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1.
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THIRD AVENUE (C.Jordan; arr. D.Reece) |
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2.
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ANGELICA (E.K.Ellington; arr. C.Davis) |
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3.
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OLD BO (C.Jordan; arr. C.Jordan)
- Listen
to Full Song |
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4.
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I WAITED FOR YOU (J.B.Gillespie;
arr. J.Nealy) |
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5.
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INTRODUCTION TO EVIDENCE |
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6.
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EVIDENCE (T.Monk; arr.
D.Reece) |
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7.
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I'LL BE AROUND (A.Wilder;
arr. C.Jordan) |
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8.
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BEARCAT (C.Jordan;
arr. J.Priester) |
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9.
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DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS
(C.Jordan; arr. D.Sickler) |
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10.
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CHARLIE PARKER'S LAST
SUPPER (C.Jordan; arr. C.Jordan) - Listen
to Sample |
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11.
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DON'T GET AROUND MUCH
ANYMORE (Ellington and Russell) - Listen
to Sample |
Jazziz:
reviewed by Harvey Pekar
According to the liner notes, one of Clifford Jordan's major
ambitions was to lead a big band and, toward the end of his life,
he was able to accomplish this. Play What You Feel contains
selections recorded live in New York in December of 1990. The impressive
personnel includes trumpeter Dizzy Reece, altoists John
Jenkins and Charles Davis, trombonist Benny Powell,
pianist Ronnie Mathews, and Junior Cook as well as Jordan
on tenor. The band performs the arrangements of Jordan, Reece, Davis,
and Julian Priester with considerable inspiration.
Its style seems rooted in the work of Dizzy Gillespie's 1946-50
outfits. The rich, grainy-textured ensemble sound is reminiscent
of Dizzy's band playing a Tadd Dameron chart. In fact, Jordan does
a cover version of I Waited for You, written by Gillespie,
who recorded it with his large group in 1946.
As one might expect, Jordan solos enthusiastically, sometimes
putting a raw edge on his tone to heighten the intensity of his
playing. Cook, whom Jordan praises to the skies in a spoken introduction,
improvises impressively. In the latter stages of his career, Cook's
playing actually improved, as he exhibited more drive and a fuller,
more attractive tone.
Playboy:
reviewed by Neil Tessar
In the early Nineties, tenor saxophonist Clifford
Jordan led a jazz orchestra that critics adored. But the band's
one album had such dismal sound, the rest of us remained unconvinced.
Now comes Play What You Feel to clear things up. Jordan's
band featured the same surging power as did his rough-hewn saxophone.
Hearing it in detail, you can understand the fuss.
September 1997
JazzTimes:
reviewed by Bill Shoemaker
Play What You Feel was recorded almost
a year before Clifford Jordan's acclaimed Milestone big
band date, Down Through The Years. Both discs were recorded
at Condon's by maverick engineer Pierre Sprey; in fact, portions
of the earlier performances were used as a demo to help the
tenor saxophonist seal the Milestone deal. Unsurprisingly, there
is a substantial overlap in the two programs; both discs feature
Ellington's Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Gillespie's
I Waited For You, and three durable Jordan originals:
Third Avenue, Charlie Parker's Last Supper, and
Down Through The Years. Additionally, the albums share
key personnel, including trumpeter Dizzy Reece, saxophonist
Charles Davis (who plays alto on this disc, baritone
on the Milestone), and pianist Ronnie Mathews.
There are some significant differences between the two albums,
both in the program and the roster. Two strong Jordan compositions
are included: the bluesy Old Bo, a movement from the
suite, The Life And Times Of Buddy Bolden and Julian
Priester's arrangement of the smokin' minor classic, Bearcat.
Also noteworthy are Jordan's chart of Alec Wilder's wistful
I'll Be Around, Davis' Latin-tinged arrangement of
Ellington's Angelica, and Reece's straight-up take
on Monk's Evidence. While there is none of the sparring
that made Two Tenor Winner (Criss Cross) a must-have
for both fans of Jordan and Junior Cook, the presence
of Cook on this disc is a major bonus — his solo on Evidence,
slyly built on the theme of Thelonious, is a scene-stealer.
Trombonist Benny Powell is also on board, handing in
a particularly pungent turn on Old Bo.
Still, the highest common denominator of the two albums
is Jordan himself, who is clearly inspired throughout the
album, soaring over the band even in the ensemble passages.
His solos alone are worth the price of the ticket; he caresses
the ballads with long wisps of smoky-toned lyricism, and ignites
the cookers with his fiery amalgam of blues and bop. However,
albums like this underscore the fact that Jordan was not just
a gifted improviser, but an insightful writer and an adept
leader as well. As such, Play What You Feel is a fitting
inauguration to Mapleshade's Homages series.
August 1997
CMJ:
reviewed by Gene Kalbacher
Clifford Jordan (1931-93) is gone but not forgotten, not
by Mapleshade Records, for which he recorded near the end
of his life, and not by lovers of hard-blowing, heartfelt
modern tenor saxophone. This posthumous release revisits Jordan's
last career project, his 16-piece big band, which performed
regularly at the now-defunct Manhattan nightclub Condon's,
where this music was cut in 1990. As befits a native of Chicago's
South Side, Jordan displays his adeptness with the blues as
he leads this aggregate comprising four trumpets, two trombones,
four tenors, two altos, a bari and three rhythm. On hand,
among others, are such estimable, but often overlooked, players
as altomen John Jenkins and Charles Davis, tenor
saxist Junior Cook, trumpeter Dizzy Reece, trombonist
Benny Powell and pianist Ronnie Mathews. Several
of the leader's best-known compositions (Bearcat, 6:15,
and Charlie Parker's Last Supper, 7:00) are interspersed
among tasty re-creations of Dizzy Gillespie's I Waited
For You, Thelonious Monk's Evidence and Duke Ellington's
Don't Get Around Much Anymore. Those who enjoyed this
big band's date for Fantasy (also from Condon's) will surely
appreciate this outing.
May 5, 1997
Stereo Review:
reviewed by Bill Shoemaker
Bill Holman's L.A.-based orchestra is one of the most precise
and far-reaching big bands around today. This is very much
an "arranger's band," a vehicle for the writing of Holman,
the least pretentious of the composers and arrangers who contributed
scores to the Stan Kenton Orchestra in the 1950s. Brilliant
Corners is an unusual project for Holman in that it features
no originals, only his adaptations of pieces by Thelonious
Monk, and it is essentially a program of recompositions. Holman
is most successful when he takes the greatest liberties, as
in the opening Straight, No Chaser, where Monk's theme
is only obliquely stated after some whirling fanfares and
chorales. But Holman shows great originality even when serving
Monk straight up, and he locates new wrinkles in 'Round
Midnight by restoring it for Bob Effords's noble-sounding
bass clarinet.
The big band that tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan
led for three years until his death in 1993 was a "player's
band": not a vehicle for one particular writer but a rough-and-ready
outfit whose charts were effective frameworks for improvisation.
Recorded at Condon's in New York in 1990m Play What You
Feel is a valuable document for capturing the band in
full flight. Along with exceptionally strong solos by Jordan,
fellow tenorist Junior Cook, and trombonist Benny
Powell, what makes this a treat is the band's obvious
camaraderie.
December 1997
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