Customer Reviews

Conversin' With the Elders

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

 

 

If you're a "smooth jazz" fan or one of those Wynton Marsalis-style aesthetic ayatollahs who likes to tell everyone what is or what is not jazz, you probably won't like this CD. If, on the other hand, you have an open heart, an open mind, and open ears, this disk's a treasure.
James Carter's command over his horns is truly stunning. On this disk he deploys it in a variety of quintet encounters with other horn players (Lester Bowie (on good behavior), Harry "Sweets" Edison, Buddy Tate and others) from various jazz traditions, and its not often that one encounters such a varied disk of straight-ahead jazz. Carter and his remarkably consistent and able rhythm section (Craig Taborn, Jaribu Shahid, and Tani Tabbal) handle everything from Bennie Moten's "Moten Swing" to reggae to waltz to Anthony Braxton's "Composition #40Q" with aplomb.
OK, so Carter and Co. engage in an occasional shrill squeal (oh!), atonal blat (oh, no!), and even the dreaded widdly-woo and a honk or two (eek!!!)....

James Carter clearly has a great command of his instrument. Whether being playful, romantic, or engaging in rude blasts of atonality, he is always fascinating to listen to. Here he teams up with a varied array of influential jazz masters to produce a disk of consistent quality. The only flaw is that Carter fails to maintain a cohesive atmosphere among his disparate elements, resulting in a hodgepodge of admittedly excellent tunes. This remains a challenging and rewarding listen that refuses to let you get too comfortable. A standout is the drunken, careening "Freereggaehibop."

James Carter pays homage to some of his influences by pulling in Lester Bowie, Larry Smith, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Hamiet Bluiett, and Buddy Tate. The opener takes a reggae beat to Carter's & Bowie's growls, sputters, and bluesy playing. It's gleefully dissonant and starts things off with a friendly vibe. "Parker's Mood" pairs Carter & Smith in a bluesy cutting competition. "Lester Leaps In" pairs Carter & Edison to better effect. Craig Taborn gets space to play a bebop solo. After the piano solo, Carter comes back in with "Here Comes The Bride" and uses it as a starting point for his solo. That's the first of a few places where Carter uses an instantly recognizable popular or jazz chestnut in his solo. Tani Tabbal plays a short drum solo and then the song wraps up. The rhythm section sees their job on this CD as mostly to stay out of the way, but they provide very good backing support. Bluiett joins Carter for a mournful "Naima", which is a little light on improvising. "Blue Creek" with Tate is a bass clarinet/clarinet blues. "Centerpiece" is another good Carter/Edison blues. Bluiett and Carter navigate Anthony Braxton's "Composition #40q" on baritone sax. The song is a catchy romp, which they both send over a cliff to good effect. "Johnny Comes Marching Home" even makes an appearance in the middle of the solos. Tate and Carter do "Moten Swing" which is a fun swing song. Finally, Bowie and Carter bring it home with "Atitled Valse", which is a drunken-sounding waltz. It goes into a fast 4/4 section with solos. The waltz section returns with more quotes.

Though Carter has five different guests falling into two categories, traditional and free, the bluesy and/or swinging nature of all the songs keeps the album together. The songwriting is good, Carter picks five songs that are argueably standards ("Parker's Mood", "Lester Leaps In", "Naima", "Centerpiece", "Moten Swing"), which functions to add a familiar melody to the solos. My favorite songs are the ones with Edison or the free jazzers, and I think most people would like this CD.

Let me be as brutally honest as I can: this recording did nothing for me, because the musicianship is subpar and the leadership is just terrible. Why do record companies continue to promote such pointless drivel as this recording? There's no lyrical beauty, melodic invention, or any kind of deep feeling. I'm sorry, but this isn't jazz and it never will be. After hearing recordings such as "Conversin' with the Elders," I'm only reminded of the fact that I'm happy for the bebop movement of the late '40s through mid '60s. Carter is a sorry excuse for a saxophonist. Give me Hawkins, Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Desmond, Webster, Getz, Zoot, Al Cohn, Art Pepper, Benny Golson, Gigi Gryce, Stanley Turrentine, Ike Quebec, etc. any day of the week.

Let me also say that anytime you call an album "Conversin' With The Elders" you show just how little class you have. It's a stupid name for stupid album.

Especially the first track is amazing, The rest is worthwile.

3 1/2 stars. All the tunes are good individually but as a whole, the album can be an uncomfortable listen since style of the tunes vary so widely. This is because Carter is adept at conversin', empathizing, and understanding his elders, while being able to contribute his unique style of playing each time. The problem is is that he needed to work at being a more solid anchor of the music throughout this album. His respect for his elders veers toward blind deference which affects the originality of his contribution to the album. Each tune is individually excellent. They are just too much a hodgepodge to make the album as rewarding a listen as it could have been. Maybe he should have emphasized only 2 or 3 "elders."

Still Carter is an amazingly talented and expressive player on this album. He obviously dearly needed to express who his influences are. It is refreshing to see that his influences cover such a wide range of innovation and improvisation. I'm particularly glad that he recognizes Anthony Braxton as an influence. Not that I'm a huge fan of his, but Carter shows that Braxton is undeservedly ignored by the larger jazz press.