Swiftly following the publication of Phil Haynes’ eminently readable memoir Chasing The Masters, this collection pulls together the New York recordings of perhaps his most innovative and frequently overlooked ensemble. Conceived in the late 80s to play virtually anywhere without amplification, the unconventional 4 Horns & What? fused classic New Orleans polyphony with blistering free jazz and modern composition.
Haynes is the “what”, while the horns have at various times have included mentor Paul Smoker, a very young Ellery Eskelin, NY downtown luminary Andy Laster and the heavy duty brass of Frank Lacy, Joe Daley and Herb Robertson.
Discs 1 and 2 feature the group’s two studio albums 4 Horns & What? (1991) and 4 Horn Lore (1992), originally released by the now defunct German label Open Minds and notoriously difficult to find. I owned a copy of the first album at the time of its release, but somehow it always seemed to play second fiddle to the relatively more conventional free-bop of Haynes’ contemporaneous quartet Joint Venture. Yet the hairs rose on the back of my neck as as I listened to the haunting melodies of Blues For Israel, Alone and Ballad For Heike for the first time in over a decade.
The ebullient wit of A’lil Iowa Get-Down and Corner Store Strut has lost none of its zing, and the ambitious long-form Atmospheres hugely benefits from Jon Rosenberg’s crisp remastering. The 1992 follow-up is every bit as varied and the ensemble playing noticeably tighter, and although I could kick myself for not buying it at the time it is now a pleasure deferred.
Saxophonist John Tchicai replaces the Europe-bound Eskelin on the bonus set Live At BAM, recorded by Rosenberg during the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 1995 Alternative Jazz series. As Tchicai steers the opening Holler 4 Horns to a scintillating climax it’s clear that the group will not be taking prisoners. Smoker’s extended techniques are sensational on the free intro to Saeta, while the sprawling West Virginian Blues is packed with drama. Waltz For Jerry (Last Dance) appears almost orchestral in its deployment of tonal colour, Smoker’s muted vocalisations providing a chattering commentary to the graceful lines of Laster and Tchicai. The thrilling exchanges between Haynes and Tchicai on the 15-minute Eclipse spark one final conflagration (or “self immolation”, as Haynes describes it), and as jazz archaeology goes the rediscovery of these tapes must count as a significant find.
A second anthology featuring some of the group’s European festival appearances may surface at some point in the future, but until then I’ll happily savour this reminder of a terrific group I once came perilously close to overlooking.
Discography
CD1: (1) A‘lil Iowa Get-Down; El-Smoke; Ballad For Heike; Point Period; Atmospheres; Corner Store Strut; Alone; Blues For Israel (68.47)
CD2: (2) Holler 4 Horns; Out Of The Bowels-OTB; Sweep; Goofus’ Step; Some Slick Sick; Where Now?; Adrienne’s Jazzmarchrag; Phantoms; Eclipse (58.19)
CD3: (3) Don Byron Intro; Holler 4 Horns; A’lil Iowa Get-Down; Phil Speaks I; Goofus’ Step; Santa; Phil Speaks II; West Virginian Blues; Waltz For Jerry (Last Dance); Phill Speaks III; Eclipse (69.27)
(1) Haynes (d) with Paul Smoker (t); Ellery Eskelin (ts); Andy Laster (as, bs, f); Joe Daley (tu). New York City, January 1989.
(2) Clarence “Herb” Robertson replaces Daley. NYC, 24 November 1991.
(3) John Tchicai (ts) replaces Eskelin. NYC, 13 October 1995.
Corner Store Jazz CSJ0132-134
