In the spring of 1968, Joachim E. Berendt (above) of Germany's MPS label caught wind that alto saxophonists Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Pony Poindexter and Leo Wright were all in Europe touring separately. Berendt took a chance and reached out to all of them, inviting them to MPS's fabled recording studios in Villingen, in the Black Forest. Berendt also hired pianist Steve Kuhn, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christiensen. On June 2 and 3, the seven musicians recorded seven songs. The result was Alto Summit.
All four of the alto saxophonists were stylistic disciples of Charlie Parker, but what's more interesting about this album is what the musicians didn't do. They didn't wind up in a typical bebop blowing session. Instead, their union became highly sophisticated, almost free-jazz in feel, and not one of the musicians was left behind creatively.
Now, MPS has reissued this album as a superb digital download, and the music remains an assertive joy. All of the players are bossy and hip, as if they had just stepped off the train at noon to rid the town of bad music. They're all top jazz gunslingers with different specialties, and the music is completely fresh, with each saxophonist stretching on solos and nudging the others along.
Here are the tracks and the solos:
Native Land (Curtis Amy). Wright (above) opens with a raw attack, followed by Konitz, Woods, Poindexter and then Wright closing it out.
Ballad Medley. This conglomerate of standards features Wright first on Skylark, Poindexter on Blue and Sentimental, Woods on Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You and Konitz on Body and Soul. The fireworks come at the end, when all four return to play their ballads together, at the same time. What a free-for-all!
Prompt (Benny Bailey). Wright kicks off his sassy blues followed by Poindexter, Konitz, Woods and Kuhn.
The Perils of Poda (Phil Woods). Woods (above) arranged this cousin of Blues and the Abstract Truth, with Kuhn soloing first, followed by Woods, Konitz, Poindexter and Wright.
Good Booty (Pony Poindexter). On this duet, Poindexter (above) opens and Woods follows, with Kuhn and Danielsson adding solos.
Lee-O's Blues (Wright/Konitz). This is another duet, with Wright kicking it off followed by Wright and Konitz together and then ending with Konitz.
Lee's Tribute to Bach and Bird (Lee Konitz). What a showstopper. Konitz (above) here arranged Bach's Ach Got Vom Himmel Sieh Parein followed by a complete transcription, played in unison by the four horns, of Charlie Parker's Honeysuckle Rose solo from a broadcast with Jay McShann in Wichita, Kan., recorded on Dec. 2, 1940. The album is worthwhile for this one piece alone.
Jazz may have been going to the electric dogs in 1968 as music's cutting edge shifted to San Francisco, but in Germany, in June, four superb saxophonists were in Germany with a leather-tight rhythm section creating a vinyl acoustic masterpiece.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the new digital download of Alto Summit (MPS) here.
For more information about the MPS catalog and to see the downloads released thus far, go here (let the page load with images before scrolling).
JazzWax clip: Here's Woods' The Perils of Poda...
from JazzWax http://ift.tt/2cIv33O
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