Customer Reviews

Togethering

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

 

 

...a meeting of masters including bassist Ron Carter and rhythm man Ralph Mc Donald where the group goes for The Mellow rather than The Upbeat and Muscular. Which is ok by me. It has a rendition of the classic Burrell piece "Soulero" and a moody late night drive thru the naked city tune, "Asphalt Canyon Drive" that are simply stupendous. A GWjr penned "Sails of your
Soul" flies. Overall, a great and pleasing find for smooth jazz aficionados who want a little traditional in their mix and vice-versa.

I have the version where there is only 8 tracks. Anyway,it is a pity that those 2 guys never made more than one recording together,the groove they create is , swinging,relaxed and it "blows your blues away" I am very fond of Jack de Johnettes playing somewhat similar to Elvin Jones in that"light touch" he has but less cymbals than Jones.Burrells comping is outstanding,so is his chord soloing, his single lines are very nice and sweet although at some times somewhat "stiff". Mr Magic plays his Tenor and Soprano like he has been a permanent member of the band for ages, I is hard to digest that Grover been gone for 1,5 years already, I miss your playing badly, man.

These are two of the greatest jazz instrumentalists of all time! This collaboration was recorded in 1984 in New York City. Mellow yet full of finesse, it doesn't get any better than this! Rare and delightful. Enjoy!

~ "Togethering" offers a unique opportunity to hear a collaboration by two musicians at the top of their game in the mid-1980's. Unfortunately, while both musicians bring to the meeting exceptional musicianship and according to the liner notes mutual respect, the collaboration never catches fire.
~ If you approach this CD from the perspective of how it fits into Grover Washington's career, you might consider "Togethering" to be a step away from the commercial instrumental music for which he was rightfully famous -- a step towards straight-ahead jazz.
~ If you approach this CD from the perspective of how it fits into Kenny Burrell's much longer career, you probably will consider "Togethering" to be a step away from straight-ahead jazz -- a step towards the more commercial market.
~ Compared to the other Grover Washington music in my collection, I consider this to be a rather successful CD and I wish he had done more straight-ahead jazz. When I saw Grover play at Ontario Place in Toronto in the 1970's, he did in large part focus on this straight-ahead direction.
~ Compared to the other Kenny Burrell music in my collection (much more extensive than my Grover sampling), I consider this to be a rather weak CD. When listening to this CD, I cannot help but compare it to Kenny's collaborations with Coleman Hawkins and Stanley Turrentine, and his classic collaboration with John Coltrane. Those collaborations give us a more swinging Kenny and allow him to emote with his typical blues-influenced phraseology and tone. Perhaps it is the swing and the blues that I miss the most on "Togethering" -- I miss the emotion.
~ Others have written, and I agree, Kenny has never made a bad CD. So I give this CD a rating of three stars - which is average on my rating scale.