Props to jazz writer Marcus J. Moore, who curated an inspiring group of musicians and writers to offer odes to jazz bass in this past week's New York Times in the column 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz Bass (full text, gift article 🎁). I was honored and flattered when Marcus asked me to contribute, and I had a great time writing about bassist Scott LaFaro’s “Gloria’s Step.” Seeing my piece printed with many renowned bassists and writers was thrilling and humbling. I’ve also been digging into their recommendations, with one in particular erupting into a flashpoint of serendipity.
Marcus chose to spotlight Reggie Johnson’s basswork on Harold Land’s Chroma, recorded with his musical partner—vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson—for the Mainstream label in 1971. It’s one of the coolest yet sadly under-appreciated albums in the combined Harold Land/Bobby Hutcherson discography. As it had been a while since I’d given the record any attention, I decided to spin it and then post a review on Instagram, noting that this long out-of-print gem would soon be reissued. And there was much rejoicing!
No more than fifteen minutes had passed after posting my Chroma review to Instagram when I heard the telltale thwack of a box on the doorstep, followed by eight minutes of our dog Chaka’s apoplectic barking (because any 12" X 12" thin cardboard mailer MIGHT contain fresh bacon instead of vinyl). Spoiler Alert: it was not bacon. It was more Bobby Hutcherson. Which, given my recent post, felt like a coincidence. Until I got an email a few minutes later informing me that a pre-order had shipped and would arrive in a couple of days. Another Spoiler Alert: it was another Bobby Hutcherson album. Then, this weekend as I was enjoying my Sunday morning coffee, I received the weekly Mosaic Records update, announcing a new collection dropping in June. Return of the Son of Spoiler Alert: Bobby Hutcherson.
While Chaka wallowed in bacon-less depression (spoiler alert—we spoiled her rotten with other treats), I recognized that the universe was telling me something. It’s time to say a few words about the embarrassment of Bobby Hutcherson riches that will make his legacy one of the most thoroughly addressed in 2024.
Let’s roll back the calendar a few weeks to remind ourselves of the here and now of Bobby Hutcherson. Blue Note’s Tone Poet Series dropped Jackie McLean’s Action in March, 2024. This was a record I didn’t have much history with, though having spent more time with it over the last few weeks, Action has moved up many notches on my McLean list. There are three reasons for that:
Jackie McLean’s alto and Charles Tolliver’s trumpet pack quite a one/two punch. Their brass attack is fierce and on point.
Bobby Hutcherson’s vibes add a shimmering, ethereal foil to the McTollivAttack. This prevents the brass from sounding brash and keeps the entire session from sounding like just another advanced hard-bop session of the era. While McLean’s groundbreaking, piano-less inside/outside albums like Destination...Out! or One Step Beyond have gotten much critical acclaim, don’t let his more straightforward sessions pass you by. I wouldn’t call Action a commercial, mainstream effort. It’s part of Jackie McLean’s unique ability to make accessible music that throws sharp elbows without being offputting—I want full credit for coining the expression McLeanstream.
Drummer Billy Higgins has the energy of a thousand suns. Feel free to air drum along to his superhuman performance that kickstarts Action, and you can skip arm AND leg day. Listen to the title track, and your Apple Watch will close all three rings and put itself into airplane mode to catch a breather.
Tone Poet struck again this past April with a far more challenging record featuring Hutch, Anthony Williams's Life Time. Williams had previously gotten Vertigo and taken One Step Beyond at Jackie McLean’s invitation, joining him and Bobby Hutcherson in April ‘63 for that awe-inspiring inside/outside session when he was only 17 years old. Williams returned the favor by inviting Hutch to join him for this August session. Hutch would join forces with him again the following month for the iconic Destination…Out! But Life Time sounds little like either of them, nor the other modal/post-bop records Williams was drumming for at the time, and NOTHING like his about-to-be new boss, Miles Davis. Life Time is an innovative waypoint in the evolution of jazz drumming and composition, bending the rules of rhythmic and harmonic structures in a manner pretty advanced for a drummer who was only 18. Or any age, actually. Recorded and released against the backdrop of the civil rights groundswell and the growing interest in avant-garde jazz, Life Time is a musical bookmark of the era. The rhythmic and harmonic freedoms reflect a growing desire for creative expression and artistic liberation as vehicles to mirror the socio/political upheaval of the times. The soundstage is huge, and for all the focus on Williams’s percussive proclivities, Hutcherson’s vibes draw my ear repeatedly—he thrives in environments where the need to play the “proper” melodic note isn’t a prerequisite.
Bobby Hutcherson’s 1967 set Happenings, his first quartet outing for Blue Note, arrived (sans bacon, much to Chaka’s chagrin) via Blue Note Classics this past week. Happenings must’ve been a surprise upon initial release, given Hutch’s well-established reputation for compositionally complex, cerebral, inside/outside work as both leader and sideman. Happenings is a surprisingly straightforward affair. The quartet format emphasizes Hutch’s performing skills over boundary-bending writing by frequent cohort (and drummer) Joe Chambers. Not that the material is lightweight—far from it—especially the closing track, “The Omen,” which sounds as ominous as its title. The tunes showcase Hutch’s virtuoso mallet skills and Herbie Hancock’s piano solos. While the Hutch/Hancock pairing works well here (and on their follow-up session, Oblique), I prefer Hutch in the company of pianist Stanley Cowell, a regular member of the quintet that would also feature Harold Land. I dig the Happenings rendition of Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage.” It doesn’t come close to the epic version on Herbie’s album of the same name, but the ethereal tones of Hutch’s vibes create a different atmosphere for this composition that works very well. Too bad it fades out as Herbie continues to explore its possibilities—I’d be curious to hear where he went after the fade. This title was notoriously difficult to find for ages, so I’m pleased it’s back in print, and this pressing sounds GREAT.
Bobby Hutcherson made a 1968 record with tenor saxophonist/flautist Harold Land for the Cadet label called The Peace-maker. In hindsight, while it’s probably the most traditional, conservative record they’d create, the chemistry between them is striking. Sensing their musical relationship had potential; they came together again in July 1968 for Total Eclipse—ground zero of the Bobby Hutcherson/Harold Land partnership on Blue Note and the latest Tone Poet release that dropped this past Friday. Hutch/Land would realize their full potential over several albums/years, but they set a high bar with Total Eclipse. A huge part of this album’s success is young pianist Chick Corea, who contributes the sole non-Hutch composition on the LP, “Matrix.” Total Eclipse balances the cerebral with the accessible and keeps the pace of the material varied—it’s a record of many moods. Spoiler alert redux: if you haven’t played it yet, it’s not until the final track that Hutch unleashes the secret weapon, adding an unexpected dash of vinegar to the Cheerios. Hutch’s inside/outside sensibilities are in full bloom on “Pompeian.” It starts innocently enough as a waltz before dissolving into a ballroom anxiety dream where you’ve suddenly grown a second left foot, your date has turned into your 2nd-grade gym coach, and the floor is lava. Though you manage to escape in the nick of time, somehow, your mother is still VERY disappointed in you. Kudos to the Tone Poet team on the remastering job here—I’ve owned an original pressing and a reissue and the new TP edition blows them both out of the water.
The Hutch/Land partnership spanned several years and labels. Harold Land recorded a few obscure sessions under his leadership though Hutch was much more than a sideman. Among those records is Chroma, one of the Mainstream label’s best and most overlooked titles from 1971. Land employs a unique lineup to make a lot of noise here, with two pianists (Bill Henderson and Harold Land Jr.) and two drummers (Leon Ndugu Chancler and Woody Theus) teaming up with Hutch (vibes/marimba), Land (sax/flute) and the mighty Reggie Johnson providing the heartbeat on bass. Like many Hutch/Land collabs, some music can head towards challenging waters but never forms whitecaps rough enough to turn any listener back towards safe harbors. Production is under the auspices of Bob Shad, who founded the EmArcy label (whom Land recorded for in the 50s as part of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet) and Mainstream. Fun fact: Shad’s grandchildren are filmmaker/writer/comedian Judd Apatow (King of Staten Island, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and sister Mia, who oversees the legacy of the Mainstream label. The criminally overlooked Chroma seems absent from digital platforms, and the vinyl has been elusive (and stupidly expensive) on the secondary vinyl market for ages. There is good news to report; however, help is on the way via WeWantSounds, which will reissue it later this month. Here’s a video of the Hutch/Land group in full flight from 1971:
Looking further down the road, Mosaic has made an exciting announcement—a Bobby Hutcherson 63-70 Blue Note box! For those who aren’t into vinyl, this may be the best way to acquire many of Hutch’s best Blue Note sessions in one place. While the CD format seems to be circling the drain, Mosaic continues to produce excellent CD collections with superb mastering and wonderful liner notes. This forthcoming Hutch box was produced by the late Michael Cuscuna and features notes by the legendary Bob Blumenthal. It contains music from the following Hutch albums, in addition to seven alternate takes and one previously unreleased tune:
Dialogue
Components
Happenings
Stick-Up!
Total Eclipse
San Francisco
Spiral
Patterns
Medina
Oblique
The Kicker
Patterns
This Mosaic collection is set for release in June, and pre-orders are up at the Mosaic website. Like prior collections, it’s limited, numbered, and secondary prices skyrocket once it goes out of print. You snooze, you lose.
One of the records from that Mosaic box will be reissued on vinyl via the Tone Poet series in August, just in time for its 55th anniversary. Medina was recorded on August 11, 1969, with Hutch’s working quintet of the era, which included co-leader Harold Land-tenor sax, Stanley Cowell-piano, Reggie Johnson-bass, and Joe Chambers-drums. Whether in the studio or on the road, this quintet delivered a potent brew of adventurous modal and post-bop that’ll knock you flat. Unfortunately, Medina and its sister album Spiral—recorded within months of each other and with the same lineup—haven’t gotten the love they deserve. The sessions were shelved for a decade before Blue Note released them, and after a few years in a vault, ANY album can get that musty smell of “less-than-worthy” on it. The crappy album covers featuring photos that a summer intern for Windham Hill would reject out of embarrassment don’t help, either. But decades-old A&R decisions and questionable aesthetic choices shouldn’t sway anyone—this record is EXCELLENT! Stellar performances abound from each player, matched with great compositions. The highlight tracks for me are the title track (Joe Chambers FTW!) and “Orientale,” where Land WAILS on the flute. I’m really looking forward to this one, and I think it’s a reasonably safe bet that we’ll see Spiral join it on the shelf someday, too.
Then, in November, we’ll get two Hutch finales. The first is the long-awaited reissue of Dexter Gordon’s Getting Around, which arrives as part of the Blue Note Classics series. I reviewed Getting Around on Instagram recently in honor of Dex’s 101st birthday, choosing this title because of what it says about Dexter Gordon’s artistry and headspace at the time. Before you even play a note of this fantastic record, take a close look at the album cover. Note that all the bicycles face the same direction except for the one Dexter Gordon is riding. Then see how Long, Tall Dex’s six-foot, six-inch tall frame is placed in the bottom right corner, leaving an enormous space. Neither of these things are accidental. At this point in Dexter Gordon’s career, his mid-60s Blue Note renaissance was ending, and he had relocated to Europe. He completed one cycle (see what I did there?) and began another. The cover art represents Dex moving in his own direction regardless of where everyone else might be going, and happily so—a subtle metaphor for fleeing the United States for Europe, where both the music business and everyday life were less burdened by artistic commercialism and the institutional racism that was increasingly crushing his spirit. The open space on the jacket speaks to the possibilities before him—having rebooted his career at Blue Note with a series of outstanding records, Dex was back! But before departing Blue Note, Dex returned to New York to cut Gettin’ Around during the last week of May 1965. The album features Barry Harris-piano, Bob Cranshaw-bass, Billy Higgins-drums, and our hero, Bobby Hutcherson, on vibes. It’s Hutch who turns my expectations sideways. While Dex takes most of the solos, and the material leans mostly mid/uptempo, Hutch’s tone and style take what could have easily become a blowing session and turn it into something more contemplative. It gives the album a broader scope, making it suitable for an evening scotch OR a morning coffee. I’ve always felt Getting Around never got around to being in the same conversation as Dex’s earlier Blue Note classics. I hope the discussion may change with a widespread and affordable vinyl option.
2024 will end with a Tone Poet reissue of Hutch’s first Blue Note LP, Dialogue. Dialogue is a record that should be heard by everyone, though it’s not FOR everyone—those who run screaming from the room upon hearing Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch or Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure need not apply. I found Dialogue a steeper arc than the other two, but it connected like a Mike Tyson uppercut once it hit me. Hutch’s bold step into the “new thing" as a leader shares quite a bit of musical DNA with those Dolphy and Hill albums. While not as intricate as the former or as edgy as the latter, enjoyment of Dialogue requires an advanced sense of adventure and an appreciation for coloring outside the lines. Hutch pulled together compatriots from some of those aforementioned outside/inside records, including Freddie Hubbard-trumpet, Andrew Hill-piano, Richard Davis-bass, Sam Rivers-tenor/soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, and his drum wife who’d remain in his orbit for many future albums, Joe Chambers. While Hutch is credited as the leader, all of the writing is done by either Hill (four tracks) or Chambers (two tracks), and in a sense, it’s probably Hill who deserves co-leader billing here. That said, it’s tough to call out any specific player, as the brilliance here is the conversation among them and the insanely creative use of instrumentation to invoke moods. This is a challenging, cerebral record that moves from beautiful (“Idle While”) to unsettling (“Dialogue”); and from the zany, Avant-leaning “Les Noirs Marchant” (which could be the soundtrack to the Ents marching on Orthanc) to the demented blues of “Ghetto Lights.” Is Dialogue more of a chamber hard-bop record or an Avant modal blues album? You tell me. I can’t say this record “defies categorization,” but it does cover a LOT of ground. Like I said, everyone should hear it, but it’s not FOR everyone.
It borders on the edge of insanity to think that there’s anything else one could possibly want from the Bobby Hutcherson archives, given the treasures I’ve just described. That said, if I had but one Hutch wish, it’s that someone officially releases the gigs from the 1969 Antibes Jazz Festival, where the Hutch/Land Quintet opened for Miles Davis. The FM broadcasts of these shows are THE BEST Hutch/Land material I’ve ever heard. They’re circulating out there if you know where to look, but here’s a YouTube video stream that’s pretty good quality (and gives you a flavor of how GREAT an official release might sound):