MAY 9

            SONNY ROLLINS
           This Is What I Do

               Recording Date:

                   May 8-9, 2000

                   July 29, 2000  tk3

               Personnel:

                   Clifton Anderson  TB
                   Sonny Rollins       TS
                   Stephen Scott      P
                   Bob Cranshaw      EB
                   Jack DeJohnette  D
                   Perry Wilson        D tk6

     



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Review by Alex Henderson
When it comes to picking material, today's young hard boppers (both instrumentalists and singers) could learn a lot from Sonny Rollins — a tenor titan who has always had a way of surprising us with interesting, unexpected choices. Over the years, he hasn't made the mistake of limiting himself to overdone Gershwin and Cole Porter favorites; Rollins doesn't exclude well-known standards by any means, but he has also made a point of interpreting a lot of material that other hard boppers have ignored (and that has included everything from forgotten show tunes to Stevie Wonder gems). True to form, the saxman continues to make interesting choices on This Is What I Do, which was recorded in 2000 and finds a 69-year-old Rollins joined by Clifford Anderson on trombone, Stephen Scott on acoustic piano, Jack DeJohnette or Perry Wilson on drums, and long-time companion Bob Cranshaw on electric bass. The CD's only real standard is the ballad "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" — the other selections range from Rollins originals (which include the funky, playful "Did You See Harold Vick?" and the calypso-minded "Salvador") to forgotten songs from 1937 movies. "Sweet Leilani" (which the seminal Bing Crosby defined) is from the film Waikiki Wedding, while "The Moon of Manakoora" is from The Hurricane (which starred Dorothy Lamour). Neither are tunes that have been done to death by hard boppers, and Rollins has no problem showing us that they can be relevant to jazz. This Is What I Do falls short of essential, but it offers some nice surprises and is a rewarding addition to Rollins' huge catalog.

MAY 8

                     RED RODNEY
              Live at the Village Vanguard

                 Recording Date:
                     May 8-9, July 5, 1980

                 Personnel:
                     Red Rodney    TP,FG
                     Ira Sullivan     SS,TS,FT,FG
                     Garry Dial       P
                     Paul Berner     B
                     Tom Whaley   D








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Review By Jim Santella

The first time on CD, the reissue of Red Rodney’s 1980 sessions at The Village Vanguard marks the beginning of his comeback and finds the leader’s trumpet work in fine form. Two experienced horn players and a young rhythm section made for a strong program with hard bop drama and pure musical ballad sentiment. In the liner notes, Rodney states, "I was determined to associate myself with young musicians in order to move ahead with the music of today."
Ira Sullivan picks up the flugelhorn as Red Rodney carefully interweaves muted trumpet lines around Johnny Mandel’s "A Time For Love." And they both opt for flugelhorns on "What Can We Do" with Sullivan coming from the right channel, Rodney from the left. Again on the final track, the two seasoned veterans perform together on trumpet and flugelhorn. Jack Walrath, who wrote half the tunes on this program, contributed much to Rodney’s band library over the years. It’s Walrath’s "Come Home to Red" that allows the leader to pour his open trumpet sound over the room (backed by Sullivan’s gentle flute fills) as a reminder that one of his earliest influences was Harry James. After a long career with several disturbing setbacks, it’s nice to remember that Red Rodney succeeded in the end by passing the torch on triumphantly to the next generation.

Reviewby Scott Yanow

In 1980, trumpeter Red Rodney teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan to form a modern jazz quintet. Their appearances at the Village Vanguard resulted in three LPs for Muse (and six over a two-year period), all of which will hopefully be reissued on CD someday. Rodney was inspired in the setting, which featured recent originals rather than bop standards; Sullivan (heard on soprano, tenor, flute, and flügelhorn) gained some publicity for his underrated skills; and young pianist Garry Dial (heard here along with bassist Paul Berner and drummer Tom Whaley) had an opportunity not only to play, but to write as well. On this album, the quintet performs three tricky pieces by trumpeter Jack Walrath, a couple of recent obscurities, and Johnny Mandel's "A Time for Love." Stimulating music.

MAY 7

                        SUN RA
                Astro Black

                  Recording Date: 
                        May 7, 1972

                  Personnel:

                     Sun Ra                 Key,Vib
                     Marshall Allen       FT,AS 
                            Atakatune            CG 
                            Ronnie Boykins     B 
                            Chiea                  CG 
                            Danny Davis         FT,AS 
                            Ahk Tal Ebah       TP
                            John Gilmore       Per,TS 
                            "Bugs" Hunter      D 
                            Tommy Hunter     Per
                             Lamont McLamb   TP
                             Atakatun Odun     Con
                             Eloe Omoe           CL
                             Pat Patrick           CL
                             Charles Stephens  TB
                             Danny Thompson   FT,BS
                             June Tyson           Vo
                             Alzo Wright          Vio,Viola

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Review by Brian Olewnick
One of a handful of albums Sun Ra released on Impulse in the early '70s, Astro-Black provides a reasonably comprehensive picture of where the Arkestra was around the time, drawing to the end of their ultra-free period and beginning to investigate some traditional jazz forms. The opening title track explores some of Ra's spacier side, sounding a bit like a calmer alternative to his well-known "Space Is the Place" with June Tyson's ethereal vocals and the leader's ghostly synthesizer. "Discipline '99'" is a relaxed, bluesy number, although, as was often the case, one could argue that the band is a bit too relaxed and the piece does plod a little. But this is followed by a lively African-percussion-driven work, "Hidden Spheres," which, along with the propulsion provided by the great, underappreciated bassist Ronnie Boykins, is a fine example of Ra's band at their most enjoyable. "The Cosmo-Fire," the 18-minute track that closes the album, is a sprawling affair, a smorgasbord of Arkestra once again held in place by Boykins' bass, serving as a solid stem off of which Sun Ra launches abstract organ and vibraphone explorations and the rest of the band wails and sputters. Again, the performance is loose, but in a way that enhances the otherworldly effect that Ra strove for. Astro-Black isn't by any means the finest work by this musician, but is a decent introduction to his unique sound world.

MAY 6

                   JOSHUA REDMAN

                     Beyond

                 Recording Date:
                       May 1999

                 Personnel:
                      Aaron Goldberg        P
                      Gregory Hutchinson  D 
                      Joshua Redman AS,SS,TS 
                      Reuben Rogers         B 
                      Mark Turner             S







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Review by William Ruhlmann
In his short career, Joshua Redman has been praised for his technical abilities and criticized for his lack of innovation — not surprising responses to the work of a talented young artist. On Beyond, his seventh album which was recorded a few months after his 30th birthday, he attempts, as the title suggests, to try some new things. Employing an all new group consisting of pianist Aaron Goldberg, bass player Reuben Rogers, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, he presents an album of original tunes to follow Timeless Tales (For Changing Times), an album of cover material. Eschewing the pat jazz formula of a head followed by improvisations, he adopts a more free-flowing structure for his compositions in which anyone can start and the tune can develop in an open-ended fashion. He also experiments with time signatures: "A Life?," the closing track, is in 5/4 time; "Stoic Revolutions" is in 6/4; "Belonging (Lopsided Lullaby)" is in 9/4; "Suspended Emanations" is in 10/4; and the lead-off track, "Courage (Asymmetric Aria)," is in 13/4. While no doubt hard to play, the tunes don' t sound all that complicated, perhaps because Redman's saxophone floats over the rhythm section, taking its time to make its statements. As the song titles imply, this is a contemplative album full of small, introspective pleasures, such as the exploratory "Leap of Faith," on which Redman and Mark Turner engage in a tenor conversation. It's not clear that the technical challenges Redman presents himself and his sidemen with ultimately force them to do anything new, but Beyond represents a gifted musician tinkering with his musical approach with often satisfying results.
 

MAY 5

               CHARLES MINGUS
              Mingus Ah Um

          
             Recording Date: 
                  May 5, 1959    tk 1,6-9

                  May 12, 1959  tk 2-5


             Personnel:

                  Jimmy Knepper   TB
                  Willie Dennis       TB tk1,3
                  John Handy         AS,CL
                  Booker Ervin       TS
                  Curtis Porter       TS,AS
                  Horace Parlan      P
                  Charles Mingus     B
                  Dannie Richmond  D

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Review by Steve Huey
Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions. The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' three most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is a suite of three tunes; "Bird Calls" is inspired by Charlie Parker; and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest.

MAY 4 bonus

        Pete Hamill's Murder  
     At Kent State University

           Flying Dutchman Records 
           1970

           Personnel:
                Rosko                 Vo
                James Spaulding  FT
                Ron Carter           B









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William Roscoe Mercer, known for decades to New York radio listeners simply as Rosko, died on Tuesday. He was 73 and lived in New York. The cause was cancer, according to his daughter Valerie J. Mercer.

Mr. Mercer was the first black news announcer on WINS in New York and, as Rosko, the first black disc jockey on KBLA in Los Angeles. He went on to become a pioneer of free-form FM radio in New York City. On WOR-FM in 1966 and on WNEW-FM from 1967 to 1970, his calm, husky voice with its hint of Southern drawl and his wide-ranging programming made him an authoritative companion amid the musical ferment of the late 1960's.

He delved into rock, soul, folk and jazz; he read poetry and conversed with his unseen listeners in almost fatherly monologues. In one set during the late 1960's, he recited antiwar poetry by Yevgeny Yevtushenko to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Lord's Prayer, then played Richie Havens's antiwar song ''Handsome Johnny'' as a lead-in to a news report about bombing in Vietnam.

MAY 4

                JOHN COLTRANE
                Giant Steps

                Recording Date:
                    May 4, 1959  tk 2,4
                    May 5, 1959 tk 1,3,5,7

                Personnel:
                    John Coltrane     TS
                    Tommy Flanagan  P
                    Paul Chambers     B
                    Art Taylor            D







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Review by Lindsay Planer
History will undoubtedly enshrine this disc as a watershed the likes of which may never truly be appreciated. Giant Steps bore the double-edged sword of furthering the cause of the music as well as delivering it to an increasingly mainstream audience. Although this was John Coltrane's debut for Atlantic, he was concurrently performing and recording with Miles Davis. Within the space of less than three weeks, Coltrane would complete his work with Davis and company on another genre-defining disc, Kind of Blue, before commencing his efforts on this one. Coltrane (tenor sax) is flanked by essentially two different trios. Recording commenced in early May of 1959 with a pair of sessions that featured Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Art Taylor (drums), as well as Paul Chambers — who was the only band member other than Coltrane to have performed on every date. When recording resumed in December of that year, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) were instated — replicating the lineup featured on Kind of Blue, sans Miles Davis of course. At the heart of these recordings, however, is the laser-beam focus of Coltrane's tenor solos. All seven pieces issued on the original Giant Steps are likewise Coltrane compositions. He was, in essence, beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos — the 180-degree antithesis of the art form up to that point. These arrangements would create a place for the solo to become infinitely more compelling. This would culminate in a frenetic performance style that noted jazz journalist Ira Gitler accurately dubbed "sheets of sound." Coltrane's polytonal torrents extricate the amicable and otherwise cordial solos that had begun decaying the very exigency of the genre — turning it into the equivalent of easy listening. He wastes no time as the disc's title track immediately indicates a progression from which there would be no looking back. Line upon line of highly cerebral improvisation snake between the melody and solos, practically fusing the two. The resolute intensity of "Countdown" does more to modernize jazz in 141 seconds than many artists do in their entire careers. Tellingly, the contrasting and ultimately pastoral "Naima" was the last tune to be recorded, and is the only track on the original long-player to feature the Kind of Blue quartet. What is lost in tempo is more than recouped in intrinsic melodic beauty. Both Giant Steps [Deluxe Edition] and the seven-disc Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings offer more comprehensive presentations of these sessions.