Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition - Tin Can Alley (ECM, 1981)

 This post is by Dan

Jack DeJohnette (d, p, vo); John Purcell (as, bs); Chico Freeman (ts, f); Peter Warren (b, vc)

Recorded September, 1980

Jack DeJohnette is everywhere it seems. Since emerging in the late 1960s, he has led or appeared on hundreds of recordings. Known to many as the drummer in Keith Jarrett's standards trio (along with the late bassist Gary Peacock), DeJohnette also led the Special Edition group that recorded seven albums for ECM and other labels between 1979 and 1991. Tin Pan Alley is the second of this sequence of great records. For me, Tin Pan Alley and the subsequent Album Album (to be included as later post) are the best Special Edition offerings of the decade. They are also two of the truly great jazz albums of the decade. 

The formula for Special Edition is to play original compositions, most by the drummer/leader, with reed players and a bassist. No piano, no brass (except for appearances by trumpeter Baikida Carroll on Inflation Blues and Howard Johnson's tuba on Album Album). The choice of reed players always includes people like David Murray, Chico Freeman, and Gary Thomas to provide the most ecstatic passages. These "energy" players are balanced by the sublime multi-reedist, John Purcell. For me, Purcell is the critical player in several of the Special Edition bands, including Tin Pan Alley.

On Tin Pan Alley, Purcell is paired with Chico Freeman. Between them, they play tenor, alto, and baritone saxes; flute; and bass clarinet, often doubling instruments on the same tune. This allows for a wide palette of colors that keeps the program varied and extends the quartet to sound like a sextet or even octet. For example, "Pastel Rhapsody" is a long (14:30) piece that merits its title; it's both colorful and rhapsodic! Four different horns are played by Purcell and Freeman, including two flutes. "Riff Raff," which also lives up to its descriptive title, pairs Freeman's bass clarinet with Purcell's baritone. It's hard to believe these compositions and arrangements are from the drummer, but DeJohnette is always full of surprises. He gets the spotlight on "The Gri Gri Man" where he plays four different instruments (congas, drums, organ, tympani). The jaunty "I Know," completes the program with dubbed-in crowd applause and some spoken words from the leader.