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.
No comments:
Post a Comment