Jazz
Billy Cobham featuring Ron Carter / Kenny Barron - The Art of Three.
A trio of jazz legends covering the eras of hard Bop to fusion to experimental jazz combines for an album's worth of impressive standards. Not your usual fare for an independent label pressing singles.Preface: To those of you who are either not regular readers of Uppers or are not that familiar with the Mod subculture, this is an appropriate time to note that we are not always amped midnight to six men (and women) hell-bent for dance floor filling, amphetamine driven anthems. Life is a balance. And with that in mind, we are extremely proud that this CD has found it's way to our mailbox, and this review to our web site for you.
If some nut case were to spend the time to calculate the amount man hours Kenny Barron, Billy Cobham and Ron Carter have spent in recording studios, the resultant report would be staggering if not absolutely frightening. To say these three are professionals is to merely state that The Nile is just a river, Warhol was just a painter, or jazz is simply a medium of entertainment.
How lucky then, that an independent one-man operation such as Blow It Hard Records might come to release such a beautiful and elegant album recorded by this trio of living legends. We know that Blow It Hard is pulling it's weight when it comes to promoting singles, often by up and coming groups, of whom many jazz fans outside certain circles may never know of. But, it is now evident that a forthright independent label can step into a larger arena with a product of the highest standard and demand attention. With "The Art of Three", Blow It Hard Records has thrown down the gauntlet and demands it's just due.
Comprised primarily of well-known jazz standards, "The Art of Three" begins as any well-recorded jazz session might. Even at this level of professionalism these guys may have needed a couple takes to get just what they wanted out of the recording. However, at just around the six-minute mark of "Stella By Starlight" we hear applause following Kenny Barron's first solo. These are live recordings (as you'll also learn from the liner notes)! Indeed, recorded in the cities of Odense, Denmark and Oslo, Norway in January 2001, these wonderfully played and recorded in a musician’s home away from home, the stage. Yet, the sound quality maintains the high standard of a studio setting.
With titles such as the aforementioned "Stella...", "Someday My Prince Will Come", "Round Midnight" and "Autumn Leaves", one might think that this album is full of well-trodden ground not worthy of hearing anew. However, this trio plays with an expressiveness, which belies the first glance notions of the chosen material. The trio setting leaves little room for mere accompaniment and as such, all three players are constantly challenged to provide integral ingredients to the music. As the title of the album suggests then, this is not mere easy listening, but sheer artistry.
Among the eight tracks are only two compositions penned by members of this trio. Ron Carter brought in "New Waltz" (dating to 1982) and Kenny Barron brings "And Then Again" (a 1983 work) to this recording. While drummers aren't necessarily known for their writing talents, Billy Cobham naturally earns his keep with his impressive playing, most notably during his solo in the Bud Powell composition "Bouncing With Bud". But even with the number of standards here, there is a history with the songs and the musicians, most notably in the case of Ron Carter, who played very early in his career with Thelonious Monk, who is well represented here with Barron's impressive treatment of "Round Midnight", which reaches the edge of a soulful bossa nova statement at the end.
Only one question remains about this recording, insignificant as it may be. About 5 minutes into "Someday My Prince Will Come", is it just me, or did Billy Cobham drop a drumstick?
Blow It Hard's press for this release strongly stresses that this is not dance floor oriented and is a straight ahead jazz affair. We at Uppers feel that such a disclaimer is unwarranted, as the high standards of musicianship exhibited by this trio should not only appeal to Blow It Hard's core audience, but to an entire jazz community who would do themselves a favor by looking at Blow It Hard's back catalogue. Hopefully, Blow It Hard will continue to treat you all to further releases of this stature from both young and established acts in the future. The fact that this is the initial volume in a Billy Cobham series called "The Art of Jazz" leaves this writer in optimistic anticipation.
By Brian Poust.
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Billy Cobham- Drums
Ron Carter- Double Bass
Kenny Barron- Piano
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01. Stella By Starlight 10:43
02. Autumn Leaves 10:00
03. New Waltz 6:55
04. Bouncing With Bud 7:02
05. 'Round Midnight 7:56
06. And Then Again 11:25
07. I Thought About You 10:26
08. Someday My Prince Will Come 9:19
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