Important Music from an Important Time
Nils Young | Medway, OH USA | 07/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Back in the early 60s, I found Paul Horn's composition "Count Your Change" in the first copy of DownBeat that I ever bought. A while later, after trying to play the tune for months, I finally found the "Profiles of a Jazz Musician" LP in the local jazz record store. By this time Horn had moved on to what today is called "New Age" music with his recording in the Taj Mahal. So it's only natural that I'd jump on getting a CD of Profiles to replace the vinyl version that I can't play any more since the "high-fi" record player died.
Even better was getting another of Horn's re-issue CDs with music from that same period in his life. After all, the guy's a marvelous musician & the music on these two CDs is, by his own admission (in his book Inside Paul Horn), some of the most creative work he'd done up to the point of its original recording.
But the real prize is the quality of these remasters. You can almost hear him inhale on some of the tunes. On other ones I can hear the notes that I know are there from the sheet music but never heard on the old vinyl grooves.
This music is from a very important time in jazz. Horn & his companions explore time & melody with a breathtakingly determined & focused intellectual intensity on each of the CDs. The intensity is, of course, part of the compositions themselves. At the same time, ballads, like "Because We're Kids" or "Lazy Afternoon," show such tenderness that it's sometimes hard to believe that this group can even shift gears to something so lyrical.
Be forewarned, however: If you buy this double CD set, you must buy the CD "Something Blue." That CD, like this double set, is full of some of the most marvelous composition and improvisation to come out of an adventuresome & keenly probing time in the history of jazz. You need all three.
"
Paul horn is a jazz musician
Tjazz Inc. | California | 01/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was only vaguely familiar with Paul Horn's music - until purchasing this double album CD. I believe it is a great representation of Paul Horn's jazz chops and writing ability. I mainly purchased it for 1 song 'short politician ' for a gig. Great album - lots of varied material on it."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1