Record date: September 13 & 14, 1989
In September 1989, Mal played at a small jazzclub in Belgium called the Kave. He gave tons of performances in small clubs like that in Europe. It must have been a wonderful experience, drinking you beer and listening to the wonderful sounds from one of Mal’s groups. This time he teamed up with a true Eric Dolphy aficionado: French reed player Thierry Bruneau. This is only one of two records where he appears. It would soon be clear why….
Wholy crap, pardon my French and unkind words but I have serious doubts about Bruneau’s capabilities... I am open to lots of styles and on alto I could enjoy the sounds of Benny Carter as well as those of Noah Howard. But the sound of Bruneau sounds just awful to me He sounds like he sincerely does not know what he is doing, playing out of tune half of the time and with a very bad timing. He doesn’t seem to listen to a thing the band is doing in the background. Mal and his band are playing great (Mal is truly on fire on Bee Vamp) but it could not save the record. Thierry is probably at his best on bass clarinet which makes Bee Vamp the best track.
The compositions chosen here are all great. McLean’s ‘Melody for Melonae’ is one of my overall favorite jazz compositions. Having the opportunity to hear it played by Mal really excited me. But Bruneau spoils it with a very bad solo. He mostly reminds me of how I played myself when I was 12 years old trying to improvise with my alto on way to complex jazz pieces. Mal’s solo on it does make up for it and as I expected his soloing goes very well on this McLean classic. Betsch and Barretto are on fire here also which gives the music some extra spice and energy. It makes you wonder what kind of record this would have been, had it been recorded with Jackie McLean or Sonny Fortune.
Perhaps I am deaf or just don’t have a nose for hidden talent… I really wonder why Mal wanted to record with such a player. This record is really only worth it for Mal’s excellent playing and the very solid backing by Barretto and Betsch. It is not one of the easiest available records. It does contain a nice booklet with some photograph’s. I personally would not bother to get it. For me this is really to complete Mal’s discography.
Perhaps I am deaf or just don’t have a nose for hidden talent… I really wonder why Mal wanted to record with such a player. This record is really only worth it for Mal’s excellent playing and the very solid backing by Barretto and Betsch. It is not one of the easiest available records. It does contain a nice booklet with some photograph’s. I personally would not bother to get it. For me this is really to complete Mal’s discography.
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