Black Dave Burrell

Odean Pope Saxophone Choir - Epitome (1993) {Soul Note 121279-2}
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© 1993 Soul Note | 121279
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Saxophones

Tenor saxophonist Odean Pope's third post-bop Saxophone Choir outing was released on the Soul Note label in 1994. Epitome includes a saxophone section of three altos, five tenors, and one baritone, Eddie Green and Dave Burrell splitting piano duties with Tyrone Brown on bass, and Craig McIver on drums. This is not an avant-garde big-band assembly, even though there are moments ("Coltrane Time") that certainly fit that description. Eight of the ten tracks were written by various group members, with Pope's arrangements incorporating his early Baptist church choir vocal education with Mingus-/Ellington-inflected moods, especially apparent on "Terrestrial," which sounds like a quiet section from Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and "Lift Ev'ry Voice." This is a truly unique and moving ensemble, making any of their discs recommended.

"From A Love Supreme to The Sex Machine!" The personal musical mantra of the late Philadelphia reedman Byard Lancaster informed an open-minded and varied lifetime in jazz.

Various Artists - From Modern Jazz To New Thing (1957-1959) - La Grande Histoire Du Jazz Vol. 4 (2010) {Box 25CD - 100 of 100}
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© 1957-59б 2010 Le Chant du Monde | 574 1975.99
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Third Stream

An epic 100 CD chronological documentation of the history of jazz music from 1898 to 1959, housed in four boxed sets. Each box contains 25 slipcase CDs, a booklet (up to 186 pages) and an index. The booklets contain extensive notes (Eng/Fr) with recording dates and line-ups. 31 hours of music in each box, totalling 1677 tracks Each track has been restored and mastered from original sources.

This surprisingly consistent collection of unreleased material compiles a series of demos and outtakes recorded by Ken Hensley, a singer and songwriter best known for his work with Uriah Heep, between 1971 and 1982. Odds and sods compilations are often a dicey proposition, but From Time to Time manages to beat the odds with an effective combination of polished songcraft and inspired performances: The studio outtakes all boast fully realized productions (some even including a string section) and the demos aspire to studio quality thanks to tight arrangements that often differ from the released versions ("If I Had the Time" forsakes the space rock excesses of the Uriah Heep version for a lovely, country-flavored mid-tempo pace).

"Elegant Soul (1968)" was the penultimate release by the Three Sounds, and sees them leaving behind the cool instrumental jazz that had typified most of their previous output, and moving more decisively in the direction of easy-listening pop. While the group had always had something of a light, accessible take on post-bop, "Elegant Soul", with its string arrangements and pop-oriented ambitions, finds them crossing over into easy listening. The 2008 reissue, part of a Blue Note reissue project targeting rare groove collectors and fans of soul-jazz, contextualizes the album for what it is: a unique jazz-soul-pop hybrid.