George Adams Don Pullen Quartet

George Adams & Don Pullen Quartet - Decisions (1984) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6350}
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© 1984, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6350
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Blues Jazz / Saxophone / Piano

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. One of those key records that has George Adams and Don Pullen reinventing expectations of jazz for the 80s – both musicians with plenty of ear for the outside, but also coming back home with a well-rounded, deeply-rooted approach that's crucial in taking the American jazz legacy another step forward! Like some of their similar contemporaries, who could also be avant at times, and straight at others – Adams and Pullen have no concern with setting themselves in one camp or another – and not only flesh out the spirit of the record with both of those aspects of their playing, but also have some surprisingly bluesy undercurrents at times.

George Adams & Don Pullen Quartet - Earth Beams (1980) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1980, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6406
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest remastering and the original cover artwork. Comes with a description written in Japanese. A firey session from the quartet of George Adams and Don Pullen – a set that has the group stretching out in some of their most spiritual modes, yet still finding plenty of time to swing as well! Adams is tremendous on tenor – a very fresh voice in the post-Coltrane world, with phrasing that is all his own – even more amplified when he switches to flute – and Pullen's got this ability to go outside, and show his knowledge of the darker corners of the keyboard – yet never let that side of his playing overwhelm things, possibly because the rhythmic accompaniment from Cameron Brown on bass and Dannie Richmond on drums is so strong. Tracks are all long, and very individual – with the group in high spirits on the titles "Earth Beams", "Magnetic Love Field", "Saturday Nite In The Cosmos", "More Flowers", and "Dionysus".

George Adams / Don Pullen Quartet - City Gates (1983) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1983, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6407
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest remastering and the original cover artwork. Comes with a description written in Japanese. George Adams and Don Pullen knock it out of the park on this one – finding great company in each other's presence, and really moving things forward in the process! The set begins with a long track titled "Mingus Metamorphosis", and that really sums up the spirit of the record – an 80s reworking of all the ideas that the players had learned from Mingus, but with an individual, personal sense that's all their own – and very different than some of the more standard modes of the Mingus Dynasty group that continued the legacy in a more direct manner. Adams is bold one minute, lyrical the next – and plays both tenor and flute – alongside Pullen on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Dannie Richmond on drums.

George Adams & Don Pullen - Live at Village Vanguard, Vol. 2 (1983) {Soul Note 121144-2 rel 1986}
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© 1986 Soul Note | 121144-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Piano

The second album taken from a strong performance by the George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet, this set features three compositions by pianist Pullen (including his catchy "Big Alice") and tenorman Adams' "City Gates." The music swings in its own way while being quite unpredictable, intense and sometimes avant-garde. There is nothing sleepy or routine about the chance-taking (and frequently exciting) music.

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.

Yes, this is a career breakthrough in a sense, for the Don Pullen/George Adams Quartet finally got a chance to record for a major American label after several Europe-only opuses. They seemed genuinely thrilled about it, for the supercharged leadoff track "Mr. Smoothie" sure sounds like a breakthrough with its ebullient mood. While grounded in hard-swinging post-bop, soul-jazz, and the blues, Adams and Pullen use the mainstream as a base for taking off into free regions at times, Adams with his gritty, combustible tenor, Pullen his trademark piano clusters. They can also groove in a melodic yet highly charged fashion on "Song From the Old Country" and reflect yearningly in the opening bars of "A Time for Sobriety"…

George Adams & Don Pullen Quartet - Life Line (1981) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1981, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6351
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone / Piano

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. A strong outing from this key post-Mingus collaboration – and a record that really shows both Don Pullen and George Adams really coming into their own! Pullen's piano can have plenty of edges, as can Adams' tenor – but there's also some warmer, lyrical moments that really round things out – kind of a balance between righteous energy and deeper quietude that the musicians might have learned during their time with Charles Mingus – taken to a logical small group extension here. Adams also plays a bit of flute, which is especially nice – and the group also includes Cameron Brown on bass and Dannie Richmond on drums. Titles include "The Great Escape Or Run John Henry Run", "Seriously Speaking", "Soft Seas", and "Protection".

George Adams & Don Pullen Quartet - Live At Montmartre (1985) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1985, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6379
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano / Saxophone / Guitar

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. Solidly soaring work from tenorist George Adams – recording live here with pianist Don Pullen, one of his best musical partners during the 80s! The album's got a bit more of a bite than some of the pair's studio sessions – a bit straighter overall, but recorded with a nice degree of energy, and some long tracks that really let both players open up nicely – in a combo that also features John Scofield on guitar, Cameron Brown on bass, and Dannie Richmond on drums. The inclusion of Scofield's guitar changes up the group's sound in a nice way – adding in some more chromatic elements that really stand out – and titles include "IJ", "Flame Games", "Song Everlasting", and "Forever Lovers".

Don Pullen - Mosaic Select 13 (2004) {3CD Set, Mosaic Records MS-013 rec 1986-1990}
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© 1986-90, 2004 Mosaic Records / EMI Music | MS-013
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Mainstream Jazz / Piano

The 13th volume in Mosaic's limited-edition Select series showcases the late work of the late pianist and composer Don Pullen. Contained within the box are the two fine albums by the George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet, Breakthrough and Song Everlasting. These two recordings were the first the pair had done domestically. The band's previous output was released on Soul Note, and musically very good. Both Blue Note albums are simply stunning. The interplay between the pianist and saxophonist Adams was near symbiotic and was augmented by the stellar rhythm section of bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Dannie Richmond. Three of the four men – excepting Brown – were alumni of the Charles Mingus band. These two albums are the best of what post-bop jazz had to offer in the 1980s.

The Best of Don Pullen collects nine highlights from Don Pullen's 11 years with Blue Note. Spanning the late '80s and early '90s, the compilation includes tracks culled from the pianist's time with the George Adams Quartet, his trio albums (one with Gary Peacock, one with Tony Williams) and cuts he recorded with his group the African-Brazilian Connection. While his original recordings remain the best way to understand his achievements, this collection is a good introduction to his style for the curious, featuring such titles as "Song from the Old Country," "New Beginnings," "Jana's Delight," "Indio Gitano," "Reservation Blues," "El Matador" and "Andre's Ups and Downs."