In the 1970s, Germany's Radio Bremen simulcast a series of modern jazz
concerts from all across the spectrum, and wisely archived them. Record
producer
Consul Bodo Jacoby
was looking for a new project after losing the rights to reissue the
MPS catalog and recalled them. His Promising Music label is issuing a
number of these vintage performances in what he calls the Livelove
series, of which
January 1975 is the first volume. This date, captured via mobile truck by the engineers of the radio station, features
Larry Coryell & the Eleventh House in full flight, between the band's debut album
Introducing the Eleventh House and its sophomore offering,
Level One. It is the lineup from the latter record performing here. Trumpeter
Michael Lawrence replaces
Randy Brecker, and bassist
John Lee takes over from
Danny Trifan. Keyboardist
Mike Mandel and drummer
Alphonse Mouzon are mainstays with
Coryell.
While this is most certainly jazz rock fusion, it is decidedly more on
the jazz tip than most of what falls under the heading.
Lawrence's trumpet and
Coryell's
guitar consistently cover the front line of compositions such as
"Eleventh House Blues" which, despite the wah-wah blues-rock intro,
walks a tough bop line. The sprawling "The Other Side" uses a tight head
and middle eight before moving off into the galactic regions of fusion.
Ballads such as "Diedra" showcase the kind of detailed lyricism this
quintet was capable of. "Julie La Belle" is an unaccompanied acoustic
guitar solo that reveals the depth of the influence Brazilian and
Spanish masters have had in
Coryell's style. But there are also tracks that flaunt their rock dynamics such as the brooding "Low Lee Tah," which erupts with
Lawrence's bleating solo halfway through before being answered in call and response by
Coryell on the highwire.
Mandel's
Rhodes playing on "Suite (Entrance/Repose/Exit)" is the unexpected
anchor here, creating space as well as harmonic and chromatic intrigue.
The rhythm section doesn't so much hold down the fray as push it forward
into white heat -- check
Lee's intense conversation with
Lawrence at the midpoint before
Coryell reenters.
Mouzon is on fire throughout. This is a stunning show, on par with anything by
Mahavishnu Orchestra or
Return to Forever; more rooted in jazz. If
January 1975 is any indication of the performance quality of this vault series, there is much to celebrate.
Guitarist
Larry Coryell
is unquestionably one of the pioneers of jazz/rock fusion,
incorporating rock elements as early as the mid-1960s with the group
Free Spirits, and later with vibraphonist
Gary Burton. He never attained the recognition of many who followed, but the
Eleventh House was an attempt to attract the same audience as groups like
John McLaughlin's
Mahavishnu Orchestra,
Weather Report, and
Chick Corea's
Return to Forever. The Eleventh House that played Bremen in 1975 was the same group that had recorded the group's second studio album
Level One (Arista, 1975), with trumpeter
Mike Lawrence replacing
Randy Brecker and bassist
John Lee replacing Danny Trifan. Original members keyboardist Mike Mandel and drummer
Alphonse Mouzon (as well as Coryell himself) were still on board.
The set includes five tunes from
Introducing the Eleventh House (Vanguard, 1974), three from
Level One, a single track from Coryell's album
The Restful Mind (Vanguard, 1975), and three that were previously unrecorded. Two of them later turned up on the live album
At Montreux
(Vanguard, 1978). The band comes charging in with the high energy "Bird
Fingers," but then takes a surprising mellow turn. Mike Mandel's ballad
"Diedra" is followed by "Gratitude "A So Low,"" the first of two
Coryell solo performances (as well as the first of the punning song
titles).
"Low Lee Tah" continues with Coryell alone, but the
band kicks back in before long. Alphonse Mouzon's "Funky Waltz" bears a
very strong resemblance to Weather Report's "Boogie Woogie Waltz."
Mouzon had left Weather Report long before they recorded it, so maybe
it's a coincidence—and it is indeed a funky waltz. Coryell plays "Julie
La Belle" (from
The Restful Mind) unaccompanied, throwing in a quote from "Scotland I," originally recorded on the proto-Eleventh House album
Offering (Vanguard, 1972).
Keyboardist
Mike Mandel also gets a solo spot for his tune "Untitled Thoughts."
Then the whole group jumps into "Adam Smasher," and they absolutely
rock out.
Of all the fusion guitarists of this era, Coryell is the one with the
strongest flavor of pure American rock and roll guitar in his playing,
when he wants it. This tune also encapsulates the difference between
these live versions and the studio originals. They're only slightly
longer, for the most part—so the musicians aren't stretching out
significantly—but the energy level is ramped way up.
There's a
wonderful quote in the CD booklet from an audience member, just as the
second song was starting: "You have to play even louder." This was a
band that loved to do the stereotypical loud and fast fusion thing, but
even in this outdoor concert setting they weren't afraid to mix it up.
They were also more of a collective than the other leading fusion
groups, with compositional input from most of the members.
They
were a group that deserved wider recognition—as does Larry Coryell
himself—and this live recording makes a strong case. If you were there,
it's a fine souvenir. If you weren't, it's a potent reminder of how
vibrant early fusion could be, before it became overwhelmed by cliche
and excess.
Really great work from Larry Coryell and his Eleventh House combo – a
set that's maybe even harder and funkier than we remember from any of
the group's studio work! The performance was caught live by German
radio in the mid 70s – and is a wonderfully-recorded date that has the
guitar of Larry Coryell coming out with all these amazing fuzzy tones,
next to killer keyboard work from Mike Mandel – who really wins us all
over again with is work here! Coryell's got lots of sinister tones in
his guitar, but is never too rockish – and the rest of the group
features Mike Lawrence on trumpet, John Lee on bass, and Alfonse Mouzon
on some mighty heavy drums – on titles that include "Julie La Belle",
"The Other Side", "Bird Fingers", "Diedra", "Low Lee Tah", "Funky
Waltz", and "Adam Smasher".
When in 1975 Larry Coryell went on tour with his short-lived all-star
group The Eleventh House, the jazz-rock scene had just reached its
climax. Although Larry is considered by many historians to be one of the
first to melt jazz with rock, he never entered the rostrum as winner
(one could guess, that his 'mistake' was not to be in any of the Miles
Davis groups). With this recording this might change in retrospect. Very
few acts of that era were that powerful. Hymns, simple hit melodies,
funk grooves, blues rock guitar, 70ies synth sounds, and a lot of fun
and entertainment were the ingredients of a concert evening to be
remembered. The material chosen was like 'The Best of the Eleventh
House'. While many other fusion protagonists with a jazz background used
rock, blues, and funk elements, thinking this might make their music
more accessible (some slipping towards easy listening, others were just
unable to create a rock feeling), Larry Coryell & the Eleventh House
used all these styles at well-balanced eye level.
Track Listing:
01 Bird Fingers;
02 Diedra;
03 Gratitude "A So Low";
04 Low
Lee Tah;
05 Funky Waltz;
06 Suite (Entrance / Repose / Exit);
07 Julie la Belle;
08 The Other Side;
09 Tamari;
10 Untitled Thoughts;
11 Adam Smasher;
12 The Eleventh
House Blues.
Personnel:
Larry Coryell: guitar;
Mike Lawrence: trumpet,
flugelhorn;
Mike Mandel: keyboards;
John Lee: bass guitar;
Alphonse
Mouzon: drums.
