Resonance Records to Release
2-Disc Live Set by Charles Lloyd,
"Manhattan Stories,"
September 9
2-Disc Live Set by Charles Lloyd,
"Manhattan Stories,"
September 9
Two 1965 New York Concerts,
Recorded at Judson Hall & Slugs',
Feature Lloyd with His Previously Unrecorded Quartet of
Gabor Szabo, Ron Carter, & Pete La Roca
Recorded at Judson Hall & Slugs',
Feature Lloyd with His Previously Unrecorded Quartet of
Gabor Szabo, Ron Carter, & Pete La Roca
June 23, 2014
In the words of a classic TV show, there are eight million stories in the Naked City. Resonance Records uncovers a pair of long-untold tales from New York City's fabled jazz past on Manhattan Stories, due for release on September 9. These two performances capture the always-extraordinary saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd in 1965, leading a remarkable and previously unrecorded quartet featuring three jazz giants: guitarist Gábor Szabó, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Pete La Roca.
The
story told by these two concerts is one of an already-distinctive voice
at the outset of a now-legendary career. In 1965, when these sets were
recorded at the now-defunct venues Judson Hall and Slugs', Lloyd was fresh from his stint with drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton,
where he'd first crossed paths with Szabó. Lloyd already had two albums
to his name; both Carter and Szabó are heard on his second for
Columbia, Of Course, Of Course, from which two
titles on these new dates are culled. Within a year he would form his
groundbreaking quartet with Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee, and Jack
DeJohnette.
Szabó
himself was on the verge of cementing his name in the jazz canon,
starting his acclaimed run of Impulse! releases the next year. Carter
was midway through his stint with the second great Miles Davis quintet,
while La Roca had already worked with a host of names from the music's
pantheon, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, and Joe
Henderson.
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| Photo of Charles Lloyd by Lee Tanner. © Lisa Tanner Photography. |
"It was a specific time and place," Lloyd told Manhattan Stories
annotator Don Heckman. "We all felt like the boundaries were being
dissolved and we could do or try anything. This is a music of freedom
and wonder -- we were young and on the move."
Together, the band embarks on a series of adventurous excursions through pieces like Lloyd's classic "Sweet Georgia Bright" and "Dream Weaver" as well as Szabó's "Lady Gabor,"
originally recorded by the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Nothing on either
disc clocks in at under ten minutes, allowing every member to stretch
out and fully explore this mesmerizing material. Manhattan Stories showcases, with more than 80 minutes of music, a truly expressive group interaction that remains otherwise undocumented.
"The first time I heard these recordings, I was blown away and knew immediately how special they were," says co-producer Zev Feldman.
"This just might be the holy grail for longtime Charles Lloyd fans like
myself who think they've heard it all. No way. Not yet! There have been
archival recordings released over the years with the classic quartet
featuring Jarrett and DeJohnette, but there's never been a
release with this group before -- and not just a group, but a group with
four legendary masters. The music and spirit are very exciting.
 |
|
Photo of Charles Lloyd and Gábor Szabó
by Hank Parker, courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment.
|
The Judson Hall recording comes from the archives of Resonance founder George Klabin,
whose trove has previously yielded treasures from Bill Evans and Jimmy
Giuffre. In fact, the first disc included here was recorded on a
festival date shared with Giuffre that was released this year on the
Elemental Music label. The occasion was Charlotte Moorman's Avant Garde
Festival of New York, produced by saxophonist and jazz critic Don Heckman, who contributes an essay to Manhattan Stories.
Klabin,
then a 19-year-old student at Columbia University, had recently been
appointed head of the jazz department at university radio station
WKCR-FM and sought to present original recordings as part of his show.
He recorded the Judson Hall show with up-close microphone placement
techniques and state-of-the-art engineering -- well ahead of 1965
standards. The Slugs' performances were recorded by Bjorn von
Schlebrugge, who accompanied Lloyd to his Manhattan gigs.
In 2009, Feldman brought Klabin's tapes to Lloyd's California home to
play for the saxophonist, who raised the ante with his own recordings of
the quartet. Those tapes, which comprise Disc 2, were made the same
year at Slugs', which Feldman calls "one of the most important jazz
shrines there ever was. I wanted to celebrate the memory of that club as
well." The release thus received not only Lloyd's blessings, but his
wife, Dorothy Darr, signed on as co-producer.
For
Record Store Day last month, Resonance offered a limited-edition
pressing on orange, marble-colored 10-inch, 140-gram vinyl of Live at Slugs',
designed to be a collector's piece for fans and as a pre-release teaser
of the full release to come. The 10-inch featured two cuts from Manhattan Stories.
Manhattan Stories
features the pristine sound quality, extensive liner notes, and
meticulously designed artwork that have become Resonance Records'
trademarks. In addition to Heckman's reminiscences, the set includes
liner notes by Feldman, Willard Jenkins, Stanley Crouch, and renowned producer Michael Cuscuna
(who shares executive producer credit with Klabin on this project). The
music, which was mixed at Resonance's Los Angeles studios, will also be
available as a 2-LP set pressed by audiophile-respected R.T.I. (Record
Technology Inc.). It was mastered for CD and vinyl by Bernie Grundman.
"I
was determined to build perhaps the most exciting package for Charles
ever assembled for one of his releases," Feldman says. "I think we've
accomplished that in a way that truly celebrates this master." Manhattan Stories
showcases stellar music in an ideal setting -- much as those two NYC
venues did on a pair of unjustly forgotten evenings nearly fifty years
ago.
Disc 1 (Judson Hall):
- Sweet Georgia Bright (17:49)
- How Can I Tell You (11:57)
- Lady Gabor (12:50)
Disc 2 (Slugs'):
- Slugs' Blues (12:57)
- Lady Gabor (13:53)
- Dream Weaver (15:25)
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