Hard Bop

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Cool jazz's reign as the prevalent jazz style after bop's demise was short lived as many jazz players, especially on the east coast, wanted to return to a style of jazz that had a little more grit and aggression. Hard bop was a return to some of the ascetics of bop, but also offered some new differences. Hard bop brought back the faster tempos of the bop era, but in hard bop the harmonic changes did not come in such rapid fire succession and musicians found themselves stretching out on longer modal style solos. The new emphasis on albums rather than singles also led to longer songs. Hard bop players also began to bring more influences from the church, blues and RnB into jazz which foreshadowed the coming of soul jazz. Despite an influx of avant-garde jazz in the 60s, hard bop remained the prevalent jazz style until the emergence of fusion in the late 60s. Hard bop has enjoyed many revivals over the years and remains one of the most enduring and popular styles in jazz. Miles Davis is considered an early innovator in the field of hard bop, but Art Blakey and the many musicians who played in his Jazz Messengers are considered to be the epitome of the style.

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hard bop Music Reviews

PAUL WINTER Count Me In

Boxset / Compilation · 2012 · Hard Bop
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js
I’ve always known Paul Winter as one of the first jazz artists to cross over into “new age” territory, as well as one of the first to use straight rhythms and simple harmonies in a jazz context, a tendency that consequently caught on with a lot more artists over the years. He always seemed like a nice guy, so I won’t get hysterical and say he ‘ruined jazz’, but he has always been highly suspect, ha. That’s why it was a surprise to hear this compilation of his earlier material, turns out Paul used to play real jazz, and it was really good jazz too. “Count Me In” is a compilation of 32 tracks recorded in the early 60s that shows Winter working with a very imaginative sextet that blends complex ensemble arrangements with short solos for a modern quasi-big band approach somewhat similar to some things Miles Davis and Art Farmer had been doing. The style is hard bop with a west coast cool approach, a style that was very popular with early 60s college kids who also dug Dave Brubek and Chet Baker. This was an excellent time period for jazz, sandwiched between the excesses of the past bop era and the greater excesses of the coming fusion era, early 60s jazz was smart, compact and eternally hip.

The first ten tracks on this compilation are the best. They feature Winter’s original sextet; six young college kids who won the 1961 Intercollegiate Jazz Festival, which won them a recording contract with Columbia and a US state department backed tour of Latin America. Their youthful enthusiasm and fresh new ideas really come through. Many of these guys would leave pro music after this sextet broke up, including the very talented baritone player Les Rout. Tracks 11 through 17 feature this same sextet playing the first ever jazz concert at the White House. These tracks are nice as history, but the recordings don’t sound great, and the band sounds uptight, nervous and a even a little off sometimes. The final tracks, 18 - 32, feature the last version of Winter’s sextet, which by now had picked up more familiar names such as Ben Riley and Chuck Israels. The music is still good, but I miss the more ‘modernist’ sound of the younger naïve group, plus these recordings are live and are of less than best quality. Mostly I would recommend this CD for the first ten tracks, excellent hipster jazz for young college kids in the years right before post hippie-lemming mentality would trample all over this more subtle culture.

JOE HENDERSON Mode for Joe

Album · 1966 · Hard Bop
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Sean Trane
Reputedly Henderson’s best 60’s album, Mode For Joe is your typical Blue Note label product with a flawless RVG and Alfred Lion production, and a no-less sparkling line-up that features Hutcherson, Walton, Carter and Chambers, not mentioning his two Detroit youth-buddies Morgan and Fuller.

Opening on the rather hard-boppy Shade For Jade, the very essence of the BN label appears in its splendour, but the three windmen (sax, trumpet & trombone) make for killer brass section with enthralling chorus lines. The ensuing title track features Hutcherson’s vibes, but past Henderson’s sax jump, it’s Walton’s piano that leads the dance (it’s his composition after all), until Bobby’s sensual solo hits the bull’s-eye. Walton’s Black piece closes the A-side with brio. The flipside’s Caribbean-rhythmed start soon gives into a demented slightly modal and transient mid-section, with Morgan and Chambers rising above the others. Granted is an high-energy bop piece, but fails to raise as much enthousiasm as its predecessor… or its follow-up. Indeed, Free-Wheelin’ has a loose mid-section where the solos are unleashed.

The slightest (but only) itch I might have with MFJ, is that the Cd version of this album features an alternate take of Waldon’s Black track, but it makes the mistake to intervene in the original album’s course. It’s always wiser to place these after the album, especially if the two versions are too similar.

ERIC DOLPHY The Essential Eric Dolphy

Boxset / Compilation · 1991 · Hard Bop
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js
Similar to other especially talented artists whose lives were cut short, Eric Dophy’s brief music career has been given a second life through the addition of countless compilations, re-packagings and similar collections. “The Essential Eric Dolphy” may be a good purchase for someone who owns nothing by Dolphy, and is seeking an introduction to his music, but to the long time fan, this collection is pretty much pointless. Most of the music on here comes from Dolphy’s first three albums, plus a couple cuts he recorded during that same time period with Oliver Nelson. This compilation does get good marks for showing a nice variety of music performed by Eric. The Nelson cuts are straight ahead hard bop with Dolphy getting characteristically wacky during his solo rides, while the cuts from his own albums show Dolphy playing hard swinging modernist abstract post bop, as well as some odd quirky chamber music. Although many of the cuts on here were composed by Dolphy, the cuts composed by Jaki Byard and Mal Waldron fit perfectly with Dolphy’s style. Byard in particular seems to be a perfect accompanist for Eric with his humorous and petulant piano style that falls somewhere between T Monk and Sun Ra. Drummer Roy Haynes and bassist Ron Carter also show up on many cuts and likewise show a great affinity for Dolphy’s musical vision.

As mentioned earlier, this CD does work well as an introduction to Dolphy's music and many of these tracks are excellent, but to the long time fan, the Nelson cuts probably seem a little out of place and the whole sequence of songs is a little clumsy, besides, most fans already have these songs. Since this CD does not contain any tracks from Erik's brilliant final albums, you could hardly call this collection "essential" or complete.

GEORGE BENSON The George Benson Cookbook

Album · 1966 · Hard Bop
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js
No doubt, if George Benson isn’t the best guitarist in the world of jazz, he’s probably in the top five at least. The problem though, is finding an album where he really rips on the six string, as opposed to crooning love songs or some other commercial endeavor. Generally the early part of Benson’s career has his best recorded output, which is true with this early release, “The George Benson Cookbook”. Recorded when Benson was still fairly new to the scene, he does not hold back on this one and comes out with both guns blazing on the first cut. Album opener, “The Cooker”, is high speed hard bop with plenty of impossible lightning fast runs from Benson, as well as some very heated baritone work from Ronnie Culper. In fact, Ronnie shines all through this album, and his choice of bari sax gives him a unique voice. Side one continues with more swingin bluesy bop, some groovy bossa and Benson’s one vocal number, a very spirited take on “All of Me”. This song can be wore out, but George lifts it up with his energetic vocals. This upbeat version is a good example of how this entire album has the warm energy and spontaneous feel of a live club date.

Side two continues with more hard bop and bluesy RnB with “Return of the Prodigal Son” being a stand out with its cool soul jazz riffs suitable for a 60s spy movie or liquor commercial. There are no bad songs on this entire album and all the soloists really cook. Along with Culper and Benson, you get Lonnie Smith on the B3, Bennie Green on the T-bone, and a few other guests on horns. This album is highly recommended for fans of George Benson, great guitar playing in general and 60s hard bop that borders on soul jazz. Over the years, this sort of blues/jazz style became a bit generic, but not “Cookbook“, it has more energy than most.

TAKAYUKI KAWAMURA Ballads

Album · 2010 · Hard Bop
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DamoXt7942
Hailed from Iwakuni, Japan, Takayuki KAWAMURA has got started as a trumpeter since 10 years old. Via some brass combos, he has devoted himself to the jazz music scene.

His debut album "Harbor Wind", featuring his original tunes, was out in 2007, that could get appreciated in Japanese audio / music world. And in 2010, his ballad work "Ballads", in collaboration with his music mates especially a pianist Yumiko Kusano (Yumiyumi), was released.

An enjoyable jazzpetter.

It was January 2013 I've listened to his play for the first time. He played with a female pianist Yumi, as if his warm trumpet sounds could have veil her kind piano play. Sometimes powerful like a metallic element, and sometimes quiet like a cool water stream ... his play could be kaleidoscopic and versatile, I remember.

Anyway, his solo (in collaboration with some music mates including Yumiyumi) album "Ballads" notifies me that scape of his in early 2013. This album consists of four traditional / popular songs covered by him and four original ones written by Takayuki, and it's impressive he could digest all of material for his jazzy nutrition in this creation. In traditional tracks, he plays quietly, steadily, but usually powerfully and excessively. As though he could have grabbed these "big" ones as his items. And in "Dark Matter", that has been launched on stage previously, Yumiyumi's piano is solemn and motherly like Maria, and Takayuki's trumpet sounds like a flexible man who swims pleasantly and elegantly ... on the contrary, his swimming sometimes drinks completely the whole piano stream ... powerfully and enthusiastically. Not simple horn kicks but explosive palpitation sometimes, like a brave hero. The last "Track Nine" is his jack-in-the-box we can say. Really his willful play makes us smile ... his hearty heart we can hear apparently. Enjoy such an immeasurably powerful and fantastically warmhearted album.

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