Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard
| Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard | ||||
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| Live album by Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway | ||||
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| Label (s) | Resonance Records | |||
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CD |
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Title (number) |
5 |
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Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard is a jazz album by Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway , recorded at New York's Village Vanguard jazz club on November 26, 1988 and released on Resonance Records in 2017 .
background
The recording Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard contains two original compositions each by the two soloists Daniels and Kellaway; the title song is the jazz standard " Just Friends ", originally a pop song written by John Klenner (music) and Sam M. Lewis (lyrics) in 1931. Daniels and Kellaway are accompanied by bassist Buster Williams and drummer Al Foster .
Sound engineer (and later Resonance co-owner) George Klabin received permission from the band to record their weeklong engagement at Village Vanguard that Saturday night, and the performance was recorded with a high quality cassette recorder and a single Sony stereo microphone. “I put the microphone on the tabletop, pointed it at the band, hit record and let it play. It was that simple, ”recalls Klabin in his essay in the liner notes . “The tape has been in my personal collection since I recorded it. Almost three decades later, in 2016, I pulled it out and listened to it. Immediately I was cast under the spell again. I decided to send Roger and Eddie digital copies to please them. ”More discussions followed; Klabin eventually got approval from all four of the quartet members and began making plans for this remarkable DIY recording to finally get it out to the public.
The album cover photo is from jazz photographer William Claxton . Interior recordings of Tom Copi and Richard Laird, all of which were put together into a CD package by longtime Resonance designer Burton Yount.
Never intended for commercial release, Klabin's recording is characterized by clarity and intimacy. It also documents a significant period in the Daniels-Kellaway relationship, which arose from a suggestion by Jack Kleinsinger that they perform together for his popular “Highlights in Jazz” concert series a few years before the Vanguard date. Meanwhile, Daniels and Kellaway have documented their imaginative partnership as a duo on a number of recordings, including Live in the Library of Congress , Duke at Roadhouse: Live in Santa Fe and A Duo of One: Live in the Bakery . They had also recorded years ago in various ensemble contexts on albums such as To Bird With Love and Memos from Paradise: The Music of Roger Kellaway .
The album includes a booklet with historical photographs, essays by Resonance producers George Klabin and Zev Feldman , jazz writer John Murph, and interviews and reflections by Eddie Daniels, Roger Kellaway and Buster Williams.
Track list
- Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard (Resonance Records - HCD-2028)
- Some O 'This and Some O' That (Roger Kellaway) 9:32
- Reverie for a Rainy Day (Eddie Daniels) 5:37
- Wolfie's Samba (Eddie Daniels) 9:09
- Just Friends (John Klenner, Samuel M. Lewis) 5:47 PM
- The Spice Man (Roger Kellaway) 15:57
reception
Dve Gelly gave the album four (out of five) stars in the Guardian, commenting : “Although it has practically died out in contemporary jazz, the clarinet has an outstanding living master in Eddie Daniels. This 1988 live recording, previously unreleased, captures the full glitz of his early maturity and also his creative engagement with pianist / composer Roger Kellaway. Their combined virtuosity goes beyond technique and takes into account sensitivity, wit and exquisite assessment of mood. All of this is perfectly summed up in Wolfie's Samba, a piece by Daniels that turns out to be a clever, cheeky, but knowing trick from Mozart's clarinet quintet. And when it comes to death defying speed, try Kellaway's 'The Spice Man'. It would even have defeated Benny Goodman . "
Mike Shanley said in JazzTimes that Eddie Daniels gave up his tenor saxophone in the 1980s and devoted himself more to his clarinet, “has paid off, and he's pushed the instrument into new territories that go way beyond the usual tradition. There are moments on this recording, during his original Reverie for a Rainy Day, when Daniels produces such a full, full-bodied sound that it doesn't even sound like a clarinet, but like an obscure instrument from a hidden corner of the world. It is one of many surprises that took place on a Saturday evening in November 1988 at Village Vanguard. "
On stage with him was pianist Roger Kellaway, who had recently established a musical relationship with Daniels. George Klabin, today President of Resonance Records, was in the audience that night and received permission from Daniels to record the set. Although he only had a tape recorder on a table and operated with a Sony stereo microphone, Klabin managed to capture the nuances of the music and the energy of the quartet.
“The set is made of straight material, but the interactivity between the players takes it above the standard tariff. The rapid onslaught of notes in Kellaway's' The Spice Man 'is almost reminiscent of a bebop parody, but during the solos, especially Williams' vague, the message is serious business. “Wolfie's Samba” inspires the quartet by combining a Mozart clarinet piece with a samba groove. For "Just Friends" the group creates an epic 18-minute testimony that begins with an abstraction on the subject and is continued with unaccompanied clarinet and piano solos. In particular, Kellaway shows a free, outward-facing direction while maintaining his detailed feel for the melody. "
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Leonard Weinreich wrote in London Jazz News: “There are some jazz commentators who regard outstanding technical achievements as suspicious and equate empty virtuosity with artistic lack. Or, as Shakespeare wrote briefly about Stan Kenton : 'Sound and anger mean nothing'. ”Fortunately, Eddie Daniels, chief rabbi of the clarinet, has developed a woodblowing technique with considerable abilities. In “Some O 'This and Some O' That”, a bubbly blues, Daniels flies through a series of refrains without restriction before Kellaway embarks on a solo that is characterized by playful counter-rhythms. “Reverie for a Rainy Day” begins atmospherically deep in the chalumeau register of the clarinet, which climbs higher and higher, “caressed by Daniel's expressive tone”. The performance takes place at a slow pace, which is usually a pain for drummers, but Al Foster's steadfast time play is not affected by anything.
Unexpectedly, “Wolfie's Samba” transports the Vanguard audience to 18th century Vienna, while Daniels with impeccably legitimate intonation a few dozen bars of WA Mozart's clarinet quintet, as written, formulated before it goes south to Brazil, with bossa nova sounds and a more appropriate jazz tone. The title track “Just Friends” (a song that Charlie Parker converted into a jazz standard) is about “two comrades who have a rubato- cubist conversation. Clarinet and piano deal with fragments of the topic and examine them from different perspectives like Braque and Picasso , before they activate their rhythm section at level A and immerse themselves in a foaming swing . ”Finally, in“ The Spice Man ”, Al Foster brings with“ insidious snare- Tapped on the market and propelled the group to a reincarnation of a Goodman sextet from the 1940s, which alternates with a series of slow, meditative statements from each musician. Williams' contribution is a masterly display by Arco as Daniel and Kellaway channel heroes of the early 20th century. After another outbreak of the ensemble, Foster offers a lesson on how to play a bump-free sotto drum solo without compromising the excitement. "
Author John Murph wrote in the liner notes , Just Friends is “is not only a fascinating musical snapshot of Roger Kellaway and Eddie Daniels' early years, but introduces the jazz world to rare compositions written by the two of them. 'The Spice Man' is something the pianist hasn't tried again or intended ('I just don't want to play that fast'). His 'Some O' This and Some O 'That' reveals the influence of Thelonious Monk , perhaps also Art Blakey , in his driving shuffle feeling and the dazzling solos. Daniels' contributions, the wonderful ballad 'Reverie for a Rainy Day' and the Mozart-inspired 'Wolfies Samba' are also rarities that the clarinetist will never perform again. "
With the release of Just Friends , the historical record of this particular musical bond between Kellaway and Daniels is even more complete, Bebop Spoken Here critic said : "The lyric, swing and sheer unpredictability that Daniels and Kellaway bring to every encounter is really stunning - not least in the abstract rubato intro of the almost 20 minute long title track. The presence of Buster Williams and Al Foster, who had never worked as a rhythm section with these two co-leaders before, only adds to the spontaneity and spark of the music. "
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard -. Bebop Spoken Here, October 1, 2017, accessed March 21, 2019 .
- ^ Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard -. RTE, December 6, 2017, accessed March 21, 2019 .
- ↑ Discographic information at Discogs
- ↑ Dave Gelly: Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard review - virtuosity unbound. October 15, 2017, accessed March 21, 2019 .
- ↑ Mike Shanley: Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard - Review of live recording by clarinetist and pianist from the Village Vanguard in 1988. Jazz Times, February 9, 2018. Retrieved on March 27, 2019 (English) .
- ^ Leonard Weinreich: Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard -. London Jazz News, November 1, 2017, accessed March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway - Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard on Resonance Records