How are Oliver Nelson's other Impulse projects?

[trane_fanatic]

I know Sound Pieces & Musical Tribute to JFK: The Kennedy Dream are on Nelson's big band Mosaic. How are those two albums and the ones below? Thanks!

Three Dimensions (half all-new material???)

More Blues & the Abstract Truth

Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle

Happenings

Live from Los Angeles

Soulful Brass

[JSngry]

My opinions, fwiw -

Sound Pieces - Excellent

Musical Tribute to JFK: The Kennedy Dream - If it had been put out in 1961 & called The Eisenhauer Drewam, I doubt it would have caused a stir. Good enough, but...

Three Dimensions (half all-new material???) - Don't know this one, Was it a 70s 2-fer?

More Blues & the Abstract Truth - Excellent

Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle - Haven't heard it, not sure if I ever want to.

Happenings - Haven't heard it, not sure if I ever want to.

Live from Los Angeles - Mileages vary widely on this one, but I dig it a lot. Nothing but a live big band club date with lots of open space for blowing, everybody came to play too. Works for me.

Soulful Brass - Haven't heard it, not sure if I ever want to.

[trane_fanatic]

Three Dimensions (half all-new material???) - Don't know this one, Was it a 70s 2-fer?

Technically an ABC / Impulse record, but still...

http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dzfpxqrhldde

Thanks for the feedback!

Edited July 12, 2008 by trane_fanatic

[JSngry]

Ok, those quartet pieces are from Sound Pieces, which was half quartet, half big band, all excellent.

[Chuck Nessa]

They get "slicker" and lamer.

YMMV.

[J.A.W.]

Ok, those quartet pieces are from Sound Pieces, which was half quartet, half big band, all excellent.

And, as the title of the set implies, only the big-band pieces are on the Mosaic.

[sidewinder]

'Sound Pieces' and the quartet tracks with Steve Kuhn came out in that ABC/Impulse 'Dedication Series' twofer that came out in the 70s. Excellent stuff. Notable for some of the thinnest vinyl ever consigned to a gatefold though. 'Sound Pieces' is an ambitious and very well executed suite that is (as mentioned) in the Mosaic - some of Nelson's most ambitious writing for expanded orchestra with french horns, two basses, expanded trombone section etc.. His soprano solos on the Suite are particularly good !

[sidewinder]

'Michelle' is a lesser effort but nowhere near as bad as might be expected though. I have the vinyl and will dig it out later today. I'll dig 'Happenings' out on vinyl too.

'Live In Los Angeles' certainly works for me too - although it gets very mixed reviews. The version of 'Miss Fine' is a good one.

One of the very best is the album done with Pee Wee Russell - 'Spirit of '67'. Fine collaboration, that one.

Edited July 12, 2008 by sidewinder

[BillF]

More Blues and the Abstract Truth has long been a favorite of mine. Great Nelson arrangements and super solos by Thad Jones, Phil Woods and Pepper Adams, with sprightly rhythm support from Richard Davis and Nelson favorite, Grady Tate. Roger Kellaway on piano is a real original. Ben Webster is guest soloist on a couple of tracks.

[Tom 1960]

Compared to Blues And The Abstract Truth, More Blues while a fine album, no way compares to that classic session. Good album no doubt. Just don't have the same expectations, IMO.

[BillF]

Compared to Blues And The Abstract Truth, More Blues while a fine album, no way compares to that classic session. Good album no doubt. Just don't have the same expectations, IMO.

Despite my praise for More Blues, I quite agree with you. It doesn't equal the classic album. But we're talking such wonderful music here that even a second best is a five-star jazz disc, particularly from today's standpoint.

[king ubu]

I finally bought "Live from Los Angeles" a couple of weeks ago and played it together with the second half of the Mosaic. I found it excellent, some great spots by Frank Strozier!

[AllenLowe]

Oliver Nelson wrote the arrangements for Rollins on the album Alfie; also there's an old Prestige LP with an African theme, as I recall -

he was a fine arranger, I just always thought his stuff lacked an edge -

[JSngry]

You've not heard Black, Brown, & Beautiful (the one on flying Dutchman) then...

Edited July 15, 2008 by JSngry

[JSngry]

As for his playing, now, here's a guy playing ideas that threaten to explode his temples with a French "classical" saxophone tone. That's "edge" out the ass to me, at least of "edge" and "subliminal" are not contradictory, and in my mind they're anything but...

His best writing's like that too (and I'll freely stipulate that there is ample evidence of his writing available that is not his best...), you listen to the surface and there's all this..."grooviness", but inside it, there's all this cluster shit and lines with these wide ass intervals that are only sometimes related to the base harmony, and once again, it's the writing equivalent of having your temples about to pop through a French classical saxophone tone.

The guys who "lay it all out" who are unambiguous about where they're coming from are always going to be "the heroes". But the guys who for whatever reason layer their stuff, who have it exist on multiple levels of "meaning" simultaneously, who might even be using a language to subvert it, hey, those are the guys I go to once my hero worship is exhausted. Because their's is a whole 'nother kind of struggle.

Edited July 15, 2008 by JSngry

[clifford_thornton]

Good way of putting it, Jim, though I admit I'm not always in the "fan" camp re: Oliver Nelson. That said, I don't need the obvious to surprise me, either. Afro/American Sketches wasn't really what I was expecting, which might've been less programmatic than what I get from the music. But some of those early Prestige small group sides are really nice.

[BruceH]

Oliver Nelson wrote the arrangements for Rollins on the album Alfie;

That's a great one!