Friday, January 29, 1999
Set of 14 CDs re-releases tunes spanning 60 years of jazz
culture
MUSIC: ‘Blue Note Years’ focuses on contributions by artists to
blues history
By Brent Hopkins
Daily Bruin Staff
When discussing the immense package that comprises "The Blue
Note Years," it is difficult to find the proper starting point. To
single out any particular artist as the best would do a disservice
to the wealthy catalog of talent featured in this seven double-disc
set, which features a comprehensive view of Blue Note Records’ 60
years in the jazz business.
It is a veritable explosion of music, lasting well over 15 hours
and featuring all aspects of jazz. Packaged simply, but tastefully,
with both historical backgrounds to the songs and priceless
pictures of the musicians at work, the box is as visually appealing
as it is sonically pleasing.
Arranged chronologically, the set begins with Blue Note’s
formative years. Created by German immigrant Alfred Lion in 1939,
Blue Note was born as an attempt to find pure, true music.
"Any particular style of playing which represents an authentic
way of musical feeling is genuine expression," read the label’s
first press release, signifying the approach with which Lion and
partner Francis Wolff would take when developing records.
What began simply as a medium for swing and hot jazz musicians
grew into one of the premier outlets for musical creativity of the
20th century.
Blue Note’s first artists were boogie-woogie pianists. Meade Lux
Lewis – whose energetic, pounding rhythms are also credited as one
of rock ‘n’ roll’s precursors – is featured on the first disc,
"Boogie Blues & Bop." Playing unaccompanied, his stroll down
the ivories as he keeps a rock steady left-hand rhythm is both
fascinating and enjoyable to listen to.
While it could stand alone as an excellent piece of music,
Lewis’ "Chicago Flyer" is a standout, because it illustrates both
elements of the classic era of jazz which Blue Note began in, and a
faster, more exciting brand of music yet to come.
The next extension of boogie-woogie was bop, and disc two
illustrates its development with gusto. Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell
and the inimitable Miles Davis all turn up here, each showing a
different facet to this rebellious streak of jazz. Bop arose as a
challenge to the more commercial swing music that dominated late
’40s jazz, with a harsher, more dissonant sound replacing the
danceable rhythms that were previously the rage.
Monk’s irregular, jumbled compositions ("Well, You Needn’t,"
"Round Midnight" and "Criss Cross") are the prime examples,
displaying a convoluted beauty. They don’t have the sweet melodies
found in most popular music, but Monk’s innovative genius makes
them pleasurable at the same time.
The first two discs only cover the first 15 years of Blue Note’s
history, but they are some of the best. Following them is "The Jazz
Message," two discs covering just a brief, although incredibly
influential five-year period. On this, John Coltrane and Cannonball
Adderly enter the picture. Though they only add one song apiece to
the first disc of the set, their contributions cannot be
ignored.
Coltrane’s "Blue Train," a free ranging masterpiece is cited by
critics and fans alike as one of the classics of jazz. Adderly, a
Miles Davis compatriot, offers "Autumn Leaves," a stunningly
haunting creation that ensnares listeners with its complex and
passionate horn solos.
Out of all the seven sets of discs, "The Jazz Message" is the
best in terms of listening. Whether used as an auditory background
while relaxing after dinner or intensely scrutinized, it offers an
incredible range of music. Even lesser known numbers, such as Lee
Morgan’s "I Remember Clifford," a tribute to label mate Clifford
Brown, are gripping and powerful.
This is certainly not meant to imply that any of the other discs
are sub-par. All offer something valuable, in radically different
ways.
"Organ and Soul," representing 1956-67, focuses on a more
blues-based groove, completely removed from any of the collection’s
other work. "The Avant Garde," is the most adventuresome work to be
found, borrowing from classical music in an attempt to broaden the
horizons of jazz.
Though the compositions tend toward the bizarre, they do
showcase some fascinating experimentation, as well as individual
instrumental virtuosity. Eric Dolphy’s "Hat and Beard," a salute to
Monk’s earlier forays into new frontiers, features a jarring
clarinet that can actually be painful to listen to, but is still
impressive from a technical standpoint, nonetheless.
Finally, a fitting way to round out this staggering compilation
is "Blue Note Now As Then," which features the label’s top
contemporary artists covering past favorites. Hearing Cassandra
Wilson smolder through the standard "Joshua Fit The Battle Ob
Jerico" (CQ) reminds listeners that Blue Note’s original philosophy
is not dead.
The artists of today are taking the music on which they have
built their careers and breathing new life into it. This is the
"genuine expression" that Lion and Wolff originally sought, and it
sounds just as good today as it did 60 years ago, if not
better.
Blue Note
Jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson is featured on the cover of his
album, "Our Thing," in October 1963.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]