Live At Sweet Basil - Randy Brecker

Aug

24

Live At Sweet Basil - Randy Brecker

≡ Category: 1980s, Music Reviews, Post Bop, Recommended |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

In the 80s, any hint of progressive jazz was summarily slapped down, which didn’t bother Randy Brecker a bit. He used it as an excuse to form a quintet playing the sort of music that made him want to play jazz in the first place — high quality post bop.

Live At Sweet Basil (on the GNP Crescendo label) is more or less the live version of In The Idiom, the studio album trumpeter Randy Brecker put out with Joe Henderson in the sax chair, here replaced by Bob Berg. In the Idiom suffered from an odd lassitude, considering the normally killer rhythm duo of Al Foster on drums and Ron Carter on bass.

In a live setting, the energy is much higher and that’s all to the good. David Kikoski (piano) comes across much better, and Joey Baron (drums) and Dieter Ilg (bass) form a cohesive rhythm unit. The band as a whole is simultaneously relaxed and high energy, if that makes sense.

I also prefer this set of tunes over those on In The Idiom, of which only Moontide is repeated.

The Sleaze Factor is sort of a slowed-down samba with some funky melodic rhythms and harmonies that ooze from one ambiguous scheme to the next.

Thrifty Man, which is dedicated to Randy Brecker’s former employer, Horace Silver, doesn’t sound much like the man. Instead, you get the sort of long-limbed melody that Randy Brecker tends to indulge in when he writes mainstream jazz tunes. Of course, for Brecker, his idea of mainstream jazz includes plenty of odd chord progressions, so it’s hardly boring.

The pace picks up with Ting Chang, named for the nicknames of Elvin Jones (Ting) and Tony Williams (Chang). The groove is Latin, but it has the polyrhythms of Elvin and the cymbal-riding of Tony. Frankly, the level of complexity of the tune’s structure lost me, but Bob Berg is clearly up to task of interpreting it, contributing a burning solo on tenor. Randy Brecker takes a much more lyrical approach on trumpet. Joey Baron is with him every step of the way, maintaining the Latin groove, but managing to anticipate and comment on how Brecker subdivides or plays over the bar. Dieter Ilg, who I’m unfamiliar with, kills on his solo, where he comes up with intriguing melodic statements while maintaining the pulse of the tune. Ting Chang is definitely one of the high points of this release.

Another treat is Hurdy Gurdy. The initial melody is in an entirely different key than the tune itself. It cheerfully harps on an augmented 4th while the rhythm chugs along with a modified boogie woogie riff. The tune is a tribute to Randy Brecker’s days playing in organ trios while he was growing up in Philly, so David Kikoski plays the organ on this tune. It’s a fun change of pace. The sense of fun obviously inspired Bob Berg, who plays the hell out of the tune.

In fact, if there’s anything that characterizes this live date, it’s fun. The quintet swings like mad, they listen to each other, and they are clearly having a blast. You will, too.