Search - Thurman Green, John Trio Hicks :: Dance of Night Creatures

Relaxed, swinging, beautifully recorded

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 01/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The folks at Mapleshade have got a good thing going.Their direct to two track analog recordings without filtering, mixing board, compression, equalization, noise reduction, multitracking, or overdubbing produce a sound of great warmth and vibrancy. It's the closest thing to being there in the studio with the band.It works perfectly for this session which unites two players (Thurman Green, trombone, and Hamiet Bluiett, baritone sax) who hadn't played together since their Army days in D.C. thirty-odd years ago. They're joined by the great John Hicks on piano, Walter Booker or Steve Novesel on bass, and Steve Williams on drums.Thurman Green was unknown to me before I heard this session. A West Coast player, he'd gigged with everyone from Benny Carter to Harold Land to Arthur Blythe to Teddy Edwards to Michel Legrand to Gerald Wilson and even Miles, with whom he played on Dingo in 1991. But what sealed the deal for me was the mention (in the liner notes) of his playing with Horace Tapscott, the late, great pianist, composer, music collective founder, and community leader. Indeed, Green includes two of his compositions, "Daughter of Cochise" and "Dem Folks," among his selections.Throughout, Green plays with great authority and a deeply spiritual sensibility. Not a lot of pyrotechnics--just gorgeous tone, deep swing, and amazing group interplay. The high point for me is the Tapscott tune, "Daughter of Cochise," a slow, mournful ballad filled with wistful sadness that features Bluiett on contrabass clarinet perfectly setting the mood for this remarkable meditation on the dignity of Native American peoples in face of their dreadful plight. But it's all good, from some very spritely and apposite original Thurman numbers ("Minor Blue," "Dance of the Night Creatures," "Lately," "Cross Currents") to Billy Strayhorn's classic "Passion Flower," to "Struttin' with Some Barbecue," here rendered with so much soulfulness that it almost makes one want to rush out to the nearest local rib joint (which the band did, after this rollicking take), to the haunting closer, Tapscott's "Dem Folks," again featuring Bluiett on contrabass clarinet.On a sad note, the leader passed shortly after this session, lending it even greater poignancy and weight. It's intriguing to me how many great sessions were recorded just before jazz artists passed. One thinks, e.g., of Stan Getz's great Ballads and Bossas, Bill Evans's two Paris Concert discs, and, ironically, in this context, Horace Tapscott's Thoughts of Dar Es Salaam.In any case, this is jazz with a beautiful spirt, brilliantly recorded and played. What more could you ask for?"