Jimmy Raney - Wistaria (Criss Cross, 1986)

This post is by Dan

Jimmy Raney (g); Tommy Flanagan (p); George Mraz (b)

Recorded December 30, 1985

Is it Wistaria or Wisteria? Like George Mraz, who wrote the tune, I've been corrected more than once when writing about Jimmy Raney's Criss Cross album. As you can see, both spellings were used by the label, one for the LP and the alternate for the CD. Contrary to DIscogs' explanation, the more common spelling, wisteria, is not a correction. Both are correct, and both refer to the same viny plant with the purple flowers. (In researching this issue, I discovered that the plant was named after Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), an American physician. I rest my case).

 

Moving on to more relevant issues, Raney's previous album for Criss Cross was a quartet session. I lavished praise on The Master in a previous post. For Wistaria, the drum stool is vacated, leaving a trio of piano, guitar, and bass. My first reaction to this fairly rare configuration was "something's missing." But then I opened my ears and ever since have listened to this album on its own terms.

The math here might be considered an example of "addition by subtraction." In other words, the absence of a traditional musical role increases the opportunities for the remaining players to contribute, often in unexpected ways. The absence of a drummer as timekeeper is made completely irrelevant by Mraz, who provides an unshakeable pulse throughout. Tunes like Benny Golson's "Hassan's Dream" and the standard "I Could Write a Book" display the full forward momentum of the group, and no one needs to worry about losing the beat. 

On the less conventional title tune, the players take turns fulfilling the key roles. Mraz takes a long solo, during which Raney and Tommy Flanagan play background chords. When Raney solos, Flanagan provides the chordal support. This organic adaptation to the trio format is fascinating, as well as very musical.

The CD version of Wisteria includes a bonus track. Oddly, "All the Things You Are" comes from a separate date approximately five years later at a different studio with a different recording engineer. I haven't heard the bonus track recently, but I have to wonder why it was included. Perhaps a 40-minute CD would not be seen as good value? 

For me, all the necessary value comes from the original session and the unique format of the group. Improving on perfection can be a hazardous undertaking.