Review by Thom Jurek
Grits, Beans and Greens: The Lost Fontana Studio Sessions 1969 is truly a "lost" album that's a jazz holy grail on par with Tubby Hayes' 1968 albums Mexican Green and 100% Proof. Cut with a smoking new band with whom he was trying to re-establish himself as a viable musician after two years of health problems, arrests, and other mishaps, this amounts to his last great album. The session reels containing it sat in boxes until 2014 when Decca/Universal hired high-end vinyl specialists Gearbox Studios to master the sessions for the first time and deliver new lacquers. While the album was assembled from multiple takes, Hayes' diary designated the final lineup's keepers.
Hayes was a consummate jazz musician -- arguably the greatest of 20th century England. His band here -- Spike Wells on drums, pianist Mike Pyne, and bassist Ron Mathewson -- roars through five mid-length to long tunes in sessions that were as loose as they were swinging. Opener "For Members Only" is counted off by Hayes and set into motion by Wells. After a couple of different "endings" in the intro, the jam kicks into gear with Hayes in muscular form, his solo fleet, wildly imaginative, and harmonically astonishing as it encompasses his own developmental ideas and fascinations with the jazz vanguard and blues-inspired language. Wells, who made his recorded debut here, swings like mad but keeps Mathewson and his meaty yet lofty ideas grounded, while Pyne delivers fat comps, vamps, and a tight solo. "Rumpus" is a monument to high musicality. This version is a first take, and its knotty construction crisscrosses the intricate athleticism of bop with its knotty head joined to the more physically demanding modal hard bop of John Coltrane during the Atlantic period. Hayes' solo is dazzling in its complexity and feeling, with the rhythm section carving out space for him to explore. The title cut is a finger-popping hard bop groover; it offers dexterous, even competitive interplay between Hayes and Mathewson. A pair of covers round out the set. The first is a gorgeous, deeply felt version of Duke Pearson's immortal ballad "You Know That I Care," in which Hayes delivers both the lushness and deep emotion that makes fools of critics who claimed he was all flash and no feeling. The sprightly articulation of the Latin-ized rhythmic invention in "Where Am I Going?" by Cy Coleman closes the set as Wells pushes the band into a humid groove while Hayes and Mathewson communicate directly. Pyne moves from sharp montunos to elegant, even romantic post-bop swing as Hayes matches cadenzas with short phrases and seamless arpeggios. The sound is pristine; it that matches the soulfulness and technical proficiency of the playing, and Hayes' biographer Simon Spilett penned the copious liner notes. Grits, Beans and Greens: The Lost Fontana Studio Sessions 1969 presents itself as a bona fide jazz holy grail. Hopefully, along with the documentary Tubby Hayes: A Man in a Hurry, it will spark a true critical and popular reappraisal of Hayes' work.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/grits-beans-and-greens-the-lost-fontana-studio-sessions-1969-mw0003290360
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Reseña de Thom Jurek
Grits, Beans and Greens: The Lost Fontana Studio Sessions 1969 es realmente un álbum "perdido" que es un santo grial del jazz a la altura de los álbumes de Tubby Hayes de 1968 Mexican Green y 100% Proof. Grabado con una nueva y humeante banda con la que intentaba restablecerse como músico viable después de dos años de problemas de salud, arrestos y otros percances, se trata de su último gran álbum. Los rollos de sesión que lo contenían permanecieron en cajas hasta 2014, cuando Decca/Universal contrató a los especialistas en vinilos de alta gama Gearbox Studios para que masterizaran las sesiones por primera vez y entregaran nuevas lacas. Aunque el álbum se montó a partir de múltiples tomas, el diario de Hayes designó a los guardianes de la alineación final.
Hayes fue un consumado músico de jazz, posiblemente el más grande de la Inglaterra del siglo XX. Su banda -Spike Wells en la batería, el pianista Mike Pyne y el bajista Ron Mathewson- ruge a través de cinco temas de duración media a larga en sesiones tan sueltas como movidas. La primera canción, "For Members Only", es contada por Hayes y puesta en marcha por Wells. Después de un par de "finales" diferentes en la introducción, la jam se pone en marcha con Hayes en forma musculosa, su solo es rápido, salvajemente imaginativo y armónicamente asombroso, ya que abarca sus propias ideas de desarrollo y fascinación con la vanguardia del jazz y el lenguaje inspirado en el blues. Wells, que hizo su debut discográfico aquí, se balancea como un loco, pero mantiene a Mathewson y sus ideas carnosas pero elevadas en la tierra, mientras que Pyne ofrece gordos comps, vamps, y un solo apretado. "Rumpus" es un monumento a la alta musicalidad. Esta versión es una primera toma, y su nudosa construcción entrecruza el intrincado atletismo del bop con su nudosa cabeza unida al hard bop modal más exigente físicamente de John Coltrane durante el periodo atlántico. El solo de Hayes es deslumbrante en su complejidad y sentimiento, con la sección rítmica abriendo espacio para que explore. El corte que da título al disco es un hard bop con dedos; ofrece una interacción hábil e incluso competitiva entre Hayes y Mathewson. Un par de versiones completan el conjunto. La primera es una versión magnífica y profundamente sentida de la inmortal balada de Duke Pearson "You Know That I Care", en la que Hayes ofrece tanto la exuberancia como la profunda emoción que deja en ridículo a los críticos que decían que era todo flash y nada de sentimiento. La articulación ágil de la invención rítmica latina en "Where Am I Going?" de Cy Coleman cierra el conjunto cuando Wells empuja a la banda hacia un ritmo húmedo mientras Hayes y Mathewson se comunican directamente. Pyne pasa de los montunos afilados al swing post-bop elegante, incluso romántico, mientras Hayes combina las cadencias con frases cortas y arpegios sin fisuras. El sonido es inmaculado, a la altura del alma y la destreza técnica de la interpretación, y el biógrafo de Hayes, Simon Spilett, ha redactado las abundantes notas del disco. Grits, Beans and Greens: The Lost Fontana Studio Sessions 1969 se presenta como un auténtico santo grial del jazz. Es de esperar que, junto con el documental Tubby Hayes: A Man in a Hurry, provoque una verdadera revalorización crítica y popular de la obra de Hayes.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/grits-beans-and-greens-the-lost-fontana-studio-sessions-1969-mw0003290360
Track:
1. Where Am I Going? (Take 1 May 27th 1969)
2. Where Am I Going? (Take 2 May 27th 1969)
3. Where Am I Going? (Take 3 May 27th 1969)
4. Grits, Beans And Greens (Take 1)
5. For Members Only (Take 1)
6. Where Am I Going? (Take 1 Breakdown)
7. For Members Only (Take 2 Full Version)
8. Where Am I Going? (Take 2)
9. Grits, Beans And Greens (Take 2 Breakdown)
10. Grits, Beans And Greens (Take 3)
11. Rumpus (Take 1 Full Version)
12. Where Am I Going? (Take 3 Full Version)
13. Rumpus (Take 2 Breakdown)
14. Rumpus (Take 3 Breakdown)
15. Rumpus (Take 4)
16. Grits, Beans And Greens (Take 4 Full Version)
17. You Know I Care (Take 1 Breakdown)
18. You Know I Care (Take 2 Full Version)
Genre: Hard Bop
Country: UK
Released: 2019
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