Pete Jolly - 1970 - Seasons

Pete Jolly 

1970

Seasons

01. Leaves 1:43

02. Younger Than Springtime 2:14

03. Bees 2:54

04. Rainbows 1:11

05. Plummer Park 4:25

06. Springs 3:06

07. Seasons 3:45

08. Sand Storm 2:02

09. Autumn Festival 3:14

10. Prairie Road 2:50

11. The Indian's Summer 3:40

12. Pete Jolly 1:45

Bass – Chuck Berghofer

Drums – Paul Humphrey

Guitar – John Pisano

Percussion – Emil Richards

Percussion – Milt Holland

Piano – Pete Jolly

Producer – Herb Alpert

One of our favorite-ever keyboard albums – a rare lost session from pianist Pete Jolly – one of his only electric dates, and a completely improvised set of grooves! Pete plays electric piano, organ, and even a bit of musette – jamming in the studio with help from Chuck Berhofer on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, John Pisano on guitar, and Milt Holland and Emil Richards on percussion – all of whom bring in some sly, subtle touches to the grooves that are totally great! The album's much more open than other keyboard dates from the time – almost in the territory of some of Herbie Hancock's most experimental work, but a fair bit more groove-based too – given that the album's filled with short, funky tracks all the way through. There's some echoes of Bob James work to come – and given the 1970 date of the record, it could almost be said that Jolly predates a whole host of 70s keyboard talents – setting his mark with this uniquely laidback set of tracks.

Pete Jolly's third album for A&M Records offers the closest recorded approximation of this musician’s talent yet offered the listener. Because in these grooves, produced by Herb Alpert, Jolly is heard not only on standard piano, but also on the Wurlitzer Electronic Piano, accordion, musette, Sano Vox, and Hammond Organ. The effect is startling to say the least, and at times a little unsettling as you wonder where the musician leaves off, and the engineer and technical studio wizards take over.

However, this album is no studio tour de force, but a "Live" recording in the sense that Jolly and fellow musicians Chuck Berghofer, Paul Humphrey, John Pisano, Milt Holland, and Emil Richards got together and improvised their way through 12 tunes in the space of four hours. The session was basically improvisational, and was completely open end, says Jolly. “We literally improvised as we went along – using visual and musical communications between ourselves to let the tunes happen, breathe and expand. It’s as simple as that. Then we edited down the four hours of tape, did a little overdubbing, and this album is the result”.

The result is a radical departure for Jolly, and a quite successful one. There are no familiar tunes here (with the exception of “Younger Than Springtime”) – no lush arrangements, or studio gimmickry. Just Pete and his friends playing for their own enjoyment, and we hope yours.

This LP, hailed at the time of release and promptly forgotten, is Pete Jolly's masterpiece, a wonderfully emotional electronic tour de force. With the exception of one cut, it was completely improvised in a single four-hour session in the studio by Jolly and a superb, versatile rhythm section: drummer Paul Humphrey, guitarist John Pisano, and the ever-present Chuck Berghofer on bass (with Milt Holland and Emil Richards contributing as well). Jolly plays not only acoustic piano, but Wurlitzer electronic piano, accordion, musette, Sano Vox and the Hammond B-3. Minimal overdubbing was done later. "Seasons" unleashes Jolly's imagination, and he creates a marvelous tapestry of sound that both moves the listener and swings spontaneously. Beautifully produced by Herb Alpert -- who brought him to A&M -- the record is structured as a continuous suite -- with only the side break on the LP interrupting the flow -- and it comes to an exciting, carefully graded climax on "The Indian's Summer," with Jolly pounding the grand piano and a sudden burst of big band fireworks courtesy of Bill Holman. It doesn't end there however, as the closing cut, a near nostalgic weeper cum slippery little funk number called "Pete's Jolly" attests, sending it out on a fingerpopping note. There is arch humor in tracks like the scurrying "Bees" and the sauntering "Plummer Park" (which has been sampled plentifully by the hip-hop generation and contains the tight popping jazz funk that defined the CTI label, as does the last tune on the LP side, "Springs"), the vivid tone painting in "Rainbows" and "Sand Storm," and the aching beauty in "Autumn Festival." Roger Nichols' wistful "Seasons" and the sole standard on the album, "Younger Than Springtime," fit seamlessly into the fabric of Jolly's improvisations, and he uses "Springtime" as a recurring motif. Nothing from his earlier recordings could prepare the listener for this record, and he did nothing comparable until his death in 2004. [In July of 2007, Chicago'sDusty Groove imprint reissued the disc on CD. The transfer is fine indeed with warm, immediate, full-range sound.]