Records ore reviewed by Don DeMichcol, Gi lbert M. Erskine, Kenny Dorho m, Borboro Gordner, Bifl Moth ieu, Morion Mc Portland, Dan Ma, ,,nue, 8 Bill Quinn, Harvey Pekor, W illian, Russo, Harvey Siders, Pete Weldi ng, John S. Wilson, and Michael Zwerin. Reviews ore signed by 11,.. w 't n ,r1 er~ Ratings ore: * * * * * excel lent, * * * * very good, * * * good, * * foir, * poor. · When two catalog numbers ore listed, the first is mono, and . the second is stereo. ' times ( especially on Yell ow Days) • his Thad Jones-Me l Lewi& touch is uncannily c,lose to the master's. 'LIVE AT Tall VILLAGE V ANGtJ BIG BANDS Two ringers were brought in to beef up Sotld Srare SS 1801·6: ,;Jul~ Plx.fc II; a !P Pre;dom; &,cba. F#.11/11';Do11 !•t Gh Sms,-•· ~'If Duke Ellingto-n the trumpet section, currently the band's low T~••l Sa111b11Co11 Ge1,:b11, ' ti weakest link. Everybody was on best be­ · Puson.ncl: Jones, ducgctbofu; Snooky ~ SOUL CALL-V erve V/V6-870l: La Plus Btl/e Jf.mmy N!)ldf\sllam ; Mar:vio Stamm, Ricba ·~ Africaine; Jl?est Indian Pml(a/i:e; Soul Call; Skin havior, it seems-the band sounds tight ham,, B,ll lletey ttumPe!cS; Bob Broo Deep: Jam Wiel, Sam. and together at all times. The superb re ­ Garncrt Brown, tom . ..Mdn1osb, Cliff Persor.iocl:C~r Anderson, Herble Jones, Coo1ie uombones· Jerome -IU.cbirdso11, Jctr:y D" , Williams Mercer 1lLUn111on, trumpets: Busier cording brings out the full flavor of the Joe J'lirretl, 'l!ddfo Daniels, Pepper Adams J~'!o Cooper, l;ii.wrcii<:e Browti, Chuck C.onnocs,tto111 - magnificent Ellington sound; the reeds, in Roland. H110oa·1 i?,iano; Sam Herman ' "'"'J boncs; Rwsc.U Procope, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy pe.~cuuion; Ricnafd Davis, bass; Lewii', .. l:lamiJ1oii, Paul Gonsalv.es, Hiui;y · Carney, reeds ; particular, are opulent. ~=• Hllin~1on1 piano: J ohn Lamb, bass; Sam WOOd- Rating , ** ·** * ' ' yard, dr ums. · To put it bluntly, this would have been To followers of. this great band, its ij~ Rating:*** a great album if Sinatra had been in top album, .good as it was, did not quite i'ntli. The Ellington band has a predilection voice. On a few tracks, he is; at other cate just what these ,guys are capable of for giving off-handed performances at im­ times, one can sense that be is hold ing -,pe rhaps because it wa.sa ·stuaio <itfort portant appearances. Conversely ; in some back. But he is nothing if not an old pro, this • one, recorded live at the b\)~'J small town in the corn belt, the band is and his mastery of phras ing overcomes all stomping ground, New York's Vlllap likely to pull together and wail. potential pitfalls . Vangua rd, ·QCforean enth11siast(c audlen· These tracks are from Ellington's por­ Relaxed tempi predominate to the point does give a trne picture in sound o{ wJiat: tion of the 1967 Antibes Festival, where that the final selection, a way-up romp, I believe to be the fi'nest a.nd most im, one might have expected the band to be comes as a positive relief. Why was it portant big jazz · band to come along sine4, on best musical behavior. Ins tead, there is saved for that particular spot? Don't ask the old giants got ' their thing togeQler. a general air of triteness to this album. me. Through some miraculous ·alchemy, thi Along with Ellington's fey announce­ Quite a bit of space has been granted ensemble of men who' are both solois ments ("Love you madly," etc.), there are the band and its key soloists, and the and section players combines the best ele pedestrian solos and lackadaisical ensem­ tracks are thus longer than is customary on ments of freedom and discipline in a bles. On Indian Pancake and Soul Call, vocal albums . Cootie Williams, Gonsalves, amalgam that retains the power and ex Paul Gonsalves is flashy and superficial. and ,Hodges are most frequently spot­ citement synonymous with the big ba.11! Jam With Sam is the familiar round­ lighted, and make their impact felt. jazz tradition but adds to it the fresbnes robin of the band soloists, none saying Indian Summer is the album's master­ and surprise of today and now. piece, and one of Sinatra's most impressive anything of substance . Sam Woodyard's That is quite an accomplishment, an efforts in recen t years. The mood is bitter­ 12-minute Skin Deep may be a good visual it bas been achieved as a labor of love sweet, the reeds add lovely touc hes, Elliag­ attraction , but it is not a memorable piece Maybe that's the secret-along with, o ton makes the most of his keyboard of music. course, extraordinary talent and perse The one saving track is La Plus Belle presence, and Hodges' touching solo is verance, and teamwork in the truest seDS'e Africaine, based on a minor-key blues . a perfect extension of the mood set by the One could write a book about this albu There is a fine. bowed solo by Lam b, and singer. This one makes the whole venture and this band, but annotator Ed Beac very powerful and effective ensemble pas­ worth the effort. , sages. Come Dack, the aforementioned swing­ has done nearly that in his excellent, de tailed notes, so I'll confine myself to so e I don't guarantee the accuracy of the er, also finds Sinatra in peak form. Few of the highlights. personnel (which is not listed in the album singers could susta in such a tempo, but notes), but it should be substantially cor­ he never loses his firm .gcip on the melody Pixie, composed and arranged by Tba'i rect. -Er skine and the lyric. The band. shouts and romps, Jones, stars the reeds. As a section, the with brilliant work from the trumpets, a have .no peers other than their Ellingto eonr:i~e.rparts, with whom they share Iii Duke Ellington - Frank Sinatra - glimpse of Gonsalves, and superb Wood­ yard. (The drummer, consistently low­ ability to b_reathe as one. And can th FRANCIS A. & IiDW ARD !<.-Reprise FSt024: l!ollo1v• M.e; S111wy{ All l . Nttd 11 the Girl; rated by critics, does a sterling job through ­ get around their horns! Look out! llldi,m Sw11mer:1 Ukt ibt S11nris~;Y ~/low D11y1; out.) As soloists, they have· a varfoty a_nt I Poor B1111erPy- Come 811,k to J\le. Sunrise, though well sung and scored, d.ivid!,!ality. that is ecjuaJJy astonisli10&, J>ersonliel, Sil)!ttrsi1 voco)~;,'Cat Ando.rson, M.<!t­ -c~r llllington, Coot,e \~luiams, lferbio Jo.nes, Lead man Richardson, doubler pai: &X­ Swcccs Ed.ison, Al Porc-ino. rrumpec·s; Lmwrc· .ntc and enhanced by comments from Cootie Bxown, Chuc!< Connors; .Susccr Co9per, tr6m­ and Gonsa lves, does not measure up to the cellence, Is spotlighte d he.re on t1:o ~~ bo,n•~; Russell J,>r~ol"!; Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Al Hibbler original. The song's range, it p_r'ano, o'f which d.ifl,icull b.or~ he: ASDM Harn1lcon; Paul Gonsalves, Harry Camey, reeds; RJJi11gto,;o, pj_a.no; J9bn .L•mb, lia•s; Sam Wood­ appears , is more suitable for a voice deep­ of the _prime practitioners. H is ~bOJU yard, drum $; Billy May, arranger. er than Sinatra's, though it was llis own climax a round- robin of solo.s. by, 10 or(lc Racing': * * * * choice. F:arreit, Dodgio n, Da~ieis (clurinet):\ Jc At first hearing, this much heralded Butterfly and Girl are set in• a mold Adams, nil of them frrst-rate, and baofsIC summit meeting is a· bit disappointing, but that recalls the Sinatra -Basie collabora­ QY a variety of rhylhmie and color sl it grows on you-at least it did on me. tions, and the former could have stood devices. To begin with the negat ives: it seems a few solo comments . The final chorus, This Lra<;:kis a gas-andto me, not J~S odd indeed tl\nt only p,ne ElJington pie~-e however, is top-drawer singing. because il shows what can still be d fS.1111ris.e)was · included, and perhaps even The cover, featuring photographs of the after all tb.~se years . with one of the rn odder that the album was not arrang~~ by two protagonists at a tender age, is a cute basic sets of changes in jazz. ,. • 1 Sas,, Bllingtim himself . Let m~ h.asten to add, touch. Young Edward Kennedy already Toe album's other Jones ·ong tna • 'cli however, that Billy May h~ done a gl'eat had that regal air, while young Francis has a fabulous reed passage led by ~ Job. Always an Ellin,gtpn ad-mirer (older Albert (with bangs) hadn't yet found bis ardson's soprano, a great Farrell nil •list~.ners may recall his ma.ny Ouk,ish groove. But then, he seems to be about solo, stunnin g ensemble work, fioe ~ charts for Charlie Barnet in the '40s), he 5 or so, while Duke must have been at piano, and as the filling in the pie, must have relished this assignment, and at least 8. -Morgenstem uberant trnmpet solos ( with pW. 32 0 DOWN BEAT .