POWER TRIO - JOHN HICKS/CECIL MCBEE/ELVIN JONES. Arista??(CD).
?1990.
A beautiful 'After the Rain', and more, but...deleted. This is a John Hicks album, but I had to include it.
WHEN I WAS AT ASO-MOUNTAIN. ELVIN JONES/TAKEHISA TANAKA. Enja 70812(CD).
12/90, with Sonny Fortune, Cecil Mcbee.
An excellent record; buy.
IN EUROPE. Enja 70092(CD).
6/91, with Sonny Fortune, Ravi Coltrane, Willie Pickens, Chip Jackson.
Accurate representation of a Jazz Machine set. But the second track ('Doll of the Bride') is over half an hour long, beginning with a 10-minute flute solo; a very large slice of the CD. Once they get going, there are some exciting solos...however the opening and closing tracks are more fun.
YOUNGBLOOD. Enja 70512(CD).
4/92, with Joshua Redman, Javon Jackson, Nicholas Payton, George Mraz.
GOING HOME. Enja 70952(CD).
10/92, with Ravi Coltrane, Javon Jackson, Nicholas Payton, Kent Jordan, Willie Pickens, Brad Jones.
Elvin's best in ages, almost a greatest hits.
('Going Home' is available from Amazon.com)
IT DON'T MEAN A THING. Enja 8066(CD).
10/93, with Sonny Fortune, Nicholas Payton, Delfeayo Marsalis, Willie Pickens, Cecil Mcbee, Kevin Mahogany.
('It Don't Mean A Thing' is available from Amazon.com)
MOMENTUM SPACE - DEWEY REDMAN/CECIL TAYLOR/ELVIN JONES.
Challenging late-period meeting of three giants, huge slabs of sound and Elvin playing as you would expect him to in such a situation at this late stage in his career...I don't know whose idea it was to put these three together for an afternoon, but the results are fairly predictable. Jones is one side of the fence, Taylor very definitely on the other, and Redman is probably straddling it to some extent; I'm not sure that this is a valuable addition to anyone's discography, although it will have its adherents.
('Momentum Space' is available from Amazon.com)
THE ELVIN JONES JAZZ MACHINE - THE TRUTH, HEARD LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE. Half Note Records CD, 2004.
9/99, with Michael Brecker, Antoine Roney, Robin Eubanks, Darren Barrett, Carlos Mckinney, Gene Perla.
This is an edited live recording of Elvin's 2-night birthday bash at the Blue Note club in New York during September 1999. As a memoir, it's probably essential. The editing has been done with great care, and the music has been assembled and sequenced to give the listener a live set of seven tracks in about an hour. Had it been the completely unedited 'truth', this set would have run to at least 2 CDs of much greater length, but...I am carping, for there is some stunning playing here.
Michael Brecker was added to the ensemble for the occasion and gets two features, one of which is a truly magnificent reading of "Body and Soul". Gene Perla is the bassist, and Elvin is in great form. The longest piece, "Wise One", is (surprisingly) a trio feature for Carlos McKinney's piano. This comes in at 12.27, but the average track length is about 7-8 minutes, which is somewhat short for live Elvin! It ends aptly enough with "Three Card Molly"...perhaps one day we will hear the unedited versions, as this must have been quite an engagement.
THE GREAT JAZZ TRIO - HANK JONES / ELVIN JONES / RICHARD DAVIS.
AUTUMN LEAVES. 441 Records FFO-0014.
SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME. Columbia CK 92819.
COLLABORATION. 441 Records FFO-0026.
The Great Jazz Trio is Elvin's eldest brother's band, so it may be pushing it a bit to include these CDs in this discography, however I feel they merit inclusion. The Great Jazz Trio is always Hank Jones and a star rhythm section; initially that was Ron Carter and Tony Williams, and later recorded incarnations feature the likes of Al Foster, Eddie Gomez, George Mraz, Roy Haynes and more. The material is invariably standards, and there are around 25 albums, the bulk of which are deleted. This and the earlier Hank Jones CD "Upon Reflection" record the last musical meetings of the two brothers, and there are lifetimes of experience at work here. There are no surprises; it's all very civilized and sounds easy, rather like riding in a powerful Mercedes or Rolls-Royce...The first CD, "Autumn Leaves", is completely unmissable if you are into Elvin as there are plenty of breaks and solos to relish. I was hoping for some Richard Davis double-stopped soloing, but there is none of that in his solos and I find the bass needs to be turned up. "Someday My Prince Will Come" features the rest of the session, one alternate take and a Hank Jones solo piece, and "Collaboration" is the rest of the alternates and another piano solo...it's all wonderful to hear, but "Autumn Leaves" is the essential one. This is the kind of session that will one day be re-issued with an 'historic' tag; it would be quite justifiable to describe it thus. The final meeting, and great and timeless art.
It doesn't end here - I have tried and so far failed to get hold of the following titles:
MOONFLOWER - ELVIN JONES/FUMIO KARASHIMA
JAZZ MACHINE LIVE '95
JAZZ MACHINE LIVE AT PIT INN (24-bit)
And, still available at present;
THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE RECORDINGS - boxed set.
If you have got this far, thanks and good luck, and if you have any more information, or comments, please e-mail me;
ELVIN RAY JONES: SEPTEMBER 9, 1927 - MAY 18, 2004
Acknowledgement and thanks to; www.drumsetconnect.com
Xan Phillips for enthusiasm and encouragement.
Alex Forsyth for the Ramon Ricker quote.
Marc Epstein for 'Soul Train'.
Steve Griggs for linking my site to his.
And - www.music-styles-list.com
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