Stéphane Grappelli (vn); Philip Catherine (g); Larry Coryell (g); Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (b)
Recorded on June 19 - 21, 1979
On this album, French violinist Stéphane
Grappelli revisits his the music and spirit of his former partner in the Quintette du Hot Club de France, Django Reinhardt. Rather than have one guitarist fulfill Django's role, both Philip Catherine and Larry Coryell are soloists. NHØP provides the foundation, and the intergenerational group gels surprisingly well.
Listening to Django's music always makes me smile. Listening to this album makes me smile too.
More Stéphane Grappelli
- Limehouse Blues (Black Lion, 1972) - with Barney Kessel
Miroslav Vitous (b); John Surman (ss, b cl); Kenny Kirkland (p); Jon Christensen (d)
Recorded in May 1979
Vitous is an extraordinary bassist, and First Meeting is a terrific record by a powerful band.
Vitous is probably still best-known for his stint in the first incarnation of Weather Report. Perhaps less well remembered is the fact that Vitous was one of three co-founders of the band, along with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter. They actually considered naming the group Triumvirate.
Turning to First Meeting: When John Surman picks up his soprano, one can't help but think of this group as a sort of reconfigured Weather Report with Vitous in the sole leadership role. But regardless of his intentions, the music is wonderful.
Richie Beirach (p); George Mraz (b); Jack DeJohnette (d)
Recorded in May 1979
Thelonious
Monk had an expression: Before playing, he’d encourage his musician to play well by saying, “Let’s raise the bandstand.”It’s easy to understand what he meant.The best jazz defies gravity.It’s as if, under the collective spell of the
music, the players—and the listeners along with them—lift off the ground.It’s a peculiar and ecstatic feeling, and
even more special because it’s so fleeting.
For
me, that magical feeling is what jazz is all about.And that’s what I felt when I first heard
Richie Beirach’s music.I discovered it almost
by accident.I was browsing through the
bins in a record shop when I came across an unfamiliar ECM LP with a striking
green cover.The record featured George
Mraz and Jack DeJohnette, two of my long-time favorites—but I didn’t know
anything about the leader, Richard Beirach, or the record, which was titled Elm.I took a flyer and walked out with it.
From
the very first spin, I knew that I’d stumbled on something special.Beirach, Mraz and DeJohnette were levitating
like crazy.The musicianship was
stunning.The compositions were
exquisite.The interaction was
palpable.I felt like I’d unearthed a
hidden masterpiece.As a dedicated,
long-time jazz listener, I kept asking myself, “How is it that I’ve never heard Beirach before now?!?!”So I started collecting his records. I quickly discovered that Elm was no fluke.Now, after
many years of listening to his music and exploring his large discography, I am thoroughly
convinced that Beirach is one of the greats.
And
here’s the paradox: Even though it’s clear that Beirach is a master, his music
has been strangely neglected.Many of
his records have lapsed from print; others have only been issued in Japan and
remain difficult to find.(As of today,
Beirach’s three ECM LPs all remain unavailable in the U.S. and Europe.)And many critics have been ambivalent about
Beirach’s work.He is admired for his
staggering command of the keyboard and for his encyclopedic harmonic knowledge.
(That’s why producer and Keystone Korner
founder Todd Barkan calls Beirach “The Code.”)But
he’s also been unfairly characterized as a musician who values the head above
the heart.For example, Robert L.
Doerschuk includes an essay on Beirach in his book 88: The Giants of Jazz Piano, and he praises the pianist for his
dedication and his unwillingness to compromise.But he then goes on to describe Beirach’s music as following a
“difficult and obscure path, through an unlikely overgrowth of classical and
jazz in their more academic manifestations.”
This
assessment and others like it leave me scratching my head.I cannot understand how anyone would describe
Beirach’s playing as academic.Instead, I’d be more inclined to use words
like visceral, brave, passionate, forceful, tender, and, most of all, exciting.Some of Beirach’s music is influenced by
classical composers—but, like most jazz musicians of his generation, Beirach’s
music is eclectic.His influences span a wide array of styles
and genres.Listen to several Beirach
recordings, and you’ll hear the influence of Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner sitting
comfortably side-by-side with Alexander Scriabin and Federico Mompou.Sometimes his music sounds through-composed
(even when it may not be); sometimes he plays free; at other times, Beirach
swings hard using a more traditional approach.For
me, the way that Beirach integrates these disparate elements into a unique
whole is part of its appeal.And it’s
also one reason why Beirach’s music from 1970s still sounds so fresh and
contemporary. It anticipates the
wide-open approach of 21st century jazz.
Here's a fascinating video of Beirach discussing Elm and the other records he made with ECM-founder and producer Manfred Eicher:
More Richie Beirach
As discussed in the video, in
1974 ECM released Beirach’s first recording as a leader, Eon.Bucking the trend of
the times toward electrification, Eon
is an all-acoustic recording with Beirach’s rhythm-section band-mates from
Lookout Farm, Frank Tusa on bass and Jeff Williams on drums.An unfamiliar listener would never guess that
Eon is a debut.Beirach’s sound is fully mature, and the
trio’s interaction is both dramatic and palpable.Beirach’s skills as a composer are also
striking.Three of the six tracks are
his compositions; another was co-composed with Tusa.An arresting version of Miles Davis’ “Nardis”
is the only jazz standard.
Beirach’s
second LP for ECM was his first for solo piano.Released in 1977, Hubris
presents some of Beirach’s most enduring compositions: “Sunday Song,”
“Leaving,” and “Rectilinear.”Like many
other solo piano recordings from the 1970s, it stretches the boundaries of
jazz, owing as much to classical composers like Chopin and Scriabin as much as
it does to the jazz tradition.
Leo Smith (tr, flgn); Dwight Andrews (ts, cl, wooden fl); Bobby Naughton (vib); Carol Emanuel (harp); Irene Smith (harp); Ruth Emanuel (harp); Wes Brown (b, wooden fl); Pheeroan akLaff (d)
Recorded on May 21, 1979
Spirit Catcher is the perfect title for this beautiful record. Smith was another enormously influential voice to emerge during the 1970s.
His music marries the freedom of the avant-garde with strong compositional elements, often creating gently distinctive and diaphanous textures, expanding the jazz vocabulary beyond traditional limits.
More Wadada Leo Smith
Divine Love (ECM, 1979) is comparable to Spirit Catcher. It's also easy to recommend, although I prefer the Nessa release.
Smith's earliest albums as a leader are collected on Kabell Years 1971-1979 (Tzadik, 2004). The 4-disc set consists of LPs originally released on Smith's own Kabell imprint:
Joanne Brackeen (p); Eddie Gómez (b); Jack DeJohnette (d)
Recorded on May 11 - 12, 1979
Joanne Brackeen was one of the most exciting pianists to emerge in the 1970s. Everything that she made during the decade is worth hearing.
This album features her powerfully formidable trio with Eddie Gómez and Jack DeJohnette. It baffles me that this music isn't more well known.
More Joanne Brackeen
Along with New True Illusion (a duo LP with Clint Houston, discussed earlier in the survey) and Keyed In, I would recommend Brackeen's entire discography from the 1970s:
- Snooze (Choice, 1975); also released as Six Ate (Candid)
McCoy Tyner (p); George Adams (ts, fl); Joe Ford (as, ss, fl); John Blake (vn); Charles Fambrough (b); Al Foster (d); Guilherme Franco (cga, perc)
Recorded on April 24 - 25, 1979
McCoy Tyner made an enormous splash with his Milestone albums during the first half of the 1970s. Records like Sahara (1972), Enlightenment (1973), and Atlantis (1974), offered listeners explosive "acoustic" jazz that was as forceful and volcanic as any electric alternative, rock or otherwise. While these albums built on the legacy of his former employer, John Coltrane, Tyner also forged an identity distinct from Trane that solidified his position as one of the most important figures in jazz.
As much as I enjoy these albums from the early-70s, I think Horizon is more musically satisfying. John Blake's violin adds new colors to the ensemble's palette. Plus, there's a pleasing ebb and flow to the music. For this listener, Tyner's unremitting and relentless drive, which is undeniably thrilling at first, can become exhausting over time. Horizon is more balanced.
More McCoy Tyner
Arguably, Tyner's most important recordings (as a leader) were made during the 1970s. Listeners owe it to themselves to dive deeply into his discography. Along with the albums listed above, I recommend:
- Extensions (Blue Note, 1970)
- Asante (Blue Note, 1970)
- Song for My Lady (Milestone, 1972)
- Echoes of a Friend (Milestone, 1972)
- Song of the New World (Milestone, 1973)
- Sama Layuca (Milestone, 1974)
- Trident (Milestone, 1975)
- Fly with the Wind (Milestone, 1975)
- Supertrios (Milestone, 1977)
- The Greeting (Milestone, 1978)
- Passion Dance (Milestone, 1978)
- Counterpoints: Live in Tokyo (Milestone, 1978 [2004])
Jack DeJohnette (d, p, mel); Arthur Blythe (as); David Murray (ts, b cl); Peter Warren (b, vc)
Recorded in March 1979
Reissued as part of a 4-CD box set in 2012 containing the albums Special Edition, Tin Can Alley, Inflation Blues, and Album Album (ECM).
Jack DeJohnette came to full maturity as a composer and bandleader in the second half of the 1970s, beginning with his band New Directions and reaching an early-career high point with the inaugural album by his 1979 group, Special Edition.
More by Jack DeJohnette
- New Rags (ECM, 1977)
- New Directions (ECM, 1978)
- Special Edition (ECM, 1979 [1980])
- New Directions in Europe (ECM, 1979 [1980])
One obscurity worth investigating: In the early-70s, DeJohnette co-led the short-lived band Compost with Bob Moses, Harold Vick, Jack Gregg, and Jumma Santos. Life Is Round (Columbia/Wounded Bird, 1973) was their second and final release. In many regards, tenorist Harold Vick leaves the most lasting impression, but it's also a hidden gem in the Jack DeJohnette discography.
