Record Store Day was started in 2008 to “celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store” and it has led to a flood of special releases, with all genres represented. In improvised music, there have been dozens of previously unreleased concerts, many of which were developed and produced by Zev Feldman. In this chronologically arranged roundup of new releases, all except the Art Pepper set, which came out in February, are tied to Record Store Day. Vinyl versions will be out on April 18, with CD sets scheduled to appear a week later.
Maybe all you really need to know about the four-CD package
Everything Happens To Me:1959-Live At The Cellar is that alto saxophonist extraordinaire
Art Pepper is in superb form
and that his saxophone is way up front in the amateur recordings that were made. Pepper seemed to pour his heart into every single note that he played, and his otherwise unsung bandmates are nearly always right there to provide him with the sensitive and swinging support he relished. The music was recorded (in well-balanced mono) during a 10-night engagement at The Cellar in Vancouver, British Columbia. Pepper had worked on his
Modern Jazz Classics album in March and May of that year, but after that had been reduced to playing tenor in a rock and roll band, a Latin band, and, writes Kirk Silsbee in the booklet, “even country outfits at North Hollywood’s Palomino Club.” Silsbee goes to say that the Cellar shows “would prove to be a tonic for him.” With enthusiastic audience response in front of him and a responsive rhythm section behind him, Pepper’s repertoire choices range among standards, ballads, jazz tunes, and more. His playing is invariably convincing and impressive. In the pantheon of popular music, there are many performers who merit listening to and learning from every scrap of recorded sound that remains. Art Pepper is definitely in that category. Even with a substantial recorded legacy, there’s always more to discover. Strongly recommended.
Omnivore OVCD-607; Art Pepper (as, ts) Chris Gage (p) Tony Clitheroe (b) George Ursan (d); Vancouver, BC, various nights from the summer of 1959; Disc 1 (59:53): When You’re Smiling*/ Cherokee/ Over the Rainbow/ All The Things You Are/ Indiana (Back Home Again in Indiana)/ Lover Man/ Yardbird Suite/ Sweet Georgia Brown*. Disc 2 (60:35): What is This Thing Called Love?*/ Yardbird Suite/ Band Intros/ What’s New?*/ Holiday Flight/ Stompin’ at the Savoy/ Allen’s Alley/ These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)*. Disc 3 (62:29): Holiday Flight/ Tangerine/ The Way You Look Tonight/ Everything Happens to Me/ Bernie’s Tune/ I Surrender Dear/ Over the Rainbow/ Allen’s Alley. Disc 4 (59:11): Brown Gold*/ Holiday Flight/ Strike Up the Band/ Somebody Loves Me/ There Will Never Be Another You (part 1)/ There Will Never Be Another You (part 2)/ Allen’s Alley/ Walkin’*. Tracks marked with * are incomplete. omnivorerecordings.com
In March 1965, Bill Evans and his second edition of his working trio with bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker recorded about 70 minutes of music for BBC2's Jazz 625 series of filmed concerts. Although the performances on At The BBC have never previously been issued on record, the show was released on laserdisc and DVD. The prolific producer Zev Feldman ran across the laserdisc and became enchanted with the music. He proclaims this set as “an amazing part of his recorded legacy ...” in the introduction that leads off the booklet. Feldman gathers the typical array of commentary for this release, which is the fifteenth Evans package he’s put together in the last few years. Liner notes are handled by Marc Myers, who puts this British appearance in the context of Evans’ career. There are reminiscences and commentary by Chuck Israels, James Pearson (artistic director at Ronnie Scott’s London jazz club), and pianist Jamie Cullum. All of which is well and good, and the music is indeed superlative. The only real problem is the intrusive presence of the evening’s host, Humphrey Littleton. As a video presentation, the program might be quite enjoyable when you can watch the musicians at work. But as far as listening at home goes, there are dozens of hours of Bill Evans music that I would turn to before playing At The BBC again.
Elemental Music 5990548 (CD and LP); Bill Evans (p) Chuck Israels (b) Larry Bunker (d); London, England, March 19, 1965; Set 1: Intro by Humphrey Lyttelton into Five (theme)/ Elsa/ Summertime/ Come Rain or Come Shine/ My Foolish Heart/ Re: Person I Knew/ Israel/ Five (theme). Set 2: Intro by Humphrey Lyttelton into Five (theme)/ How My Heart Sings/ Nardis/ Who Can I Turn To/ Someday My Prince Will Come/ How Deep is the Ocean?/ Waltz For Debby/ Five (closing theme); 70:15. www.elemental-music.com
I am a long-time devotee of the master pianist
Cecil Taylor. I remember seeing him perform, either solo or with a band, in many different locations, from a sweaty night at Keystone Korner to a solo performance at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. But all of those performances were at night, which seemed right for Taylor’s turbulent music. Until the overwhelmingly powerful
Fragments arrived in the mail, I never would have thought of the Taylor Unit playing in the afternoon. This 2-CD or 3-Lp set offers two performances on the same day as part of the 8th Paris Jazz Festival, a very long afternoon set and a shorter evening set. This quartet, with Sam Rivers on tenor and soprano saxophones and flute, Jimmy Lyons on alto saxophone, and Andrew Cyrille on drums lasted about a year. In an interview, Rivers noted that what impressed him at the first rehearsal “was how much of an extension of Cecil Jimmy was on the horn,” and wondered if he fit in. That was in January 1969 and after rehearsal sessions that could last anywhere from four to seven hours, it’s obvious from just the first few minutes of listening that he fits in very well. The inimitable and seriously under appreciated Lyons, with his fluidity and fluency on the alto sax, had been with Taylor since 1961, and they would go on to log more than two decades playing together. Cyrille, who is still active at age 86, became a member of the Unit in 1965 and continued to work with Taylor over the next eleven years. This edition of the Unit is poorly documented; before
Fragments, there was only
Nuits De La Fondation Maeght, Volumes 1-3 from March 1965 (known in the U.S as
The Great Concert Of Cecil Taylor). The Taylor Unit played 15 times as part of the Newport Jazz Festival tour of Europe that fall, and at every show the quartet worked on
Fragments of a Dedication to Duke Ellington. No other tapes from this tour have come to light, so this release is a real treasure for fans of Taylor’s music, decently recorded by INA in France. To augment the music, Taylor’s biographer Phil Freeman contributes a highly informative liner essay to the booklet. There is also an invaluable piece by drummer Cyrille as he reflects on Cecil Taylor from the first time he met him, a reminiscence by Lyons’ widow, bassoonist Karen Borca, along with shorter pieces with Monique Rivers, Sam Rivers’ daughter, and the late Jack De Johnette, who was on the same tour as a member of the Miles Davis Quintet and loved following the Taylor Unit on the bill because “the stage was reverberating when that band had finished.” Finally, in a thought-provoking essay, pianist Matthew Shipp discusses his own experiences with Taylor’s music, Taylor’s influence on his own playing, and much more. The music is ferocious, explosive, and utterly beautiful. Highly recommended.
Elemental Music 5990455 (CD and LP); Jimmy Lyons (as) Sam Rivers (ts, ss, fl) Cecil Taylor (p) Andrew Cyrille (d); Paris, France, November 3, 1969; Fragments of a Dedication To Duke Ellington: Disc 1 (70:10):Evening Set Version/ Afternoon Set Version Part 1. Disc 2 (71:45): Afternoon Set Version Part 2. www.elemental-music.com
If you were looking for a Cecil Taylor fan who also loves the music of Freddie King, then you’ve come to the right place. Freddie King first made his mark in the blues world with a series of singles on the Federal label in 1960 and 1961. The instrumentals Hide Away and San-Ho-Zay established his guitar prowess and songs like I’m Tore Down and Have You Ever Loved a Woman proved him to be a passionate singer. His career had its ups and downs after he left Federal Records, and Cary Baker does a first-rate job of describing them in his liner essay. Several live recordings have surfaced over the years, with Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Pulsations Concert offering the full range of a King performance. Clocking in at a little over two hours, King and his killer band put on quite a show for the vocally enthusiastic French audience. Most rock fans are aware of King’s powerful influence on guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and so many others, so there’s not much to discuss. The one thing that kept King going and made his audiences love him, was the broad reach of his repertoire. In Nancy, he naturally played some of his hits. But get a look at all the songs by other artists that he made his own. It’s hard to think of another bluesman that performs tunes like Guitar Slim’s The Things I Used to Do, Jimmy Rogers’ That’s All Right, T-Bone Walker’s Stormy Monday Blues, B.B. King’s Sweet Little Angel, Big Joe Turner’s Wee Baby Blues, Percy Mayfield’s The Danger Zone (written for Ray Charles), and, perhaps most surprising of all, Dave Mason’s Feeling Alright, all on the same program. Along with Baker’s illuminating essay, the booklet features a reminiscence by Wanda King, Freddie’s daughter, an appreciation by guitarist Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and a batch of photos from this very show. King, just a year before his early death at the age of 42, is in fantastic form for this festival performance and his crackerjack ensemble is with him every step of the way. I’d recommend anything that Freddie King ever recorded, and Feeling Alright is up there with the best of his work. Totally recommended.
Elemental Music 5990457 (CD and LP); Freddie King (g, vcl) Ed Lively (g) Alvin Hemphill (org) Lewis Stephens (p) Benny Turner (b) Calep Emphrey (d); Nancy, France, October 10, 1975; Disc 1 (66:00): Have You Ever Loved a Woman?/ Whole Lot of Lovin’/ Medley: Hey Baby; Mojo Boogie/ The Things I Used to Do/ Messin’ With the Kid/ That’s All Right/ Going Down/ Stormy Monday Blues. Disc 2 (59:08): Medley: Sen-Sa-Shun; Looking Good; Boogie Chillun/ Sweet Little Angel/ Got My Mojo Working/ Sweet Home Chicago/ Wee Baby Blues/ The Danger Zone/ Feeling Alright/ You’re The One; Finale. www.elemental-music.com
The Kuumbwa Jazz Center is a small (200 seats) venue in Santa Cruz, California, about 75 miles south of San Francisco. Founded in early 1975, Kuumbwa continues to present 130 concerts annually in a remarkable display of longevity. It’s always been an important stop on a West Coast tour, and in 1987 the center hosted pianist
Michel Petrucciani and his trio with Dave Holland on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums. Their two sets on that Monday night were recorded, and now nearly two hours of passionate and exploratory jazz have been released as
Kuumbwa. Petrucciani had been touring widely in the Eighties with Zigmund, a veteran of the Bill Evans trio, and for a long time the bassist was Palle Danielsson. When Danielsson left the band, Petrucciani would pick “different bass players for each group of gigs,” explains Zigmund in his booklet essay. For this West Coast tour, Holland was recruited, and the ever inventive bassist, who gets a solo spot on every track, is in superb form. Zigmund was always ready for whatever the pianist might throw at him, and of course, Holland was always prepared for anything that might happen on stage. The trio seems to have quickly developed an amazing amount of mutual interplay and finesse. Zigmund comments that “what made Michel special was the way he put his heart into the music.” You can hear that in every note of this music. In addition to Zigmund’s piece on playing with Petrucciani, there are liner notes from Thierry Pérémarti, Petrucciani’s son Alexandre offers his memories in a short reminiscence, a brief note from Tim Jackson, one of the co-founders of Kuumbwa, and finally, pianist Enrico Pieranunzi’s reflections on the work of Petrucciani. As Pérémarti notes, Petrucciani was just 24 years old when he played in Santa Cruz, with “the authority of his expression unmistakable.” Throughout the two sets, Petrucciani is playing like a master with his deeply emotional and flowing style. The trio performs lengthy investigations of material that includes a few originals, Charles Lloyd’s
Sweet Georgia Bright, and compositions that were staples of the Miles Davis quintets of the Fifties (
Autumn Leaves and
Stella By Starlight), and Sixties (
Limbo and
Nardis). This trio was a one-time lineup, and with the release of
Kuumbwa, jazz fans around the world will have a chance to hear the beautiful music they made one Monday night on the California coast. Easily recommended.
Elemental Music 5990459 (CD and LP); Michel Petrucciani (p) Dave Holland (b) Eliot Zigmund (d); Santa Cruz, CA, May 11, 1987; Disc 1 (56:25): Limbo/ Eugenia/ Mike P. Blues/ Stella By Starlight/ The Prayer/ Autumn Leaves. Disc 2 (57:47): My Funny Valentine/ All the Things You Are/ Morning Blues/ Nardis/ Sweet Georgia Bright/ Someday My Prince Will Come. www.elemental-music.com
Thus far, producer Zev Feldman’s latest venture, Time Traveler Recordings, has concentrated on vinyl reissues from the extensive Muse Records catalog. But his latest project for the label presents the first release of a
Roy Hargrove concert in 2000. The audience in
Bern welcomes the Hargrove quintet with great enthusiasm, and the band does not disappoint. Hargrove’s initial album releases on Novus came out in 1990; by the end of the decade, he was a major figure on the scene. On this night the trumpeter was joined in the front line by Sherman Irby on alto sax, with the rhythm section of Larry Willis on piano, Gerald Cannon on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums providing a firm foundation. The incredibly versatile Willis had lengthy associations with Jackie McLean, the Fort Apache Band, Freddie Hubbard, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears, among others, along with a slew of his own record dates. His ability to adapt to virtually any musical situation made him a natural for a Hargrove band, since the leader was known to explore many different styles, working with an array of hip-hop, alternative rock and neo-soul artists. The quintet leads off their hour-long appearance at the International Jazzfestival with the hard-swinging
Stranded, composed by trombonist Frank Lacy. Willis offers a respite in the middle of the 16-minute performance with a quietly meandering unaccompanied solo before leading the group in a energetic return to the theme.
Depth is the first of two Hargrove originals, first recorded in 1989 for the Alfa label in Japan. This version is distinguished by fine flugelhorn playing, a funky piano solo by Willis, and explosive drumming by Jones. Hargrove’s ballad feature, the standard
Never Let Me Go, is taken at a very slow pace, emphasizing Hargrove’s phrasing on the lovely melody. Willis shines once again with a calm solo before ceding the spotlight to bassist Cannon, who delivers a tender solo, gently prodded by Willis’ piano chords. Hargrove returns to once again caress the melody as he brings the piece to a close. Hargrove’s other original is
Caryisms, recorded just once before for
The Vibe, a 1992 session that included pianist Marc Cary. It’s a medium-tempo groove tune with a hint of funk, and both Hargrove and Willis are at their best. The trumpeter wows the crowd with an extended stop-time section, and Willis contributes a propulsive solo. Irby’s testifying turn on alto is another highlight of this performance. For the finale, Hargrove reaches back to 1949 for
Circus, a song by Louis Alter and Bob Russell that’s been performed by such disparate performers as the Four Freshmen, Chris Connor, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and alto saxophonist Jimmy Woods. Hargrove and company give it a brisk ride, with everyone getting a share of the spotlight. Hargrove generously gives his sidemen lots of solo space, and together they stretch nearly every piece to last more than 10 minutes. The Swiss audience loved this hour, and it will be equally enjoyed at home, with the added bonus of being able to hear it again and again. Recommended.
Time Traveler TT003 (LP and CD); Roy Hargrove (tpt, flgh) Sherman Irby (as) Larry Willis (p) Gerald Cannon (b) Willie Jones, III (d); Bern, Switzerland, May 4, 2000; Stranded/ Depth/ Never Let Me Go/ Caryisms/ Circus; 59:35.
