lördag 8 Mar 2008, 22:55

You know how this works by now, right? Over at the Music Advice Center's Jazz Desk (resident director Beelzbubba), we start a list, give it a name and some vague parameters, and then readers contribute their nominations. The purpose is to promote listening to jazz of all styles and genres. I openly admit to my bias toward post-bop and American free jazz post 1959 to present. What I'm saying is, new blood and divergent viewpoints are always welcome. One list ends, another one starts up soon.

Oh–this list? Early on, I should have amended the title to include Shorter, Webster, Hawkins, Lateef and Young (at a minimum), but other than Wayne, none of the others had albums nominated.

25 Great Tenors Not Named Coltrane or Henderson or Rollins or Webster or Hawkinsor Lateef or Jacquet or Youngor Byas or Berry or Getz

Albert Ayler - Live in Greenwich Village (1967)
Archie Shepp - Fire Music (1965)
Arthur Doyle - Alabama Feeling (1978)
Billy Harper - Black Saint (1975)
Branford Marsalis - Requiem (1999)
Charles Gayle - Repent (1992)
Chico Freeman - The outside Within (1978)
Clifford Jordan - In The World (1972)
David S. Ware - Godspelized (1997)
Dexter Gordon - A Swingin' Affair (1962)
Dewey Redman - Look For the Black Star (1975)
Frank Wright - Shouting The Blues (1977)
Getatchew Mekurya - Negus of Ethiopian Sax (2002)
James Carter - In Carterian Fashion (1998)
John Gilmore (on) Andrew Hill - Andrew!!! (1965)
Mats Gustafsson (The Thing) - Live at Bla (2004)
Michael Blake - Kingdom of Champa (1998)
Odean Pope - Locked & Loaded: Live at the Blue Note (2006)
Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun (1968)
Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle (1973)
Rudolph Johnson - The Second Coming (1974)
Sam Rivers - Inspiration (1999)
Von Freeman - Doin' It Right Now (1971)
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil (1964)

Total Count: 25

I could easily have added five or ten more to the 25 here–but you already knew that. Apologies to Fred Anderson, Joseph Jarman, Yusef Lateef, George Coleman, Steve Coleman, Benny Golson, Johnny Griffin, Steve Grossman, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, Frank Lowe, Chris Potter, Ken Vandermark and on and on.

The final four added to this list were: Branford Marsalis–to me, just a notch behind Wayne Shorter as a composer and player. And Shorter should have been on the list of Great Tenors Not Named "X" to begin with–my oversight–and I think you can add Yusef and Booker, Hawkins, and Young without blinking. Branford has several lp's nominated as pick selections by AMG, but I picked Requiem for two reasons. First, because it is the last recording with his longtime pianist foil Kenny Kirkland who died too young, and as I recall, because of complications from a long term addiction, and the album is "as is"–that is, they tried to replace Kirkland or rework some of his parts, but gave up on that, preferring to leave first takes as they were recorded, and the music stands up well. Second, because Marsalis shows the depth of his compositional acumen, and throws a nod to one of his influences, Keith Jarrett, which was surprising to me because of the famously bad blood between Jarrett and Branford's younger brother, the trumpeter, whatsisname, er Wynton.

Next up is James Carter, who like Wynton, schooled with the Jazz Messengers (at 17!)and Lester Bowie's ensembles before going out on his own. Carter's debut JC on the Set and the followup, Jurassic Classics are arguably stronger, but In Carterian Fashion puts Carter in groupings with three different organists. As in most Carter albums, there's a mix of originals and standards, but the standards are off the beaten path.

Michael Blake's "Champa" is a debut album that captured my attention like few others, with the exception of JC on the Set. Unusual instrumentation, arrangements, voicing and composition in painting an aural landscape of his wife's native Vietnam, this one is rarely far from my cd player. Blake apprenticed with the Lounge Lizards prior to becoming a Downtown Darling.

Finally, Rahsaan Roland Kirk could be on the list of almost any reed instrument masters short list, but the saxophone concerto on Prepare Thyself is a masterpiece of circular breathing, and a tour de force of playing in any case. Some of you may know of the long standing fight between long-time Kirk producer and friend Joel Dorn and the Guinness Book of World Records, the latter of whom recognizes Kenny G as the record holder for circular breathing. Seems the criteria was to hold one note the longest, not how long one might play without stopping for a breath by mouth. Gorelick held one note for about 45 minutes. (Some say it was the most interesting work they ever heard from the G-man!) The record came many years after Kirk was already gone, so no opportunity to hold one note was available, in spite of tapes and personal testimonies from those who'd seen Kirk play for hours without stopping–and those who are familiar know that this might be while playing up to three instruments at any one time.

I had the good fortune to see Kirk on many occasions. One of my favorites–and forgive me if you've read me say this before–was at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago when a kid in the front row (no, not me) lit up a huge Marley conical spliff and Kirk caught the scent immediately; the kid offered it to Kirk, whose prodigious pulmonary capacity torched the fattie til there was just a pinch between thumb and forefinger–hardly enough to pass back, but he did. And, while still holding the smoke in, he tells the kid "Next time, bring the good stuff," and without missing a beat launches into a tenor explosion of a Coltrane medley, the smoke curling out of the bell as he played.