Customer Reviews

Keep The Customer Satisfied

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don Menza's prime chart "Groovin' Hard" is found twice on this reamstered CD, in the originally issued version and an alternate take. Even the original is altered a bit with a 30 second piano solo restored at the beginning. It actually gives the performance a different and even more satisfying feel. But "Groovin' Hard" is an apt way to describe the whole recording. Rich drives the band with unrelenting energy and trememdous swing. Every chart is intense but most enjoyable. Listen to "Keep the Customer Satsified" or the previously unreleased "Happy Time." You'll want to cheer along with the live audience. The fine soloists include altoists Richie Cole, Jimmy Mosher, trombonist Rick Stepton, and tenor Pat Labarbera featured on a previously unreleased Menza arrangement of "Body and Soul." The remastered sound is wonderful and the "live" tracks sound even better than the one studio recorded track, "Midnight Cowboy Medley." There is however, ONE MAJOR OMISSION from this release and that is Dean Pratt's track-by-track commentary which so enhanced the previous Rich Pacific Jazz releases. So c'mon Capitol, WHAT HAPPENED?

Buddy and his super - tight 1970 outfit really do themselves proud in this hot set recorded in Las Vegas. Several of the charts are by the great Bill Holman (Keep the Customer Satisfied, Midnight Cowboy, and the humorous Winning the West) and a few by a great writer from that period, Don Piestrup. The band boasts outstanding section playing and inspired soloists (namely Pat LaBarbera on tenor and Rick Stepton on trombone), and the greatest big band drummer of all time. Blue Note has done a great job with this series of Buddy Rich Pacific Jazz reissues and this was the last in that series. Rumour has it, however, that there is some late 1960's live material recorded at Ronnie Scott's in London that is still in the can. One can only hope that this material will see the light of day. For now, however, this blazing set will do just fine. No one booted a big band like Buddy --- NO ONE !!!

There was a brief 2-3 year period in the late sixties and early seventies, between ""West Side Story" and "Channel One Suite," when Rich's was practically a rock band, the drums continuing to play even between tunes. With the jazz crowd insisting he had sold out and the rock contingency equally insistent that Rich didn't understand rock 'n roll, I remember going to a rather small Milwaukee club, The Attic, to find out for myself. I couldn't hear for several days afterward (my first lesson in the practicality of ear plugs for certain types of musical events).

Richie Cole's was the dominant solo voice, a sound that could cut through the din and an altoist who could play pretty much anything with anybody (even with a solipsist guitarist whose chords and tempos were so out of sight, he was called "Da Animal"). But it was far from a satisfying experience, and Buddy must have sensed as much, because by 1972-73 he was back in the groove, proving once again that swing was the thing.

Fortunately, this album has a couple of good arrangements by Menza and Holman (and the listener has a volume control), but this should be far from anyone's first choice to represent Rich (I wouldn't even put it in Buddy's top ten, especially if you go back to his work on Verve with Bird, Diz, Ella, Louis, Lester, Lionel, Tatum, etc.).

What memories! After hearing these songs again for the 1st time in over 30 years, I am transported back to a great time. I had the great pleasure of seeing Buddy and his band in action many times. Listen to "Celebration". Sax solos by Richie Cole (alto) and Pat LaBarbara (tenor) are simply beautiful. Truly, one of Buddy's best bands and best albums.

Thank heaven Pacific Jazz (thanks to former Buddy trumpeter Dean Pratt) is rereleasing Buddy's big band albums of the 60's and
early 70's. On this CD Buddy comes out blazing as usual and never lets up. The arrangements are tight and swinging, and Buddy drives the band with his unmatched power. Listen to the
driving 3/4 time of Long Day's Journey, then get rocked by Don Menza's arrangement of Groovin Hard. Before you have a chance to catch your breath, your blown away by Roger Neuman's chart for
The Juicer is Wild and Bill Holman's Winning the West. DYNAMITE!!

This is in no way a disappointment. I have seen that one or two of the other reviewers of this product have been rather disparaging of it. I think this is completely unfounded. While perhaps not my favorite Buddy Rich album (thats certainly either 'Mercy, Mercy' or 'Big Swing Face') it has a lot to recommend it. Far from being a departure from Buddy's usual big band style, it is every bit as tight and big as in the past and Buddy can apparently do no wrong behind the drum set. I might not have been terribly impressed with the 'Midnight Cowboy Medley' (certainly it is in no way comparable to his other hit 'Medley', the West Side Story one) the title track and Don Menza's inescapably powerful 'Groovin' Hard' more than make up for it.

Of all the amazing Buddy Rich albums I have/heard, I seem to come back to this one the most. This is probably due to the fact that this was the first Buddy album I owned. This edition of the band has many talented soloists including Pat LaBarbera on tenor, Richie Cole on alto (I'm fortunate to say that he lives close by to where I live and that he's friends with my clarinet teacher), Rick Stepton on trombone, and George Zonce on trumpet. Of all the amazing selections on this album, I have to say that three Bill Holman charts are highlights: "Keep the Customer Satisfied, which is the most perfect opener I've ever heard; "Midnight Cowbow Medley", which includes many cool classic rock tunes; and "Winning the West", which has a really cool quasi rock feel, which alternates with a swing feel. Even though I am a huge fan of those charts, I have to say that "Groovin' Hard" is the best performance on this cd. I first got into this spectacular chart when I played it during my Freshman year in Jazz Band. After playing it, I knew I needed the cd, which drove me to buy this album. I've listened to that track daily since and I like it more and more each time. So if you're a fan of Buddy Rich, big band jazz, or just love catchy music, then this cd is definitely for you.

Buddy and his super - tight outfit do themselves proud in this 1970 outing which features tight ensemble playing, strong solos, excellent recording engineering, and the world's greatest big band drummer. Several charts (Keep the Customer Satisfied, Mid- night Cowboy, and a humorous Winning the West) are by the great Bill Holman and others by the underrated Don Piestrup (one of the really fine writers from that period). What keeps it all together is the boundless energy of Mr. Rich -- NO ONE booted a big band like Buddy -- NO ONE !!! This is the last in the series of albums he did for Pacific Jazz , and Blue Note has done a great job with all the reissues. Rumour has it they still have some Live at Ronnie Scott's club in London tapes still in the can from the late 60's. We can only hope that these will also be issued some day. Meanwhile, this hot set (with additional bonus cuts) will do just fine .

I thought this was a fabulous album when the original LP came out in 1970, but the CD is even better due to the bonus tracks.
This album captures the excitement of the live performances (except for one studio track), with not a single disappointing selection. The title track is a rare example of a big band adaptation of a pop tune that really works. "Long Day's Journey" is an intriguing original that grabs you and holds on till the end. My personal favorite is "Groovin' Hard", a Don Menza chart that showcases the sax section in a very in-your-face blues.
There are six bonus tracks, including "Body and Soul" featuring tenor sax and four up-tempo originals that are every bit as good as the original LP tracks. "Cornerstone" is so good, you won't understand why it didn't make it onto the original release.
One of the bonus tracks is an alternate take of "Groovin' Hard". Personally, I don't care much for alternate takes - there's usually a reason why they're just alternates. But even without this track, the CD offers an hour of great music. If you like Buddy Rich, or big bands, or you just want to see what big band jazz should sound like, this CD belongs in your collection.

There are some excellent reviews here by other fellow BR admirers, thorough and comprehensive. Therefore, I will be brief and deal mainly with the bonus tracks.

Excellently recorded, KEEP THE CUSTOMER...finds Buddy and a young band blasting away in Vegas in the wee hours of the AM, after playing multiple sets. Pat Labarbera has moved into the first tenor chair.

The title cut is close to the original. I wonder what Paul Simon and Art Gunfunkel thought of it. I would guess they would approve.

The MIDNIGHT COWBOY medley was not to become a grand finale in the tradition of WEST SIDE STORY nor CHANNEL ONE SUITE. Those charts are in minor keys, have a "serious" component to them. Conversely, MIDNIGHT was an acknowledgement of its contemporary stature.

The bookmark of this recording is Bill Holman's WINNING THE WEST. It contains what is one of several drum solos that are atypical of Buddy Rich. He solos over a bass ostinato, with patterns not heard from him before. Some of the bars appear to be non-metered, polyrythmic, with a nod to post-modern jazz drumming. This solo, along with the one on "Blowin The Blues Away" (from 1961's BLUES CARAVAN) and "Rockin'In Rhythm" (from LIVE AT STADSHALLE) make up his most unique solos, and show a non-technical and melodic aspect of his playing.

As far as the bonus tracks, there is nothing special here (unlike MERCY, MERCY, which contanied some gems in the vault--a superb Phil Wilson arr. of Henry Mancini's "Mr. Lucky", and the late, great Art Pepper stretching out on the Ellington-Strayhorn "Chelsea Bridge"). The best of the bonus tracks is "Body and Soul" which converts nicely from ballad to double time midway through before returning to original tempo.