Posted by Anthony on April 21, 2003 at 12:31:16:
I got this CD a few weeks ago and have listened to it pretty intensely since then. It's not a bad production, but there are a few things that struck me on my first listening and have stuck with me throughout. The following questions and comments are not criticisms or praises, just observations that should be taken for what their worth.
1)"Live at the Bottom Line" implies that it's a live recording. Can someone involved in the production chime in here to let me know if it's really live? I'm not convinced. The liner notes also seem to imply that this is the result of one or several studio sessions. I'm a poor man, and don't buy many "specialty" CDs. When looking at Jazz recordings, one of the main factors I look at is whether or not it's a LIVE recording. Live recordings tend to relay musical ideas in a way that I don't honestly think is possible in a studio recording... playing in front of a dining room full of peers and strangers as opposed to playing in a controlled area for a bunch of friends and engineers certainly makes me perform differently. Are there any live recordings available of these guys?
2)No CC tubas! (or BBbs, even!) It's all F tuba and Euphonium. It took two or three listenings before I figured out where Joe's tuba solo ended and Billy's euph solo began in "Cherokee". All of the solos played masterfully throughout the CD, but the overall sound is so homogeneous that I couldn't expect any non-tubists to sit through this CD without getting bored. In all honesty, I couldn't do it in my first shot. I, for one, would love to hear some killer contrabass tuba solos in future recordings(especially knowing what killer contrabass tubists there are in this group!!)
3) Rhythm Section - this is half objective observation and half personal preference(irrelevent rambling). First the objective part- I don't get the impression that the rhythm section and the horns were really on the same page throughout this recording. From the piano comping, to the basslines, and even down to the drumming in some spots, I never felt a true groove, but rather, it all sounds to me like "a great tuba ensemble" and "a great rhythm section" put together for a performance. The changes were made together, the form was kept, but I never felt the group really "jive" as one. Do the tubists play with this rhythm section regularly, or were they just hired out for the gig?
(3b?) as for the subjective part- I'm not a big fan of using this type of rhythm section exclusively with this kind of group.. particularly the electric bass, which I feel is often completely out of place with this kind of group. Whoever is playing the bass role needs to be able to walk an authoritative bass line, which I don't think is possible for an electric bass playing with a half dozen tubaphoniumists. The 2 ways we've tackled this in a similar group I play in are 1) Altering the rhythm section- we simply don't use bass 75% of the time, and I or the other tubist lays down the bottom line. We're fortunate in that our bass player is an incredible pianist, so we have no problem keeping him on the keys. The other tactic we've picked up is 2)being VERY careful on the orchestrations. I do a lot myself, and the rest is done by our director, a non brass player. This has been a process of trial and error with us, figuring out what works and what doesn't. The first option, obviously, is to just omit the bass. On some tunes, though, we choose to add the bass for a change of mood(this also serves to make our overall performance less homogeneous).. in doing this, though, it has to be realized that the overall dynamic of the group changes dramatically, and every member is not playing the same role they were before. This sort of goes back to the rhythm section and horns not being intimate bedfellows(if you'll pardon the expression).. in "Summer Knows" I felt that the balance and orchestration between the rhythm section and horns was absolutely wonderful.. 90% of the time in other tracks, though, I felt that the electric bass presence was a detractor from the overall effect of the piece.
4) Killer individual playing all around. Kudos to Billy Huber, Barry Green, Marcus Dickman, Joe Murphy, Richard Perry, Winston Morris, Marty Crum, Jeff Lloyd, Tony Nagy, Steve Willets. If anything, this group has certainly whetted my appetite for more, and I look forward to hearing what's next.
Overall, I like this CD, and think it's worth the money I spent on it. I won't be putting it on an "imperative listening" list for jazz studies students, but I like parts of it enough that I know it won't be shelved for extended periods of time. Outside of the instrumentation, it's not the most innovative jazz CD in my collection- but it's definitely one of the best tuba-centric CDs I own so far. Any other opinions on this recording/other tubajazz recordings out there?
Anthony
fwiw