Search - Joel Harrison :: So Long 2nd Street

The great American songbook . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 10/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . just not the one you're used to hearing, if you're a jazz fan like me; in other words, no Sammy Kahn, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Hoagie Carmichael, or George Gershwin. But make no mistake, this is a jazz record, if a very odd one.



Building on his last project, Free Country, and going way beyond it, this, his latest disc, is nothing short of remarkable. I guess I didn't entirely get his MO on Free Country. It all begins with how you take the title. Although it certainly could be understood in a number of ways, from the vantage point of this latest disc, it's certainly meant to be read as a command: Let's free country (with the word "music" implied).



And if he began to loosen up country music with jazzy takes of Appalachian tunes on Free Country, things are veritably untethered on So Long 2nd Street, although, strangely, even more deeply rooted. Containing a mix of traditional numbers ("Shady Grove," "I Am the Light of This World," "I'll Fly Away," "The Water Is Wide," and "Oh Death") Country Standards ("Riding on the Midnight Train," "Galveston," "White Line Fever," and "Wichita Lineman") and Harrison originals (the title tune, "Waterbound," and "Time Flies"), So Long 2nd Street somehow manages to weave these disparate threads into a stunningly beautiful musical tapestry.



Although some of the songs are so radically reworked as to be scarcely recognizable ("White Line Fever," "I'll Fly Away," "Oh Death"), each exudes an earthiness, a penetrating depth of character, a gravitas scarcely to be found in other music. To me, the most poignant numbers are the instrumentals, "I'll Fly Away," "The Water Is Wide," "Oh Death," and "Wichita Lineman." These succeed by virtue of their fascinating deconstruction and reconstruction of materials, their stunning arrangements, and the shear brilliance of the band (Harrison, electric, baritone, and National Steel guitar; David Binney, saxophone; Gary Versace, accordion, organ, and piano; Stephan Crump, acoustic bass; Dan Weiss, drums; Todd Isler, frame drums, hadjini, misc. percussion; plus guests Uri Caine, piano and Rob Burger, organ).



Binney, a bandleader of note himself and longtime associate of the leader, is perhaps the key player here. He gets the majority of solos, soaring with his characteristic abandon, and adds the jazziest element to the proceedings. The other most interesting players, to these ears, at least, are drummer Weiss and percussionist Isler, who somehow manage to map a very weird although entirely attractive world-jazz vibe onto an all-American heartland-sounding percussive underpinning. The emerging tonal palate is something like Bill Frisell and the Intercontinentals meet Merle Haggard, with more than a dollop of Eric Dolphy thrown in, and a touch of Taj Mahal.



I'm a little ambivalent about the vocals, which are mainly handled by Harrison. First of all, I don't generally like vocal jazz. Second, Harrison is rather limited as a singer. He does have a quite attractive husky breathiness, and he manages to put a lot of conviction into his delivery. And sometimes his limitations even come across as virtue because of the level of poignancy he achieves.



But this disc has such innate power of conception and delivery that whatever shortcomings Harrison possesses as a singer are swamped by the brilliance of its aural and emotional glories.



A huge advance for Harrison, and one of the most intriguing hybrid, cross-pollinated efforts in the history of music. Highest recommendation."

No contradictions here

Andy Plymale | Richland, WA United States | 07/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Joel Harrison's "So Long 2nd Street," subtitled "Free Country II," is a follow-up to his surprisingly critically acclaimed 2003 release, "Free Country," which consisted of jazz reinterpretations of songs by Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Woodie Guthrie, among others. Featuring a pre- Grammy winning Norah Jones on a couple of vocal tracks, Free Country was ranked #29 in the end-of-year critics ranking by Jazz Times magazine. While "So Long Second Street" lacks the lovely guest female vocals of Free Country, the CD definitely represents no "sophomore slump" on the part of Harrison, whose arrangements are astounding. (Can you imagine the traditional mountain song "O Death," sung by bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley in the Klan-rally scene from the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," as an instrumental jazz ballad?) The standout tracks are "I Am the Light of the World," by the Reverend Gary Davis, where Harrison's vocals are backed by the Total Praise Gospel Choir, and the pop oriented title track, which is an original by Harrison. Also covered are two songs by Jimmy Webb: the Glen Campbell hit "Galveston," where Harrison brings the song's veiled anti-war theme to the fore, and "Wichita Lineman," which is given a straightforward instrumental treatment that could possibly find its way onto smooth-jazz playlists. As for the traditional song "Shady Grove," featuring pianist Uri Caine, I can't decide whether this track sounds more like Celtic music or more like 1950s bebop. There is enough accessible material on these two CDs to make a Starbucks friendly compilation CD that could reach the masses, which this music definitely deserves to do."