Skip to main content

Moanin'

Another CD I picked up from the seemingly now-defunct Kriminal Records in Newport is this 2010 2-disc issue on the "Not Now" label. Disc 1 contains the 1958 album Moanin', while disc 2 has Orgy in Rhythm, originally released on two LPs in 1963. The Jazz Messengers only appear on the former, with the latter the fruits of a separate project where Blakey played with no fewer than three other drummers; along with a quartet of percussionists plus bass, piano and flute. Interesting & unusual as they are, I haven't yet taken a shine to the Orgy in Rhythm tracks.

Moanin', on the other hand, is a firm favourite. From the opening piano notes of the title track, one feels in safe hands, and the quality barely dips though the whole record. The Jazz Messengers on this occasion were Benny Golson on tenor sax; Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass. For me, the most memorable instrumental moments on the record come from Morgan, such the spectacular start to his solo on 'Moanin'' itself. Golson is also excellent, if less obviously showy - four of the tunes are also compositions of his. Timmons wrote one too, but that (the title track) turned out to be just about the Messengers' single biggest hit.

From a time when being a jazz musician came with any number of life-threatening health hazards, it's heartening that a few of this band have lived to a good old age. Neither Morgan or Timmons made it to 40, but Blakey was 71 when he died, and Merritt an impressive 93. Golson, meanwhile, is still with us, having recently reached his own 93rd birthday.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All Wrapped Up

Here's another of the compilation cassettes I bought this summer, having taken home a Denon twin-deck hi-fi cassette player from the local charity shop. All Wrapped Up is a 1983 compilation of singles by The Undertones, with Side One filled with A-sides, and B-sides on Side Two. A cassette must be the least desirable medium for such an arrangement, with a long rewind required if one just wants to hear the hits repeatedly. The Undertones were unapologetically provincial and anti-fashionable, with their songs sharply-written slices of life that pointedly avoided any mention of politics, or of the then-continuing violence in their native Derry. My favourite tracks are the obvious choices: 'Teenage Kicks', 'Jimmy Jimmy', 'Here Comes the Summer', 'My Perfect Cousin' & 'Wednesday Week'. Their later singles showed increased sophistication but lack the some of the straightforward charm of their earlier work. The B-sides, not unexpectedly, are mo...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Heat

Having acquired the soubriquet "the walrus of love", Barry White thereafter became something of a figure of fun, something that misled me (and presumably others) into disregarding his music. Only within the last few years have I begun to pay it more attention. After picking up a copy of his '74 album Can't Get Enough last summer, which I loved, I sought out some of the music by his protegés Love Unlimited. From a Discogs seller I ordered well-used copies of Under the Influence of... ('73) and In Heat ('74) for only £6.25. The only unappealing thing about In Heat is its awful title. The songs and the singing are strong; the arrangements rich & warmly enveloping. As one would expect from White, the thematic focus is firmly fixed on amatory matters. The opening number 'Move Me No Mountain' (the only one on the record not written by White) offers a refreshing rebuttal to the kind of lyrical hyperbole in songs like 'Ain't No Mountain High E...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bananas Are Not Created Equal

I knew Jay Berliner's name from his contributions to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady , so when I saw this curiously-titled LP at the local charity shop I was intrigued, and bought it even though I had no idea what kind of music it might contain. This was after the days when one could still buy records there for a pound apiece, but I don't think I paid more than a fiver for it. The music turned out to be an all-instrumental blend of funk, soul & jazz. Berliner's virtuoso lead guitar is only one of many attractions here. The band of first-rate session musicians behind him are all uniformly excellent too, and, crucially, sound like they're having a blast. Cornell Dupree's supporting guitar work, while less showy than Berliner's, is beautifully-judged, and the rhythm section is terrific. Arranger/conductor Wade Marcus was no slouch either, judging from the way everything comes together. Two of the funk...
Post a Comment
Read more