Fred Anderson

I have been neglecting both this blog and my Live365 station over the last couple of months.  Well, I’m back!  This holiday weekend I have been listening to tenor man Fred Anderson.  Anderson passedaway on June 24, 2010 at the age of 81.  Only in his last years, so far as I can tell, did he do much recording. 

Blessedly, he laid down quite a bit of signal from the 1990’s to his death.  This was largely because of his association with the Chicago avant garde culture, including especially Hamid Drake and Ken Vandermark.  I first became aware of Anderson because of his presence on a DKV Trio disc (Hamid Drake, Kent Kessler, and Ken Vandermark). 

Anderson was a consummate avant garde tenor player and improviser.  He did better than almost anyone what AG does best‑cut up human passion into its constituent elements and then reassemble them into new tapestries that leave you wondering whether you ever felt anything real before.  There is a pronounced spiritual dimension to most great avant garde jazz, which ought not to be surprising.  Anderson’s work is transcendent. 

I am playing ‘By Many Names’, from Timeless (2006), with Drake on drums and Harrison Bankhead on bass.  I confess a deep affection for this kind of number: a soft, heartfelt cry repeated over and over buoys up everything else in time and space. 

‘Dark Day’ goes back to 1979.  I got it from Dark Day + Live in Verona.  Drake is on drums, with Billy Brimfield on trumpet and Steven Palmore on bass.  It is structured set of solos riding on Drake’s marvelous thunder. 

Finally there is ‘Strut Time’, a twenty minute piece on Anderson and Drake’s splendid From the River to the Ocean (2007).  Joining are Bankhead on cello, Josh Abrams on bass, and Jeff Parker on guitar.  I have to say that the cello work with guitar reminds me of Jean Luc Ponty.  Anderson’s work here will appeal to any hard bop fan.  I could listen to this thing all day. 

Oh yeah…  I added a cut from Fred Anderson & DKV Trio (1996). 

Odean Pope

Odean Pope?  Who the heck is this guy?  I had to Google ‘im to find out. 

A Philadelphia founding father of jazz saxophone, composer, arranger and educator, Odean Pope. Ephemeral is not typically what one thinks when hearing Odean Pope, described as a “tenor terror” (Jazz Times, 6/06) who is solidly grounded by marbleized harmonies and tones.

That is what his own website says, and who am I to say otherwise?  I chanced upon his entry in the latest Penguin Guide (may its pages be praised) and I was led to The Ponderer, by The Odean Pope Saxophone Choir.  Holy buckets! 

This is one of those recordings that seems to try to squeeze everything you’ve ever loved onto one cd.  From an almost Dixieland chorus to some avant garde squealing, this one has range and a richly deep vein of ore.  It mines that ore with extraordinary power.  Here’s the lineup [from Discogs]:

• Alto Saxophone [First] – Julian Pressley
• Alto Saxophone [Second] – Sam Reed
• Alto Saxophone [Third] – Byard Lancaster
• Baritone Saxophone – Joe Sudler
• Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Tyrone Brown
• Drums – Cornell Rochester
• Electric Bass – Gerald Veasley
• Piano – Eddie Green (3)
• Tenor Saxophone [First] – Bob Howell
• Tenor Saxophone [Fourth] – John Simon
• Tenor Saxophone [Second] – Glenn Guidone
• Tenor Saxophone [Third] – Middy Middleton
• Tenor Saxophone, Leader, Soloist – Odean Pope

This is very solid jazz.  Get it for your collection. 

Some Andrew Hill

I go back from time to time to Andrew Hill.  His marvelous work for Blue Note ought to be part of any jazz collector's treasure chest.  Today I acquired Pax, a fine set with the following lineup:

• Bass – Richard Davis (2)
• Cornet – Freddie Hubbard
• Drums – Joe Chambers
• Piano, Composed By – Andrew Hill
• Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson

 Anything with Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard on it is worth a listen.  There is a serious intensity to pretty much every note that Hill plays.  He insists on directing your attention to the narrative.  Everything here is good.  I am playing 'Calliope' and 'Eris'. 

I am also playing 'Refuge' from Hill's magnum opus, Point of Departure.  This ranks as one of the most important jazz recordings.  Here is the lineup:

• Alto Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy
• Bass – Richard Davis (2)
• Drums – Tony Williams*
• Piano, Written-By – Andrew Hill
• Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson
• Trumpet – Kenny Dorham

 Those are the usual suspects, along with Eric Dolphy and Tony Williams, two heroic geniuses plucked from the board obscenely early by jealous gods. 

New Stuff on Jazz Note

I have deleted a lot of numbers with very low ratings.  I can see no sense in some of the deletions, but what other guide do I have?  I am adding some more music to challenge my listeners. 

Rebus, by Ken Vandermark (sax), Joe Morris (guitar), and Luther Gray (drums) is one of those albums that caught my ear and wouldn’t let go.  It’s both raw and abstract‑all the cuts are labeled Rebus 1, Rebus 2, etc. 

I also nailed a couple of recordings by Oliver Lake.  Dedicated to Dolphy is a superb tribute to a jazz genius frequently celebrated on this blog.  Here is the Quintet:

• Bass – Belden Bullock
• Drums – Cecil Brooks*
• Piano – Charles Eubanks
• Saxophone – Oliver Lake
• Trumpet – Russel Gunn*

I am playing ‘245’, a Dolphy composition.  It is a hearty blues with a surprisingly old timey feeling. 

Also by the Oliver Lake Quintet is Talkin’ Stick.  This is a must have for your collection.  I am playing ‘Hard Blues,’ a Julius Hemphill composition.  Everything is here.  Ringing swing, avant garde digressions, hard bop energy, and amazing sax. 

• Acoustic Bass – Belden Bullock
• Alto Saxophone – Oliver Lake
• Drums – Cecil Brooks III
• Piano – Geri Allen
• Vibraphone – Jay Hoggard

I note Geri Allen on piano.  I really like her style.  I also note Jay Hoggard’s vibes.  He lends the number a soft, magic touch. 

I also have a rocking good melody by Wayne Shorter from Wayning Moments. 

• Bass – Jymie Merritt
• Drums – Marshall Thompson
• Piano – Eddie Higgins
• Tenor Saxophone – Wayne Shorter
• Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard

Trust me.  Finally I have a lyrical piece of such beauty that one can only point to it.  William Parker’s Raining on the Moon will water the driest heart.  ‘Old Tears’ is exquisite. 

• Bass – William Parker
• Drums – Hamid Drake
• Saxophone [Alto] – Rob Brown (4)
• Trumpet – Louis Barnes*