ARCHIE SHEPP- Montreux One
Freedom Records FLP 41027 Recorded 1975
Archie Shepp (tnr), Charles Majid Greenlee (trom), Dave Burrell (pno), Cameron Brown (bs), Beaver Harris (drs)
Side A) Lush Life 12m 10s, U-Jamma 10m 22s.
Side B) Crucificado 11m 43s, Miss Toni 11m 57s.
This is one of two sets from the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival by the Archie Shepp Quintet recorded on July 18th of that year. The record label "Freedom" was a small Houston based short lived venture lasting only a couple of years under their various masters including Arista and Liberty. They did however produce some great albums with cutting edge jazz stars such as Albert Ayler, Ted Curson, Anthony Braxton, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago and many others. At the time Archie Shepp himself was at a crossroads in his musical life and persona, transitioning from a radical free form stance of his earliest recordings to something a little lighter but with no less impact and recording almost one hundred albums to date, mostly under his own leadership. When he did play as a sideman, his most telling contributions were on five albums with pianist Cecil Taylor during nineteen sixty and sixty one, and perhaps his most unfortunate experience was making a number of cuts with John Coltrane for the seminal "Love Supreme " album of sixty four that were omitted from the recording. Now aged 82 he is rightly regarded within the highest echelons of modern creative tenor saxophonists.
For the Montreux date the band was completed by the Detroit trombonist Charles Majid Greenlee, who had previously spent time with Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter, alongside the fine pianist and composer Dave Burrell. Thirty year old Cameron Brown, who was later to become a cornerstone of the highly successful George Adams/ Don Pullen Quartet was on bass with avant-garde specialist Beaver Harris at the drums. The set commenced with one of the great jazz standards Lush Life written in the mid thirties by master composer and Duke Ellington's right hand man Billy Strayhorn. Shepp opens up in total solo mode, just hinting and teasing at the theme for some time, before the full glory of this masterpiece emerges, first with Dave Burrell's piano supporting the saxophone, followed by strong lines from bass man Brown and exquisite brush work from Beaver Harris. By this point the saxophone is exploring all the outer corners of the piece but still using the main theme occasionally as a reference point. It was like poetry set to music. Eventually the leader finally gives way to his front line partner Charles Majid Greenlee. It must have been an unenviable task for the trombonist, but he nailed it completely, his sound was soulful and blue, full of new angles and ideas but only referencing the theme from time to time. The piano trio briefly take over, they are crisp and coherent, totally in touch with what has gone before, the climax arrives as the leader returns for one more investigation, this time using the whole range of the tenor before a reprise of the central melody brings the magnificent performance to a close. The festival crowd were ecstatic, why wouldn't they be?
After such drama, could it be matched? was a fair question. Not quite was the answer, but in no way was it an anti climax due to standard of playing and pure invention of the five musicians on stage. Things continued with the Archie Shepp original U-Jama, an up tempo piece kicked off by the trombone with almost finger busting support from Cameron Brown's bass. The whole thing romps along at breakneck speed with the horns locked in animated conversation. The empathy between them is at the highest level, its ideal festival fare, the crowd go wild yet again. The lovely balled Crucificado by pianist Dave Burrell starts side two, its a very strong melody but played in a style akin to hard bop rather than any sense of freedom. The middle section carries a fine restrained trombone solo over rolling drums, the leader joins in, and the mood changes yet again with his Getz like approach, overall its a stunning piece once again appreciated in full by the knowledgeable Montreux crowd. Miss Toni by Charles Majid Greenlee closes the album, this one is taken at a much higher tempo, but once again the original melody is strong, the horn exchanges dominate but the highlight is the considered and centering interlude from the piano. Bass and drums also get their chance to shine before the final reprise of the melody. This disc is a great listen from start to finish, dominated by the sheer splendour of the opening track. well received by the American critics of the time, they say that Montreux Two, is just as good. I must try to hunt down a copy!
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
This review is in regard to the original vinyl LP.
It was also released by Freedom Records as a CD and is available on various digital media platforms.
Freedom Records FLP 41027 Recorded 1975
Archie Shepp (tnr), Charles Majid Greenlee (trom), Dave Burrell (pno), Cameron Brown (bs), Beaver Harris (drs)
Side A) Lush Life 12m 10s, U-Jamma 10m 22s.
Side B) Crucificado 11m 43s, Miss Toni 11m 57s.
This is one of two sets from the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival by the Archie Shepp Quintet recorded on July 18th of that year. The record label "Freedom" was a small Houston based short lived venture lasting only a couple of years under their various masters including Arista and Liberty. They did however produce some great albums with cutting edge jazz stars such as Albert Ayler, Ted Curson, Anthony Braxton, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago and many others. At the time Archie Shepp himself was at a crossroads in his musical life and persona, transitioning from a radical free form stance of his earliest recordings to something a little lighter but with no less impact and recording almost one hundred albums to date, mostly under his own leadership. When he did play as a sideman, his most telling contributions were on five albums with pianist Cecil Taylor during nineteen sixty and sixty one, and perhaps his most unfortunate experience was making a number of cuts with John Coltrane for the seminal "Love Supreme " album of sixty four that were omitted from the recording. Now aged 82 he is rightly regarded within the highest echelons of modern creative tenor saxophonists.
For the Montreux date the band was completed by the Detroit trombonist Charles Majid Greenlee, who had previously spent time with Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter, alongside the fine pianist and composer Dave Burrell. Thirty year old Cameron Brown, who was later to become a cornerstone of the highly successful George Adams/ Don Pullen Quartet was on bass with avant-garde specialist Beaver Harris at the drums. The set commenced with one of the great jazz standards Lush Life written in the mid thirties by master composer and Duke Ellington's right hand man Billy Strayhorn. Shepp opens up in total solo mode, just hinting and teasing at the theme for some time, before the full glory of this masterpiece emerges, first with Dave Burrell's piano supporting the saxophone, followed by strong lines from bass man Brown and exquisite brush work from Beaver Harris. By this point the saxophone is exploring all the outer corners of the piece but still using the main theme occasionally as a reference point. It was like poetry set to music. Eventually the leader finally gives way to his front line partner Charles Majid Greenlee. It must have been an unenviable task for the trombonist, but he nailed it completely, his sound was soulful and blue, full of new angles and ideas but only referencing the theme from time to time. The piano trio briefly take over, they are crisp and coherent, totally in touch with what has gone before, the climax arrives as the leader returns for one more investigation, this time using the whole range of the tenor before a reprise of the central melody brings the magnificent performance to a close. The festival crowd were ecstatic, why wouldn't they be?
After such drama, could it be matched? was a fair question. Not quite was the answer, but in no way was it an anti climax due to standard of playing and pure invention of the five musicians on stage. Things continued with the Archie Shepp original U-Jama, an up tempo piece kicked off by the trombone with almost finger busting support from Cameron Brown's bass. The whole thing romps along at breakneck speed with the horns locked in animated conversation. The empathy between them is at the highest level, its ideal festival fare, the crowd go wild yet again. The lovely balled Crucificado by pianist Dave Burrell starts side two, its a very strong melody but played in a style akin to hard bop rather than any sense of freedom. The middle section carries a fine restrained trombone solo over rolling drums, the leader joins in, and the mood changes yet again with his Getz like approach, overall its a stunning piece once again appreciated in full by the knowledgeable Montreux crowd. Miss Toni by Charles Majid Greenlee closes the album, this one is taken at a much higher tempo, but once again the original melody is strong, the horn exchanges dominate but the highlight is the considered and centering interlude from the piano. Bass and drums also get their chance to shine before the final reprise of the melody. This disc is a great listen from start to finish, dominated by the sheer splendour of the opening track. well received by the American critics of the time, they say that Montreux Two, is just as good. I must try to hunt down a copy!
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
This review is in regard to the original vinyl LP.
It was also released by Freedom Records as a CD and is available on various digital media platforms.
