Freddie Redd Quartet With Jackie McLean • The Music From The Connection

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Freddie Redd composed the music for Jack Gelber's The Connection, a gritty play about musician junkies. Gelber had originally thought that the play would feature real musicians -- who would also double as actors in minor roles -- improvising on blues and jazz standards in the tradition of Charlie Parker, but Redd convinced him to use an original score. The two weaved Redd's original compositions into the score, making it an integral part of the play, but the music holds up superbly on its own. Using the direction "in the tradition of Charlie Parker" as a starting point, the pianist wrote seven pieces of straight-ahead bop, wide open for improvisations, and then assembled a sterling quartet featuring himself, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, bassist Michael Mattos, and drummer Larry Ritchie. The end result was a set of dynamic straight-ahead bop. While both Redd and McLean show signs of their influences -- the pianist blends Monk and Powell, while the saxophonist has built off of Bird's twisting lines -- they have developed their own voices, which gives the driving, bluesy bop on Music From the Connection an edge. McLean's full, robust tone often dominates, but he never overshadows Redd's complex, intricate playing, and both musicians, as well as Mattos and Ritchie, effortlessly keep up with the changes from hard-hitting, up-tempo bop numbers to lyrical, reflective ballads. Musically, Music From the Connection might not offer anything unexpected, but whenever straight-ahead bop is done this well, it should be celebrated.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-music-from-the-connection-mw0000665212

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Crítica de Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Freddie Redd compuso la música de The Connection, de Jack Gelber, una descarnada obra sobre músicos yonquis. Gelber había pensado originalmente que la obra contaría con músicos reales -que también harían las veces de actores en papeles secundarios- improvisando sobre blues y estándares de jazz en la tradición de Charlie Parker, pero Redd le convenció para que utilizara una partitura original. Ambos entretejieron las composiciones originales de Redd en la partitura, convirtiéndola en parte integrante de la obra, pero la música se sostiene magníficamente por sí sola. Tomando como punto de partida "en la tradición de Charlie Parker", el pianista escribió siete piezas de bop directo, abiertas a la improvisación, y luego reunió a un excelente cuarteto formado por él mismo, el saxofonista alto Jackie McLean, el bajista Michael Mattos y el batería Larry Ritchie. El resultado final fue un conjunto de bop dinámico y directo. Aunque tanto Redd como McLean muestran signos de sus influencias (el pianista mezcla a Monk y Powell, mientras que el saxofonista se ha basado en las líneas retorcidas de Bird), han desarrollado sus propias voces, lo que le da a Music From the Connection una ventaja. El tono lleno y robusto de McLean domina a menudo, pero nunca eclipsa la interpretación compleja e intrincada de Redd, y ambos músicos, así como Mattos y Ritchie, siguen el ritmo sin esfuerzo en los cambios de números bop contundentes y acelerados a baladas líricas y reflexivas. Musicalmente, Music From the Connection puede que no ofrezca nada inesperado, pero siempre que el bop directo se hace así de bien, hay que celebrarlo.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-music-from-the-connection-mw0000665212

Tracks:
1 - Who Killed Cock Robin
2 - Wigglin'
3 - Music Forever
4 - Time To Smile
5 - Theme For Sister Salvation
6 - Jim Dunn's Dilemma
7 - O.D.


Credits:
    Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean
    Bass – Michael Mattos
    Design [Cover] – Reid Miles
    Drums – Larry Ritchie
    Liner Notes – Ira Gitler
    Mastered By – Larry Walsh
    Photography By [Cover Photo] – Herb Snitzer
    Piano, Composed By [Music] – Freddie Redd
    Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder
    Reissue Producer [Produced For Release By] – Michael Cuscuna

Recorded on February 15, 1960 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Label:    Blue Note – CDP 0777 7 89392 2 1
Series:    Blue Note Connoisseur Series
Country:    US
Released:    1994
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Hard Bop
https://www.discogs.com/release/3111764-Freddie-Redd-Quartet-With-Jackie-McLean-The-Music-From-The-Connection

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