Customer Reviews

Svengali

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

 

 

This is a great recording by Gil Evans and his orchestra. This is a fine example that even an orchestra can do fusion. Each section in the orchestra makes a valuable contribution to the recording. "Thoroughbread" is an excellent introduction to the mood Evans was trying to emphasize on this session. Every song afterwards is great from a swing type to fusion/funk. Its all here! The only thing missing on this recording is Miles Davis. If Miles was in on this session this would of been a 5 Star Plus recording! However, this is an excellent CD to acquire for all Gil Evans enthusiasts.

The anagram is obvious, no?

This has been one of my favorite Gil Evans recordings, I wore the LP right out years ago!

I do not comprehend exactly what the 2 previous reviews mean by "fusion", but then, try define the word "jazz"..(The wash of a synth or an electric piano Fender ? I hope this not the criteria used to define, but no matter!)

This recording is pure "Evansonia", with his trademark lush arrangements and innovative chord voicings.

Featured soloists this turn , the seldom heard and quite individual concepts of Ted Dunbar on electric guitar, and the Texas "big horn" sound meets the post bop.avante guard tenor sax of the underrated Billy Harper.

Mr Harper contributes 2 compositions, "Cry of Hunger" and the opening romp, "Thoroughbred", and is also an individualistic composer.

Howard Johnson, maestro of the baritone sax oan tuba, "Mr Low Frequencies" is featured in solo settings on tuba and Flugehorn, and is a quite inventive soloist!

Hannibal Peterson, another sadly neglected musician (A trumpet more worthy than the obscurity he has been banished to..)features on "ZeeZee", a delicious track.

For me, the highlight of the recording is a moody and thoughful version of the standard "Summertime", which features a medlodic solo statement from Mr Dunbar over a wash of beautifully altered chords from the orchestra, a treat!
With 2 books released this year about Mr Evan's musics and lifestory, I hope interest is still high in his musics now and for the passing years to come..

This cd is a "must have" for every jazz afficionado, to sound a bit cliche (but true!).

1000 stars , Viva Gil Evans! A true innovator!

I thoroughly agree with the above reviewer. This is a great Gil Evans fusion album. Great Gil Evans arangements of THOROUBREED, CRY OF HUNGER, BLUES IN ORBIT are interspersed with some exciting solo work from Howard Johnson, Ted Dunbar, Billy Harper, Trevor Koehler and David Sanborn. I still have the original vinyl copy and am glad a CD came out, as I was wearing deep grooves into this one. Yes, the only thing missing was Miles Davis. I still give it 5 Stars.

I bought this LP when it first came out. I'd drowned my happy soul in "Out of the Cool" and got lost for months in the moods of "Individualism". Add to that his "Guitar Forms" LP with Kenny Burrell and the "Sketches" album, I was ready for more of the pure Evanescence, and not ready for Gil Evans to do what most self-respecting composers do -- shift gears. No, change cars. In mid-drive.

This album was a huge change to me, and I tried to follow him but couldn't. Kind of like trying to follow Stravinsky from his neo-classical phase to his atonal phase. Maybe he (Gil Evans) made it, maybe the other reviewers are right, and it's all great stuff, but it lost me. No magic, no startles, no surprises that I could suck into my soul and thrive on.

So, be warned, be cautious. It's a change, and it signals a change that he continued on for the rest of his career, and if you loved "Individualism", you might not make the jump. Then again, maybe you will. I just have to go on record to say all this, as one Evans fan who is disappointed.