Nash + JALCO = really fine jazz

The first time I heard pieces of this jazz suite was at a live performance where the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra traveled to a venue near my home. They devoted the whole last half of the show to playing four pieces from this work, including the rousing “Pollock” and the inimitable “Dali”. Mr. Nash announced each piece beforehand, and in one of the more memorable moments, explained that to evoke the esoteric characteristics of Dali and his fantastical paintings, he wrote the piece in 13/8 time. This elicited an awed reaction from the musically aware crowd. Mr. Nash took the reaction with aplomb, drily noting, “Oh, yeah. As if you know what that is.” But we did, and the crowd loved it. 

I relate this story only to give context to my comments, namely that, this recording is so well written and so well played, it flows naturally from one song to the next, with each one still bringing some new fold to the fabric of the overall piece. The dimension that the orchestra adds is exceptional, from the lucid singing of trombonist Vincent Gardner , to the spirited Spanish trumpet stylings of the ubiquitous Wynton Marsalis, to the steady swing of the steely rhythm section of Dan Nimmer, Ali Jackson, and Carlos Henriquez, there’s just so much to hear and enjoy on this jam-packed CD. As a hard core collector of jazz recordings (I own the entire Penguin Jazz Recordings core collection, plus a lot more), I can always find something to meet a specific mood or occasion, but if I ever have a doubt, I can put on “Portraits”, and it never fails to provide a lift and impress listeners, both among those acquainted with the work and not. This is just a great jazz CD and one of the most artistic (sorry) jazz works of the past decade. Fans of Wynton Marsalis and JALCO will certainly be delighted with this work, but no true jazz fan who bought this could possibly be disappointed. It’s wonderful.

Less than perfect circumstances, nearly perfect results

Anybody well steeped in the history of jazz will be familiar with the story of this recording, which goes something like: strung out, drug-addled saxophonist who is out of work and out of luck is surprised by the announcement of his spouse that he has a recording gig at a local studio with the rhythm section of the then ubiquitous Miles Davis, so he dusts off his horn (literally), gets to the studio, is handed some lead sheets, and in the haze of a fading high, attempts to do a close reading of songs he is largely unfamiliar with, and pulls off one of the classic jazz recordings of the decade, if not of all time. 

He looks okay to me...

Over the years, we can only speculate how much of this story is true and how much is embellishment, but what cannot be argued is that the quality of this recording and its overall musicianship and listen-ability is top notch. It’s recordings like these that make a person disappointed that there aren’t more of them, more opportunities for these parties to have collaborated, maybe even in writing some original tunes together. I mean, Miles Davis’ rhythm section was tighter than a conga drum head, and though at times you get the feeling they are carrying Pepper along with them, there are other times where you can’t help but feel that Pepper has led them down a musical road they weren’t planning to travel. It's a scintillating effect.

The variety of tunes is great, and the remastered recording is without glaring inadequacies. Red Garland’s piano is ethereal at moments, while Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers keep the swing steady and strong. Pepper lays back when he wants, pops out when he wants, and generally adds just the slightest amount of risky instability to the steadiest support group from that era of jazz. This is just a great jazz album, a must have for Miles Davis, Art Pepper and honking sax fans, and a definite cornerstone of any serious aficionado’s collection. Add this to you collection, and do so sooner than later. You won’t regret it.