BFrank

Nice review of the big band in today's NY Times: +++ August 5, 2005 A Reverse Vanishing Act From a Hard-Bop Pro By NATE CHINEN Forty years ago, Charles Tolliver was an apprentice to the alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and seemingly earmarked for jazz's modest version of stardom. A prodigiously gifted trumpeter and composer, Mr. Tolliver specialized in a bristling variety of hard-bop that perfectly suited the era; one of his songs, "Right Now," felt enough like a manifesto in 1965 that Mr. McLean added an exclamation point and made it the name of an album. "Right Now" was Mr. Tolliver's first number at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola on Wednesday night, and it still galvanized. But it also invited reflection. Mr. Tolliver, who spent the first half of the 1970's releasing scintillating material on his own Strata-East label, essentially vanished from the jazz world after 1975. He re-emerged just a couple of years ago, leading a big band that resembled the one on "Impact," his last studio album. The strength of this resurrected band at Dizzy's, and the relish with which Mr. Tolliver conducted it, begged the question of how he kept quiet for all those years. Mr. Tolliver's writing for big band is modular rather than orchestral; he builds around a small-group core so that supplemental elements - most often a coordinated blast of horns - can be added or elided without disruption. This made for a collective elasticity on "Plight," one of his oldest tunes; during a tenor saxophone solo by Greg Tardy, the horn section sprung into action, on cue, with a row of sharp interjections. "Truth," a ballad, was less effective; although it gracefully showcased Mr. Tolliver's still-lyrical trumpet playing, its long-tone ensemble voicings served a merely ornamental function. Structurally, Mr. Tolliver's music relies on ostinatos, or repetitive grooves, entrusting the rhythm section with a critical role. At Dizzy's, it helped that the pianist John Hicks and the bassist Cecil McBee were the musicians with whom Mr. Tolliver had the strongest ties, stretching back to the Strata-East years. But it was Ralph Peterson, the drummer, who really drove the ensemble. Tumultuously and brutishly propulsive, he kept the stakes high and the atmosphere intense; he made it difficult to imagine this band without him. The possibilities of Mr. Tolliver's aesthetics were most exhaustively explored on "Mournin' Variations," the highlight and finale of the set. In its original form on "Impact," the song featured an introduction scored for strings and evocative of the Far East; here Mr. Tolliver substituted woodwinds (the saxophone section, doubling on flutes and clarinets) for an effect more suggestive of African-American spirituals. Then, with a flick of the wrist, the brass screeched into the picture, and a strutting tempo kicked in. What ultimately set the song apart was a parade of gripping solos - by the gutsy tenor saxophonist Bill Saxton, the debonair trombonist Clark Gayton, the brightly incisive trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and finally Mr. Hicks, in an aggressive modal vein. Each improvisational space gave the impression of a proving ground, and each player handled the challenge with personality and poise. It was in those moments, with the spotlight on supporting players, that Mr. Tolliver's promise seemed fully renewed. The Charles Tolliver Big Band plays through Sunday at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, Time Warner Center, (212) 258-9595.

Jackie McLean disk #2

Stephen Colbert does a good "report" on this film on the Daily Show. You can watch the rerun tonight. Check your local listings.

Except that this Forum is entitled: "Mosaic and other box sets..."

Just pick up the Mosaic before it goes OOP. You'll get that PLUS a ga-zillion other sessions all at once.

Mine is #2973.

Enjoy the big 5-0, Lon. I hope you get a nice fat Mosaic for your birthday!

I got my Anita today. I've only listened to 1 1/2 disks so far. I would say that anyone on the fence should order one TODAY!

Me too! ← Hopefully the re-master will make it all worth it.

... or the Buddy Bolden!

It's fairly straight ahead Messengers-style jazz. Nice to see that getting released again. It's been OOP for far too long. FWIW, my best friends' wife did the original cover photography for all of those albums.

Let the buyer beware!

Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Of the labels with big catalogs, only Blue Note seems to be making a concerted effort to reissue Mosaic material. What other Columbia Mosaics (not counting the Miles sets) have had material reissued post-Mosaic? Only the Woody Shaw comes to mind at the moment. Edit: Ok, the Mingus stuff has also come out, obviously, but the Mingus dates generally have a reputation as essentials that the JJs don't really have. That leaves the Buck Clayton and Eddie Condon sets, I guess. ← Of course.........I'm also trying to justify why I'm not buying JJJ, too.

I may be totally off-base here, but I have a sense that there would be a better chance of Columbia (Sony) re-releasing some of the JJJ stuff after the Mosaic goes OOP than Verve or Clef (who owns the Clef material?) releasing much, if any, of the O'Day music.

I caught their San Francisco debut (opening for Santana and the last ever performance by Janis Joplin with Big Brother & the Holding Company) at Fillmore West Aug. '68 ← Nice going David. That must have been SOME show! In the liners of this Rhino re-issue there's a small reproduction of a Fillmore West poster that has CTA opening for the Moody Blues. It doesn't say what year, but I would guess 1969.

He was all over these sessions, too. Bye, Al.

This is about as high as I've seen Curtis Fuller go for: $191.50 Curtis Fuller Mosaic Complete Blue Note/UA Sealed!

120 X $144 = $17,280 (sweeeeeeeet!)

98 Had to do it.

You mean like the Pearl Jams, the Creeds, the Ian Astburys of the world? But then, I remember being 15 years old, and thinking that No One Here Gets Out Alive was as seminal a rock manifesto as there ever was. Yeah, I even scrawled the spoken interlude from “When the Music’s Over” on my Sociology book cover. Tried to grow my hair long (oh, THAT was a bad idea!). Collected all the records. About the only thing I didn’t do was harbor a resentment towards my parents. Could never do that: mine were always way cool. My friends thought so. Heck, even I told ‘em so! I laugh about that shit now, but here I am twenty years later, and I’m listening to them even as I type this. Deep music? Yeah, right. But enjoyable? Damn straight! I still crank it up for “Roadhouse Blues,” “Moonlight Drive,” and “LA Woman.” “Wishful Sinful” is just flat-out gorgeous. “Riders on the Storm” is just plain eerie. Sure the words are dated, (REEEEEEEEEEEALLY dated), but they were a tight band. Nothing more, nothing less. ← *** What Big Al said!

From BMG: Hank Mobley - "Hi Voltage" Tina Brooks - "True Blue" Wynton Kelly Trio/Wes Montgomery - "Smokin' at the Half Note" (the new Verve "complete" version) Chicago Transit Authority (first album)

Nice price! Larry Young

Added to the "Last Chance" list: The Complete Aladdin Recordings of Amos Milburn (#155) LP

I have "Anita Sings the Most". I assume this is typical of the rest of the set?

Maybe Marky Ramone can get some guys from Brooklyn together and take the Ramones out on tour.