5:20am Soldier

The Soldier's Tale is a theatrical work ""to be read, played, and danced"" by three actors (the soldier, the devil, and a narrator) and dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments. The libretto relates the parable of a soldier who trades his fiddle to the devil in return for unlimited economic gain. The music is scored for a septet of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet or trumpet), trombone, and percussion. The libretto is adapted by Roger Waters from the translation by Michael Flanders and Kitty Black, based on the original text by Charles-Ferdinand Ramus. Roger Waters recorded the album because of a personal background as Mr. Waters father went missing in World War II and his grandfather died in battle in World War I. The loss of his father has been a central theme throughout his live and topic for other releases. Telegraph UK: I think I am still preoccupied by the same things that I was 30 years ago. Losing my father, and that attachment that I have to his humanity, is still central to everything that I do Roger Waters adapted the English translation of Lhistoire du Soldat (original title of the piece) and recorded all 3 characters himself with different accents and speaking voices.

Billy Higgins - The Soldier (1979) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6358}
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© 1979, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6358
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. A heck of a great little album from drummer Billy Higgins – one of his few standout efforts as a leader, after years and years of impeccable work as a player on some of our favorite records! The set's got a simple, almost innocuous approach – with Higgins leading a quartet that features Cedar Walton on piano, Walter Booker on bass, and Monty Waters on alto sax. But from the very first note, the album bristles with energy and excitement – in a mode that recalls the Clifford Jordan recordings that also featured Higgins from the mid 70s – sharing a similar sense of soulful and joyous expression. Waters is really great, with a really biting, honest tone – and singer Roberta Davis joins the group on an excellent reading of Waters' composition "Sugar & Spice". Other tracks include Walton's nice "Midnite Waltz", and great versions of Horace Silver's "Peace" and Sonny Rollins' "Sonnymoon For Two".

Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat, here The Soldier's Tale, is a work for narrator and small instrumental ensemble, ideally with dancers. The work was translated into English by Michael Flanders and Kitty Black; the "revised by Pamela Berlin" label here refers to some Americanisms inserted by Virginia Arts Festival director Pamela Berlin, and this American Soldier's Tale may be unique. The story comes from a little Faustian folktale of a soldier-at-war's-end, who accepts a bargain with the Devil, and the direct, at times doggerel-like rhymes of the text do well when given the directness of a translation into vernacular English.

Little Jimmy King's third album finds him in the well-placed hands of Memphis producing and arranging legend Willie Mitchell. With Mitchell's publishing branch supplying six of the 12 selections here, there's a much more pronounced soul/blues feeling to this album than his two previous efforts, spelled out in a most contemporary manner on the confessional opening track, "Living In the Danger Zone" and "We'll Be Together Again." As always, Little Jimmy tips his hat to his mentor, the late Albert King with every note he hits on his Flying V, squeezing strings over several frets to get those classic Albert microtonal bends on tracks like "I Don't Need Nobody That Don't Need Me," "Drawers" and the title track. This is a thoroughly contemporary blues album that could - and should - expand King's audience beyond the usual blues circles.

Youthful pianist Eric Reed, who at the time of this recording was debuting as Marcus Roberts' replacement in the Wynton Marsalis band, plays carefully and sometimes tentatively on his first release as a leader. It's a trio affair, and although Reed doesn't throw many challenges toward bassist Dwayne Burno or drummer Gregory Hutchinson, he's certainly a solid player with the potential to become a great one.