Monday Jazz Odyssey Jan 29, 2024
Roland Kirk, Strata-East, Grateful Dead…What Was In That Coffee?
Listening:
Sweet fire, indeed. The Transversales Disques label has been mining the ORTF archives and issuing previously unreleased live jazz concerts. While some have circulated in live music trading circles for ages, those recordings don't come close to touching the audio quality of these gigs captured by Maison de la Radio in Paris. These recordings sound GREAT! Their latest is a smoker from Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who leads Dick Griffin—Trombone, Ron Burton—Piano, Vernon Martin—Bass, Jerome Cooper—Drums, and Joe Texidor—Percussion in a one-hour show from Feb 1970. Worthy!
I’m pleased to highlight the good work undertaken these last few years by Jazz in Britain, a non-profit organization whose
“aim is to collect, curate, preserve, celebrate and promote the legacy of British jazz musicians. The archive collects, curates and preserves off-air and other recordings of British jazz performances. The organisation will publish books, release vinyl, CDs and downloads, working in partnership with musicians and their families.”
If you’re a British Jazz enthusiast, JIB has liberated a tapestry of wonders over the past three years, with studio, live, rehearsal, and rarities previously unreleased or not even known to exist! This latest drop collects two scarce, vinyl-only releases from the Bobby Wellins Quartet, augmented with over an hour of live bonus tracks of this same group stretching out across several familiar standards. A&R and liner notes are overseen by drummer Spike Wells, and the music is FANTASTIC! Bobby Wellins-tenor sax, Pete Jacobsen-piano/el piano/organ, Adrian Kendon-bass, Spike Wells-drums
Sonny Rollins’s pioneering Way Out West and At the Village Vanguard were some of the first powerful words on the possibilities of a piano-less trio. But they weren’t the last, and the inspiration that’s birthed excellent records from others such as Joe Henderson and Joe Lovano (two albums that have been receiving a lot of play here recently) continues to inspire even more to take a swing at the format. I just discovered this Donald Harrison / Ron Carter / Billy Cobham record. I’m glad I did, and I think you may be, too.
In Case You Missed It On Instagram:
That Strata-East exists at all is miraculous. By prioritizing artistry over sales potential and establishing a business model that challenged an industry rife with exploitation and institutionalized racism, founders Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell were pioneers in the artist-powered release space. The fruits of their labors and those of the artists on Strata-East are feasts for the ears, from the better-known titles like Gil Scott-Heron’s Winter in America and Clifford Jordan’s Glass Bead Games (an all-time favorite) to the more obscure but equally shiny gems like this one—Keno Duke/Contemporaries Sense of Values. I have mad respect for Keno Duke, but this record is a tour de force by George Coleman. There are some world-class performances from pianist Harold Mabern (I especially dig “Too Late, Fall Back Baby”—some potent Mabern brew right there) and flautist/alto saxophonist Frank Strozier. Still, Coleman is so great they’re forced to step up to KEEP up. Spoiler alert: They do, but Coleman looms just a bit larger. If you dig what George Coleman brings to records like the first Eastern Rebellion album or Coleman’s own Amsterdam After Dark, this record will hit even harder. This record was recorded not too from me at Miniot Studios in 1974. Spoiler alert: it’s now a dentist’s office.
It is a strong contender for the best May ‘77 Grateful Dead show that isn’t 5/8 Barton Hall, Cornell. Or 5/9 Buffalo. Or 5/17 Tuscaloosa. I mean, 5/8 never actually happened, of course. 😉 And if it did, that show (and 5/9 Buffalo) have the unfair advantage of widespread circulation via tape trading and, therefore, a reputation head start that both 5/17 Alabama and 5/26 Baltimore may never catch up to. Still, I suppose it speaks to the exceptional quality of a magical month in Grateful Dead shows. This segment knocks me flat:
“Terrapin Station” > (Garcia, Hunter) – 10:57
“Estimated Prophet” > (Weir, Barlow) – 9:42
“Eyes of the World” > (Garcia, Hunter) – 12:31
“Not Fade Away” > (Norman Petty, Charles Hardin) – 16:45
“Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad” > (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 8:25
“Around and Around” (Chuck Berry) – 8:11
Encore:
“Uncle John’s Band” (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:56
And the Set 1 “Sugaree” is no slouch either!
It has to be said.