The ostensible reason for reviewing this long-available CD is that it is now available at mid-price. But anyone in the least interested in the modern jazz should long ago have forked out the full price, for this is a debut album to beat all debuts.
Marsalis, aged 21, accompanied in part by the supreme Miles rhythm section of the sixties, takes risks in an almost profligate way. Whether sparring in virtuoso fashion with brother Branford on Father Time and Hesitation, or declaiming majestically on Tony Williams’s sumptuous Sister Cheryl, Marsalis never misses a trick.
Later Marsalis albums have appeared too reverential of tradition, too in awe of past history, but this set sparkles with the discovery of the new. If you have no other Marsalis album in your collection, treat yourself to this one.
Discography
(1) Father Time; I’ll Be There When The Time Is Right; (3) RJ; (4) Hesitation; (3) Sister Cheryl; (5) Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me); (2) Twilight (41.10)
Wynton Marsalis (t); Branford Marsalis (ts); plus on:
(1) Kenny Kirkland (p); Clarence Seay (b); Jeff Watts (d).
(2) as (1) Charles Famborough replaces Seay.
(3) Herbie Hancock (p); Ron Carter (b); Tony Williams (d).
(4) as (3) but Hancock out.
(5) as (3) but Branford Marsalis out.
Recorded (1 & 2) New York, (3, 4 & 5) Tokyo, 1982.
(Columbia 468708 2)
