Sonny Rollins: Freedom Weaver - The 1959 European Tour Recordings

  I’ll leave to the likes of Joe Lovano and Branford Marsalis to sing the praises of the saxophone colossus, Sonny Rollins. It’s long been an article of faith among the intense Rollins fans to hold the sax, bass, and drums trio format that was his main setting from 1957-1959 in the highest esteem. The existence of recordings from the trio’s brief European tour was no surprise; they had all been bootlegged. But Freedom Weaver - The 1959 European Tour Recordings presents the first authorized release of this material. The bassist throughout is Henry Grimes. Pete La Roca started the tour on drums, was replaced by Joe Harris on one occasion, and later by bebop pioneer Kenny “Klook” Clarke. The repertoire is a mix of standards (including a few he never otherwise recorded), a handful of jazz compositions, and a few of Rollins’ original tunes. The first thing we hear, appropriately enough, is St. Thomas, one of Rollins’ most endearing songs. It’s the only surviving piece from a March 2 concert in Stockholm. The rest of the first CD is given over to two performances in the same city on March 4. Joe Harris plays on the evening show at the Södra Teatern. La Roca is back behind the drum kit the next day in Zürich. The aim of producer Zev Feldman was to present these tracks in chronological order, but he got blindsided by late-appearing information. Although the printed material credits three performances in Laren, The Netherlands on disc 2 as occurring on March 7, an errata sheet included with the booklet reveals that the Laren concert took place on February 21, at the very start of the tour. The balance of the second disc was recorded at a concert in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 9. Blumenthal notes that “[T]ensions that make the music crackle with energy proved insurmountable on a personal level,” and La Roca left the tour the next day. Luckily, expatriate Kenny Clarke was available. We get to hear him on the third disc, with three lengthy tunes recorded at a club appearance in Aix-en-Provence, France. Right from the start of Dizzy Gillespie’s classic Woody ‘n’ You, we can hear the difference that a new drummer makes. There’s a taste of that effect when Harris takes over for those 3 tracks on disc 1, but the presence of Clarke really moves things onto a new level. As well as Rollins has sounded up until now, he sounds even better here, more relaxed and exploratory. The 56-page booklet, copiously illustrated, includes notes by Bob Blumenthal, plus interviews that Feldman conducted with Marsalis, Lovano, James Carter, James Brandon Lewis, and Peter Brötzmann. Perhaps the best thing is the commentary by Rollins himself. He reflects on the trio format, and on the 1959 tour specifically. He notes that sax, bass, and drums afforded him “the best opportunity to do whatever I could do, whatever that was that had some resonance with people.” About Grimes, he says that he “seemed to not be afraid of playing without a piano, whereas a lot of bass players need a piano.” He has nice things to say about La Roca and Harris, but he saves most of his praise for “Klook,” whom he describes as “one of my giants.” Listening to these tracks from the past, the notoriously self-critical Rollins has to say “that they do have merit” and that they “do have a certain flair.” Fans of the great Sonny Rollins have had to put with inferior sounding examples of these songs for decades, so it’s a wonder that this sounds as good as it does. If you love to hear Sonny Rollins, and who doesn’t, don’t miss this release. 

Resonance HCD-2065 [CD; also on vinyl]; Sonny Rollins (ts) Henry Grimes (b) Pete La Roca, Joe Harris*, or Kenny Clarke# (d); Disc 1 (68:39) : Stockholm, Sweden, March 2, 1959: St. Thomas; Stockholm, March 4: There Will Never Be Another You/ Stay As Sweet As You Are/ I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star/ How High the Moon/ Oleo/ Paul’s Pal; Stockholm, March 4 : Sonny Rollins interview/ It Don’t Mean a Thing*/ Paul’s Pal*/ Love Letters*. Disc 2 (57:43): Zürich, Switzerland, March 5: I Remember You/ I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star/ It Could Happen to You/ Oleo/ Will You Still Be Mine?; Laren, Holland, February 21: I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star/ I Want to Be Happy/ A Weaver of Dreams; Frankfurt, West Germany, March 9: It Don’t Mean a Thing/ Cocktails For Two/ I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star/ I Want to Be Happy. Disc 3 (52:26): Aix-en-Provence, March 11: Woody ‘N’ You#/ But Not For Me#/ Lady Bird#. www.resonancerecords.org

Chris Madsen: The Trio Book

  Tenor saxophonist Chris Madsen is joined by bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall for The Trio Book, a foray into delicately balanced and intimate chamber jazz. The steady and decisively interactive bassist Sommers has recorded frequently since his first session with singer Eden Atwood in 2000. Since then, he’s been heard most frequently with pianist Dan Cray and reedman Geof Bradfield. The Chicago-based drummer Hall has also worked with Bradfield, along with luminaries like trumpeters Malachi Thompson, Brad Goode, and Terell Stafford. As a team, Hall and Sommers have played on sessions led by Bradfield, trumpeter Darren Johnston, tenor saxist Adam Larson, and a previous effort by Madsen. And I’d bet they shared the bandstand on plenty of gigs over the years. All of which serves to point out the virtues of familiarity in a creative music context. Madsen has a real knack for finding generative material for the trio setting. The set kicks off with Steve Swallow’s best-known composition, Eiderdown, first recorded in 1965 on Pete La Roca’s Basra album. From the start, it’s apparent that the trio has excellent cohesion and responsiveness. Following their lengthy and fruitful investigation of the Swallow piece, they continue with Omar Hakim’s Amethyst Secrets (from his 1989 Rhythm Deep album, and the biggest surprise on The Trio Book). The simple melody, played fairly slowly, provides the trio with an elegant vehicle that showcases the thoughtful side of Madsen’s saxophone playing. N.R.W. is the session’s sole original composition, in a similar vein to the Hakim tune. Hall’s brushwork on the first half of this one is simply beautiful, and so is the trio’s dynamic arc as the performance builds to a climax. Both Joe Chambers’ Mirrors and Freddie Hubbard’s D Minor Mint first appeared on Hubbard’s 1965 Breaking Point album. The Hubbard tune, a straight-ahead swinger, gets a spirited rendition, with energetic tenor, robust bass, and splashy drums. The trio’s exquisite dissection of Mirrors is another of the disc’s many highlights. In the most extroverted performance on the disc, the band tackles Wes Montgomery’s West Coast Blues in a take from an earlier recording session in 2018. A funky Hall is having a ball on this number. The album concludes with Granada, a tune by reedman Chris Cheek from 1999, and another carefully modulated excursion into empathetic trio dynamics. The more I listen to this music, the more I appreciate it and find new aspects to enjoy. This is a collection that rewards close listening. Highly recommended. 

JMarg; Chris Madsen (ts) Clark Sommers (b) Dana Hall (d); Chicago, IL, March 23, 2021, exc. *July 3, 2018; Eiderdown/ Amethyst Secrets/ N.R.W./ D Minor Mint/ Mirrors/ West Coast Blues*/ Granada; 46:46. www.chrismadsen.net

Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Studio Sessions

  Fame came late for tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, who achieved a degree of prominence with the public on the basis of a series of thematic albums for Verve Records in the early 1990's. Better late than never, I suppose, but musicians had been hip to his playing since he burst into the scene with his first Blue Note recordings in 1963. Think for a moment about how hard it was for tenormen to break through in that period, when giants like Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Stan Getz and Zoot Sims were still around, along with newer stars like John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Booker Ervin and so many others who were making their marks in the jazz world. Even with all that competition, Henderson managed to make himself heard. With the 5 CD set of The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Studio Sessions, Mosaic Records has collected his five albums as a leader for Blue Note from 1963 to 1966 and two albums by trumpeter and mentor Kenny Dorham (Una Mas, Henderson’s recording debut, and Trompeta Toccata). There was also room for the initial recordings of five Henderson originals that first appeared on Blue Note sessions where he was a sideman. Mosaic producer Michael Cuscuna, who probably knows the Blue Note catalog better than anyone, writes that he was “astounded” that there were only 7 albums with Henderson as leader or co-leader with Dorham, considering how ubiquitous Henderson was as a sideman for the label. He brought his tart and exciting tenor sound to such classic outings as The Sidewinder by trumpeter Lee Morgan, Idle Moments by guitarist Grant Green, Black Fire and Point Of Departure by pianist Andrew Hill, Song For My Father by pianist Horace Silver, and more, amassing 20 sideman appearances for the label. Cuscuna concludes that he “cannot think of a musician of more impact and breadth in those years.” High praise, indeed, and totally deserved. To spend hours listening to and absorbing the great music on these discs is to obtain a serious education in the state of jazz at the time. Just consider the drummers you’ll encounter: Tony Williams, Pete La Roca, Elvin Jones, Albert “Tootie” Heath, and Joe Chambers. Or take note of the brilliant roster of pianists on these dates: Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, and Tommy Flanagan. Henderson was matched with many of the best players of the era, and clearly held his own in such stellar company. Having the superb trumpeter Kenny Dorham as a close friend and frequent front line partner surely helped him to gain respect on the scene. As Bob Blumenthal writes in his liner notes for the set, “Established artists consistently replenished the Blue Note roster by introducing future stars with a gift for compatibility that nurtured both their own growth and the label’s legend.” The Dorham-Henderson connection is exemplary in this regard. After recording with Dorham on the trumpeter’s Una Mas date on April 1, 1963, it was just two months later, on June 3, that Henderson led his own debut as a leader. The tellingly titled Page One, a quintet session with Dorham and a rhythm section of pianist Tyner, bassist Butch Warren, and La Roca on drums, introduced a pair of frequently performed jazz compositions in Dorham’s Blue Bossa and Henderson’s Recorda-Me. It’s a sign of the high regard that Blue Note honchos Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff had for the saxophonist that Page One actually appeared in stores that September, a few months before Una Mas was released. Henderson was immensely busy during the less than three years that separate Una Mas from his final Blue Note outing as a leader, Mode For Joe, recorded at the end of January 1966, but his inspiration never flags either as an improviser or a composer. His boundless imagination, combined with an astute sense of harmonic development and a rhythmically propulsive approach to the music allowed him to fit in virtually everywhere, and Blue Note made the most of it over an intense few years. In the great Mosaic tradition, this set includes three previously unissued alternate takes plus the usual wealth of intimate photographs taken at the recording sessions by Francis Wolff. The newly remastered albums have never sounded better. The collection is limited to 2,500 copies, so get it while you can. Highly recommended. 

Mosaic MD5-271; Disc 1 (79:00), Disc 2 (76:41), Disc 3 (76:45); Disc 4 (78:39); Disc 5 (59:11), with the complete albums Una Mas (by Kenny Dorham), Page One, Our Thing, In ‘N Out, Trompeta Toccata (Dorham), Inner Urge, and Mode For Joe, plus tracks from Little Johnny C. (by Johnny Coles), Step Lightly (Blue Mitchell), The Kicker (Bobby Hutcherson), The Cape Verdean Blues (Horace Silver), and Unity (Larry Young). There are three previously unissued alternate takes, of La Mesha and Homestretch on Page One, and the title track on Our Thing. For detailed discographical information, go here.