01. Let Me Ride 4:26 02. I Don't Want To Go On Without You 4:01 03. You Wouldn't Believe It 5:45 04. Do What You Like 33:06 05. Airforce Jam 7:29
Baritone Saxophone – Bud Beadle Bass – Colin Gibson (tracks: 4, 5), Rick Grech (tracks: 1 to 3) Congas – Speedy Acquaye Drums – Elvin Jones (tracks: 4), Ginger Baker Guitar – Denny Laine (tracks: 1 to 3) Organ, Guitar, Vocals – Kenny Craddock Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Steve Gregory Vocals – Aliki Ashman, Diane Stewart Vocals, Organ, Alto Saxophone – Graham Bond
Track 4 includes Drum Battle with Elvin Jones. Tracks 1 to 3: Studio Outtakes, October 1970. Track 4: Recorded Live at the Lyceum, London (UK), February 1, 1971. Track 5: Recorded Live at the City Hall, Sheffield (UK), December 7, 1970.
After Ginger Baker wrote music history with Cream and Eric Clapton broke up the successor band Blind Faith after only one LP and a U.S. stadium tour, Baker had the financial backing to set off on his first solo project. 'Ginger Baker's Air Force' began in 1970. It was Ginger's idea to mix the music of his African roots with popular Western music. It was to become the first 'World Music' band in music history, long before this music category even existed. The last tour began on January 29, 1971 in Leeds and the next day Air Force played in the 'Lyceum' in London, where the long awaited meeting between the two great drummers Elvin Jones & Ginger Baker took place. After Air Force had played for a half hour, Elvin came on stage and played 'Aiko Biaye' with Baker. 'Do What You Like' followed, during which Ginger and Elvin delivered a drum battle of the highest quality. On February 20, 1971, Air Force gave its last concert in England. Ginger Baker's Air Force had become music history after just 14 months.
Ginger Baker never wanted to be thought of as simply a rock drummer. And on Feb. 1, 1971, at the Lyceum in London, he got a definitive chance to measure himself outside of the genre. That's when he faced off against jazz legend Elvin Jones in a lege ndary drum battle.
Baker arrived with no small amount of bravado. "I do have a God-given gift that only a few drummers have – and it is a gift, it's not something you can work at," Baker once said. "Keith Moon? John Bonham? No, I wouldn't put them in the same frame. They were drummers, but they weren't in any way exceptional in my opinion."
Still, how would Baker fare against a musician who had held his own amid the torrent of John Coltrane's saxophone? And how'd this unlikeliest of pairings ever come to be?
Seems a writer for Life magazine played "Do What You Like," a song from Baker's post-Cream band Blind Faith, for Jones – and he'd clearly heard of Baker's own jazz-leaning aspirations. The article, titled "Elvin Jones' Kinesthetic Trip," included some cutting criticism directed at Baker. "Nothing's happenin'," Jones told Albert Goldman. "Cat's got delusions of grandeur with no grounds. They should make him an astronaut and lose his ass." Perhaps worse for Baker? Jones also heaped praise on Moon in the same piece.
Baker apparently intimated that Jones – then in his forties – was too old to play anymore. Later, as momentum grew toward the drum battle, Jones was said to have issued a more direct challenge. "Baker had better put his drums where his mouth is," Jones reportedly said during a performance at Ronnie Scott's, a prominent London jazz club
By this point, Baker was leading his own all-star group, Ginger Baker's Air Force. The band included Baker's recent Blind Faith bandmates Steve Winwood and Ric Grech, as well as Denny Laine (Moody Blues, Wings), Alan White (Plastic Ono Band, Yes) and Chris Wood (who'd been in Traffic with Winwood), among others. A 1971 tour, which began on Jan. 29 in Leeds, brought Baker to the Lyceum a few days later, and a date with musical destiny.
Air Force played for about a half-hour before Jones took his place behind a simple Gretsch four-piece kit. Baker introduced him, with a flourish of generosity, as "a man he'd admired since he was a boy." They then launched into an explorative, 20-minute take on "Aiko Biaye," a Nigerian folk song that has remained in Baker's set list for decades. At that point, they were playing in tandem. The pair then tangled more directly throughout the course of "Do What You Like" – an ironic moment, considering the song's central placement in this feud.
Commentators back then seemed of two minds on who emerged victorious, with jazz writers choosing Jones while rock scribes sided with Baker. Fans of both genres got to make up their own minds when the drum battle finally emerged as the title track from an archival Air Force release in 2015. (Jones died in 2004.)
Baker, for his part, said he did more than hold his own. He proved he belonged among jazz's leading lights. "I battled Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Phil Seaman, Max Roach and Tony Williams," Baker said years later. "Bonham played in [Led] Zeppelin. If he was still alive today, ask him! How I am grouped with Bonham and Moonie is laughable."
Jones and Baker memorably hugged at the end of their battle, prompting Melody Maker to publish a headline trumpeting "A Truce!" Unfortunately, Ginger Baker's Air Force broke up at the end of their 1971 tour, performing for the last time in England on Feb. 20.
101. I Got The Answer 102. We Free Kings 103. Don’t Care 104. Early In The Morning 105. Sunshine Of Your Love 106. Toady 107. Let Me Ride
201. 12 Gates Of The City 202. What A Day 203. Aiko Biaye 204. Do What You Like
Bass – Colin Gibson Congas – Speedy Acquaye Design, Layout – Martyn Lewis Drums – Ginger Baker Saxophone [Sax] – Bud Beadle Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Steve Gregory Vocals – Aliki Ashman, Diane Stewart Vocals, Organ, Guitar – Ken Craddock Vocals, Organ, Saxophone [Sax] – Graham Bond
Sanctioned by Ginger Baker.
The recordings featured in the Official Ginger Baker Bootleg Series are sure to become collector's items.
This live recording is one of several releases based on the private archives of legendary drummer Ginger Baker, which finally see the light of day. Although not intended for a formal release and suffering from "bootleg" sound quality problems, the musical importance of this material is so significant, that it overshadows any technicalities and is essentially a Godsend. This album brings a live recording of Baker's revolutionary Jazz-World Fusion ensemble Air Force, which he founded following the demise of Cream. Air Force recorded only two albums during its short life-span, and any additional material by the band is invaluable. Baker assembled a formidable group of top British Jazz players of the period, augmented by African vocalists and drummers. The fact that this album features the talents of the legendary saxophonist / organist Graham Bond is alone worth the price, but other great players are also present: organist / guitarist Ken Craddock, saxophonist / flautist Steve Gregory, saxophonist Bud Beadle, bassist Colin Gibson and others. The material is similar to the material present on the two Air Force albums, but several surprises are heard here for the first time, like the group's version of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love". Most of the pieces include extended improvised parts, with the saxophonist taking solos in tandem. Definitely worth investigating, provided you're not squeamish about sound quality.
Well, the liner notes are honest. This is a true bootleg-probably some stoner standing with his tape deck held high over his head. This is a good performance overall, but if you're looking for instrument separation and clear vocals, I'd probably have you take a pass on this. This is not the band line-up that recorded the GB Air Force record in '70. Winwood & Gretch (his Blind faith partners) are both absent. This is a very raw recording. For die-hards, I'd say pick-up a copy. It is a solid performance. My only issue is the sound quality. As a side note, the price was fair and there's a lot of music for your buck over 2 discs with plenty of jamming. You be your own judge. I'm just offering a heads-up for any audiophiles out there thinking about it.
01. Let Me Ride 4:22 02. Sweet Wine 3:34 03. Do U No Hu Yor Phrenz R ? 5:40 04. We Free Kings 4:22 05. I Don't Want To Go On Without You 3:56 06. Toady 9:45 07. 12 Gates Of The City 4:05
German, French, Australian and New Zealand version
01. We Free Kings 4:57 02. Caribbean Soup 3:10 03. Sunshine Of Your Love 5:49 04. You Wouldn't Believe It 3:42 05. You Look Like You Could Use A Rest 5:41 06. Sweet Wine 3:34 07. I Don't Want To Go On Without You 3:56 08. Let Me Ride 4:23
Bonus Tracks From The Same Recording Sessions on CD
08. Sunshine Of Your Love 5:46 09. Caribbean Soup 3:06 10. You Wouldn't Believe It 3:41 11. You Look Like You Could Use A Rest 5:37 12. We Free Kings (Alternate Take) 4:53
Alto Saxophone, Organ, Piano – Graham Bond
Baritone Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Bud Beadle Bass – Colin Gibson, Rick Grech Drums – Ginger Baker Drums [African] – Neemoi (Speedy) Acquaye Guitar, Vocals – Denny Laine Percussion – Rocki Dzidzornu Piano, Organ, Guitar, Vocals – Ken Craddock Saxophone, Flute – Harold McNair Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Steve Gregory Vocals – Aliki Ashman, Catherine James, Diane Stewart
Recorded at Trident Studios, London and Olympic Studios, London betwee May and October, 1970.
Denny Laine took "Go Now," a Larry Banks/Milton Bennett tune originally cut by Bessie Banks and the Jelly Beans, and made it his own with the Moody Blues. That Ginger Baker's Airforce has Laine cover the Drifter's "I Don't Want to Go on Without You" is very clever, and a hint that this band was very serious about making a go of it. The Bert Berns/Jerry Wexler composition might have been a bit too soulful for Top 40, while Graham Bond's rendition of Roebuck Staple's "Let Me Ride" is beyond soul, it's rock-gospel and genuinely great. Here Ginger Baker is far more restrained than he was in Cream, and fans of his former supergroups seeing this Airforce album with its childishly psychedelic cover probably had no idea what was inside. Laine's guitar is a tremendous contribution -- as this is Laine in his prime, post-Moody Blues and pre-Wings. Cream's "Sweet Wine" has a majesty here with the lead vocals of Aliki Ashman accompanied by Diane Stewart and Catherine James. Although Laine is listed as an "additional personnel" along with Rick Grech, Harold McNair, Rocki Dzidzornu, and Catherine James, Laine makes three appearances. On an album with seven tracks, that's pretty significant. "Do U No Hu Yor Phrenz R?" is pretty much this version of Ginger Baker's Air Force and the music is solid on the Baker original. Horns and keyboards combine and sway to the lilting vocal -- a very expressive and well-constructed track -- leading one to think maybe Baker wasn't the madman he portrayed, or at least that there was a method to his madness. His other contribution to side one is "We Free Kings" which weaves percussion and flute with the jazzy vocals of Ashman and Stewart. There are solos galore by Bud Beadle on saxes, Steve Gregory, and Graham Bond. The barely audible lyric sounds like something about Lady Godiva, togetherness, and happiness. Nice pyschedelic '60s sentiments, except that the '60s were over. "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall" can be clearly heard, making it obvious that this song is about the music, and the music is refreshingly intact and enormous. Baker's excess has to emerge on at least one track, and his drums are all over "Toady," of course, which is like a "Son of" "Toad" from the previous live album produced by Jimmy Miller. Baker does the production work here, and after eight minutes and 21 seconds of "Toady"'s haunting vocal and piano, Bond's "12 Gates of the City" concludes the disc. This material was clearly as hip as Eric Clapton's Layla album, just not as commercially organized or executed. There is no doubt that Derek & the Dominoes contained a special magic elevating those performances and songs to a sacred realm, but something should be said for the honesty and purity of Ginger Baker's Air Force 2, and if it is too musical and avant garde for an audience that embraced Clapton, it should be commended for its sense of adventure and elegance. "12 Gates of the City" is a delight, swimming with sounds from the Arabian nights and the swamps of New Orleans, a sublime and uncharted mix that sounds better years after it was recorded. A timeless, yet pretty much forgotten record which deserved more FM airplay in its day than it got.
As most fans are aware, there are two versions of this record, with the much rarer version being the more interesting. The rarer (non-US/UK) version, judging by writers credits for Laine, Grech, and McNair, seems to be a collection of tracks put down in late spring / early summer. It would seem that the aforementioned trio walked out, leaving Baker scrap those tracks in favor of replacement Baker and Bond compositions, and much lesser-known replacement musicians.
"Let Me Ride", "Sweet Wine", and "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" are common to both sets, and are the highlights in both cases. The earlier version of "We Free Kings" is longer, and preserves a tempo closer to the Christmas carol it's derived from. McNair's instrumental "Caribbean Soup", as the name implies, has a breezy island feel unlike anything else the group (in all its various incarnations) ever waxed.
The GBAF version of "Sunshine of You Love" is a bit too long and unstructured in relation to their other Cream cover, and "You Wouldn't Believe It" is pretty much a throwaway. "You Look Like You Could Use A Rest", though, while beginning and ending as a mundane pop-song, has an inspired, jazzy middle section that could easily have been stretched out in the same manner as the earlier live album tracks.
As is to be expected when a fair percentage of your band quits, the replacement tracks penned by Baker have a decreased level of inspiration. "Do U No Hu Yor Phrenz R?" is likable fluff. "Toady" is less-likable fluff, serving (as its name suggests) as a vehicle for an extended drum solo in lieu of better material. At this point, it seems as if Baker was attempting to save the set from rejection by the label.
As others here have noted, the one replacement track to stand out is Bond's "Twelve Gates of the City". Interesting more for Bond's growing interest in religious mysticism and occultism than for it's lyrical content, it is nevertheless bolstered by Bond's earnestness, and sense of melodic adventurism.
Perhaps my infatuation with the rarer tunes is just that. A product of hearing material which, for me, is new, in relation to songs I've known for years. I'd rate the rarer version maybe a half-star higher, but it would be balanced by the loss of Bond's inventive closing piece.
For the German issue with 1st vers. of track list.
This issue has a significantly different track list, with more than half the tracks either completely different or re-recorded versions. I can best describe this album as soul influenced, prog flavored rock featuring extensive use of brass and reeds, along with some soulful female backing vocals. What I think I was missing the last time I heard the other version so many years ago, is that this has a fairly decent, heavy sound running beneath all of the brass (which I am still not the biggest fan of, though I am mellowing somewhat). The cover of the Cream classic started out almost laughable to these ears, but as it proceeded, I found myself conceding that it was actually pretty good, and then good, and then very good, despite the horns. I really must question the wisdom of trashing most of these tracks in favor of those on the newer version, and yet retaining something such as "I Don't Want to Go On Without You", which I found rather awful. Bottom line: significantly superior to the second version track list.
For the U.S. issue with 2nd vers. of track list
Hearing this version of the album all those years ago, I was significantly underwhelmed. After all, Baker was fully 1/3 of that incredible underground blues/rock band Cream. Shouldn't this later work bear at least some resemblance? But I rated it as I heard it, and didn't often go back for more. Then I heard about the alternate track list and had to investigate. What a difference! Though somewhat similar in style, the overall thrust of the album was substantially altered. While it may not have been anything close to Cream, I could surely find some solid material to enjoy on it. So I went back to this issue while the other was still fresh, to compare and see if indeed my taste has changed, or if the two versions really were all that different. A little of the first, and much, much more of the second. What they did by substituting the original tracks with these was to almost totally shift this into strong, funky soul/rock territory, with extensive use of horns, sax and soul-ish female vocals. Though I did bump a few of my original track grades on this one up somewhat, I'm going to stand by my opinions: The original version of this is a solidly good album. The second version struggles to reach pretty good zones. It's off the pace of their debut. It's still progressive, but I recommend seeking out the first attempt.
01. Da Da Man 02. Early In The Morning 03. Don't Care 04. Toad 05. Aiko Biaye 06. Man Of Constant Sorrow 07. Do What You Like 08. Doin' It
Alto Saxophone – Graham Bond Bass, Violin – Rick Grech Drums – Ginger Baker Drums – Remi Kabaka Guitar, Vocals – Denny Laine Percussion – Phil Seamen Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Chris Wood Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Harold McNair Vocals – Jeanette Jacobs Vocals, Organ – Steve Winwood
On a purely musical level, Ginger Baker's Air Force was arguably the pinnacle of the legendary drummer's achievements of the 1960s. Even allowing for the many and varied virtues of the Graham Bond Organisation, Cream, and Blind Faith, they didn't approach the breadth or ambition that characterized the Air Force sound. Sadly, despite their prodigious musical attributes, Ginger Baker's Air Force are mostly remembered in the music business as one of the great non-starters among the heavily press-hyped supergroups of the late '60s and early '70s. Air Force essentially grew out of Ginger Baker's six-month stint with Blind Faith, a supergroup that collapsed after generating one album and finishing one tour. Baker's ex-Cream bandmate Eric Clapton abandoned that venture in favor of the vastly different (yet more rewarding) musical styles of Delaney & Bonnie, but Baker persuaded Steve Winwood and Rick Grech, the other members of the band, to stay on with him. Baker planned to put together a new band that would explore music on a new scale, and in new directions than Blind Faith or Cream. The projected band, christened Air Force, would embrace jazz, R&B, blues, folk, and African music.
Baker's old bandmate Graham Bond came aboard on saxophone, joined by legendary jazz drummer Phil Seaman, whom Baker regarded as a mentor and inspiration, along with Traffic's Chris Wood, and Harold McNair, both on sax and flute. As a guitarist and singer, the new group featured Denny Laine, the former lead singer and guitarist of the original Moody Blues. Singer Jeanette Jacobs and African percussionist Remi Kabaka were also in the lineup that played two extraordinary gigs at Birmingham's Town Hall and London's Royal Albert Hall at the end of 1969. Baker's initial plan hadn't extended beyond the two shows, but the first one was so successful musically and critically that he began laying bigger plans, including the recording of the Royal Albert Hall show and keeping the band going. By January of 1970, events were starting to break both inside and outside of the band that would have a profound effect on its future. The reviews from Birmingham were so good that the Royal Albert Hall show turned into one of those press events that became the talk of the entire music trade in England and, by extension, America. The fact that the show had been recorded made it even better -- there was proof on hand that the press enthusiasm was justified. The recordings were extraordinary, with the Air Force thundering along amid blazing sax, organ, guitar, and bass virtuosity, fiery solos, and extended jams that, for a change, actually went somewhere, while three percussionists were busy all the way through playing several layers of rhythm. At its best -- and the Royal Albert Hall tapes were their best -- the Air Force's music was like this wonderful, huge array of Chinese boxes, each opening to reveal a smaller but more beautifully ornate box inside.
The live album Ginger Baker's Air Force was issued by Polydor in Europe and Atlantic Records in America. In keeping with the excesses of the times, Ginger Baker's Air Force was a double LP, an extraordinary debut for a band that had yet to play a regularly scheduled concert. Devised with artwork that seemingly reversed the design of the Cream Wheels of Fire double set, and released amid extraordinary press fanfare, the live album reached number 33 in America and 37 in England, a long way from Cream or Blind Faith's chart-scaling days, but not bad (or, at least, it wouldn't have been if Atlantic, in particular, hadn't pressed hundreds of thousands of copies more than would ever be needed, which turned Ginger Baker's Air Force into a perennial bargain-bin cutout in America) for a group that had only played two gigs. Those were the days of supergroups and all-star jams, all of them heavily advertised and discussed in the rock press, and Air Force, in contrast to a lot of their rivals, delivered the goods.
The biggest problem facing the group, however, was that three key members, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Chris Wood, left -- as Baker knew they had to -- in early 1970. Graham Bond took over on organ and vocals for Air Force, and new members Steve Gregory and Bud Beadle joined on saxes, while Colin Gibson took over on bass. Neemoi Acquaye came in on African percussion, and Catherine James, Aliki Ashman, and Diane Stewart sang. It was Baker's plan to be an old-style bandleader in the traditional sense, opening up Air Force to experimentation by the bandmembers while he hung back, concerning himself as much as possible with the drums. He hoped to play a role akin that which Count Basie or Duke Ellington did in their respective bands, with his members. The problem was that keeping an 11-piece group going was a difficult and expensive proposition under the best of circumstances, and without a hit single or a hugely successful album to their credit, it proved impossible for Baker and Air Force. In addition, bands like Basie's supported themselves by getting lots of outside work, supporting singers on record and in concert, even touring as part of rock & roll shows in Basie's case in the late '50s, to keep the money coming in around their less lucrative gigs; that was clearly not a role that Air Force were ever going to play. And Ellington had income from his huge and vastly successful songwriting catalog to guarantee him the money needed to sustain the band during the lean times, if there were any. Baker, by contrast, had only a tiny smattering of songs to his credit, none of them very successful on their own terms except to the degree that the Cream and Blind Faith catalogs kept selling. And then there was the American tour.
The assumption, based on the media blitz out of England, was the Ginger Baker's Air Force would be another Blind Faith, an arena act whose tickets would disappear as fast as they were put on sale. In point of fact, the new group was two or three times more complex musically than Blind Faith and a lot more surprising. Without Eric Clapton or Steve Winwood in the lineup with Baker, however, and without a single that clicked as a popular track on the radio, it was discovered that Air Force were a phenomenon that many potential ticket-buyers could pass up. The tour was in trouble from the start, and it got worse as advance ticket sales to vast halls were far below what anyone anticipated. The whole thing collapsed just about the time that the group was completing its second and final album. By the end of 1970, after a short tour and a very short spurt of press interest in Air Force 2 -- which had some rewarding moments, but was really little like the first album -- the second album disappeared without a trace, as did the Air Force. Baker went on to a career as a solo artist, starting with Stratavarious the following year, which featured a far smaller band and steeped in African rhythms, while Laine joined Paul McCartney's new group Wings and, after a rough start for the group, did a decade of arena shows and became a household name. Ginger Baker's Air Force lingered in the memory for one great album and one decent album, but also as a classic non-event. Their final indignity came in 1972 when National Lampoon released their comedy album Radio Dinner, one highlight being a commercial for "Greatest Hits of the '60s," with (supposedly) Bob Dylan as the announcer hawking it and Blind Faith and Ginger Baker's Air Force as two of the specific groups mentioned on the K-Tel-type record. In the late '80s, Polygram reissued the live album on CD, and that record, Air Force 2, along with Stratavarious, were later pressed as a double-CD entitled Do What You Like.
Standing in stark contrast to the power trio format he'd explored with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce in Cream — or the expanded four-piece employed by Blind Faith on their one and only album — Bruce went big for his next project, a huge 11-member outfit he called Ginger Baker's Air Force. As he insisted to Disc and Music Echo in the spring of 1970, it all happened because he was lied to by Clapton, who departed Blind Faith to join up with the band's onetime opening act, Delaney and Bonnie.
"I was very bitter after the U.S. tour with Blind Faith. You know, I was so shattered, I had to go away for two months' rest," said Baker. "When I came back, I had been led to expect that we’d tour Britain with Delaney and Bonnie second on the bill – which is where they belong. I’m afraid I have no respect for a band that has to resort to good old rock and roll to get an audience interested. Anyway, instead of that I came back to find that Eric had got into the D&B thing and there was no tour and no Blind Faith."
It was, according to Baker, another example of shoddy treatment from musicians he'd tried to help. "At the start, Cream was mine. I took a drop in salary to start Cream, whereas Jack and Eric took a step up. Cream was always my baby. Musically, it was great and I think we said all we could, the way things were at the time," he noted in the 1970 interview. "I'm not an easy person to get on with, I know, but I don't bear people grudges, and as I'd been talking about getting a big band together one day, I thought I might as well go ahead."
That big band received its introduction to record stores with Ginger Baker's Air Force, a two-LP collection of performances from the group's sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall on Jan. 15, 1970. Released mere weeks later during the final days of March, it found Baker working with an illustrious lineup that included his former Blind Faith bandmates Steve Winwood and Ric Grech as well as ex-Moody Blues member (and future Wings guitarist) Denny Laine, U.K. R&B legend Graham Bond, and Winwood's fellow Traffic member Chris Wood.
Nearly 80 minutes long, Air Force blended original material with new arrangements of traditional songs, all of which were given plenty of room to grow; the shortest song on the album, a version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" featuring Laine on lead vocals, was the only cut to come in under four minutes, while five others passed the 10-minute mark. While traction at Top 40 radio was understandably hard to come by, the album itself performed respectably, reaching No. 33 in the U.S. and No. 37 in the U.K.
Telling Record Mirror he'd been imagining a project like this "for a long time," Baker insisted that as annoyed as he might have been by Clapton's defection, the Air Force's lineup came together easily and organically. "There didn’t seem to be much happening Blind Faith-wise," he recalled. "I got together with Chris and Stevie at the cottage, and a few sounds were very nice. Then Rick got interested, and I just got together a lot of people who could do it. They were all people I'd worked with before. I have difficulty getting my ideas over to some musicians, but not to these people; they sort of help."
Understandably reluctant to make any grand promises about longevity after the way Cream and Blind Faith had flamed out, Baker projected a casual attitude toward the Air Force's future prospects, telling Record Mirror it would "depend on circumstances." And as he explained in his conversation with Disc and Music Echo, the band had actually started out as something that was only supposed to last for a pair of concerts.
"We'd spent so much time rehearsing and we all had such a ball at the Albert Hall that everyone except Stevie Winwood and Chris Wood decided to carry on," said Baker. "It was a great surprise to me and a tremendous compliment. In fact I think it's the nicest thing that's ever happened. They're all friends of mine, but I knew they had their own things going for them, and I didn't think they'd want to stick. Their decision has given me an enormous amount of confidence — just at the time I needed it most."
Ultimately, however, Ginger Baker's Air Force would prove to be another short-lived outing for the mercurial drummer. After releasing Ginger Baker's Air Force 2 with a revamped lineup later in 1970, he left the U.K. to begin what ended up becoming a six-year stay in Nigeria, sitting in with Fela Kuti for a spell before joining up with Paul and Adrian Gurvitz to form the Baker Gurvitz Army for three albums later in the '70s.
That restless spirit, which has largely defined Baker's career during his brief tenures with various bands and sporadic forays into solo work, was evident even in the afterglow of the first Air Force album. "Of course I don't think I've reached my best yet. The day I don't move on I stop playing," he told Disc and Music Echo, incorrectly predicting he'd only keep drumming for another five years. "I'll have nothing left to give physically after that. I use both feet the way I play and to be honest it's shattering. After 35 or so, I won't he able to keep it up even if I want to."
01. Brazilian Soft Shoe 2:17 02. Love Chant 3:10 03. Afro-Jazziac 4:18 04. Ring A Levio 2:52 05. Afternoon Death 3:29 06. To Birdland And Hurry 3:10 07. Calypso John 2:02 08. The African Flute 2:56 09. Bacao 4:28 10. Carabunta 3:38 11. The Davis Cup 3:13 12. sAnswer Me 3:34
Flute, Written-By – Herbie Mann Music Director – Frank "Machito" Grillo Orchestra – Machito & His Afro-Cubans Producer – Teddy Reig Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Machito played a huge role in the history of Latin jazz, for his bands of the 1940s were probably the first to achieve a fusion of powerful Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. At its roaring best, the band had a hard-charging sound, loaded with jostling, hyperactive bongos and congas and razor-edged riffing brass. Machito was the front man, singing, conducting, shaking maracas, while his brother-in-law Mario Bauza was the innovator behind the scenes, getting Machito to hire jazz-oriented arrangers. The son of a cigar manufacturer, Machito became a professional musician in Cuba in his teens before he emigrated to America in 1937 as a vocalist with La Estrella Habanera. He worked with several Latin artists and orchestras in the late '30s, recording with the then-dominant Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat. After an earlier aborted attempt to launch a band with Bauza, Machito founded the Afro-Cubans in 1940, taking on Bauza the following year as music director where he remained for 35 years. After making some early 78s for Decca, the Afro-Cubans really began to catch on after the end of World War II, appearing with -- and no doubt influencing -- Stan Kenton's orchestra (Machito played maracas on Kenton's recordings of "The Peanut Vendor" and "Cuban Carnival") and recording some exciting sides for Mercury and Clef. Upon Bauza's urging, Machito's band featured a galaxy of American jazz soloists on its recordings from 1948 to 1960, including Charlie Parker (heard memorably on "No Noise"), Dizzy Gillespie, Flip Phillips, Howard McGhee, Buddy Rich, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Mann, Curtis Fuller and Johnny Griffin. Playing regularly at New York's Palladium, Machito's band reached its peak of popularity during the mambo craze of the 1950s, survived the upheavals of the '60s and despite the loss of Bauza in 1976, continued to work frequently in the '60s, '70s, and early '80s when the term "salsa" came into use. The band recorded for Pablo (in tandem with Gillespie) and Timeless in its later years, and was playing Ronnie Scott's club in London in 1984 when Machito suffered a fatal stroke. A documentary film by Carlo Ortiz, Machito: A Latin Jazz Legacy, was released in 1987.
From the back cover: Machito has for years been one of the leading exponents of Afro-Cuban jazz. His experimentations and excursions into this realm have been highly successful and in this collection he once again shows the extent of his understanding and experiences in this complicated but adventurous music.
In a previous Afro-Cuban album, "Kenya," Machete's main interest was in presenting the various percussion instruments such as bongos, timbales, guiros, congas and maracas. In this set, the concentration is more on presenting the featured soloists in relationship to the full sound of the Machito orchestra. It also places heavy emphasis on authenticity of rhythm whereas the Kenya album was keyed to a greater reliance on melody.
All material in this album was written and arranged by the featured flutist, Herbie Mann. It should be noted here that Herbie Mann has written and arranged for countless small ensembles; this however, marks his first effort with a big band. His effort is an excellent one! Not only in his talented performance on flute always prevalent, but throughout, his keen awareness of authenticity marks the album as a unique jazz accomplishment. Along with his regular flute used on such numbers as "Ring A Levio" and "Carabunta," he uses the alto flute on "Bacao," a lovely slow Afro-rhythm melody, the E-flat flute on "Brazilian Soft Shoe," which features Johnny Griffin on tenor and Curtis Fuller on trombone with a quick samba rhythm and a very different African flute which can be heard on "The African Flute" which features a 'Bata' rhythm in 6/8 time, and "Love Chain" which carries a 'baba' rhythm and features the use of a chorus of voices.
We have mentioned the various rhythms used because this too is a pronounced part of this collection. There is the calypso rhythm in "Calypso John," the rumba beat in "To Birdland And Hurry," the mambo drive in "Answer Me" and the cha cha sound in Machito covers such countries as Brazil, Jamaica, Haiti and Africa. There is even a touch of the middle-east countries in "Afro-Jazziac".
Two very out of the way numbers should be noted: "Afternoon Death" is a very morbid, mournful piece which features Johnny Griffin and Curtis Fuller, as well as Herbie Mann. This number represents ancient African sacrificial ceremonies when the sacrifice meant just that – afternoon death." "Carabunta" is another number filled with authentic, legendary meaning. The rhythm called 'santo lukumie' is used in religious ceremonies in Africa.
The extraordinary is the key to the album. It is the type of original, inventive and experimental work that creates and fosters ideas that push the boundaries of jazz beyond the four walls of a dimly lit night club for the cold, impersonal air of a recording studio. This is jazz in action, jazz that creates a setting for the free expression of the soloist, and at the same time reaches down to the roots of the music and offers the primitive rhythms that are its origins. – Bud Katzel
01. Sputnik 02. Dewey Square 03. Strollin' In 04. Groovin' High
Alto Saxophone – Lou Donaldson Bass – George Joyner Drums – Art Taylor Piano – Sonny Clark Trombone – Curtis Fuller Trumpet – Donald Byrd
Recorded on December 15, 1957.
A cadre of young musicians, each who would, in time, evolve into a master, is caught as they begin to shine early on for this fireball 1957 set. A thinly disguised take on Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?" is the opening tune, altoist Lou Donaldson's "Sputnik." It launches matters at full throttle, with Donaldson unmistakably reflecting Charlie Parker's then still very fresh and vibrant influence. Joining the pulsating rhythms is a young Donald Byrd, whose ebullient trumpet intonation makes for a perfect complement to Donaldson's sweet bop heat. Adding more flavor is a strong rhythm section driven by the breathtaking marathon-paced drumming of Art Taylor.
A bop classic, Charlie Parker's own "Dewey Square," includes a showcasing solo from the too-soon-gone Sonny Clark, who was already displaying his rhythmically sophisticated and seriously playful piano. Easing in and out smoothly on the tune is Curtis Fuller, who was already demonstrating the JJ Johnson-influenced technique that, as composer and trombonist, has led to his playing with a galaxy ranging from Miles Davis and John Coltrane to Count Basie and many more. On another Donaldson piece, "Strollin' In," Fuller's sound is so varied and sweet it's as if he's just invented a new instrument. And Clark's piano is so mesmerizing one can only regret, again, that his life was so short.
If Lou Takes Off is not an essential set, it is a fascinating one, if only historically. It's a welcome opportunity to savor a steaming, vivid and fascinating session when a band of young lions were clearly on the verge of greatness.
The influence of Charlie Parker can be heard in virtually every modern jazz musician, particularly players of the alto saxophone. Although considered to be one of "Bird's children," Lou Donaldson absorbed and synthesized other pre-Parker influences, such as Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter. This recording marks a period in his development prior to a stylistic shift away from bop and toward a stronger rhythm and blues emphasis. Three up-tempo tunes are pure bebop; the remaining number is a medium blues in B flat, quite characteristic of the hard bop period. The front line on this set includes Donald Byrd and Curtis Fuller; the rhythm section is Sonny Clark, George Joyner, and Art Taylor. Overall, Lou Takes Off breaks no new musical ground, but it is a solid, swinging session of high-caliber playing. [An edition remastered by Rudy Van Gelder was issued in 2008.]
01. I Am In Love 2:51 02. It's Magic 3:58 03. Just For Me 3:09 04. An Occasional Man 3:18 05. Ain't Nobody's Business 4:23 06. Out Of The Past 4:41 07. Music, Maestro, Please 3:14 08. Love 2:38 09. Exactly Like You 2:48 10. Little Niles
Bass – Paul Chambers(tracks: A3 to A5, B2, B4), Sam Jones (tracks: A1, A2, B1, B3, B5) Drums – "Philly" Joe Jones Flute, Baritone Saxophone – Jerome Richardson (tracks: A3, A4, B2), Sahib Shihab (tracks: A1, B3) Piano – Wynton Kelly Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson Trombone – Curtis Fuller (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B2, B3) Trumpet – Art Farmer (tracks: A1, A2, B1, B3, B5), Kenny Dorham (tracks: A3 to A5, B2, B4) Vocals – Abbey Lincoln
Recorded in New York; August 1958.
Strongly influenced by jazz icons Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, both of whom she met early in her career, Abbey Lincoln's distinctive vocal style, thought-provoking writing, and spirited personality secured her a place among the jazz luminaries.
Born in Chicago and raised in rural Michigan, Lincoln began performing while still in high school. In 1951, she moved to the West Coast, working under various names (Gaby Lee, Anna Marie, Gaby Wooldridge) before settling on Abbey Lincoln. She recorded her first album with jazz great Benny Carter in 1956 and appeared in the 1957 film, The Girl Can't Help It. Lincoln then recorded a series of albums for the Riverside label with drummer Max Roach, who had introduced her to the label's owner.
Lincoln's collaborations with Roach (to whom she was married from 1962-70) lasted more than a decade, and included the seminal recording, We Insist! Freedom Now Suite in 1960. This was the beginning of a more social and political activist approach to her music. Over the years, she has worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Jackie McLean, Clark Terry, and Stan Getz.
In addition to her music, Lincoln also pursued acting, appearing in the films Nothing But A Man and For Love of Ivy and on television series, such as Mission: Impossible and the Flip Wilson Show. She also taught drama at the California State University. She did not record any albums as a leader from 1962-72, but made a grand return to jazz with her 1973 recording, People In Me, her first album of all original material.
Lincoln returned to her influences in 1987, recording two albums in tribute to Billie Holiday, and then a series of recordings for Verve throughout the 1990s and 2000s that showcased her writing prowess. Her emotionally honest, mature style was present in every song she sang.
To start, note the difference between this album cover and those of her two previous albums. Rather than being marketed as a sexy woman who happens to have pipes, she is now marketed as a woman with pipes who happens to be sexy. The song selections here cover the spectrum of relationships, ranging from love unreturned to love celebrated. "Little Niles" by Randy Weston tells the story of a boy transitioning from childhood to adulthood, performed at a much slower tempo than the rest of the selections. The selection foreshadows a shift away from torch songs and ballads, and is also the standout track on this album. There are even moments where Abbey mimics the sound of trumpet in exchanges with Benny Golson and Art Farmer. This is absolutely essential for the Abbey Lincoln fan.
At first blush, she's sort of Billie Holiday-lite, or a less earthy version of Dinah Washington, a bluesy pop singer hanging out with jazzbos. But then Abbey almost seems like a folk singer, albeit with jazz accompaniment. She has this clear enunciation and a way of bringing the characters in her songs to life. In another era, she might have been Joan Baez or Joni Mitchell. She really draws you into the words, the stories of the songs, more than do Billie or Ella or Sarah. But there's more to it still: after a few listens to It's Magic, you realise there are real fine jazz chops here, a real feeling for time and how to emphasise bits of melody. The inestimable Benny Golson gives her beautiful arrangements, and Kenny Dorham and Philly Joe Jones do stunningly supportive work, but Abbey is in command of this material and really makes even novelty tunes like "Just For Me" into luscious and dramatic performances. Although Abbey is the antithesis of Anita O'Day -- whose work was *all* about swing and improvisation, never about the lyrics -- Abbey takes her place besides Anita as the female jazz singer whom the canon does the greatest injustice.
01. Two Ton 4:48 02. It's Magic 13:41 My One And Only Love They Didn't Believe Me 03. Soul Station 5:42 04. Club Car 7:15 05. Upper Berth 8:32
Alto Saxophone – Sonny Redd Bass – George Tucker Drums – Louis Hayes Piano – Tommy Flanagan Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Recorded September 5, 1957 in New York City.
Trombonist Curtis Fuller's recordings for Savoy in the 1950s, like those of labelmates Hank Mobley, Milt Jackson, Wilbur Harden, Donald Byrd, and others, were prototypes in the development of hard bop. The next stage would come with the subsequent work of many of the same artists for Blue Note, where improved recording technique, greater attention to writing and arranging, and a more generous policy with respect to preparation and rehearsal time helped bring in the classic hard bop era of the late '50s and early '60s. On Fuller's Jazz...It's Magic, the hard bop prototype is still under refinement, but it's easy to enjoy the music in its essential elements: elegant, bluesy melodies; earthy, yet sophisticated, solo work; and fresh treatments of standards. For this 1957 date, Fuller is joined by the appealingly urbane Tommy Flanagan (piano), the versatile Louis Hayes (drums), and George Tucker (bass), whose loping but solid style resembles Paul Chambers'. Joining the trombonist in the frontline is the relatively obscure alto player Sonny Red, who has a clean, expressive, melodic approach to the Charlie Parker legacy that provides many of this CD's best moments. Three Fuller originals, Frank Foster's "Upper Berth," and a medley of ballad standards make up the program. If there are any misgivings about the CD, it would be the long medley (over 13 minutes), which drags on the overall pace. That said, Red's and Flanagan's solo spots on the medley are superb, but the listener's attention can be expected to wander by the time the trombonist finally steps up for his three choruses.
01. Tanganyika Strut 02. B.J. 03. Anedac 04. Once In A While
Bass – Ali Jackson Drums – Art Taylor Flugelhorn – Wilbur Harden Piano – Howard Williams (tracks: A2 to B2) Piano – Tommy Flanagan (tracks: A1) Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane Trombone – Curtis Fuller
A1: Recorded June 24, 1958 A2 to B2: Recorded May 13, 1958
"Whether you call it 'Far Out' or 'Near In' or 'Funky' or 'Mainstream Modern' or 'Beat' . . . this is the sound! Four extended virtuous tracks by a group of outstanding representatives of everything that is happening new on the modern jazz scene! In the kind of odd geography that occasionally plays in important part in the history of jazzmen (i.e. New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago) this group is dominated by the young lions from Detroit, Michigan . . . breeding place for much of today's important young modern jazz element." -- H. Alan Stein, from the original liner notes
CD Bonus: 04. Rhodamagnetics (tk 1) 7:57 05. Dial Africa (tk 1) 8:02
Bass – Ali Jackson Drums – Art Taylor Flugelhorn – Wilbur Harden Piano – Tommy Flanagan Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Recorded June 24, 1958.
The presence of John Coltrane on this 1958 Savoy release is its obvious drawing card, but in fact there are impressive contributions from all hands. Leader Wilbur Harden left the jazz scene by the early '60s, which is a pity. He was a player with fresh ideas and an engaging command of his trumpet's and flügelhorn's middle register. The sextet heard on this date performs two Harden compositions and one by the group's trombonist, Curtis Fuller, for a skimpy total running time of 29 minutes. The "way out" reference in the title is misleading. There are traces of exotic Asian and African influences, but they never overpower what is essentially an intelligent, straight-ahead, hard bop date. At the time of this release, Coltrane had been recording as a leader and sideman for Prestige and was on his second tour of duty with Miles Davis, whose group was on the verge of recording Kind of Blue. (Coltrane was also about to begin recording for Atlantic.) With Harden's group, Coltrane, as he did with Davis and on his own Atlantic recordings, systematically (and with sublime composure) turns the chord changes inside out, upside down, and sideways, creating a new vocabulary, syntax, and structure for jazz. Coltrane completists will definitely want these tracks in their collections, but the less fanatical listener will also have no difficulty in appreciating the collective performances of the entire sextet.
01. With A Song In My Heart 7:54 02. Speak Low 6:50 03. Come Rain Or Come Shine 7:29 04. Sonny's Crib 13:31 05. News For Lulu 8:34
Bass – Paul Chambers Drums – Art Taylor Piano – Sonny Clark Producer – Alfred Lion Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane Trombone – Curtis Fuller Trumpet – Donald Byrd
Recorded on September 1, 1957.
Located 23 miles south-east of Pittsburgh, Herminie might seem like a small, unassuming Pennsylvanian coal mining community, but it gave the world Sonny Clark, a bona fide giant of jazz piano. Born on Friday, July 31, 1931, he was baptized Conrad Yeatis Clark and, for a few fleeting years, between 1955 and 1961, he was a prolific recording artist for Blue Note Records in New York, laying down classic albums like Sonny’s Crib, Cool Struttin’ and My Conception. But his time in the spotlight was painfully brief; the pianist died from a heroin overdose on Sunday, January 13, 1963. He was 31 years old.
Drawn to the piano as a boy and possessing a natural facility for the instrument, Clark, who was the youngest in a family of eight children, began playing in a local hotel while still in elementary school. He started his professional music career in 1951 after visiting an aunt in California, where he joined the band of saxophonist Wardell Gray. He later played with noted bassist Oscar Pettiford and also worked as a sideman for bebop clarinetist Buddy DeFranco (with whom he recorded five LPs and toured Europe) as well joining the ranks of bassist Howard Rumsey’s West Coast group, Lighthouse All-Stars.
After six years in California, Clark returned to the East Coast in early 1957, and was soon in demand as a sideman, initially as an accompanist for singer Dinah Washington, and then on a recording session for Sonny Rollins. Distilling the innovations of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk to create his own bebop-influenced style, Clark attracted the attention of Blue Note’s boss, Alfred Lion, after impressing on a June ’57 session for saxophonist Hank Mobley. Lion then gave the pianist his first shot at leading a recording session under his own name a few weeks later, in July of that year, when he recorded his debut album, Dial “S” For Sonny, which immediately established Clark as a hard bop pianist of the first order.
By the time that Clark went back into Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack studio to record his second album for Blue Note – on September 1, 1957, when he laid down the tracks for what became Sonny’s Crib – the pianist had racked up several other sideman sessions for the label, including another one for Hank Mobley.
On Sonny’s Crib, Clark opted to use the sextet format that had worked so well on his debut album, though only trombonist Curtis Fuller remained from that session’s line-up. In came Donald Byrd on trumpet, John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums. With a reborn, revitalized Coltrane on board, it was an impressive line-up (earlier in the year, Trane had been fired from the Miles Davis Quintet for unreliability due to drug addiction, but, by September, had quit heroin for good; in late ’57, however, he was re-establishing himself as a major force in jazz).
Three of the album’s five tracks are standards. The opener is a swinging take on Rodgers & Hart’s “With A Song In My Heart,” while a jaunty reading of Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low” is propelled by an infectious Latin groove, with Coltrane taking the first solo and displaying his absolute mastery of the tenor saxophone. A wistful take on Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s mournful ballad “Come Rain Or Come Shine” shows the sextet in reflective mood, with Fuller’s resonant trombone particularly effective.
For side two of Sonny’s Crib, Clark reserved two long self-penned tunes. The first is the title song, a classic piece of unadulterated hard bop where the “head” theme draws on “amen” cadences from African-American church music. It then eases into a midtempo swing groove which allows the soloists to stretch out. First in line is Coltrane, who delivers a typically robust but fluid “sheets of sound”-style solo.
Closing the LP is “News For Lulu,” another uptempo piece with Latin inflections that is distinguished by adroit ensemble work and stellar solos. Fittingly, Clark leads the first solo on this final track, which reveals his lean melodic style and right-hand melodies that are almost horn-like in their phrasing.
After Sonny’s Crib, Sonny Clark recorded six more sessions as a leader for Blue Note, including, a year later, what many critics perceive as his definitive album: Cool Struttin’. Always in demand, Clark also played as a sideman on a slew of sessions for the label, including albums by Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, Stanley Turrentine, Grant Green, and Dexter Gordon.
Though diminutive in terms of his height (he stood only five foot, five inches), Sonny Clark was undoubtedly a man of substantial stature in the jazz world. He might have achieved even greater things had he lived longer, but as it is, Sonny’s Crib is a classic album that ensures that both his music and talent can be appreciated by future generations.
01. Blues March 02. Big Six 03. There Will Never Be Another You 04. Brother 'Ball 05. Jamph 06. l Sir John 07. Promenade
Bass – Wilbur Ware Drums – Philly Joe Jones Piano – Wynton Kelly Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin Trombone – Curtis Fuller Trumpet – Blue Mitchell
Recorded in New York City on July 2 & 3, 1958.
What you have here is a solid brassy sound with great structure and melody with plenty of room for individual expression. "Blues march" is a solid song which begins in a rather pedestrian way but heats up with some fine solos. Cut #2 "big six" is one of the top jazz songs of all time. Solid efforts by all but it is a scintillating solo by griffin that really sparks the rest and wynton kelly really shines here with a taut solo . Another classic number comes from blue himself a swinging tribute to cannonball adderley who recommended blue to orrin keepnews of riversdide leading to his signing and this classic recording. The song features great cord progressions and spitited play by blue as well as eye opening drum flourishes and another great piano solo. Again griffin plays a sizzling stanza of his own. In fact griffin's style is the perfect fire and ice contrast to the lyrical blue.
Each song here is framed by a solid melody with powerful base and drum lines and rich melodic trumpet. This is truly a classic.
Blue Mitchell was a powerful yet lyrical trumpet player with a crystal-clear, bell-like tone. This album, Mitchell's first, recorded in 1958, is an excellent one, and features a top-notch group of New York hard-boppers behind him. One very special thing about the CD is that it contains the first recording of Benny Golson's masterful BLUES MARCH, done 3 months before the famous (and definitive) Art Blakey recording of it with Golson present. This lengthy version (10+ minutes) is taken a bit slower and features impressive Johnny Griffin on tenor sax, who takes a very emotional solo. Also good is BROTHER 'BALL, dedicated to Cannonball Adderley, which has a very attractive theme and excellent Mitchell. So too is the blues piece SIR JOHN, which is a-b-c formatted, and has a terrific Griffin tenor solo. Curtis Fuller is also present on trombone, and the rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones is as solid as could be. This was an auspicious debut album for Blue and one that will give listening pleasure to all hard-bop fans.
01. Blue Train 10:40 02. Moment's Notice 9:08 03. Locomotion 7:12 04. I'm Old Fashioned 7:55 05. Lazy Bird 7:04
Bass – Paul Chambers Drums – "Philly" Joe Jones Piano – Kenny Drew Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane Trombone – Curtis Fuller Trumpet – Lee Morgan
Recorded on September 15, 1957.
In September 1957 while in the midst of finding his own voice on the tenor saxophone in bands led by jazz freedom riders Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane enlisted a band of peers and entered Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack, N.J., studio. With a new spirit rising, Coltrane created Blue Train, a 40-plus-minute masterwork that stands as one of the greatest jazz records of all time. It was only his second album as leader—and his sole recording under his own name for Blue Note Records. Of course, Trane, always the insatiable seeker, went on to launch new rockets of interstellar music—including 1959’s groundbreaking Giant Steps, 1964’s sublime jazz prayer A Love Supreme and 1966’s large ensemble expedition Ascension, which sparked the burgeoning free jazz movement.
But it all started for Coltrane with Blue Train, a pioneering five-song, blues-steeped, hard bop outing that exhilarates with pockets of brawn and poetry, excursions of ferocity and finesse, stretches of blazing velocity and soulful tenderness. By all measures it began as an organic session with four spirited Trane originals and a gorgeous rendition of the Jerome Kern-Johnny Mercer ballad, “I’m Old Fashioned.” But graced by the incantations of inspired improvisation, Blue Train yielded a transcendence that few recordings achieve.
Today, Blue Train permeates the air and sounds as fresh as it did in jazz’s ‘50s golden age. Its richly lyrical tunes are instantly identifiable by longtime listeners as well as aspiring saxophone students. But songs from the album also elicit vague memories from even those uninitiated into the jazz world. The iconic title track, one of Trane’s all-time catchiest themes, could easily pass for comfort background music at a loud party or serve as a quiet-toned dinner jazz companion that won’t upset candlelit conversations.
However, Blue Train is best appreciated, like all jazz recordings, with listening intent attuned to the fine artistry—in this case, the otherworldly quality of Coltrane commandingly searching on his horn for the right notes, the ideal phrasings, the perfect flights, the risk-taking leap of faith into a state of jazz nirvana.
In addition, Blue Train buoys with the instrumental communion within the band—trumpeter Lee Morgan and trombonist Curtis Fuller, both recent Blue Note signings; pianist Kenny Drew; and the dynamic rhythm section from Davis’s classic ‘50s quintet: band mates Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.
On “Blue Train,” Coltrane’s saxophone exploration is followed by Morgan’s equally questing trumpet speak, then Fuller’s deep-brewed bluesy response. On the jaunty “Moment’s Notice,” Trane speeds on his saxophone but never sounds like he’s in a hurry, creating a brisk dance with the festive help of the rhythm team—Chambers’ pulsing rhythms and Jones’s swinging beats. Both the other uptempo numbers, “Locomotion” (Trane on the first full-gusto solo) and “Lazy Bird” (Morgan leading with a rapturous solo), feature the band members interplaying with jubilant zest. Blue Train stands as a classic example of how collective self-expression overrides posing for the spotlights. This is a session where every note blown on every track is in service to the song.
Coltrane himself recognized the consummate character of Blue Train, later in his career referring to it as one of his favorite recordings. On the 2003 CD reissue of Blue Train, producer and liner note writer Michael Cuscuna called the album “perfect” and the music “eternal,” adding that “the ingredients for such alchemy cannot be quantified any more than genius can be defined and described. But we know it when we hear it.”
More than 60 years after it was conceived, Blue Train continues to marvel.
01. Vonce #5 02. Transportation Blues 03. Blue Lawson 04. Namely You 05. What Is This Thing Called Love?
Alto Saxophone – Sonny Red Kyner Bass – Doug Watkins Drums – Louis Hayes Piano – Hank Jones Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Recorded May 11, 1957.
This 1957 date matches Fuller with bluesy, fervent alto sax wailer Sonny Red Kyner. They make both a tight ensemble pair and an excellent contrasting frontline, with Kyner's spewing, flailing delivery featured on such cuts as "Blue Lawson" and "Namely You" operating against Fuller's equally intense, but lighter and smoother trombone lines. With Hank Jones operating as the rhythm section's harmonic link on piano, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Louis Hayes mesh underneath effectively. These undiluted, straight-ahead bop and blues numbers are still par for the course.
Not only did this recording serve to introduce Fuller to the public at large in 1957, it was also a graphic example of the wealth of talent coming from Detroit to New York during this period.
The front line–Fuller and his running buddy, Sonny Red–is backed by bassist Doug Watkins, who had preceded them to the Big Apple by three years; and 20-year-old drummer Louis Hayes, who had departed the Motor City in the summer of 1956 to join Horace Silver’s quintet. Adding the veteran seasoning and keyboard sagacity is Hank Jones, who had left the environs of Detroit a decade earlier to make his mark on the world jazz scene.
01. Dial "S" For Sonny 02. Bootin' It 03. It Could Happen To You 04. Sonny's Mood 05. Shoutin' On A Riff 06. Love Walked In
Bass – Wilbur Ware Drums – Louis Hayes Piano – Sonny Clark Tenor Saxophone – Hank Mobley Trombone – Curtis Fuller Trumpet – Art Farmer
Recorded July 21, 1957.
A remarkable composer and pianist whose special touch and articulation makes him instantly recognizable at the piano, Sonny (Conrad Yeatis) Clark recorded so much on the Blue Note label that he was practically their in-house pianist. This hard-bop mainstay was particularly noteworthy for his virtuosic right hand lines.
Sonny was born in Herminie, PA, a small mining town 60 miles from Pittsburgh. He started piano at four, and at six was featured playing boogie-woogie on several amateur hour radio programs. He spent his teenage years in Pittsburgh, playing vibes and bass in high school as well as being featured on piano. He went to California in 1951 with his older brother, also a pianist, and worked in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, starting his recording career at age 22 in February, 1953, with Teddy Charles. He soon recorded with Art Pepper and Buddy DeFranco (traveling to Europe for a couple of months to start 1954), then returned to LA to work with Buddy, Cal Tjader, Sonny Criss, Frank Rosolino, Serge Chaloff, Lawrence Marable-James Clay quartet and Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars. He decided to work his way back East by joining Dinah Washington, arriving in NYC in April of 1957. On June 11 and 12 he did his first NY recording sessions as part of the Sonny Rollins quartet for Riverside Records. June 23, 1957, marks his first Blue Note date as a member of a Hank Mobley sextet. Within the next month, on July 21, he recorded his own first leader date for Blue Note: "Dial S For Sonny." He continued to record many more sessions for Blue Note as both sideman (with Curtis Fuller, more Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Clifford Jordan, Lee Morgan, Art Farmer, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Bennie Green, Jackie McLean, Grant Green, Ike Quebec, Dexter Gordon and others) and as a leader right up to his last recording session, a Stanley Turrentine sextet date (October 18, 1962). He recorded mostly for Blue Note but did find time to also record with Philly Joe Jones (Riverside), Coleman Hawkins (Colpix), more with Bennie Green (Enrica and Time), his own leader date and a date with Stanley Turrentine on Time. We are blessed that he left us with many great recordings from both his California and New York periods. Sonny, along with bassist Butch Warren and drummer Billy Higgins, created one of the truly classic rhythm sections of this period. He was hospitalized in late 1962 with a leg infection and was released only shortly before he passed away in January. Sonny was only 31 years old when he died.
With the exception of "Love Walked In," which features piano all the way, Clark generously shares equal solo time with Mobley, Farmer, and Fuller on the other six tunes. Still, he has enough space to make the most of what was his Blue Note debut, playing with greater fluency and technical aplomb than on the more celebrated "Cool Struttin'." In fact, based on the evidence of this recording, a listener might wonder if Clark was destined to be the next Bud Powell.
But unlike Bud, Sonny is clearly more of a "session player," contributing five of the seven tunes, each of them the kind musicians love to blow on. And unlike, say, a Horace Silver, Sonny seems happy to remain in the background, showcasing his inventive soloists. Mobley is in his prime (another reason I'd pick this one ahead of "Cool Struttin'"), his warm, musky sound never captured better. Farmer is brassier and more emotional than I've ever heard him. Fuller is crisp and incisive, though I could have done with one less soloist in favor of extended choruses by the other musicians. (Clark's single-note, horn-like approach to his own solos is another reason to go with a leaner ensemble, if only to reduce the duplication of textures).
The youthful Louis Hayes plays like a veteran, even at this early stage which pre-dates his tours of duty with the Adderley brothers and Oscar Peterson. Wilbur Ware supports the legendary status he had attained as a musician's musician, a bass player who could be counted on to make any session swing (though I haven't decided whether his penchant for repeating the same note is effective tension and release or harmonic insecurity). All in all, an impressive introduction to Sonny Clark as a leader, composer, and player.
01. City Lights 02. Tempo De Waltz 03. You're Mine You 04. Just By Myself 05. Kin Folks
Bass – Paul Chambers Drums – Art Taylor Piano – Ray Bryant Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – George Coleman Trombone – Curtis Fuller Trumpet – Lee Morgan
Recorded on August 25, 1957.
Originally released on Blue Note in 1957, City Lights is the result of a fine session recorded at the legendary Rudi Van Gelder studio by an all-star sextet featuring the 19 years old trumpet genius Lee Morgan plus an impressive coalition of Jazz stylists such as Curtis Fuller, on trombone, George Coleman on tenor sax, Ray Bryant on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. All great players caught here in top form while dealing with an excellent repertoire including compositions of Jazz greats such as Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce among others.
This album may not enjoy the same status as Charlie Chaplin's revered movie of the same title, but it's a session that evokes similar feelings. Like the beloved Tramp, Lee Morgan wins our respect with a performance of warmth and dignity, grace and beauty, sprinkled with moments of gentle humor. His playing on this session anticipates, more than do his immediately subsequent recordings, the composer of the sublimely poetic "Ceora" ("Cornbread," '65).
Also credit Benny Golson, who provided three of the five tunes and the arrangements for the sextet on this date. Beginning with "Lee Morgan Sextet" (Dec, '56) to "City Lights" (Aug, '57), Golson supplied four consecutive recordings' worth of material for the developing session leader--compositions and textures that would showcase the young artist while lending form and focus to his creative energies. After "City Lights," Morgan would continue his prolific recording output but increasingly shoulder the burden--as one of only two horns on "The Cooker" (Sept, '57) and the sole horn on "Candy" (Nov, '57). As much latitude as the gifted trumpeter is given on these last two dates, the formal constraints of "City Lights" prove no less rewarding--if anything, they serve as a luminous foil, setting off the artist's inventions and magnifying his unique talent.
The opening title track sounds like programmatic music for a movie before rapidly developing into a flag-waver for the leader. A mysterious two-note figure bowed by Chambers' bass complemented by Ray Bryant's Twilight Zone tick-tock motif leads to the 24-bar chorus unfolding with a rush, and suddenly George Coleman's tenor sax hits the ground running, the entire scene completed in a head-spinning thirty seconds! Although Coleman's is an auspicious entrance on his first jazz recording, it merely increases the stakes for Morgan, whose trumpet solo crackles with menacing fire, moving to the upper register and going an extra chorus.
Morgan's solo on the lovely, rarely-played ballad "You're Mine You" seems fully capable of standing on its own, especially since Van Gelder's mixing does little to flatter Golson's subtle voicings. The program regains its stride with Golson's "Just By Myself," a straightahead 36-bar medium-tempo piece featuring an extended, beautifully-shaped Morgan serenade. The closer, Gigi Gryce's "Kin Folks," is a lazy-tempo Bb blues that proves a perfect playing field for all soloists--but especially the leader, who squeezes his valves, makes the notes talk, and leaves us with some unmistakable Morgan "attitude."
01. Algonquin 02. Nita's Waltz 03. Bone & Bari 04. Heart And Soul 05. Again 06. Pickup
Baritone Saxophone – Tate Houston Bass – Paul Chambers Drums – Art Taylor Piano – Sonny Clark Producer – Alfred Lion Trombone – Curtis Fuller
Curtis Fuller emerged during the 1950s as a leading hard bop trombonist. A native of Detroit, Fuller was initially inspired by hearing J.J. Johnson, who became a mentor for the young musician. This recording was completed only weeks before Fuller went into the studio to record John Coltrane's Blue Trane. The session is unique in its pairing of trombone with the baritone sax of Tate Houston. The resultant front line sound is thick and rotund. The rhythm section of Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor had a lovely rapport; individually and collectively, these three made many important recordings in the late 1950s, especially for the Blue Note label. Highlights of Bone & Bari include the title tune, penned by Fuller, and the group's rendering of the standard "Heart and Soul."
