Review
by Thom Jurek
Composer and arranger Gary McFarland was well known in the 1960s for his film-scoring abilities and his charting skills with midsized bands. McFarland was also, however, a jazz fan, and particularly one of scalar pianist Steve Kuhn. This project features Kuhn in the center of a program made up entirely of McFarland compositions, all but two of which were written specifically for the album. Recorded in 1966, it is an anomaly in the Impulse catalog of the time in that it did not pursue the free jazz realms with the vengeance that most of the label's other acts did during that year. It is also significant that it caught the attention of a young Manfred Eicher, who later signed Kuhn to his ECM label based on the strengths of this recording. Like Keith Jarrett, Kuhn is in the pointillistic school of jazz pianists of the era. Unlike Jarrett, Kuhn does not consider force in his attack as necessary as his labelmate does. Instrumentally, Kuhn's customary trio situation -- which is dutifully performed with zeal by Ron Carter and drummer Marty Morell -- is augmented with a string quartet on half the record and with a wind trio with harp on the other half. The tracks on side one are in some ways less revolutionary, yet more fulfilling because Kuhn is clearly at home with the sonorities afforded by the strings. They don't swing, even on "One I Could Have Loved" from the film 13 or "St. Tropez Shuttle," a strangely metered bossa tune (in 3/4 instead of 4/4). Kuhn's cautious, contemplative improvising concerns itself with scalar explorations of melody, color, and harmony rather than rhythm or modal considerations. His touch is light and airy and therefore most pronouncedly visible against the strings. The interplay between Carter and Morell is almost instinctual; they couldn't have moved any closer together on this set if the charts had been written for them -- and they were not. With the wind trio and harp, Kuhn's approach is more physical, but nonetheless strives to create a palette for the very instruments that are trying to create one for him. There is some tension in this approach, but it works to the record's advantage. In sum, The October Suite was an experiment that worked beautifully, even if it was not acknowledged as being one of the more subtly brilliant albums of its day, though it most certainly stands the test of time that way.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-october-suite-three-compositions-of-gary-mcfarland-mw0000021648
///////
Reseña
por Thom Jurek
El compositor y arreglista Gary McFarland era muy conocido en los años 60 por su capacidad para componer películas y por su habilidad para hacer gráficos con bandas medianas. Sin embargo, McFarland también era un fanático del jazz, y en particular del pianista escalar Steve Kuhn. Este proyecto presenta a Kuhn en el centro de un programa formado íntegramente por composiciones de McFarland, todas ellas, excepto dos, escritas específicamente para el álbum. Grabado en 1966, es una anomalía en el catálogo de Impulse de la época, ya que no se adentró en el ámbito del free jazz con la misma intensidad con que lo hicieron la mayoría de los demás discos del sello durante ese año. También es significativo que llamara la atención de un joven Manfred Eicher, que posteriormente fichó a Kuhn para su sello ECM basándose en los puntos fuertes de esta grabación. Al igual que Keith Jarrett, Kuhn pertenece a la escuela puntillista de los pianistas de jazz de la época. A diferencia de Jarrett, Kuhn no considera tan necesaria la fuerza en su ataque como su compañero de sello. Instrumentalmente, la habitual situación de trío de Kuhn -que es interpretada con celo por Ron Carter y el batería Marty Morell- se ve aumentada con un cuarteto de cuerda en la mitad del disco y con un trío de viento con arpa en la otra mitad. Los temas de la primera cara son, en cierto modo, menos revolucionarios, pero más satisfactorios porque Kuhn se siente claramente a gusto con las sonoridades que ofrecen las cuerdas. No se balancean, ni siquiera en "One I Could Have Loved" de la película 13 o en "St. Tropez Shuttle", un tema de bossa extrañamente medido (en 3/4 en lugar de 4/4). La improvisación prudente y contemplativa de Kuhn se centra en exploraciones escalares de la melodía, el color y la armonía, más que en consideraciones rítmicas o modales. Su toque es ligero y aéreo y, por lo tanto, más visible contra las cuerdas. La interacción entre Carter y Morell es casi instintiva; no podrían haberse acercado más en este conjunto si las tablas hubieran sido escritas para ellos, y no lo fueron. Con el trío de viento y el arpa, el enfoque de Kuhn es más físico, pero no obstante se esfuerza por crear una paleta para los mismos instrumentos que intentan crear una para él. Hay cierta tensión en este enfoque, pero funciona a favor del disco. En resumen, The October Suite fue un experimento que funcionó maravillosamente, aunque no se le reconozca como uno de los álbumes más sutilmente brillantes de su época, aunque ciertamente resiste la prueba del tiempo en ese sentido.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-october-suite-three-compositions-of-gary-mcfarland-mw0000021648
1 - One I Could Have Loved - 4:45
2 - St. Tropez Shuttle - 7:10
3 - Remember When - 7:25
4 - Traffic Patterns - 5:04
5 - Childhood Dreams - 6:27
6 - Open Highway - 8:43
Credits:
Art Direction [Reissue Art Production Managed By] – Sherniece Smith
Art Direction [Reissue] – Hollis King
Bass – Ron Carter
Cello – Al Brown* (tracks: 1 to 3)
Composed By, Conductor, Arranged By – Gary McFarland
Design [Cover] – Robert Flynn (2)
Drums – Marty Morell
Engineer – Phil Ramone
Executive-Producer [Reissue] – Ken Druker
Harp – Corky Hale (tracks: 4 to 6)
Liner Notes [Original] – Nat Hentoff
Mastered By [Reissue] – Suha Gur
Photography By [Cover] – Charles Stewart*
Piano – Steve Kuhn
Producer – Bob Thiele
Reissue Producer – Bryan Koniarz
Reissue Producer [Assistant] – Mark Smith (9)
Viola – Charlie McCracken* (tracks: 1 to 3)
Violin – Isador Cohen* (tracks: 1 to 3), Matt Raimondi* (tracks: 1 to 3)
Woodwind – Don Ashworth (tracks: 4 to 6), Gerald Sanfino (tracks: 4 to 6), Irving Horowitz (tracks: 4 to 6), Joe Firrantello* (tracks: 4 to 6)
1 to 3 recorded 14 October, 1966.
4 to 6 recorded 1 November, 1966.
Label: Verve Records – 024 654 413-2, Impulse! – AS-9136, Impulse! – A-9136
Series: LP Reproduction
Released: Mar 11, 2003
Genre: Jazz
Style: Contemporary Jazz, Cool Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/4421450-Steve-Kuhn-The-October-Suite
This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive or device after reading it.
thank for the original uploader
No comments:
Post a Comment