Search - Jackie Mclean :: New and Old Gospel

In Defense of a Landmark

M. Farfaglia | Irvine, CA United States | 11/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I write this review first and foremost as a response to Mr. Marass's one-star assessment below. Reading his critique, it is apparent that Mr. Marass doesn't care for "free" or "avant garde" jazz, thus he has seen it fit to only give one star to this seminal masterpiece. This is wholly unfair, as dislike of a particular genre is no basis to dismiss the merits of a work that ostensibly fits that category. One could assume that Mr. Marass, in his myopic dismissal of the "avant garde" genre as worthy, would likewise rate John Coltrane's "Ascension," Cecil Taylor's "Conquistador" and Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" as similar one-star experiments. It would have been more apt for Mr. Marass to give no stars instead of one, indicating that his dislike for "free jazz" precludes a fair and unbiased appraisal.



Secondly, applying "avant garde" to this landmark recording is the second error. Show me one straight-ahead jazz buff who classifies this album as "too avant garde" and I'll find you five free jazz afficionados who will regard cuts such as "Old Gospel" and "Strange As It Seems" as "too structured" for their liking. And therein lies the beauty of "New and Old Gospel" - as neither a "loose" inside session nor a "structured" outside one it defies categorization.



Finally, to argue how this recording serves the dichotomy between free vs. structured is to make the classic mistake of mixing up the menu with the meal. "New and Old Gospel" is an EXUBERANT record, as the great Alfred Lion implies in the liner notes. Key to the success of this date is the great Billy Higgins on drums: his variations of feel, dynamics and tempo, to say nothing of the propulsive support he brings to the "old churchy" feel of "Old Gospel" are simply phenomenal. Higgins's incredible work on this album is worthy of repeated listenings to just the drum track alone.



Whether you classify "New and Old Gospel" as inside, outside or just plain exuberant, it is a landmark classic Blue Note containing among the most inspired playing of Jackie McLean, Ornette Coleman and the aforementioned Mr. Higgins on record. I respectfully encourage Mr. Marass to reconsider his narrow-minded application of only one star to a testament that easily deserves a thousand, and of the reader to purchase this masterpiece for your jazz collection, if it isn't there already.



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