Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan - Spirit Within (Elektra Musician, 1982)

This post is by Scott

Red Rodney (tr, flhn); Ira Sullivan (flhn, al fl, ss, shaker); Garry Dial (p); Jay Anderson (b); Steve Bagby (d, perc)

Recorded on September 21-24, 1981

Before making Spirit Within, the duo of trumpeter Red Rodney and multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan recorded a series of LPs for Muse: Live at the Village Vanguard (rel. 1980), Hi Jinx at the Vanguard (rel. 1984), and Alive in New York (rel. 1986).  All were made at the legendary New York City nightclub in May and July 1980.  Subsequently, the duo made their first studio recording, Night and Day, for Muse in June 1981.

While their Muse albums were solid, Spirit Within represents a significant step forward artistically.  Even though it was made less than four months after Night and Day, the music on Spirit Within feels like it was made by a cohesive unit that has achieved that intangible "something" that only comes with time spent working and playing together. 

In the liner notes, Red Rodney credits Ira Sullivan with encouraging the band to move beyond the familiar world of bop, standards, and blowing vehicles.  (Credit must also go to pianist Garry Dial who contributes four of the album's six compositions.)  Even though Rodney and Sullivan had been making music for decades, there's nothing stale about their music.  On the contrary, it has a freshness and vitality that's irresistible.

Lastly, I can't help but marvel (again) at Ira Sullivan's mastery of multiple instruments.  On this album, he "only" focuses on three: flugelhorn, soprano sax, and alto flute.  His skills on all of them (and others as well) are astonishing.  Moreover, since he's able to lend such a variety of sounds and textures to the ensemble—even within the context of a single song—it feels like a much larger unit.  

More from Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan

Listeners who enjoy Spirit Within might also want to investigate Rodney & Sullivan's next Elektra Musician release, Sprint (1983).  (The Wounded Bird label has reissued both Elektra Musician titles.)  

Since it has never been released in any digital format, I would also encourage vinyl-spinners to track down Ira Sullivan Does It All (Muse, 1983), an aptly-titled LP that Sullivan made one week before Spirit Within.  Even though Sullivan is the sole leader, the music features Red Rodney and the Dial / Anderson / Bagby rhythm section heard on the Elektra Musician albums.