Joe Locke - Present Tense (SteepleChase, 1990)

This post is by Dan

Joe Locke (vib); Larry Schneider (ts); Kenny Werner (p); Ron McClure (b); Ronnie Burrage (d)

Recorded July 6, 1989

As a lover of the sound of the vibraphone, I try to hear as many jazz artists as possible who specialize on this most curious instrument. As the 1990s unfolded, it was impossible to overlook Joe Locke, who had emerged from near obscurity to become one of the most prolific jazz artists of his generation. His long string of recordings continues to this day. 

Although Present Tense was not Locke's first album, it began an Important association with the Danish SteepleChase label, which is known for its multi-album commitment to artists. In addition to albums under his own name, he appeared on SteepleChase as a member of Eddie Henderson's quintet. 

Present Tense gets off to a tasteful beginning with two standard ballads: "Summernight" and "The Good Life." The first tune is preceded by a prelude titled "Masada," written by a friend of Locke's. It's a nice touch. Things heat up on "Present Tense," which is a cool bit of acoustic funk reminiscent of Weather Report. Locke's three other originals on the album demonstrate his versatility with different composition styles. Guest tenorist Larry Schneider plays on half of the eight tunes in the program. 

Kenny Werner provides just the right accompaniment to the vibes, which often compete harmonically with the piano. Werner chooses to comp with left-hand chords rather than play at the same pitch as the vibes. 

Werner and Locke play a brief duet on "Heart of Nowhere" that is reminiscent of the duo of Gary Burton and Chick Corea. The duet format was revisited one year later with Kenny Barron on But Beautiful (Steeplechase, 1991), one of my all-time favorite albums that has recently been released on vinyl in SteepleChase's audiophile edition series. Years later, Locke collaborated with the late Frank Kimbrough on two lovely duet albums: Saturn's Child (Omnitone, 1999) and The Willow (Omnitone, 2002). 

Among the best of Locke's quartet albums are two with pianist David Hazeltine: Mutual Admiration Society (Sharp Nine, 1999) and Mutual Admiration Society, 2 (Sharp Nine, 2009).

Vibes players tend to get calls to play as "colorists" in many kinds of music, and some of Locke's recording credits are on albums by the likes of John Martyn, Grover Washington Jr., Kendra Shank, and The Beastie Boys. There's no doubting the quality of his contributions to such projects, but Locke is a major artist and sounds best in true jazz formats.