Customer Reviews

Seven Come Eleven

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"Seven Come Eleven" was recorded at the Concord Summer Festival right after the recording of "Jazz/Concord". Guitarist Herb Ellis and longtime collaborators Ray Brown (bass) and Jake Hanna (drums) are joined by Joe Pass, more famous for his solo guitar excursions. This recording captures four great musicians, all playing at their peaks, just jamming and having a good time. The set opens with a swinging version of Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone" called out by Ellis to the band before they play. Between songs Ray Brown says he wants to play something fast; Ellis barks "Seven Come Eleven - right now!", and the race is on - Ellis and Pass' solo duets/duals bring loud responses from the crowd numerous times. With some occasional off-mic comments between the bandmembers and some question about the upcoming songs (did they even plan a set list?) this recording has all the fun and looseness of a live gig in a small club. No jazz guitar collection is complete without it.

I'm a jazz guitarist and avid collector of jazz guitar recordings. There are a lot of jazz guitar albums that you buy that are good, but never really speak to you enough to get multiple plays. Somehow, this one was one I kept going back to. The spirit and mood is fun and swinging. You get the feeling that Herb and Joe really liked each other, but they weren't going to sit back, idly, and let the other one top them. It's spirited great jazz guitar, with wonderful interplay, that I think most fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy.

This is, above all, a fun album--the musicianship is superb and the group was obviously enjoying themselves during the performance, which comes across clearly in the recording. All the songs are exceptional, but to me the standout is "Concord Blues"--it absolutely flies, both with the chugging rhythm section and the guitar interplay. The Pass solo (the second of the two) starts off softly and then builds to the point that all someone on the recording can do is whistle (whew!) with the perfection of it. I've had more people ask me what this song is when I've played it than any other--it's worth the price of the CD alone. By the way, the CD entitled "Arrival" in the Amazon listing appears to be the same album as this.

This CD is a must have for any true jazz aficionado. The classic song, "Seven Come Eleven", has never been performed better. The rest of the songs on the CD are of similar quality.

My first exposure to Joe Pass was on "Two for the Road", all studio duets with Herb Ellis, and I was blown away. Not that Herb isn't a great guitarist, but Pass is simply a master (then I heard his "Virtuoso" series--there was no one better, ever). On this live recording with Ray Brown and Jake Hanna, the duet steps it up a notch--how they can each play so many notes without getting in each other's way is phonomenal. "In a Mellow Tone" kicks it off right, letting the players move together gradually; the title cut is, as said elsewhere here, unbelievably fast and a showcase for the agility of the performers, but I think this duo is at its best a little slower. The true masterpiece is "Concord Blues", which except for a too-long bass solo is an almost perfect gelling of 4 musicians thinking as one, and totally grooves--Pass's lead section blows the roof off. More people have asked me "who is this?" when listening to this cut than any other piece of music I've ever played.

This recording definately gives the feeling of a small club gig, but with the best players around! You can hear them decide on songs, and then blow the croud away with some awesome playing.

Ellis and Pass play very well together, often playing lines that weave together and apart, and all over, but working out brilliantly. Both Pass and Ellis take a turn performing a piece solo.

Ray Brown and Jake Hanna are great, as they would have to be to keep up with these two jazz guitar giants. A must have.

Linc
www.learnjazzguitar.net