Recorded live at Dizzy's Club in NYC's iconic Jazz at Lincoln Center venue to pay tribute to McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones and released on a double vinyl album, this is the real deal.
Cannon played alongside both for 14 and 9 years respectively and for this recording he chose musicians who had all, at one or another, shared the stage with the two late legends. The DownBeat reviewer gave it 4½ stars out of 5. He shortchanged them!
EJ's Blues: Gets things a-cookin' on a composition by Jones and solos all round setting the mood for the delights to come.
Three Elders: One of those delights, albeit a sombre one, is this piece composed by Cannon and dedicated to pianist, the late Larry Willis. It is fitting that he should be included with Tyner and Jones in the title. Funereal it may be but that doesn't detract from the beauty of the performance.
3 Card Molly: A minor key 'burner' by Jones that lets the cats run amok. Maybe they think Molly's a mouse when actually it's another name for the three card trick or Find the Lady. Cannon's solo suggests he's found her when he quotes Dat's Love from Carmen Jones, the film adaptation of Bizet's opera.
Search For Peace: a Tyner classic that has Lovano and Henderson treating the composition with the respect it deserves without losing their own identity.
Blues in the Minor: Cannon plays a few bars before the ensemble hits the deck running setting the scene for the hottest rhythm section in NYC on that June evening in 2022. Kikoski is amazing, Lovano no less with Irby in there pitching like a politician on the eve of an election. White proves that drum solos can be more than playing to the gallery. Subtlety is also known to be effective.
Home: Another Tyner tune. In fact, from now on they're all McCoy's compositions. Steve Turre sounds good setting Irby up who, in turn, opens the door for Kikoski. Why haven't I heard this pianist before? I looked back on BSH and find that I'd actually reviewed this very album on January 3 this year when it was released in CD form! I wrote then, three days into the new year, that it was a contender and, six months later it still has its nose in front!
Contemporary Focus: Solid groove, great solos. Kikoski sounds as good as I said he did the first time round and Cannon is, as he has been throughout, magnificent. The free for all at the end I feel relates in part to the title.
Inception: The rhythm section going for broke. Again Kikoski hits the heights on this trio blast with Cannon and White up there too.
I suppose I should now play the CD and compare the sound quality between the two formats but you pays your money, you makes your choice. At least with the vinyl you don't need 20-20 vision to read the sleeve notes! Lance
1 comment :
Amazon only have it as digital and I can only get a very expensive copy from discogs via my (other) skint son in Sheffield. Anybody know if Newcastle HMV or Windows have one or anybody with a spare? I have a magnifying glass, a CD shaped letter-box and a car with a CD player.
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