Search - Herbie Nichols :: Dr Cyclop's Dream

Nichols benefits from inflation

Geofredo | Montreal | 06/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The more people who get exposed to the kind of vision Herbie Nichols gave us, the more we can escape the Bird, Bud, Monk choke-hold that has been put on our experience. I don't say this to invite controversy, but my disdain for "canonized" jazz must be shared with a handful of believers in the music, and this record really proves it. The HNP is a very worthy ensemble of true artists, each of whom perform, write and arrange material of their own (cf. work by Michael Blake, Frank Kimbrough and Ben Allison) and who have given the demanding tunes of Nichols a wider set of sounds to galvanize. Hopefully some of you reading this will have some familiarity with his probing melodies and uniquely developed compositions, but the HNP have even been so ambitious as to tackle unheard songs taken from the private archives and giving us the Nichols that "may have been". Work such as "Bartok", "Swan Song", and the title track all impress me deeply as being firmly in the mold, yet they also benefit from being exposed for the first time to contemporary ears, and indeed they sound as modern as the hour. Favourites such as "It Didn't Happen" and "Beyond Recall" are given sweeping, vivid arrangements and the solos throughout the album are compelling. Their first album was blessing enough on a burned-out jazz audience, but now that Palmetto is due to release their third album in October 2001, this can only be considered an embarassment of riches. Support this and save yourself!"