Elvin Jones - Live At the Lighthouse

Mar

7

Elvin Jones - Live At the Lighthouse

≡ Category: 1970s, Essential, Post Bop, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING

Rating:

Live at the Lighthouse, recorded in 1972 at the now defunct Lighthouse at Hermosa Beach, is a landmark release for several reasons. It was the first live recording to feature the next generation of musicians playing with drummer extraordinaire Elvin Jones, with Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman doubling on tenor and soprano sax, with Liebman occasionally playing flute on the ballads, and Gene Perla on acoustic bass.

While Perla’s consistently swinging and tasteful contribution on bass shouldn’t be overlooked, this recording is most remembered for showcasing two of the most important post-Coltrane saxophonists at the beginning of their careers, playing their lungs out. Never heard of Grossman and Liebman? That’s because Grossman has spent much of the last 25 years or so overseas. Dave Liebman, on the other hand, has been perenially undervalued almost as long as he’s been playing.

Having been given the green light by Elvin to play in the style of Coltrane, Liebman and Grossman burn with a startling intensity, chorus after chorus, especially on medium-tempo numbers like Donald Byrd’s “Fancy Free.” With their wholesale use of pentatonics, altissimo, chromatics, and cascades of notes, their playing on this recording has been a huge influence on jazz saxophonists ever since.

Another reason this is a classic recording is because Elvin wasn’t using a chordal instrument in his group at the time, which allowed him to pay special attention to timbre in his playing. Always a generous player with his soloists in the studio, Elvin allows himself a decent amount of solo space on this release.

Lastly, the quality of the tunes is first rate and quite varied, ranging from lesser known ballad standards like “I’m a Fool to Want You” to “New Breed,” a typically acerbic original by Liebman, with plenty of bracing dissonances.

Although the postbop/modal style of Live at the Lighthouse hasn’t dated at all, it must have seemed like an anachronism at the time, coming smack dab in the middle of the height of jazz fusion as exemplified by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters. Indeed, only a year later, Elvin would add Jan Hammer on electric piano and synthesizer for the sessions that would be issued on the At This Point in Time CD in 1998.

If at all possible, instead of the single CD, get Live at the Lighthouse Volumes I and II, which include the entire concert. Better still, if you possibly can, get the Mosaic label Elvin Jones Blue Note box set, which includes all ten Elvin Jones Blue Note releases, every one of which is a gem. At this point, EVERY version of Live at the Lighthouse is out of print, so be prepared to hunt for your copy and pay an arm and a leg in the bargain. You’ll be glad you did!