Elvin Jones - 1975 - On The Mountain

Elvin Jones

1975

On The Mountain

01. Thorn Of A White Rose 5:07

02. Namuh 7:47

03. On The Mountain 4:37

04. Smoke In The Sun 4:00

05. London Air 5:29

06. Destiny 7:28

Bass – Gene Perla

Drums – Elvin Jones

Piano, Synthesizer – Jan Hammer

An overlooked gem from Elvin Jones' mid 70s years – and a sweet fusion jammer that has the best kick of the classics on the PM label! The group's a trio, with Jones on drums, Gene Perla on bass, and Jan Hammer on drums – and Elvin may be the leader of the set, but the real strength of the album belongs to the record's tight bass work by the great Perla – strong-voiced and soulful, and doing a good job here of keeping both Jones and Hammer focused on the groove of the tunes – as Hammer's keyboards spin out with lots of sweet cosmic touches!

While Elvin Jones is definitely the name on this date, it's hard to consider him the leader as the other members of the trio did all the writing. I will admit that this marketing ploy worked on me; my estimation of Elvin couldn't be higher and led me to this release.

Jan Hammer, recognizable to anyone with a familiarity in Fusion, is possibly at his best on this date. Not having to compete in the clamor of Mahavishnu, his talent is easier to grasp. He seems to be equally at home on piano and synth, and handles both tastefully. Apparently he also was the recording engineer, and the quality of recording demonstrates his skills there as well.

Gene Perla is the least known, yet probably the most important for this date. This record was released initially on the PM label: PM standing for Perla Music. How Gene got the money together to fund this is a question better left unanswered, but it does indicate that it was probably his inspiration to work with Jones and Hammer. As a labor of love, this was a short LP run, and as such, is a very rare issue.

The music is primarily post-bop, with some fusion leanings. Perla is especially delightful, as he is quite comfortable and dextrous in the third chair.

Highly recommended. Good luck getting an LP copy.