Larry Young: Unity – 1965 – The Missing Link

In high school and college in the 1970s, I was a huge fan of progressive rock, especially Yes and Emerson Lake & Palmer. As a piano player myself, I was floored by Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson. How did they do that? Fast, creative, loud, part-rock, part-jazz, part-classical. Wow.

My obsession with Moog synthesizers led me to classical music through the back door. ELP led to Switched On Bach, which led to, well, real Bach. Later, the same impulse led to electric Chick Corea and Return to Forever, the band and the album. That, naturally, led to acoustic Chick Corea, and all of jazz followed.

I never consciously explored the roots of progressive rock into jazz, and it’s not really obvious. But now that I’ve heard Larry Young’s Unity, I believe I’ve found the missing link.

This is progressive rock in embryonic form. Still mostly hard bop, but with enough organ bravado to forecast jazz-rock to come.

On the surface, this is all jazz. Look at the lineup: Joe Henderson on sax, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Elvin Jones on drums and Young on organ. Horns and rhythm section – jazz!

But listen closer. Sure, the horns are great, and they bop like crazy. Though it’s Larry Young’s name on the cover, it’s the horns that dominate the album and usually take the lead solos. But listen to that organ solo in the opening number, “Zoltan.” It sounds like Keith Emerson on various ELP records. Same on the next tune, “Monk’s Dream,” which is wilder than even Monk himself ever imagined.

The thread runs throughout Unity. I hear Keith Emerson every time Young goes off on a solo. And, of course, Young wasn’t imitating Emerson. It’s the other way around. Unity was in 1965. It’s no coincidence that Emerson’s first progressive rock band, The Nice, came just two years later, and ELP started three years after that, in 1970.

Yes, Unity rocks – but obviously it’s a jazz album. Shaw is simply fantastic, and he wrote half the songs. What a shame that he never became a household name. Henderson is solid and occasionally wild and crazy. And Larry Young is no mere Jimmy Smith imitator. Smith played mostly blues; Young plays rockish-bop. Why is he largely forgotten?

Later, Young would play with real rockers like Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana – both of whom were steeping in the blues, as were Jimmy Smith and Larry Young.

When I’m in the mood, I still enjoy ELP, Yes and Chick Corea. (And if you still don’t get the connection between ELP and jazz, check out this video of Keith Emerson and Oscar Peterson dueting on the Meade Lux Lewis classic “Honky Tonk Train Blues” in 1976. It’s amazing.)

But now that I’ve discovered Larry Young – late to the game, I admit – I’ve got a new favorite to obsess over. I’m looking forward to exploring his catalogue.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Availability: Many copies on Amazon, new and used

Cost: Under $4 used

Bennie Green: Soul Stirrin’ – 1958

In the 1950s, Blue Note was a reliable bastion of hard bop. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers set the tone, and dozens of artists – some famous, some not – followed. But Blue Note also had small oases of not-bop, often by artists you’ve never heard of.

Bennie Green is one of those guys, and if you haven’t heard him, you should. Specifically, you should hear Soul Stirrin’.

This is a bluesy, almost pre-bop record. Green plays trombone, but not in a J.J. Johnson bebop style. Much of Soul Stirrin’ generally, and Green’s playing in particular, have a swing feel. And much of it is just plain old, straight up blues.

It is an absolute pleasure.

Soul Stirrin’ starts with the title song, a slow blues grind. This is soul before it became funky. Green plays fat, emotional blues notes. Pianist Sonny Clark, a Blue Note regular, adds a solo that comes straight from a smoky midnight jazz bar. Saxmen Gene Ammons and Billy Root add their flavors.

Five more songs follow, each different from the last. “We Wanna Cook” strikes a bebop tone – the only song on the album that does – with Ammons (or is it Root?) playing hard and fast in a way that reminds me of Paul Gonsalves long, legendary solo with Duke Ellington at Newport just two years earlier – funky and almost rocking.

“That’s All” is a sweet, beautiful ballad. Green is wonderful – soft and gentle and dreamy. “Lullabye of the Doomed” is, as the title implies, a mournful dirge. Green’s trombone weeps, and the saxes are full of swirling smoke. It reminds me of Miles Davis on “My Funny Valentine,” or Ellington’s “Mood Indigo.” The closer, “Black Pearl,” is a happy, lively tune that allows each soloist to shine.

The only downer, and it’s a small one, is “B.G. Mambo.” The theme is sort of cheesy, though it does give way to seven minutes of very pleasant solos, before returning to the goofy theme.

All in all, Soul Stirrin’ is an unexpected pleasure from a jazz man who is largely forgotten. Now that I’ve discovered Bennie Green, I want to hear more.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Availability: Not rare, but not common either

Cost: Just $5.34 on MP3, but $17 new and $11 or $12 used

Sonny Rollins, Volume One – 1956

It’s easy to like Sonny Rollins. The guy is bluesy, edgy and clever. And it almost doesn’t matter which period of Rollins’ career you choose. It’s all pretty terrific.

But there’s an unexpected down side: Because Rollins has so many fantastic recordings, listening to ones that are merely good can be a little disappointing.

That’s how I feel about Sonny Rollins Volume One – the first of four recordings that Rollins made for Blue Note in 1956 and ’57. It’s a good record and a fun listen. It features a top-notch quintet, with Donald Byrd on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Max Roach on drums and Gene Ramey on bass.

But when you look at all the other records that Rollins made in the same period – classics like Saxophone Colossus, Way Out West, Sonny Rollins Plus 4, and Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins – well, it makes you think just a little less of this good-but-not-great Blue Note debut.

In the 1950s, Sonny Rollins was undeniably on fire. He made one great record after another, and for a time he seemed like the greatest tenor ever. Until, of course, John Coltrane blew right past him as arguably the most original saxman since Saint Charlie Parker.

So what to say about Sonny Rollins Volume One, judged on its own merits? It’s a really enjoyable record. It has only five tracks, each six to ten minutes, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch – four superlative bop romps and one quirky ballad, all written by Rollins (except for the ballad).

To me, Track 1, “Decision,” is the best. It’s a slow bluesy affair with an unusual smooth-staccato-smooth theme. Rollins builds on the theme, crafting a solo that wanders this way and that, trying out different ideas, but always feeling smoky and noir-ish. Byrd and Kelly nicely follow suit.

“Bluesnote,” another Rollins original, is a more jaunty piece. Despite the title, it’s actually less bluesy than the opener – a spritely, bouncy tune with a very Blue Note-ish bop flavor. Byrd is the first featured soloist, spitting out fiery phrases. Rollins sounds like an old swing tenor – maybe Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young – and Kelly again brings up the rear.

A ballad breaks up the bop-fest, and an odd choice at that: “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” Tasteful and pleasant, it won’t make anyone’s best-of list, but it’s a nice change of pace.

Two more Rollins originals, each nine minutes, finish the CD: “Plain Jane,” a happy mid-tempo tune with another swing-like tenor solo, and finally “Sonnysphere,” a fast bebop number with Rollins sounding very Bird-like, playing long, fast, exciting runs. Byrd does his Dizzy Gillespie-ish best, and the album ends in a fun way with the sax and drums trading phrases.

All in all, Sonny Rollins Volume One is a terrific little slice of hard bop. It suffers by comparison to some Rollins classics, and is arguably less memorable than even Volume Two, recorded a few months later, featuring Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver. But any record with Sonny Rollins is still a pleasure, and this one definitely has its thrills.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Availability: Many copies on Amazon, new and used

Cost: Under $3 used