Search - Frank Hewitt :: Not Afraid to Live

More please!

N. Dorward | Toronto, ON Canada | 01/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the 2nd volume of Frank Hewitt discs from Smalls Records. Take a look at my review of the first (_We Loved You_) for some of the background & a thumbnail of Hewitt's piano playing. In brief: Hewitt was a highly original bebop pianist who was something of an underground legend in New York but never got the chance to release a record during his lifetime. (The only exception was his very brief appearance on _Live at Smalls_, an Impulse compilation which more or less sidelined him.) Since his death Luke Kaven of Smalls Records has been busy trying to secure him posthumous fame by finally releasing the few sessions that Hewitt recorded in his lifetime.



_Not Afraid to Live_ is Hewitt's last session, though he still sounds just fine on it despite the short time remaining to him. The bassist is his usual bassist Ari Roland, while the drummer is the great Louis Hayes, who had not worked with him before. The session is a considerable contrast to _We Loved You_: the repertoire has more of a boppish slant--"Manteca" & "Night in Tunisia" turn up in the setlist--& the tempos are mostly up, sometimes _very_ up. The session has its rough edges: Hayes seems intrigued but not quite on Hewitt's wavelength, & it's pretty obvious that Hewitt simply launched into the tunes without much advance discussion or arrangement. So, for instance, on "Just One of Those Things", he starts with a slow, rhapsodic unaccompanied opening, then shifts into a ferociously fast gear for the head--but Hayes doesn't follow suit, coming in on brushes at a more moderate tempo, so there's a little negotiation before the players lock in & just blow (it's actually a terrific performance despite the rough spot). On "What's New" Hayes seems bemused that Roland insists on playing in two the whole time, & at several points tries to nudge things into doubletime or a brisker walk, but no-one takes him up on it. These are all things that could have been cleared up by an extra take or two but I assume this isn't what happened in the studio.



So it takes a couple listens to get past the occasionally glitchy surface of the music. If you do that, though, you'll find this just as fascinating a window on Hewitt's music as the first CD. The prize plums here are a tremendous "I'll Remember April" (quite fast--nothing like the version on the first CD), "Just One of Those Things", & an especially fierce "Manteca". Hewitt's playing is almost alarmingly double-or-nothing--even on a fast tune he favours doubletime runs--& it's about as far away from the smooth virtuosity of much mainstream jazz piano as you can get..... but despite the fratured surface he's always on top of things--walk-in-the-park relaxed & in the pocket. It's a very personal wrong-right style of playing: even the familiar themes of the bebop tunes get reworked with pointed off-notes & strange harmonies.



I'd still suggest that listeners unacquainted with Hewitt go to _We Loved You_ first: it's a little ballad-heavy, but the band is completely sympatico with him there. But if you like that one, then needless to say you'll want more. I gather there's still more Hewitt in the can, including a live gig--I hope it's not long before these see the light of day."