Search - Art Blakey & Giants of Jazz :: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1972

One of the last of the great jam sessions.

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 09/29/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Each of these Monterey performances, released for the first time ever, is a winner, with perhaps the Miles Davis set taking first-place honors. The Blakey set should not be mistaken for another Jazz Messengers' date. It was an all-star touring group assembled by Norman Granz, featuring some of the greats of the past who would never be seen together again. Unfortunately, Dizzy Gillespie, one of the giants selected, wasn't available for this occasion, so the Monterey organizers replaced him with two trumpet legends--Roy Eldridge and Clark Terry.



I did see the group when they passed through New York and don't recall Blakey as having as prominent a role as on this date, where he does the announcing and, if anything, creates more thunderstorms behind and underneath the players than was his habit with his own groups. The bassist, Al McKibbon, is not the best player at finding a "groove" in the manner of Ray Brown, Sam Jones, or Leroy Vinnegar, but he's a hunker-down player, big and immoveable, building a cement foundation that frees up Blakey to create polyphonic solos behind the soloists.



Eldridge, as usual, gives it his all, and reaches the upper stratosphere, while Terry is smooth and liquid. Kai Winding makes the most of his spots, and Thelonious Monk, for being renowned as jazz' supreme maverick, is practically the ideal session player, quickly setting down a tempo and chord progression (in concert Db) on the frequently daunting "Stardust."



But to my ears, chief honors go to Sonny Stitt, who serves as the "invisible" musical leader on the session. His tenor solo on "Blues and Boogie" is in the pocket, accessible, logical and carefully constructed to permit the players behind him to contribute supportive riffs. He's equally melodic when he moves to alto, though now less tied to predictable riff patterns as he summons up Bird-like flights on "Round Midnight." It's clear that time is running out toward the end of "Night in Tunisia," and Stitt, rather than risking overstaying his welcome, brings the tune to an efficient, necessary end.



Granted, to many collectors the contents herein will seem quite predictable. Nonetheless, it's always a pleasure to be reminded of a music and players that we once took for granted. Jam sessions of this order just don't happen any more. In fact, they were all too rare in the '70s, when Weather Report, Return to Forever, Miles groups, and any number of electronic fusion groups had all but erased from the public's memory big bands, Bird and Diz, Jazz at the Philharmonic. The good news was that all of these great players were available for the asking, and Monterey had the presence of mind to take advantage of a moment about to fade from American consciousness altogether.



[You'll really need the entire album to appreciate this set. "Night in Tunisia" is perhaps expendable, but the downloadable tracks are primarily "filler" material between the "big" numbers. If you can afford to download only a single track, make it "Round About Midnight."]"

True Giants of Jazz

Nikica Gilic | Zagreb, Croatia | 11/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The group assembled under the label "The Giants of Jazz" should be something special and this is the case here. Since Dizzy Gillespie was unavailable, his place in this Art Blakey-lead group of great artists was taken by two other giants - Clark Terry and Roy Eldridge, which is enough to tell you what you're dealing with on this CD. Sonny Stitt, Kai Winding, Thelonious Monk and the basist Al McKibbon (the smaller among the giants) deliver some hot solos and give surprisingly harmonious interplay;

even Thelonious Monk proved that he could still be a true team player in early 1970s, without sacrificing his original quirkiness. Who's the best here? Terry, Stitt and Winding are probably the most consistent, Blakey the most uplifting, Roy the most passionate, Monk the Monkiest...

It's hard to say.



This is splendid modern/mainstream jazz, recommended to everyone. Just watch for the price (amazon is somewhat inconsistent with this one)..."