Blue Note - time to seriously re-appraise this label?

[Ian Thumwood]

Tina Brooks is interesting. Of the three records I have with him on, two are "True Blue" and Hubbard's "Open Sesame" plus one - both of which reveal this to be a really complimentary pairing. I feel that Brooks was the equal of Mobley but was perhaps fortunate in that this classic and cultish album was recorded on Blue Note which ensured that it has always been held in affection of fans. When I first heard it I thought it was a revelation but the more I play it, the more bizarre an album it seems. I think it is very similar to another brilliant album, "Shades of Redd" and although Freddie Redd's record has a different line up albeit Brooks is on this one too.

I feel these records are strangely untypical of the standard Blue Note sessions and think this is down to the amount of writing on the records. Not everyone gets to solo on every piece on "True Blue" and a lot of time is given to playing the heads as opposed to soloing. Both are recordings where the writing shines even more than the brilliant playing. I'm also inclined to think that neither record sits neatly with the then current jazz scene. They are both in the Hard Bop oeuvre whilst being very different from anything else in that canon. Even "Open sesame" feels more orthodox. The fact that Brooks and Redd are such obscure figures *(there is a new Redd album out at the moment) makes them seem even more exotic.

I'm a fan of both records yet always sound of their own little world more than anything else Blue Note put out. It is as if they must have always sounded nostalgic or even slightly divorced from the then current mainstream.

[Stanfordian]

Tina Brooks is interesting. Of the three records I have with him on, two are "True Blue" and Hubbard's "Open Sesame" plus one - both of which reveal this to be a really complimentary pairing. I feel that Brooks was the equal of Mobley but was perhaps fortunate in that this classic and cultish album was recorded on Blue Note which ensured that it has always been held in affection of fans. When I first heard it I thought it was a revelation but the more I play it, the more bizarre an album it seems. I think it is very similar to another brilliant album, "Shades of Redd" and although Freddie Redd's record has a different line up albeit Brooks is on this one too.

I feel these records are strangely untypical of the standard Blue Note sessions and think this is down to the amount of writing on the records. Not everyone gets to solo on every piece on "True Blue" and a lot of time is given to playing the heads as opposed to soloing. Both are recordings where the writing shines even more than the brilliant playing. I'm also inclined to think that neither record sits neatly with the then current jazz scene. They are both in the Hard Bop oeuvre whilst being very different from anything else in that canon. Even "Open sesame" feels more orthodox. The fact that Brooks and Redd are such obscure figures *(there is a new Redd album out at the moment) makes them seem even more exotic.

I'm a fan of both records yet always sound of their own little world more than anything else Blue Note put out. It is as if they must have always sounded nostalgic or even slightly divorced from the then current mainstream.

Hello Ian,

I’m a big admirer of Tina Brooks too. I can unreservedly recommend the 4 album collection ‘Tina Brooks Quintet -The Complete Recordings - Master Takes’ which includes the wonderful ‘True Blue’ with ‘Minor Move’, ‘Back To The Tracks’ and ‘The Waiting Game’.

[Ian Thumwood]

Standford

Thanks for the "heads up."

I'm still waiting for some Donald Byrd to arrive but next up for me has been Freddie Hubbard's "Hub tones." The album cover is an absolute iconic one but my first impression was that the music wasn't quite as strong as I had hoped. It's not a classic Blue Note recording and has the irritating fact that there are about 3 alternate tracks which distract from the record. I don't like the rejected takes as they rarely seem to add anything to the record and upset the balance of the playlist.

I've got to say that Freddie Hubbard is just immense. My favourite BN'er on trumpet is Kenny Dorham yet I think FH was pretty imperious at this time. Nice piano by Herbie too and great time from Clifford Jordan about whom I know nothing. The better material on Hubbard's records akways seems to be the ballad interpretations. This is no exception. I don't understand why Hubbard's reputation as a ballad player seems so over-looked. I also love the way the he sometimes takes phrases and slows them right down and then follows in up with something in double time. This phrasing is rather like the jazz equivalent of a footballer rolling the ball back before accelerating past his opponent. FH was majestic when doing this.

[Serial_Apologist]

I've got to say that Freddie Hubbard is just immense.

The question he left is, where to take jazz trumpet in his wake. Was there anywhere left to go? Or did Freddie mop up most available directions in this genre?

The young - well, not quite so young now - British trumpet player Quentin Collins does a fair imitation in my opinion. I was certainly knocked out when I first heard him in Balham about 6 years ago, not having heard anyone born over here do the American hard bop trumpet thing with such ease and panache. Here he is on a session at Foyles in Charing Cross Road alongside Brandon Allen, who reminds me of George Coleman, and a Hammond player straight out of Larry Young circa 1967 called Ross Stanley. I wouldn't buy this kind of stuff today - it is of its time which is not now; but they make a pretty good job of it and it brings in the septuagenarians!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MbADGpUKJY

[Ian Thumwood]

Hubbard is intriguing as his performances on a combination of wide-ranging records in the 1960's are almost without exception incredible. It is fascinating how he evolved from the music on something like "Roll call" through to Ornette's "Free Jazz" as well as working with Andrew Hill. He did seem to have feet in both the Hard Bop and Avant Garde camp in the mid 60's but he then sold his soul to CTI where there are some nice tunes but none of the bravura performances. After his tenure on Blue Note (and appearances on albums like "The blues and abstract truth") he never really reached the same levels of creativity although I believe the VSOP sets do recapture his best work. Not heard too much by this group, I'm afraid.

Hubbard's Blue Notes are pretty consistent with "Ready fir Freddie " being a favourite. I don't think that he ever made one defining record like Morgan's "Sidewinder" but he produced a body of work which was amazingly consistent in the 1960's. It does seem strange trying to recreate this stuff and I've heard recent albums by the likes of Jeremy Pelt where it is difficult to imagine that 50 years have passed since this style of jazz was prevalent. I totally agree with your comments about playing Hard Bop know yet I think those stuck n this era are generally few and far between - most creative jazz musicians seems to have found something in post-bop to latch on to instead

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Hubbard is intriguing as his performances on a combination of wide-ranging records in the 1960's are almost without exception incredible. It is fascinating how he evolved from the music on something like "Roll call" through to Ornette's "Free Jazz" as well as working with Andrew Hill. He did seem to have feet in both the Hard Bop and Avant Garde camp in the mid 60's but he then sold his soul to CTI where there are some nice tunes but none of the bravura performances. After his tenure on Blue Note (and appearances on albums like "The blues and abstract truth") he never really reached the same levels of creativity although I believe the VSOP sets do recapture his best work. Not heard too much by this group, I'm afraid.

Hubbard's Blue Notes are pretty consistent with "Ready fir Freddie " being a favourite. I don't think that he ever made one defining record like Morgan's "Sidewinder" but he produced a body of work which was amazingly consistent in the 1960's. It does seem strange trying to recreate this stuff and I've heard recent albums by the likes of Jeremy Pelt where it is difficult to imagine that 50 years have passed since this style of jazz was prevalent. I totally agree with your comments about playing Hard Bop know yet I think those stuck n this era are generally few and far between - most creative jazz musicians seems to have found something in post-bop to latch on to instead

Hubbard's "Artistry of Freddie Hubbard" on Impulse is a great record - FH, Gilmore, Fuller front line and one of Hubbard's favs of his own recording dates,

Clifford Jarvis played with Bud, Sun Ra, Elmo ("Last recordings") and Jackie Mclean ( the driving, overlooked et scorching "Right Now!" B/note album) and eventually lived in downtown 80s Dalston for ten years! Teaching drums and stuff to Courtney et al les Brits kids,



BN.

[Serial_Apologist]

Clifford Jarvis played with Bud, Sun Ra, Elmo ("Last recordings") and Jackie Mclean ( the driving, overlooked et scorching "Right Now!" B/note album) and eventually lived in downtown 80s Dalston for ten years! Teaching drums and stuff to Courtney et al les Brits kids,

BN.

Fantastically nice bloke too, having once met him. Well they nearly all are/were...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Fantastically nice bloke too, having once met him. Well they nearly all are/were...

Wonderful drummer. Hard as hell on that Jackie Mclean record, Really "fire" stuff. No idea why that's not more regarded, up there with the JM/Moncur/Bobby Hutch dates and "Poor Eric" is a superb and moving tribute to the recently departed Dolphy penned by Larry Willis. The H'erbie to Jackie,

BN.

[Jazzrook]

One of the more obscure BLUE NOTE artists is George Braith who played a stritch and seemed to be influenced by Roland Kirk.
His albums are currently difficult to find and I must confess have never heard his Braithophone!

https://www.georgetbraith.com

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Roland was very scathing...."At least I play em in tune".

BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

Roland was very scathing...."At least I play em in tune".

BN.

Curiously enough there was a review on All About Jazz.....

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/george-braith-the-complete-blue-note-sessions-1963-64-by-marc-davis.php

[muzzer]

There's a great doc on the iplayer from 1997 about BN........

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Curiously enough there was a review on All About Jazz.....



http://www.allaboutjazz.com/george-b...marc-davis.php

Roland Kirk, London 1964, talking to Ronnie Scott and Rick Laird. Led Thomkins archive...

"So the first person they got to put two horns in their mouth (Braith) and take in the studio, they jumped on the bandwagon. And the thing about it that drags me—he plays ‘em out of tune. That’s something that I try not to do. He’s doing everything that I try not to
do. Not only playing out of tune, but playing a solo all the way through with the two horns. That’s monotonous."


BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

Out of curiosity I picked up a copy of Donald Byrd's "A new perspective" having always liked the track "Cristo Redentor" and intrigued to hear the rest of the album. Intriguingly , "All about jazz" reviewed the album whilst I was waiting for it's arrival in the post and the review's initial comment about the choir's immediately appearance on the opening track catching the listener off guard as it is such a contrast to the hard bop that follows. The implication was that this was hugely innovative and a gamble that ultimately paid off.


I'm not too sure. Herbie Hancock's piano is the best thing about the record but rather than offer something radical, I feel that the choir actually makes this record sound hugely dated. It is almost like a sound-track to a 1950;s B-movie and I don't think that the jazz group, apart from Hancock and vibes-player Donald Best, are especially at the top of their game. Some parts of the playing also sounds a bit under-rehearsed and the writing for the choir isn't a slick as the horns. I'm also not too convinced by Duke Pearson's writing as a whole. He was a capable composer but certainly not in the league of Dameron, George Russell, Jimmy Heath, etc, etc when it came to composing for small groups.

The best thing about the record is Hancock's piano and the track "Cristo Redentor" which is a minor -masterpiece. I don't think anything else on the record matches it and I honestly struggle to think of any other Blue Note record which sounds so much of it's time. In fact, the B-movie nature of the band and the choir makes the record seem far more distant that the contemporaneous Coltrane quintet or indeed Ornette Colenan. It's an ok record and has a great cover yet it lacks the timeless quality of the better Blue Note offerings.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Tend to agree with most of that. Strip away the unconvincing choir and all you've got is fairly mundane Donald Byrd record, not very inspiring even by his fluctuating standards. And in his defence he could be a very melodic and touching ballad player when on form.

Just listened to it all again, it wasn't for me then and certainly isn't now. But ch/kg the web, the late Marcus Belgrave said it was Byrd trying to reconnect with the "community" jazz had lost and a beautiful record.

If you're using voices then I think even the French Double Six (with Dizzy) sound a lot more hip and effective.

BN.