• Abstract and Figures
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· · , D ham Ira Gitler Ralph Johnson, Bill Mathieu, Marion McPartland 0 Records are reviewed by Don DeMicheal, Gilbert M. Erskine, Kenn.~ ~ I Sloane Ed,word A. Spring, Pete Welding, and Michael Zweri ' Dan Morgenslern, Harvey Pekar, Bill Quinn, William Russo, Hervey s,. ers, arch 't ' n. Reviews are signed by t e wri ers, f • * * * * cod * * * good , * * a,r, * poor. Ralings are: * * * * * excellent, very ~ ' and the' second is stereo. When two catalog n~mbers are listed, the first 1s mono, bis is living music. It is not that Criss musical context and relates to that context, lives in the past or is trying to breathe Dave Brubeck strikes a balance between playfulness and BRA VO! BRUBECK !-Columbia 2695/9495: life into a corpse so much as he has Cielito Lindo; La Paloma Azul; Sobre las Olas; thoughtfulness, and is never willful or elected to mature and grow within the Besame Mucho; Nostalgia de Mexico; Poinciana; egocentric. confines of a musi cal idiom that had its El Rancho Grande; Estrellita; La Bamba, And all these cats can play. Burton has Personnel, Paul Desmond, alto saxophone; greatest flowering two decades ago, but Brubeck, piano; Benjamin Cotrea, guitar; Gene his own voice on an instrument that too still con_tinues to exert an influence upon Wright, bass; Joe Morello, drums; Salvador often swallows the player's identity, and Agucros, bongos, conga drum. Coryell, too, has found his own way on the music. Rating:**½ Criss' approach sounds a little dated a much-abused ax. They go well together, This innocuous music was recorded to these ears, but dated only in the sense both in terms of ·unity and contrast. during Brubeck's appearance in Mexico that he is a purist. His playing adheres to last May. Much was made at the time of Swallow, long a very good bassist, has become a remarkable one. He has roots, the old, pristine line, uncontaminated by Brubeck's adding two Mexican musicians any later permutations that bop went 'and he branches out. Haynes' playing is an to his group, but in light of this record through. there was little musical justification for object lesson in musical drumming, never rupturing the subtle texture of the group's Within this rigor, however, Criss man­ the move. ages to play with scorching intensity and sound, but energizing and vital still. Guitarist Correa plays the melody on with a fund of ideas that sound almost Sobre las Olas, better known as Over the The pieces all offer something to play on. The gifted Mike Gibbs contributed newly minted in his hands. His up-tempo Waves or The Loveliest Night of the Year, work is nearly flawless, as his long-lined, and has El Rancho Grande to himself Ballet, Liturgy, and Sweet Rain (the last is a lovely melody, and this version com­ limber improvisati on on Wee clearly at­ (much to the delight of his audience). tests. The music just gushes out in a re­ Percussionist Agueros merely provides pares interestingly to that recently recorded by Stan Getz, on the Verve album of the lentless torrent of notes, beautifully articu­ musical babble in the background until it's lated and stamped with assertiveness. His time .for his challenge routine with Morello same name). ballad playing is equally engaging, and on Bamba, but even then it's just two for Swallow did Portsmouth and Mojo; Burton and Coryell collaborated on the his solos on Child and Clear Day are as the show. soulful as they are sensitive. His tone is The best music is played by Desmond, fast-paced, exciting 1-2; and Carla Bley's though that fertile-minded soloist is gen­ charming Blues makes a fine vehicle for expressive. The support he receives from Davis, erally below par, rising to excellence only the quartet. Chambers, and Dawson is excellent. Davis' on Poinciana. I don't feel like attempting to describe The leader confines himself in large this music. It should be heard; it gets piano forays reveal a firm grounding in measure to straight-forward, simple solos, better · with each hearing, and it sounds the prototypical bop keyboard approaches, with few flights into his personal brand pretty damned good the first time. It and he apparently has listened long and of stomping (half Wagner, half Waller). makes a lot of beautiful sense. Dig it. hard to Bud Powell, the impress of whose His most pleasant solos are those on -Morge1JStern music is apparent in much of the piano Lindo , Besame, Poinciarw, and Estrellita. work here. In all, there's nothing much happening In short, a tast y celebration of the joys here. -DeMicheal Sonny Criss of bebop by an accomplished instru­ PORTRAIT OF SONNY CRISS-Prestige mentalist who ha s retained his own love 7526: A Million Tim es or More; W ee; God Bless of and commitment to the genr e and wbo the Child; On a Clear Dar; Blues in the Closet; Gary Burton S111ilc•. communic ates that love with sweeping, DUSTER-RCA Victor LSP-3835: Ballet; Personnel: Ctiss, alto saxophone; W altet Davis, incisive playing of great depth and ma­ Swee& Rain; Portsmouth Figuration s; Gen. Mojo ' s piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Alan Dawson, Well-Laid. PJan• One, T w o, 1-2-3-4; Sing M e drums. turity. Vigor with the rigor, that is. Soft/,y of the Blues; LJturg,y; R esponse. Rating:***½ -W elding Personnel: Burt on, vibraharp; Larry Cotyell, guitar; Steve Swallow, bass; Roy Haynes , drums. Every so often an album like this comes along to remind us just how accelerated R ating: * * * * * the development of jazz has been. Bobby Hackett This is a lovely album of music that is CREOLE COOKIN'-Verve 8698: High Sod· gentle yet strong; fresh and different, yet . The music has evolved so rapidly dur­ ety; T in Roof Blue s; T he Saints; B<l$/,z Streel unpretentious and relaxed. mg the last 60 years or so that it is pos­ Blues; Fidget}' Fee t; R oyal Gard en Blues; Musk­ rat R am bl e; Original D i,dela nd O,u,S teJ;jhN ei If there is any precedent for the special sible at the moment to hear representa­ Orleans; L, i, y Mo od; Do You Know lr at feeling of this group ( in spirit, not in tives of just about every one of the phases Means to Miss New Orl eans? le of that develop~ent. It's uncanny, for Personnel: Hackett, cornet; James Morr•\i' substance) it might be the Red Norvo Rusty Dedr ick trum p ets· Bob Brookrneyer, Cu Y Trio with Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus. example, how this set perfectly, unself­ Cutshall, cro,,;_bones; B~b Wilber, ctarint ir Tho se who recall that splendid unit will ~onsciously summons up the spirit of the prano ·saxophon e; Jerry D odgi on, JoM}tre0 a' Zooc Sims, Pepp er Adams, reeds; D ave c •:ss: know that this is meant as high praise. Jazz sce~e of the late 1940s and early pia no; Wayne Wrign t, guitar; Buddy Jones, b • There is a marvelous unity among the 195~s. Its almost as though the recording More y Feld, dru ms. players. They are always listening to each studio had served as a time machine to Rati ng: * * * ½ d other, always finding .ways of complement­ transport us back to the later days ·of the With such promising personnel, an ing each other. And each one of them has bebop revolution. with the gifted Wilber in charge of the somethin g to say and is able to say it I do not wish to suggest that this is re­ arrangements-not to mention the gol~?n individualistically and yet within a total actionary music. Quite the contrary in Ha ckett horn - the end resul1 is a bit is· group framework. fact. ' appointing. of There is freedom here, but it is the right Criss plays with a great deal of fire and The idea of new settings fo.r . som~au kind-the kind that evolves from a specific assurance i he convinces the listener that the most frequentl y pla yed traditional J pieces, with a fe:,V Hackett specialities does her e, but I don't mean to imply that thrown in, was ba sically good, but though Harr is is a Powell imitator. His is an ori­ Wilber has bright arrangin g ideas here ginal style that ha s been influenced by, aod there, the general flavor is just up­ but is easily disting uishable fro m, Pow­ 'l'he dated Bob Crosby . ell's. His work is simpler and less violent 1be album's m ost seriou s drawback is than Powell's was during the late '40s and Sound tbe Jack of solo space for such talented earl y '50s (Bud's prime yea rs). Harris' solos here are distinguished by l rion McPart!Q blowers as Adams, Fa rrell, Dodgi on, of the l MichaelZ= ~d, Wright, and McKenna. The re 's only one their melodic beau ty. He just keeps on .....nq, half-chorus and shor t break for Sims. It coming up with pretty phrases and re­ Seventies would have been fu n to he ar these men solving them well. His work has a natural tackle this un accustomed mater ial. flow and continuity . It also is marked by Brookmeyer gets a few cha nces, but rhy thmic drive. Harr is may not have the they are routined (he is pitted against heaviest hands around, but he swings hard Cutshall's ca ntus firmu s of the melod y) enough here to satisfy those who like jazz is not that Ciiss and he sound s boxe d in.

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