Skipping a Beat

Deep Purple have never quite been placed in the revered 1960s canon that includes the Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, or any of the other British rock bands who continue to reunite in various configurations to tour and even periodically release new albums, but given that the group has always been a riveting and brilliant live act, part prog, part heavy metal, part funky R&B, and imminently theatrical, that second-tier designation seems like both an oversight and a shame…

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.