Search - Jaki Byard, Joe Farrell :: Last From Lennie's

Five star unsung heros!

A. K. L. | Steilacoom, WA USA | 12/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the early '60's, jazz elites thought the only place to hear cutting edge hard bop was New York, and the only significant tenor had the initials J.C. But at Lennie's On the Turnpike in West Peabody, Massachusetts, stellar spontaneous bop was exploding on April 15, 1965. These tapes stayed on the shelf for decades, which is usually a sign of second rate music or alternative takes. The session's critically acclaimed first volume ('Jaki Byard Live') has been out for years. But this one is even better, mainly because you get plenty of Joe Farrell's tenor. The previous album has several cuts where Farrell plays drums while the drummer switches to vibes.Here we have the genius of Jaki Byard, who learned from master Mingus how to be a leader. Not since 'Mingus at Antilles' (a true masterpiece) had there been a live session of such spontaneous passion, with a leader who shouts directions like a quarterback changing signals in mid-count, while each player responds to the ensemble measure by measure, laying down a counterpoint of jazz architecture that could never be written or anticipated. The exquisite drummer, Alan Dawson, who also came through the Mingus dynasty, shows here why he's among the most under-rated of masters, providing a kind of melodic percussion that is another voice in the counterpoint. Their usual bassist Steve Davis was not available on this night, so George Tucker fills in masterfully. Byard's piano incorporates the whole history of jazz, from Willy the Lion Smith's stride to Cecil Taylor's dissonant chord-clusters. As a tenor student, I find Joe Farrell to be the real revelation here. He floated into '70's fusion as part of Chick Corea's Return to Forever - when groups have names like that, you know bebop is dead!- but in the 60's Farrell was a virile tenor influenced by Sonny Rollins and Eric Dolphy. The only other tenor of the time approaching his level of energy is Rashaan Roland Kirk - who also worked with Mingus and Jaki Byard. With this session, Farrell proves himself one of the truly important tenors of serious modern jazz. I place him among the 10 great under-rated masters of the instrument*. This music is all up-tempo and edgy: there are no mellow ballad statements. Yet the music never veers outside into the frenzied chaos of much mid-60's avant garde. Due to the craftsmanship and clarity of the four musicians, each measure of sound is coherent and melodic. Jazz historians, get this one!*(The other nine would include: Bud Johnson, early Benny Golsen, Harold Land, Warne Marsh, Bill Perkins, Tina Brooks, Booker Ervin, David Murray, and Ernie Watts.)"

Pity about the piano

User | 07/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is just as good as the first reviewer says. It has everything in terms of invention, spontaneity and excitement that one could wish for. Just a pity that Lennie's didn't seem able to raise the price of a piano tuner!"