Search - Great Jazz Trio :: At the Village Vanguard Again

Not Their Best Night, But Essential Nonetheless...

4-Legged Defender | ATL. GA. | 04/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For one week in February 1977, three giants of jazz gathered at the legendary Village Vanguard and played a series of shows nightly, some of which were recorded and released at various times thereafter. I was priviledged to see them on two nights, one of which was unforgettable, the other not so much. Regardless, it was inspiring to me as a young player at that time, and I was lucky enough to sit right next to Tony Williams on both nights and see him from a side angle playing on a 4 piece house drumkit that sounded weak and poorly tuned, a few weeks after seeing his group Lifetime at the Bottom Line when he had his trademark Yellow Citron Gretsch drums, which were always impeccably and magnificently tuned. Ron Carter played both standard and piccolo upright, and was supremely superb and spot-on each and every tune. Hank Jones was a joy to listen to, whether playing melody, comping or soloing, and he was enjoying himself while making it all appear effortless. There are 5 tracks on this volume, all standards, and there are 3 volumes in the Vanguard series, and if you`re a fan of any or all of these exceptional players, you should own them. That said, I believe their best work appears on the 'Kindness,Joy,Love,Happines', 'The Great Tokyo Meeting', 'Milestones', and 'Love For Sale' cd`s, IMHO. Also, don`t overlook 'I`m Old Fashioned' w/ Sadao Watanabe, which is truly great (who knew Sadao could play Parker tunes like a monster?) and 'New Wine In Old Bottles' w/ Jackie McLean, fresh out of rehab. As far as this cd goes, 4 stars for the performances/recording, 5 stars for the great legends of jazz."