JAM: June/July 2001 Issue: For the Record

Karrin Allyson
BALLADS -- REMEMBERING JOHN COLTRANE
Concord Jazz
CCD-4950-2

Personnel: Karrin Allyson, vocals; James Williams, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Lewis Nash, drums; James Carter, tenor sax; Bob Berg, tenor sax; Steve Wilson, soprano sax

Tracks: Say It (Over and Over Again); You Don't Know What Love Is; Too Young to Go Steady; All or Nothing at All; I Wish I knew; What's New; It's Easy to Remember; Nancy (With the Laughing Face); Naima; Why Was I Born?; Everytime We Say Goodbye

Recorded November 6, 7, 8 & 12, 2000 at Sound on Sound, New York City; engineer Josiah Gluck.

If you worried that Concord might be nudging the extraordinary Ms. Allyson off the jazz sphere to "broaden" her appeal -- as one could infer from some recent efforts -- fear not. This lovely tribute to Coltrane, perhaps not as adventurous as Cassandra Wilson's tribute to Miles, keeps both feet planted firmly on jazz turf and teams her with three very heavy hitters, the visiting saxmen who take turns on different tunes.

The disc tracks the eight original songs on Coltrane's classic 1962 Ballads album -- one that made some of us wonder (foolishly) whether Impulse was trying to commercialize the tenor giant. It then adds three more ballads identified with him, including his best-known original, "Naima," featuring a poignant, almost eerie vocalise rendering of the theme by Allyson with Carter against a piano-bass drone, followed by the best sequence of solos on the disc, though she takes no scat solo herself.

Carter, who plays a jagged, forceful solo on "Naima," is relatively restrained on his outings, no longer, apparently, finding it necessary to recite the complete history of the world on every take. He's especially powerful on "All or Nothing at All," played at a faster than usual tempo with a pronounced Afro-Cuban beat -- true to Trane's unusual original arrangement. Allyson takes a neat scat vocal on the track after her authoritative reading of the lyrics. She remains one of our most musicianly vocal improvisers, hitting just the right intervals when she sings a variation, staying consistently in tune.

Despite her move to wicked New York, she still has that fresh, unaffected, young-girl sound. It's most evident on the totally believable "Too Young to Go Steady," but present even when she's caressing the lyrics of mature heartbreak, as in "What's New?" -- my favorite track. She goofs, however, on the words to "I Wish I Knew," transposing the line "only you can answer" to "you can only answer," thereby demolishing the meaning -- surprising for a singer who ordinarily pays so much heed to lyrics and their interpretation.

But for the most part, she pays attention and makes every word count. Listen to what she does to the word "kiss" in successive choruses on "You Don't Know What love Is," with Berg's throaty, plaintive statement in between; listen to her make "Everytime" her own, boosted by Wilson's sinuous lines. Williams' support throughout is superb, his breaks consistently tasty. You can listen over and over again.

-- Don Rose

Max Groove
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY
Orpheus Music

Personnel: Max Groove, piano, keyboards, bass, drum programming; Max Berry, acoustic & electric guitars; Aaron Simcox, saxophone, flute; Paul Greenlease, bass; Pete Cole, drums; C. Jaisson Taylor, percussion, drums; Denny Osburn, lap steel guitar; Robert Owens, percussion ("Eleuthera," "Old Friends," "Would You Mind"); Dave Jenkins, percussion ("This I Promise You," "Ten Bay")

Tracks: It's a Beautiful Day; This I Promise You; Chameleon Eyes; Eleuthera; Dreaming; Another Farewell; Palmetto Avenue; Old Friends; Friends Again; Ten Bay; Would You Mind

Recorded and mixed Dec. 2000, Jan.-Feb. 2001 at Berry Music Group,
Olathe, KS; engineers: Max Groove, Lynn Allred, Max Berry and Dave Jenkins.

The last time KC's Max Groove made some noise on the charts was with Maximum Groove in 1990. His latest, It's a Beautiful Day, should put an end to the drought.

The kick-off title track fits comfortably into the Jim Brickman category, both in sound and performance. Max has been working more with the acoustic grand lately (his '99 release, Solo, featured grand piano exclusively) and he puts the instrument to good use here. With an assist from guitarist Max Berry, this is the type of song that, with lasting hook and strong melody, remains stuck in your head after just one playing.

I've always felt that Max Groove's strong suit was his writing. His compositional skills really shine on It's A Beautiful Day, especially on "Palmetto Avenue," one of the best originals to be found on any of Groove's ten albums. Saxophonist Aaron Simcox shares the spotlight here, as does Berry. It's another track with a memorable hook and it also tells a pretty story.

The same can be said of "Old Friends" with its prominent sax work and recurring theme. On this, as well as on "Friends Again," Max shows improved technique and touch from previous releases as both he and Berry stretch.

If you've followed Max Groove from his first recording, City People, through the recent Solo, you'll know all about his familiar style and unique originality. It's a Beautiful Day is a continuation of that tradition and I recommend it.

-- Jeff Charney

Preston Love
OMAHA BLUES
mexie-L records 100

Personnel: Preston Love, alto, tenor saxophones, vocals; Orville Johnson, piano; Nate Mickels, bass; Gary E. Foster, drums; Portia Love, Ansar Muhammad, vocals; Jon Hildenstein, guitar; Bill Erickson, piano ("Swingin' the Blues"); John Kotchain, bass ("How Deep Is the Ocean?")

Tracks: Omaha Blues; When Sunny Gets Blue; Swingin' the Blues; What's New; Satin Doll; Stormy Weather; Sophisticated Lady; When You Know, You Know; How Deep Is the Ocean?; (Bonus track) Preston's Christmas Potpourri Blues

Recorded March 22 & July 17, 2000 at Ware House Productions, Omaha, NE; Tom Ware, Jim Homan, engineers.

In 1985, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based musician and garage band aficionado named Bart Becker published a delightful little book titled 'Til the Cows Come Home -- Rock 'n' Roll Nebraska. The book is an encyclopedia of musicians and bands from Nebraska. In addition to entries for internationally known stars such as Ruth Etting, Buddy Miles, Victor Lewis, Zager and Evans, and regional favorites like Charlie Burton, The Coachmen, The Rumbles, and The Fabulous Flippers, it also covered no-hit wonders like The Hydraulic Bananas, Cocktail Shorty and the Tablerockers, The Uncalled Four, and The Kopi Katz. The average text per entry is two column inches. Preston Love got seven pages. He deserves even more.

Born in 1921, Preston Love has been a professional sideman and saxophone balladeer since the heyday of the Big Band Era. He was a member of Count Basie's band throughout most of the 1940s. And before that, he was with the territory bands of Lloyd Hunter and Nat Towles, and with the more widely known bands of Snub Mosley, Fats Waller, and Lucky Millinder. He has backed vocalists of such renown as Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Wynonie Harris and Billie Holiday, and in the 1950s he played with his childhood friend Johnny Otis, with whom he had several hits, many of which are considered the beginnings of rock and roll.

In the 1960s Mr. Love moved to California and, in addition to becoming the consummate studio man, became the West Coast bandleader for Motown and its stable of stars, including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Four Tops, and The Temptations. He also was a member of the bands of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Isaac Hayes, and participated in hundreds, if not thousands, of recording sessions with artists that spanned the spectrum, from T-Bone Walker and Esther Phillips, to Frank Zappa, Sonny & Cher and Janis Joplin. Much more than just a member of the band, Mr. Love was often the musical director for these artists, which shows how highly they regarded not only his musicianship, but also his professionalism and leadership. He returned to Omaha, his home town, in 1971, and has used it for his base of operations ever since.

In addition to the Who's Who of American Musicians Of The Last Sixty Years that Mr. Love has supported, he has also led and recorded with a number of his own bands. Although I'm not familiar with those bands, the group that appears with him on Omaha Blues is particularly good, and provides an excellent surrounding for Mr. Love's strong sound.

The CD opens with the title track, a blues as easy as a bend in the Platte River and as smoky as midwestern barbecue, a sound as clean and full as the Nebraska summer sky. My favorite cut is Count Basie's classic "Swingin' the Blues," on which Love replicates the whole sax section, overdubbing two altos and two tenors. The remainder of the album is just as fine, either swinging hard, as on the rhythm and bebop number "When You Know, You Know," or swaying low, as in the many beautiful classic ballads, such as "When Sunny Gets Blue," and "Stormy Weather," featuring Mr. Love on vocals, where he displays as much range as on his alto and tenor saxophones. Given the great vocalists that Mr. Love has accompanied in his career, it is not surprising that the three who appear on this recording -- his daughter Portia Love, Ansar Muhammad, and Mr. Love himself -- display great talent for finding and revealing the subtle beauties in the songs they sing.

But the highlight of the CD is Mr. Love's playing. This is a man who is full of music -- eight decades of it -- and it's still strong and fresh. It's a joy to hear it released on this recording. Omaha may not have quite the musical history of Kansas City, but it is home to a genuine musical legend in Preston Love. This recording is a fitting tribute to that legend.

-- Gregg Ottinger

(Note: Preston Love is also the author of A Thousand Honey Creeks Later: My Life in Music from Basie to Motown, published by the University Press of New England in 1997.)

RETURN TO JUNE/JULY 2001 MAIN INDEX

© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		Karrin Allyson BALLADS -- REMEMBERING JOHN COLTRANE Concord Jazz CCD-4950-2 Personnel: Karrin Allyson, vocals; James Williams, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Lewis Nash, drums; James Carter, tenor sax; Bob Berg, tenor sax; Steve Wilson, soprano sax Tracks: Say It (Over and Over Again); You Don't Know What Love Is; Too Young to Go Steady; All or Nothing at All; I Wish I knew; What's New; It's Easy to Remember; Nancy (With the Laughing Face); Naima; Why Was I Born?; Everytime We Say Goodbye Recorded November 6, 7, 8 & 12, 2000 at Sound on Sound, New York City; engineer Josiah Gluck. If you worried that Concord might be nudging the extraordinary Ms. Allyson off the jazz sphere to "broaden" her appeal -- as one could infer from some recent efforts -- fear not. This lovely tribute to Coltrane, perhaps not as adventurous as Cassandra Wilson's tribute to Miles, keeps both feet planted firmly on jazz turf and teams her with three very heavy hitters, the visiting saxmen who take turns on different tunes. The disc tracks the eight original songs on Coltrane's classic 1962 Ballads album -- one that made some of us wonder (foolishly) whether Impulse was trying to commercialize the tenor giant. It then adds three more ballads identified with him, including his best-known original, "Naima," featuring a poignant, almost eerie vocalise rendering of the theme by Allyson with Carter against a piano-bass drone, followed by the best sequence of solos on the disc, though she takes no scat solo herself. Carter, who plays a jagged, forceful solo on "Naima," is relatively restrained on his outings, no longer, apparently, finding it necessary to recite the complete history of the world on every take. He's especially powerful on "All or Nothing at All," played at a faster than usual tempo with a pronounced Afro-Cuban beat -- true to Trane's unusual original arrangement. Allyson takes a neat scat vocal on the track after her authoritative reading of the lyrics. She remains one of our most musicianly vocal improvisers, hitting just the right intervals when she sings a variation, staying consistently in tune. Despite her move to wicked New York, she still has that fresh, unaffected, young-girl sound. It's most evident on the totally believable "Too Young to Go Steady," but present even when she's caressing the lyrics of mature heartbreak, as in "What's New?" -- my favorite track. She goofs, however, on the words to "I Wish I Knew," transposing the line "only you can answer" to "you can only answer," thereby demolishing the meaning -- surprising for a singer who ordinarily pays so much heed to lyrics and their interpretation. But for the most part, she pays attention and makes every word count. Listen to what she does to the word "kiss" in successive choruses on "You Don't Know What love Is," with Berg's throaty, plaintive statement in between; listen to her make "Everytime" her own, boosted by Wilson's sinuous lines. Williams' support throughout is superb, his breaks consistently tasty. You can listen over and over again. -- Don Rose Max Groove IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY Orpheus Music Personnel: Max Groove, piano, keyboards, bass, drum programming; Max Berry, acoustic & electric guitars; Aaron Simcox, saxophone, flute; Paul Greenlease, bass; Pete Cole, drums; C. Jaisson Taylor, percussion, drums; Denny Osburn, lap steel guitar; Robert Owens, percussion ("Eleuthera," "Old Friends," "Would You Mind"); Dave Jenkins, percussion ("This I Promise You," "Ten Bay") Tracks: It's a Beautiful Day; This I Promise You; Chameleon Eyes; Eleuthera; Dreaming; Another Farewell; Palmetto Avenue; Old Friends; Friends Again; Ten Bay; Would You Mind Recorded and mixed Dec. 2000, Jan.-Feb. 2001 at Berry Music Group, Olathe, KS; engineers: Max Groove, Lynn Allred, Max Berry and Dave Jenkins. The last time KC's Max Groove made some noise on the charts was with Maximum Groove in 1990. His latest, It's a Beautiful Day, should put an end to the drought. The kick-off title track fits comfortably into the Jim Brickman category, both in sound and performance. Max has been working more with the acoustic grand lately (his '99 release, Solo, featured grand piano exclusively) and he puts the instrument to good use here. With an assist from guitarist Max Berry, this is the type of song that, with lasting hook and strong melody, remains stuck in your head after just one playing. I've always felt that Max Groove's strong suit was his writing. His compositional skills really shine on It's A Beautiful Day, especially on "Palmetto Avenue," one of the best originals to be found on any of Groove's ten albums. Saxophonist Aaron Simcox shares the spotlight here, as does Berry. It's another track with a memorable hook and it also tells a pretty story. The same can be said of "Old Friends" with its prominent sax work and recurring theme. On this, as well as on "Friends Again," Max shows improved technique and touch from previous releases as both he and Berry stretch. If you've followed Max Groove from his first recording, City People, through the recent Solo, you'll know all about his familiar style and unique originality. It's a Beautiful Day is a continuation of that tradition and I recommend it. -- Jeff Charney Preston Love OMAHA BLUES mexie-L records 100 Personnel: Preston Love, alto, tenor saxophones, vocals; Orville Johnson, piano; Nate Mickels, bass; Gary E. Foster, drums; Portia Love, Ansar Muhammad, vocals; Jon Hildenstein, guitar; Bill Erickson, piano ("Swingin' the Blues"); John Kotchain, bass ("How Deep Is the Ocean?") Tracks: Omaha Blues; When Sunny Gets Blue; Swingin' the Blues; What's New; Satin Doll; Stormy Weather; Sophisticated Lady; When You Know, You Know; How Deep Is the Ocean?; (Bonus track) Preston's Christmas Potpourri Blues Recorded March 22 & July 17, 2000 at Ware House Productions, Omaha, NE; Tom Ware, Jim Homan, engineers. In 1985, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based musician and garage band aficionado named Bart Becker published a delightful little book titled 'Til the Cows Come Home -- Rock 'n' Roll Nebraska. The book is an encyclopedia of musicians and bands from Nebraska. In addition to entries for internationally known stars such as Ruth Etting, Buddy Miles, Victor Lewis, Zager and Evans, and regional favorites like Charlie Burton, The Coachmen, The Rumbles, and The Fabulous Flippers, it also covered no-hit wonders like The Hydraulic Bananas, Cocktail Shorty and the Tablerockers, The Uncalled Four, and The Kopi Katz. The average text per entry is two column inches. Preston Love got seven pages. He deserves even more. Born in 1921, Preston Love has been a professional sideman and saxophone balladeer since the heyday of the Big Band Era. He was a member of Count Basie's band throughout most of the 1940s. And before that, he was with the territory bands of Lloyd Hunter and Nat Towles, and with the more widely known bands of Snub Mosley, Fats Waller, and Lucky Millinder. He has backed vocalists of such renown as Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Wynonie Harris and Billie Holiday, and in the 1950s he played with his childhood friend Johnny Otis, with whom he had several hits, many of which are considered the beginnings of rock and roll. In the 1960s Mr. Love moved to California and, in addition to becoming the consummate studio man, became the West Coast bandleader for Motown and its stable of stars, including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Four Tops, and The Temptations. He also was a member of the bands of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Isaac Hayes, and participated in hundreds, if not thousands, of recording sessions with artists that spanned the spectrum, from T-Bone Walker and Esther Phillips, to Frank Zappa, Sonny & Cher and Janis Joplin. Much more than just a member of the band, Mr. Love was often the musical director for these artists, which shows how highly they regarded not only his musicianship, but also his professionalism and leadership. He returned to Omaha, his home town, in 1971, and has used it for his base of operations ever since. In addition to the Who's Who of American Musicians Of The Last Sixty Years that Mr. Love has supported, he has also led and recorded with a number of his own bands. Although I'm not familiar with those bands, the group that appears with him on Omaha Blues is particularly good, and provides an excellent surrounding for Mr. Love's strong sound. The CD opens with the title track, a blues as easy as a bend in the Platte River and as smoky as midwestern barbecue, a sound as clean and full as the Nebraska summer sky. My favorite cut is Count Basie's classic "Swingin' the Blues," on which Love replicates the whole sax section, overdubbing two altos and two tenors. The remainder of the album is just as fine, either swinging hard, as on the rhythm and bebop number "When You Know, You Know," or swaying low, as in the many beautiful classic ballads, such as "When Sunny Gets Blue," and "Stormy Weather," featuring Mr. Love on vocals, where he displays as much range as on his alto and tenor saxophones. Given the great vocalists that Mr. Love has accompanied in his career, it is not surprising that the three who appear on this recording -- his daughter Portia Love, Ansar Muhammad, and Mr. Love himself -- display great talent for finding and revealing the subtle beauties in the songs they sing. But the highlight of the CD is Mr. Love's playing. This is a man who is full of music -- eight decades of it -- and it's still strong and fresh. It's a joy to hear it released on this recording. Omaha may not have quite the musical history of Kansas City, but it is home to a genuine musical legend in Preston Love. This recording is a fitting tribute to that legend. -- Gregg Ottinger (Note: Preston Love is also the author of A Thousand Honey Creeks Later: My Life in Music from Basie to Motown, published by the University Press of New England in 1997.) RETURN TO JUNE/JULY 2001 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.