Search - Pete La Roca :: Basra

A "Must Hear" INCENDIARY Jazz Performance !!

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 05/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five Huge Stars? How about SIX! This is a REAL KEEPER. One of the Blue Note magical "All Star"recordings. Pete La Roca led the date, but it could have been any of the "Quartet which doesn't seem like a Quartet". These gentlemen are painting with a huge tonal canvas with broad, bold strokes. Joe Henderson is on tenor sax, Steve Kuhn on piano, Steve Swallow on bass, and Pete on drums. From the beginning bars of the recording to the end, this magical journey will knock your socks off.



The best of the best, "Pieces D'Resistance", begin with "Malaguena", a swirling, whirling piece of jazz mastery led off by Joe Henderson in the starring role of Matador, with Steve Kuhn as the Bull, and LaRoca and Swallow providing a restless beat for both. It's a masterful performance that grabs you from the first note of Kuhn's recurring ten note figure over the churning beat. And in comes Joe for a Tour de Force solo which is modal, freeing him up to soar over the normal chord changes. Kuhn follows with his own Tour de Force solo. If you are familiar with the incredible CD "Three Waves", the trio effort by this very same rhythm section, you already know that Kuhn is capable of bringing down huge amounts of thunder and lightning during his piano solos with LaRoca and Swallow providing hurricane gales and torrential rain. Kuhn's solo builds to a crescendo that is amazing, with LaRoca relentlessly pouring on the heat. And back comes Joe to sustain this intensity to the fadeout. "Malaguena" is simply a thing of tremendous beauty and intensity and is NOT TO BE MISSED by any jazz fan. A "Performance For The Ages"!!



But things are just getting started. "Candu" is a wild and wicked blues, hitting on all cylinders. The beautiful, sizzling "Tears Come From Heaven" is written by Pete and was last heard on the Art Farmer CD, "Sing Me Softly of the Blues", with this very same rhythm section backing Art. Joe and Steve get off another great solo each, but Pete comes to the fore to solo and he is blazing. The title track "Basra", written by Pete, has Swallow providing a hip, mysterious, Middle-eastern flavor to the track with his fat tone and reverberations that were virtually unheard on the original vinyl LP, and the other three contributing yearning solos about the legendary Iraqi port city. A beautiful, pastoral reading of "Lazy Afternoon" and Swallow's gently bopping "Eiderdown" round out this tremendous CD. This is an Essential Recording that will reward you for decades to come, revealing hidden jewels each time. Messrs. Henderson, Kuhn, Swallow, and leader La Roca have outdone themselves. And of course, it was originally a Blue Note LP from the magical 1960s period. Five (I give it SIX) Huge Stars!!



NOTE: I strongly suggest you track down Art Farmer's "Sing Me Softly Of the Blues" and the Steve Kuhn Trio's "Three Waves" to further explore this amazingly unique rhythm trio. Also, check out Steve Kuhn backing Oliver Nelson on the quartet tracks of Nelson's superb "Sound Pieces". Avant-garde pianist Steve Kuhn is a tremendous, under-appreciated front rank artist (You'll remember that he was Coltrane's first pianist.) Well worth the effort, jazz fans."

Oh To Experience the 60s!

David J. Engel | Bethesda, MD USA | 07/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Soulful 60's jazz performed here by a quartet made up of Joe Henderson, Steve Kuhn, Steve Swallow and Pete La Roca. The recording starts off with a spirited version of an Ernesto Lecuona "Malaguena" that may remind you of some of the work Coltrane was doing at around that time. The exotic color and flavor of "Basra", with a fine intro by Steve Swallow, is quite nice as well. I think my favorite tune may be the rather introspective "Lazy Afternoon". Beautiful. It really breaks me up. Here's a hint. Check out Norma Winstone's take on this same tune on her "...like song, like weather" CD."

Beyond Overlooked!

Joe Morrow | Lubbock, TX | 03/15/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know Joe Henderson's music inside and out and this and Larry Young's Unity are my favorite sessions even though they are not listed in his name. Over and over people review albums that are so-called "hidden classics", but in my opinion this stunning 1965 date takes the prize. (This is more of a title to add to your Henderson catalogue than La Roca's by the way). Why is this such a hidden classic do you ask? Because Henderson is in his finest form! "Lazy Afternoon" reminds me of the silky moments on "Idle Moments" by Duke Pearson, "Malaguena" is brilliant and moving, it almost touches on Henderson's later career dates such as Tetragon. "Eiderdown" lazily swings and explodes all at the same time. "Basra" is about as primally sexy as a tune can get- think smokey room with bedroom eyes...gorgeous! "Tears Come from Heaven" is the off-kilter song of the session that steams and drives and blows hard. "Candu" is the only song on the album that is tinkering on the edge of forgettable, but Henderson saves it with some a'la Sam Rivers style screaming that emotionalizes the song well. The rhythm section that consists of Pete La Roca (Sims) on drums, Steve Kuhn on piano, and Steve Swallow on bass really gives such a perfect undergirding for these passionately penned tunes. This is a rare La Roca session besides "Turkish Women" (also worth a listen) but I am so thankful that it has survived a few reissues. Do not overlook this moment in the Blue Note catalogue. I did for a while and hate the days that it wasn't in my life."