Morgenstern, Dan. [Record Review: Woody Herman: Brand New] Down
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BENNYGOODMAN que~ce is ~o basically correct and logical that one is reminded of the great Armstrong at this gones; Frank Tiberi, Steve Lederer, Sal Nistico LONDON DATE-Philips 6308023: This Guy's ene _Sm_ookler,_reeds; Alan Broadbent iano' In Love With Me; Yesterday; Easy to Remember· most spectacular and harmonically per electric piano; Mike Bloomfield, guitar (t~a~ks 1' That M_yLove; Octopus's Garden; I Will Wait Fo~ ceptive. 3 , 4, 5); Alan Reed, electric bass; Ed Soph, drums'. You; Liza; You Took Advantage of Me; On A Clear . The l.ioodma_n ?f today has been strongly Rating:**** Day; What Can I Say Dear (After I Say I'm Sorry)· J Talk to the Trees. · influenced by his interest in classical clarinet Wood_(s_ first '.or Fantasy indicates that his Personnel: Kenny Baker, Bert Ezzard, Tommy literature. This is particularly evident in his new affihat1on might have happier results than McQuater, Derek Healey, trumpets; Lad Busby, sound: almost completely free of vibrato. Its the previous one. This album is well recorded Johnny Marshall, Jackie Armstrong, Chris Smith, statuesque imperturbability is utterly im and . produced and contains some excellent trombones; Goodman, clarinet; Bob Burns, Roy music. W1llcox, Tommy_ Whittle, Frank Reidy, Don Hon maculate, especially in the lower and middle eywell. reeds; Bill McGuffie, piano; Lennie Bush registers. It is an accomplishment that per . The_ emphasis is on blues and/or bass; Judd Proctor, guitar; Ronnie Stephenson' h~ps only another musician can fully appre r&b-on~nted material. and a guest artist, gui drums. · ciate. And, happily, it has all been beautifully tarist Mike Bloomfield. is heavily featured on Rating: **** recorded, with a cool translucence you can two of th_efour pieces on which he is present. There is a casual elegance about this collec almost see through. ~e acquits himself well in a jazz setting. but tion of recent Goodman performances, Ea.1"):and Adl'anta1-:e are played by Good his two long solo excursions (Sta11/ev and recorded in October and November 1969. man with rhythm section backing only. They Hitch H_ike ! are less interesting from ~ jazz Those hoping that the Master's latest session suffe_r from excessively heavy drumming, standpoint than his briefer outing on Si11ce/ would be a program of surging, pulsating swi relatively dead acoustics, and an attack that Fell, the old Buddy Johnson hit. Woody's ngers will find solace only in Liza a sparkling pushes too hard. Octopus is a pseudo- Dix v_ocal on this is one of his best in quite some arrangement in the Fletcher Henderson tradi ieland number included strictly for laughs. time. and he also sings well on Mind, the old tion with rich-sounding reed ensembles, agile This is a considerably more formal set than Ivory Joe Hunter tune that also was a hit for Nat King Cole. clarinet work, and crackling brass. The bal the recent double package from London It is a bit surprising (and disappointing) that ance of the album may seem at first a dis Records (SPB 21 ), but on its own level it is an album by a band long known for its strong appointment, but listen again. largely successful. It is scheduled for U.S. tenor players should feature only one brief Although most of the selections do not have release on Flying Dutchman. -McDonou1-:h tenor solo (Tiberi on Pro11dMarv). Sal Nis a strong jazz character to them, they never tico gets nothing to play at all. and I think the theless stand as a compendium of contempo long A.fier flours, featuring Broadbent\ nice rary and standard music played with unparal electric piano. would have been improved by leled physical beauty and occasionally with a horn solo. considerable feeling. Standouts along this line WOODYHERMAN Broadbent is responsible for five of the include This Guy's, My Love, Trees, Yester charts. and the outstanding iine is Lm·e in BRANDNEW-Fantasy 8414; Sidewalk Stanley; day, and particularly Sorry, which receives a After Hours; Since I Fell tor You; Proud Mary; Silent A mher, a beautiful ballad vehicle for controlled but emotional rendering heigh Hitch Hike on the Possum Trot Line; Love in Bobby Burgess' underrated trombone. His tened by an effective key change and a mag Silent Amber; I Almost Lost My Mind; Adam's playing here is the high point of the albtim. Apple. nificent flourish of melody in the rideout. In Personnel: Forrest Buchtel, Buddy Powers, To and he also contributes well to Ar1p/e, another his fleeting but brilliant cadenza, Goodman ny Klatka, Tom Harrell, Bill Byrne, trumpets; Broadbent opus. flings out a series of arpeggios whose se- Bobby Burgess, Ira Nepus, Don Switzer. tram- But almost the best chart in the album is OSIBUSA Dec 75285 MA RAINEY VARIOUS ARTIS'PS RASPUTON'S STASH Cot 9046 Down In The Basement Mil 2018 Core of Jazz MGM 4737 JOE YOUNG THE MOTHERS WOODY IIEUMAN Mighty Joe Young Del 629 Fillmore East--June 1971 Rep 2042 Woody Cad 845 BIG JOE WILLIAMS EARL HINES - At Home Del 212 BILLIE HOLIDAY Nine String Blues Del 627 HOWLIN'WOLF Lady Day Col 637 GEORGE BARNES & BUCKY PIZZARELLI The London Howlin' Wolf A&R 7100/077 Sessions Chs 60008TF ARETHA FRANKLIN CAROLE KING - Tapestry Ode 77099 Tape Recordings.If the recording listed has the letter "T" at the end of the record Aretha 1 s Greatest Hits Atl 8295TF EL CHICANO - Revolucio, Kap 3640 number, it is available in both Cassette and RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK BOOKER T & THE MGs 8-Track tape. The letter "F" after "T" Stx 2035 11 Natural Black Inventions: Melting Pot indicated the list price is $6.98; letter G11 Root Strata Atl 1578 LIGHTHOUSE after "T" indicates the list price is $7.98. CHARLES TOLLIVER - Music Inc. S-E 1971 One Fine Morning Evo 3007 List price given for tape Applies to either KING CURTIS MILES DAVIS Cassette or 8.Track tape. Live At Fillmore West Ate 33-359 Sketches of Spain Col 8271 IRA SULLIVAN B.B. KING Note: Remember to indicate which configu• Nicky's Tune Del 422 Indianola Mississippi Seeds ABC 713TF ra t ion r.ou want. ~----------------------------------- 1 _Mail with your remittance to down beat/RECORDCLUB • 222 W. Adorns Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606 Order form list prices subject to change without notice.) db/RC Price Lobel No. {LPor CA or SD ~ a..0 0 Artist& Title ~ E w z -0 0 > <l'. -0 .... 0 0 Q. ...c ~ aJ -0 ~ ...c ~ 0 aJ ·;; List db/RC C ..Q 2 Price Price ~ 0 Q. 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This track really and probing James (a hero throughout- what Records (no pun intended) touches many of gets off the ground and should appeal both to a touch!) the group's past musical cornerstones and jazz and soul fans. The other side disappoints mainly in its succeeds largely in injecting freshness and The leader gets quite a bit of instrumental 11.cademic stasis-convoluted cadenzas and vitality in what is after 20 years a familiar as well as vocal space and as usual sounds the usual chamber chatter obscuring the spe musical vocabulary. fine on all three horns. His soprano is heard cial magic Laws can evoke. Though the musi The program is a varied one. Watkin' is a on Hitch Hike, a groovy slow blues, and I cianship is impeccable, Concerto succumbs to charming and engaging fugue-like theme char only wish there had been more of it; to me, tedium. Syrinx (by Debussy), a gentle, over acterized by a conspicuous absence of synco Woody is one of the best on that difficult dubbed Laws tour de force, is somewhat more pation. Thematically and rhythmically, it sug instrument and doesn't feature it enough. His interesting. gests such past MJQ tunes as Versailles from clarinet on Amber is very pretty. Laws' purity of tone and ease of execution the F ontessa LP (SD 1231 of Blues N eek/ace The band is in good form, but on the whole from Jasmin Tree (Apple ST 3353). Lewis' not quite as exciting as it can be in person. In gingerly solo playing hints of Basie in its fact, I hope someday they'll do a live date spareness and simplicity. He tiptoes delicate with the Herd-without special guest stars. ly from note to note and gathers an The band is good enough to sell itself. ever-so-gently swinging momentum. Every -Morgenstern continue to amaze and his wide barrierless note counts in a Lewis solo of this sort. Un vision enables him to bring all aspects of his fortunately, the piece lacks resolution.