(1986) The Seagulls of Kristiansund *****

 

With: Woody Shaw (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), Ed Blackwell (drums)
Record date: September 16, 1986

In the eighties, Mal’s visits to the US were becoming more frequent and longer. In 1986 he stayed a couple of month’s. He admitted himself that being back felt good for him, but his home remained in Europe. During those visits he always played at the Village Vanguard in NYC for a week or so with a set group. He appeared there already with this very same all-star group in 1983 which was recorded and brought out on DVD (highly recommended). In 1986 he appeared with the same group: a dream line-up for every jazz lover. There’s Woody Shaw on trumpet. Probably one of the most innovative trumpet players of all time and definitely one of the most exciting of his time. There’s Monk’s most faithful companion Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone. Reggie Workman on bass, one of jazz’ all time greatest. And like that wasn’t even enough Ed Blackwell on drums who is probably one of the most rhythmic players from the freejazz ’60’s scene. And then of course I forget Mal himself…. It leads to one of his very best recordings. Part of the concert was released on Soul Note as ‘The Seagull’s of Kristiansund’. The other part was released as The Git Go. This very one is probably a very little bit better.

The whole concert blasts off with a Mal classic. The hunting and nervous Snake Out in one of it’s best performances I know. Mal set’s in the theme, Workman and Blackwell follow quite soon and there’s the tension with the rest of the band filling in. It’s Woody Shaw who is there to release that tension with a mind-blowing solo. Woody is creative and doesn’t sound predictable for one note which is incredible with a modal piece like this. The possibilities are endless and his technical skills are very impressive. He plays with chords, notes, tempo’s and phrases. One of the most advanced postbop players that always dares to play near and on the edge but never really passes it in an unpleasant way. Then there’s Rouse with his warm but squeezed sounds. The short phrases he plays add up to the tense feeling all trough the music. His pretty traditional sound doesn’t sound a second out of place in this pretty advanced postbop composition. Mal takes it all away with his typical nervous repetitive style, fully interacting with Workman and Blackwell. Reggie plays one of his fantastic solo’s playing inside and outside all at the same time. And then there’s Blackwell who is very, very solid as an accompanist in the background but really kicks ass in his solo. Blackwell is a very different player from Rashied Ali but they give me that same feeling: you sometimes wonder if it’s really one guy drumming. Blackwell’s feet and hand’s really just all doing their own thing but still it all sounds so structured.

The following ‘Judy’ is the most straightforward piece of the album but swings unbelievably hard. Rouse’s solo is great playing with the theme constantly in different forms fully exploring it’s potential. Shaw picks up exactly there showing off his great technique again with countless very fast loops that just dazzle your head. And again it’s Mal and his rhythm section that really make things complete with their very tight playing in the background. Mal with his full and rich chords, Reggie walking, running and anything in between and Blackwell just playing in a very laidback style. The true highlight of the album is yet to come: it’s the title song itself. A 23 minute long version of one of Mal’s most beautiful compositions with plenty of soloing space for every participating musician. It starts off with it’s soft and melancholic theme. It really reminds one of a Norwegian harbor on a cold December day. It’s one of Mal’s most atmospheric pieces. Where the other songs swinged hard and all the band members really showed off their skills, there’s a way more minimalistic approach here. Rouse blow’s soft and gentle, almost whispering: you could hear his breath going trough his horn. He carefully weighs what to play. Workman dances beautifully around the chords, sometimes imitating seagull sounds, than humming in it’s lower register again. Such a versatile artist. Then there’s Shaw. He could blow your ears off but could also play soft as the wind. Here he is like that wind. And it’s Mal who really takes it away with such a simple but impressive solo. A beautiful closure of a very good live session. People who were there were very, very lucky.

This beautiful and impressive music is not hard to find at all. Plenty of copies available on both cd and vinyl. There’s also the great 4cd Soul Note box that also contains the other part of the concert and 2 cd’s with another great quintet: with Sonny Fortune and Ricky Ford. It’s pretty expensive these days so buying the separate releases is not a bad idea. The box set does not add any extra liner notes or whatsoever. One of his very best recordings: you should really buy this without any hesitation.