Piccadilly Square [Import]

Carl Allen & The Manhattan Project, Carl Allen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Timeless Holland
• ASIN: B000024AS4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #629,240 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great jazz!, February 13, 2007

By 

Robert Lewis "Nojoe King" (Oz) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Piccadilly Square (Audio CD)

A solid mix of standards and originals by Carl Allen, Vincent Herring and Roy Hargrove - I like this sort of straight-up/re-bop and funky jazz that revamps and revitalises the standards, and maybe brings to life some new ones. These guys have there own unique voices/idiom, but together create great really cool jazz, from the opening title track, Piccadilly Square, which really swings, and features Freddie Hubbard and the dynamic Vincent Herring. The whole album is excellent. Check - it - out!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Does not transcend, but pleases, December 3, 2007

By 

Kevin W. Celebi "Jazz Musician" (Greencastle, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Piccadilly Square (Audio CD)

This is one of the first albums I picked up when I looked into Freddie Hubbard's 1980's cameos. As my trumpet professor said, Hubbard made a lot of money throughout the 80's (and subsequently put it up his nose, but we won't go there). Even if he didn't drop by for the groovy shuffle title track, this album would still gain the trust of most jazz afficianados, in spite of its lack of innovation.

Piccadilly Square boasts a flexible jazz combo that can play with the power of a troll and hush to the hum of a crackling fire. The rhythmic power of the band is extremely impressive, especially on the opening shuffle and the burner, "In the Still of the Night."

A Hubbard cameo is an instant seal of quality on any album! This is one of (or could be the only) recorded encounters between Freddie Hubbard and the omnipresent Roy Hargrove. Hubbard presents his typical flair on the opening shuffle, taking a first solo that features his standard bow-and-arrow rhythmic accuracy, fiery high notes, harmonic audacity to go out of the changes, and a fat tone. He cracks one note, but still sounds deep before his lip problems caused his career decline in the 90's.

The band boasts contemporary, modern sound. Pianist Donald Brown is of the lineage of pianists that emulate the chops of Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans, but maintain the more modern harmonies of Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller. Carl Allen is a drummer who was young and energetic throughout the 80's, driving his band into steady rhythms. The music on this album is in the category of "hard bop resurgence," which was a fuse of 60's hard bop and new harmonic experimentations that was nascent in the 80's and precluded neo-bop of the 90's. This combo is a who's who of hard bop resurgence and neo-bop: Vincent Herring, Roy Hargrove, Donald Brown, and Carl Allen.

It's a healthy platter of music. One advantage of buying later jazz albums is that the compact disc offers almmost twice as much capacity for recording. The combo gleams with talent and musicality throughout ten fairly lengthy tracks, and rather than drone on, the music never fails to interest and please.

Roy Hargrove was barely twenty years old when this record was cut, and as can be expected, he has trouble holding up to the brilliance of the many trumpet masters in the instrument's lineage. He does sport a soulful, smooth tone influenced mainly by R&B and soul music of the 70's, but it doesn't have that mean, hard edge to complement it, thus making him sound quite inexperienced (and star-struck on the first track by Mr. Hubbard).

Some listeners are not fans of Vincent Herring's sound. He may be extremely advanced harmonically, thanks to the alto's flexibility of range and fluency, but his intonation tends to fluctuate and be hard on the ears. Yes, he is emulating Cannonball Adderley's soulful style, but lacks the tone control to make it aurally pleasing. This is most evidently pleasing on his melody statement in "Lullaby of Birdland."

The music isn't terribly original and innovating. I was playing the last track, an original by Carl Allen called "Afterthoughts," for my brother, and he rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "real original, Carl." Half of the album is comprised of worn-out standards, the other half consisting of not terribly memorable original compositions by bandmembers. This is fine if you want to listen to 70 minutes of talented jazz, but those looking for spouts of flame in originality will probably be disappointed.

This album may offend fans of the classic and traditional jazz mainly recorded in the 50's and 60's. Why? Not only does the style emulate (read: copy) the music of this era, but the music doesn't spring with as much freshness as it did back then. For instance, some trumpet players might be offended with Hargrove's modest reading of What's New?, compared to the many gorgeous renditions by Clifford Brown. This is the catch of an album that is 50% standards.

Fans of neo-bop will like to see its roots in albums like these. Hargrove's original composition, "New Joy," sounds characteristic of his slick chord changes and R&B fused style of the 90's. The more active role of pianists and the calmer role of drummers in neo-bop is reflected in this CD, which boasts a harmonically-driven style and calm, reflective drumming by the leader.

This combo had serious firepower in the studio. With Donald Brown, Allen, and Herring all clicking on full cylinders, the band plays with almost forbidden rhythmic perfection on "In the Still of the Night." Going back to the flexibility I mentioned earlier, it also was able to interpret "Autumn Leaves," evoking images of crisp, gentle leaves breezing under the sky. It's an impressive elasticity.

The album's best track is Biscuit Man. This harmonic tour-de-force (which is actually a re-harmonized blues) written by piano master Donald Brown blazes with the white fire of compelling chords and the red flame of inspired improvisation. It's the most modern-feeling of the original compositions.

The music stands tall and will loom as powerful, even if it does disappoint compared to the music made by jazz's wizards of 20 years past.