Redux ‘78 - Hal Galper Quintet

Feb

3

Redux ‘78 - Hal Galper Quintet

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

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

Back in the late 70s, the Brecker Brothers were mostly involved with their groundbreaking funk/fusion outfit, but they took time out to play some advanced post bop with Hal Galper. For anyone not truly listening to their work in the Brecker Brothers, saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter Randy Brecker proved that they could blow bebop licks as well as anyone in the business. But the Breckers weren’t the whole show. The quintet had a remarkable rhythm section in drummer Bob Moses and bassist Wayne Dockery. These guys swung their asses off!

The results were memorably documented in the Reach Out! date, and have since become somewhat famous in certain circles. One day, while rummaging around in his closet, Hal Galper came across several unmarked tapes which turned out to be more live material with the quintet from the same period. Those tapes became the release under discussion, Redux ‘78 (on the Concord Jazz label).

Is Redux ‘78 on the same level as Reach Out? For me, it’s not quite as focused, but the energy and virtuosity is still there. It’s very much the same band with all that implies.

Reflecting on those times, Hal Galper noted “It was a crazy, intense, edge-of-your-seat, triple forte, New York crash-out, bash-out kind of playing that was super-aggressive.”

But there are still lyrical selections like My Man’s Gone and I’ll Never Stop Loving You.

Basically, the moral of the story is, if you really dig Reach Out!, you’ll probably like Redux ‘78, too.