I couldn't let a comment to my previous Jordan post go unchallenged so I've re-upped this from the old Crypt. Never issued on CD, I was fortunate to acquire a sealed copy of this LP - so ripped from mint vinyl.Review by Brian Davis, Jazz Journal, July 1994
"This is not a blowing session ambling through a couple of standards, I Got Rhythm and a blues. As the titles show this is a challenging choice of two rarely played ballads, three compositions by other jazzmen, one by Simmons (Sad Sam which, as it happens, is the only weak track, a slowish minor-keyed thing in samba rhythm progressively losing impetus) and one, the title track, by Jordan.
This latter with a nice 'head' by Simmons (as on all others) refers to the long gone Chicago nightlife area which also housed the famed BeeHive Lounge where many NYC bebop pioneers played alongside their Chicago brethren. Simmons immediately shows his mettle jumping in as first man up with a grooving, meaty percussive solo, followed by Touff's bass trumpet. Touff has proportionately less exposure throughout than the others. His sound is pleasantly burry, resembling an abrasive toned Bob Brookmeyer; his ideas are similar but he has less to say. You're Blasé is Simmons and rhythm only and here the pianist commands attention with a beautiful loping solo.
The central interest is the two tenors. Jordan is a strong player and never less than interesting. Easily his best is his ballad feature, an expressive and sensitive reading of the one-time Gillespie big band theme, I Waited For You. Freeman's ballad choice, I'm Glad There Is You, is typical of his unconventional approach. Speech-like in delivery, his phrasing stark and effecting a wide vibrato, he achieves a maximum of drama. Sproles is a rock-solid no frills bassist and anchor man throughout, while Campbell swings lightly but a bit too politely at times.
Good to see BeeHive buzzing again and up to that label's expected high standard."
01 - Hyde Park After Dark02 - You're Blasé
03 - Lotus Blossom
04 - Sad Sam
05 - I Waited For You
06 - I'm Glad There Is You
07 - 2° East, 3° West
Clifford Jordan, Von Freeman (ts); Cy Touff (b-t); Norman Simmons (p); Victor Sproles (b); Wilbur Campbell (d). Chicago, September 5, 1981
email for link: grumpywon(a)gmail.com
ReplyDeleteA fantastic pair of recordings these by Clifford Jordan, many many thanks Grumpy!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for all you do, dear Grumpy. I'm So Glad There Is You !
ReplyDelete...and I searching for Jordan‘s On Stage 1 and 3 long time.
thank you grumpy!!...much obliged!!
ReplyDeleteHmm! Cy Tough is aboard !!Rare musician enough to allow me to ask you for the links....
ReplyDeleteWhat a great record...thank you very much for posting!
ReplyDeletethank you very much
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Grumpy !!!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Grumpy !!!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks grumpy! Like isawalight said.
ReplyDelete"Von Freeman was the architect of a sound that was at once a painful cry and a joyful shout. His sound reached deep inside one’s soul and attempted to communicate in the deep recesses of one’s spirit. It originated from the well of experiences, suffering and happiness that he lived and witnessed, and was inspired by the emotions and lives of his own heroes’ trials and tribulations. In his sound and phrasing you could hear the complete history of the saxophone in jazz. He took that complete expression to new heights and fashioned it into his own original exclamation." Chico Freeman
http://jazztimes.com/articles/76523-chico-freeman-remembers-von-freeman