Customer Reviews

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This is Marion Brown at the beginning of his decline. He had difficulty playing, and it shows -- he doesn't do much playing here and when he does, it is slower material. His beautiful tone is still intact, and his beautiful soul shine through on "Ode To Coltrane" and momentarily on some other tunes, but the angular and unexpected lines are in short supply. The support band are all young guys, all adept players, yet no one comes through as being particularly original. Overall, it's a pretty program, good date music. If this is all you want from an album, then buy it. But if you're more demanding, this is far from Marion Brown's best.

This superb CD/LP by great Venus label is one of great unknown gems by one of Jazz's underrated heroes.Best known for his work in early 60's on ESP and his great "Three For Shepp" (after Shepp's "Four for Trane" Brown continued a great inside/outside career .Like many "New thing" cats he could play superbly when approaching standards and here with excellent musicians with Brown(as),Jay Messer(g),Tom McClung(p),Mike Marcus(b),Chris Dailey (dr).The cuts are:Terra [9:47],(T. McClung)Self Portrait In Three Colors [4:12] (Charles Mingus),Ode To Coltrane [5:47] (Marion Brown),Sly Entrance [3:44] (J. Messer),Golden Lady In The Graham Cracker Window [6:23] (Marion Brown),Berkshire Blues [7:45] (R. Weston)
After The Rain [7:01] (John Coltrane) with such fluidity and superb delivery I can't think of why anyone won't delight in this LP.It is not "out" but I find the best "inside players" can play post bop as well as those who are only "straight ahead" layers beacause there playing and arrangements give added complexity that add's to a non- avantegarde session.Chico Freeman and Shepp are other exemplars of this view.IN addition to beautiful renditions of Weston and Coltrane he plays on this CD (not for first or last time his beautiful "Lady In The Graham Cracker Window".For my life I can't understand why the reviewers at www.allmusic.com who I normally agree with did not give this 4.5 versus 3.5 stars.Maybe it's not "Kif Of Blue" but it is so well played especially by Brown,McLung and Messner as well as by Marcus and Dailey being up to task I recommend this as one of the best CD's of post bop from a 60's master to be produced in past 20 years.Just GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!P.S there is a second sessions worth of material that is fine but not quite up to offering and harder to find.But i is worth aquirring and you'll want it after you get this gem.