Search - Red Mitchell, Harold Quintet Land :: Hear Ye

Red In The Land Of Harold

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 02/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The small indie Koch label has rescued another jazz gem from the vaults at Atlantic Records! "Hear Ye!," the 1961 "debut" recording from the Red Mitchell-Harold Land Quintet (both the bassist and tenor saxophonist were seasoned veterans of the recording studio independently) also features pianist Frank Strazzeri, drummer Leon Petties and the brilliant, under-recognized trumpeter Carmell Jones. (Carmell made invaluable contributions to the classic albums "The Blues Book" by Booker Ervin, and "Song For My Father" by Horace Silver.) The album's eight tracks consist of six originals -- two by Land (the disc's best in my opinion), two by Mitchell (including the spirited title track), and one each by Jones and Strazzeri -- and two standards. While "Hear Ye!" may not quite rank up there with Land's "The Fox" or "West Coast Blues" (see my reviews), it is a remarkable session that deserved to see the light of day on CD much earlier than the 21st Century."

Good session, iffy audio

Zoot | New England | 05/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First rate West Coast hard bop session, with fiery contributions by Land and Jones, two very under-rated musicians. While the bitrate is shown at 256, the sound is rather thin for me at least, and the audio balance is a bit out of - well - balance. On Somara, Strazzeri sounds like he's playing a spinet in another room; on Catacomb, Jones' solo following Land is barely audible at the outset. It may be the source material rather than the rip, which is unusual for Atlantic.



Edit: I listened again on another system and the audio was considerably better. Apparently, an issue with my main computer audio, not with the files."

West Coast Radiance!

Wayne Dawson | New Zealand | 11/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here we go again, another sizzlin' performance by one of the greatest catalysts in jazz. It has now become abundantly clear that the legendary bands of Clifford Brown/Max Roach and The Curtis Counce Group owe their mythic mantle very much to the involvement of Harold Land. Tragically short their comet brilliance was, the phoenix genius of Harold Land kept the trail blazing with recordings under his own name and Hear Ye is another fine example of how he inspired others, while continuing to advance a progressive, assertive, hard hitting swing that bubbles over like quickly poured champagne!



So the rest of this excellent unit includes Carmell Jones on trumpet, Frank Strazzeri on piano and Leon Petties on drums. Of the eight tracks two are by Land, two by Mitchell (who sounds fabulously funky) and one by Jones. By now Land's reputation was such that `Carmell had come out to the coast primarily to work with Harold; he dug him that much'; his warm, bright sound has a little of Miles Davis and plenty of Clifford Brown, adding to an ever growing roll call of top trumpeters eager to face the challenges of such a demanding tenor player. Shortly before this date it was Kenny Dorham's turn in New York with Eastward Ho!



Tight and polished, these are swinging musical lines in the grand, intricate manner of bop that Harold enjoys pulling out of shape with his rhythm and blues influences, whilst maintaining immaculate pitch. The burnished enthusiasm of Carmell Jones is with him all the way. As fresh and vital now as then, the HDCD remastering is just great!

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