- Mal Waldron: piano
- Richard Davis: bass
- Eddie Blackwell: drums
- Donald Harrison: alto sax, bass clarinet
- Terence Blanchard: trumpet
Eric Dolphy and Booker Little were two young musicians who died way too early. Perhaps their most memorable outing was a week at the Five Spot, a jazz club in New York in July of 1961. Little, in his early twenties, was dead by the end of that year and Dolphy, in his thirties, died in 1964. Both deaths were huge losses for the world of jazz. Fortunately the music from their date at the Five Spot was recorded and later released on a three record set. In 1986, twenty five years after the original recording, two young horn players, Donald Harrison and Terence Blanchard, did a memorial concert at Sweet Basil in commemoration of the Dolphy-Little gig. They were able to gather the original three members of of the rhythm section; Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass and Eddie Blackwell on drums and while not trying to recreate the originals, they played mostly the same numbers. It was a memorable event and fortunately it too was recorded and released on two separate CDs. A few nights ago I listened to the first of three records from the original performance. Tonight I’m listening to the first of the two Harrison/Blanchard CDs. The songs are organized in different orders so only one cut from this CD was on the first Dolphy/Little record.
What struck me even before listening to the music was the passage of time. The Dolphy/Little recording has always seemed like ancient history because it happened before I was born (by less than a year…) The Harrison/Blanchard memorial gig has always seemed like contemporary jazz to me because it came out when I was first getting into jazz and the CDs have been in my collection ever since. But here is the surprising/sobering fact that came to my attention tonight as I prepared to listen to this music again. More time has passed since Harrison and Blanchard did the memorial gig (thirty three years!) than separates the original from the memorial gig (twenty five years). Yes, cliche as it sounds, I am reminded of just how old I’m getting and how my perceptions of the passage of time are oddly out of sync with reality. But perhaps more significantly, I’m eager to hear this music again to see if it really sounds that old. I must admit that the recording from 1961 does sound old, albeit mostly for technological reasons. The sound quality just isn’t there so it isn’t as easy for the listener to be transported into another space and time… So let’s see how this “new” recording from a mere thirty three years ago sounds today.
The Prophet: Same 21 minutes as the original… similarly astringent sounding horns playing that clashing harmony at the intro. Nice, long solos… truly a live performance at a jazz club. Sax solo followed by trumpet, and then the pace picks up mid-way thru trumpet solo, only to slow back down again… like a bridge. Piano solo: would love to know what Waldron was feeling at this point and should probably take a closer listen to the original to compare, but not tonight. Recording or my system, or hearing aids making it sound like an electric piano though! Not nice at all. Over all a little more laid back than original. Bass solo is perhaps the exception, sounding a little fast and in your face compared to the rest of the tune. Returns to the theme and then closes out.
Aggression: This tune appears on disc two of the original. Upbeat. Starts with two horn statement of the theme as was so common with Dolphy and Little and then jumps quickly into trumpet solo, moving at a nice clip. Sax solo is equally energetic. Waldron’s solo is the highlight… awesome modal construct. And finally a drum solo; sounds more integrated than the drum solos on the original, that almost had an obligatory tone.
Booker’s Waltz: A tune penned by Dolphy in spite of the title! Appears on third disc of the original. Mid-tempo ballad with a stride feel. Nice, flowing solos. Bass solo is nicer than the previous one; other than the arco. But then again, for bass players who cut their teeth on 1960s quality recordings, it’s sort of easy to understand the appeal of an arco pickup. This might be the nicest tune of the CD.
Listening to this CD definitely makes me wish I was there at Sweet Basil. A lively performance with an amazing combination of two young, up and coming players backed by three rock solid veterans. And all in the context of another historic performance a quarter of a century earlier. Damn! I wish I could have been there! But this is next best… in the comfort of my own listening room; sitting in a recliner way more luxurious than any chair at a club; drinking a craft IPA better than most beer served at most jazz clubs; and hearing it thru my very nice sound system… yup, I have to admit; this ain’t bad… not bad at all! Having bought and repeatedly listened to a lot of stuff by Harrison and Blanchard, I have to say that Harrison’s playing on this recording is really nice. On other discs I sometimes get the feeling that he is a little bit too quick to go into the netherworld when soloing; but on this outing he kept things closer to the bone. That might actually be surprising considering that Dolphy was definitely prone to venturing into the netherworld at length. Blanchard is fairly subdued on this recording; but in a satisfying sort of way. I’m just so glad these two guys took the time to pay homage to Dolphy and Little, and even more glad that they are still alive, over thirty years later.
Jim's Jazz Notes 