111eaningful and valid seripus work." not simply a "rhythm" section, of course, former prodigy has developed into a ma a;.p e.spite the pretension, there is a good• but a trio of interacting musicians who do ture musician, and the play of his fertile bit to recommend _the music. much more than make' explicit the pulse of imagination gives one a great deal of · first, there is the interactivity, the or- the composition.) pleasure to follow. nnic flow of the music among the mem Miles' compositions and arrangements What is particularly striking about his ~rs- Pianist Miles, bassist Booker, and are vigorous, rich, full of potentialities, playing is the rich, counterrhythmic com ar·ummer Ferullo respond beauliftllly_to and rhythmically arresting (probably as a plexity with which he conceives his solo ?l the solos of the two horn men, ·part1cu result of his former experience as a per and supporting lines. His command of this JarlYt ile pianist, who seems uncannily cussion prodigy). They make use of a area lends excitement to proceedings, color n&Jeto second-guess the solofat, wiU1 the great deal of contrast and contrary motion ing every aspect of the music-the ar J result that the piano Jines often comple and must be interesting to play; certainly rangements, the solos of the horn men, JTlentthose of the horns with a responsive they engage the listener in their active in and his own passionate improvisations. ness Lhat _is surpris!ng iu _ its totality terplay of light and dark, of tension and He really pushes things-churns up the donb)y so if whol)_y1mprov1sed. release. They seem to generate ' pretty bottom, so to speak~ and hi.s playing gives is so One S11specls that the compositions strong playing most of the time; there's lhe ensemble much of its impetus. His prove t11e·msclves are res_l)onsible for much of little shucking going on. inventiveness is matched by his taste. ! im. this rnpport, although it would be infor Kenyatta is the most consistently im Venture records is at 53 E. 10th St., mative to k.oow just bow lOilg this group pressive solo voice. His alto is decidedly New York City. Orders can be made di lblem. had been tqgetber at the time of recording. post-Ornette, post-Coltrane; full of shriek rectly to that address. Incidentally, the ly in. For all their freedom, the compositions ing, crying power, his playing is at the playing time is more than 56 minutes. ments are fairly highly and rigidly structured, same time lyrical-but corrosively so. His I take back what I originally said Simp. demonstrating how important and helpful lines are etched acid-sharp; they have bite maybe it's not such a bad idea to send a gether a strong sense of discipline and formal or to them. And he can sustain a long flurry jazzman to college. In Miles' case, it What ganization are to avant-garde jazz. ing barrage at rapid tempo with perfect certainly paid off handsomely. -Welding control and sense of direction. dig his Iarris. The performances cohere beautifully I James Moody sound too. mpro. even the 30-minute Exposition and De MOODY AND THE BRASS FIGURES n the velopment hangs together, and as a result Trumpeter Soloff struck me as a fine Milestone MLPI00.S/ MSP9005: Smack-A-Mac; Bu s, ¥011 lJ My Wo111r111Now;_ Chuok_u; Lou~, ancies interest never lags. There is a strong, fluid technician-excellent in the ensembles and lJ71,~r~ llro ¥0 11,• The htoon 117ns Ytllo,v; All motion to the lineaments of the piece it in contrapuntal interplay-but failed to Prl-111111t;Ruby, l\ly D,ar; Simpli,ity amt Benulr; Nev ~, Again. :o ac self, so that even during the course of a move me overmuch in his solo playing. Par.sooocl: Tracks l, 2, 4; 6, 8: Moody, tenor ,s. Of somewhat inconclusive solo (such as the He has power in abundance and perfect saxophon .0-; S1_1 SYN- UNISPHERE® -ecords: ASKSIM 'Jn and IS THE OFFICIALMICROPHONE ON phone; Book- BOUTMIKE TOUR FORSAM THE SHAM, )liege. THE PHARAOHS& THE SHAMETTS which One of the toughest problems in "hard" rock is the breath blast liner and "pop" that come from belting a lyric too close to the micro is the phone. Not so with the new Shure Unisphere "ball" type micro l verb phone. It tames !'pop" so the audience hears more of the lyrics. r har- And, it controls feedback in the bargain. Who could ask for more The from a microphone? Certainly not Sam the Sham. If you're in a ·esting singing group, get over to your Shure dealer ... or write: :o one Shure Brothers, Inc., 222 Hartrey Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60204 inflec mean· more I . Jegiti recon· Miles' 1ceto11 is at· " the :erfect mpro it his straY try to m the sition, everY y the to be © 1967Shure Brothers, Inc. February 22 D 27 cian-creative, dedicated, honest-whose note. It is a prime example of how a versatility, ironically, may have contrib great player can get i11s.idea great tune uted to deprive him of the degree of ac Simplicity and Beauty is just that--.~ claim that is his due. gentle waltz, with Moody flowing anu His mastery of three instruments-alto blowing. omeone might profitably PUt and tenor saxophones and flute-some good lyrics to this; Moody sure sings it times makes us forget just how damn Never Again, also a Moody original, h~ good he is on each horn. This album could a blues feeling and features legato pa6• rectify that condition as far as the tenor sages that show Moody's ability to sustain is concerned, for it excellently showcases long notes in magisterial fashion. Moody on this (perhaps his favorite) axe. A word for Kenny Barron: as1de from I can think of few tenor players out his perfect comping, he bas a few solo here now that can touch Moody as he spots (Moon; Ruby ; Privave) that are in. reveals himself here. And this is not a dicat.ive of his rare talent-a talent that FRANKtour de force kind of album. Much bet yet bas to be appropriately displayed on a ter, it is-simply, but oh so rarely these record date of his own. His taste and &The days-a well-thought out, well-crafted, sinewy delicacy remind of Tommy Flana well-balanced album of straightforward, gan, and in my book, that's something. intelligent music-making. The only other soloist is Owens, who McIntosh, whose scores call no undue takes two exquisite fluegelhorn choruses DUK£ attention to themselves but are rightfully on Privave designed to set up and set off the featured Bob Cranshaw has some remarkable soloist, and Barron, whose absolutely moments, notably behind Barron on Ruby, right comping serves the same purpose, and is a pip in the section. Mel Lewis are old associates of Moody from his last shows once again how well he under own group. It tells that they dig and stands the drummer's role in making mu respect him, and aren't those the kind of sic, and how well he can translate that people a man should record with? Cran understanding into action. shaw and Lewis acquit themselves beauti James Moody and his companions tell fully as well, and the brass men handle a story on every track in this rewarding their assignment with the superior skill album of warm, mature, communicative that one would expect from these top-of jazz music. -Morgenstem the-game cats. Smack is a hip blues, by Moody and McIntosh-hip but not hippy-dip. It's all Don Scaletta Moody, with some brass licks to spur SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE TRIDENT -Verve S027: $11111mtr$11mb,'i People Will Say him along. He has immediate presence; the 117e're h.1 Love; Stvut Bets)' 1rom Pike; Pave/a; mark of a real player. My lJrtle Homeboal ; Love /or Sal.e; Time Jl7tary Rock; Clmsy Car. . Trumpets and gentle tuba lay out a Personnel: Scnlcm,, piano; Mel Nowell , bass; carpet for Moody 's Bess, and he makes Nikki Llllllkin, drums. her his own. A lovely tune (one of Ger Rating:***½ shwin's finest melodies), played with un I have not heard from Scaletta since I wavering taste and deep feeling. Moody's reviewed one of his albums more than sound is virile yet pliant-a rare combina two years ago. Since then, he seems to tion, reflected in the masculine tenderness have changed in his musical thinking from of his emotional expression. the Vince Guaraldi bag to a Bill Evans Cherokee is Moody's request for a flute approach. It still means that an identifi feature. The reflective opening reminds able "Scaletta sound" has not yet emerged, us what a pretty tune this is, and then but at the same time, it makes for extreme the tempo comes on briskly, Moody dis ly enjoyable listening. playing mastery of horn and mastery of The more cerebral direction Scaletta has changes. Note how he stretches a single taken suits his approach. With Nowell fur riff phrase across some 14 bars for maxi nishing implied time, Sweet Betsy becomes mum swing and tension, promptly and the album's showcase for the pianist's ad effectively released in a flurry of rapid vanced harmonic conception, as well as triplets. The rhythm section cooks on this. his fluidity of melodic line. The same Love, Where Are You is one of three track boasts a busy, but never obtrusive fine Moody ballads on this set. His full, variation on 3/ 4 by drummer Lamkin. warm, yet lean tone is admirably dis Bossa novas come in for highly original played on a melody of substance and treatment-neither Summer nor Favela grace. Y el/ow, a good standard, has an depends on anyone else's Latin outlook. opening statement which is as direct and Both are thoughtfully reharmonized, and to the point as Dexter Gordon at his best, both are given brisk rhythmic workouts, and moves on into superior improvising. as opposed to the Brazilian penchant for Those who dug middle Coltrane will dig introspective sambas. this-not that it is "like" that, in anything FRANKSINATRA & bUKE ELLINGTON - Time Weary Rock (the last word is used "FRANCISA.AND EDWARD K." but affect. only in the geological sense) is a moody, REPRISESTEREO ALBUM FS 1024 Charlie Parker's Au Privave has Mc changeabie thing, and Lamkin and Nowell Intosh's most ambitious writing of the help paint a portrait with effective cymbal· date, with some aptly incorporated "free tapping and bowing. Love for Sale allows dom" touches. The tempo is just right, and for maximum stretching out, with fine the composer would have approved of the solos by Scaletta and Nowell, but the interpretation. tambourine-tinged background tends to Monk's Ruby has been given the royal wear after 81~minutes. tenor ti-eatment by Coleman Hawkins and Heavy-handed drumming robs ChessJ John Coltrane. Moody's version now takes of any subtlety. (Scaletta doesn't help its rightful place alongside these master either; his interpolation of Playmate is too pieces, from the startling intro to the last long-in order to be effective, a quote