Salutations; Cherry Juice; Forever Lasting; when this particular band broke up. He died and four others. HORIZON SP 707 $5.98. in 1952. Performance: Well oiled Besides its many commercial recordings, Recording: Very good the Kirby band made numerous radio tran- scriptions. I suspect the material in this album The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra is still comes from such transcriptions, but there is one of the finest big bands around, but I must something not quite right about the dates, giv- confess that my taste buds have recently been en as 1941, 1943, and 1944. In fact, annotator sharpened by the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Ta- Nat Hentoff seems to be deliberately vague backin band (see my August review), and I about the source of these recordings, and one find faults with the Jones/Lewis aggregationhas to wonder why, particularly since the that hitherto have escaped me. Though it Classic Jazz label seems to have sprung from abounds in enormously talented individuals, nowhere. Be that as it may, the tight little including its co -leaders, there is a stiffness Kirby band was often too heavily arranged, about the band, especially the brass section, but it was capable of considerable swing, and : The Main Force. Elvin Jones that leaves me with the impression that its much of its output bears repetition. Its mem- (drums); Pat LaBarbera, , members no longer really enjoy what they are bers were all outstanding musicians of proved , Steve Grossman (reeds); Albert doing. The arrangements-especially those improvisational skills, though inflexible ar- Dailey (piano); Ryo Kawasaki (guitar); Dave by Thad Jones, which is most of them-are rangements often stifled their individuality Williams (bass); Angel Allende, Dave John- lifeless compared to those of Toshiko, and and made them sound more like a good but son (percussion). Mini Modes; Sweet Mama; they belong back in the late Fifties. dull society band-especially when they tack- Salty Iron; and two others. VANGUARD VSD This album is a good one, but it does not be- led the classics, which they frequently did. 79372 $6.98. gin to approach the "Potpourri" album, andThus, the twenty-four selections in this dou- Performance: Excellent I'm afraid Ms. Akiyoshi has left Jones and ble album are a mixture of the dull and the de- Recording: Very good Lewis in the dust. C.A. lectable, but there is enough of the latter to make this a fine acquisition. C.A. This is Elvin Jones' second album for Van- JOHN KIRBY: Biggest Little Band in the guard, and, because it has no special electron- Land. John Kirby (bass); Charlie Shavers MICHAEL MANTLER/EDWARD GOREY: ic effects, it represents a vast improvement (trumpet); Russell Procope (alto saxophone); The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Sto- over his first. Some of the same musicians are Buster Bailey (clarinet); Billy Kyle (piano); ries. Carla Bley (keyboards); Terje Rypdal on hand-a good bunch, as you can see from O'Neil Spencer (drums). B -Flat Special; Old (guitar); Steve Swallow (bass guitar); Jack the above listing-and the creative juices areFashioned Love; The Peanut Vendor; Bu- DeJohnette(drums,percussion);Robert flowing freely throughout. Most interesting is gler's Dilemma; Sextet from Lucia di Lam- Wyatt (vocals); three speakers. The Sinking Song of Rejoicing After Returning from a mermoor; and nineteen others. CLASSIC JAZZ Spell; The Doubtful Guest; The Insect God; Hunt, which takes up most of side two and is CJ 22 two discs $9.96. and three others. WArr/4 $6.98 (from Watt a piece adapted by Jones from the Djoboko Performance: Organized swing Works, Inc., 6 West 95th Street, New York, rhythm of the Ba-Benzele pygmies, arranged N.Y. 10025). by bassist Gene Perla. With raspy reeds, Recording: Good mono raspy percussion, hand claps, and strategical- The John Kirby band heard in this set began Performance: Annoying ly placed bass notes, it may not bear much re- recording for Decca in 1938 and,later moved Recording: Very good semblance to anything produced by the ob- on to Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and Victor. Edward Gorey's little stories are wonderfully scure tribe that suggested it, but it could, it- The war forced changes in personnel, and- whimsical and full of the sort of absurdities self, easily become a source of inspiration. although some of the replacements were actu- that are the hallmark of English humor, but Elvin Jones spent part of his career drumming ally better musicians-the band's popularity Robert Wyatt's chanting of them is about as for John Coltrane, and the traces of that ex- began to decline. By the mid -Forties, Kirby easy on the ears as a steam drill at close perience are now diminishing as he comes was recording for such minor labels as Asch, range, and whatever merit there might be to into his own. This is Jones' most personal Disc, Apollo, and Crown (a 1946 session for Michael Mantler's music is voided by Wyatt's statement so far. C.A. the last represents 's recording inglorious interference. The six stories so debut), but, though he continued leadingdesecrated here are from Gorey's collection THAD JONES/MEL LEWIS: New Life. Thad bands for another four years or so, he neverAmphigorey, published by G. P. Putnam's Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Greetings and recovered from the decline begun in 1942, Sons, 1972-I recommend the book. C.A.

GEORGE MURIBUS: BrazilianTapestry. ELVIN JONES George Muribus (piano); other musicians. The Freely flowing creative juices Dolphin; Night Flower; Alon; and four others. CATALYST CAT -7602 $6.98 (from Spring- board International, 947 U.S. Highway 1, Rahway, N.J. 07065). Performance: Half an earful Recording: Very good I was unfamiliar with the work of pianist George Muribus until I heard this album, and I didn't really get interested until I played side two. Mind you, my ears didn't exactly prick up, but, dulled by the almost twenty minutes of monotonous electronic tinkling of side one, they realized-a minute or so into Pocrasni, the reverse side's opening track-that Mr. Muribus in an acoustical trio setting is worth lending an ear or two to. Before I dismiss the first side entirely, let me say that Muribus alone is not to blame for its unprepossessing quality-his sin is merely that he plays the electric piano; the sins of saxophonist Vince Denham and guitarist Michael Howell are that they play at all. Muribus atones for his sin with both imagination and virtuosity on the trio side, but I am most impressed by that (Continued on page 110)

108 STEREO REVIEW