Friday, October 16, 2009

Cecil TAYLOR - Jazz Advance 1956


Cecil TAYLOR - Jazz Advance 1956
Label: Blue Note
Audio CD (July 2, 1991)

Jazz   

The Transition label and the then new music of Cecil Taylor were perfectly matched, the rebellion in modern jazz was on in 1956, and the pianist was at the forefront. Though many did not understand his approach at the time, the passing years temper scathing criticism, and you can easily appreciate what he is accomplishing. For the reissue Jazz Advance, you hear studio sessions in Boston circa 1956, and the legendary, ear-turning set of 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival. A young Steve Lacy is included on several tracks, and while revealing Taylor's roughly hewn façade, the few pieces as a soloist and with his trio of bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Dennis Charles are even more telling. At his most astonishing, Taylor slightly teases, barely referring to the melody of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," wrapping his playful, wild fingers and chordal head around a completely reworked, fractured, and indistinguishable yet introspective version of this well-worn song form. Taylor is also able to circle the wagons, jabbing and dotting certain vital notes on the melody of "Sweet & Lovely." When inclined to turn off putting dissonant chords into playful melody changes, he does so, turning around Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing" delightfully, and then scattering notes everywhere in his solo. Lacy's soprano sax is more than up to the task in interpreting Taylor's personal "Charge 'Em Blues" or laying out the straight-ahead mood on "Song." Neidlinger is the hardest swinging bassist on the planet during "Rick Kick Shaw," boosted by the Asian flavored piano of Taylor and especially the soaring punt-like drumming of Charles. The Newport sessions allegedly sent the crowd reeling with stunned surprise, as the quartet takes Billy Strayhorn's "Johnny Come Lately" starkly further than Monk might have, while Taylor's original "Nona's Blues" sports a jagged edge in what he called a "traditional, shorter form" as they were "at a jazz festival," and his original "Tune 2" is a ten-and-a-half minute languid strut, most Monk like, and a departure from any norm previously established. With Jazz Advance, the revolution commenced, Taylor was setting the pace, and the improvised music world has never been the same. For challenged listeners, this CD has to be high on your must have list.
By Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide.
**
This is the first Cecil Taylor album that I bought, back in the 70's when it was released as a Blue Note two-fer along with Love for Sale. The album opened up a new world to me. I had been your basic bebopper up until then. Taylor showed me how to mix my love of jazz with the chordal structures and harmonies of the European avant-garde that I loved as well. It was amazing...for me it outshown even the first Ornette Coleman recordings that I heard.
This is not the Cecil Taylor of the late 60's. This is Cecil's first steps into finding a new language for jazz. As such, the music should be heard in the context of the hard bop movement of the 50's. The traditional jazz elements are still to be found. The music swings, though Taylor plays with the rhythm. Steve Lacy can be heard taking his first foray into advanced music. (Before this date he was known best as a "moldy fig", playing mostly traditional jazz with the likes of Jack Teagarden.) Buell Neidlinger is marvelous. He lays down a swinging bass but is not afraid to stretch the time. The weak link in the mix is Dennis Charles. He is not a particularly inventive drummer. Nor does he swing as well as he should. His playing is the reason that the disc doesn't get five stars from me.

Taylor is the real reason to get the disc though. His playing is a marvel. He moves inside and then outside the chord changes, at times playing almost Monkish lines, and at times piling up dissonance like a jazzy Bartok. The playing is not frenetic, as his work since the 60s has been. It swings and is even quite lyrical on the ballads. But he is constantly taking risks. This music was way ahead of the curve for 1955, and in fact is still ahead of the curve. You can hear it's influence on Pianists as diverse as Paul Bley, Herbie Hancock and Mulgrew Miller, though they might not publically acknowledge it.

Jazz Advance certainly was that...an advance. Taylor continued to develop this line of work for about 10 years. Each new album developing new elements in the Taylor style. After his breakthrough Blue Note albums of the mid 60s (Unit Structures and Conquistador) he abandoned this kind of work. Many of the implications of this music have never been fully explored. I encourage every searching and open eared musician to explore this important period in the avant-garde. You might find in it the key to your own personal style.
By  Christopher Forbes.
**
Steve Lacy- (Sax (Soprano),
Cecil Taylor- (Piano),
Denis Charles- (Drums),
Buell Neidlinger- (Bass),
**
01. Bemsha Swing 7:27  
02. Charge 'Em Blues 11:06  
03. Azure 7:29  
04. Song 5:19   
05. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 9:17 
06. Rick Kick Shaw 6:05   
07. Sweet And Lovely  6:36
**
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