Charlie Rouse - Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition

[mjzee]

Release date July 18:

Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition is a reissue of the legendary saxophonist Charlie Rouse's Brazilian-inspired 1977 album, originally released on Douglas Records. Nearly 50 years later, Resonance is proud to present this deluxe, definitive edition of Cinnamon Flower, which contains nearly 30 minutes of previously unissued versions of songs from the original release captured by Resonance founder and engineer, George Klabin. 2 LP set on 180g vinyl in gatefold sleeve with extensive liner notes and rare photos.

[jazzbo]

Thanks for the head's up.

[Dan Gould]

If anyone can shed light ... this release is a worthy one? Seems slightly surprising to me but if Klabin was the original producer/engineer that's a leg up in giving it the Resonance treatment.

[mikeweil]

I had the LP back then, but always thought that Rouse and Brazil was a mismatch, and didn't like the arrangements - none of the relaxed feel that most Brazilian music has. I know the title tune inside out, played it with a band back then, but compare Rouse's version with those of Milton Nacimento or Dom Um Romao ....

I had similar feelings about the Blue Note LP he made, apart from Congas and shekere in Cuban style being not perfect for a bossa nova themed album. I love Rouse with Monk and on his hard bop albums, but not in a Latin context. So I never got the hype around that album. Just my two cents, of course. 

Edited Tuesday at 11:16 AM by mikeweil

[Dan Gould]

thanks @mikeweil, I am going to have to hear some tracks before I go for this one.  I hope Rouse's family is well-compensated for the reissue, I know his son is on FB and a member of the Rare Jazz Photos group.

[Brad]

I just received the original record as a bonus in a YT auction I won but haven’t listened to it yet. 

[mjzee]

I remember when it came out, the rap was that it was too "commercial" and lacking in personality.  I had never heard it myself.  It was also surprising that it came out on Douglas, because nothing had come out on that label for years.  Turns out there was a distribution deal with Casablanca (see also the Wildflowers loft jazz series).

[JSngry]

I had the album back then and found it underwhelming . It does have its adherents though.

[felser]

The album was a throwaway for me when I first had it, but I came across a cheap CD of it in recent times, and I liked it a lot more than I remember.  But not to where I would recommend buying a pricey vinyl set.

[jazzbo]

It's being reissued on expanded cd as well as this lp version.

Edited Wednesday at 01:55 AM by jazzbo

[mikeweil]

I should add that in my ears, Bernard Purdie was not the perfect choice for Cinnamon Flower. He is a great drummer, but while he adpoted fine to Stelly Dan tunes with his pseudo-reggae feel, his Brazil feel is much to funky/soul type. Roberto Silva would have been great on that session, as he combines both without loosing the Brazil feel.

[JSngry]

 

[Dan Gould]

I heard most of the first tune and sampled up to about 20:00.

Hard pass.

[jlhoots]

17 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I heard most of the first tune and sampled up to about 20:00.

Hard pass.

+1

[Rooster_Ties]

I probably wouldn’t say no to a free copy of the expanded version — but this is nothing I really ‘need’.

I do really like Charlie’s fast-tempo solos (like track 3) — more specifically, Charlie seems full of good ideas there. But the overall context is a little limp for me.

Some of the album might  grow on me a bit — but I kinda don’t want to listen to it often enough to hafta get to that point.

Edited Wednesday at 03:35 PM by Rooster_Ties

[Peter Friedman]

It is a large puzzle as to why this was reissued in a premium format? There are at least many hundres of albums where a reissue would make far more sense.

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, Peter Friedman said:

It is a large puzzle as to why this was reissued in a premium format? There are at least many hundres of albums where a reissue would make far more sense.

A guess: George Klabin, owner of Resonance, has some sort of ownership stake in Cinnamon Flower - he was the original engineer.

[felser]

58 minutes ago, mjzee said:

A guess: George Klabin, owner of Resonance, has some sort of ownership stake in Cinnamon Flower - he was the original engineer.

A good guess.  Also, timing wise, maybe they want to piggyback on the attention Rouse's work is receiving from the Strata-East reissue on Mack Avenue.

[jlhoots]

36 minutes ago, felser said:

A good guess.  Also, timing wise, maybe they want to piggyback on the attention Rouse's work is receiving from the Strata-East reissue on Mack Avenue.

Which I'm not a big fan of either. Lots of other Rouse to listen to.

[felser]

9 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

Which I'm not a big fan of either. Lots of other Rouse to listen to.

It's something totally different than anything else he ever did.  I love parts of it. I mainly get my Rouse through Monk.

[jazzbo]

I've never heard it, and I'm a Rouse (with and without Monk) fan. I pre-ordered the expanded cd.

[JSngry]

It almost sounds like a post-Creed Taylor CTI record.

And it also sounds like Rouse may or may not be playing over tracks.

[felser]

15 hours ago, felser said:

It's something totally different than anything else he ever did.  I love parts of it. I mainly get my Rouse through Monk.

BTW, I'm referring to the Strata-East album here.  Cinnamon Flower is a more muted pleasure, not essential in any way.

[HutchFan]

My favorite Charlie Rouse album from the 1970s:

 

[Rooster_Ties]

41 minutes ago, felser said:

BTW, I'm referring to the Strata-East album here.  Cinnamon Flower is a more muted pleasure, not essential in any way.

I love Rouse’s Strata-East album. It’s different, and a little weird — and I appreciate that none of it is tepid. 

I’ve even occasionally thought some of Rouse’s playing (specifically on his Strata East) reminds me a little bit of Steve Coleman — if you can believe it.

Edited 18 hours ago by Rooster_Ties