Etta James The Montreux Years

Etta James
The Montreux Years
BMG

This Etta James double album is one of the initial releases (Nina Simone being the other) from the Archives of The Montreux Jazz Festival in conjunction with The Claude Nobs Foundation. The Foundation was founded to oversee the Claude Nobs audio and visual archives of recordings of performances at the Festival. There are 21 performances from six performances from 1975 to 1993 over the two CDs (and this is available in other formats including double LPs).

The CDs are packaged in a small hardback package. There are booklet notes from Bob Merlis, Etta James' press agent as well. The notes provide an overview of how her career was intertwined with her Montreux performances. There is an interview with guitarist Brian Ray who plays on her appearances from 1975, 1977, and 1978. Others heard on various selections, including guitarists Bobby Murray Josh Sklair, Cash McCall, saxophonist David 'Fathead' Newman, trumpeter Ronnie Buttacavoli, and saxophonist Ritchie Howell, Howard Johnson on tuba, and drummer Herman 'Roscoe' Ernest III. Montreux Jazz producer Claude Nobs adds harmonica to several tracks.

The first disc is a mix of performances from 1977 to 1993. Most are with the Roots Band that included guitarists Bobby Murray and Josh Sklair. The second CD is her first performance at Montreux. Although the personnel are not listed in the booklet, they include guitarist Brian Ray and saxophonist Klaus Doldinger and introduced by the announcer before Etta starts her performance. There is over two and a half-hour of music on the two discs.

As noted, the first disc is a selective ion of performances from different Festival appearances. They find James in fine form with a mix of material opening with "Break-in' Up Somebody's Home." There are several performances contemporaneous with her "Seven Year Itch" album inching stunning renditions of "I Got the Will" and "Damn Your Eyes." The two early performances on this disc are from when she was on the Chess family records. They include the powerful "Tell Mama" and one of several renditions of Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" that are on this album, including one retitled as "Running and Hiding Blues." Of particular note is the superb medley she does, "Medley: At Last/ Trust in Me/ Sunday Kind of Love." She introduces them by saying they thought she was going to be a jazz singer. Interestingly, "At Last" is not performed on its own, but this medley is superb with her timeless singing ably supported by The Roots Band. On an encore from 1978 of "Baby What You Want Me To Do," there are some fiery solos from Brain Ray and saxophonist Gene Dinwitty.

The second disc from 1975, her first European performance, features a fair amount of blues, although it opens with a fiery performance of The Staples' "Respect Yourself." This concert was a blues-heavy program with powerful renditions of "Drown in My Own Tears," "Dust My Broom," "Baby What You Want Me To Do," Rock Me Baby," and "Stormy Monday." During "Drown in My Own Tears" there is a point where she sings without a microphone to showcase her power as a singer. The high point of this set is "I'd Rather Go Blind," with one of her most compelling vocals.

 Etta James was a force of nature, and she was not simply a powerful singer but a nuanced one with an excellent sense of tonal and rhythmic dynamics. Her backing bands, whether the ones with Brian Ray or The Roots Band, are terrific throughout these performances. Sometimes they get to stretch out and solo. At other times, they wonderfully support her improvised scatting and shouts. The sound and production are excellent, and this superb album is an auspicious initial release for "The Montreux Years" series.
 
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Etta performing at Montreux.

Historic Ray Charles Live In France

Eagle Vision has issued an amazing and important DVD by Ray Charles Live in France 1961. This was filmed over four nights during Charles’ first to Europe when he played a Jazz Festival outside of Antibes on the Cote d’Azur and marked a departure in that he brought his big little band as opposed to the larger big band he was touring with in the United States. There is an excellent video of Charles in Brazil from a couple years later that shows The Genius in his prime with the full big band.

With Charles and his piano, we hear the legendary saxophone trio of Hank Crawford, David ‘Fathead’ Newman, and Leroy ‘Hog’ Cooper along with trumpeters Philip Guilbeau and John Hunt; bassist Edgar Willis and drummer Bruno Carr. And also present were the Raelettes of Gwen Berry, Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles and Darlene McCrea. This was the essentially Ray’s Band during his years at Atlantic Records and the chance to see this band (which was the band on Ray’s live Atlantic Recordings) makes this particular DVD special.

The performances are taken from French television programs of highlights from the Festival and as the folks from Reelin’ In The Years Productions observe, this was filmed not taped which helps explain the excellent video quality. However film, not used after cutting and splicing of source material, was discarded so the 105 minutes which includes multiple performances of several songs is all there is. Radio recordings of the entire shows existed that allowed rearranging the clips from the festival highlights into the performance order and provide superior sound.

The performances include the jazzy instrumentals including renditions James Moody’s The Story, Horace Silver’s Doodlin’, and his instrumental take of One Mint Julep, here played on piano and not organ. Then there are stellar renditions of Let the Good Times Roll, Georgia On My Mind (with Fathead Newman on flute), Sticks and Stones and What’d I Say.” Does anybody need to have me say what a great band this was and that the members get showcased throughout. The filming did have the great Charles’ vocals and piano front and center while focusing on the horns during their solos. Listening and watching how effortlessly he moves from a ballad like Cecil Gant’s classic ballad, I Wonder, to the vocal interchange with Margie Hendrix who admonishes him to Tell The Truth, one is awestruck even 50 years later. Similarly one is amazed watching Charles jazz up My Bonnie, and while getting down for the nitty gritty for I Believe.

Few performers were so at home and so expressive at performing such a wide range of music. This DVD presents Charles at his greatest and in addition to the terrific production, there is a booklet with Rob Bowman’s essay providing the context for these performances. This is a stellar DVD that should be of interest to many.

I received a review copy from a publicist for this release. I will be reviewing a box set of the Complete Ray Charles ABC singles in the near future.

New Ray Charles Video Coming Out

Word has come out about the upcoming release of of video of Ray Charles live in performance from France in 1961 with his legendary band that included Hank Crawford, Fathead Newman and the original Raeletts. I have the fabulous Ray Charles in Brazil video with the Big Band from a couple years later. Anyway this preview should be of interest to many. 105 minutes of pure musical genius.

David "Fathead' Newman's "Life:

The great Texas saxophonist, Favid 'Fathead' Newman passed away Tuesday, January 20. The Highnote CD Life was the next to last recording of his distinguished career. Highnote issued Diamondhead in 2008. I previously posted a review of this album in November 2007. The review originally appeared in the July-August 2007 Jazz & Blues Report. Here is a link to that 2007 post.

Plenty of Life in Fathead's Horns

The High Note Recordings by David ‘Fathead’ Newman certainly add to his considerable body of work that has been recorded over six decades. There are the tenor solos he added to Zuzu Bollin’s Texas R&B guitar boogies, and his standout work with Ray Charles’ band in the late fifties as well as many albums under his name including some for Atlantic while with Charles’ Band. Life is his latest disc and produced by Newman & Houston Person, Newman is the only horn on this date, playing alto, tenor and flute. Others on this session are Steve Nelson on vibes, David Leonhardt on piano, Peter Bernstein on guitar, John Menegon on bass and Yoron Isreal on drums. Its a session of classic songs and standards from the lovely opening ballad, Girl Talk, with some rhapsodic tenor to the closing rendition of John Coltrane’s, Naima. John Hicks Life is a brisk waltz with Newman switching to flute is the only song that is not a ballad. Other numbers on which Newman displays his fluency on the flute are I Can’t Get Started, and What a Wonderful World, the latter number being a wonderful interpretation of a song best associated with Louis Armstrong as he improvises off the lyrics, an approach that characterizes his tenor playing on Alfie and his alto sax on Autumn in New York. Other highpoints include lovely renditions of Duke Ellington’s Come Sunday, and John Coltrane’s lovely Naima. Pianist Leonhardt provided the arrangements including the pleasing voicings he provides Newman’s horn along with the piano, guitar and vibes that enhance the performances. Newman comes off as a ballad master with a terrific band here. Certainly a wonderful disc to relax and listen too, although some might have wished a couple more numbers had been included with a brisker tempo.

Fathead Newman's Straightahead "Cityscape"

David ‘Fathead’ Newman has certainly come a long way from his initial appearance on wax, a session by Texas Blues Man, Zuzu Bollin (and Newman played on Bullin’s rediscovery album decades later). Best known for his fat sound while a member of Ray Charles legendary band in the late fifties and early sixties, Newman has had a distinguished career since leaving Charles and continues to perform and record showing little diminution in his music. A relatively recent HighNote release, Cityscape, has him on tenor, alto and flute,leading a septet which includes his rhythm section of David Leonhardt on piano, John Menegon on bass and Yoron Isreal on drums. They are joined by Howard Johnson on baritone, Benny Powell on trombone and Winston Byrd on trumpet and flugelhorn. The notes observe that the septet format recalls the classic Ray Charles band of the fifties that Newman was part of, although a comparison that perhaps raises false expectations as this band is more of a straight Hard Bop aggregation that does not have the tight sound of Charles’ legendary band. There is a nice mix of material including originals as well as standards such as the opening rendition of the theme from the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, Billy Strayhorn’s lovely A Flower is a Lonesome Thing and It Was a Very Good Year, that most associate with Frank Sinatra. Goldfinger is an attractive but hardly startling feature for Newman who sounds stronger on flute with a bit of Mid-Eastern flavor for the lively Pharoah’s Gold, with Howard Johnson providing an arrangement of the 5/4 Claude Johnson theme, while Newman’s tenor caresses the Strayhorn classic with the muted horn riffs of the others adding atmosphere. Bassist Menegon contributed the walking blues, Bu Bop Bass, with Johnson opening with some strong choruses before Fathead takes over on tenor with some insinuating playing. Howard Johnson’s original, Here Comes Sonny Man, has Newman on alto on a number that sounds like it could have been written as a theme for a seventies TV show. Newman returns to tenor on a romantic It Was a Very Good Year, which suggests that in his golden years, Newman still remains an authoritative player. Another flute feature is Newman’s original, Flankin’, dedicated to his wife’s late mom where he is backed just by his rhythm trio. While the septet here perhaps lacks the tightness and authority that Ray Charles Band had, this is a strong set of straight-ahead straight-ahead jazz that should please many.