Jerry Hahn

Jerry Hahn - Jerry Hahn & His Quintet (1967) {Arhoolie CD9011 rel 1998}
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© 1967, 1998 Changes / Arhoolie Productions Inc. | CD9011
Jazz / Post Bop / Guitar

Interesting, eclectic set of five originals (all but one written by Hahn), from a date including Jack DeJohnette on drums. Some of the cuts swing pretty well in a bop-Django Reinhardt sort of fusion, with Michael White on violin. "Ragahantar" and "Ara-Be-In," by contrast, are fusions of jazz with middle-eastern music and a bit of a psychedelic rock drive, not unlike the kinds of things that a rock group of the period, Kaleidoscope, would occasionally try on their albums. Previously available as an LP on its original Changes release and an Arhoolie reissue, it was reissued on CD in 1998, but at just half an hour it's pretty skimpy on running time.

There's a 20-plus-year span between electric guitarist Hahn's Brotherhood recordings and this CD. In between he's gone from hippie to tweed suit while establishing the jazz guitar studies program at Wichita State University, taking residence in Portland and Denver, and doing this date in NYC with all-stars bassist Steve LaSpina, drummer Jeff Hirshfield, either pianists Phil Markowitz or Art Lande, and soprano saxophonist David Liebeman for two selections. Hahn's influence on Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Mike Stern, and Bill Frisell is clear. He uses a little delay, echo, and reverb, just enough to enhance his improvisations, and when he's technically concentrating, he can easily be coarsely sparse and sharply staccato, elongated from a chordal standpoint, a bit twangy, and consistently tasteful…

Gary Burton - Country Roads & Other Places (1969) {RCA–Koch Jazz rel 1998}
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© 1969, 1998 RCA / BMG / Koch Jazz | KOC CD 7854
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

With longtime bassist Steve Swallow, the return of drummer Roy Haynes, and the debut of guitarist Jerry Hahn, Gary Burton's second quartet continued his open-minded policy toward other styles of music. In addition to both melodic and advanced jazz, Burton incorporates elements of country, rock, pop and even classical music on this fairly rare LP, Country Roads and Other Places. Whether it be a "Ravel Prelude," "Wichita Breakdown" or "My Foolish Heart," the music is full of logical surprises that foreshadow the eclectic nature of much of '80s and '90s jazz.

Gary Burton - Throb (1969) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27042}
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© 1969, 2012 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan | WPCR-27042
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Throb is dominated by bassist Steve Swallow’s wonderfully complex and idiosyncratic compositions, although the great composer/arranger Michael Gibbs contributes three tunes as well. Talk about an embarrassment of riches! The combination of Steve Swallow’s bass, Gary Burton’s vibes and Richard Greene’s violin gives the band a unique texture. Given the instrumentation, there is a lot of country music thrown into the mix. Jerry Hahn is the guitarist here and contributes the usual wankery common for the period, but Swallow makes good use of him in the arrangements. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’d probably have to go for Steve Swallow’s hilarious Chickens, which is just what it sounds like..

Grant Geissman really stepped up his game with the release of his previous CD Say That, and this excellent recording where his finely honed jazz sensibilities come fully to the forefront. There's nary a speck of commercial filler, as every track sports an authenticity and originality that belie the derivative music he had made a living on for years. This is a fine effort with little reason to spoil with wasted critique, as Geissman himself is on top of his game, and whether he's playing with his peer group or select all-stars, the music is at a high level from start to finish. While bop does prevail, contemporary and progressive neo-bop are heard without the predictable trappings, and Geissman changes up the band per track to keep things ever interesting in the best sense of the term.

John Handy - Handy Dandy Man
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Label/Cat#: in-akustik # inak 8618 CD | Country/Year: Germany 1978, 1986
Genre: Funk / Soul, Jazz | Style: Jazz-Funk, Funk

John Richard Handy III is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone, although he also plays tenor and baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, oboe, and sings. Handy first came to prominence while working for Charles Mingus in the 1950s. In the 1960s, Handy led several groups, among them a quintet with Michael White, violin, Jerry Hahn, guitar, Don Thompson, bass, and Terry Clarke, drums. This group's performance at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival was recorded and released as an album; Handy received Grammy nominations for "Spanish Lady" (jazz performance) and "If Only We Knew" (jazz composition)…

An excellent album, The Serfs were usually billing themselves as Mike Finnigan and The Serfs by the time this was released. Really an R&B/Jazz/Funk album. Two of the tracks on this album were later re-recorded for The Jerry Hahn Brotherhood LP: Early Bird Cafe and Time's Caught Up With You.