Veteran bass player McClure came to notice in the 60s when a member of the popular Charles Lloyd Quartet with Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. For a short period of time he was also part of the Blood, Sweat and Tears line-up, an even more popular group that trod that line between rock and jazz with a leaning towards the former. Subsequently, McClure’s profile has never been quite so high but he has remained a highly respected member of the jazz community over the last few decades.
Five years have passed since his last release for SteepleChase and on this occasion he assembled the members of his regular quartet to tackle a programme of originals only interrupted by Johnny Mandel’s The Shining Sea, which actually receives the most lukewarm treatment of the 10 tunes.
Ferrara has an admirable agility on his instrument, seemingly at home in any register and it is he who supplies the most interesting composition in Deep Sea Urban Planning, a piece offering a diverting construction which in the liner notes McClure suggests “is unlike anything I’ve written or played”.
There is an air of the routine about the date with solidity being the order of the day: Block, Zimmer and the leader take care of business, whether dealing with the swingers or ballads. Having said that, this label has very rarely been responsible for releasing a poor session and Lucky Sunday keeps up the high quality we have come to expect.
Discography
What’s Due; The Shining Sea; Lucky Sunday; Deep Sea Urban Planning; Stay Where You Are; The Waves; You And The Salt; Quiet Life; Mending Ties; To Begin (63.09)
McClure (b); Anthony Ferrara (ts); Rob Block (p, g); Pete Zimmer (d). December 2018.
SteepleChase SCCD 31877
