Bill Evans: Further Ahead, Live in Finland 1964-1969 (Elemental Records 5990451)
This Bill Evans treasure chest is yet another “discovery/recovery” by the indefatigable Zev Feldman and his colleagues. These “lost” recordings were made during Evans’ Scandinavian tours in the 1960s. There are performances in Helsinki in 1964 with bassist Chuck Israels (who replaced the deceased Scott LaFaro in 1961) and drummer Larry Bunker and in 1965 with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Alan Dawson (with special guest Lee Konitz) and at Tampere University in 1969 with long-serving bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell.
The splendid packaging includes a detailed and informative essay by Marc Myers on Evans’ Finnish concerts. An excellent and readable accompanying booklet includes Feldman’s interviews with Gomez, Morell and Israels, with concluding reflections by Gil Goldstein and Bill’s’ own thoughts on his compositional methods. Question: but what about the music? Answer (in a word): Superb.
Asked on Finnish TV which musicians had inspired him most, Evans replied that it “might be Bud Powell in jazz but I also have always felt an affinity for Impressionism, especially Debussy… but I would like to get farther ahead musically.” Goldstein suggests that when Evans played standards “he made them sound like Bill Evans compositions.” That aperçu certainly applies to the “standards” repeated in some of these public performances: Come Rain Or Come Shine, ’Round Midnight, Autumn Leaves and Nardis. It is almost invidious to select the “best” tracks on these two CDs, but the opener, How My Heart Sings, has Bill at his most impish, while a suitably reflective ’Round Midnight (with Gomez and Morell) achieves near-perfection, with the co-equals in complete accord.
Unexpectedly, Lee Konitz (on alto) joins Evans, Pedersen and Dawson on a long (8.21) version of My Melancholy Baby. All four participants acquit themselves with equal honours. Gil Goldstein observes that these performances “are very crisp”. He adds: “The players were really on target, the arrangements were very clear, and everybody was feeding into it amazingly, whatever trio formation it was.” Agreed.
Scott Hamilton: Looking Back (Stunt Records STUCD24072)
A new release by the prolific 70-year-old Scott Hamilton is to be welcomed. Looking Back is no exception – particularly as recent reports have him recovering from heart surgery in Italy, and forced to cancel a Dean Street appearance. It is intended as a tribute to some of the jazz musicians who have played significant roles in his career. These include Ruby Braff, Jimmy Rowles, Tommy Flanagan, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Roy Eldridge, Gerry Mulligan, Buddy Tate, Illinois Jacquet and Jo Jones. Accompanied by his favourite Scandinavian cohorts (pianist Jan Lundgren, bassist Hans Backenroth and drummer Kristian Leth), Hamilton remarks that “I’m lucky to have known so many of my heroes. So many, I might need to make another album or two!”
On each of the 10 tracks Scott’s warm, Websterian/Lestorian tenor breathes new life into old favourites including I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face (dedicated to Ruby Braff), The Maids of Cadiz (for Jimmy Rowles), Roy Eldridge (Rockin’ Chair) and On A Clear Day (for Jacquet and Jones). One reviewer has suggested that the recording makes Scott’s tenor “sound… a little thin and edgy, even rattly”. A recording engineer guessed that he was “closely miked”, depriving his instrument of “the low frequency weight that normally makes it so big and warm”.
My own ears (and stereo system) provide no evidence for the claim. Whatever, there is a lot to enjoy here – not only happy music but also Hamilton’s comments on his individual choices and dedications. One example: “I became friends with Jimmie [sic] [Rowles] back in the 70s… He was passionate about unusual songs that most guys didn’t play, and he coached a lot of us on how to play them.” Scott also recalls that Big Tate (his own composition) celebrates his partnership with Buddy Tate in the 70s and 80s. “We had a good act back then and made a couple of albums. Big Tate was the name of an instant mashed potato back then.” It opens with an unaccompanied Hamilton solo before the ensemble gently fits into the groove, with Leth, Backenroth and Lundgren providing rhythmic and superlative support. This is an album to enjoy and we can only hope for more in the same nostalgic vein.
Art Pepper: An Afternoon In Norway The Kongsberg Concert (Elemental Records 599042)
Recorded at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival, 28 June 1980, this is another unearthed Zev Feldman treasure. Featuring Milcho Leviev (piano), Tony Dumas (bass) and Carl Burnett (drums), it is a notable posthumous addition to Pepper’s latter-day discography. It’s impeccably presented (like all Elemental releases) and the lavish accompanying 24-page booklet contains essays by producer Feldman (with the permission of the Pepper Estate), critic Marc Meyers and interviews with Laurie Pepper, Dumas, Burnett and John Zorn, plus an interview with Art shortly before the concert.
Six of the seven compositions are by Pepper – V.I. Blues [aka Untitled #34), The Trip, Make A List, Make A Wish, Patricia, Blues For Blanche and Straight Life (also the title of his autobiography). The exception is a fast-paced and exhilarating rendition of the Juan Tizol/Duke Ellington composition Caravan. My only reservation is that on several of these tunes – most of which had been performed at Ronnie Scott’s only nights before this concert and appeared on LP/CD as Blues For The Fisherman – have an obviously tired (but engaging speaker) Pepper indulging in unseemly and inappropriate squawks and honks which detract from the form and innate appeal of the titles. But throughout, Leviev attempts to restore order and coherence to the proceedings. Dumas and Burnett also help to power the old Ducal war horse.
With the reservation mentioned above, as a card-carrying Pepperist, I will treasure and replay these recordings. Try Art’s playful Blues for Blanche (written for his cat) and join in the fun.
Lluis Coloma & ‘Blue Lou’ Marini: We Like To Groove! (Swing Alley SA 052)
Pianist Coloma and tenor, clarinet and flute player “Blue Lou” Marini are new names to me, as are Kid Carlos (guitar), Manolo German (bass) and Arno Julia (drums). On this poorly notated album the unidentified and undistinguished vocalist deserves his anonymity. There is also an unacknowledged vibes player on at least one track. Well-known in the pop world. Louis Eugene “Blue Lou” Marini was born in Charles, South Carolina in 1945 and recorded with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Rolling Stones. Born in Barcelona in 1973, Lluis Coloma early embraced rock & roll and boogie woogie. In 2003 he was acknowledged as “best Catalan musician”. He has also appeared at and organised several European jazz and blues festivals.
These uneven performances are studio versions of a 2024 gig by the band at Café Central in Madrid. After a unison opening, the title track quickly degenerates into a monotonous rock-inflected anthem. But there are some gentle renditions of original compositions by Marini (Little Louie), and a “rocking” version of Mona Lisa with Coloma, Carlos and Marini at full pelt. (The album includes three compositions by Marini and five by Lluis). Unfortunately there is little to detain jazz “buffs” on this hybrid CD. The skeletal sleeve note by Marini has a poorly worded health warning: “Be prepared for some high energy, boogie on down and get it up on music from Lluis’s great band and yours truly. We had a great time doing this, hope you dig it. Play it loud.” My advice is to stick to the real jazz.
