WYNTON MARSALIS
CBS 85404 1982
Side A, Father Time 8m 10s, I'll Be There When The Time Is Right 2m 30s, R J 3m 45s, Hesitation 5m 40s
Side B, Sister Cheryl 7m 21s, Who Can I Turn To 4m 36s, Twilight 8m 37s
Wynton Marsalis (tpt) with Branford Marsalis (tnr) Kenny Kirkland (pno) Clarence Seay (bs) Jeff Watts (drs) Herbie Hancock (pno) Ron Carter (bs) Charles Fambrough (bs) Tony Williams (drs)
This was the first recording made by Wynton Marsalis under his own name. At nineteen years of age and had already spent some time in the very fertile nursery ground of "The Jazz Messengers" under Art Blakey with whom he eventually made nine albums. There is much that has been said about Wynton's stature in the jazz world, where as curator of "The Jazz At Lincoln Center" orchestra, educator and almost peerless trumpet player, he has gained, to some peoples minds a position somewhat along the lines that Duke Ellington enjoyed for much of the twentieth century. Some are content to simply enjoy the small group sound, the broad expanse of the big bands and his adventures into classical music that he has laid upon us in over two hundred recordings, including over one hundred as leader, plus of course the many live performances. The one criticism that has abounded during his forty odd years in jazz is that with his talent and expertise he has failed to push the music forwards, preferring to stay within the tried and tested styles and concepts of earlier years, albeit that he has both reproduced and contributed to these earlier forms of jazz at the very highest level.
At the time of this recording his style of trumpet playing was nothing at all like we hear today, or for that matter what we have been used to for many years. On this album from start to finish there is excitement, adventure and risk taking not unlike Miles was producing around this time. Of the seven tracks here, four feature the rhythm section, although it was of course far more than that, from the Davis second great quintet. Wynton had previously fronted these three geniuses at The Kool Jazz Festival in New York. There is however no drop in quality or depth of performance when Kenny Kirkland's trio seamlessly take over in support of the two front line horns that are present throughout. The sheer force of this whole recording is immediately apparent from the very first trumpet solo on the opener Father Time, astonishingly written by Wynton when still a teenager, it could easily have come from the Wayne Shorter songbook. Its a somewhat complex composition with busy drums from the excellent Jeff Watts and spine tingling high speed runs from the leader. The same line-up go into a brief interpretation of Herbie Hancock's I'll be There When The Time Is Right, a reflective ballad piece, full of tension with Branford on soprano. Its full steam ahead next with the "Miles" rhythm section on a rare number by Ron Carter, R.J. where there's some fine muted horn from Wynton and Tony Williams at his creative best. The same line up , but with Herbie sitting out, ends side one with another of the young leaders compositions Hesitation. Branford is back on tenor for this one, exchanging ideas with his brother, but the track really belongs to Ron Carter whose resonant fully rounded bass lines rise above all else. Kicking off side two is the Tony Williams piece Sister Cheryl which has become something of a jazz standard over the years. On this we hear Wyntons trumpet at its most precise exploring the very strong theme, Branford is languid, Herbie inventive as always and the composer himself full of verve and creativity, showing every trick in his considerable percussive armory. The choice of the penultimate track is a puzzling one, Who Can I Turn To is a rather saccharin ballad written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1964 musical "Roar Of The Greasepaint Smell Of The Crowd" Wynton plays this fairly undemanding one totally straight, there is no saxophone on this with Herbie's off center intro' being the highlight. Its back to the Kenny Kirkland led line up with Charles Famborough making his lone appearance on bass to close. Again its another fine tune crafted by Wynton, Twighlight , a piece with a highly melancholy opening from the two horns above a truly exotic backdrop from the trio before the timbre and tempo gradually rise to an almost maelstrom of classic hard bop keeping the listener riveted to their seat until the final bars.
This is an absolute gem of an album, and somewhat a forgotten masterpiece, illustrating among other things, the very different path that Wynton Marsallis could have trod.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
CBS 85404 1982
Side A, Father Time 8m 10s, I'll Be There When The Time Is Right 2m 30s, R J 3m 45s, Hesitation 5m 40s
Side B, Sister Cheryl 7m 21s, Who Can I Turn To 4m 36s, Twilight 8m 37s
Wynton Marsalis (tpt) with Branford Marsalis (tnr) Kenny Kirkland (pno) Clarence Seay (bs) Jeff Watts (drs) Herbie Hancock (pno) Ron Carter (bs) Charles Fambrough (bs) Tony Williams (drs)
This was the first recording made by Wynton Marsalis under his own name. At nineteen years of age and had already spent some time in the very fertile nursery ground of "The Jazz Messengers" under Art Blakey with whom he eventually made nine albums. There is much that has been said about Wynton's stature in the jazz world, where as curator of "The Jazz At Lincoln Center" orchestra, educator and almost peerless trumpet player, he has gained, to some peoples minds a position somewhat along the lines that Duke Ellington enjoyed for much of the twentieth century. Some are content to simply enjoy the small group sound, the broad expanse of the big bands and his adventures into classical music that he has laid upon us in over two hundred recordings, including over one hundred as leader, plus of course the many live performances. The one criticism that has abounded during his forty odd years in jazz is that with his talent and expertise he has failed to push the music forwards, preferring to stay within the tried and tested styles and concepts of earlier years, albeit that he has both reproduced and contributed to these earlier forms of jazz at the very highest level.
At the time of this recording his style of trumpet playing was nothing at all like we hear today, or for that matter what we have been used to for many years. On this album from start to finish there is excitement, adventure and risk taking not unlike Miles was producing around this time. Of the seven tracks here, four feature the rhythm section, although it was of course far more than that, from the Davis second great quintet. Wynton had previously fronted these three geniuses at The Kool Jazz Festival in New York. There is however no drop in quality or depth of performance when Kenny Kirkland's trio seamlessly take over in support of the two front line horns that are present throughout. The sheer force of this whole recording is immediately apparent from the very first trumpet solo on the opener Father Time, astonishingly written by Wynton when still a teenager, it could easily have come from the Wayne Shorter songbook. Its a somewhat complex composition with busy drums from the excellent Jeff Watts and spine tingling high speed runs from the leader. The same line-up go into a brief interpretation of Herbie Hancock's I'll be There When The Time Is Right, a reflective ballad piece, full of tension with Branford on soprano. Its full steam ahead next with the "Miles" rhythm section on a rare number by Ron Carter, R.J. where there's some fine muted horn from Wynton and Tony Williams at his creative best. The same line up , but with Herbie sitting out, ends side one with another of the young leaders compositions Hesitation. Branford is back on tenor for this one, exchanging ideas with his brother, but the track really belongs to Ron Carter whose resonant fully rounded bass lines rise above all else. Kicking off side two is the Tony Williams piece Sister Cheryl which has become something of a jazz standard over the years. On this we hear Wyntons trumpet at its most precise exploring the very strong theme, Branford is languid, Herbie inventive as always and the composer himself full of verve and creativity, showing every trick in his considerable percussive armory. The choice of the penultimate track is a puzzling one, Who Can I Turn To is a rather saccharin ballad written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1964 musical "Roar Of The Greasepaint Smell Of The Crowd" Wynton plays this fairly undemanding one totally straight, there is no saxophone on this with Herbie's off center intro' being the highlight. Its back to the Kenny Kirkland led line up with Charles Famborough making his lone appearance on bass to close. Again its another fine tune crafted by Wynton, Twighlight , a piece with a highly melancholy opening from the two horns above a truly exotic backdrop from the trio before the timbre and tempo gradually rise to an almost maelstrom of classic hard bop keeping the listener riveted to their seat until the final bars.
This is an absolute gem of an album, and somewhat a forgotten masterpiece, illustrating among other things, the very different path that Wynton Marsallis could have trod.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
