Charles Tolliver And His All Stars - 1971 - Charles Tolliver And His All Stars

Charles Tolliver And His All Stars 

1971

Charles Tolliver And His All Stars

01. Earl's World 4:23
02. Peace With Myself 9:37
03. Right Now 5:47
04. Household Of Saud 6:06
05. Lil's Paradise 7:05
06. Paper Man 6:11

Alto Saxophone – Gary Bartz (tracks: B1 to B3)
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Trumpet – Charles Tolliver

This was Charles Tolliver’s first album as a leader. The setting is unique only because his second Freedom-Black Lion album “The Ringer” and all of his subsequent albums on Strata-East featured his quartet Music Inc. with pianist Stanley Cowell. Here he is surrounded in quartet and quintet formats with a truly stellar cast of the leading players on the New York jazz scene.

Charles plays the role of leader, composer and trumpeter. But it is surely that last role that deserves the most attention. The trumpet is a brass instrument that leans toward a hard sound and staccato phrasing. Yet Tolliver is the quintessence of fluidity. While it may be undeniable that he has learned from his musical heritage and past trumpet masters, a trumpeter of such flow, tone, control, lyricism and creativity is, by definition, a major musician.

Charles Tolliver first came to the professional jazz scene in the mid-sixties, when he first met Jackie McLean. Under McLean’s leadership, he played on a number of Blue Note record sessions, some of which have yet to be released. He contributed original tunes to many of those sessions.

Within a couple of years, Tolliver was a well known figure in New York circles, playing and/or recording with Booker Ervin, Archie Shepp, Andrew Hill, Roy Ayers, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Willie Bobo, Gerald Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Hank Mobley, and many others. His compositions were getting recorded by many artists. He gained his greatest recognition during a two year stint with the Max Roach quintet that also included Gary Bartz and Stanley Cowell.

There is also a previously unreleased bonus track of the song, “Repetition”, recorded by Charles for this LP which will be included on this new release of the album. This song was originally made famous by Charlie Parker’s LP With Strings.

This album is certainly an important and lasting document in light of the musicians involved and in light of its unique context for Charles Tolliver. But basically, it is just a great album to listen to.

At the time of this recording, Charles was part of a whole new generation of hardboppers who were coming up in a world of new ideas. Here he is surrounded in quartet and quintet formats with a truly stellar cast of the leading players on the New York jazz scene that features Gary Bartz on sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. This was Charles Tolliver’s first album as a leader. The setting is unique only because his second album “The Ringer” and all of his subsequent albums on Strata-East featured his quartet Music Inc.

The first moment of genius from trumpeter Charles Tolliver – a set that wasn't originally issued on the Strata East label, but which really set the tone for all the genius to follow on Tolliver's label! At the time of the record, Charles was part of a whole new generation of hardboppers who were coming up in a world of new ideas – a time when Coltrane, Shepp, and Ayler were transforming the left side of jazz – while other musicians were pushing the boundaries of more familiar modes too. Tolliver worked with Horace Silver, Max Roach, and others at the time – and here, he's a brilliant leader right out of the box – set up with an all-star combo that features Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – perfect partners for exploring the new music that Charles brings to the record. Gary Bartz joins the group on the second half – another young player about to transform a generation – and the whole album's a dream all the way through, with the mix of soul and spirit of some of Woody Shaw's first records, or maybe Bartz's first few albums for Milestone.