Records are reviewed by bon De Micheal,. Gilbert M .. Ers'kine, 'Ira Giller, Ralph Johnson, Bill Mathieu, Marion McP-artland, Dan Morgenstern, Don Nelsen, Harvey Pekar, Bob Porter, Bi(I Quinn, William Russo, Harvey Siders, Carol Sloane, Pete Welding, and Michael Zwerin. Re.views are signed by fhe · writers. Ratings are: * * * * ·k excellent, * * * * very good, * "** sood, * * -fair, * poor. When two_ catalog numbers are listed, the first is mono, and the second ls slereo. Ks•nny Ilundl ~£@1t1!!iirHii@1@@@ @-·M g;g;,@@iiiii scendo, begins as softly as a whisper in plaint and the latter sounds more like the BLl"ES-THE COl\lI\ION GROUND-\'er\'c a velour -closet. Soulful, pure essence de exploding stick tha·n the smoking wick. \'(,-8--iG: Er ,·n,1.ns; Ei°ay Dczy (I H,1c·e _The blues, features a double-time mid-secti-on Augmented by_ polished brass, a deter­ J;fut's); 1'!.>e JJre.idJLr; .-!11gt'l Eyes: The Commo11 (,'n-,1//ld: ll''u,· You Thao.;; Bun1ing S/1c,1r; in three on the b·asic four. · mined back-beat and a stout~hearted amp, ll'rmd,r U'h1: So11/J11/ Bro1he1's; See See Rida; See See's h1ilitary cadence/rock - beat; Burrell· settles down with his first musical S.111s,tli10 ."\-ighls. Personnd: Snocikie Young, Jimmy Chvens. Ber­ the self-nourishing brass section and Han­ love, the 12-bar form or its derivitives, and nie Glow. rrumpers: \\"ayne :\ndre, Jimmy Clen­ cock's relentless comping provoke more emo~es a"\vhile. l.rnd .. Bill \\"arrous, Paul F:iulise. rrombones; Don than customarv emotion frci"m Burrell's in­ 1 lluttl'rtidd. tu·b.1: Jerome Richard,on, reeds: Bur­ n ild, in the · unfortunate position of rl'II. guiur: Herbie Hancock. piano; Ron Carter, strument. He - seems challe~ged by the · being neither an old stanclan.l nor a h.1,s: Donald l\1tDon:1Id. drums; Johnny Pa­ accompaniment and, concurrently, happy d1L·co, percussion:, Don Scbc1ky. arc.inger-can­ unique novelty, is m::inaged well with the ductot ( tr.1cks I, · 2. S-.· 10). Ernie Roy:!l, Th;td to meet it head on. Sausalito is a brightly pastel treatment herewith given the · fa­ f,,nL·s, ,Jimm\' Nuttingh.1ri1. rrumpcrs: Tony Srudd, impressionjstic piece chosen to bring !his · L"rbic· (_;rc,:r1, ,\ndrc. Clc\'l'Lind, rrnmbones; Har­ miliar theme. Svulcro, a breezy Ev.ans ny Phillips. rub:1: Hich.irdson, reeds; Burrell:· non-progrnmmatic set to a close on· an · ~1riginaL and C<i'11 A /111u, Dizzy's soft H.1netH.:k; Cutl'r:_ Gr.1dy T.llt:, drums; P:ichcco: unspectacubr but firmly a\1thoritative note. .samba, round out the second of these two Sl'bl'sk\· (tracks 3. ,i, 5. 7). Burrell only (track !;)_ B~rrl'll; ll.111cock; ·c.1rtl'f; T:Hc (tr.1cks 9. Burrell, the all-stars' all-star, paces. these. variegated elates, proving that, for diver­ JI). pacemakers on as . thorough a musical sity of techniques-and excellence in each Rating: *-¼ * --k 1.'! jaunt as you're liable to find in a·ny record -Kenny Burrell is guitaristry's Renais­ ODE TO 52nd S"fREET-C.1d..,t 798: S11i1,· shop these days. In addition, he· reaffirms · sance Man. -Quinll /,,, (~11it,1r .r,1,/ Orr!.•otr.1 .(Them" I: Su Little the old adage that "tf1e blues is · the, "ri111,: Thcnk II: Gro11i11g: Thl'm<: III: R.01111,/ truth," because there's no disputing what ,111,I l,{)und ·II-<' (-;o.- Theme I\': Hff,1/>it11/,11io1i): Duke Ellington, I n-··,1n/ .\Ir B.ibi• Fi.rd.:;· Co-11 .·l/111.1; Sou/no; comes off here. ll"ii.l Is 1/,~· H"i11;/; B/11n Ills,·. " ... AND H~S MOTHER CALLED. HIM Pl'rsonnel: Burrell. · guir.1r; un•idcntiti.ed or­ A m::in to watch is Richard Eva~s. For BILL' '-RCA \'icrnr LP.M; LSP-3906: S11ibor; ., d1ntr.1 ( including strings); arr.111g;-d · .ind Cc)!l· some fears he was bassist for Chic::igo's Hoo-d,1b: Blood (fo11111: U.:\t .. \l.G.: Cb,11"/,r;y; d11ctnl by Hiclurd [LlflS,. .·lflcr .·l/1; The fo:im,tc\' of ·1l.ie l3/ucs; l?,1i11 London House piUl)lSt Eddie Higgins, and Cbt'L"k; n,l)'·Dream.'I Rock Ski/1/1i11'_,11 ihl' 13/ue Rating:**** one of the city''s top arrangers. Th~n, when i"\"o!e; .·Ill D,1r Lo118: _ Lo/us Blossom. H the Brand Nan'1cs Found:ttil)l1 gets ::i&:r man Edwards left Cadet· for Verve, Pnsonricl: ·tac 1:\nderson, · Mercer Ellington,. :!round to revie\\ 1 ing rel..'.ords, the/II ha,·c Herb~ Jones, Coode \\'illiams, rrumpets; Clark Evans moved into th::it slot. To keep his Tl'rry, Huegel horn ( tracks 2, 4); Lawrence lll gi\ e Blues a superior rating-if only iron in th.e performing fires. E\'aps formed Bro\\:n, Buster Co\)pcr,. _Chuck Connors, __1rom· Lll1 the basis of the rnunikcrs hssenrbkd bones; John Sanders, valve troni"bone (cracks a. group kn0\1.:11 as the Soulful Strings. H. JO); Hussell Prn~opc, Johnny· Hodg.:s, Jirnniy fur Ihis date. Si1ice Fsmond Ed\\·ai-ds. The Strings cut the_ original version of llamitrnn, Paul Go;nsal\'CS. ~-fa~ry Carney, reeds; _ Verve\• nc,,·" ~:i&r man. inovcd to N~w Ellingt(Jn, pi'.rno; Aaron Bell or Jeff Castleman S11rnr, an Ev,1ns composition, the one th:-tt 1 '{urk he h:1s· sho\\'n :-t growing talent for (!racks 5, 7, 9), ba~s; Sieve Liirle-or Sam \\ ood­ preceded Burrell"s edition to the hit charts. ~/;{,1.(tracks 5, 7, _9/, drums. Track 12 is a· piano just:1posing tile pros. though. fvr :-t vir­ No doubt, elements of the Strings are tuoso of Burrcll's c-iliber. it must be con­ among the person.nel of the 1midentified Ra!ing: * * * * * ccde·d that e\·cry top ax~ behind this solo-· urchestr::i on 52nd- Street. Duke Ellington's tribute to his fallen ist is no more than in order. ·· - The Suite, in· the nrnnner of a syrn- comrade-in-arms, Billy Strayhorn, is the . fn :~ddition to personnel from th; ranks . pl:i-onic_ poem. exhibi"ts many sides of the perfect tribute to an artist: the breathing pf the'· Count B::isie anJ Miles D::n is units. performer's and the ·co"mposer's emotions of new life into: his work. No testimonial . as \Yell as the l\tel Lewis-Thad Jones Band could be more fiiting . ~ind abilities. The ·accompanying strings ' I ~ • (induding on_e-half of its· leadership), the q1ter with a baroque mobd beneath Bm- Ellington and' Strayhor"h were collab- remainder of tht? gro~1p is composed of - rell's pensi\·e, Spani-sh-leaning phraseology. orat&rs ~for almost 30 years, and the word ttip New '{ork studid pbyers, to a man, At the middle of the first movement, there "collaborator" does not even regin to ex­ Scbesky sho\\'s a ·fondness for rangy is a leap •into the_ sho-nuff_ walking blues. press the closeliess of their w~rking _re­ ch:trts on the big band numbers; there's Gr01ri;1g, ess_e-ntially ·a swelling montuna. lationship. Thtis: it. is not surp'rising that plenty of room left" for the sol6ist. E\'~1 r_,·­ :1dds depth _as it acquires length. At- points, the E]]ill[!ton re~ertoire inc"it1des \\'Ork th.at duys is an example ·of this spatial ap­ Burrell's tone has such a perc-i:1ssive burr. is so unified, s6 '_'.one" that it is impos­ prl1ach. and there's tl1e · d,rnma of ever-. that it sounds like. one of the· oil drum _sible to attributei it to one or the other. increasing intensity (a la Gil E~·ans) here_ tops· in a steel· b:'tncl. A filmy interlude But there is cilso mue;h that is all Ell~ t.l'll. _ . prefaces. Rolllld, · a showcase for Burrell's ington, and mulch that is all Strayhorn_ , Buri·cll's double-line runs arc formidable fantastic fingering. A ·highlight here is the (al_\~ays b_earingl_ in_--_min__ c1_ tha~- they '\\-'ere (11-iLi·cfv Do\'. The 1 band _sho\\'s a fine w,iy iime is "implied, ·sometimes .extreme]~, wntrng for the same ·1tvrng mstrument). lli1a'i1imit·y of ·purp,1~c ;md feeling Liehind subtly but never vaguely. )'he orchestra's­ The pieces Ellington has chosen here are the wide open soloist. PrcaclzN rem:-tins a presence inakes itself feJt strpngly at this aci10rig the lattd;. Some of the most fa­ \ iabk prosclyt,izer under the ministry o( point, with a. drum solo and driving full mous ~(Take the/ A Train, Chelsea Bridge, Burrell and congre!!aticn,~hut .there's no··. hand ·passages. Rccapitulation, the hist · Passion FlowerD are missing, but not my<tiquc ·on thi~ ;ne. ju~t stqrng, eai•n• movemc.i1t, finds Burrell's souiful cuisine - rnissed.;__this is lnot a collection .of Billy 0 ~sl bin.wing. Am.:cl E\'cs, a hit .of softlv contained in a · fine .orchestral vesse-l, Strayhorn's· grea/test hits. · . ' . struiiimcd ma!!ic·. sug~csts in ballad forr~1 serve~! up at a lopirig stride; . Rather: it is a selection from his finest ,1.h;1t the title - tr:1ck -~houls; Blues, funkv S11ch momentous works often fall flat; work; inevitabl~; one. ~rnst conclude that hl11es. · if not from lack -of continuity then fron1 these are among the pieces- of which Ell- Were }"ort Tlicrc.