Straight Ahead [Vinyl]

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (April 16, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000YTK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,685,895 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Lover

2. Wave

3. On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)

4. The Chef

5. Gigi

6. Last Train from Overbrook

7. The Good Life

8. I'll Never Be the Same

9. Watch What Happens

Editorial Reviews

Pablo 2310-778: Straight Ahead by Eddie Lockjaw Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Appropriate Title, August 24, 2004

By 

Andrew Stevenson "Drew" (Union Springs, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Straight Ahead (Audio CD)

This is "Straight Ahead" jazz, no other way to put it. Known as one of the "tough tenors" Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis always came to play. Just listen to Jaws on his opening solo on "Lover;" he absolutely shreds! Even on the recordings two ballads, "The Good Life" and "I'll Never Be the Same," he is far from introspective. It's odd that the two ballads are programmed back to back. It would have been nice to spread them out between the uptempo numbers. For the most part pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Keter Betts, and drummer Bobby Durham hold their own. Incidentally the cover features a photograph of Jaws scratching his head looking rather amazed. It's as if he's amazed that he could play this hard.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unusual chemistry, April 26, 2007

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Straight Ahead (Audio CD)

This is a curious mix of musical personalities. Jaws is one of the toughest tenors of all time, and Tommy Flanagan is as tasteful as they come. Jaws seems to be thinking, breathing and playing hot flames whereas Tommy is chilling out. The result is a somewhat incongruous match-up, with Jaws sounding like he's laboring, trying too hard, and the rhythmic support just not in the same place the featured soloist is physically or emotionally. Keeter Betts' somewhat unobtrusive walking bass also serves to hold things back. The drummer, Bobby Durham, who can stoke fires with the best of them, chooses to adjust to his rhythm mates rather than to match Jaws' sound and fury. It's doubtful anyone was having a whole lot of fun on this session.

It may be that Jaws is short on breath support on this occasion and is overcompensating for it, cutting off many of his sounds too quickly and pushing his tones to the point of sharping the pitch. A shame because the audio, especially the recording of Flanagan's piano, is first rate.

A more satisfying Jaws date from about the same period is the one with the Oscar Peterson trio at Montreux.