Coltrane
There are two musicians in this photo, so please give Elvin Jones a little love, people.
Joe Henderson - Brown’s Town (1964)
I puzzle at Kenny Dorham’s relative anonymity even among fans of jazz; his prodigious accomplishments as a player, composer and bandleader beg for a deeper appreciation. This Dorham blues evokes a boxer’s movements, the melody ducking, jabbing and weaving around the beat, hovering for a knockout punch this lineup delivers with haymakers.
And it is a HEAVY lineup. Shades of Coltrane are present in his rhythm section of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, whose furious drumming energy sends sparks flying everywhere. Richard Davis, one of the greatest living bass players left— along with Ron Carter, Butch Warren and Bob Cranshaw—from Blue Note’s golden era, anchors it all with a deft touch that according to Don Heckman’s liner notes,
adds an additional rhythmic dimension, thickening the densities and urging the soloists into unusual patterns. Davis makes these rhythmic excursions only in the appropriate musical context and never as ends in themselves. His work on this date exemplifies his growing musical powers.
As for the leader on this date, I’m not much of a preacher, but the more one listens to Joe Henderson, the less outlandish it seems to consider him one of the most important sax voices of the last 50 years. Everything about his playing from this era is exciting, and he really catches fire when sharing the front line with Dorham.
Miles Davis - Solea (1960)
This is Miles Davis at his visceral best, buoyed by Gil Evans’ excruciatingly beautiful arrangements.
Elvin Jones Trio - Gingerbread Boy (1968)
One of Jimmy Heath’s funkiest compositions gets the Elvin Jones piano-less treatment. Jimmy Garrison and Joe Farrell star on bass and sax, respectively.
McCoy Tyner - Blues On The Corner (1967)
From the Jazz.com review:
Along with Coltrane bandmate Elvin Jones, Tyner and company soar over this extended blues. Joe Henderson pushes the band just as hard as Elvin does, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. This group recorded more and the magic doesn’t stop here, but this album is a must for anyone serious about McCoy Tyner and the extension of the Coltrane sound after 1965.
What a band. What a show.
Grant Green - Speak Low (1965)
From Ira Gitler’s liner notes:
Hank [Mobley] is very much with it on Speak Low, the only up-tempo of the date. After Green spins out the line, Mobley takes off into a lean, declarative solo in which he speaks neither low nor loud but with confidence and authority. (As a measure of his growth, it is interesting to compare this version with a slower Speak Low he did with Lee Morgan on Peckin’ Time (Blue Note 1574) back in the ’50s.) Green is next with his incisive single line; his rhythmic alternations are marvelous as he manipulates the beat. [Elvin] Jones manages to cram many trenchant thoughts into a relatively short solo before Green returns to punch to a fitting climax and fade.
Mobley is ON.
Larry Young - Moontrane (1966)
The iconic sleeve art is matched by the contents, which here features Woody Shaw’s epic dedication to Coltrane, punctuated by Elvin Jones’ contrapuntal drum stylings.
Elvin Jones during Grant Green’s Talkin’ About session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, September 11 1964 (photo by Francis Wolff)
Stanley Turrentine - Tacos (1964)
Unreleased in its time, underplayed in ours, this session and this Lee Morgan tune deserved better.
The mind-boggling personnel on hand for this session makes you scratch your head in 2011 and wonder what the actual f*ck Alfred Lion was thinking in 1964 when he shelved it. Thank god the Japanese love Blue Note jazz, or this session might still be gathering dust.
Domo Arigato.
