Harold Land – A New Shade of Blue (Mainstream, 1971)

Harold Land (ts); Bobby Hutcherson (vib); William Henderson (p, el p); Buster Williams (b); Billy Hart (d); James "Mtume" Foreman (cga)

Recorded in 1971

Write up coming shortly.

Erroll Garner – Gemini (London/MPS, 1972)

Erroll Garner (p, hpd); Ernest McCarty, Jr. (b); Jimmie Smith (d, perc); José Mangual (cga)

Recorded on December 2, 1971

In 1994, Telarc reissued Gemini on CD paired with That's My Kick (MGM, 1967).

Listening to Erroll Garner make music is like sitting in a cool, cascading mountain stream on a hot summer day.  It's an uncomplicated, exhilarating rush -- and a reminder that it's good to be alive.  Garner's music is also a seemingly endless stream of invention and swing.

That said, Garner isn't exactly an artist who's associated with the 1970s.  (He died in 1977.)  But he released two LPs during the decade.  His final record, The Magician (London/MPS, 1974), is excellent -- but I think his penultimate release, Gemini, is even better. It's somehow fitting that Garner's playing never diminished (at least on record).  The man's playing just goes on and on and on and on.

Check out the way Erroll takes "Tea for Two" apart and makes the harpsichord sound as if it's a guitar!

Joe Farrell – Outback (CTI, 1972)

Joe Farrell (ts, ss, fl, alto fl, pic fl); Chick Corea (el p); Buster Williams (b); Elvin Jones (d); Airto Moreira (perc)

Recorded in November 1971

I was a child during the 1970s. So I didn't discover jazz until the 1980s, when I was in high school and college.  But, unknown to me at the time, I heard Joe Farrell regularly all through my childhood.  My father was a huge Hall & Oates fan, and I grew up hearing Abandoned Luncheonette.  It was one of my Dad's favorite LPs, and Farrell plays on four of the album's nine cuts.  So the sound of that entire record -- including Farrell's tenor -- is imprinted on my mind's ear, an inescapable part of my childhood.  It was many years later, after hearing Farrell's sideman work with Chick Corea, Elvin Jones and Jaki Byard, that I realized why Farrell's tenor sounded so right.  He was the sax man from Abandoned Luncheonette!

Outback features a stellar band.  Farrell had been in Elvin's bands since the drummer formed his pianoless trio with Jimmy Garrison in the late-60s, so the two musicians were very familiar with one another.  Farrell also worked regularly with Chick Corea; for example, he appears on Corea's first release as a leader, Tones for Joan's Bones (Atlantic, 1968). Three months after recording Outback, he joined Chick Corea (and Airto Moreira) to make make Return to Forever for ECM.  And by 1971 Buster Williams was already a young master of his instrument.  Given the excellent compositions and the band's collective firepower, I guess it's no surprise that Outback is one of my favorites.    

More Joe Farrell
Some other Joe Farrell favorites (as a leader) from the 1970s:
- Joe Farrell Quartet (CTI, 1970)
- Moon Germs (CTI, 1972)
- Skateboard Park (Xanadu, 1979)
- Sonic Text (Contemporary, 1980, recorded November 1979)

Thelonious Monk – The London Collection, Vols. 1 & 2 (Black Lion/1201 Music, 1988)

Thelonious Monk (p); Al McKibbon (b); Art Blakey (d)

Recorded on November 15, 1971

These 1971 recordings are the last Thelonious Monk ever made as a leader, even though he would live until 1982.  Thelonious made them in London while touring with the Giants of Jazz, an all-star ensemble that also included Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Kai Winding, Al McKibbon, and Art Blakey.  The tour also proved to be Monk's last one. Shortly thereafter he retired from music completely.  

In his biography Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original (Free Press, 2009), Robin D.G. Kelly explains that "Monk stopped working, for the most part, in 1973. Over the next three years he would come out occasionally for a concert, but he stopped playing clubs and would not leave New York" (440).

These may have been Monk's final recordings, but there's no evidence of any diminished powers.  Again, Robin D.G. Kelly: 

"The impromptu session was extraordinary for several reasons.  It was Monk's first studio date in three years... It also turned out to be his most productive session ever: In six hours, he recorded twenty different songs in thirty takes.  Finally, the Black Lion session served as a personal and historical accounting.  It was the old man's way of coming to terms with his oeuvre, taking stock of the past as he reflects on his musical legacy" (428).

Monk dedicated the first half of the session to performing solo, and in the second half bassist Al McKibbon and drummer Art Blakey joined him.  The solo piano music is heard on Volume 1, and the trio music is on Volume 2.  (There is also a third volume that collects the alternative takes.) 

All of this music is very special.  

One note about the sound of these recordings: If you have an opportunity, buy the 24 bit remastered versions of this music released by 1201 Music.  I don't consider myself an audiophile, but there is an enormous difference in sound quality between the remastered versions (as shown in the photos at the top of the entry) and the earlier Black Lion releases.  In this case, I think upgrading for better sound is definitely a worthwhile investment.

Attila Zoller & Masahiko Sato – A Path Through Haze (MPS, 1972)

Attila Zoller (g); Masahiko Sato (p); Yasuo Arakawa (b); Masahiko Ozu (d)

Recorded on November 7, 1971

A Hungarian guitarist with a Japanese pianist (and his rhythm section) making superb jazz for a German label.  Welcome to the international sound of jazz in the 1970s!

In 1948, Attila Zoller left his native Hungary for Austria as the Soviet Union tightened their grip on his country.  After living in Austria and West Germany, Zoller moved to the U.S. in the 1960s.  Listeners who know Zoller's music may recognize him for his sideman work with Don Friedman [Dreams and Explorations (Riverside, 1964); Metamorphosis (Prestige, 1966)] and Herbie Mann [Herbie Mann Live at Newport (Atlantic, 1963); Our Mann Flute (Atlantic, 1966)].  Other listeners may recognize Zoller's Gypsy Cry (Embryo, 1970), featuring Herbie Hancock.  If I recall correctly, my first encounter with Zoller's music was Zo-Ko-So (Saba, 1965), a trio collaboration with Zoller, Hans Koller and Martial Solal. (I first sought it out during an extended Martial Solal record-collecting bender several years ago.)

Tokyo-born Masahiko Sato (or, as it's sometimes spelled, Satoh) made A Path Through Haze with Attila Zoller while Sato and his trio were in Germany for the 1971 Berliner Jazztage. During the 1960s, Sato studied at the Berklee School of music for two years and then returned to Japan, releasing his first album, Palladium, on the Japanese Express label in 1969.  In more recent years, Sato has become known for his composing and arranging as much as for his playing.  

One interesting point: A Path Through Haze wasn't the first recording that these two musicians made together.  In 1971, they released Duologue (Express), recorded in Tokyo in June 1970.  (I've never heard this rarity.)  The duo's connection on A Path Through Haze is tangible; in fact, half of the cuts are duo performances.  The music moves fluidly between structure and freer episodes.  It pushes the envelope, but never fully moves into the realm of "free jazz."  More importantly, both musicians are incredibly accomplished with distinctive voices.

More by Attila Zoller & Masahiko Sato
Along with Gypsy Cry (mentioned above), I would recommend these Zoller records from the 1970s:
- Common Cause (Enja, 1979) with Ron Carter & Joe Chambers
- Trinity (L+R, 1979) with Hans Koller & Roland Hanna
- The K&K 3 in New York (L+R, 1980) with Hans Koller & George Mraz

I'm far less familiar with Sato's discography, although I can recommend his collaboration with Gary Peacock, Masahiko Meets Gary: Samādhi (Express, 1972).

Tete Montoliu – Songs for Love (Enja, 1974)

Tete Montoliu (p)

Recorded on September 25, 1971

Catalonian pianist Tete Montoliu was born blind in 1933.  After years of private instruction and study at the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona, Montoliu developed an advanced piano style, influenced by American Art Tatum.  

Montoliu formed his own groups (typically trios), but he also regularly played with famous American jazz soloists living in or touring Europe, notably George Coleman, Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Lionel Hampton, Joe Henderson, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Lucky Thompson, and Ben Webster, among others.

Today's selection, Songs for Love, is one of Montoliu's many solo-piano outings from his voluminous discography.

More Tete Montoliu
Among Montoliu's recordings from the 1970s, I've also particularly enjoyed Blues for Myself (Ensayo, 1977), another solo-piano outing, as well as Secret Love (Timeless, 1978), a trio date with Sam Jones and Billy Higgins.

Ornette Coleman – The Complete Science Fiction Sessions (Columbia Legacy, 2000)

Originally released as two Columbia LPs: Science Fiction (1972) and Broken Shadows (1982).

Collective personnel: Ornette Coleman (as, vn); Dewey Redman (ts); Don Cherry  (pocket tr); Bobby Bradford (tr); Carmine Fornarotto (tr); Gerard Schwarz (tr); Jim Hall (g); Cedar Walton (p); Charlie Haden (b); Ed Blackwell (d); Billy Higgins (d, timpani); Asha Puthli (vo); David Henderson (vo)

Science Fiction recorded on September 9, 10 & October 13, 1971; Broken Shadows recorded on September 9, 1971 and September 7 & 8, 1972

In 1972, Columbia released the first eight cuts on the first disc in this set as Science Fiction.  During the same year, Columbia also released Coleman's impressive but imposing Skies of America, his orchestral work recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Meacham.  In 1973, Columbia famously (or infamously) decided to trim its roster of jazz musicians.  So they released Ornette from his contract.  At the same time, they also dumped Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, and Keith Jarrett.  

Obviously, Columbia's absurd decision to jettison four legendary musicians says more about commerce than it does it about music.  Regardless, one of the consequences was that much of the music in this set remained unreleased for more than ten years.  The third Columbia LP, Broken Shadows, didn't see the light of day until 1982.  This "new" record consisted of music from the 1971 Science Fiction sessions, as well as music recorded in 1972 with a very different cast.  In 2000, Sony released both albums in a two-CD set with bonus cuts and alternate takes.  That's why it's titled The Complete Science Fiction Sessions.

Coleman brings new sounds to the table here, notably Indian vocalist Asha Puthli, whose unusual and compelling singing appears on two tracks, "What Reason Could I Give" and "All My Life" -- as well as poet David Henderson, whose strange recitation appears on "Science Fiction" (along with the very, very jarring and repeating sounds of a baby's cry).  Coleman also introduces more variety with vocalist Webster Armstrong on two cuts (on the original Broken Shadows release), along with pianist Cedar Walton and guitarist Jim Hall.

The vocalists bring some unusual variety to the proceedings, but I think the most compelling music from this set is the purely instrumental cuts.  This music features Coleman's cohorts from his early years in Texas and California, as well as members of his then-current working band.  I'm especially partial to "Civilization Day," "Street Woman," and "Country Town Blues," all of which feature the ground-breaking Coleman / Cherry / Haden / Higgins line-up.  That said, the contributions from Bobby Bradford, Dewey Redman, and Ed Blackwell are hardly less impressive.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin – The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia, 1971)

John McLaughlin (g); Jerry Goodman (vn); Jan Hammer (key, org); Rick Laird (el-b); Billy Cobham (d, perc)

Recorded on August 14, 1971

After I'd decided to do this jazz-in-the-70s project and started discussing it with my music-loving friends (some of them jazz lovers), I was surprised to hear two questions come up repeatedly:  "Which Miles Davis record are you choosing?" and -- perhaps even more frequently -- "Which Mahavishnu Orchestra LP are you picking?"

These questions reinforced my feeling that people who have a notion of jazz in the 1970s associate the time with jazz-rock fusion, first and foremost.   After I'd answer their questions, I'd usually say something like, "I'm not particularly a fusion fan though!"  Often, that would only confuse them.  Then I'd explain that one of the reasons I'd embarked on the project was to dispel the idea that jazz in the 1970s was all about the music "going electric" (or, even more pernciously, "going commercial.")  I felt like that was unfair portrayal of the time, and that jazz in the 70s was much more diverse and compelling than it was given credit for.  Then I might say something like, "To me, much of the jazz that was made in the 70s compares favorably with music from earlier eras.  In fact, it might be my favorite decade for jazz."  Then they'd often look at me like I was crazy.  

Why did they think I was crazy?  Because I think many people's idea of jazz's history goes something like this: First, early jazz. Next, swing. Then, Modern jazz (bebop).  After that, hard bop (East Coast) and cool jazz (West Coast).  Sprinkle in some Ornette and Cecil (avant-garde), which brings everyone up to the 70s.  Then... Fusion!  Of course, I'm over-simplifying.  But only just. Look at many jazz books, and you'll see this simplistic, linear narrative arc again and again.  In reality, things are much, much, much more complicated, of course.

Keep all those cultural notions in mind, and now let's turn to today's selection.  The Inner Mounting Flame is perhaps THE fusion album, an avatar of all that the sub-genre represents.  (Bitches Brew is too singular, and Miles' subsequent music is too outré to be representative.)  As such, The Inner Mounting Flame carries along all sorts of cultural baggage -- even to this day, nearly fifty years later.  It's a Rorschach test:  
 - Is this music cosmic and grand? Or is it bloated and grandiose?  
 - Does it expand the jazz vocabulary? Or does it abandon jazz's roots?  
 - Does it keep jazz relevant? Or does it sell out to commercial pressure?
Well, that's hard to say!  And I suppose our answers to these questions say as much about us as they do about the music.

I will admit to occasional feelings of ambivalence when I think about the Mahavishnu Orchestra.  There's something about their music that says, "Not Jazz, ROCK!"  As if their music is somehow forsaking the underlying assumptions of jazz and replacing them with rock's.  For example, first and foremost, there's the amplitude.  Electricity and amplifiers make this is LOUD music, designed for arenas, not jazz clubs.  If you're drawn to jazz for its intimacy and subtlety and human scale, you're barking up the wrong tree with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.  (It's no coincidence that fans of prog-rock have picked up this music, since it has as much in common with that sub-genre as with most jazz styles.)  Plus, it doesn't swing in the traditional sense.  And it doesn't have any blues sensibilities.  And the instrumentation... No saxophones? No trumpets?  And did I say that it's LOUD?!?! ... I'm exaggerating again to make my point, but you get the idea.

If that's the case, then why have I included The Inner Mounting Flame in my survey of favorites?  Well, because it's AWESOME!  If I'm honest and listen to the music as music, without all the baggage, then I really admire McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra -- especially this record, their debut.  And that's what I want this project to be about: Hearing music as an expression of something particular and individual, resisting the impulse to categorize and generalize.  Besides, nearly fifty years have passed, and the cultural context is completely different today. 

Johnny Lytle – The Soulful Rebel and People & Love (Real Gone Music, 2013)

Originally released as two Milestone LPs: The Soulful Rebel (1971) and People & Love (1972).

• Personnel on The Soulful Rebel: Johnny Lytle (vib, mar); Billy Nunn (org, el-p); David Spinozza (g); Ron Carter (el b); Jozell Carter (d); Ray Barretto (cga); recorded on July 15, 1971

• Personnel on People & Love: Johnny Lytle (vib); Marvin Cabell (fl, al fl, ts); Daahoud Hadi (aka Butch Cornell) (el p, org); Bob Cranshaw (el-b); Jozell Carter (d); Arthur Jenkins, Jr. (cga, perc); Betty Glamann (harp); recorded in August & September 1972

Vibraphonist Johnny Lytle recorded extensively in the 1960s, making more than fourteen albums for Jazzland, Riverside, Tuba, Pacific Jazz, and Solid State during the decade.  In the early-70s, Lytle made these two LPs for Milestone.

I only discovered this music a few years ago, while I was doing research for this project.  Dusty Groove did everyone a service when they reissued these forgotten LPs.  Lytle's music is soulful and funky and bright.  I have no idea why it isn't more well known.  

Give it a listen!

"The New Village Caller": 

"The Soulful Rebel": 

"Tawhid": 

More Johnny Lytle
Oddly enough, Lytle made only one other record during the 1970s, Everything Must Change (Muse, 1978).  Since it's not as convincing as his two Milestone LPs, I'd would instead recommend Easy Easy (32 Jazz, 1997).  The CD compiles two later Muse LPs: Fast Hands (1980) and Happy Ground (1991).

Mongo Santamaria – Mongo at Montreux (Atlantic, 1971)

Mongo Santamaria (cga); Roger Glenn (fl, vib); Carter Jefferson (ts, fl); Ray Maldonado (tr, cowbell); Eddie Martinez (p); Edward Rivera (el b); Steve Berrios (d, tim); Armando Peraza (cga, bgo); Marty Sheller (arr)

Recorded in June 1971

Collectables reissued Mongo at Montreux in 1999 on a CD paired with Mongo '70.

As jazz critic Ben Ratliff wrote in Mongo Santamaria's obituary, people now associate two things with the conguero from Havana: 

1. Santamaria composed the jazz standard "Afro Blue."  Santamaria made the first recording of the piece while he was working with Cal Tjader's group.  It appeared on the album Cal Tjader's Concert By The Sea (Fantasy, 1959).  Later that year, Abbey Lincoln recorded "Afro Blue" with lyrics written by Oscar Brown.  And in 1963, John Coltrane made his first recording of the piece.  The song rapidly became a favorite of both singers and instrumentalists.  The Allmusic Guide now lists more than 1,000 recordings of the composition. 

2. Santamaria had a massive hit with his version of Herbie Hancock's composition "Watermelon Man" in early 1963.  Mongo found out about the song while Hancock served as Santamaria's temporary pianist after Chick Corea decided to leave Santamaria's group in late 1962.  Eventually, Santamaria's version of the song reached number 10 on the pop charts.  Santamaria's version of "Watermelon Man" became so influential that it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.  (For more fascinating details about this hit, see the interview with Marty Sheller, Santamaria's trumpeter and arranger at the time, on Marc Myers' blog Jazz Wax.)

By the time that Santamaria brought his band to Montreux in 1971, he'd been leading his own band for more than ten years.  He was an expert at combining Latin music with pop tunes -- but he was also an accomplished jazz musician.  Each of his records seem to balance these elements in different proportions.  Given the audience, I suppose it's no surprise that the music that he made at the festival tilts more toward Latin and jazz than pop.

Santamaria's band features several outstanding soloists.  Sax and flute man Carter Jefferson as well as trumpeter Ray Maldonado are particularly impressive.  Of course, the rhythms made by this band are AMAZING.  Along with Mongo, the group featured Cuban percussionist Armando Peraza, who later gained fame playing with Carlos Santana, and drummer Steve Berrios, who subsequently became a founding member of the Fort Apache Band with Jerry González.

More Mongo Santamaria
After he left Atlantic, Mongo made a series of excellent records for Vaya, a Fania imprint.  Some of my favorites:
- Fuego (1973)
- Afro-Indio (1975)
- Sofrito (1976)
- Dawn (Amanecer) (1977)

Mal Waldron – Black Glory (Enja, 1971) and Plays the Blues: Live at the Domicile (Enja, 1971)

Mal Waldron (p); Jimmy Woode (b); Pierre Favre (d)

June 29, 1971 

Mal Waldron is one of my favorite pianists.  When I first began thinking about a Jazz-in-the-1970s project, I knew that Waldron's music would have an important place in it.  From my point of view, he's one of the central figures of the decade.  That said, I'm often surprised at the number of listeners who focus exclusively on the music from the beginning of his career, when he was still based in the U.S.  I'm sure that has a great deal to do with the fact that his early records were more readily available in the U.S. and his European (and Japanese) records were not.  Nonetheless, this situation is very strange to me because I think Waldron's artistry took a huge leap forward after he moved to Europe.  (Waldron settled in Munich in 1967.)

I don't think it's a coincidence that Waldron's music developed rapidly after he left the U.S.  In 1963, Waldron experienced a severe mental breakdown, brought on by a heroin addiction.  Waldron's departure for Europe allowed him to escape the pervasive drug use on the American jazz scene.  Like many other jazz musicians who chose to live as expats in Europe, Waldron also expressed digust with the "fierce, cutthroat competition, just to get a job" in the U.S., as well as the discrimination he faced as a black man and artist.  Europe must have felt like an escape, and moving there prompted an artistic re-birth.

Waldron recorded Black Glory and Play the Blues at the Domicile jazz club in Munich.  The LPs were made for Enja, a brand new label started by German jazz fans Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber.  Black Glory was their very first release.  (It's interesting that Waldron also made the very first recording for Manfred Eicher's ECM label, Free at Last, in 1969.)  Since both Black Glory and Play the Blues were made during a single night, I've decided to treat them as one entity, one body of work.  

More Mal Waldron
Waldron made an incredible number of recordings in the 1970s.  Here are some of my favorites:
- Tokyo Bound (Victor, 1970)
- On Steinway (Paula/Overseas, 1973)
- Blues for Lady Day (Black Lion/Arista-Freedom, 1973)
- Up Popped the Devil (Enja, 1974)
- Hard Talk (Enja, 1974)
- Jazz A Confronto 19 (Horo, 1975)
- Signals (Arista-Freedom, 1977)
- Moods (Enja, 1978)
- Mingus Lives (Enja, 1979)

Please note that this list doesn't include any of Waldron's collaborations with others as a co-leader.  I'll revisit his work as a co-leader later in the survey.

Ted Curson – Pop Wine (Futura, 1971)

Ted Curson (tr, pic tr); Georges Arvanitas (p); Jacky Samson (b); Charles Saudrais (d)

Recorded on June 18, 1971

If you're like me, you first took note of Ted Curson's trumpet work when you heard it on a Charles Mingus record.  (In my case, it was Mingus at Antibes.)  Curson's career as a band-leader never approached the level his former employer, but he made some outstanding music nonetheless.  Today's selection, Pop Wine, is case in point.

Curson recorded Pop Wine in Paris for the French Futura label.  He had the good fortune to make the record with Georges Arvanitas' trio, a regular working group that often recorded with American musicians who traveled through Europe as "singles."  (In fact, we've already heard from Arvanitas' trio in this survey.  They backed Anita O'Day when she made her record at the Berliner Jazztage in November 1970.)  But Arvanitas and his trio do much more than merely support Curson.  They're collaborators, partners in helping make this music come to life.

Curson's trumpet work is impressive, and he composed all of the music on the disc. It's difficult to characterize the music, since it's so wide-ranging.  For example, the 13-minute first cut, "Quartier Latin," begins as free jazz.  Then it modulates into a Spanish-tinged piece, reminiscent of something you might have heard on Miles' Sketches of Spain (if you could imagine it reduced to a quartet format).  Other pieces, like the title cut, are more groove oriented.  But regardless of how it's assembled, this is exciting, spontaneous jazz that moves in unexpected directions.

More Ted Curson
Two other Curson LPs that I have enjoyed: Jubilant Power (Inner City, 1976) and Quicksand (Atlantic, 1977).

Mary Lou Williams – Nite Life (Chiaroscuro, 1998)

Mary Lou Williams (p)

Recorded in May and October 1971

The first eleven cuts on Nite Life were originally issued as From the Heart (Chiaroscuro, 1971).

In the late-1920s, Mary Lou Williams began her career as a pianist, composer, and arranger.  She worked regularly with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Andy Kirk, Earl Hines, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellington.  Ellington famously raved about Williams, saying that she is "perpetually contemporary.  Her writing and performing have always been a little bit ahead ... Her music retains -- and maintains -- a standard of quality that is timeless.  She is soul on soul." 

In the early-1950s, Williams experienced a spiritual crisis and abruptly pulled away from the jazz world.  In 1956, she converted to Roman Catholicism.  In the following years, Williams would occasionally perform, but rather than focusing on jazz, she spent most of her time composing religious music, as well as organizing The Bel Canto Foundation, a group dedicated to helping others with drug and alcohol addiction problems.

By the early-1970s, with the assistance and encouragement of Peter F. O'Brien, S.J., a close personal friend who also happened to be a Jesuit priest, Williams resumed her jazz career.  As O'Brien writes in the liner notes to Nite Life, "I was convinced that Mary Lou ought to be playing and appearing all the time.  She said she would go back out there if I went along with her.  She asked me to be her Personal Manager.  I knew nothing of what that really meant, but she taught me well.  Later, in the fall of 1970, Mary Lou went into Barney Josephson's The Cookery in Greenwich Village, and remained there well into the very late spring.  I went on the road with Mary Lou for the first time in May of 1971... Shortly after that, the music on these 2 CDs was recorded in New York."

The long engagement at The Cookery and the subsequent release of From the Heart were important first steps in propelling Williams back into prominence.  Her career experienced a dramatic rebound during the 1970s.  Williams had many opportunities to record and perform on stages around the world, and she made some of the most powerful music of her entire career.

I chose Nite Life for inclusion in this survey because the music is so intensely humane, intimate, and personal.  I may be reading into it, but I hear a musician who has something to prove -- both to herself and to the listeners.  There is absolutely no nonsense here.  Every composition, every piece, every note is forceful, concentrated, focused. 

More Mary Lou Williams
All of Williams' recordings are worth hearing, but there are two others that are extra special:

• Zoning (Mary, 1974); reissued on Smithsonian/Folkways

• Free Spirits (SteepleChase, 1976)

If you like Nite Life, you shouldn't hesitate to hear these as well.  ... I think all three -- Nite Life, Zoning, and Free Spirits -- are among the finest jazz records made during the 1970s.

Richard "Groove" Holmes – Comin' on Home (Blue Note, 1971)

Richard "Groove" Holmes (org); Weldon Irvine (el p); Gerald Hubbard (g); Jerry Jemmott (el b); Chuck Rainey (el b, 1 trk only); Darryl Washington (d); Ray Armando (cga); James Davis (tamb, shaker, cowbell, vo)

Recorded on May 19, 1971

Oh man, I love this record!  "Groove" is my man!  Forced to choose just one organist from the 1970s (or any decade, really), I'm going to go with "Groove" Holmes on nine days out of ten.  He has the perfect name because the groove that he lays down is unrelenting.

Comin' on Home is an atypical Richard "Groove" Holmes LP for a couple reasons.  First, there's a bassist.  (Holmes usually handled the bass duties himself.)  But it's not just any bassist.  It's Jerry Jemmott!  Also, there's a second keyboardist.  Weldon Irvine's electric piano adds another sonic element to the mix.

I'm not sure why this record isn't more highly regarded.  It seems like Comin' on Home gets lost in the shuffle.  Maybe it has something to do with that fact that it was Holmes' only record for Blue Note, so it never got the promotion it deserved.  I don't know.  

More Richard "Groove" Holmes
A few more excellent "Groove" records that I frequently pull from the shelf:
• Onsaya Joy (Flying Dutchman, 1975)
• Shippin' Out (Muse, 1978)
• Good Vibrations (Muse, 1980; recorded 1977)

Bobo Stenson – Underwear (ECM, 1971)

Bobo Stenson (p); Arild Andersen (b); Jon Christensen (d)

May 18 - 19, 1971

Underwear was pianist Bobo Stenson's first release as a leader.  It was also just the twelfth release on ECM, a label established by German producer Manfred Eicher in 1969 that would have an enduring and formidable impact on jazz during the 1970s and beyond.

I suppose it's fitting that I've chosen a Scandinavian trio (Stenson is a Swede; both Andersen and Christensen are from Norway) as the first release from ECM.  Although the label often recorded (and continues to record) American jazz musicians, Eicher and ECM were pioneers in offering an alternative approach to jazz that is intentionally eclectic (and perhaps even Euro-centric), rather than taking its cues from African-American musical idioms (like the blues, the church, soul, and funk) that in one way or another had informed most jazz up until that point.

But I haven't chosen Underwear because it's a record that was representative of something that was happening in the early-70s at ECM (and elsewhere), even if, in some regards, it was (and still is).  I've included Underwear because Stenson, Andersen, and Christensen make superb music together.  

Aside from one track, Stenson composed all of the music on the album.  They're fascinating compositions, and the trio performs them brilliantly.  The music swings, but it doesn't necessarily swing the way an American trio would swing -- nor should it.  Part of the appeal of this music is its difference.  That said, the music is obviously indebted to American jazz.  (I would presume that Bill Evans' trios were an influence.)  But Stenson's trio isn't constrained by those influences.  Instead, they're using their influences as a starting point for striking out in new directions.   


More Bobo Stenson
During the 70s, Stenson also performed with the Swedish jazz group Rena Rama.  (Per Google translate, Rena Rama means "clean frame" in English.)  Along with Stenson, the original line-up consisted of Lennart Åberg (sax, fl), Palle Danielsson (b), and Bengt Berger (d).  Their self-titled LP Rena Rama (Caprice, 1973) is interesting and eclectic, mixing folkloric influences from Africa and south Asia with jazz. 

We'll also re-encounter Stenson as a co-leader later in this survey.

Stanley Turrentine – Salt Song (CTI, 1971)

Stanley Turrentine (ts); Eumir Deodato (el p, arr, cond); Eric Gale (g); Horace Parlan (p, el p, org); Richard Tee (p, el p, org); Ron Carter (b); Billy Cobham (d); Airto Moreira (d, perc); Margaret Branch (vo); Brenda Bryant (vo); Patsy Smith (vo); Julius Brand (vn); Paul Gershman (vn); Julius Held (vn); Leo Kahn (vn); Harry Katzman (vn); Joe Malin (vn); Harold Coletta (va); Charles McCracken (vc); Alan Shulman (vc)

Additional personnel on CD bonus track, "Vera Cruz":  Hubert Laws (fl); George Marge (fl); Romeo Penque (fl); Jerome Richardson (fl); Sivuca (g); Russell George (b); João Palma (d, perc); Dom Um Romão (d, perc)

Recorded on April 23, 1971 and July 7 & 13, 1971

The first thing that you'll notice about this record is Stanley Turrentine's tenor.  He has such a commanding, soulful voice!  And the second thing you'll notice is the subtle but transfixing Brazilian accents that Eumir Deodato and Airto Moreira bring to the session.  Deodato's arrangements set off Turrentine's horn, making it glitter like a diamond.  And Turrentine's sound, so deeply rooted in America (both its streets and churches), blends with the refreshingly different sounds of Brazil, marrying the two worlds in an irresistible fusion.

More Stanley Turrentine
Turrentine was well served by Creed Taylor's big production approach at CTI.  His records for the label are uniformly strong.  Along with foot fetishists everywhere (who are drawn to Pete Turner's memorable cover image), I'm partial to Sugar (CTI, 1970).  This was Turrentine's first release for the label, and it's a classic in every way.  I also enjoy Cherry (CTI, 1972), which pairs the tenorist with another master of the soulful sound, vibraphonist Milt Jackson.   

Houston Person – Houston Express (Prestige, 1971)

Houston Person (ts); Cecil Bridgewater (tr); Harold "Money" Johnson (tr); Thad Jones (tr); Ernie Royal (tr); Garnett Brown (tb); Jack Jeffers (tb); Harold Vick (ts, fl); Babe Clarke (bs); Paul Griffin (p, el p); Jimmy Watson (org); Ernie Hayes (org, el p); Billy Butler (g); Jerry Jemmott (el b); Bernard Purdie (d); Buddy Caldwell (cga); Horace Ott (arr, cond)

Recorded on April 8 & 9, 1971

Reissued on Houston Person: Legends of Acid Jazz (Prestige, 1996), paired with music originally released as Person to Person! (Prestige, 1970).

What makes this album special?  First off, this is BIG BAND soul jazz.  Well, the majority of the album is.  Horace Ott arranged and conducted a big band on four of the LP's seven cuts.  Ott also composed the album's superb title cut and contributed a second composition, "Enjoy."  Given his notable contributions, you could make a strong argument that Ott deserves a credit -- or at least a mention -- on the front of the cover.

I don't say that to diminish Houston Person's impact.  As the leader and front-man, his super-tough sound is just as impressive as his soloing.  Person also has the good fortune of playing an incredible selection of songs.  Along with Ott's two tunes, the band churns out one classic after another.  The album opens with Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted and Black" and goes on to cover The Temptations' "Just My Imagination" and The Chi-Lites' "Give More Power to the People."  The album closes with 'the Black national anthem': "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the timeless composition by author & activist James Weldon Johnson and his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. 

One other thing that I've got to mention: Listen to Jerry Jemmott's powerful bass guitar work on this record.  With drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and percussionist Buddy Caldwell, Jemmott lays down a deep and relentless groove that makes you want to get up and move!  (It's no surprise that Jemmott's nickname was "The Groovemaster.")  As one of the foremost studio bassists of the late-1960s and early-1970s, Jemmott recorded everything from jazz to blues to soul to R&B.  Just consider the diverse (and legendary!) musicians he supported: King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Duane Allman, the Rascals, Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, Laura Nyro, Ben E. King, B.B. King, Freddie King, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush, Champion Jack Dupree, Mike Bloomfield, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Erroll Garner, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, George Benson, Archie Shepp, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Mann, Hank Crawford, Groove Holmes, Charles Earland, Shirley Scott, Eddie Palmieri, and Jerry Jeff Walker.  And there are many others.

Turning back to the album at hand, I've already said that I think the early-1970s were golden years for soul jazz.  From my vantage point, Houston Express is another perfect example of the style.  

Blue Mitchell – Blue Mitchell (Mainstream, 1971)

Blue Mitchell (tr); Jimmy Forrest (ts); Walter Bishop, Jr. (p, el p); Larry Gales (b); Doug Sides (d)

Recorded in March 1971

It seems like most jazz fans still associate Blue Mitchell with Horace Silver.  Mitchell played in Silver's band from 1958 to 1964.  Mitchell's stay in Silver's quintet also coincided with Junior Cook's tenure.  For many, this line-up is the "quintessential" Horace Silver band.  But Mitchell also recorded extensively as a leader, releasing more than 25 albums in his name.

Mitchell's recorded output in the 1970s was inconsistent.  But everything comes together perfectly on this self-titled release, Mitchell's first for Bob Shad's Mainstream label.  (Incidentally, this album is also sometimes referred to as Soul Village, the title of the first cut.)  The music moves between groove-oriented soul-jazz and driving hard-bop.  The band is exceptionally strong.  Jimmy Forrest brings his soulful sound to the proceedings, and the rhythm section is swinging.  Describing Mitchell's sound, Jimmy Heath once remarked, “I think Blue Mitchell was one of the most melodic players of his generation.”  Listen to this music, and it's easy to hear why Heath said it.

More Blue Mitchell
Blue Mitchell co-led a band with fellow Californian Harold Land in the latter half of the 1970s.  Their album Mapenzi (Concord, 1977) is another excellent LP from the time.  Sadly, Mapenzi was one of Mitchell's last albums.  He died of cancer just two years later at only 49 years of age.  

Stan Getz – Dynasty (Verve, 1971)

Stan Getz (ts); René Thomas (g); Eddy Louiss (org); Bernard Lubat (d)

March 15 - 17, 1971

With the benefit of hindsight, it now seems like Stan Getz experienced an artistic renaissance during the 1970s.  If we listen to the music that he made during the decade -- both contemporary releases and more recent archival finds -- it's clear that he produced a series of exceptional recordings, both live and in the studio.  Chief among them:

• Change of Scenes - with the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band (Verve, 1971)
• Communications '72 - with Michel Legrand [and the Swingle Singers and organist Eddy Louiss, uncredited] (Verve, 1972)
• Captain Marvel (Columbia, 1974)
• The Master (Columbia, 1982; recorded 1975)
• My Foolish Heart: Live at the Left Bank (Label M, 2000, recorded 1975)
• Moments in Time (Resonance, 2016, recorded 1976)
• The Peacocks - with Jimmy Rowles (Columbia, 1977)
• Live at Montmartre (SteepleChase, 1977); aka Stan Getz Gold "...Happy 50th Stan" (Inner City, 1978)

As good as these are, I don't think any of them surpass Dynasty, the 2-LP set that kicked-off Getz's 70s-era purple patch. 

Getz recorded Dynasty at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London with three European musicians whom he'd met in Paris.   Without a doubt, the most important of these was French organist Eddy Louiss.  His prowess on the instrument lends the music a very distinctive sound.  (Did Getz ever record with another organist, either before or after?  I don't think he did, but I'm not certain.)  In addition, Louiss composed (or co-composed) five of the nine tracks that appeared on the original double-vinyl release.  The group also re-visits Louiss' composition "My Kind of Sabi," the title track of the organist's MPS LP discussed earlier in this survey.

Of course, Stan Getz is the one who makes this music extra-special.  Has any other saxophonist used dynamics for such expressive ends?  His sound will be as quiet as a whisper and then it will build and build and build -- seemingly without effort -- to a leonine roar.  And then just as suddenly his sound will recede to a soft caress.  Getz's mastery of dynamics must be one of the reasons (among many) that his music can captivate listeners so thoroughly -- even when his improvisations don't stray far from the melody.

Elvin Jones – Genesis (Blue Note, 1971)

Elvin Jones (d); Joe Farrell (ts, ss); Dave Liebman (ts, ss); Frank Foster (ts, alto fl, alto cl); Gene Perla (b)

Recorded on February 12, 1971

Reissued as part of The Complete Blue Note Elvin Jones Sessions (Mosaic, 2000).

When Mosaic reissued Elvin Jones' complete Blue Note recordings, they asked saxophonist David Liebman, who was a member of Jones' band at the time, to share his thoughts on playing with the drummer.  I think Liebman's notes provide some unique and personal insights on Elvin and his music:

"I would not be exaggerating if I say that if it weren’t for Elvin and Coltrane I wouldn’t be writing these notes.  In fact I doubt whether I would’ve seriously pursued jazz at all.  It was the experiences of seeing the Coltrane group live many times in New York during the 1960s that inspired me to play.  Words cannot describe what it was like to witness the intensity and conviction revealed to listeners in those days.  It was the major event in my musical life.

Also there are numerous recordings including Elvin that were influential to my musical development.  His ability to interpret so many styles of music along with that indescribable feeling he achieves caused many leaders to use him as a sideman.  Elvin knows how to change his accompaniment according to the soloist and is ultra sensitive to telling a story even within the confines of the limited time that was available on LP recordings.  

There is no doubt that for me Elvin Jones was a major influence on how I heard music, well before I played with him.  When circumstances converged for me to be in his band, it was a dream come true.  I was with him from mid-1971 through January of 1973, when I joined Miles Davis.  Also in that group were Gene Perla on bass, and at the beginning either Joe Farrell, Clifford Jordan, George Coleman or Frank Foster on saxophone... 

The first months with Elvin I was so overwhelmed that I had to pinch myself.  In retrospect, my musical weaknesses were very obvious to me.  For example, no matter how I tried, I rushed the beat for the first six months.  There were some specific musical things I learned from Elvin which I am still putting to practice nearly thirty years later: how to play eighth notes behind the beat; to play a really slow ballad; to let intensity build naturally by being patient; to seek refinement rather than change for changes sake; and most of all to play every time like it could be your last.  But more than just learning the essence of swing, it was Elvin Jones as a human being that ultimately had an even greater effect upon me than the actual music...

These Blue Note recordings are not jam sessions.  They are great jazz products in the sense of the short timings of the tunes, variety of moods through excellent choices of material, wide ranges of instrumentation, good sound, risk taking, spontaneity and above all, always swinging.  I can tell you that the dates themselves that I was present for were uniformly loose and relaxed, yet disciplined."

Today's album, Genesis, features three masters of the saxophone.  Along with relative newcomer David Liebman, the session includes Joe Farrell and Frank Foster.  Farrell was a part of Jones' trio that recorded two Blue Note masterpieces, Puttin' It Together (1968) and The Ultimate (1969).  Foster built his career as a member of Count Basie's big band, and he went on to lead his own groups in the 1970s.  (We'll hear more from all three of these musicians later in this survey.)

The music on Genesis is quiet but intense.  The music burns, but it's a slow, smoldering burn.  As you would expect given the participants, the soloing is exceptional -- but the compositions and arrangements are excellent as well.  Elvin's loose-but-hard swinging propels the group.  Even with the starry sidemen, there's no doubt that this is Elvin's band. He stamps all of the music with his unmistakable personality and sound.

More Elvin Jones
Jones' Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note, 1973) is another favorite.  Along with Elvin, Gene Perla, and Liebman, the music features another hot young gunslinger of the era, saxophonist Steve Grossman.