Swiss Movement: Montreux 30th Anniversary Edition [Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Eddie Harris, Les McCann | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B0000033T6
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,513 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > Jazz > Soul-Jazz & Boogaloo
  • #23 in Music > R&B > Classic R&B
  • #27 in Music > Jazz > Modern Postbebop

Track Listings

1. Compared to What

2. Cold Duck Time

3. Kathleen's Theme

4. You Got It in Your Soulness

5. The Generation Gap

6. Kaftan [#][*]

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: MCCANN/HARRIS
Title: SWISS MOVEMENT-MONTREUX 30TH A
Street Release Date: 06/18/1996
Domestic
Genre: JAZZ

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ages well, May 6, 2001

By 

Tyler Smith (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swiss Movement: Montreux 30th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

This is one of those recordings that seemed always to be on someone's stereo when I went to college. Lots of people who ordinarily didn't listen to much jazz had it and loved its mixture of funk, soul and jazz improvisation.

Sometimes these recordings don't age well, and I picked up this CD with just a bit of wariness, thinking its hipness might have gone the way of tie-dyed shirts and bottles of Mateus. I'm happy to report that the 1969 concert still packs plenty of punch.

This 30th anniversary edition in particular is worth buying because it contains detailed notes on how pianist McCann, saxophonist Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey came to be on the same stage that night in Montreux. Turns out it was very impromptu -- to the point that Bailey didn't even know most of the tunes and had to follow Harris's lead as he searched for the changes.

Given that, Bailey's performance is especially impressive. His solos not only are crisp, they crackle. He's particularly effective on the date's best known tune, "Compared to What," on which he delivers a very sharp plunger mute solo that adds spice to an already very hot performance.

Harris is in fine form throughout, delivering plenty of unforced soulfulness on each track, especially "You Got It in Your Soulness." His solos have a fluidity that makes the tunes sound rehearsed, although they really weren't.

The date is not long on compositional surprises (there's no way it could have been; bassist Leroy Vinegar's "The Generation Gap," was so new it didn't even have a title on that night), and that makes it a four-star release for me. McCann's piano is funky but not particularly inspired -- although his vocal on "Compared to What" is -- but overall the group displays some genuine fire that I think many listeners will find just as enjoyable as I did when I first heard it.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The album that turned me on to jazz, October 8, 1998

By 

Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swiss Movement: Montreux 30th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

I was a 14 year old rock and roller when this album came out, and it changed me forever. The opening track showed me that jazz can have as much or more energy than rock, and when I first heard the dissonant harmonies of Harris' solo on "Kathleen's Theme", I started to understand the harmonic possibilities of jazz.

The newly remastered edition is a wonderful treat for those of us who have been listening to the original LP and CD versions of this for 30 years. Even if you have the original, buy this one.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cool, November 11, 2002

By 

Mark R. Van Wagenen "viagracat" (Elgin, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swiss Movement: Montreux 30th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

It's a good thing there are still a few radio stations in the country, such as WXRT in Chicago, that dig up great nuggets like "Compared to What", the leadoff track on this great CD. I'd never heard the number before, but liked it so much when I heard it in my car I ordered the CD as soon as I got home that day. If you like cool '60s-era jazz, the kind of music your folks might have listened to if they were hip; this is your album. This impromptu collaboration of the Les McCann Trio and horn players Eddie Harris and Benny Bailey, taken from a live performance at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1969, holds up well. OK, the sardonic lyrics in "Compared to What" are dated, but the music still packs a wallop. McCann's piano playing compares favorably to Ramsey Lewis', and that's saying something. Throw in Eddie Harris' tenor sax, Benny Bailey's trumpet, Leroy Vinnegar's bass and the uptempo beat of most of the tracks, and you have a nice, tight package here that will not disappoint. This is not "new age" jazz; this is straight-ahead music that you can move to. Very highly recommended.