II · ·d .. · · ·. · ··..·d., b Mi-·ke·_BourneBill Cole Gary Giddins. Wayne Jones. Larry Kart. Peter Recor sarerev1ewe . Y . · : . · · M. D · r ,. Ke · · · · J . H. Kle·e Michael Levin. John Lttwe1ler. Terry Martin. John c onough. Dan . epnews, oe . , . · . R . · . L R'dl R Morgenstern. Bobby Nelsen. Don Nelsen. Bob Porter Doug amsey .. arry • I ey: og_er Riggins: ·Robert Rusch, James p; Schaffer. Joe Shulman. Harvey Siders. Will Smith. Jim Szantor. EricVogel. andPeteWeld1ng. Rating~are:*****exceltent, ****verygood,***good. ** fair, *poor . ..Most recordings-re'iiewed area 11~ilable for purchase through.the ~o~n b1.tat/R~CORD CLUB. · . (For membership information s!:ledetails elsewher!:l in, this issue. or.write to REVIEWS · downbeat!RE:CORDCLUB. ~2W.Adams,_Ch1cago, IL 60606) hear the sounds of this great musical organ­ Art, Francisco Centenno. are on the record­ SPOTLIGHTREVIEW ism, and of the individual voices, the _very ing. Perhaps it could be called nepotism. but DUKE ELLINGTON special voices, of which it is made ~P- L1st~n maybe it's just a natural desire for an Adder­ to some really contemporary music - music ley dynasty. -klee LATINAMERICAN SUITE-Fantasy 8419-Ocl­ by which our children's children will judge upaca;'Chico Cuadradino; Eque; Tina; The Sleep­ FREDDIEHUBBARD ing Lady and the Giant Who Watches Over Her; our age and perhaps not find it entirely ~ant­ Latin American Sunshine; Brasilliance. ing in the creation of lasting beauty. Listen SKY DIVE-CTI 6018: Povo; In A Mist; The Personnel: Willie Cook. Cat Anderson. Cootie and learn to love. -morgenstern Godfather; Sky Dive. Williams. Mercer Ellington. trump!='ts; Chuck Personnel: Hubbard. trumpet; Marvin Stamm. Connors, Lawrence Brown. Buster Cooper; Rus­ Alan Rubin. trumpet, fluegelhorn; Garnett Brown. sell Procope, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves. Wayne Andre. Paul Falise, trombones; Tony Harold Ashby, Harry Carney, reeds; Ellington. pi­ Price, tuba; Hubbert Laws, flutes; Phil Bodner. ano· Jeff Castleman. bass; Rufus Jones. drums. George Marge, Wally Kane, Romeo Penque. (Re~orded Nov. 5, 1968.) On track 4: Ellington, flutes. reeds; Keith Jarrett. acoustic&electric pi­ Victor Gaskin. Paul Kondziela, basses, Jones ano; George Benson. guitar; Ron Carter. bass; only; recorded Jan. 7, 1970. Billy Cobham, drums; Airto. Ray Barretto, per­ Rating:***** cussion; Don Sebesky, arranger, conductor. Of the recent-and most welcome-trio of Rating: **** new Ellington releases, this is the one. His In a Mist is a masterpiece, featuring Hub­ greatest work since Far East Suite, it is des­ CANNONBALLADDERLY bard's glowing horn in a woodwindy setting tined to take a place among his masterpieces. PRESENTS beautifully crafted by Sebesky. Bix Beider­ becke's 1927 composition (for piano, not It is our good fortune that Ellington has the SOUL OF THE BIBLE-Capitol SAAB 11120: In foresight (and means) to record new works The Beginning; Yield; Obeah; Fun In The Church; trumpet) retains its haunting essence, and Bix' when he feels they are ready. It took four The Eternal Walk; Krukma; Gone; Behold; Psalm love for wholetone scales gives it a "contem­ 24; Make Your Own Temple; Taj; Psalm 54; porary" flavor. It is the most challenging ma­ years for this suite to find its way to public Amani; Space Spiritual. release, but it was there. produced, as the Personnel: Nat Adderly, cornet; Cannonball terial for Hubbard on this set (I doubt that the liner credit reads. "by Mr. Ellington." Per­ Adderley. alto. soprano saxes; George Duke, Nat other pieces. Godjcaherin particular. will sur­ Adderley Jr .. piano, electric piano; Walter Book­ vive for 45 years) and he rises to it; his lovely haps because it was produced by its creator er, bass; Francisco Centeno. electric piano; Wal­ and not some dial-twisting executive. the mu­ ter Booker. bass; Francisco Centeno. electric rubato statements at beginning and end are sic sounds absolutely right and positively gor­ bass; Roy Mccurdy. drums; Airto Moreira, May­ reason enough to hear this album. geous. The most opulent sound in big band uto, Octavio and King Errison, percussion; Rick The rest isn't bad at all. but more con­ Holmes, narrator; Fleming Williams. Arthur annals comes through with all its warmth, Charma, Olga James, Stephanie Spruill, voices. ventional. There is fine Hubbard throughout natural balance and ambiance intact. Rating:****½ (he has been a remarkably consistent per­ former on records, and his command of the The Ellington sound alone is often enough In· the beginning was the word. And ever instrument is always evident). The relaxed to seduce the ear. Today, we have the most since. the word was revealed, various com­ proficient and clever of musicians and engi­ posers have been attempting to set it to music tempo on Sky Dive promotes swing; Cob­ neers. but none have managed to duplicate all the · way from the mystic monks whose ham's drums are wonderfully propulsive, and this sound-or rather. fountain of sounds. chants were set down by St. Gregory to We­ Barretto, among the greatest of Latin jazz Perhaps because it is a living sound. a sound ber and Rice. percussionists, contributes much. But neither produced by an organism, the organism El­ So why shouldn't Cannonball and Nat Ad­ it nor the somewhat more tense Provo offer lington has called his instrument. derley, and Nat Jr .. David Axelrod, George thematic material of great consequence. It is an instrument which finds itself in Duke, Walter Booker. Francisco Centeno Benson. a guitarist whose great talent constant flux. even though it changes less and Chick Corea have their fling at it? They somehow has seemed to elude success, has a rapidly than its surviving counterparts. Here, work both with words and without. and some­ fine spot on the title track. Keith Jarrett's in 1968, it was in peak condition -the reeds times it works better without, because often flowing, attractively voiced electric piano also still fabulously attuned to each other (no small words only serve to box composer, listener has its moments of space, and Laws' flute credit to new man Harold Ashby). the brasses and performer into existing structures and surfaces here and there, always tellingly and solid in the trombone department and holding misconceptions. Words could not add to Can­ musically. up in the trumpets. Willie Cook's sensitive non's exuberant Obeah, yet they are neces­ But this is Hubbard's outing first-then phrasing making itself felt. The rhythm sec­ sary for the Fun In The Church which fol­ arranger Sebesky's, and of course producer tion always takes care of business. Had El­ lows. Cannon switches to soprano for The Creed Taylor's. It could be argued that the lington had to wait until some record com­ Eternal Walk, again establishing his firm com­ detailed and careful production CTI lavishes pany fancied it. L11ti11American Suite might mand of the horn. Not quite so lovely is the on its artists is sometimes overwhelming-too never have been recorded, or recorded with­ electric piano on the same piece, not specified much of a good thing. Hubbard. however. is out the special natural resources with which by Duke or Nat Jr.; the instrument produces very strong, and his thing comes through. On in mind it was created. more distortion than music. This makes In A Mist, it's even enhanced. -morgenstern We might not. then. have heard Johnny Duke's acoustic piano the more welcome on Hodges enhance this music in his in­ Krnkma. HAMPTON HAWES comparable way. Or the microphones might Booker's background for Psalm 24 is a not have have encountered Paul Gonsalves in lovely solo for bowed bass with acoustic pi­ l'M ALLSMILES-Contemporary S7631: I'm All such superb form as he demonstrates here. or Smiles; Manha de Carneval; Spring Is Here; The ano accompaniment. It is clearly one of the Shadow Of Your Smile; Searchin'. found the piano player in such a playing highlights of the album. and so is the setting Personnel: Hawes. piano; Red Mitchell, bass; mood. Ellington knows how to seize the day. for Psalm 54 jointly credited to Cannon and Donald Bailey, drums. thankfully. Chick Corea. The most impressive segment, Rating:***** One could say much about this wonderful however, is Amani, featuring the vocalese of For Hawes, 1970 seems to have been a music. about its design and execution. its in­ composer Olga James. watershed year. It was then he recorded Hi1;h tent and content. its colors and textures. But That's the gospel according to the Adder­ In The Skv (Vault 9010), his first released these things will surely be said. and said well. leys. Some people will feel that it isn't "reli­ work indi~ating a yearning to be free of by those who now and in future years will gious" enough or "theologically unsound" but what he saw as the restrictions of the study and elucidate the music of the masters such folks probably wouldn't dig the music song form and the blues. It's reported of the 20th Century. anyway. It's a nice touch that Nat Jr. and his that since then he has gone considerably far­ For now. let us just say: Listen! Listen and classmate at the High School of Music and ther out. assisted by synthesizers. ring 20 □ down beat .