With: Jim Pepper (tenor saxophone & soprano saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Ed Schuller (bass), John Betsch (drums)
Record date: October 25 & 26, 1989
In autumn 1989 Mal made two appearances that were recorded at the Utopia jazz club in Innsbruck, Austria. He played with his regular trio with Ed Schuller on bass and John Betsch on drums. On tenor saxophone the great and underrated Jim Pepper with whom Mal had played before. First in Marty Cook’s band for an Enja record, then with the all star band for Soul Note and later as a duo for ‘Art of the Duo’ which I have reviewed before. Waldron and Pepper, they match very well. They had proved that before on their duet album and also in a quartet form on Mal’s first Tutu release. In a live session with a rhythm section like this it results in some more fire power. With a repertoire full of original compositions this is one very creative jam session with some very rewarding music. It all resulted in the release of two more Tutu discs: Quadrologue at Utopia (vol.1) and More Git-Go at Utopia (vol.2). As both discs were recorded on the same nights I’ll review both of them as one.
The opener ‘Ticket to Utopia’ (actually named ‘Ticket to Tokyo’) is a hard swinging up tempo composition with a very haunted feeling. Their first recordings as a duo was great but this quartet version is way more intense. Pepper runs trough his changes like a madman. Mal’s solo starts with hitting the notes in the lowest registers of the piano making it actually sound even darker. And both Schuller and Betsch are all over the place. Betsch plays a great solo with polyrhythmic playing, hitting his drums as hard as he can without losing speed or pace. ’Time for Duke’ has a more sweet melody, a great way to honor the great composer. Pepper’s lines are more tempered here, meandering over Waldron’s chords. Same goes for the beautiful ‘Mistral Breeze’ which is loosely based on ‘Soul Eyes’. On ‘Never in a Hurry’ Pepper plays in trio form for a while which gives him even more freedom to explore the original composition. But when Mal gets back the song get’s it’s true meaning and feeling. Schuller is dancing around Mal’s left hand again with great swinging bass lines. Than it’s Mal’s time to solo, constantly setting the pace with his hard hitting left hand. His right hand just starts interacting unconsciously with his left, like an actual dialogue. The closing ‘Funny Glasses & a Mustache’ is a great opportunity for Betsch to show of his great drumming skills. Without any trouble he sets in a great polyrhythmic rhythm that really gives it that Afro-Latin vibe.
The second volume ‘More Git-Go at Utopia’ was released four years later. It’s almost as good as volume 1. Really it’s a very close call but If I’d really had to make a choice I’d probably go for the first volume. However the second volume does contain the Mal classic: Git Go. And this implementation with Pepper’s passionate saxophone playing is another masterpiece. This volume contains some more ballads like ‘You Open My Eyes; with Pepper on soprano and the second part of Misreal Breeze. Highlight number two is the hard grooving version of ‘Dancing on the Flames’ where the whole band gives everything one more time.
These Tutu releases are all great to get, some better than others, but all great. And not very expensive either. The second volume does seem to be a little more rare. It took me a while to obtain a copy for a reasonable price. Both cd’s contain nice booklets with session photography and great liner’s by producer Peter Weismuller. In the booklet of the second volume he tell’s some interesting stuff about the tour. Very personal and therefore nice to read. Sound quality is also superb by the way. Very warm and all the musicians are caught very well.This is music that one could buy without hesitation. Probably the best Mal record available with Jim Pepper on tenor saxophone. And that says something.
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