Toots Thielemans - Only Trust Your Heart (Concord, 1988)

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Toots Thielemans (hca); Fred Hersch (p); Marc Johnson (b); Harvie Swartz (b); Joey Baron (d)

Recorded April and May, 1988

If you only have room for one harmonica player in your jazz collection, make sure it's Toots Thielemans.  Born in Belgium in 1922, his career spanned seven decades. He died in 2016 after leading over 100 albums and appearing on hundreds more. Only Trust Your Heart was a mid-career triumph, recorded when he was 66 years old. He went on to perform and record until his retirement in 2014.

Pianist Fred Hersch produced the album and wrote the arrangements for the eight quartet pieces (Marc Johnson plays on two of the quartet selections and Harvie Swartz plays on the other six). There are also two impromptu duets by Thielemans and Hersch. Most of the material should be familiar and all are delivered with class and sophistication. 

Thielemans is a sublimely lyrical player with a marvelous tone. He's the primary soloist on the album, although Hersch contributes a few equally lyrical solos (and claims composer credits for two tunes). Joey Baron and the two bassists provide the unobtrusive support necessary to make the leader's artistry flow effortlessly.

There is a strong connection between Only Trust Your Heart and Bill Evans' Affinity album, recorded ten years earlier. Affinity is one of my favorite albums because it features Thielemans as well as Evans and was also Marc Johnson's debut recording. A lot of the positive vibe on that album reappears on Only Trust Your Heart, largely because Hersch grew up listening to Evans, like so many pianists of his generation.

I resist analyzing Only Trust Your Heart by dissecting it track by track. It should be enjoyed, not studied. Give it a listen.

Bobby Hutcherson - Cruisin' the 'Bird (Landmark, 1988)

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Bobby Hutcherson (vib, mba); Ralph Moore (ts, ss); Buddy Montgomery (p); Rufus Reid (b); Victor Lewis (d)

Recorded April 15 and 16, 1988

The 'Bird that Bobby Hutcherson and his mates are cruisin' in this album is not Charlie Parker but rather Hutcherson's vintage Thunderbird ride pictured on the album cover. Cruisin' the 'Bird is a terrific album featuring four of my favorite players and a rare appearance by pianist Buddy Montgomery, brother of guitarist Wes Montgomery. 

The Landmark label was run by Orrin Keepnews and turned out an impressive series of albums throughout the 1980s. This is my favorite of the lot. It features Hutcherson on both vibes and marimba, occasionally on the same tune, and Ralph Moore playing both tenor and soprano saxophones. The leader contributes four original compositions to complement three standards. The originals are all based on simple figures that allow each soloist to explore melodic ideas without having a series of chords to constrain them. The standards rely on imaginative arrangements. "Chelsea Bridge" is the most intriguing, as it is not a tune you hear played on the vibes very often. Hutcherson's version is gentle but not sentimental.

The guest pianist, Buddy Montgomery, offers up economical solos. especially on "Come Rain or Come Shine." Bassist Rufus Reid also solos on this tune and gets a huge sound that gives the group a great foundation.

The jazz world in the late 1980s was very fortunate to have wonderful albums like this coming out on a regular basis. Thanks go to Orrin Keepnews and his Landmark label, which does a great job of digital recording and pressing vinyl from digital sources. 

Paul Motian - Monk in Motian (JMT/Winter & Winter, 1988)

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Paul Motian (d); Joe Lovano (ts); Bill Frisell (g); Dewey Redman (ts); Geri Allen (p)

Recorded March 1988

Paul Motian's band with Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell established a unique sound during the 1980s - loose, spare, and floating. They played a whole series of Broadway albums and tributes to Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. Occasional "guests" augment the trio on several albums, all of which make for fascinating listening. 

Monk in Motian adds Dewey Redman and Geri Allen as members of the augmented trio. Each appears on two tracks. Redman adds a second tenor on "Straight, No Chaser" and "Epistrophy," whereas Allen injects very Monkish piano on "Ruby My Dear" and "Off Minor." Frisell wisely gives Allen more room on "Ruby" by playing more like a horn that a chordal instrument. 

The trio handles the rest of the cuts. They are at their best on the floating, ethereal pieces such as "Crepuscule with Nellie," "Ugly Beauty," and "Reflections." These pieces don't really need to be played straight because the material is so familiar. And no piano is needed when Frisell plays the left hand and Lovano the right, as on "Bye-Ya." For his part, Motian is a consistently inventive percussionist who eschews the time-keeping role in favor of painting soundscapes behind Lovano and Frisell. Lovano typically lays out while Frisell is soloing, which provides the best opportunity to hear Motian's crafty accompaniment. 

Motian died in 2011 at age 80 following a full career that began in 1957 in Bill Evans' trio. Both Frisell and Lovano are currently among the most active recording artists in jazz.  

Ralph Moore - Rejuvenate! (Criss Cross, 1988)

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Ralph Moore (ts, ss); Steve Turre (tb, conch); Mulgrew Miller (p); Peter Washington (b); Marvin "Smitty" Smith (d)

Recorded February 19, 1988

The Penguin Guide to Jazz drew my attention to Ralph Moore. The editors tend to take special note of British jazz artists, and Moore was born in the UK in 1956 to an American father and British mother. At age 15 he moved to California to live with his father. He later studied music in Boston and launched his performance and recording career based in the U.S. 

Rejuvenate! was Moore's third album as a leader. I still remember buying it at Tower Records on a trip to Washington D.C. and listening to it on headphones in my hotel room. The title track, composed by Bobby Porcelli, blew me away. Mulgrew Miller's thundering chords and the sax-bone harmony still impress me as one of the great openings for a jazz album. I love Rejuvenate!'s blend of tenor and trombone timbres, a sound that takes me back to the early Jazz Crusaders album that I wore out in my teens. 

It's hard to compare Moore to other tenorists because he possesses an original sound. That sound has fit well with numerous groups over the past 35 years. He tends to stay within conventional limits on his solos, communicating his message through his consistently imaginative tone. Moore's other records are well worth investigating, including a recent CD titled Three Score (WJ3, 2016). 

Steve Turre makes a huge contribution to Rejuvenate! He doubles on conch shells, which give off an eerie soft glow but work surprisingly well as a jazz solo instrument. We've praised his side man role with Woody Shaw in previous posts. Turre's recent series of albums on the HighNote label are uniformly excellent.  

Rejuvenate! was released on both LP and CD. The CD contains an extra track, Turre's "Melody for Mr. C."

Art Farmer - Blame It on My Youth (Contemporary, 1988)

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Art Farmer (flhn); Clifford Jordan (ts, ss); James Williams (p); Rufus Reid (b); Victor Lewis (d)

Recorded February 4 and 8, 1988

Art Farmer's series of albums recorded during the 1980s are some of the best evidence that jazz was alive and well. As Farmer entered his later years, he refined his already elegant style into something that, to me, epitomizes jazz at its best. At least six of his albums could easily be selected as the decade's favorite, three on Soul Note and three on Contemporary. They are listed below.

Blame it on My Youth boasts a select repertoire, modern recording and mastering, democratic sharing of the limelight, and the maturity to craft familiar material into performances without pretense or showmanship. It helps that Farmer plays flugelhorn exclusively on the album, sometimes muted and sometimes not. 

In my opinion, the two best cuts are actually quartet performances. The opening title tune features Farmer on muted flugelhorn while Clifford Jordan lays out. His tone sends chills up my spine, it's so beautiful. The closing number, "I'll Be Around," is a quartet feature for Jordan. It's a marvelous study in straight ahead playing - pure jazz!

Other interesting aspects of Blame It on My Youth include Jordan playing soprano sax on two cuts. He has a fat sound, more like Sidney Bechet than Steve Lacy or John Coltrane. In addition, the group plays a great version of "Fairytale Countryside," composed by Fritz Pauer. I love this tune, which is also included in a live performance by the quintet (Live at Sweet Basil, Evidence, 1992). Jordan's "Third Avenue" and Benny Carter's "Summer Serenade" are other highlights of Blame It on My Youth. 

Art Farmer remained a truly "class act" throughout his long career. It's rare that a musician can exhibit the same brilliance over 40 years of recording (roughly 1955-1996). He dressed up early bebop, sustained the genre through the 1970s, and delivered probably his signature statements in the 1980s. What an exemplary artist he was!

Soul Note:

Manhattan, 1981

Mirage, 1982

You Make My Smile, 1984

Contemporary:

Something to Live For, 1987

Ph.D., 1989