Dick Griffin - 1979 - Now Is the Time

Dick Griffin 

1979 

Now Is the Time

01. Now Is The Time 6:03

02. Madrid 8:31

03. Multiphonic Blue 5:05

04. Waltz My Son 4:47

05. The Queen 7:37

06. Peaceful Thinking 8:17

Bonus Tracks

07. Darkness Of Duke

08. Come Dance With Me

Bass – Calvin Hill

Congas, Percussion – Lawrence Killian

Drums – Billy Hart, Freddie Waits

Flute, Piano, Vocals – Don Smith

Piano – Hubert Eaves

Tenor Saxophone – Clifford Jordan

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Bill Saxton

Trombone – Dick Griffin

This record has a weird genesis. Originally released on the tiny Trident Records in 1979 under Griffin's name, it was bought up in hopes it would compete in the R&B/Pop world in spite of the fact that there's all kinds of avant-garde twists and turns hiding in the record. A lot of those come from the ever excellent sax of the underrated Clifford Jordan, who can move back and forth between straight ahead and somewhat askew, sounding strong and with a real Trane sound in all cases. The percussion also keeps things interesting throughout, though it must be said early on that this is a far more mainstream album than "The Eighth Wonder", which Griffin recorded five years earlier for Strata-East. This was finally a shot, and the hopes raised higher when it came out on the decidedly R&B/hip hop/early rap Sugar Hill Records in 1980. For some reason, his name is changed to Multiphonic Tribe (was this supposed to sell better?), and the title track, with Don Smith's high vocals, was selected as a single that, of course, went absolutely nowhere. The rest of the album is more aligned with jazz, and it's all given a breezy Latin sound (especially on second track "Madrid"). And again, the strange is still there, adding a bit of edge to the mostly pleasant sounds. The keyboards pretty much always distract and seem ready for top 40 radio, but there's some real surprises everywhere else.

Abandon ship, if ye must, on third track "Multiphonic Blues" but know that if you don't hit stop soon, you'll find yourself wrapped up in Griffin's distorted trombone sound (definitely his particular signature). And if you don't get out of it first, you'll miss a spectacular Jordan solo that weaves between in and out. And yes, I still want to delete that keyboard from my copy, and the popping bass seems tailor made for the clubs, but the soloists are doing something completely different, and it works (in spite of itself). For those still around after the first side, a genuine spiritual type song comes up in "Waltz My Son" to start the second side. It's catchy, it still has some pop edges, but it's impossible to ignore if it's on. Griffin uses that edgy trombone sound to give the head a little sharpness (even as the keys still threaten to drag it into Muzak muck). That catchy theme keeps coming back, and it could be said that Griffin was looking to find a hybrid sound between mainstream and creative music, or it could be said that it's got a good beat, and you can dance to it. It's still head and shoulders above similar pop/jazz experiments of the time. That goes true for "Queen" as well, which is a slightly saccharine ballad reveling in the brass sound while bringing in more of a piano sound in the background. That said, though proficient, this one is almost too much. Thankfully the Latin percussion is back on album closer "Peaceful Thinking". No edges here, but it's pleasant enough. This is an album that, as my thoughts above reveal, puts me in a state to chuck it off the stereo, yet it always grabs me and seems worthy to review. Yes, the flute in that last song is screaming smooth jazz, but the bass has stopped popping and is driving the track around nicely with a Latin lilt. A bit too smooth on the last two songs, perhaps, but surprisingly catchy throughout, sounding like a seventies summer day, corduroys on with a giant hat, letting the time wile away, lost in bliss, having no idea of what was about to come. Sometimes it's not bad to spend some time in a world like that.