Ted
Curson's incandescent flame burns bright in this impassioned salute
to bebop, the music that inspired the trumpeter to want to play jazz.
The underrated Curson, it should be pointed out, is one of modern
jazz's true innovators. In the late 1950s, he was a key participant
in the seminal probes of avantgardist Cecil Taylor. A year later, he
and Eric Dolphy helped ignite Charlie Mingus' tempestuous upheavals.
In the mid-1970s, he led one of the era's great small groups, a
bop-based sextet at once open-ended and disciplined.
Here,
in a congenial setting with pianist Michael Cochrane, guitarist Lenny
Argese, bassist Calvin Hill, and drummer Bruce Cox, the trumpeter
flies with a brio reminiscent of Clifford Brown. Also impressive is
Curson's "voice." Even in his more abstract work, Tears for
Dolphy (1964), for instance, the trumpeter has displayed a brassy yet
warmly centered sound. It's a sonic signature that continues to serve
him well. Mixing standards like "Georgia" with originals
such as the exuberant title track, Curson declaims with a heart that
"sings." ~ by
Chuck Berg, Jazztimes.
Level
Green, 22008, 1999
Recorded,
Mixed and Mastered 11th April, 1999 at BIOYA Recording
Studios, Paterson, New Jersey
Personnel:
Ted
Curson - Trumpet
Michael
Cochrane - Piano
Lenny
Argese - Guitar
Calvin
Hill - Bass
Bruce
Cox - Drums
Track
Listing:
01.
Playhouse March {Ted Curson} (6:16)
02.
Jordu {Irving "Duke" Jordon} (6:26)
03.
Marjo {Ted Curson} (5:39)
04.
Summertime {Dubose Heyward, George Gershwin} (5:59)
05.
Sugar 'N Spice {Ted Curson} (5:50)
06.
All The Things You Are {Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern} (8:53)
07.
Tin Tin Deo {Chano Pozo} (8:09)
08.
Georgia {Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell} (7:42)
09.
Dig {Miles Davis} (7:49)
10.
Milestones {Miles Davis} (5:34)
Credits:
Producer
- Lenny Argese
Executive
Producer - James Spitznagel
Recording,
Mixing and Mastering - Lenny Argese
Photography
- James Spitznagel
Design
- Iron Design
Liner
Comments - Ted Curson
