Search - Donald Byrd, Doug Watkins :: Transition Sessions

Soulful Spots of Time

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 12/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Until recently, these three sessions were available only on Japanese reissues at 3-4 times the price. Thankfully, Capitol/Blue Note has seen fit to release all three as a reasonably-priced two-CD set. I remember the original LP's on the Transition label. Produced by a small-budget company in Boston's Harvard Square, they were issued in plain cardboard sleeves with all of the liner notes included in a booklet insert (I've got the LP's but the booklets have long since disappeared--as have the round labels, which must have been attached to the vinyl with LePage's school paste).The music is hardly groundbreaking, nor is it of the commercial hard bop/funk style frequently associated with these players, especially with Blakey and Silver. It's unpretentious, lyrical, tasteful, swinging, and soulful--as fine an example of a mainstream/modern pure blowing session as any from this era. The programming of Tiomkin's "Return to Paradise" (dig Watkins' time in synch with Kenny Burrell's guitar) was a happy inspiration, as were Byrd's ballad choices, especially "Everything Happens to Me." Some highlights:There's some irony in Byrd (then the personification of lyrical, straightahead playing if not the link between Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard) making these recordings in the shadows of Harvard University. Fifteen years later he would be recording commercial funk and disco but shortly thereafter would have a Ph.D. along with a professorial position at Howard University. Joe Gordon's trumpet serves as a nice foil to Byrd's on two memorable blues numbers, both demonstrating Gordon's more fiery and passionate, Clifford-inspired approach (admittedly, at the expense of some control). Tragically, he would die a few years later in a warehouse fire (apparently, his only shelter).Watkins anchors all three sessions with an authority that demonstrates why he was viewed by many as Paul Chambers' equal. (Catch his wonderful walking-bass solo on "Phinupi".) Tragically, he would die several years later on the road (but not before I had a chance to hear him live at Le Chat Qui Peche in Paris).Mobley, whose reputation grows with each passing year, is understated throughout but is as melodic and inventive as ever (did he ever make a bad recording?). Duke Jordan demonstrates why he was an underrated keeper of the flame even after his landmark recordings with Bird. In the 1970's I went to hear Mobley and Jordan at a session in Chicago. Hank was physically wasted and musically incoherent, making an early (forced) departure after his first number, but Duke compensated by turning in one of the strongest piano trio sets I've ever heard.Though issued now on the Blue Note label, the sessions were not recorded or mastered by Van Gelder. As a result, there's more "space" between the microphone and the musicians, which is not, in this listener's opinion, necessarily for the bad. Admittedly, I'm rating these discs five stars for personal reasons. But I can guarantee that if your musical criteria include unfettered melodic invention, a deep but unobtrusive rhythmic pulse, and the presence of "soul" as defined less by style than by spirit, you can't go wrong with this timeless music."

Rare Early Byrd

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 07/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""The Transition Sessions" is a great early look at trumpeter Donald Byrd, a player who would go on to become one of the leading jazzmen of the 1960s, before he crossed-over to more commercial fare in the 70s. It is also a great showcase for Doug Watkins, who as the bassist in the early Jazz Messengers' group, contributed immensely to forming the instrument's evolving role in hard-bop jazz. This limited edition title from Blue Note's Connoisseur Series was originally made for Tom Wilson's Transition label, which he sold to Alfred Lion prior to joining United Artists. This 2-CD set collects three Transition LPs -- Donald Byrd's "Byrd's Eye View" (12/2/55) and "Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill" (5/7/56), and Doug Watkins' "Watkins at Large" (12/8/56) -- with the common theme being that all but the second disc's last two tracks feature the playing of both Byrd and Watkins. The best date here is the first as the band is the same as the one on the classic Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia recordings on Blue Note (Watkins, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver and Art Blakey) except that Byrd replaces Kenny Dorham. Under-appreciated Boston trumpeter Joe Gordon also makes an appearance on four of the album's tracks. Simply put, this band swings! The live Watkins date is a distant second as the sound and chemistry don't quite live up to the billing of the great assemblage of musicians (Byrd and Watkins are joined by Mobley, Kenny Burrell, Duke Jordan and Art Taylor). The third date is an altogether looser affair, though not without its bright spots, featuring lesser known Boston musicians Ray Santisi and Jim Zitano. As previously mentioned, Byrd sits out two tunes (on his own session/album?!). My reason for awarding only four stars is that this collection, without question a gem for collectors, is probably only of marginal interest to those with a handful of Blue Note titles on their CD shelves, or those just discovering the label. Also, the recordings are all in mono, and while the sound is good, it is sessions like these that make you appreciate what engineer Rudy Van Gelder brings to the table. With that being said, it is great to have this rare Byrd available in the catalog, even if only for a limited time."