Jazz in many flavors

I’m usually no fan of jazz with strings but Plas Johnson’s bluesy lead-off in this week’s Al compás del mundo stays true to the school of Sidney Bechet meets…umm…Plas Johnson. In fact, big bands have not filled my cup of tea as a rule either, but then Duke Ellington shows me wrong with an adventuresome tune from The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse album. This recording, plus Duke’s New Orleans Suite and Anatomy of a Murder come strongly recommended for those who may have a similar aversion to polite jazz as practiced by a group of 20 musicians. Herbie Hancock dabbles in an Eastern mode and Joe Henderson, a long-time favorite, shows intelligent and beautiful writing while following the same-old, same-old recipe for jazz compositions: a chorus, repeated a second time, followed by solos for all (or most), finale same as the entrance. Still, he does it with verve and the playing never lacks a tense urgency that maintains interest. Saucy, lilting, cascading horns – descriptives that come to mind while listening to Roy Hargrove’s engaging work. Followed by the Grateful Dead?! Nope, it’s a Dead tune but rendered with a vengeance by Don Was & the Pan Detroit Ensemble – the tenor sax, especially in his solo, is weightlifter rough and ready…and there’s that vocalist again! The pace slows dramatically after that with a blues crawl by master Illinois Jacquet and (yet another!) big band number under Orrin Evans’ leadership. I prefer a quintet–septet aggregation in my general jazz listening but here we go again with a show of force and unity, all for the common good. And to finish? Arturo Sandoval does the favor with his trumpet blazing amidst stellar complements. The hour’s up? That’s enough for now. Hasta la próxima! - JH

Al compás del mundo - programa #161, 1-2-25, jazz

Run list

01 Plas Johnson – Tanya

02 Duke Ellington – Gong

03 Herbie Hancock - Here Come de Honey Man

04 Joe Henderson - Mode for Joe

05 Roy Hargrove - Strasbourg St. Denis

06 Don Was & the Pan Detroit Ensemble – Loser

07 Illinois Jacquet - Blues Funk for Bill Marlowe

08 Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band - In My Soul

09 Arturo Sandoval - Blues 88

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