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Bobby Hutcherson: Now!

LP: Blue Note BST 84333
CD: Blue Note 73164

Tracks & Composers
1 Slow Change (Hutcherson)
2 Hello To The Wind (Chambers, McDaniels)
3 Now (Hutcherson)
4 The Creators (Lewis)
5 Black Heroes (Land, Lewis)

6 Slow Change (Hutcherson) [CD Bonus Track]
7 Now (Hutcherson) [CD Bonus Track]
8 Hello To The Wind (Chambers, McDaniels) [CD Bonus Track]
9 Now [Reprise] (Hutcherson) [CD Bonus Track]

Personnel (Tracks 2 & 3)
:Harold Land (ts); Bobby Hutcherson (vib); Kenny Barron (p); Wally Richardson (g) Herbie Lewis (b); Joe Chambers (d); Candido (cga); Hilda Harris, Gene McDaniels, Albertine M. Robinson, Christine Spencer (back-vo)

Personnel (Tracks 1, 4 & 5)
Harold Land (ts); Bobby Hutcherson (vib); Stanley Cowell (p, el-p); Wally Richardson (g); Herbie Lewis (b); Joe Chambers (d); Candido (bgo, cga); Gene McDaniels (lead-vo); Eileen Gilbert, Christine Spencer, Maeretha Stewart (back-vo)

Personnel (Tracks 6-8)
Refer to the Blue Note Meets the L.A. Philharmonic entry.

Recording Dates & Location
3 Oct 1969; 5 Nov 1969, New York, NY

Notes
The CD includes Hutcherson's four performances from Blue Note Meets the L.A. Philharmonic LP as bonus tracks.

Commentary
Now is a bold experiment, unlike anything else that Hutcherson has ever done. The quintet is augmented by a percussionist, guitarist, and--most strikingly--a small chorus of vocalists led by Gene McDaniel. The effect of vocals on the music is strange, and it doesn't always work.

Even so, I think that this a wonderful disc. This is the sort of music that asks you to drop your preconceived notions of what "jazz" is or should be. Some of the music is strange, almost self-consciously so. Some of it hasn't dated so well. (After all, this was 1969.) But this music is also brave and beautiful. Open-eared listeners will enjoy it.