1967

January

Impulse! Records releases SONNY ROLLINS East Broadway Run Down. Recorded on May 9 of the previous year, the highly-acclaimed album features Sonny performing in a trio format with John Coltrane's rhythm section of Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones along with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard on one track (the title song). 

February

February 16 - Columbia Records releases the MILES DAVIS QUINTET's Miles Smiles. Recorded in October of 1966, Miles Smiles presents the world with his "second great quintet"--one of the greatest quintet lineups in jazz music history--with 33-year old tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, 26-year old pianist Herbie Hancock, 29-year old bassist Ron Carter, and 21-year old drumming phenom Tony Williams. 

THE FREE SPIRITS Live at the Scene February 22, 1967

Released in 2011, these tapes came from what was in truth an unpublished, unauthorized, bootleg recording of a live stage performance from the title date. The band (and fans) had always expressed extreme disappointment with their one and only studio album release from the year before because it did such a poor job of capturing the energy of their live performance--where songs might jam on for far more than the three-minutes demanded by their producer (45-year old ABC exec Bob Thiele)'s archaic expectations. The band members who were alive to hear this album when it was released were appreciative that some of their youthful energy and genius had been captured and preserved for posterity.

February 15 & March 7 - the two recording dates for what would be JOHN COLTRANE's album, Expression, the last studio album on which he would still be in control. The album would see its release in September, two months after the musical giant's death.

March

 THE DON ELLIS ORCHESTRA Live in 3 2/3 / 4 Time (1967)

Due to the popular response of Don's performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September of 1966, Pacific Jazz was quick to release: 'Live' At Monterey ! late in the year same year. This album contained three recordings from September 18th's historic performance with one track ("Concerto for Trumpet" [11:50]) from a live performance that occurred a month later at the Pacific Jazz Festival (October 8, 1966). The Don Ellis phenomenon was so rabid (with sightings of "Where Is Don Ellis?" bumper stickers rising across the country), and the sales of the first album so encouraging, that Pacific Jazz was quick to try to assemble a second live recording in order to try to take advantage of the wave of Monterey/Don Ellis buzz. This new album, titled Live in 3 2/3 / 4 Time, was prepared from more recordings from that same October 8, 1966, live performance at the Pacific Jazz Festival plus three songs from a March 27 of '67 performance at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Los Angeles. The album was released to the public later in 1967. (With the release of an expanded CD version in 2000, the list of songs extracted from this latter performance would grow to number eight.) As usual, the highly-charged, amazingly-synchronized and -harmonized arrangements (only two of which are original Don Ellis compositions--though one song, "Thetis," comes from Don's long-time collaborator and friend, Hank Levy) are a marvel to listen to and, I think you'll find, quite often stir one's core enough to force you to get out of your seat and dance!

Line-up / Musicians:
Don Ellis / trumpet, quarter-tone trumpet
- Saxes & Woodwinds:
Ruben Leon - alto sax, soprano sax, flute
Joe Roccisano - alto sax, soprano sax, flute, clarinet
Tom Scott - alto sax, saxello, flute, clarinet
Ira Schulman - tenor sax, flute, clarinet
Ron Starr - tenor sax, flute, clarinet
John Magruder - baritone sax, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Trumpets:
Glenn Stuart
Alan Weight
Ed Warren
Bob Harmon
- Trombones:
Ron Myers
Dave Wells
Dave Sanchez
Terry Woodson - bass trombone
- Rhythm Section:
Dave Mackay - piano
Ray Neapolitan - bass
Frank De La Rosa - bass
Dave Parlato - bass
Chuck Domanico - bass
Steve Bohannon - drums
Alan Estes - drums, timbales
Chino Valdes - congas, bongos
Mark Stevens - percussion

Original Liberty/Pacific Records vinyl release in 1967:

A1. "Orientation" (11:20) more fun in 7/8 + 9/8 starting out, of course, with the rhythmatists: congas and percussion, bass, drums, and piano. When the horns start joining in it is with what seems to be an unusually reckless/wild abandon, but they all come together at about 1:45 for an Ira Schulman sax solo with accents coming from multiple banks of horns, high and low. Awesome! And SO danceable! A little lull at 3:50 as the sax finishes up before solo time is given to conga player Chino Valdes for about a minute. Horn swell leads into a cool polymetric multi-sax solo section before another horn swell at 6:05 opens the door for the band leader to take his solo. Oddly enough Don's trumpet may be the worst recorded instrument in the orchestra. Despite this fact, his solo keeps climbing the mountain, being assisted by some seriously swelling horns and rhythm section play (which is greeted with some appropriately appreciative audience response at 8:15). The next big swell occurs in the middle of the tenth minute and it is drum-led, which is pretty cool. The big finish features multiple banks of horns going their own way, though not quite as or independently as that wild opening. Awesome! (19/20)

A2. "Angel Eyes" (5:41) a slow, pensive, and plodding "Porgy and Bess"-like old-style R&B crooner with Don's piano- and horn-supported trumpet carrying the melody in place of the human voice as it would have been sung in 1946 when Earl Brent and Matt Dennis first penned it. Nice melodies. (8.875/10)

A3. "Freedom Jazz Dance" (5:54) Eddie Harris' song performed in "seven," featuring pianist Dave Mackay and saxello player Tom Scott. Pretty cool--especially when Mackay goes low onto his keyboard. The "saxello" is a weird sounding sax that sounds like it comes straight from the streets of New Orleans (I think it's a flange-wah effect applied to the channel mic-ing Tom's tenor sax). The percussion and rhythm section are, of course, amazing, adding layer upon layer and volume and power the further the song progresses. Awesome! (9/10)

B1. "Barnum's Revenge" (4:36) one of Don's sax players, Ruben Leon, arranged this 3 2 2 time song from "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?" Very interesting but it does play out more like a whole-band teaching exercise than an audience-targeted crowd pleaser--at least until Don and the drummers and trombonists get their chances to embellish. (8.75/10)

B2. "Upstart" (9:02) this is the song from the album: the one in 3 2/3 / 4 time--the second original composition on the album. The moderately paced foundation has a kind of near-Latin (say, Southern California) feel to it over which Don takes the first solo followed by a bridge of stellar, purposely-staggered horn banking before a clarinet solo by Ira Schulman takes the next spotlight. Following the percussionists and rhythm section members is easy to do and quite fun for the challenge of trying to parse out the odd time signature. Bird-like discordant clarinets pepper the upper end during the next extended bridge while the band and horn banks plod beneath--even getting the end. (17.5/20)

B3. "Thetis" (8:27) composed and arranged by Don's long-time friend and associate, Hank Levy, this one starts out like a slow-moving train before finally taking off and featuring rondo-like layers of multi-instrumental sections circling over and around one another. In the third minute everybody congeals into a single direction of very spicy Caribbean-rhythmed music over which Ruben Leon's soprano sax solos. The next is Don's trumpet and then Dave Mackay's piano. The solos are great--these are very professional performers, but it's as if one cannot help but be drawn to the rhythmatists--which, accordingly, get their own solo time in the seventh minute. (17.5/20)

Total time: 44:00

Track listing for the 2000 CD release:

1. Orientation
2. Angel Eyes (Denni s, Brent / arr. Don Ellis)
3. Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris / arr. Don Ellis)
4. Barnum's Revenge (Ruben Leon / arr. Ruben Leon)
5. Upstart
6. Thetis (Hank Levy / arr. Hank Levy)
7. Bossa Nueva Nova (Hank Levy / arr. Hank Levy)
8. Opus Five (Howlett Smith / arr. Howlett Smith)
9. Seven Up (Howlett Smith / arr. Joe Roccisano)
10. Johnny One-Note (Jaki Byard / arr. Jaki Byard)
11. Freedom Jazz Dance (alternate) (Eddie Harris / arr. Don Ellis)

I am usually loathe to listen to much less review live album recordings but Don Ellis has become quite another matter: his song introductions, quick quirky sense of humor, and educational approach are so darn charming and disarming!

89.58 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; If you are at all interested in sharing in the experience of those first waves of the truly-groundbreaking Don Ellis Orchestra experience, then I highly recommend finding this album to listen to! Plus, these songs are not available on other albums and are here for your entertainment and amazement.

P.S. If you get the chance to listen to the CD release of this album, do so: the additional five songs from the March 27, 1967 performance at Shelly's Manne-Hole in L.A. are every bit as worthy of hearing as the original six songs on the 1967 vinyl release.

Reprise Records releases one of the finest bossa nova albums of all-time, the Frank Sinatra-Antônio Carlos Jobim collaboration, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. Another stroke of genius for Mr. Sinatra as bossa nova had reached an all-time high in American popularity. The album's lush orchestral arrangements were conducted by Claus Ogerman and Jobim provided guitar and some vocals (mostly background). An album of some of the most wistfully beautiful music humans have ever created. Very nostalgic.

April

DON ELLIS OCTET Pieces of Eight (live at UCLA)

This live concert at UCLA was performed and recorded on April 8, 1967 with two unusual circumstances: a "shrunken lineup" (down from the band's usual 21) and the band performing covers of three jazz standards and two Tom Scott compositions. Only released and sold at Don Ellis concerts as a cassette or 8-track with only part of this concert's material, Wounded Bird Records acquired the original master tapes and issued a CD with a full complement of the music performed at this one-time-only concert.  

Recorded live on April 8, 1967 at a concert at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), quite uncharacteristically, Don sported only an octet for this performance where he was lately in the habit of squeezing dozens of musicians on stage to perform his rhythmic acrobatics. I don't know the occasion or purpose of this concert but it sounds to me as if he had to "straight lace" it and pander to the masses as the fare is much tamer and smoother than his usual spice--plus the usual educational wit Don was so gifted at between songs is not included on the recording so we don't really know how much of Don was on display.

This album (originally titled Don Ellis - LIVE) was previously available on cassette and 8-track, but it was only sold at Don's concerts. Even then, only half of the music was released (the tracks marked with an asterisk are bonus tracks on the CD release). This reissue marks the first widespread commercial release of this music, and, oddly, documents the only known performance of the Don Ellis Octet.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Don Ellis / trumpet
- Tom Scott / alto sax, tenor sax, clarinet
- Dave Wells / trombone
- Dave Mackay / piano
- Ray Neapolitan / bass
- Steve Bohannon / drums
- Chino Valdez / conga, bongos
- Alan Estes / timbales, percussion

CD1 1. "Slippin' 'N' Slidin'" (6:57) the concert's opening song of course has to be either impressive or engaging, and Don opts for the latter with a Latin-flavored tune with lots of flare coming from the percussion section. As a matter of fact, the sound levels in the mix make it so that the percussion section often threatens to completely drown out the rest of the band. Not one of my favorite Don Ellis tunes but I can easily picture the audience members fighting back the urge to dance in their seats. (13.25/15)

2. "Sadness Shouldn't Go so Deep" (3:54) following a lively, crowd-engaging opener with a deeply emotional tune shouldn't go so well, but one can tell that the band members all had their hearts and heads fully engaged with this one. Don really hit home with this one: Even almost 60 years later I can feel the serene respect emanating from the room. (9.5/10)

3. "Bali Dancer" (5:31) a series of melodies woven into a kind of rondo of Ennio Moricone-like Spaghetti Western themes. The piano, horns, and percussionists all get turns to stand in the spotlight on this one (much to the audience's pleasure) while the melodies that bring everyone together are mystifying in the way they impress without overwhelming. (9/10)

4. "With Respect to Coltrane" (5:05) did Don (or composer Tom Scott) know that 'Trane was dying? Evenso, the band does an amazing job here of coaxing some very Coltrane-like music out of their octet. Tom Scott is especially up for the task though Dave MacKay's piano and Ray Neapolitan's bass play are equally apropos. (9.125/10) 5. "Pete's 7" (6:29) a stride piano opening from Dave MacKay that is eventually joined by Ray Neapolitan's bass, the percussion team, and, finally, the horn section. A popular dance number that hides itself in the big band feel of the band and its Latinized blues rhythms. Though Don blows a strong horn, it's really Dave's song to shine through. (8.875/10)

6. "Let's Go to Sleep" (7:16) an Ellis composition that sounds very cinematic and experimental, opening with repeated bass chord supporting a "distant" muted trumpet playing plaintively from "behind the scenes." Dave MacKay takes over for the second minute, playing some beautiful ivories before yielding back to the "distant" trumpet. Really, there is very little other than the piano, bass, brushed snare and crash cymbals and dolorous trumpet. I love music like this. It reminds me of one of my favorite 21st Century albums, Particelle by LAGARTIJA. (14/15)

7. "Blues for Hari" (9:08) another Tom Scott composition, its opening themes both sound a lot like variations on the main melody hooks of "The In-Crowd" and "I Wanna Know," but then after the whole band has laid out the foundation, the soloists take over, each performing over a hip-beatnik kind of motif, first Tom with little flares from Dave MacKay, then Dave stepping up only to recede for Ray Neapolitan to have some shine in the fourth and fifth minute, then stepping back in with the rhythm section for bandleader Don to have a turn on his trumpet. Steve Bohannon and Alan Estes make some noise beneath throughout the final two or three minutes as the horns come together to finish things off. (18/20)

Total Time 44:33

CD2 1. "Milestones" (9:56) taking on a jazz classic--one by no less than Miles Davis himself--is never an easy task but the band do quite an admirable job with this one, bass player Ray Neapolitan really distinguishing himself while tenor sax player Tom Scott also asserts himself quite well. It's too bad that the two stars of the show (for me) bandleader Ellis and drummer Steve Bohannon are recorded so poorly and thus cannot quite stand up next to the beautifully rendered sounds of Ray's double bass, Tom's reeds, and Dave's piano. It also helps, I'm sure, that it's a classic (and the band show exactly why it is). (18/20)

2. "It's a Snap" (2:18) a Don Ellis composition that puts on full view in just two minutes time a little of Don's propensity for crazy, almost humorous structures and time signatures. Very tight performances of some pretty complex charts. (4.75/5)

3. "I Love Us" (5:47) a light and airy bossa nova track composed by Don himself, once again the maestro displays his amazing talent for capturing the essence and beauty of every sub-genre of music he touches. Brilliantly moving performances from Dave MacKay, Tom Scott on clarinet, Dave Wells on (a poorly recorded) trombone, as well as the chillin' cool rhythm section. Absolutely gorgeous; enough to quell any tension from the body of any listener. Those lucky audience members! (9.75/10)

4. "The Squeeze" (5:22) this one starts out like some of the tunes on Don's previous two live albums: with some cacophonous dissonance, but then the Latin rhythms lock us in so that the horns can continue to challenge our Western melodic sensibilities with more disparaging dissonance. Dave MacKay continues the dissonance on display with his piano solo in the second minute, while trombonist Dave Wells seems to get into the picture by using his pitch-sliding notes to continue the cerebral workout. Ray Neapolitan is next, using the upper registers of his double bass to tease us into complacency before starting a two-note-at-a-time display to take us of center again. Definitely a piece that puts the audience to the test! (9/10)

5. "Lush Life" (7:29) the band covers another classic--this one by Billy Strayhorn, here performed by as a duet by Don and Ray. I don't really recognize it but that never stopped a jazz artist before. (13/15)

6. "Turk's Works" (18:25) a multi-movement piece composed and arranged by Arif Mardin that switches styles with and beneath switches in soloists: first Don, second Tom Scott on tenor sax, third back to Don's trumpet, all the while the accompanists and rhythm tracks change, morph, leave and return, speed up and slow down, often without seeming to coordinate with the soloist up top. Interesting! At 5:40 the complete shift in motif yields some jazzy piano play over fast-walking bass and percussion before suddenly leaving Dave stranded all alone, then coming back to perform the same support/fake for Ray Neapolitan's bass. Next up comes percussionists Chino Valdes and Alan Estes on congas and timbales, respectively before everybody finally gives way for a Steve Bohannon exhibition--and a wonderful exhibit it is! This god-given supernova was definitely taken from us way too soon! (He gets a big ovation from the crowd for his efforts.) Then, at the end of the 17th minute the full band comes back together for some final histrionics. (36/40)

Total Time 49:28

I'm not usually known for my inclusion much less reviewing of live albums but there is just something I gain from Don Ellis' work no matter the recording setting: the smooth delivery of such complex music always renders me awestruck: that a band can be taught to perform such unusual music with such fluidity and grace is always astonishing to me.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of eclectic, middle-of-the-road jazz, mostly-audience-friendly jazz.

GARY BURTON Duster

Recorded on April 27-28, 1967; one of Jazz-Rock Fusions' first albums was released later in the year by RCA Records. A quartet, Duster featured the collaborative musicianship of guitarist Larry Coryell, bassist Steve Swallow, and drummer Roy Haynes. 

May

May 16-24 - MILES DAVIS and his Second Great Quintet begin the recording of the music for Sorcerer, an album which will be released by Columbia Records on October 23.

June

June 7, 22 &23 - The first of the recording dates for the music that would end up on Miles Davis' second great quintet's fourth studio album, Nefertiti. In one of those interesting recording industry sanfus: the close recording dates and release objectives of what would become the Sorcerer and Nefertiti (obviously a very fertile period for the Quintet), Columbia mixed up the cover photos of the two albums: the sidelong profile photo of Miles' wife, Cicely Tyson, was supposed to grace the Nefertiti album, while Miles' brooding head shot was supposed to be on Sorcerer. 

July

August

September

DON ELLIS ORCHESTRA Electric Bath

Late in 1967, Columbia Records releases their first collaboration with The DON ELLIS ORCHESTRA in the form of a studio album entitled, Electric Bath. Fresh out of the euphoric haze of two very successful live albums and a year of almost continuous touring to festival and rock 'n' roll audiences, Don welcomed the new partnership with Columbia producer John Hammond and with it the chance to work out some of his ideas in studio settings. Over the course of two days in September (the 16th & 17th--or 19th & 20th, depending on your source) the band put down on tape several songs, five of which would end up on the Grammy Award nominated and Down Beat magazine "1968 Album of the Year" which was released 

1. "Indian Lady" (8:07) When I first heard the opening bars to this piece, I was immediately drawn to a comparison to the music of ROBERT WYATT's "Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road" from his 1974 comeback album, Rock Bottom. The song, played in 5/4 time throughout (and released as a single in a shortened three-minute version), is actually rather famous for its almost-comical multiple "attempts" to end throughout the song. Despite the large ensemble of musicians, the music somehow comes across smoothly, far more easy for the brain to accommodate than one might expect. Heck! There are even some melodic HERB ALPERT-like riffs and motifs. (13.5/15)

2. "Alone" (5:32) soothing and filled with gorgeous melodies, this one reminds me of some of the mellower pieces on my beloved 1970s albums by Eumir Deodato and Bob James as well as many of the jazzy television music providing background and mood for popular television shows that I would watch as a small child in the late 1966s--like I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and The Newlywed Show. Lots of big banks of horns. (9.5/10)

3. "Turkish Bath" (10:29) dynamic music with an Indian base coming from the sitar, tabla and other Indian percussion, as well as flutes and slurring horns. Once set in motion the Latin rhythms and melody structure give it a feel quite similar to Billy Page's song "The 'In' Crowd" as made popular by Dobie Gray and Ramsey Lewis. Who knew that Indian instruments, big band horns, and electric clavinet could be melded together so easily into a bassa nova song?!! (18/20)

4. "Open Beauty" (8:27) beautiful and yet haunting in a psychedelic way thanks to the electric effects applied to the keyboard and vibraphone. Unusual for the minimal presence of drums or other percussives. The extended quarter-tone trumpet solo with echo effect from 5:30 to 8:05 is also remarkable for its particular singularity. (17.5/20)

5. "New Horizons" (12:21) this is a song that sounds to my untrained ear like a pretty standard big band jazz piece. If there are extraordinary things happening I'm not able to pick them up; it's just another long piece with minimal melodic hooks played within a base of a Latin-rock rhythms. (21.75/25)

Total Time 44:56

The musicianship is incredible all-around; how 20 musicians can play such complex music so seamlessly and cohesively is nothing short of amazing. Don's mission to open the West up to the odd meter times "naturally" used in the rest of the world's folk traditions had begun in earnest and would not quit through the rest of the Sixties, only take a slight Bulgarian left turn in the Seventies thanks to his meeting and pairing up with Bulgarian jazz and piano sensation Milcho Leviev.

89.1666667 on the Fishscaels = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of boundary-pushing jazz-rock fusion.

October

October 23 - Columbia Records releases the MILES DAVIS QUINTET's Sorcerer--the third studio album release from Miles's "Second Great Quintet."  

November

November 3 & 4 - the recording dates for American ex-pat GEORGE RUSSELL's Othello Ballet Suite at Radio Sweden's studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The sessions marked George's first collaboration and recording with future Swedish jazz greats Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen, and Terje Rypdal--central elements to George's "Esoteric Circle."

December

Capitol Records releases a single of the live version of Joe Zawinul's song "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!" Gleaned from Cannonball Adderley's live album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! - Live at The Club, the single climbs into the Billboard Top 10.