Artist: Charles Tolliver Big Band
Album: Emperor March: Live at the Blue Note
Genre: Post-Bop, Contemporary Jazz, Big Band
Label: Half Note
Released: 2009
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
- On the Nile (Tolliver) - 13:35
- I Want to Talk About You (Eckstine) - 7:07
- Emperor March (Tolliver) - 13:51
- Chedlike (Tolliver) - 5:35
- In the Trenches (Tolliver) - 10:02
- Toughin' (Tolliver) - 11:25
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- Personnel:
- Charles Tolliver - conductor
- Michael Williams - lead trumpet
- Cameron Johnson, Keyon Harrold, David Weiss - trumpet
- Mike Dease, Jason Jackson, Stafford Hunter, Ernest Stewart - trombone
- Aaron Johnson - bass trombone
- Bill Saxton - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute
- Bruce Williams - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute
- Todd Bashore - alto saxophone, flute, piccolo
- Billy Harper, Marcus Strickland - tenor saxophone
- Jason Marshall - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
- Stanley Cowell (#1), Anthony Wonsey (#2-6) - piano
- Reggie Workman - bass
- Gene Jackson - drums
After recording a number of albums during the 1960s and '70s, trumpeter Charles Tolliver waited nearly two decades to record as a leader before he released his striking big-band date With Love in 2007. This 2009 release, recorded live at the Blue Note, is a potent follow-up, though with substantial changes in personnel. His exotic, dramatic "On the Nile" might suggest the influence of McCoy Tyner's works of the '70s, though it was premiered in 1965 by Jackie McLean and previously recorded by its composer in a big-band setting a few years later. This updated version showcases tenorist Marcus Strickland, pianist Stanley Cowell, and the leader in a fiery performance. Tolliver's imaginative scoring of brass and reeds in his "Emperor March," makes it a hip tune that begins as a march but detours into several different avenues, featuring potent solos by alto saxophonist Todd Bashore, the promising young trombonist Michael Dease, and pianist Anthony Wonsey. Tolliver takes over the solo spotlight in "Chedlike," a perky tribute from the '80s to his then-young son, though this is surprisingly its premiere recording. Billy Harper shines on tenor in Tolliver's passionate setting of Billy Eckstine's ballad "I Want to Talk About You," a piece forever associated with John Coltrane's famous live recording, which Harper can't possibly avoid alluding to in part. Beautifully recorded and mixed with an attentive audience, this is an essential release for modern big-band aficionados.
Review by Ken Dryden