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Reaching for the Stars: Trios/Duos/Solos
Barnes and Noble
Reaching for the Stars: Trios/Duos/Solos
Current price: $17.99
Barnes and Noble
Reaching for the Stars: Trios/Duos/Solos
Current price: $17.99
Size: CD
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To say that Philadelphia-based pianist-composer
(1931-1980) is a fringe figure in jazz history is an understatement. During his lifetime his only recorded appearance was on 1965's
; an album featuring his compositions, it was originally to be issued under his name. A second trio album with saxophonist
and drummer
was recorded by
but went unreleased and was lost in a fire. Finally, in 2021, that changed.
issued
, the second trio set restored from a taped copy languishing in a vault for decades. Months later, the producers expanded
's piano print by releasing the double-length
offering informal recordings from 1962 to 1965 made by college friends
(co-producer with
) and saxophonist
on a portable Norelco tape recorder. Apparently, they weren't done. They unearthed 11 more tracks from the personal vaults of
and
, and released
. They solicited liner notes from pianist
.
The first half contains six tunes from a 1962 live recording in trio with bassist
-- four of these later appeared on
. While the sound is somewhat dodgy, you can hear almost everything. Opener "Almost Like Me" is driven by
' slightly angular, two-bar bassline as
runs the percussive scalar progression relentlessly before undertaking a solo. The ballad "Din-ka Street" is played at the same tempo as on the
/
set, but
' woody, hard-swinging bassline frames
's comps, accents, and solos. Unfortunately, you can't hear
until the middle eight. "Pay Not Play Not" is slower than on the 1965 album. The dialogue between
in the middle is canny, playful, and swinging. "Ad Aspera Ad Astra" was recorded for
's second
album, but it was lost. This trio's run jams together a march, a blues, and a gospel shout.
's unwavering tempo leaves room for dazzling flourishes by the pianist. Vocalist
, accompanied by
, appears on three standards. The ten-minute "Stella by Starlight" is aggressive, unrestrained, and percussive as
explores and fragments harmonies, tonal nuances, and driving dynamics. Perhaps the real set highlights are the long solo pieces. "After You've Gone" is dynamically dazzling and harmonically advanced as it juxtaposes dissonant bebop, hard bop, and even modal with cutting single lines and bass runs and accents. The closer, recorded in a women's dorm in 1962, makes use of ragtime, blues, bop,
, and
in a jaunty, slippery 4/4. While
... is not quite as consistent as its predecessors, it is an invaluable document for its solo pieces and early trio performances. ~ Thom Jurek