Paquito and Mr. Jelly Lord

On Sunday evening, I attended the world premiere of Paquito D'Rivera's Jelly Roll Morton Latin Tinge Project. With D'Rivera on clarinet, Michael Philip Mossman as arranger, musical director and trumpeter, Akua Dixon's Quartette Indigo, Curacaoan percussionist Pernell Saturnino, and dancer Matye Vicens, this remarkable concert concept produced some really excellent music, not the MOR NEA grant-type stuff that often comes out of the arts world these days. The arrangements of Morton's unusual long-form compositions were executed with fire and precision. The band really started moving with Black Bottom Stomp, executing the complex lines with ease and panache. After sustained audience applause, an obviously pleased D'Rivera said, "You should be glad you came to the second concert. We finally got our sheet together!!" Other highlights included Morton's renowned piano solo piece Finger Buster and a rousing King Porter Stomp.

I was a little worried about having a dancer on the program, picturing some tedious modern dance fluttering, but Vicens, who comes out of the flamenco tradition, was an outstanding interpreter of the music -- it was a treat to watch her react to and explicate the sounds of the band. The verdict: A+!

John Mayall: Moving On

I've been a huge fan of John Mayall's Moving On album for about 35 years. My old roommate Tom could tell you that. It was one of the albums he added to his tape system, and we played it a lot. I still have my vinyl, but it's now out on CD and well worth a listen. The liner notes have interesting comments by Mayall. Fascinatingly, although the original notes say "recorded live at the Whiskey A Go Go, Los Angeles, 10th July 1972", the real story is a little more complicated. It was recorded there originally but, according to Mayall, the tapes had a buzz that rendered the whole date unusable. He reassembled the band in the studio and recorded the whole album again, splicing in applause from the original tapes. As Mayall note wryly, "We didn't just decide to lift the audience from someone else's show, if you're wondering!"

I think this album is as good a way to get some people into jazz as Kind of Blue. With a lineup of Blue Mitchell, Clifford Solomon, Charles Owens, the legendary Fred Jackson, Ernie Watts, Freddy Robinson, and Victor Gaskin, all from the worlds of jazz and blues, plus Keef Hartley on drums, the music rocks and swings like a mother but also has moments of subtlety (check out the flute work of Charles Owens on Christmas 71). The recording culminates in a coruscating tenor solo by Ernie Watts on High Pressure Living. Blue Mitchell is superb throughout, and Freddy Robinson demonstrates his ability to play blues guitar in any setting.

You can find this CD for sale on Amazon, although I got mine via Dusty Groove, that indispensable source for obscure jazz, R & B, funk, and miscellaneous soulful sounds. For a taste of Moving On, go here.