Don Friedman Live at Maybeck

Producing a darker tone from the Maybeck Yamaha piano than do some other participants in the series, Kenny Barron gets a chance to flaunt a wider range of his influences than he usually does in a group format. Barron opens with a stride-ish "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," which sports a few minor fluffs (this is live, folks), and then explores a number of diverse styles under the bop umbrella. Barron's "Bud-Like" has reminiscences of "Un Poco Loco," built on an ostinato bass pattern most of the way, with a witty "Bemsha Swing." As usual with Maybeck, the sound of the hall's bright, brittle Yamaha piano is brilliantly captured.

Don Ellis' final record as a leader (he passed away from a bad heart in Dec. 1978) is a worthwhile effort. Ellis' large orchestra (four reeds, eight brass, one keyboard, two bassists, two drummers, two percussionists and a string quartet) performs six of the leader's originals and, although none of the songs are all that memorable, there are many fine solos. The main players are trumpeter Ellis, Ted Nash on tenor, alto and clarient and trombonist Alan Kaplan.

Dave McKenna - Live At Maybeck (1990) {Concord Jazz CCD-4410}
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© 1990 Concord Jazz | CCD-4410
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Standards / Stride / Piano

Live at Maybeck Recital Hall is an album of solo performances by jazz pianist Dave McKenna, recorded in 1989. When Joanne Brackeen first arrived at the tiny Maybeck Recital Hall for a concert in June 1989, she was so delighted with the piano and the acoustics that she insisted that Concord owner Carl Jefferson arrange to have her performance there recorded. The message hit home and over the next few years, several dozen solo piano concerts were duly recorded by the label until the hall was sold and it was no longer available for tapings. One of the first concerts to follow Brackeen's featured Dave McKenna. He seems in a particularly lyrical mood throughout this afternoon concert, though his trademark buoyant bassline is often present.

George Adams & Don Pullen - Live at Village Vanguard (1983) {Soul Note 121094-2}
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© 1985 Soul Note | 121094-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Piano

Recorded in August 1983, hard on the heels of the Timeless album City Gates, Live at the Village Vanguard finds four extraordinary musicians at the peak of their careers. George Adams (only featured on tenor saxophone here, though his flute playing and singing were essential elements of his live performance) is in superb form throughout, from the hard-swinging bop of "Intentions" to the sensuous balladry of "Solitude," and his pianist and long-term playing partner, Don Pullen (the two men formed the nucleus of Charles Mingus' great 1970s quintet, heard at its best on the two classic Changes albums), provides ample evidence of the prodigious technique that allowed him to move effortlessly from crisp bop stylings to free-form freakout without skipping a beat.