Record date: November 3,1971
Mal never fails to surprise. Skippin’ is such a different recording than his other records in 1971. With this solid group he goes back into bop territory. Pretty advanced bop, but definitely bop. And in this more traditional setting he still sounds great and very much at ease. Yet in his own compositions the music is more free again and the rest of the band handle that surprisingly well.
This release was originally under Sonny Grey’s name. Grey, a Jamaican by nationality, is a pretty obscure trumpeter not found on many records. He resided in Paris and recorded with Daniel Humair, Kenny Clarke and made a side appearance next to Dexter Gordon and George Arvanitas. He’s heavily involved in the more traditional hardtop sound, with a huge influence from Clifford Brown. Yet he’s definitely original enough to sound interesting. Tenorist Alain Hatot never really released a record himself but made hundreds of appearances with other musicians. Gus Nemeth is also a more obscure name and Kenny Clarke…. well I assume everybody knows that giant. Kenny lived in Paris of course so he was probably just a phone call away for this record.
Most of the guys really manage to surprise. In the more traditional bop composition Skippin’ (by Grey) all the guys seem to be very much at ease with the repertoire. Grey sounds excellent, playing a nice solo though his trumpet sounds a bit… broke or something. Like the sound is not fully clear. Hatot sounds great also but doesn’t sound very original in this setting. He sounds like a Dexter Gordon imitator. Clarke is Clarke, he just plays tight as a m*therf….. He has played this kind of stuff tons of time and never misses a beat.
The whole thing gets more interesting on Mal’s own composition ‘Journey Without End’, which would be recorded later that year with Steve Lacy in a much more free setting. But the version here is no bop either. This is moving into more free territory and the whole band anticipates greatly on it! Grey has clearly listened to the more free players of those day like Don Cherry but also Woody Shaw. But it’s Alain Hatot who surprises me the most. He really has something to say here. He sounds inspired and original. He dares to step out a bit but does not lose himself in playing random notes or trying to imitate a free jazz saxophonist. Great stuff. And also Nemeth and Kenny Clarke, who is a more bop oriented player, really sound like they know what they are doing. Kenny has recorded more of course with free players, like Noah Howard.
On side B that kind of stuff is continued in another Mal Waldron composition: ‘The Fire is Now’ which is a very restless composition with lots of energy. Kenny Clarke drives up the band with his constant riffs and roles on the snare drum. The final composition is more conventional and in the bop style. Not bad but still the most boring on this record.
The original Numera LP is a collector’s item. It is not sold for less than 200 dollars. I personally never care for what version I have, cd or LP as long as the sound quality is good and I love a big booklet with good liner notes. An original pressing is less important to me. I’ve got the 1974 Japanese release on Mercury of this record with different cover art and Mal stated as leader (probably because his name would sell more in Japan). It sounds absolutely great and is available for something between 20 and 30 euros. A more than reasonable price for a great recording. Mal’s part is not that of a leader but he gets solo space on every song.
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