Ornette Coleman - 1959 [1992] "Change Of The Century"

Change of the Century is an album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, released on Atlantic Records in May 1960. It sold very well from soon after its release. Recording sessions for the album took place on October 8 and 9, 1959, in New York City.

The second album by Ornette Coleman's legendary quartet featuring Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins, Change of the Century is every bit the equal of the monumental The Shape of Jazz to Come, showcasing a group that was growing ever more confident in its revolutionary approach and the chemistry in the bandmembers' interplay. When Coleman concentrates on melody, his main themes are catchier, and when the pieces emphasize group interaction, the improvisation is freer. Two of Coleman's most memorable classic compositions are here in their original forms -- "Ramblin'" has all the swing and swagger of the blues, and "Una Muy Bonita" is oddly disjointed, its theme stopping and starting in totally unexpected places; both secure their themes to stable, pedal-point bass figures. The more outside group improv pieces are frequently just as fascinating; "Free," for example, features a double-tongued line that races up and down in free time before giving way to the ensemble's totally spontaneous inventions. The title cut is a frantic, way-out mélange of cascading lines that nearly trip over themselves, brief stabs of notes in the lead voices, and jarringly angular intervals -- it must have infuriated purists who couldn't even stomach Coleman's catchiest tunes. Coleman was frequently disparaged for not displaying the same mastery of instrumental technique and harmonic vocabulary as his predecessors, but his aesthetic prized feeling and expression above all that anyway. Maybe that's why Change of the Century bursts with such tremendous urgency and exuberance -- Coleman was hitting his stride and finally letting out all the ideas and emotions that had previously been constrained by tradition. That vitality makes it an absolutely essential purchase and, like The Shape of Jazz to Come, some of the most brilliant work of Coleman's career.

Change Of The Century was an audacious album title, to say the least. On his second Atlantic release—and second with his most like-minded ensemble (trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins)—alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman pushed the freedom principal farther. At the same time, he looked backward too for inspiration. Having eliminated the piano on his Contemporary release, Tomorrow Is The Question! (1959), Coleman opened up wide improvisational opportunities. On that recording, he and his "freedom principle" remained partially inhibited by the presence of traditionalist bassist Percy Heath and drummer Shelly Manne, who resisted coloring outside of the lines as Coleman was attempting to do. But that was not so on The Shape Of Jazz To Come (Atlantic, 1959) and Change Of The Century. While the rhythm section continued to provide enough cohesive swing to propel matters, Coleman and Cherry stretched the melodic boundaries without the previous harmonic anchors.

Change of the Century is compelling in its embrace of contrasts. "Ramblin'" is funky organic, almost early rock and roll. Haden plucks and strums his way through a fractured 12-bar format that never fully resolves itself into the comfort of the anticipated. Coleman's solo over Haden's support is bar-walking rhythm and blues, lowdown and dirty, smelling of beer and Lucky Strikes. Cherry plays his famous pocket trumpet, sounding closer to Lee Morgan than anyone else, squeezing out hard bop lines like sparks from a metal lathe. Haden solos using the figures he has supported the whole piece with. His intonation is middle-of-the-note, relaxed and slightly wooden. "Ramblin'" retains an erstwhile harmonic structure, albeit only barely.

The head of "Free" is an odd premonition for composer/saxophonist Oliver Nelson's "Hoedown" from The Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!, 1961), passing through an ascending and descending blues figure. Haden is rock solid throughout, even when the solo-going gets ragged and frayed. Higgins' accents are as potent as pepper, shoring up the edges of chaos on the briskly-timed piece. "The Face Of Bass" gives prominence to Haden while at the same time sounding strangely traditional for an album entitled Change of the Century. But it is a facade. Coleman encourages a careful abandon in the piece's overall structure and arrangement. Cherry pops on his solo, sometimes sounding like Freddie Hubbard, sometimes, Art Farmer.

"Forerunner" pretends that it is bebop, with a serpentine head and a deft drum break by Higgins. Coleman's solo is inspired, quenched in gospel and the blues. His tonal expanse is as big as his native Texas, informed by the many great tenor saxophone players from that state. Cherry emerges assertive, playing with swagger and attitude. So well constructed and delivered is his solo that it is easy to forget that a move toward a freer musical system is in the works. Haden remains stalwart in time-keeping, shepherding everything between the rhythmic ditches. The same can be said for the Charlie Parker-inspired "Bird Food," which is surveyed at a fast clip over a complex note pattern.

"Una Muy Bonita" is only passing Latin, with pianist Thelonious Monk phrasing and side- winding playing. Haden sets up a familiar clave beat with strummed chords. Coleman stages the piece to more insinuate a Latin vibe than to actually play one. After a lengthy introduction, Cherry solos muted, allowing himself a broad swath over which to play. The disc's closer, the title tune, was the most fully-realized "free jazz" at that point from Coleman. It is a wild phantasm of notes that are to "free jazz" what trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop" was for that virtuosic genre. It is a clarion call played on impulse. Yes, finally things are really beginning to come apart at the seams, properly foreshadowing Free Jazz: A Group Improvisation (Atlantic, 1961). Coleman has fully gained his traction and is now ready.

Track listing:         

   Ramblin'               6:34
   Free                   6:20
   The Face Of The Bass      6:53
   Forerunner             5:13
   Bird Food              5:25
   Una Muy Bonita         5:51
   Change Of The Century  4:41

Personnel:

    Ornette Coleman — alto saxophone
    Don Cherry — pocket trumpet
    Charlie Haden — bass
    Billy Higgins — drums

Scott Henderson - 2015 "Vibe Station"

 

Guitarist Scott Henderson is one of a select few artists who raised jazz fusion from the embers in the 80s, namely with the band, Tribal Tech. Indeed, this unit proffered a much needed uplift via a far-reaching perspective and armed with a torrential improvisational credo on numerous fronts. Since then, the guitarist has performed with other high-flying units but as a solo artist, he often kicks out the jazz rock, fusion and blues rock jams within the power trio format. Henderson's searing wizardry is vividly perceptible on Vibe Station, as he often converses with himself by modulating distortion-based tones on his electric guitar and by creating a polychromatic aural feast with variable currents and intensity levels.

Henderson wreaks havoc on his guitar amid howling bottleneck notes, multihued chord voicings and ungodly hype-mode licks atop the rhythm section's slamming grooves and agile progressions. He often harmonizes with bassist Travis Carlton and during a variety of movements the trio summons an Armageddon with supple and heightening choruses within the prog-metal domain.

The title track "Vibe Station," is centered on jazz and funk motifs, countered by the leader's gravelly phrasings, blazing runs and shock-therapy type cadenzas. Henderson uses an electric sitar or perhaps some electronics-based sampling process on the humming and buzzing jazz fusion fest "Manic Carpet," abetted by his fervent call and response dialogue with drummer Alan Hertz during the bridge. And the jazz influences resurface with a Thelonious Monk-like primary theme and prickly bop lines on "The Covered Head," as the band surges into a lofty and tempestuous improv segment, revved up by Henderson's caustic shadings, weeping breakouts and supersonic single note riffs.

"Dew Wot?" is another piece where the tide shifts and momentum builds upon a twirling and shuffling cadence, seguing into a hot n' nasty blues rock foray, contrasted with knotty time signatures, used as a passageway into an interminable abyss. Ultimately, Vibe Station should be deemed essential listening for Henderson's legion of admirers, along with curious students and others not thoroughly acquainted with his formidable legacy.

Following on the heels of his amazing “HBC” trio with bassist Jeff Berlin and drummer Dennis Chambers, guitarist Scott Henderson returns with his 5th solo project, “Vibe Station”, exhibiting “elements of jazz, rock & blues, but has a bigger variety of textures and tones. The new all instrumental CD features bassist Travis Carlton (son of Larry) & drummer extraordinaire Alan Hertz. Henderson speaks of the new work as the most challenging project of his career.

Says Henderson, “I’m really excited about this record because our trio has been touring a lot and that energy came through on all the performances. The music is still blues-based, but also has a lot of harmonic content. The big change is no vocals, which challenged me as a guitarist to write material which can be played in a vocal way on the guitar, while incorporating my own chord-melody style. I think fans will enjoy the scope of this record because it has elements of blues, rock, jazz and funk. There’s something for everyone here.”

Henderson also said that the majority of the songs are layered with multi guitar tracks, utilizing many different guitars, pedals, amps and speaker combinations, making it the most textural and versatile sounding album he’s ever done. Travis Carlton on bass and Alan Hertz on drums make this project and live show very much groove-based.

Says Henderson, “I need to see people moving in their seats. I’m not interested on putting on an intellectual show for musicians only. I don’t believe I need to dumb down the music to appeal to people who aren’t musicians, because when Travis and Alan play together, the groove is going to attack you whether you’re a musician or not”.

Henderson’s impressive work over the years as co-leader of the group TRIBAL TECH, leader of his own ground breaking trio, and sideman to some of the best jazz artists of their generation, including the great Joe Zawinul, has elevated him to the front ranks of both Jazz and Blues. Besides being a world class player and premier composer, Henderson’s trademark is his beautiful tone and striking ability to blend Blues, Rock, Funk, and Jazz, creating a soulful and unique voice on the guitar.”

Track listing:

 01 Church of Xotic Dance - 7:20
 02 Sphinx - 8:59  
 03 Vibe Station - 7:10
 04 Manic Carpet - 7:25
 05 Calhoun - 8:42
 06 The Covered Head - 6:56
 07 Festival of Ghosts - 8:40
 08 Dew Wut? - 6:59
 09 Chelsea Bridge - 5:41

Personnel:

Scott Henderson: Guitar
Travis Carlton: Bass
Alan Hertz: Drums

Joe Farrell - 1973 [2018] "Penny Arcade" - 1974 [2018] "Upon This Rock" - 1975 [2018] "Canned Funk"

Joe Farrell - 1973 [2018] Penny Arcade

Joe Farrell gained his greatest fame with his popular string of CTI recordings. For this set, he performs three of his originals (none of which caught on), guitarist Joe Beck's "Penny Arcade," and a 13-minute version of Stevie Wonder's "Too High." Farrell (heard on tenor, soprano, flute and piccolo) is in excellent form, as are keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Beck, bassist Herb Bushler, drummer Steve Gadd and Don Alias on conga. As is true of his other CTI sets, this Joe Farrell effort expertly mixes together some slightly commercial elements and superior recording quality with strong solos.

Penny Arcade is a jazz album by Joe Farrell on the CTI Records label. It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in October 1973

Track listing:
Side one

    "Penny Arcade" (Joe Beck) – 4:45
    "Too High" (Stevie Wonder) – 13:15

Side two

    "Hurricane Jane" (Joe Farrell) – 4:25
    "Cloud Cream" (Joe Farrell) – 6:15
    "Geo Blue" (Joe Farrell) – 7:30

Personnel

    Joe Farrell – tenor and soprano sax, flute, piccolo
    Herbie Hancock – piano
    Joe Beck – guitar
    Steve Gadd- drums
    Herb Bushler – bass
    Don Alias – conga


Joe Farrell - 1974 [2018] Upon This Rock

Upon This Rock is an album by Joe Farrell released in 1974.

In 2008 it returned to media attention when Farrell's daughter sued Kanye West, Method Man, Redman, Common and their respective record companies over alleged sampling of the title track.

As one might guess from the album's title, this Joe Farrell date is a bit rock-oriented in places. Guitarist Joe Beck is the co-star, and Farrell (who switches between tenor, soprano and flute) is also joined by bassist Herb Bushler and drummer Jim Madison; "I Won't Be Back" has Farrell, Beck and Bushler joined by keyboardist Herbie Hancock, drummer Steve Gadd and the conga of Don Alias.

Track listing:

Side one

    "Weathervane" (Joe Farrell) – 8:00
    "I Won't Be Back" (Joe Beck) – 10:05

Side two

    "Upon This Rock " (Joe Farrell) – 11:54
    "Seven Seas" (Joe Beck) – 6:50

Personnel

    Joe Farrell – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
    Herb Bushler – bass
    Joe Beck – guitar
    Jimmy Madison – drums
    Steve Gadd – drums (on "I Won't Be Back")
    Herbie Hancock – piano (on "I Won't Be Back")
    Don Alias – conga (on "I Won't Be Back")


Joe Farrell - 1974 [2011] Canned Funk:

Joe Farrell's final of six CTI dates has fairly lengthy versions of four of his originals. Farrell, who adds baritone to his usual trio of instruments (tenor, soprano and flute), once again welcomes guitarist Joe Beck as his co-star, along with bassist Herb Bushler, drummer Jim Madison and percussionist Ray Mantilla. The music is melodic, sometimes funky, and enjoyable if not essential, but all of Joe Farrell's CTI sets are worth acquiring.  

 Canned Funk is a jazz album by Joe Farrell for CTI Records. It was recorded at Van Gelder Studios November and December 1974. The album was released in 1975.

Track listing
Side one

    "Canned Funk" (Joe Farrell) – 7:20
    "Animal" (Farrell) – 9:55

Side two

    "Suite Martinique" (Farrell) – 9:03
    "Spoken Silence" (Farrell) – 7:43

Personnel

    Joe Farrell – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute
    Herb Bushler – bass
    Joe Beck – guitar
    Jim Madison – drums
    Ray Mantilla – conga, percussion

Weather Report - 1978 [1991] "Mr. Gone"

 

Mr. Gone is the eighth studio album by jazz fusion band Weather Report released in 1978 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

As the group was still looking for a drummer following the departure of Alex Acuña, outside drummers Tony Williams and Steve Gadd appear along with Peter Erskine, who would become Acuña's replacement. Singers Deniece Williams and Maurice White also appear on the track "And Then." The Pastorius-penned "Punk Jazz" was later the title of a posthumous compilation of Jaco Pastorius's music.

The record became a center of controversy when DownBeat magazine gave it a one-star review. Zawinul went on to deliver a furious response to this review during a later interview.

On Mr. Gone, Weather Report becomes merely a cover name for a Joe Zawinul/Jaco Pastorius jazz/rock/funk record production, with several guest drummers (Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, Peter Erskine), no resident percussionist, and Wayne Shorter as a still-potent solo saxophone threat. This album was denounced in its time as a sellout, probably on the reputation of Jaco's pulsating "River People," which is as close as WR ever came to outright disco. But there is lots of diversity and adventure here, as the creative core of the band uses the latest electronics to push out the boundaries of sound while maintaining tight control over structure. "The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat" is quintessential Zawinul; the Third World-centered groove is everything, no chord changes to impede this rush of layered electronics, percussion, and voices. Shorter's spare "The Elders" flirts with the electronic avant-garde and he retrofits his Miles Davis-era "Pinocchio" in rapid-fire electro-acoustic garb. In other words, the multi-flavored WR stew continues to cook at a fine boil.

Mr. Gone is one of those recordings which causes debate among fans of Weather Report and Jaco. The album features two Jaco compositions, including “River People” and “Punk Jazz”. Jaco elaborated about “River People” during an interview with the BBC’s Clive Williamson: “I have a tune, ‘River People’, and I wanted a certain kind of feel, so I decided to play drums on it. We were in a transformation period, I broke my right wrist and we had some time off, and just Joe and I were in the studio. So we did ‘River People’ that way, building the tune up on the spot. It was all written out, so all Joe had to do was play his parts, and I played mine, and it just all gelled together, and I did some overdubs. In fact, we played the bass parts together ‘coz he got this synth sound, sort of a little twang, almost like a little guitar on the top, with my bass rolling on the bottom. So we just played to the click track, and I went back and overdubbed the drums with that, as opposed to ‘Teen Town’ where I played the drums first, and overdubbed the bass part afterwards.”

Track listing:

01  "The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat" (Zawinul) 5:03
02  "River People" (Pastorius) 4:50
03  "Young and Fine" (Zawinul) 6:55
04  "The Elders" (Shorter, arranged by Zawinul) 4:21
05  "Mr. Gone" (Zawinul) 5:26
06  "Punk Jazz" (Pastorius) 5:09
07  "Pinocchio" (Shorter) 2:26
08  "And Then" (music - Zawinul, lyrics - Sam Guest) 3:22

Personnel:

    Joe Zawinul - modified Rhodes 88 electric piano, acoustic piano, two ARP 2600 synthesizers, Oberheim Polyphonic synthesizer, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and Mu-Tron Volume Wah effects, kalimba, thumbeki drums, sleigh bells, melodica, high hat, vocals (tracks 1 and 5)
    Wayne Shorter - tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, vocals (track 1)
    Jaco Pastorius - bass, drums (tracks 1 and 2), timpani (track 2), vocals (tracks 1, 2, and 6)
    Peter Erskine - drums (tracks 1 and 7), hi hat (track 3), vocals (track 1)

Additional musicians

    Tony Williams - drums (tracks 5 and 6)
    Steve Gadd - drums (tracks 3 and 8)
    Manolo Badrena - vocal solo (track 1)
    Jon Lucien - vocals (track 1)
    Deniece Williams - vocals (track 8)
    Maurice White - vocals (track 8)

Steve Vai - 1996 "Fire Garden"

 Fire Garden is the fourth studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on September 17, 1996 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 106 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for two weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in three other countries.

As described by Vai in the liner notes, Fire Garden is a concept album divided into two "phases": "Phase 1" comprises tracks 1–9 and is entirely instrumental (with the exception of Devin Townsend's backwards vocals on "Whookam" and some more vocals toward the end of "Fire Garden Suite"), while "Phase 2", the remainder of the album, features Vai on vocals on every song except the instrumental "Warm Regards". Fire Garden was intended to be a double album, but during mastering Vai heard about the new 80-minute CD format (instead of 74 for a standard CD), which meant that both sides were able to fit onto a single disc.

"Dyin' Day" was co-written by Ozzy Osbourne during the writing sessions for Osbourne's 1995 album Ozzmosis. Another song from those sessions, "My Little Man", made its way onto Ozzmosis and is credited on that album as being co-written by Vai.

A recent acquisition and boy does Vai and crew deliver the goods here. All bases are covered : from all out dazzling heavy rock, to funky , to soulful, to clever. Hey complex yet emotional touching so many bases that to not have this part instrumental part song based cd would be too rob yourself of a genuinely exhilarating rock / great music thrill. Steve Via known to many for his guitar pyrotechnics yes but until now I didn t realise his excellent song writing abilities teaming up here with equally talented team of players. Fire Garden is the equal I think to much acclaimed Passion and Warfare, slightly less heavy rock than that lp, better songs and more variety. Stand outs for me is the 10 minute suite Eastern influenced title track, the rollicking Little Alligators and soulful Bother amongst several others.

Fire Garden is beautiful, rocking, dazzling and premier league music. Yeah its that good.

Track listing:

All tracks are written by Steve Vai, except where noted.

"Phase 1"No.    Title    Length
1.    "There's a Fire in the House"    5:26
2.    "The Crying Machine"    4:50
3.    "Dyin' Day" (Vai, Ozzy Osbourne)    4:29
4.    "Whookam"    0:36
5.    "Blowfish"    4:03
6.    "The Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover"    1:02
7.    "Hand on Heart"    5:25
8.    "Bangkok" (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Tim Rice)    2:46
9.    "Fire Garden Suite"
          "Bull Whip"
          "Pusa Road"
          "Angel Food"
          "Taurus Bulba"  9:56

"Phase 2"No.    Title    Length
10.    "Deepness"    0:47
11.    "Little Alligator"    6:12
12.    "All About Eve"    4:38
13.    "Aching Hunger"    4:45
14.    "Brother"    5:04
15.    "Damn You"    4:31
16.    "When I Was a Little Boy"    1:18
17.    "Genocide"    4:11
18.    "Warm Regards"    4:06

Total length:    74:05

Personnel:

    Steve Vai – lead vocals, guitar, all other instrumentation (except where noted), arrangement, engineering, production
    Devin Townsend – lead vocals (tracks 4, 9)
    Will Riley – keyboard (track 14)
    John Avila – bass (track 2)
    Stuart Hamm – bass (track 3)
    Fabrizio Gossi – bass (track 14)
    Chris Frazier – drums (track 1)
    Greg Bissonette – drums (track 2)
    Deen Castronovo – drums (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 15)
    Mike Mangini – drums (tracks 8, 9)
    Robin DiMaggio – drums (track 14)
    C.C. White – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    Tracee Lewis – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    Miroslava Mendoza Escriba – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    Kimberly Evans – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    John Sombrotto – background vocals (track 17)
    Mark McCrite – background vocals (track 17)
    Jim Altan – background vocals (track 17)
    Julian Vai – spoken vocals – track (18)

Ornette Coleman - 1960 "Free Jazz"

 

Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation is the sixth album by jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, released on Atlantic Records in 1961, his fourth for the label. Its title established the name of the then-nascent free jazz movement. The recording session took place on December 21, 1960, at A&R Studios in New York City. The sole outtake from the album session, "First Take," was later released on the 1971 compilation Twins.

The music is a continuous free improvisation with only a few brief pre-determined sections. The music was recorded in one single “take” with no overdubbing or editing.

The album features what Coleman called a “double quartet,” i.e., two self-contained jazz quartets, each with two wind instruments and each with a rhythm section consisting of bass and drums. The two quartets are heard in separate channels with Coleman’s regular group in the left channel and the second quartet in the right.

The two quartets play simultaneously with the two rhythm sections providing a dense rhythmic foundation over which the wind players either solo or provide freeform commentaries that often turn into full-scale collective improvisation interspersed with pre-determined composed passages. The composed thematic material can be considered a series of brief, dissonant fanfares for the horns which serve as interludes between solos. Not least among the album's achievements was that it was the first album-length improvisation, nearly forty minutes, which was unheard of at the time.

The original LP package incorporated Jackson Pollock's 1954 painting The White Light.[10] The cover was a gatefold with a cutout window in the lower right corner allowing a glimpse of the painting; opening the cover revealed the full artwork, along with liner notes by critic Martin Williams. Coleman was a fan of Pollock as well as a painter, and his 1966 LP The Empty Foxhole features Coleman's own artwork.

In the January 18, 1962 issue of Down Beat magazine, in a special review titled "Double View of a Double Quartet," Pete Welding awarded the album Five Stars while John A. Tynan rated it No Stars.

The album was identified by Chris Kelsey in his Allmusic essay "Free Jazz: A Subjective History" as one of the 20 Essential Free Jazz albums. It served as the blueprint for later large-ensemble free jazz recordings such as Ascension by John Coltrane and Machine Gun by Peter Brötzmann.

On March 3, 1998, Free Jazz was reissued on compact disc by Rhino Records as part of its Atlantic 50 series. The "Free Jazz" track, split into two sections for each side of the LP, appeared here in continuous uninterrupted form, along with a bonus track of the previously issued "First Take."

Track Listing:

1 Free Jazz 31:07
2 First Take 17:03

Personnel:

Left channel

    Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
    Don Cherry – pocket trumpet
    Scott LaFaro – bass
    Billy Higgins – drums

Right channel

    Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet
    Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
    Charlie Haden – bass
    Ed Blackwell – drums

John Mclaughlin, Jaco Pastorious, Tony Williams - 1979 [2007] "Trio Of Doom"

 

The Trio of Doom was a short-lived jazz fusion power trio consisting of John McLaughlin on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. They were brought together by Columbia Records in 1979 to play the Havana Jam festival in Cuba alongside Billy Joel, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and others.

They were named by Pastorius. He had earlier called his bass the "Bass of Doom," because of its growling sound.

Their only live performance was on March 3, 1979, and it is recorded on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.

On March 8, 1979, the group reconvened in New York City to record the songs they had played live, but a dispute broke out between Pastorius and Williams that ended the trio.

Recorded at the 1979 Havana Jazz Festival, this short and powerful set, with Miles Davis alumni, drummer Tony Williams and guitarist John McLaughlin, and Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius, was one for the ages. The previously unreleased selections, one through five, are explosive, but mis-miked live tracks. Williams’ "Drum Improvisation" segues into McLaughlin’s fuzz-toned "Dark Prince," which does not swing in a silent way. Pastorious’ theme song "Continuum" is scaled down to its essential twilight textures, while the drummer’s "Para Oriente" - which later became a stable in V.S.O.P’s book, and was recast as "Angel Street" – is rendered here in a funky, pre-grunge mode. The guitarist’s "Are You the One, Are You the One?" previews the jam band craze. The rest of the cuts were recorded a week later in a New York studio, But the warts-and-all original sides are unmatched for their primal power.

Certainly the potential of a recording by this trio featuring guitarist John McLaughlin and drummer Tony Williams (both members of Lifetime with organist Larry Young) along with bassist Jaco Pastorius -- aka the Trio of Doom -- is enormous. This compilation contains a performance of the trio at the Havana Jam in 1979, a U.S. State Department-sponsored cultural tour by a large number of American musicians who played on the same stage as Cuban aces. The band rehearsed and had about 25 minutes on the stage.

Five days after leaving Cuba, the band reconvened in a New York City studio and recut most of the tracks. The studio versions (cuts six, seven, and ten) were released on a pair of various-artists compilations from the Cuban concert. McLaughlin felt at the time that the live performances were unusable because of Pastorius' playing. He relates the details in brief in the liner notes by Bill Milkowski. What this means, of course, is that out of ten cuts here, seven have never been released before. That said, the sum total of all the music that the group cut together is a little less than 40 minutes. From this, the opening drum solo by Williams takes up nearly three, and 20 seconds is of an alternate take of the drummer's "Para Oriente."

But this is not a dodgy rip simply assembled to make money from the stuff of myth. Well, it is designed to make money from myth, but there is some seriously intense music here. For starters, Williams' drum solo that opens the album is to die for. There is no excess, no showing off -- only an intense orgy of rhythm. When McLaughlin and Pastorius join him, the crowd must have gone crazy because he shifts nonstop into the guitarist's composition "Dark Prince." While his solo is overdriven, distorted, and rangy, full of angles and twists and turns, Jaco's playing on the head, and in taking the tune out, is solid.

Perhaps at the time this didn't seem up to snuff, but it's hard to hear that based on the disc. The entire band is engaged with focused attention, ascending scalar and harmonic peaks together for its six and a half minutes. It is followed by a beautiful ballad by Pastorius called "Continuum," which appeared on his self-titled solo debut for Columbia. It's a gorgeous and deeply melodic ballad, and the bassist's playing is intensely soulful and lyrical. McLaughlin's chord shadings and voicings are not only supportive, they bring weight and depth, as does the beautiful hi-hat work of Williams. (Speaking of which, on "Dark Prince" and elsewhere, it's obvious that Williams is the true inventor of the blastbeat, not some generic heavy metal drummer.

To hear his incessant bass drum and chronic cymbal-and-snare workouts is inspiring.) "Are You the One, Are You the One?," written by McLaughlin, closes the live set, and it's a funky, kinetic, and knotty jam with Williams playing breaks as well as pummeling the toms to get the funk up out of the thing. Pastorius' groove is incessant, even when he is matching the guitarist note for contrapuntal note. That's the good news. The studio versions of these cuts may "sound" better technically -- mostly due to the amplification and balance given the drum kit -- but they lack the raw edginess of the live sides. Still, fans of the fusion era, and those interested in any of these personas, will be much edified by what is found here. If only there were more of it.

An album was released on June 26, 2007, on Legacy Recordings, containing five tracks from Havana Jam and five recorded in the studio.

Tracklist

   01 "Drum Improvisation" (Tony Williams) – 2:46
   02 "Dark Prince" (John McLaughlin) – 6:36
   03 "Continuum" (Jaco Pastorius) – 5:11
   04 "Para Oriente" (Tony Williams) – 5:42
   05 "Are You the One? Are You the One?" (John McLaughlin) – 4:51
   06 "Dark Prince (live)" (John McLaughlin) – 4:11
   07 "Continuum" (Jaco Pastorius) – 3:49
   08 "Para Oriente" (alternate take one) (Tony Williams) – 1:05
   09 "Para Oriente" (alternate take two) (Tony Williams) – 0:20
   10 "Para Oriente" (Tony Williams) – 5:28

Tracks 1–5 were recorded on 3 March 1979, at the Karl Marx Theater, Havana, Cuba. Tracks 6–10 were recorded on 8 March 1979, at CBS Studios, New York.

Personnel:

John Mclaughlin - guitar
Jaco Pastorius - Bass
Tony Williams - Drums