LARRY YOUNG — Lawrence of Newark (review)

LARRY YOUNG — Lawrence of Newark album cover Album · 1973 · World Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Sean Trane
Often considered as Larry Young’s most definitive work of the 70’s, Lawrence Of NewArabiark is another classic JR/F album of the early-70’s. Recently signed to the small perception label, Young amagalmated a bunch of NY-scene musos, of which the better-known (by far) is James Blood Ulmer on guitar. The present album is quite a departure of his previous albums that I’ve heard

As the liner notes, most people have a hard time equating the organ, and more so the Hammond organ as a pure jazz instrument, and while people like Jimmy Smith did a lot for it, most if the organ sounds in jazz that I’m aware of are in jazz –rock or in 60’s British RnB. Of course exceptions like Larry Young confirms this trend, the very case of this organist is also very unusual because of the extraordinary sounds he extracts from his B3. For those familiar with Tony Williams’ Lifetime or McL’s Devotion, you have already got a good idea of Young’s possibilities.

But with the present LoN, you’ve got another thing coming, because the organ is right up front (sometimes mixed a bit loud to my tastes), while the Latin percussions add much flavour. The spacey Sunshine Fly away might sound a bit as iif it was originally intended for a Lifetime album, the Khalid Of Space opens super-funkily, before veering African or Saharan in a long improv-filled groove, where Diedre Johnson’s cello plays an important role. The very calm (at first) flipside-opening Saudia and the anecdotic but much louder Alive give the album a bit of variety, but the jumpy Quietness track is the last highlight of the album, with some solo brief interventions somewhat reminiscent of Miles’ Bitches Brew trumpet.

If you’re familiar with the awesome Caravanserai of Santana, no doubt you’ll hear much of that influence in the present, not least in the Arabian or Saharan artwork picture, indicative of the camel caravan of Santana’s album. Soooooo, Larry Young influenced by Gregg Rollie?? Sounds a bit unlikely (Young’s much longer presence in the circuit would indicate the opposite), but it’s also a bit present in the compositions.

One of the slight negative remarks I might have against LoN is the flipside’s brevity, a mere 16 minutes as opposed to the 21 minutes of the A-side: I might have appreciated another ”tune”. Yes, the Hammond can be a jazz instrument, but the present album makes it somewhat a psychedelic stretch to make it a standard jazz instrument, and it’s probably all the better anyway. So, LoN could be filled next to Devotion, Caravanserai and Emergency… quite a prestigious neighbourhood, really.

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