Hamiet Bluiett Dangerously Suite

Hamiet Bluiett - Resolution (1977) {Black Saint 120014-2 rel 1994}
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© 1977, 1994 Black Saint | 120 014-2
Jazz / Spiritual Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Clarinet

I took a bit of a nap on Hamiet! Not all his material is maniac, so I think I was deterred by a straighter outing in an earlier examination, as I reverse-devour in depth the Avant-Jazz lineage with unthwarted esurience. It’s always majorly thrilling to find “someone else” & start cruising through their releases & history. The Bluiett epiphany came about with probably the best inadvertent recommendation ever from an anonymous NY Jazz body who told me he had to stop taking lessons from Bluiett cos’ he was “too crazy”! So a Southern saxophonist playing Off-Raod squall, with a reputation for being “too crazy”?…could it possibly be better? & thus I pick out this album, Resolution from 1977 that pleasingly is still in print.

Hamiet Bluiett - Same Space (1998) {Justin Time JUST109-2 rec 1997}
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© 1998 Justin Time Records | JUST 109-2
Jazz / Afro-Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Baritone Saxophone

Baritone saxophonist and World Saxophone Quartet cofounder Hamiet Bluiett teamed up with Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based pianist D.D. Jackson and Senegalese percussion master Mor Thiam to create Same Space, their first release for the Canadian label Justin Time. This is an exciting but surprisingly accessible trek through a fusion of jazz/world originals. Accessibility is not normally associated with the music of Bluiett or Jackson, which typically leans toward the avant-garde.

Hamiet Bluiett - If You Have To Ask (1991) {Tutu CD888128}
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© 1991 Tutu Records | CD 888 128
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Baritone Saxophone

The title referes to a celebrated riposte of Louis Armstrong's when asked by a white lady what jazz really was. In the context of that his quotation of the celebrated waltz theme at the beginning of "Black Danube," a tune described by drummer Carvin as "James Brown in 3/4 time," has to be seen as slightly ironic in the context of Bluiett's now thoroughly Africanized approach to jazz performance. The rhythmic base, whether by Carvin or Asante, is in most cases the essence of the piece, over which Bluiett improvises with considerabl freedom.

This concert performance is quite unusual: an unaccompanied recital by the great baritonist Hamiet Bluiett. Although its subtitle is "A Solo Blues Concert," the "blues" refers to the feeling that Bluiett puts into his music rather than the structure of his originals itself. "In Tribute to Harry Carney" is a highpoint. Bluiett is in top form during this adventurous but fairly melodic performance.

Bluiett Baritone Saxophone Group - Live at the Knitting Factory (1998) {Knitting Factory Records KFR 217}
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© 1998 Knitting Factory Records | KFR 217
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Baritone Saxophone

Four baritone saxophones supported by the smart drumming of Ronnie Burrage on this recording. The baritone saxophone range is wonderful for experimentation. The instrument can clearly reach the sonorous tones and up in to a near-piercing range. The saxophones come at the listener singly or in groups, making free-jazz statements. A melodic phrase can easily give way to a rhythmic squawking before diving back into a spontaneous theme.