Pianist, composer, and musical lightning rod Cecil Taylor left New York City in 1970 to spend several years in academia. Taylor was in the forefront of new Black Creative music breaking borders as he integrated numerous musical genres in his bubbling cauldron of creativity. But, for various reasons, he had played in concert in several years. John Coltrane had died in 1967, Miles Davis soon turned towards fusion, and rock music had eroded any popularity jazz had attained in the early part of the tumultuous decade. Taylor went off to teach at the University of Wisconsin and to Antioch College (in Ohio), a job that gave him to compose everyday. He returned to New York City in November 1973 and presented a concert at Town Hall –– the evening featured two performances by his quartet –– Jimmy Lyons (alto saxophone), Sirone (formerly Norris Jones, on bass), and Andrew Cyrille (drums) –– plus a tour-de-force solo piano piece.
In 1974, Taylor's Unit Core Records released "Spring of Two Blue-Js", an Lp with the two versions of the title piece (one solo, one with the quartet). Both pieces are available again on the digital-only "Cecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at The Town Hall, NYC, November 4 1973" (Oblivion Records) –– however, now one gets to hear the opening set never before released, the 88-minute "Autumn/Parade". The extensive (and fascinating) liner notes will tell you much about the people who captured the concert in its entirety, about Taylor's career, and reprints the original program. However, it's the discovery of the unreleased material that is the revelation. Taylor devotees will not be surprised by the ferocity of the music or the relentless attack of saxophonist Lyons; if one thinks only of this music assaults your ears and mind, pay attention to the quieter moments, to how the music develops from melodic statements, how the rhythm section not only supports but remains in dialogue throughout.
Photo: Fred McDarrah/Getty Images
If you listen closely to the pianist, you will hear how his propulsive lines have logic and rhythm built in that serve as the foundation for Lyons to rise above. Under headphones, one can also hear how integral Cyrille is to the music––he's not cowed by nor trying to catch up to Taylor or Lyons but is right there with them. Yes, it is overwhelming to sit through "Autumn/Parade". While there are several respites in the sonic attack, curious first-time listeners should start with "Spring of Two Blue-Js" (solo piano) moving on the Quartet version before diving into nearly relentless tsunami that is the newly discovered material.
"Cecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at The Town Hall, NYC, November 4 1973" is a truly amazing document. Think of the context. Late 1973, the Watergate Scandal is about to break into the news, the Vietnam War was 16 months away from its conclusion, and jazz had disappeared from "commercial" airwaves. Does this music reflect its time? The splintered melodies, the headlong rushes forward, the rhythmic push/pull, and the furious shouting in the center of the audio maelstrom, all add up to answer the question.
Since 2013, saxophonist and composer Javon Jackson has been the Director of the Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Division of the Hartt School at the University of Hartford (CT) as well as a Professor of Jazz saxophone. Since he started, Jackson has brought numerous Black thinkers, writers, and artists to campus including Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Angela Davis, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni (pictured with Professor Jackson). After the poet received an Honorary Degree at a campus event, they heard music playing in the auditorium by Hank Jones and Charlie Haden (a gospel piece from their 1994 collaboration "Steal Away"). The poet went home and two days later wrote to Ms. Giovanni asking of she would pick out 10 gospel tunes for his next album.
The poet complied and the results can be heard on "The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni" (Solid Jackson Records). Jackson gathered his "touring" quartet –– bassist David Williams, pianist Jeremy Manasia, and drummer McClenty Hunter –– and they recorded the repertoire suggested by Ms. Giovanni. Recognizable tunes such as "Sometimes I Fell Like a Motherless Child", "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", "Mary Had a Baby, Yes Lord", and "Wade In The Water" share space with less often recorded spirituals such as "I Opened My Mouth to the Lord" , "Lord, I Want to Be a Christian", and the deeply soulful "I've Been Buked". "Wade In The Water" features Ms, Giovanni's poem "A Very Simple Wish" (see below) spoken by Christina Green. Many of these pieces remind this listener of the ballad work of the classic John Coltrane Quartet, especially when Jackson rises above Manasia'a powerful piano chords, Williams solid, functional, bass lines, and Hunter's thoughtful yet powerful drum kit play. The Quartet does not force the music into strange places; instead, they play it fairly straight with a few delightful exceptions. "Swing Low..." takes its rhythms from Sonny Rollins classic "St. Thomas" while the album opener "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel" is a sprightly blues shuffle replete with a drum solo. The ensemble does a wonderful delivering the spirit on the ballad "I've Been Buked" while the saxophonist and pianist sans rhythm section shine on "Lord, I Want to Be a Christian".
Photo: Shaban Athuman
The one non-gospel is "Night Song"––composed by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams for the 1964 Broadway musical "Golden Boy". Sammy Davis Jr. performed the piece in the play and it was almost immediately recorded by Sara Vaughan, Andy Bey & The Bey Sisters, and by Nina Simone. Ms. Giovanni was good friends with Ms. Simone and she suggested the song for this album. Halfway through the band's performance, the poet becomes the lead singer (her recorded debut) and the song takes on even more gravitas.
During the nearly two years of the pandemic, more and more people have turned to religion and spirituality. Many people also turned to music to stave off their fears and soothe their soul. With "The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni", Javon Jackson has turned inward and interprets these songs through his love and understanding of where jazz has taken its influences. He and his fellow musicians play with soul and joy; with Nikki Giovanni's help, this album is a subtle yet swinging delight!
i want to write an image like a log-cabin quilt pattern and stretch it across all the lonely people who just don’t fit in we might make a world if i do that
i want to boil a stew with all the leftover folk whose bodies are full of empty lives we might feed a world if i do that
twice in our lives we need direction when we are young and innocent when we are old and cynical but since the old refused to discipline us we now refuse to discipline them which is a contemptuous way for us to respond to each other
i’m always surprised that it’s easier to stick a gun in someone’s face or a knife in someone’s back than to touch skin to skin anyone whom we like
i should imagine if nature holds true one day we will lose our hands since we do no work nor make any love if nature is true we shall lose our eyes since we cannot even now distinguish the good from the evil
i should imagine we shall lose our souls since we have so blatantly put them up for sale and glutted the marketplace thereby depressing the price
i wonder why we don’t love not some people way on the other side of the world with strange customs and habits not some folk from whom we were sold hundreds of years ago but people who look like us who think like us who want to love us why don’t we love them
i want to make a quilt of all the patches and find one long strong pole to lift it up
i’ve a mind to build a new world
want to play
(printed in "The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni 1968-1998" published 2007 Willam Morrow.)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment