|
|
 |
|
|
The Music |
|
|
Previous album - For John Lewis & the MJQ
Laura Friederike is a delicate ballad written by Fischer for his daughter;
born in 1987, she is now taller than him! The composer's sound recalls - as
it does elsewhere at times - the great Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek;
yet there is a greater warmth both to his tone and the recording ambience as
a whole, and the quintet achieves a sonorous depth and cogency that belies
the brevity of this opening track. Juntos, written by Ivan Lins, is another thoughtful, deceptively gentle outing. Fischer on soprano and O'Hare relish the tune's subtly lissom samba rhythms.
Two Chick Corea numbers follow. Windows was written for Stan Getz's seminal
1967 date Sweet Rain, while 500 Miles High was a feature both for Corea's
Return to Forever band and Getz's momentous 1972 album Captain Marvel. To
attempt new readings of songs so inaluctibly associated with those original
incarnations can certainly be seen as brave: some might even call it
foolhardy! Such, however, is the quality of playing and the individual
imagination of all concerned that both performances emerge as fresh and
arresting; Hauser's pulsating groove is especially notable
Doce Presenca, another Ivan Lins composition, is a lovely line that also has
immense strength: it is hardly necessary to essay any improvisatory
exploration, such is the allure of the melody itself. Fischer and O'Hare
would seem to agree, offering only some brief (albeit charming) filigreeing
before reverting to the theme.
Soul Eyes has come to take its place as one of the great jazz songs of
modern times. It is usually performed as a straight ballad, but this
arrangement achieves a fetching lope that casts new light on Mal Waldron's
gorgeous melody. O'Hare's solo is as intense as melodious (shades here of
his master, Bags) Hauser's outing is no less cogent, and Fischer's closing
cadenza is flawless in its plangent economy.
Arriving Soon proves an exhilarating contrast. Written by that most
extrovert of saxists, Eddie Vinson, it positively stomps along (Hauser and
McCarthy are in great form here) and features Fischer's most impassioned
work of the session.
David Sanborn's It's You is a characteristically muscular composition that
builds into a most satisfying 'wailer'. Fischer and O'Hare complement each
other perfectly, smoking fiercely while (as always) mining melodic
possibilities to the full.
Lament is arguably one of the finest songs composed by one of jazz's most
distinguished writers, the late J. J. Johnson. Beautifully structured and
full of arresting phrases and harmonies, it once again brings out O'Hare &
Fischer's innate lyricism; however, this track also swings irresistibly,
with the kind of lithe, floating power that characterises all the best jazz.
Grooveyard was written by Carl Perkins, a prodigious talent who died aged
only 30 and who got far fewer recording opportunities while alive than he
warranted. O'Hare and Fischer honour his memory with a reading both subtle
and stirring; the composer would have approved of the effortless groove
achieved.
The great saxophonist Sonny Rollins has often delighted in picking 'odd-ball
tunes (Toot Toot Tootsie and There's No Business Like Show Business, for
example) and it's intriguing to find O'Hare and Fischer following suit in
selecting Eliot Daniel's I Love Lucy, written for the long-running TV show a
generation ago. Their choice is as thoroughly vindicated as Rollins's always
are: the tune may be finally lightweight, but you wouldn't think so
listening to this version, which is vigorous and penetrating, and indeed
O'Hare's solo here is one of his best on the date.
Finally, The Blue Daniel is a fitting tribute to the late Frank Rosolino,
who died in 1978. Chiefly renowned as a trombonist, Rosolino was also a very
fine writer, as the band demonstrates in a brief but entirely satisfying
rehearsal of this captivating melody.
These twelve tracks describe an emotional and technical range that will
delight jazz fans of every age and taste. With musicians this good getting
the chance to play a programme as intelligent as it is catholic, it is hard
for even the grimmest pessimist to imagine that jazz has no future or that
its health is anything other than healthy.
Richard Palmer, July 2002
Dr. Richard Palmer is a Staff Writer for Jazz Journal International and also
reviews jazz records for Amazon.com. The author of several jazz monographs
and a contributor to Masters Of Jazz Saxophone (Backbeat; 2000), his most
recent books, both published by Contiuum Press, are Larkin's Jazz, a
collection of the poet's jazz reviews and essays, co-edited with John White
(2001) and Oscar Peterson's autobiography A Jazz Odyssey (2002) on which he
worked as Editor and Consultant.
Back
|
|
|
|
