• Abstract and Figures
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Records ore reviewed by O.rls A~. Mike Boume, BIii Cole, Alan Helnend'I, Way,,. J..--, Lorry Kort , Joe H. Klee, Joh n l.ltweller, John McDonough, Dan Mo,otnltern, Dan Nelsen, Doug Ramsey, Larry Ridley, Harvey $1d41rs, Corot Sloane, and Jim Szontor. Reviews are algned by the wrltws. recurRot lnos ore : ***** ~•l .. nt, **** very good,*** oood, ** folr, * poor. Most racordlnos revlewad ore ovollal>I• for purd>OSe through the •-• IINt/RICOaD Cl.UL · <l'<Wmembership lnf<Wmotlon- detail$ elsewh.. In thla i- ot writ. to REVIEVIS down beat/RECORD CLUB, 222 W . Adami, Chlcogo, IL 606061 group) and a man equipped with a set of diately followed by a groovy F ender bass ANTHONY BRAXTON chops entitling him to air rights in that interlude and guita rist Soulh's tasteful use FOR ALTO-Delmuk OS 420/421: Dedie,11,d zone of tbe stratosphere inhabited by Cat of electronic devices. to Multi-imtmmtntdliSI /a,lt. Gtll; To eompour John Cage; Tn Artist /11J1rra1 De Pillar,; To Anderson, Maynard F erguson, an d a very The rhythm moves along throughout, Pianist Cecil T"Jlor; D,dicaltd lo ,1,.,.and Ptttr few others. and there isn't a weak link in the group. Alim; Dtdicate 10 S111a,z Axelrod; To My Primd Km,zy McKm,z1; Dtdi,aud to /11ul1i-lnstm1t1t11• Leading a trumpet section is Chase's Use of mult itracki ng and such is kept at t•list L,,oy Jmltim. natural habitat, and tbe one he has gath­ a minimum (and effective when used), so Pers onnel: Braxton, alto sax. ered here is first-rate. In full cry, it rivals one gets the impress ion that this band can Ratings***** the best ever assembled, in or out of say what it says on record as well (and When the editor laid this album on me, studio s. The trumpets give Lhe band its probably even better) in person. (Spies he told me tbat it contains four sides of own special cha racter and color, and thei.r tell me that Van Blair is a fine jazz solo­ un accompanied alto saxophone solos. H ow energy output, range, bite and precision ist, for one thing.) revolutionary? Not comp letely. Back in are someth ing else. This is a very well done first album by 1720, J.S. Bach wrote six sonatas for un­ F or this aspect, the album can be en­ a group that certainly should make it, if accompanied violin and six suites for un­ joyed by all. IC you are a jazz puri st, be excitement combined with musicality and accompanied cello. Still , this recording is forewarned that this is a rock- jazz band­ expert craftsmanship are qualities that ap­ revolutionary, for the saxophone is nor­ in that order of priorities. But these are peal to current audiences. And it's a must­ mally capable of producing only one note hard time s for purists, and even at its hear for students of the lrumpet - gradu• at lhe time, whereas strings are capable of rockiest, the music is not too far removed ates included. -Morgenstem multiple stops. from that of Rieb and He rma n, contem­ Anthony Braxt on is a living, breathing porary style. And those who like May­ player whose work, like tha t of so many nard's high stuff will not be disappointed of the avant garde, if of an extremely by Chase's. BOOKER ERVIN personal nature. By fully exposing his inner The singing, of course, is-for this re­ THAT'S IT-Barnaby Z 30,60: M ofo; Uram11; emotions, Braxton has left himself vulner­ viewer, and, he would guess, for many of Poi,ula11a; Sptak Low,- Doolt.M's Blu,s; Boo. able to criticism. Yet it is unfair to express Person nel: Ervin. cenor sax; Hora ce Pa.clan. his orientation-an acquired taste. Terry piano; George Tu cker, bass; Al Harewood, drums. criticism of hone sty. If there are faults Richards, who is featured, is at bis best Rating : (and T have not foun d any with the playing on Paint It Sad and not hard to take at EXULTAT JON! - Prestige* * *7844: * M oo,b, Mo o• or writing on th is album) lhe listener has any time, and Van Blair and Piercefield, ,ht; Black a11d Blut ; Tu11e Inf• Just l11 Tirtic little choice but to overlook them becau se (sborl tak,); /1111 In Time ( 011g talu); N , who also sing solo, are pleasant and musi­ Land ', /lfa11 (sbo,1 tdlt.1); No l.and's }It,,,. (lo,., they are expressions of personal experi­ ca l. None of them quite make it when take); M our. ences and feelings which only Braxton him­ try ing to sound black, but there's no get­ Per5Qnnel : Frank Strozier, alto sax; Ervin , tenor sa.x; Hora« Parlan, piano ; Butch Warren 1 self can judge properly. ting away from that , I guess, though it bass; Walter Perkins, drums. For this reason , I debated whether or can be done so much more convincingly Racing:***** not to put any rating on this album. I with emphasis on feeling rather than The loss of Booker Ervin, as listenint finally arrived al the conclusion that even soun d. (This a general comment; these to these albums makes one acutely aware as an expression of nothing more than my particular singers are lesser sinners than was a serious blow to jazz. One of th< persona l enjoyment of wha t I heard, the most.) very few wholly original tenorists to ap album deserves a five-star rating. Perhaps it is this orientation that causes pear in the music of the past decade, h, The dedication s to the pieces are simply me to pick Open Up Wid e. the album's was a man totally dedicated to his art that. The full titles .were omitted due to an only inst rumen tal, as my favorite tr ack. one of those rare players wbo break nev error on the part of the recor d company, But I prefer to think I like it because it ground without bre aking with tradition. which will be rectified on later printings of has the most jazz con tent and feeling, That's It, recorded in 1961, was Ervin' the sleeve. Chases' kickiest solo, and a good outing third LP of his own, and the first to giv, Bill Quinn 's liner notes ask the musical by Porter, a gifted organ ist I recall from him free rein. Originally on the Candi, question "Who is Anthony Braxton?" The a Howard McOhee album and in person label and long unavailab le, it is one o best way to answer it is to dig these four at Birdland, and from whom I would like three important jazz albums in Barnaby' sides. -Kl ee to hear more featured wo rk, though he new Can did reissue series ( the other tw, is a fine accompanist, too. are by Charles Mingus and Cecil Taylor ) This piece is by Chase, and he is also At tbe tif]1e, the quar tet heard on th CHASE responsible for the music to Invitation to LP was a regular working group, with th CHASE-Epic E 30472: Opm Up Wide· IJvln ' n River, a "suite" of the type popular in late George Tucker's bass a tower c In Tl,at; Ht/lo Grottrits; 1Ia,zdbag1 and Glad• ra1s; Get It On; Doy, at1tl Girls Toftlbtr; In• post-Sgt. Pepper-BS&T rock. The story strength. Ervin's gift for writing fres vitation 10 a RiJltr (Tw o Minds It ,11; Stay; line-a doomed love affair-is a bit melo• original lines is demonstrated in UrantJ. Paint II Sad ; R1{11(1/ons; Ri111r). Personnel: Dill Chase, Alan '\Vare, trumpet; dramatic, and so, at times, is the music , an appealing ballad; Mojo, a typicall Ted Pieroefield , J erry Yan Blair; trumpet, v<Kal; but there are substant ial ideas at work charging and deceptively "simple" up-terr Ph il Porter . kevboards: Angel Soutb. ltllila.r, voe.al; Dennis Johnson, bass, vocal; Jay Burrid , here. The opening, Tw o Min ds Meet, gets po piece, and the happy Boo. percussion; Terry Richards, lead v<Kal. to swing and has fine scori ng touches. But the tenorist' s strongest playing c Rating: **** There are a variety of moods, and the ad the session comes on Booker's Blues, If you like trumpe ts- and I'm an old lib Reflections is a tour de force for the masterful re-telJing of an age-old story, trumpet freak--Chase will give you good leader, involving tape-and-chop wizardry sermon in music witb lhat special TeJU kicks. The group rightfully takes its name and a gigantic climax bringing io the accent Booker shared with other grcl from leader-lead trumpeter-arranger Bill whole band. The cano nic stuff on Stay sou thwestern teoormen, and on Speak Loi Chase, weU remembered for his work with sounds for all the world like a segmen t a standa rd made to order for his min Woody Herma n (big band and small from some Kentonian opus, but is imme- hues and mournful yet elating sound, take 18 0 DOWN BEAT at a sizzling tempo. Booker liked to stretch out, but there was never any waste of notes or space. His music is concentrated, bristling with energy, and a veritable definition of swing. if youever had By the time he recorded Exultation some two years later, his style was fully ma• tured. The tone has taken on a new brilliance, and there is even more convic­ troublegetting tion and assurance in the playing.

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