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Home , Harold Land, Sweet Rain

r. t =,. - -,. Record, are raviewed by Don OeMicheal, Gilbert M. Erskine, , Ira Giller, Rolph Johnson, Bill Mathieu, Morion McPartland, l Dan Morgenstern, Horvey Pekor, Bob Porter, BIil Quinn, William Russo, Harvey Siders, Carol Sloane, Pet~ Welding, and _Michael Zwerin. _ -. f.. . Review, are signed by the writers. · · . -- I lotlngs are: * * * * * excellent, * * * * very good, * * * sood, * * fair, * poor, . When two catalog number• are ll1ted, the flnt 11 mono, and the •~cond 11 1tereo.

_i Roy' Ayers•------■ ·extremely long session this group made for fine backing by :first-class helpmates, and . VIRGO VIBES-Atlantic SD 1488: Th, Ring- Prestige. It's strange that they· recorded :unobtrusive voices-for once-which don't . - eri Ay , rloom; ,,, Lim,ligh1; Virgo Vibes; ·Baker at such length since he has a good, . ~ ~ ·. . · G1ou, Flou •er. ,1,, . bother even me too much, though I usual- · Personnel: Charle5 Tolliver, trumpet; Joe Hen~ ·but ·not extraordinary group here, and ly cringe at such goings on. · · derson or Harold Land, tenor saxophone; Ronnie · b · rt ·n1 t th · ·al Clark or Jack Wilson, piano; Ayers, ,·ibes; Reg• smce . e JS ce at . y no ' . e comme_rc1_ . Some will no doubt call this album I gic Workman or , bass; Bruno attraction he was m the 50s. "commerciai." Well, why not commercial? ...i • · Drr or , drums. . . • I reviewed one of the other records from To hell with such thinking; it has set back Racing: * * * * 1/2 · · · · the session, Groovin.\ some time ago. This . and given musicians needless com­ · -·. Here is one of the more satisfying re- one gets a higher rating because Lightsey plexes long enough. If you feel like play_­ I cent LPs: the compositions are good, the and Baker play better on it, though Baker's ing pretty tunes so the melody can be · solo work is generally fine, and the rhythm · performance is still disappointing. recognized, and improvising fresh ideas on · = I .~ctions perform with vigor and taste. He seems to have trouble handling the · them, go ahead. It might even make "the -· 1- Tolliver wrote The Ringer, whkh has fluegelhorn. His upper-register work is people" listen. Of course, if you don't dig = p ... an uncluttered harmonic foundation that strained at -times, and his playing is less playing that way, don't. But Getz does, allows the soloists considerable freedom to ·crisply articulated than it generally has and you can tell. He can also play "hard" . ., roam and to search for melodic ideas. · been on trumpet. I suppose one reason that (as he did on Sweet Rain;- the album be- · Ayerloom is a pretty, Latin-type tune . Baker switched to fluegelhorn was that he fore this), so he doesn't have to prove a .·'· (Ayers calls it a neo-bossa nova) by Roy liked the full tone it is ·possible to get thing. He's got it coveted, like it or not . Norman. contributed Lime~ from the instrument. However, his• sound -I like it. And this album ain't without light, a strong, · building composition. is sometimes muddy instead of mellow . meat and potatoes, either. There is mar­ . Glow, by Ayers, is a pretty waltz. Here, he plays meaty solos ·on Tadd ·row here. The program seems to be a · • . The impressive thing about Ayers' play-. Dameron's The 490 (most Dameron com- . collaborative venture; there .are Ogerman • • • .: ing is that although his solos are complex positions deserve to be heard more often) originals and European and Brazilian . · he doesn't waste notes. He plays a lot of and Cut Plug, but even when he is double- tunes, and there are choices that I'd. wager . • notes because he has a Jot to say; he is an . timing on these tracks, his work . Jacks • ., are Getz's-John Benson Brooks' lovely ' inventive musician who doesn't rely on wallop. On l Waited for · You Baker's Flamingos; Gigi Gryce's now seldom heard . ~ " -~ stock phrases. His phrasing is graceful, playing, though not particularly adventur- Nica's Dream, and I Didn't Know. Per­ and his solos have good continuity. ous, is thoughtful and pleasant. His spots haps not coincidentally, these are among He~derson plays impassioned solos on on the other tracks are boring. On Bou- . the album's best tracks .. · Ringer and Limelight but I was even more · doir he merely imitates . Heart (not the trite chestnut by the --­ impn:ssed here with his Ayerloom spot, ·. . Goleman plays very well. He's consist­ same name) is also a masterpiece. There . ' .~' which is ·very interesting rhythmically _. . ·ently imaginative, and though his tone is isn't, to be frank, one less than good : · Land has a- fine, meaty solo on Glow . not particularly large he varies its texture · track in the whole album. · Flower. What an underrated musician he - intelligently. The tenor man demonstrates · Getz is all over his horn, .from top :to· is! If he . hadn't been overshadowed by that he can create a variety of moods, im- bottom, and wherever he goes he has .a I. ,• . and Clifford . Brown, with provising with slashing drive on Hurry sound-his sound. The -mood is predomi- · whom he played during the '50s, Land and with restraint and sensitivity on Boud- nantly nostalgic and bittersweet, some; ·_ might enjoy_ more public acclaim_ today." oir and Susan. times with funk underneath. Maybe, some ..' Tolliver · demonstrates considerable po- · Lightsey solos inventively and vigorous- .will say, that isn't "the mood of our tential on this record. He's still a deriva- ly, if a little mechanically; times." Bl.it inner time doesn't change, and _ . tive stylist, owing much to Freddie Hub- ' A bonus for those who purchase this ·calls all _-moods its own. A colleague re­ bard, but is an adventurous musician and album is the work of the unsung Wright. cently told me that no contemporary arf may well attain greater individuality with- · He does a good job in the section and that isn't social protest bas any validity. · in the next few years. He -plays well in solos well. He has relaxed, melodic spots . This profound edict did not move me ti> the upper register and has good technique. on The 490 and Susan and a good Wilbur throw out my Charlie Parker with Strings _ His solos here, though rather strident, are Ware-like solo during Etude. album, my copy of Elling/011 Indigos, my exciting. · · . · •- . · • • · . · l might add that those who are inter- · Erroll- Garner records, etc. I expect to. The piano work is generally better than ested in hearing Baker in a post-bop con- keep this album on .hand, too. good. I expected Wilson to play well, but text should try to pick up his Polka Dots -Morgenstern was pleasantly surprised by Clark, whose and Moo11beams LP (Jazzland 988). This work was unfamiliar to me. He is a lucid contains some of the best work he's ever soloist who plays flowing, single-note lines recorded. · -Pekar BACKLASH-Atlantic 1477: Backlash; Thr and uses ,his left hand well. · Rt1urn of the Prodigal Son; Lillie Sunflower· O,r the Que-tee; U /1 J11m/1td Spring; Echoes of B/u ·e. This record, incidentally, was produced Personnel: lfubbard, trumpet, flucgclhorri: by . He deserves a pat on the VOICES-Verve V /V6•8707: 011ct; I Did11't James Spaulding, alto saxnphone, flute: Alb eit= Know what Time it u·as; Nira's Dream; Lillie Dailey, piano; Bob Cunningham, bass; Oris Ra, back for his efforts to make the LP a . Rio; Kerp Me i11 Your Heart,· Zigttmtr S011g; I Appleton, drum,; Ray Barcetro, Latin percussion... · varied and stimulating one. -Pekar Wa111 to U,,,i Where Flamillgo1 l'ly; Mid11igbt · (cracks .1, 2, 3 only). ,.~ . Samba; lufi11iaad; Dar/i11g Jot. · Ra1ing: Personnel: Gerz, tenor saxophone; Herbie Han­ * * * cock or Hank Jones, piano; Jim Hall, guitar; Hubbard's big beautiful tone is one oE ------• , bass; Grady Tare, drums; Artie But­ the best things about this album. lt con­ COOL BURNIN'-Preslige 7496: H11ny; l ler, ·Bobby Roscngardcn, percussion; Bill Hor­ Waired ft>I' You; Tbt 490; Cut Plug; Boudoir; vach, cymbalom (tracks and only); chorus, . tairts six originals, mostly minor in botla E111dein Tbru: S/upi11g Su1,m. · , 6 8 \·· · arranged and conducted by Claus Ogcrman. key and mood. These consist of rath "!-·: Personnel: Baker, flucgelbora; George Cole• ;,,an tenor saxophone; , piano; Raring: * * * * * brief outlines ·for blowing; and the firs­ ..... He~an Wright, bass; Roy Brooks, drums, This is · a superb mood album, a . jazz two tracks hardly needed to have bee c · Rating: * * * ·· mood album, and that's what !he rating· is separated, since they are almost iLlenticO.::: Here's the fourth LP to come from an.· •r: ·..- - for: Getz at the top of his lyrical form; -just a slight change of tempo and c::: . 26 0 DOWN BEAT·