Carlos Garnett: Cosmos Nucleus (Time Traveler TT-M003)
Panama-born saxophonist Carlos Garnett moved to New York in the early 1960s, eventually becoming a part of the city’s jazz community and forging a name for himself after recognition from Freddie Hubbard. He started moving amongst the upper echelons of the music, including performing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
Cosmos Nucleus is just one of the five albums he recorded under his own name for the Muse label from 1974 to 1977 and tends to be ignored by comparison to the others. His playing here, backed by a smallish group featuring Kenny Kirkland plus an 18-piece horn section, should be regarded as solid rather than inspired on both tenor and soprano. Probably his best moments come on the metrically measured Kafira, where his commitment is palpable. A couple of the six tunes, all his own compositions, have him delivering the kind of vocals which one might expect from an instrumental specialist, with Wise Old Man clearly displaying his Panamanian roots.
The arrangements vary from piece to piece, on occasion veering towards functionality whilst sometimes displaying a modicum of inspiration. Despite the sleeve-note writer insisting the music was meant for now, rather than 1976, this aural revisit does rather place it back in the day, with Cecil McBee’s electric bass high in the mix a good proportion of the time, sitting on top of a regular drummer plus two percussionists.
This vinyl reissue is part of a plan for Time Traveler to make available a number of items from the Muse catalogue. Other issues in this batch are Roy Brooks’ The Free Slave and Kenny Barron’s Sunset To Dawn.
Pharoah Sanders: Love Is Here (Transcendence Sounds 22040 – vinyl)
Pharoah Sanders has long been associated with fellow saxophonist John Coltrane but he only became a member of Coltrane’s group in 1965, just a couple of years before Trane’s death. We are blessed with a number of recordings from their collaboration, including the still controversial Ascension, joined by Meditations and Om. Much has been made of their influence on each other, particularly with the emphasis on the spiritual aspect, not to mention their dual commitment to “free jazz”.
On this double LP, subtitled The Complete Paris 1975 ORTF Recordings, we get more than one Pharoah for the price of one, those famed dips into overblowing and multiphonics sitting comfortably with a more restrained approach, particularly on such pieces as I Want To Talk About You, where he delivers an excellent reading of a classic ballad. This is certainly not an aspect of his playing those detractors would have taken into account.
He is accompanied by pianist Danny Mixon, who also performs on pipe organ, long-time associate Calvin Hill on bass and Greg Bandy completing the line-up from the drum stool. The pianists’ efforts on that organ are dwarfed by his expansive work on his regular instrument, epitomised by the medley (including quotes and stylistic variation) that introduces Pharoah’s Blues, where the leader vocally tells us “I got the blues” and backs up the sentiment with an emotive solo.
The two Coltrane tunes, Moment’s Notice and Lazy Bird, are understandably given due respect, The Creator Has A Master Plan, Pharoah’s most famed composition, starts modestly in theme statement mode then heads for the stratosphere as the leader’s bleats and screams take over. His vocal on Love Is Everywhere is a fairly uncontrolled affair, intended to hammer home the message of its title. It’s a fitting finale much appreciated by a responsive audience who reacted positively throughout the concert. Despite the review copy seeming somewhat faulty, the exhilarating sounds did not fail to cut through. Also available on CD and reviewed by Jazz Journal.
