Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years (The Complete Riverside & Contemporary Recordings)

It is truly the end of an era (though the great Marshall Allen, best known for his incredible work with Sun Ra, just turned 102!) with the death of Sonny Rollins, one of the masters of the saxophone and who was often called "Saxophone Colossus," the name of one his masterpiece albums.  The 95-year old giant had such an indelible sound, with its power, strength of tone, lyrical and melodic brilliance, while he also composed so many classic jazz tunes.  

These include such early tunes written during a very fruitful association with Miles Davis, such as "Airegin," "Doxy," and "Oleo," as well as "Sonnymoon for Two," "St. Thomas," and the phenomenal "Freedom Suite."  Rollins, however, was a remarkable interpreter of classic songs and for incorporating snatches of them in his solos, why he played a key part in the work of other jazz greats, including Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners.

This top-notch box set, issued for the master's 70th birthday a quarter-century ago, presents a quintet of discs demonstrating the range, breadth and depth of Rollins' work in the years 1956-1958, including that classic Monk album, support for trumpeter Kenny Dorham, recordings with vocalist Abbey Lincoln and his own sessions, including for the Contemporary (a Los Angeles imprint that also issued Ornette Coleman's first two albums at about the same time) and Riverside labels.

Recordings include the staggering Brilliant Corners with Monk's absolutely unique approach to piano paired with Rollins' inspired playing leading to one of the great albums in American music history; the surprising, but impressive Way Out West, which was recorded in Los Angeles in one day starting at 3 a.m. with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, and played up the Western theme to the hilt; the spectacular standards-filled The Sound of Sonny with such stalwarts as Percy Heath and Paul Chambers on bass and Roy Haynes on drums; Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders, his second work for the Los Angeles label, and completely comprised of standards; and the great Freedom Suite, with that outstanding sidelong tune complemented by more standard songs.

What is heard on this box is Rollins' consistent greatness as a composer and interpreter as well as a preeminent stylist with amazing consistency and creativity, not to mention stamina (this is especially notable on the live A Night at the Village Vanguard, previously highlighted here.  In really just a few years, the master had a very busy recording and performing schedule and ascended to the heights of the jazz firmament.

In 1959, Rollins, concerned about his health, spiritual development and his perceived shortcomings as a musician, suddenly retreated from the public eye, spending much of his time "woodshedding" on the pedestrian portion of the Williamsburg Bridge connecting that neighborhood of Brooklyn with the Lower East Side of Manhattan as he pondered the next steps in his future.  This was the first of several reinventions over the course of his long, distinguished career and lasted two and a half years.  He followed with a string of records on RCA Victor and Impulse! before another sabbatical in the late 60s and early 70s.  He may never have garnered quite the attention he did in the period this set covers, but he continued working actively until about a dozen years ago, when he retired, largely due to problems with cystic fibrosis.

We may have lost one of the few remaining greats from a golden age of jazz, but his recorded legacy, hopefully, will continue to endure.  Love live Sonny Rollins!

Christian Wolff: For Ruth Crawford

This 1994 release on the Swiss label HatHut presents four works from 1968 to 1993 by the composer whose work was large built, as stated in the liners by Art Lange, on the fact that his "particular interest was in creating circumstances in which the performers would need to react spontaneously—with either precise details or those chosen from variable possibilities—to events occurring within unpredictable conditions." 

This could mean notation that had different forms or the use of graphs, images or spoken instructions "to create such indeterminate conditions of musical activity."  That word in the quote evokes the landmark 1959 John Cage/David Tudor recording, Indeterminacy and Cagean principles relating to chance operations and the choice made available to the performers.  

For Brown, however, it got to the point where his 1968 work, "Edges" was developed for "any number of players, any number of instruments" and no instructions as to harmony, pitch, rhythm, tempo or time.  Rather, players were given 25 symbols, the words "singing" and "slow" and markings of "ff" and "ppp" along with the number "3" randomly placed on a black page.  So, the performers on piano, trombone and viola decided to have four separate types of movements in 20 minutes.  The effect, Lange writes, is that "the sounds are in a constant state of . . . becoming" and "completely dependent upon the commitment of the performers.

1970's "Snowdrop" was written for harpsichord and perhaps other instruments and with notes placed on staves without bars and indications space, with numbers, "between the phrased sequences," emphasizing the importance of space and silence.  The piano, violin and trombone are overdubbed and "they are free to distribute the material at their discretion.

The more recent pieces of "Ruth" (1991) and "Peggy" (1993) are for Ruth Crawford, stepmother of folk master Pete Seeger and an experimental composer who later worked on transcriptions of folk music with Seeger's father Charles, and her daughter Peggy, also a folk singer.  "Ruth" has standard notation, with opportunities for players on piano and trombone to work with microtones, timbre and other elements at their choosing.  Drumming on the piano and whistling are also included.  With "Peggy," overdubbed trombones also perform with mostly a notated score, with some melodic material taken from the namesake's pieces.

Interspersed in Lange's text are quotes from Wolff, such as "I'm trying to see how little I can indicate [to players] and yet come up with a piece that's clearly itself, one that still has a life of its own," or his idea that "we had to liberate ourselves from the direct and preemptory consequence of intention and effect," or "my music is often just material" but that a key to performance was "how the individuals relate to each other as they play."  Perhaps most important are the statements that "all music is propaganda music" and if "you still haven't the foggiest idea what my music sounds like; you have to hear it or play it to find out."  For this untutored listener, the main idea is to go where the performers take you and to enjoy the journey, not worrying about the map.

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy

This blogger's first purchase of a record by The Jesus and Mary Chain was the group's second, 1987's Darklands, which was greatly enjoyed, but, of course, immediately following was buying the debut, Psychocandy, which raised such a ruckus when released not quite two years earlier.  This was not least because of the attitude of the brothers Jim and William Reid, apparently largely fueled by alcohol and speed, as they bluntly declared their greatness in interviews and routinely played chaotically 20-30 minute sets that often ended in violence.

The following three albums, Automatic, Honey's Dead and Stoned and Dethroned, were also acquired and very much appreciated, especially the latter, but more than three decades have passed, with barely a listen to any of this amazing music until very recently.  It is interesting now to see the 60+ Reid brothers in interviews, being forthright, amusing, disarmingly low-key and refreshingly reflective about their turbulent early years and their mature current ones.

While Darklands and Stoned and Dethroned are personal favorites, though "Reverence" from Honey's Dead is a killer (!) track, there is just no denying the impact and importance of Psychocandy on multiple levels, beyond the performative aspect referred to above.  At a time when British alternative music was almost completely dominated by synthesizers and a pop sheen that reflected much of English society during the 80s, the JAMC were determined to chart a singular course.

This, most obviously, embodied the feedback-drenched guitars, churning and coursing from track to track, as well as the lower-range vocals by Jim, who lost a coin-flip to decide whether he or William would be the singer, and the Wall of Sound production values that were clearest in Bobby Gillespie (later the leader of Primal Scream) and his spare, standing (as per Mo Tucker of The Velvet Underground) and rudimentary drumming.

Yet, there was also another Sixties tie, which was the way that melody, percussion and vocalization were utilized amid the grinding guitars, so that, for all the focus on the feedback, the Reid brothers wrote compact, economical and compelling pop songs that moved effortlessly through the 15-song collections spanning 42 minutes.  The result is not just thrilling, but timeless, not sounding of its time, or really any, to this listener.

Among the 15 tracks, it's hard to choose favorites, but the opener, "Just Like Honey," with its female backing vocal; the bruising "The Living End" with its sardonic lyric about a motorcyclist who is enamored with his style and self and ends up crashing into a tree with his brains oozing into his fine leather boots; "Taste the Floor" and its exhilarating grating feedback-drenched guitar; the almost pastoral "Cut Dead" that hearkens to later JAMC records; the squalling speedy "In a Hole;" first single "Never Understand;" the ruminative "Sowing Seeds;" the anthemic "Something's Wrong;" and the acidic "It's So Hard" with its caterwauling careening conclusion—wait, that's 60% of the album, so, yes, it's very difficult to pick!  

Tim Berne and the Copenhagen Art Ensemble With Herb Robertson and Marc Ducret: Open, Coma

In his nearly half-century of making music, Tim Berne has been exceptionally committed to evolutionary exploration in terms of his compositions, ensembles and the presentation of the two in always unpredictable and exciting ways.  This listener was blown away in 1991 with the purchase of his Pace Yourself album with the Caos Totale collective.  The whole album was incredible, but the centerpiece to these ears was "The Legend of P-1," a 26-minute tour de force with the altoist joined by trombonist Steve Swell, Mark Dresser on bass, drummer Bobby Previte, Marc Ducret on guitar and Herb Robertson playing trumpet, cornet, flutes, flugelhorn and more.

A few years later, the next Caos Totale recording was Nice View, with the group joined by Django Bates on keys, piano and the E-flat horn and stretching, in the best way, for nearly 40 minutes is the astounding "Impacted Wisdom."  Recorded that same year, 1994, and released the following one was Memory Select, the third in a series of live albums by another phenomenal Berne group, Bloodcount, including Ducret along with Chris Speed on clarinet and tenor, bassist Michael Formanek and Jim Black on drums.  Only two tracks were on the recording, including the 51-minute "Eye Contact."

With these three mammoth works performed live for radio broadcast and the new studio-recorded "Open, Coma," the album of this latter name marked the first time Berne recorded with a larger ensemble, including ten musicians and a conductor, allowing him to work with the material and the performers in a different way because he released this stunning recording on his own Screwgun label.  What stands out to this largely untutored listener is how the complex compositions, which already sounded full-bodied with Caos Totale and Bloodcount, become richer and deeper and the sound is more expansive and enveloping.

Robertson and Ducret are part of the ensemble, which includes tenor and soprano saxes, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet, a second trumpet, a cornet, a trombone, a bass trombone, a tuba, a piano and organ and a bassist and drummer.  Berne's compositions often have a classical, orchestral feel in the arrangements and the ways the instrumentation works with harmonies, including contrasting ones, but to have this expanded lineup, they effect is even more striking.

What's great, as well, as that, with this more symphonic character, these extended pieces could each be heard as having a variety of movements, as in classical composition, as tempo, tone, and other aspects of form change, including light and shade and movement from quiet, contemplative sections to powerful, propulsive intensity.  The diversity of color in the types of instrumentation also stand out, so that, even if a listener has heard the Caos Totale and Bloodcount pieces on those three records, there are, of course, familiar aspects, namely melodic elements, but there is a freshness to the larger ensemble performance that makes them sound new, including, as just one example, the use of organ and piano with Ducret's guitar in "Impacted Wisdom" that hearkens somewhat to Miles Davis' In A Silent Way.

In 35 years of listening to Berne's amazing body of work, Open, Coma stands out because of this rare opportunity for a big band-type of ensemble and it should be noted that it took him, Robertson and Ducret traveling to Europe for it to happen.  This was more than a quarter-century ago and it seems only fair and reasonable that Berne be given an opportunity to make more music like this in our country.

Caribbean Island Music: Songs and Dances of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica

The relationship of Caribbean nations to the United States is often historically fraught with all manner of complexity and complication in terms of economic and political challenges (and the use of "shithole countries" to describe some of them should be an embarrassment far more forcefully countered), with American "intervention" in such places as the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the early 20th century being just one example of a fairly distant past issue, while Kari Lake's very recent nomination to be ambassador to Jamaica a striking development given that nation's generally good ties with this country.

With music truly being an "international language," the cultural connections between the Caribbean and  our society should be strengthened.  This, hopefully, better improves understanding, especially as so many immigrants in recent decades have added greatly to our diversity and democracy.  With this being the 250th year of the Declaration of Independence and some balanced reflection on that founding document and American history at hand, listening to this remarkable early 1970s recording from the Nonesuch Explorer Series is a reminder of how we might find ways to enhance our ties, rather than sunder them.

John Storm Roberts, who handled the recordings, points out in his liner notes that "the rich and various music of the Caribbean lies among a spectrum from country worksongs and lullabies to 'sophisticated' urban dance music of international influence," this latter most notably from many African sources, as well as those from England, France and Spain.  

Roberts programmed the selections so that "this album offers examples of the three major traditions—Afro-Hispanic, Afro-British, and Afro-French—and ranges from rural to urban music, and from the large European to the largely African."  He acknowledges that "no single record can give an adequate impression of Caribbean music," so this highly enjoyable and edifying disc is really an aural snapshot of a very diverse portion of the world with so much interaction and interrelationships.

It should also be noted that there are only two tracks, out of 18, from Haiti, but these, from the Orchestre Jazz Corondo of Port-au-Prince, are very exciting and reflect urban popular music from more than a half-century ago.  Eight tunes in the last section of the album are from Jamaica, but from the rural sections, so no reggae or ska here, but they are remarkable in representing dance, game and work songs found in the country areas of the island nation.  As for the Dominican pieces, the first two are heavily African-inflected and most of the remainder show the strong influence of Spanish tradition and are also mainly rural.

Roberts was a British anthropologist so his approach to the recordings was generally to embed in communities and so, as the sleeve observes, the performances included "incidental dialogue, passing vehicles and barking dogs," so the field work is very distinct from the more pristine environment of the studio and adds greatly to the enjoyment in terms of the feeling that the listener is there as the music is made and not at a more distant vantage report—something that makes so much of the Nonesuch Explorer series remarkable.

John Williams: Guitar Recital—Paganini, Scarlatti, Giulani and Villa-Lobos

When discovering classical music more than 35 years ago, this Sony Essential Classics was an early favorite and John Williams (not to be confused with well-known film composer) demonstrates his utter mastery of classical guitar with this compilation of recordings made from 1965 to 1976 and released in 1996.

These interpretations of works dating back to Domenico Scarlatti ad up to Hector Villa-Lobos are impeccably performed, beautifully recorded and remastered, but the liner notes by Jackson Braider observe that "the guitar was like a spinster aunt in a Jane Austen novel—a presence of sorts, but not one to be reckoned with.  

This was because, as volume became more predominant, the instrument could not satisfy the demand and so it became "something of an afterthought, when it was thought of at all.  Key to its revival was Andrés Segovia, the Spanish master, whose use of the guitar was, Braider notes, a kind of antidote to the massive symphonic sounds of Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner and others, so that it "offered listeners a sonic respite after all that noise.

  Segovia not only transcribed works from established composers, as is the case with these recordings, but also encouraged new compositions, though it was pointed out that the relentless attention to solo guitar recitals and recordings, with ensemble work not part of his approach.  From the 1950s, however, the efforts of Williams, Julian Bream and others challenged that orthodoxy.  

Braider described the "strange and sometimes sorrowful history of the guitar," though he notes that Paganini was a virtuoso on the instrument, though best known for playing and composing for the violin.  As for Scarlatti, while not a performer of or composer for the instrument, Italy was a guitar-playing country and some of the composer's works contained writing for the harpsichord that were guitaristic.  With respect to Giulani and, especially, Villa-Lobos, they were master players who wrote for the instrument.

For this blogger, this album was played frequently upon its release and purchase three decades ago and, though it has been many years since, returning to it brings back all of the enjoyment and appreciation for Williams' mastery and the composers' excellence.

Cabaret Voltaire: But What Time Is It Really?

I never thought it would happen, having learned about Cabaret Voltaire from a 1985 interview in the Los Angeles Times as the duo of Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder were in town to play a show at the Palace.  Shortly afterward came the purchase of the Drinking Gasoline EP and, having become a devotee, I assumed CV would be back to perform in the Angel City at some point in the not-too-distant future.  Well, it turned out to be a fleeting hope . . . at least until last night.

It was a surprise to most everyone who's a fan to hear a year ago today that Mallinder and original member Chris Watson announced that they were reuniting as the Cabs for a festival in their hometown of Sheffield, England named after their best-known song, 1984's "Sensoria" from the Micro-Phonies album.  This comeback also marked the 50th anniversary of the group's first and notoriously riotous performance, just a year or two after the trio launched their highly unconventional, DIY project in the attic of Watson's house.

Initially, it looked as if the reunification was to be brief and confined to the United Kingdom, though some of us unable to attend shows there at least hoped for a live album.  Then came the announcement of a series of North American gigs including last night's show at The Bellwether in DTLA.  Finally, after four decades and with it clear that this would be it for CV's existence, the opportunity to hear the band live arrived.

Watson was unable to make the trip, so Mallinder was joined by opening act Tara Busch, a.k.a. I Speak Machine, who gave an intense electronic/industrial performance, and his British compatriots Ben (Benge) Edwards, a frequent collaborator in recent years, on electronic drums and another long-time compatriot, guitarist and keyboardist Eric Random, who made vital contributions to CV in the Eighties.

It has been said that Kirk, who died in September 2021 at 65 and who was a favorite of this blogger, would have been displeased by the idea of reconstituting the Cabs for a career retrospective, but Mallinder and Watson have embarked on the project in memory of and out of "massive respect" for their former bandmate, who revived the CV name in 2009 for remix project, some live shows and a quartet of recordings just before he died that represented his uncompromising and highly creative approaches.

What was great about last night's show was that the core components of the original versions of the tracks, spanning from the earliest recordings through the end of the Eighties, are retained, but the arrangements reworked to sound fresh and updated.  Mallinder's voice, often processed, keeps many of its attributes from days of yore, while he also played bass on much of the pieces.  Benge's simple drum set-up provided the right level of punch with pre-recorded percussion and Busch greatly helped to layer the digital and electronic sound palette.  Especially welcome was Random's guitar, which evoked Kirk's work on that instrument, but he added his contributions on keyboards, as well.  The effect was an excellent concert, well-played, smoothly paced and highly appreciated by the crowd which looked to have filled the room.

As for But What Time Is It Really? (a comment, perhaps, on the way the music was presented in seamlessly blending old and new?) Benge's considerable engineering, mixing and production skills, the latter done by Mallinder, result in developing a beautiful sound, with separation of the elements (live instruments, pre-recorded material, vocals) expertly handled.  The album is not only a valued souvenir of this last tour, but reflects the fact that Cabaret Voltaire's music, going back a half-century, remains timely and timeless, and forty years after this blogger discovered the group, it was really fulfilling to have the opportunity to hear this great music from this amazing band and project live and live.

Erroll Garner: Dreamstreet & One World Concert

The jazz pianist Erroll Garner is not as well remembered as he should be, even among the many giants on that instrument in the genre, but this disc combining two of his recordings from 1959 and 1963 on his own Octave label, and re-released on the Telarc label in 1995, reflects his brilliance in both the studio and in concert.

The Pittsburgh native was something of a child prodigy, beginning his playing at age three and performing professionally just four years later, while playing by ear and never learning to read music.  Before his teens, he was playing on boats plying the Allegheny River, but was not as well known in the local jazz scene as his older brother Linton.

Though he moved to New York City as the bebop scene was developing and he played with Charlie Parker among others, he was most often compared to the likes of Art Tatum, Earl Hines and Fats Waller.  From 1950 until his death more than a quarter century later, he was managed by Martha Glaser, who contributed notes to this set and wrote that, as the conversion from the original master tapes to the digital format was made, she and others "found the material fresh, exhilarating and totally contemporaneous.

Glaser also notes the difference between the studio recording, Dreamstreet, recorded in 1959 and released two years later, and the live One World Concert, presented during the world's fair in Seattle in 1963.  Donald Elfman, in his contribution to the liners, observed that Garner's work "has the power to make us smile one minute and then gape in amazement the next."  

It is also noted that, with his own label, Garner had complete freedom in the studio and "reveled in this atmosphere" and his rhythm section of bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin keep things as straight as could be, supporting the master with little other than the most basic of accompaniment.  Then again, that's what listeners would expect from someone as phenomenal as Garner, but the Seattle show really stands out for the energy inspired by a wowed audience—Garner's signature composition, "Misty," is always a highlight, but the many covers, including "Sweet and Lovely," "Mack The Knife," and "Lover Come Back" are all thrilling.

This double recording is an excellent showcase of one of the finest pianists America has ever produced and this remastered disc provides clear, crisp sound to enjoy Erroll Garner demonstrating his abounding and amazing talent.