and "riffing." In fact, in many cases, the interval becomes the riff, as is evidenced by "Rain Dance." The piece that revealed the true funk direction, however, was "Hidden Shadows," with its choppy basslines and heavy percussion -- aided by the inclusion of Dr. Patrick Gleeson and Buck Clarke. Dave Rubinson's production brought Hancock's piano more into line with the rhythm section, allowing for a unified front in the more abstract sections of these tunes. The true masterpiece on the album, though, is "Hornets," an eclectic, electric ride through both the dark modal ambience of Miles' In a Silent Way and post-Coltrane harmonic aesthetics. The groove is in place, but it gets turned inside out by Priester and Maupin on more than one occasion and Hancock just bleats with the synth in sections. Over 19 minutes in length, it can be brutally intense, but is more often than not stunningly beautiful. It provides a glimpse into the music that became Headhunters, but doesn't fully explain it, making this disc, like its Warner predecessors, true and welcome mysteries in Hancock's long career.

by Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Fusion
Avant-Garde
Jazz-Funk

Tracks:
01 - Rain Dance (9:16)
02 - Hidden Shadows (10:11)
03 - Hornets (19:35)

Line-up:
Herbie Hancock - piano, Fender Rhodes, Hohner D-6 clavinet, mellotron
Bennie Maupin - soprano sax, bass clarinet, piccolo, afuche, hum-a-zoo
Dr. Eddie Henderson - trumpet, flugelhorn
Julian Priester - bass trombone, tenor trombone, alto trombone, cowbell
Buster Williams - electric bass, acoustic bass
Billy Hart - drums
Dr. Patrick Gleeson - ARP 2600 and Pro-Soloist
Buck Clarke - percussion

Joe Farrell - Outback (1971)

Outback is the second of his dates for the CTI label, all of which are compelling, and some, like this one, are brilliant. Recording in a quartet setting with Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, and Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, Farrell, with his reeds and woodwinds, pushes the envelope not only of his own previous conceptualism in jazz, but the CTI label's envelope as well. For starters, this is not a funk, soul, or fusion date, but an adventurous, spacy tightrope-walking exercise between open-ended composition and improvisation. That said, there is plenty of soul in the playing, not only by Farrell, but by all the players -- and Corea never sounded less academic or pointillistic than he does here. There are four compositions on Outback, all of which were arranged by Farrell. The opener is the humid and mysterious title track by John Scott. Staged in a series of minor-key signatures, Farrell primarily uses his winds here, flutes and piccolos, to weave a spellbinding series of ascending melodies over the extended voicings provided by Corea -- not exactly in counterpoint, but in spacious contrast. Jones is his typically uncanny self, skipping over cymbals and using a set of sticks more softly than any man can and still drive a band. Airto is positively hypnotic with his hand-drum fills, rubs and shimmers, going through the beat, climbing on top of it, and playing accents in tandem with Farrell in the solo sections. "Sound Down" is a bit more up-tempo and features Farrell fully engaged on the soprano. Buster Williams lays down a short staccato bassline that keeps Jones' bass drum pumping. As Farrell moves from theme/variation/melody to improvisation, he brings Corea, who, uncharacteristically, vamps off the melody before offering a series of ostinato replies before Farrell clearly surprises everybody with the knottiness of his legato phrasing. Corea's "Bleeding Orchid" is a ballad played with augmented modes and continually shifting intervals that can be heard and mapped best by Williams' adherence to the changes, though his pizzicato fills provide a sharp contrast to Farrell's trills and columnar arpeggiattic meditations that come off as a cross between pastoral jazz classicism and Middle Eastern folk music. Finally, on the leader's own "November 6th," the stops are pulled out in a Latin jazz workout that invokes Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things," and Farrell digs deep into the tenor's middle register for a singing sound that brings to bear the Latin jazz howling of Gato Barbieri and the deep fire music of 'Trane, while being played through a gorgeously bluesy sophistication as the other players rally around and push through the tenor player's flights of near manic intensity. This is a stunner, an album that is at least as inspired as anything Farrell ever recorded, and perhaps more so.

by Thom Jurek at All Music Guide.

Styles:
Hard Bop
Crossover Jazz

Tracks:
01 Outback
02 Sound Down
03 bleeding Orchid
04 November 68th

Line-up:
Chick Corea - electric piano
Joe Farrell - flute / alto flute / piccolo / soprano and tenor saxophone
Elvin Jones - drums
Airto Moreira - percussion
Buster Williams - bass