Nancy Wilson – 1970 – Now I’m a Woman
3 days ago
In 1978 Macero began work on his second (!) album, released in 1979 on Finnadar, a subsidiary of Atlantic/WEA. TIME PLUS SEVEN (SR 9024) did not represent any new recordings by Macero, but released for the first first time his 1963 recording of the title suite, "Seven," "Equals," "Time," and "Plus."
"This composition was commissioned by the Rebecca Harkness Dance Company, then directed by Robert Joffrey. 'Time Plus Seven' was choreographed by Anna Sokolow in 1963. ... Anyway, here it is, World Premiere 'Time Plus Seven' recorded at CBS's 30th Street Studio in New York, 1963. Fred Plaut was the engineer. I was the conductor. I wish I could find the contract which listed the personnel, but can't. To the great musicians who recorded this composition, my apology for not listing them and my everlasting gratitude for giving me a great performance."
The piece is starkly atonal, and not unlike the much shorter "Pressure," written for Orchestra U.S.A two years later. Thus it is hardly coincidental that side one of this LP is finished off with that recording of "Pressure." Side two of this LP reissues Macero's side one of WHAT'S NEW?, bringing it back into print on LP after fourteen years.
Teo Macero is likely to be known to the average jazz fan for his work as a producer of others' records, though he is also a composer, tenor saxophonist and conductor. This compilation LP released by Finnadar in 1978 collects music from three separate sessions. "Time Plus Seven" was a commissioned ballet and clearly falls into Third Stream music, though the delay added to the saxophones comes across a bit lame. Sadly, none of the personnel are confirmed due to the loss of the record contracts, though Clark Terry seems likely as the trumpeter in "Time."Dusty Groove Review
The work "Pressure," which first appeared on the John Lewis' Orchestra U.S.A. release Sonorities, is an atonal work that sounds like music for an overblown mystery. Of more interest are the advanced compositions from a 1955 session, especially "Neally" and "T.C.'s Groove," which mix jazz soloists like Art Farmer, Eddie Bert and John LaPorta with the bizarre but catchy accordion of Orlando Digirolamo. Ernestine Anderson provides the overdubbed voices in "Sounds of May," though the tape has been manipulated to make it sound like a male chorus. This LP quickly disappeared from print, though all of this music was reissued on the Stash CD The Best of Teo Macero, which is also no longer available.
Some wonderful slices of 50s modern jazz -- work recorded under the leadership of Teo Macero, who was best known as a producer for Columbia during their glory days in the jazz business, but who was also a budding young genius in the years before then! The set features a handful of tracks from Teo's early What's New album for Columbia, plus a track from an Orchestra USA session, along with the side-long, previously-unreleased "Time Plus Seven", an extended jazz ballet suite. Macero's approach is a blend here of both third stream styles and some of the New York whimsy of players like Gil Melle at the same time -- and titles include "Pressure", "Neally", "Adventure", "TC's Groove", and "Sounds Of May".
Gettin' It Together is available at My Jazz World and you can grab Jammin' With Herbie Hancock from the Hancock discography at Blaxploitation Jive.
There is more -- and less -- than meets the eye with this hard bop collection from 1960: less Booker Little and more performers than are listed on the CD. A little research corroborates what the ear suspects: the eight tracks come from three sessions, only one of which has trumpeters Little and Donald Byrd together (three tracks). The other sessions feature, respectively, Little and trombonist Curtis Fuller (two tracks) and Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams (three tracks). Adams is one of a half-dozen performers not credited on the CD.
To further confuse matters, both the session with Little and Byrd and the one with Little and Fuller have uncredited additional trumpeters -- Marcus Belgrave and Don Ellis, respectively. Suffice to say, sorting out who plays the trumpet solos is not easy. It seems, though, that Little solos only on one, possibly two, numbers. Originally, these tracks came out on a Warwick LP called Soul of Jazz Percussion. This explains the additional percussion parts -- some integrated more effectively than others -- on each of the tracks.
Overall, the Byrd/Adams tracks are the most consistent. "November Afternoon" from the Little/Fuller set and "Chasing the Bird" and "Wee Tina" from the Little/Byrd set are also okay. Even so, factor in a couple of poorly handled fadeout endings along with some mixing and editing gaffes and there is not enough here to rate a recommendation, except, perhaps, to the ardent Booker Little completist.
Early 70s issue of a record recorded for the Warwick label in the early 60s -- mostly led by Curtis Fuller, and under the name Soul Of Jazz Percussion. The record is a strange batch of soul jazz tracks that features a number of different groups with players like Fuller, Waldron, Little, Donald Byrd, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Pepper Adams, and others -- all playing soul jazz tracks with lots of added percussion. The percussion takes the form (mostly) of booming drumming which augments the deep grooves of the tracks. Most of the tracks on this one have been pulled together to emphasize the sound of the trumpeters -- and tracks include "Ping Pong", "November Afternoon", "Call to Arms", and "Wee Tina".
In 1966, Milt Buckner, like several of his contemporary jazz confreres, took his trio into Germany's Black Forest to record for Hans GeorgeBrunner-Schwer's MPS label. He was joined by former Ellingtonian bass player Jimmy Woode and former Count Basie drummer Jo Jones. Although Buckner's major legacy was as the originator of the locked-hands or parallel-chords technique, this album shows he was a performer of commanding originality.Amen Dave!
"Hamp's Boogie Woogie" reveals that he was a pretty fair boogie-woogie player and "Saba's House Party" shows a special affinity for the blues. But for the most part on this session, he sticks with his locked-hands approach. The play list is clearly designed to showcase this form of playing, especially such Buckner originals as "Feelin' Sorta Villingen" and "Chitlins à la Carte." At the same time, "Yours Is My Heart Alone" has the flourishes and frills worthy of Erroll Garner at his virtuosic best.
Not only is Buckner at the top of his form in this forest setting, so is Woode, whose bop-oriented bass is featured on most tracks. Jo Jones is given some opportunities for drum breaks, particularly on "Cute." He also engages in a rollicking exchange with Buckner on "Pick Yourself Up." This album confirms that Buckner's contributions to jazz extend beyond the development of a particular technical approach to the piano. This is a fine session that needs to be reissued on CD.