(Above: Return to Forever rock Stanley Clarke’s “School Days” to close their performance at the Midland Theater in Kansas City, Mo.)
By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star
Stanley Clarke announced to an excited Midland Theater crowd that this latest version of Return to Forever wasn’t like all those other reunion bands who declare that a tour was their last time around. Rather, the bass player said, Return to Forever were just turning a new page.
Keyboardist Chick Corea has reconvened his famous Return to Forever groups several times since the band’s 1970s heydays. The current incarnation –- dubbed Return to Forever IV -– comprises Corea, Clarke and drummer Lenny White with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale on guitar.Clarke’s comment may have seemed an odd way to describe a two-hour repertoire was at least 30, and sometimes nearly 40, years old, but while the tones and textures of the original recordings remained unchanged, it was obvious the musicians were having fun exploring this music in a new context.
The quintet’s massive sound easily filled the big room. Playing at rock-show volume they opened with “Medieval Overture,” the first of three songs pulled from their classic “Romantic Warrior” album. White’s drums and Corea’s keys were pristine throughout the night, but it took a couple songs before Clarke and Ponty got the prominence in the mix they deserved.The telepathy Corea, Clarke and White have developed playing together over the decades were obvious from the first notes. While they were far from ringers, it seemed to take Ponty and Gambale a moment to insert their voices in the conversation, although the mix may have contributed to this as well.
Once the sound and musicians adjusted the already-nimble music hit warp speed. Ponty had already soloed before sounding off of Corea’s piano during the snippet of “The Shadow of Lo” that prefaced “Sorceress,” but in that moment he established his presence.
Ponty dominated the next number, a reading of his 1975 composition “Renaissance.” The first completely acoustic number of the night, it demonstrated the ensemble was still just as powerful in the quieter setting.
On “Romantic Warrior,” the other unplugged number, Clarke essentially turned his upright into a massive drum by slapping the neck with alternating hands. Although everyone took impressive solos, Clarke and Ponty’s seemed to generate the most applause throughout the evening.
The night ended with a celebratory romp through Clarke’s “School Days” with Clarke and Gambale standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the front of the stage strutting and strumming like rock stars.
Zappa Plays Zappa: Pairing RTF’s progressive jazz with Zappa’s progressive whatever-it-is was inspired. Dweezil Zappa led an eight-piece band through a one-hour exploration of his father’s catalog. The arrangements were faithful enough to the original recordings to satisfy Zappa’s rabid following, but managed to include several delightful surprises as well. Corea joined the group for “King Kong.” The set also included “Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?” “Big Swifty” and “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow.”
RTF Setlist: Medieval Overture; Captain Senor Mouse; The Shadow of Lo (excerpt) > Sorceress; Renaissance; After the Cosmic Rain; Romantic Warrior; Spain. Encore: School Days.
(Above: “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” was Charles Mingus’ tribute to Lester Young. It has been a regular part of Jeff Beck’s performances for the past 30 years.)
By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star
The guitarist’s guitarist, Jeff Beck has a long and varied career. Here are some of the high points from each of the genres he’s worked in.
Blues
“Ultimate Yardbirds” (2001)
The song “For Your Love” brought the Yardbirds their first big hit, but it cost them their guitarist. When Eric Clapton quit the group for abandoning their blues roots, Jeff Beck was recruited. Beck’s tenure in the Yardbirds bridged the early rave-up blues era and the later psychedelic rock phase. For a brief period, he was joined by Jimmy Page on bass and, later, second guitar. Shortly after the Beck-Page incarnation appeared in the film “Blow Up,” Beck left the band and started his solo career. He has, however, participated on several of the Yardbirds’ reunion albums.
Note: The Yardbirds’ catalog was a frustrating mess of reissues and piecemeal compilations until Rhino released the two-disc anthology “Ultimate Yardbirds.” The collection contains every A-side, key album tracks and a handful of rarities across all three eras of the band.
Hard rock
“Truth” (1968), “Beck-Ola” (1969)
As a nonvocalist, Beck has always had to hunt for a singer. When assembling his first post-Yardbirds project, he nabbed a little-known English R&B singer Rod “The Mod” Stewart. He also recruited Ronnie Wood to play bass. The trio — joined by a rotating cast of drummers — made two albums together before Stewart and Wood left to join the Faces. Both records have a similar feel to the heavy blues/rock Beck’s former bandmate Jimmy Page was making with Led Zeppelin.
Progressive rock
“Beck Bogert Appice,” “Live in Japan” (both 1973)
After the demise of the Jeff Beck Group’s second lineup, Beck teamed up with the rhythm section from Vanilla Fudge, drummer Carmen Appice and bass player Tim Bogert. While the studio album was a typical slab of power trio hard rock, the band expanded its template on the live album, stretching several songs to the 10-minute mark. Both albums contain Beck’s version of “Superstition,” the song Stevie Wonder wrote with Beck in mind, before Wonder’s manager persuaded him to keep it for himself.
Jazz/fusion
“Blow by Blow” (1975), “Wired” (1976)
Beck teamed with producer George Martin for his first all-instrumental solo projects. Asthetically, the albums fit comfortably alongside Chick Corea’s “Return to Forever” and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. “Blow by Blow” contains two Stevie Wonder covers and a version of the Beatles’ “She’s a Woman.” “Wired” contains some outtakes from the “Blow by Blow” sessions and a cover of Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” that has become a concert staple. The drummer on “Wired,” Narada Michael Walden, is in Beck’s current touring band.
Pop
“Flash” (1985)
After a five-year recess, Beck returned with Nile Rodgers of Chic. “Flash” was Beck’s bid for mainstream credibility and featured eight singers across its 11 tracks. The album won a Grammy and reunited Beck with Stewart on Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.”
Rockabilly
“Crazy Legs” (1993)
The guitar sound on “B-I-Bickey-Bi, Bo-Bo-Go” and other early Gene Vincent singles had a big effect on Beck as a teenager. In the early ’90s he paired with the Big Town Playboys to pay tribute to Cliff Gallup, Vincent’s guitar player.
Techno
“Who Else!” (1999), “You Had It Coming” (2001)
Longtime fans were surprised when Beck embraced the samples and looping techniques made popular by the Chemical Brothers and Aphex Twins. “You Had It Coming” finds Beck sparring with guitarist Jennifer Batten and features an update of Muddy Waters’ “Rolling and Tumbling” with Imogen Heap on vocals.
Guest Appearances
Jeff Beck has popped up in some unlikely places over the years. Here are some of his most noteworthy performances on others’ albums.
Stevie Wonder – “Talking Book” on the song “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love”
Tina Turner – “Private Dancer” on the song “Private Dancer”
Mick Jagger – “She’s the Boss” and “Primitive Cool”
Roger Waters – “Amused to Death”
Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory – Young Guns II” soundtrack
Hans Zimmer – “Days of Thunder” soundtrack
Buddy Guy – “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” on the song “Mustang Sally”
The Pretenders – “Viva el Amor!” on the song “Legalise Me”
Toots and the Maytals – “True Love” on the song “54-46 Was My Number”
Cyndi Lauper – “The Body Acoustic” on the song “Above the Clouds”
Morrissey – “Years of Refusal” on the song “Black Cloud”
(Above: The Dave Brubeck Quartet “Take Five” at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.)
By Joel Francis
In a belated post-script to The Daily Record’s series on 15 jazz greats to emerge in the past 20 years, we look at five artists who are still significantly contributing to their legendary status. Although their reputations were cemented generations ago, it would be criminal to overlook their most recent works.
Roy Haynes
At the 2005 Newport Jazz Festival, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman and several others all paid tribute to drummer Roy Haynes on the occasion of his 80th birthday. These musicians honored Haynes not only for his resume, which includes stints with Lester Young, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan, but because he has allowed the younger artists to grow and learn under his guidance. Haynes has released six albums this decade, starting with “The Roy Haynes Trio,” which recaps his career through new performances, “Birds of a Feather,” a tribute to his former bandleader Charlie Parker, and the strong live set “Whereas.”
Dave Brubeck
One of the most important – and popular – jazz pianists of the post-War era, Dave Brubeck landed on the cover of Time magazine and became a legend with his groundbreaking, yet accessible, work with saxophonist Paul Desmond. Although the 16 years Brubeck and Desmond played together in the Dave Brubeck Quartet form the crux of his catalog, Brubeck has built an impressive resume in the 40-plus years since.
Brubeck’s current quartet, consisting of drummer Randy Jones, bass player Michael Moore and saxophonist/flautist Bobby Militello, may be the best ensemble he’s worked with since his mid-’70s pairing with Gerry Mulligan. Unlike many of his contemporaries, there has never been a Brubeck comeback; there are no lulls or low periods in his catalog. Brubeck has continued to write, record and perform regularly well past his 88th birthday. Of the nearly dozen albums Brubeck has released this decade, three stand out. “The Crossing” kicked off the 21st century with nine strong, new selections, including an ode to longtime drummer “Randy Jones,” Militello’s delightful solo on “Day After Day” and the title song, Brubeck’s interpretation of a chugging ocean liner. Brubeck blends old and new songs on “London Flat, London Sharp,” and the his quartet sizzles on the live album “Park Avenue South,” which mixes standards and favorites with more recent material.
Wayne Shorter
After two years of auditioning other horn players, Wayne Shorter’s saxophone turned out to be the piece missing in Miles Davis second great quintet. An alumni of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Shorter not only filled the spot vacated by John Coltrane, but contributed many key songs to the group’s repertoire. As if that weren’t enough, he was simultaneously cutting magnificent solo albums on Blue Note. Shorter followed his bandleader’s path into fusion, but took a more pop approach in Weather Report, the group he co-founded with keyboardist Joe Zawinul, another Davis alum. Shorter floundered in the days after Weather Report’s demise in the mid-’80s, but his three most recent albums are among the most inspired of his career. After a 12-year absence from recording, Shorter returned with “Footprints Live,” which documents his reinvigorated 2001 tour. He fronted an acoustic band for the first time in over a generation on “Algeria,” which paired Rollins and his “Footprints” rhythm section with Brad Mehldau for several selections. Shorter’s hot streak continued with his most recent album “Beyond the Sound Barrier” and his inspired playing on Herbie Hancock’s Grammy-winning “River: The Joni Sessions.”
McCoy Tyner
More people have probably heard McCoy Tyner than know who he is. The backbone and counterfoil in John Coltrane’s masterful quartet for six years, Tyner’s piano has graced well-known recordings like “My Favorite Things” and “A Love Supreme.” Tyner also put out several stellar albums under his own name on Blue Note and Impulse in the 1960s. No less active today, Tyner collaborated with Bobby Hutcherson for the live album “Land of Giants” and played tenor Joe Lovano and the awesome rhythm section of Christian McBride and Jeff “Tain” Watts for 2007’s self-titled release. Tyner’s latest album, “Guitars,” was recorded over a two-day span that paired Tyner, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette with several of six-string luminaries, including John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Bela Fleck and Derek Trucks. Uninformed fans should stay away from 2004’s “Illuminations,” however. A dream pairing on paper of Tyner, McBride, Terence Blanchard, Lewis Nash and Gary Bartz, the performances are ruined by a glossy production that smothers the quintet’s interplay and is suitable only for shopping for a sweater at Nordstrom with your mom.
Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins’ legacy includes recordings with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and Clifford Brown – and that’s just in his first decade of playing. In the half-century since then, Rollins (along with contemporary John Coltrane) established himself as the preeminent post-Bird saxophonist. Although the pace of Rollins’ releases has slowed considerably, what he has put out have only added to his reputation. Recorded in Boston just four days after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, “Without A Song” is an emotional listen finding Rollins channeling his conflicted emotions through long solos. “This Is What I Do” continues Rollin’s penchant for transforming b-quality songs into must-listen melodies with the Bing Crosby standard “Sweet Leilani.” Rollins’ most recently release, “Road Songs, Vol. 1” mines the archives for several cherry-picked performances that prove that the passion on “Without A Song” was no fluke.
Keep Reading: 15 Jazz Legends to Emerge in the Last 20 Years
The quintet’s massive sound easily filled the big room. Playing at rock-show volume they opened with “Medieval Overture,” the first of three songs pulled from their classic “Romantic Warrior” album. White’s drums and Corea’s keys were pristine throughout the night, but it took a couple songs before Clarke and Ponty got the prominence in the mix they deserved.The telepathy Corea, Clarke and White have developed playing together over the decades were obvious from the first notes. While they were far from ringers, it seemed to take Ponty and Gambale a moment to insert their voices in the conversation, although the mix may have contributed to this as well.
joelfrancis.com 