The sixties were a peculiar time for big bands. You had Swing Era holdovers such as Ellington, Basie, Herman and Kenton, and then “outside” orchestras from the likes of Sun Ra and Jazz Composers Alliance. Caught in the middle were bands like Duke Pearson, who got initiated into the jazz scene as a bebopping sideman Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams’ quintet in 1959. Out on his own, he put out a handful of respectable small group releases, but it was his big band material that was his most adventurous, but also most overlooked. He had two studio sessions with Blue Note from 1967-68, and this concert in April of 1969 is the result of those fine albums.
The well-recorded 80 minute concert has Pearson playing piano and leading an all star16 member Dream Team that includes Donald Byrd/tp, Julian Priester/tb, Jerry Dodgion/as, Frank Foster/ts, Lew Tabackin/ts, Pepper Adams/bs, Bob Cranshaw/b and Mickey Roker/dr. Material ranges from as sweetly adventurous as Randy Weston’s “Hi-Fly” to standards such as “In The Still of the Night.” The former includes Foster’s tenor and some exciting flute work by Dodgion and Al Gibbons that is delectable, while Adams works wonders on the Porter piece. A pair of tunes by Chick Corea are exciting and adventurous: Straight Up and Down” have Byrd as the word and Adams stretching out while “Tones For Joan’s Bones” spotlights the leader’s spry touch on the piano. A hip tenor battle between Foster and Tabacking takes place on “Night Song” and the modal “El Dorado” has Byrd flying over an irresistible toe tapping tempo.
Whether you’re a fan of big band music or of exciting bop, you’re going to want to get your hands, and your ears, on this puppy.
Uptown Records