CD
1. Lester Leaps in - Yves Francois
2. Goin' to Town - Deep Blue Organ Trio
3. Dynamite at Midnight - King Curtis
4. Saro-Wiwa - Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls
5. Equinox - Curtis Fuller
6. It's Crazy - Francine Griffin
7. Doctor Jazz - George Lewis
8. Black Metropolis - Malachi Thompson
9. In My Morning Song - Kalaparush
10. Mode for Mabes - Eric Alexander
11. Bu-De-Daht - Coleman Hawkins
12. Brainville - Sun Ra
13. Panama Rag - Art Hodes
DVD
1. The Creator Has Other Plans for Me - Nicole
Mitchell
2. Richard's Tune - Ari Brown
3. My Baby - Jazz O'Maniacs
4. Flashback - Fred Anderson
5. Big M - Ritual Trio
6. Power (excerpt) - Chicago Underground
Trio
How many record labels can
you name whose repertoire embraces Art Hodes
and Sun Ra, Coleman Hawkins as well as King
Curtis? Delmark is a remarkable label for
the breadth of its releases, which include
all kinds of jazz as well as various brands
of the blues. The Chicago label is also remarkable
in that it is celebrating its 55th anniversary.
A third notable feature of this album is that
it comprises a CD and a DVD - the former containing
tracks recorded between 1944 and 2005; the
latter consisting of live performances from
Delmark's "Where the Music Lives" series of
DVDs.
The oldest track on the CD
is the Coleman Hawkins recording from the
1944 album Rainbow Mist, which includes
such famous musicians as Dizzy Gillespie,
Don Byas, Oscar Pettiford and Max Roach. Hawkins
is deservedly the featured artist, with his
sinuous saxophone supported by the punchy
brass and the groovy rhythm section. The bebop
influence is clear. In complete contrast,
George Lewis's Doctor Jazz from 1953
is genuine New Orleans jazz, with the famous
line-up that included Kid Howard, Jim Robinson
and Alton Purnell.
The most recent track is
also one of my favourites: the Deep Blue Organ
Trio's Goin' to Town, recorded live
at the Green Mill three years ago. It might
be called a typical organ trio, with Chris
Foreman's Hammond B3 organ joined by Bobby
Broom on guitar and Greg Rockingham at the
drums. The trio swings like mad and, as I
said in my review on this website of their
album (which was also called Goin' to Town),
they provide "no-nonsense
jazz with hints of the blues and soul".
The
other outstanding tracks include Curtis Fuller's
interpretation of John Coltrane's Equinox,
with magical trumpeter Brad Goode in the quintet;
It's Crazy from vocalist Francine Griffin,
who has some of Betty Carter's carefree way
with a song; and Mode for Mabes featuring
Eric Alexander's supple tenor sax and Harold
Mabern's twinkling piano. The album closes
with classic jazz from a sextet led by pianist
Art Hodes, with a front line of Nappy Trottier,
Volly Defaut and George Brunis.
The
DVD is also a mixed bag, opening with the
adventurous eclecticism of flautist Nicole
Mitchell's band (with the drum solo mysteriously
concealed by a montage of still photographs).
Tenorist Ari Brown's group swings well in
Jazz Messengers style, while the Jazz O'Maniacs
play trad at a hardware store (see my review
of their album and Nicole Mitchell's elsewhere
on this website). I am less impressed by the
free-form blowing of Fred Anderson and the
Chicago Underground Trio but Kahil El'Zabar's
Ritual Trio conjures up some mystical African
sounds complete with thumb piano and wild
Stuff Smith-like violin.
Happy 55th birthday, Delmark!
I eagerly await their 60th birthday compilation.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Delmark
DE 914
