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JJ 01/95: Joe Zawinul – The Rise And Fall Of Third Stream

Thirty years ago Derek Ansell heard Zawinul struggle to make the classical-jazz fusion work but his feet moved to the 60s soul-jazz reprises. First published in Jazz Journal January 1995

The title is a good one because it describes, knowingly or other­wise, what happened to the jazz-classical hybrid called Third Stream. When the first seven selections were recorded Zawinul was searching for a new musical format and he was soon to co-found Weather Report. This set is altogether less successful than his later efforts because it attempts to fuse two musical cul­tures that may have a lot in com­mon but do not often weld together comfortably.

The sleevenote writer (unidentified) talks about The Fifth Canto using wide intervals to facilitate jazz improvisation. What we hear are violas and cellos bowing away in the classic European manner with trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section pulling away in their own style. It doesn’t gel and nobody sounds at ease, least of all Zawinul, busily oscillating be­tween European harmony and blues licks. Lord, Lord, Lord almost works as straight gospel music but the zig-zagging strings do not help to focus the melody. This session probably helped to consolidate the fall of Third Stream.

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Money In The Pocket is much more down to earth, a long metre blues in the Sidewinder mould – soul jazz, plain and very simple as Joe had been playing it for two years in Cannonball Adderley’s quintet. Some More Of Dat or son of Dat Dere and Del Sasser rein­force the sixties, back to the roots formula. Straight ahead but not particularly stimulating to the mind, only the feet. But I’ll take it every time in preference to the pretentious claptrap of Third Stream.

Discography
(1) Baptismal; The Soul Of A Village Part I; The Soul Of A Village Part 2; The Fifth Canto; From Vienna With Love; Lord, Lord, Lord; A Concerto Retitled; (2) Money In The Pocket; If; My One And Only Love; Midnight Mood; Some More Of Dat; Sharon’s Waltz; Riverbed; Del Sasser (73.43)
Joe Zawinul (p, elp) with (1) William Fischer (ts); Jimmy Owens (t); Alfred Brown, Selwart Clarke, Theodore Israel (vn); Kermit Moore (clo); Richard Davis (b); Roy McCurdy, Freddie Waits (d); Warren Smith (pc). NYC, October 16-21 and December 12, 1967. (2) Blue Mitchell (t); Joe Henderson, Clifford Jordan (ts); Pepper Adams (bar); Bob Cranshaw, Sam Jones (b); Roy McCurdy, Louis Hayes (d). NYC, 1965.
(Rhino Atlantic Jazz Gallery 8122-71675-2)

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