Customer Reviews

Blue Moses

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this LP for a very superficial reason: The album art by Pete Turner was too good to pass up! This LP jacket must be seen to be believed! I wonder if anyone has the photo print that Pete Turner offered via mail?

Notwithstanding my ignorant reason for purchase, the album became a personal treasure with my first listen. It's hard to pass up Hubert Laws, Grover Washington, Ron Carter, and Airto Moreira, for starters. The rest of the line up is just as incredible.

The music (that's the point right?) is accessible jazz that in my opinion doesn't dive too deep toward the "smooth jazz" blight that became prevalent much later. It's complex and at times eclectic, but rewards the listener after a few "training runs" with some wonderful emotions that call you back again and again.

I can really get the sense of walking at night in Medina; the rhythyms of the drums really do evoke Morroco in a way that Plant & Page also manage a few decades later with their unplugged foray into World Music. But I digress...

This is the kind of album that sets a nice mood for that evening when you want to sit back and let the day run off your shoulders. Or that long drive at night...

It's what it is - Weston may be more familiar and "pure" with an acoustic piano, but I still think there is a place for this album in the real jazz lover's collection.

Blue Moses is a complicated recording. Enormously popular when it was first released in the 1970s, Blue Moses brought composer and pianist Randy Weston to the attention of a lot of music listeners who were not familiar with his catalog of excellent recordings. Also, as with others on CTI, the stable of artists (Ron Carter, Grover Washington, Hubert Laws, Freddie Hubbard, et al) is remarkable. There's no question that these are excellent compositions brilliantly performed by Weston and company. But the usual CTI arrangement is (by 2010 standards) hard to take. Granted, it was Weston's first recording in 6 years, and like the best from CTI (Sunflower, Red Clay) there's something appealing about it. But listeners should find two subsequent Weston releases, Tanja and Carnival, then imagine what Blue Moses might have been.

Some good time blowin by Freddie Hubbard with a swinging Billy Cobham. Grover gets in some nice licks and the charts are very exciting.

Back in the 70's, I collected alot of CTI (and the subsidiary KUDU label)records. There were some great albums by Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Joe Farrell, Deodato, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, George Benson, and a whole slew of others. But I remember this one particular album by Randy Weston, 'cause it was the very first CTI record I ever bought. I haven't heard it in years, but I still can hum the songs from this album. This was a great recording, and I am ordering it as soon as I finish this review. Some other recommendations from CTI records: Polar AC, by Freddie Hubbard, Red Clay, by Freddie Hubbard, The Joe Farrell Quartet, Body Talk by George Benson, Salt, by Stanley Turrentine, and Don't Mess With Mr. T, by Stanley Turrentine. I guarantee you will enjoy every one of these recordings.

From 1972, a CLASSIC CTI session by Randy Weston, arranged by Don Sebesky,
now available on a gorgeous sounding Japanese import cd. This has that fabulous
"CTI sound" captured on so many of the label's great releases all through the 70's,
when the label was in its prime, not to mention a cool fold-out cover with great
artwork on the front and back. The legendary Rudy Van Gelder is the man responsi-
ble for the sound on this, as he was on SO many of those classic CTI recordings.
This has always been one of my favorite CTI's. Had the vinyl album for years, then
the cassette tape (which I still have), and now this beautiful cd. There are four
extended tunes on this, all originals by Weston, and one, "Blue Moses" ("Ganawa"),
adapted by Weston. Arranging by Sebesky is superb for the 23 musicians involved,
including CTI stablemates Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, Grover Washington Jr., Hu-
bert laws, and Airto Moreira. There's a strong background in the mix of cream-of-
the-crop horn, reed, and flute players, including English horns, clarinets, alto and
bass flutes, piccolo, trumpets, flugelhorns, French horns, baritone horns, trom-
bones, bass trombone, and a VERY heavy percussion presence. Weston is on both
acoustic AND electric piano as well. It's all brilliantly woven together by Sebesky
in an African mode that remains timeless even now. The playing, arranging, and
sound on this make it one of the best CTI's ever released. A classic from a long-
gone era that sounds better than ever - a masterpiece from Creed Taylor and his
team from the early 70's. 10 million stars.

P.S. For an in-depth look at the life and music of Randy Weston, check out the
new book, "African Rhythms, The Autobiography of Randy Weston", co-written
with Willard Jenkins. At 300 pages, it's available from dukeupress.edu. Rich in de-
tail and highly recommended. "Blue Moses" is discussed as well.

I've been listening to this album since I was a kid in the old vynil version.Cannot recall how many times i have played it. I am glad there is a cd version of it. The album has a very uniform structure. Great solos by freddie hubbard, and the overall sound of the horns section is fantastic. Greatly recommended

The music of pianist Randy Weston, particularly his
collaborations with trombonist/arranger Melba Liston,
rank among the finest achievements in all Music. Yet
this initial release of Weston's timeless anthem BLUE
MOSES, originally issued through the CTI label in the
1970s, is a major disappointment.
The album has great players, among them trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard, and the most authentically Jazz-based
work ever achieved by Grover Washington Jr. on record.
Weston's compositions here are among the finest he
has ever written. Liston's arrangements are clearly
top of the line.
Unfortunately, producer Creed Taylor -or some other
trend-friendly corporate at CTI- apparently forced
Weston to play the entire date on electric piano. An
acoustic grandmaster with deep roots in Duke Ellington
and Thelonious Monk, Weston has always been ill at
ease with utilizing an electronic sound.

This album proves the validity of Weston's apprehension.
His larger-than-life touch, ruminating upon the Blues,
vibrantly nimble in striking the Call of Africa and the
mandates of African American legacy, just does not
communicate on a plugged-in keyboard.
Because of this, the entire album became just another
Pop management exercise in holding back some A-1 Jazz
which -as was the case with most product from the CTI
label- never happened. This session was successful
only for curiosity-happy thrill-seekers wanting their
tastes tickled... rather than fruitfully engaged.

Those interested in hearing how BLUE MOSES is supposed
to sound are advised to pick up THE HEALERS, the classic
duets of Weston and pistol-packing tenor champion David
Murray, or hear Weston's epic 2-CD hook-up with Liston,
Dizzy Gillespie and other friends, THE SPIRITS OF OUR
ANCESTORS. Check a great concert performance of the
roots masterwork on the DVD from Image Enetertainment,
RANDY WESTON: LIVE IN ST. LUCIA.

If your taste for Jazz runs only to the day-glo dilutions
of fusion, CTI cocktail wanderings, or the current slander
known as "smooth jazz", this might be for you.
If you love Jazz in its fullness, and particularly if you
love the work of Randy Weston and Melba Liston,
approach this album with a grain of salt.

Make that a pillar.