Jazz, like any other art form, is a many-leveled thing. You
can easily compile the A-list: Miles, 'Trane, Monk, Mingus,
Bird, etc., and probably a B-list while you're at it. The
four men whose discs comprise the first releases from Joel
Dorn's new Hyena Records are decidedly B-list, if not
C-list. Jazzbos know the names; probably even own a few of
their records. But they aren't the headliners.
Eddie Harris, one of the four, sums it up best after a live
run through of "Cherokee": "Those of you who'd like to know
who I am, ask the person seated next to you',' he says,
waiting a beat for the inevitable laughs. "Many times the
person sitting next to you don't know who I am either. Just
keep asking, somebody might know".
It seems to have been Dorn's life's work to make sure
people do know, not just Harris but Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Cannonball Adderley, Les McCann and others. Vital music
from all four is back on the racks thanks to Dorn's Hyena
Records.
These discs are valuable for a couple of reasons. First,
they bring back into print discs first-issued on Dorn's
short-lived Night Music label in 1991. Night was followed
by M Records and 32 Records, two labels that allowed Dorn
to mine the vaults of these and other artists for
under-issued gems. With Hyena, his fourth jazz label, Dorn
looks to the past before moving into the future. The
label's first four releases restore Night's small catalog.
From here, he plans to issue more work, continuing a life
devoted to jazz that started as a staff producer at
Atlantic Records.
Let's hope his excavations live up the standard set by
these four discs, because the other reason these are
valuable is for what they capture. All contain private
recordings made by the artists. These were never supposed
to be released commercially. That doesn't mean they aren't
up to snuff -- though there is a bit more crowd noise in
spots than you'd expect on a sanctioned release -- but
simply that they capture a band playing an average night in
front of an average crowd. As such, these discs show jazz
as it lives and breathes.
"These records were meant to be the soundtracks to
documentaries that didn't exist", Dorn says in accompanying
notes. "They're the audio equivalent of auteur filmmaking".
Each disc offers something special. Harris's might be the
most revelatory. On A Tale of Two Cities, he displays
a sweet tone and a swinging style on his saxophone that
seem effortless. Harris had hits, including "Listen Here"
included here, and his duet with McCann on "Compared to
What" (found on McCann's disc without Harris). But his
stature is not commensurate with his talent. As these live
cuts recorded in 1978 and 1983 prove, Harris should be
known for more than a couple of pop hits and his pioneering
use of the electric saxophone. On cuts like "Chicago
Serenade" and "Illusionary Dreams", he proves himself to be
an endlessly inventive improviser who always kept the focus
on the melody.
Cannonball Adderley is another supremely talented
saxophonist, one who got more of his due than Harris. His
open, vibrant sound fueled many popular jazz standards, and
contributed to the groups of Miles Davis in particular. On
Radio Nights, Adderley plays a stinging set of tunes
with stellar backing during 1967 and 1968. He is joined by
the likes of Sam Jones, Joe Zawinul, Louis Hayes, Charles
Lloyd and his brother, Nat, throughout. His hard-swinging,
hard bop comes across powerfully in these live club
recordings. At the same time, he shows true grace when
massaging a subtle melody like lyrical playing on the
standard "Stars Fell on Alabama". Adderley, as much as any
of these four, was a consummate entertainer. His stage
patter is captured on "Cannonball Monologues", a recording
from a club date on which Cannonball explains the tunes "Oh
Babe" and "Country Preacher", the latter with a tribute to
their pastor, Jesse Jackson.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk is also better known than Harris,
though more for the fact that his was blind or could play
three horns at once than for his talents as a composer and
performer. The Man Who Cried Fire has all of what
one expects and more. Kirk plays a wide variety of
instruments, dazzles an audience with his three-horn attack
on the blistering "Multi-Horn Variations", and takes on
Miles Davis ("Bye Bye Blackbird") and John Coltrane ("Mr.
P.C.") with aplomb. He even shows a bit of wit with a
dead-on impersonation of Davis's rasp on his intro to "Bye
Bye Blackbird". Like the other discs, this offers
performances of songs first cut in the studio that show far
more creativity and energy than their studio-bound
brethren. Kirk's "You Did It, You Did It" finds the
multi-instrumentalist singing while playing the flute in
what must surely be one of the oddest self-duets in
recorded jazz (a list that likely includes several entries
for Kirk). If Harris's disc is the find of this set, Kirk's
comes a close second, offering, in one disc, perhaps the
best summation of his eclectic career.
Last up is McCann, who may have the most interesting disc
of the four. The pianist offers selections from his
extensive collection of tapes, with trio performances
("Maleah", "With These Hands"), tunes with Harris ("Samia")
and reinterpretations of classic hits ("Compared to What").
But the oddest and most satisfying parts of this disc are
the tracks that don't even include McCann. McCann is
credited with discovering singer Roberta Flack, and a
recording of her singing "All the Way" at a club in
Washington D.C. is included here. McCann also recorded
performances by contemporaries like Stanley Turrentine,
Cannonball Adderley, and Carmen McCrae. On "Les by Night",
the pianist offers a montage of live tracks recorded by
these performers in clubs. He rounds it out with spirited
performances with a variety of lineups and an extended joke
on "Bird Story". More than the other discs, this truly
lives up to Dorn's statement that these are like
documentary films.
Dorn, like the musicians he champions, is a character. He
claims the name Hyena comes from the fact that his folks
were wildlife photographers who found a hyena pup on a
shoot and brought it home for him as a pet. Whatever the
story, it's a welcome addition to his stable. He uses that
wit and irreverence well on the liner notes that accompany
each disc. It is clear that Dorn knew and loved these
musicians, and his notes tell about them as people, as
friends; this is no huckster jive bent on selling records.
The notes for the Harris disc, for example, cite the wisdom
of Dorn and McCann -- who declare Harris to be "one of the
baddest motherfuckers who ever played a saxophone" -- to
deem whatever day you read the notes to be "Eddie Harris
Day," while the notes for the Kirk disc find Dorn wishing
to enroll in creative writing classes so that he might more
adequately sum up the musician's talent.
He cares about this music, and it is music worth the
effort. None of these discs is the definitive place to
start for any of these four, but for anyone looking to
complete the puzzle when trying to figure out Harris,
McCann, Kirk or Adderley, you couldn't find a better piece.
— 28 February 2003
