A Genuine Tong Funeral - Gary Burton

Apr

29

A Genuine Tong Funeral - Gary Burton

≡ Category: 1960s, Avant-Guarde, Post Bop, Progressive Big Band, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

It might be hard to fathom, given vibraphonist Gary Burton’s current status as a conservative, mainstream jazz musician, but when he started his career as a leader, Burton was an iconoclast, and one of the greatest innovators of the 60s. It was Burton that made the first steps towards fusion, predating Miles and McLaughlin by several years. True, initially it was country music that Burton combined with jazz, but fusion is fusion. That wasn’t the only way Burton was an innovator. He pioneered the use of four mallets in playing the vibraphone.

A Genuine Tong Funeral takes musical influences even further afield than country, rock or R&B. Since the music on A Genuine Tong Funeral was written by Carla Bley, the main compositional influences are Kurt Weill and classical music. The jazz aspects are mostly supplied by a group of extraordinary soloists, which include trombonist Jimmy Knepper, Howard Johnson on tuba, Steve Lacy on soprano sax, trumpeter Mike Mantler, and Gato Barbieri on tenor, in addition to Burton’s core quartet, which consisted of himself, guitarist Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow on bass, and drummer Bob Moses (who is credited as Lonesome Dragon because he thought the project was so lame he didn’t want his name on it). Finally, rare for jazz music then and now, there is much humor in the music.

The presence of such strongly individualistic performers gives the music an unusual piquancy. Bley and Burton worked out the arrangements to give the music as much variety as possible. There are duets, horn fanfares, and pieces for the core quartet.

A particular favorite of mine is The End, which paradoxically opens the suite. It starts out as a gorgeous fanfare for horns before adding some rhythmic chords on piano over which Burton contributes a frenzied and harmonically very free solo, which is very unusual for him.

I also enjoyed the unusual harmonic progression of The New Funeral March, which eventually turns into a light speed free jazz romp fronted by a combination of Coryell’s jazz rock guitar wanking, Burton’s fluttering vibes and Gato Barbieri’s shrieking on tenor. I’m normally not a big fan of Barbieri’s playing, but in the humorous context of A Genuine Tong Funeral, he’s inspired.

Given the presence of so many gifted soloists, it’s surprising that they are used mostly for the idiosyncratic character of their voices. Burton himself gets most of the solo space, and he’s in excellent form.

So, given that this review reads like a rave, why am I only giving A Genuine Tong Funeral four stars? Well, too many of Bley’s compositions lack compelling music interest for me. She leans way too hard on the whole Weimar Republic thing. On the other hand, A Genuine Tong Funeral as a whole sounds like nothing else — it’s unique. The supporting performances are terrific and Burton himself is transcendent.

Ultimately, A Genuine Tong Funeral will be of special interest to fans of Carla Bley, Gary Burton’s vibraphone playing, and tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri.