Elvin Jones Dear John C Impulse US press Ex condition G-Fold
£
23
$
30
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Description
Elvin Jones "Dear John C" Dear John C: Smoke Rings: Love Bird: Feelin' Good: Anthropology: This Love Of Mine: Fantazm Ballade: Everything Happens To Me. Revolutions have a way of creeping up on you. This LP, for instance, could never be called an avant-garde record, yet it incorporate& quite a few of the techniques that have entered jazz during the past half-a-dozen years. There is, for a start, the emancipation of the rhythm section, the way that bass and drums are no longer content to mark time but want to play tunes as well. This process began, of course, back in the fifties, and Elvin Jones has been one of the men responsible for it; when he was. with the John Coltrane Quartet he constructed what was virtually a web of sound—complex but flexible—which still gave impetus to the group. Something similar happens here, although Jones can, when he wants to, swing in the most straightforward fashion. Just asoutstanding as the drumming, though, is Richard Davis's work on bass: he is on the move all the time, picking unlikely notes, providing what is virtually a pizzicato melodic line, yet which vibrates as a pulse within the group. He really is a remarkable virtuoso. Equably as arresting is the alto saxophone playing of Charlie Mariano. Now Mariano is a man in his forties, and he wor':ed in big bands in the days when big ba:sds were stifl economically possible; but it's been only during the past few years that his playing has taken on real quiddity, that it might be said to have achieved maturity. Perhaps the first proper indication of his true stature was given by Charlie Mingus's "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady", where Mariano produced an extraordinary combination of the melodic and the intense. One gets a similar conjunction here, although Mariano seems to have moved forward yet again. There are times when his playing shows the influence of Eric Dolphy (especially in a slow piece like Smoke Rings), even—in This Love Of Mine—of Ornette Coleman. But Mariano is very much his own man and on this form he must be classed as one of the very finest alto saxophonists in jazz. Three of the tracks—Smoke Rings, This Love Of Mine and Everything Happens To Me—are played by just a trio consisting of the musicians already mentioned, and these are, as it happens, the best performances on the LP. Elsewhere a pianist is added, either Hank Jones, or Roland Hanna. Both men perform more than adequately, but the strength of the record lies in the interplay between alto sax, bass and drums. This really is a splendid LP, for technique and emotion are perfectly balanced. An added pleasure is the fact that none of the performances goes on too long. Each one seems to have the right shape and length and feel, and there is a great variety of moods, tempos and stances. Vinyl is superb looks barely played Outer gatefold is also superb EX condition Outstanding copy of this fantastic and rare LP. USA Stereo press on Impulse cat # A-88 Any questions don't hesitate to ask!
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