JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating: 
Sorcerer captures the Miles Davis’ 2nd great quintet at the height of their sophistication and collective abilities.
The performances are infinitely subtle, and the forms tend to expand or contract at will due to the supernatural level of communication between drummer Tony Williams, bassist Ron Carter, and pianist Herbie Hancock.
On Wayne Shorter’s Prince Of Darkness, for example, Miles can’t even wait for the head to be completed before he starts playing countermelodies against Shorter’s tenor. Williams pushes or comments on Miles’ lucid but enigmatic statements on trumpet. Ron Carter’s treatment of the time is even more fluid. Somehow, he maintains the pulse, but he’s never simply walking. He’s always doing something interesting, like playing over the bar, playing three against four, or strumming double stops. Shorter’s solo is less measured than Miles’. He sprinkles scalar flurries or rephrases the melodic material with rhythmic variations. Herbie lays out a lot on this tune, but when it’s time for his solo, he emphasizes single note lines that are stunning in their clarity of presentation.
Shorter’s Masqualero boasts a haunting melody that stays with you. Interestingly, Shorter, Hancock, and Miles approach the tune using an almost Flamenco style, relying heavily on chords and melodies that reflect the Phrygian scale.
Hancock contributes The Sorcerer, his nickname for Miles. The head is memorable, but as with most of the compositions on Sorcerer, the band tends to rush through it to get to the collective improvisation, which is definitely the point with this band. Don’t worry too much about following the form when you listen to these tunes. It’s better to just surrender to the organized chaos of the rhythm section and the pure melody flowing out of the soloists’ hands and mouths. If you really want to appreciate The Sorcerer as a tune rather than a performance, track down Herbie’s rendition on his Speak Like A Child date, which any self respecting jazz fan should own, anyway.
The rest of the tunes also manage the trick of being simultaneously memorable and mysterious. Sorcerer is not a recording that easily gives up it’s secrets, but merits serious study.
Note: the final tune, Nothing Like You, sticks out like a sore thumb on this collection, with odd but engaging vocals by Bob Dorough, and an entirely different band and approach, which is understandable since it was recorded five years earlier. To me it’s not a drawback, but folks who are anal about stylistic consistency might be bothered.
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