CD Review: Tenor Madness (Sonny Rollins Quartet)

Tenor Madness
Sonny Rollins Quartet
Prestige Records
2006
5 tracks

There are only five songs on this CD, but they’re songs no lover of great jazz saxophone should be without. The title song alone makes this a release worth owning. The others are the icing on the cake and the sweet cherries on top. Each time one listens to this set, it yields new surprises and delights. Wonderful!

Originally recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on May 24, 1956 and remastered by him in 2006, these songs feature not only Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone but a classy jazz combo that included John Coltrane on tenor saxophone (on the title track only), Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. In combination, the sounds they put out are some of the finest jazz of the last century.

“Tenor Madness” features two of the greatest jazz tenor sax players, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, wailing together and separately within a marvelous ambience of solid drums and bass with grooving piano. This madness goes on for a thoroughly enjoyable twelve minutes plus. It’s a not to be missed performance.

Starting with the thrum of Chambers’ bass until Rollin’s rolls in mellow on sax, “When Your Lover Has Gone” is a mellow lounge rendition. It makes a sweet listen that would be ideal backgound for a quiet conversation between lovers, yet it’s up-tempo enough to allow for dancing just close enough. The instrumental mix is sweet and lovely.

“Paul’s Pal” has more of a swing to it, bringing the drive of Rollin’s tenor sax up front and dancing across the soundscape. Test yourself. Do you really think you can sit still while listening to this one? It’s unlikely. This song is sure to bring the dancers to the floor. There’s a very nice bass solo in the middle that showcases the talent of Paul Chambers.

The song “My Reverie” has always had a certain subtlety built in, like an expensive mattress that softly embraces you as you settle into it. This arrangement takes that soft comfort to its limits, creating a comfortable ambience ideal to back a candlelit dinner for two.

“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” is like a party. At times it feels like relaxed conversation over cocktails and at other times it’s wild and rollicking. It escalates and pulls back, swings slow and powerful then moves up-tempo and rocks the room. There are bits and pieces of other songs in the solos, and every player gets a solo or two, including some great bits by Jones on drums and Garland on piano. This is an ideal song to end this set.

Of historical interest, this album’s jewel-case insert includes Ira Gitler’s original liner notes from the 1956 release ((Prestige 7047), Mark Gardner’s new liner notes for the 1969 reissue (Prestige 7657), and interesting new notes written by Gitler for this release. These notes give the reader a compelling historical and contemporary perspective on Sonny Rollins and the music he created.

At just over 35 minutes, this is a short set in today’s CD market but it out-values many releases twice the length. This is classic Fifties jazz at the top of its form, played by masters of the craft at the top of their careers. Any collector who doesn’t have this release already should definitely add it as soon as possible.

You can find a wealth of information on jazz great Sonny Rollins at the Official Home of the Saxophone Colossus or at Wikipedia.

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CD Review: Workin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet (The Miles Davis Quintet)

Workin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet
The Miles Davis Quintet
Prestige Records
2006
8 tracks

A long time ago but not that far away, in a world that was beginning to expand ever more rapidly, there existed a tightly knit community where excellent musicians were drawn together to play evolving styles of Jazz. That’s the real beauty of Jazz recordings made a half-century ago. The music feels as new now as it did then and playing with each great horn player is an equally great pianist, bassman, drummer, and so on. The result is magical. This reissued recording from 1956 is no exception.

Originally recorded on May 1 and October 26, 1956, these songs feature not only Miles Davis on trumpet but John Coltrane on tenor sax, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The sound they achieve together is flawless, a flowing resonance of the times in which this music was made but with a sense of timeless grace that holds up even fifty years later.

For a release with only eight songs on board, this set covers a lot of musical territory. Beginning with cool solo piano that is quickly resolved into a warm, comfortable, even sexy mix with Davis’ trumpet sliding soft in and around the keys, the first song sets the listener up for romance. The rest of the set blends seamlessly between this relaxed mood and livelier, swinging, groove sounds that wake the listener out of the trance with an invitation to dance.

In mid-century, the old genres had begun to meld together and then to break the mold and separate again into exciting new forms as distinct from one another as had been the old distinctions. This is as true of Jazz as of any other musical denomination. The old Jazz was giving way to the new Jazz. The music on this release shows the diversity and variations of this evolving music. Throughout can be heard smatterings of folk music and popular songs of the day, each enriching the sound of this Jazz. Among others can be heard allusions to “An English Country Garden” and the Blues standard “Corrina Corrina,” a touch of “Tweedlee Dee” and even a bit of Erroll Garner’s “Misty” threading through the improvisations.

As much as this is a Miles Davis recording, this release is an ensemble work featuring five equally stellar artists working in perfect synchronicity. There are moments of sweet communication among the instruments but there are also superb solo bits by each of these artists spread throughout the eight songs. And all of this only serves to complement the virtuoso trumpet work of Miles Davis. Workin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet would make an ideal addition to the collection of any jazz fan.

Of historical interest, this jewel-case insert includes both Jack Maher’s original liner notes from the 1956 release and new liner notes written by Joe Goldberg in 2006 plus a brief note from sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who made the masters for both releases. These notes give the reader an interesting historical and contemporary perspective on this artist and the music he created.

You can find a wealth of information on the late Miles Davis (1926 – 1991) at the Official Miles Davis Website or at Wikipedia.

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CD Review: Black Talk! (Charles Earland)

Black Talk!
Charles Earland
Prestige Records
2006
5 tracks

Groovy! That about covers it, but there’s more to this album than that. When this music was originally released, the word “groovy” had not yet become cliché. Especially when spoken or written in reference to music, to be referred to as groovy was a very special thing. Charles Earland is groovy not just for this music but because he was a pioneer. Even now, nearly forty years after this album was first released, this music sounds fresh, alive, and up-to-date. There’s a creativity here and a power that simply can’t be replicated.

Long ago and far away, or so it seems now, a number of progressive musicians ventured into unknown territory somewhere between Jazz, popular music forms, and Rock & Roll, bringing with them a massive dose of soul. These musical innovators included artists as diverse as Isaac Hayes, Bill Cosby [yes, The Cos in his alternate persona as bandleader Badfoot Brown], and Charles Earland. Earland’s Black Talk, with its highly successful translation of contemporary hit music into a creative new style of jazz, was early and influential in the development of this new sound.

Although there are only five tracks on this CD, they bring the listener more than forty minutes of the finest jazz performance to be heard any time, any place. Any one of these songs makes this album well worth the price of admission.

“Black Talk” took the essential shape of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” and ran with it, taking the music in an entirely new and innovative direction. With its rhythmic breaks, groovin’ organ, and interplay of sax and trumpet, this song sounds very much of the Sixties, yet there’s also something there that even now sounds fresh and new.

“The Mighty Burner” is a nice little jump jive blues number that would as easily have pleased an audience ten or twenty years earlier. Written for WHAT Radio DJ Sonny Hopson, this song straddles the line between great Jazz and great Rock and Roll.

“Here Comes Charlie” takes a more standard direction, with a feel much like many of the better contemporary jazz intrumentals of the day. Like each song on this release, the song leaves lots of room for the players to strut their stuff, and strut they do.

Before or since, you’ve never heard “Aquarius” played like this. Here’s a long [well over eight minutes], lush, opulent version of this new age pop song. The sound is big and lively with a full-bodied flavour available only in the finest jazz performances.

It may have been a hit record, but I got real tired of hearing the Spiral Starecase song “More today Than Yesterday” repeatedly on the radio so long ago. This was a sickenly saccharine love song that, in my opinion at the time, could have been relegated to the remainders bin. Here I am listening to eleven and one-quarter minutes [I've typed the whole thing out just to give a sense of how really long that is] of this song, over and over again. It’s wonderful. It’s jazzy. It’s, well… groovy.

Players on this set included Charles Earland, organ; Virgil Jones, trumpet; Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Melvin Sparks, guitar; Idris Muhammad, drums; and Buddy Caldwell, congas. Together, these highly talented artists make a joyful noise.

Did I tell you that I like this set a lot or that the music is just wonderful. It’s true. This music is so creative and innovative that, if it came out today, it would still be setting standards for young artists to aspire toward. Now that’s groovy.

This CD includes both Bob Porter’s original liner notes from the 1969 album and new liner notes written by Porter in 2006 plus a brief note from sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who made the masters for both releases. These notes give the reader an interesting historical perspective on this artist and the music he created.

Those who my be interested will find a concise biography of the late Charles Earland (1941-1999) on the SoulWalking website. You can find all that and more at Fuller Up, The Dead Musicians Directory.

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