Golia, Vinny - Live At The Century City Playhouse 1979
SKU
21-DTRS 08
Vinny Golia: woodwinds
John Carter: clarinet
Bobby Bradford: cornet
Glenn Ferris: trombone
Recorded live on Sunday, May 13, 1979 at 8:30 pm, Century City Playhouse, 10508 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA.
“This well recorded and mastered session features Golia, clarinetist John Carter, cornetist Bobby Bradford, and trombonist Glenn Ferris – all in tip-top form. Carter is especially irrepressible, pouring out torrents of notes with a fleetness and ease that’s breathtaking. But the whole band is deeply engaged with the music. Bradford is lyrical and sly; Ferris plays from a whisper to a shout, riffing or uncorking long intricate lines as the occasion calls for; Golia’s multi-instrumental prowess adds varied tone color and emotional heat.
The quartet is the sort of Band Not Normally Heard in Jazz that grew to artistic importance in the 1970s. There’s no drummer, so the ensemble highlights the rhythmic function of horn players; each member is a drum in his own right. The intensity of sound production and the tension and release generated by layered voices improvising or interpreting a score create swing. It’s these characteristics – and improvisation – that place the music squarely in the African American tradition, despite the classical instrumentation.
In the compositions “#2” and “Views,” Golia is concerned with blurring the borders between written and improvised, implying the equal legitimacy of both. The writing generally uses either short phrases strung out in a series of variations or longer more involved lines with a continuous flow. Both approaches (often within the same composition) provide inspiration for spontaneous development. Few were better at making seamless transitions between music on paper and music invented on the spot than these players. When they improvise on “#2,” for instance, they create structural elements, patterns, and repetitions that help order the spontaneous creativity. Their interpretations of the score are relaxed and spontaneous sounding, with improvised embellishments that help to further disguise the differences between composed and individually created. Every moment, written or improvised, sounds vivid, supple, and confident.
The line between improvised and composed parts in “Chronos I” and “Chronos II” are more defined, as the writing provides clear signposts or anchors between unaccompanied soloing. The soloing is uniformly excellent and the ensemble jumps on the compositions with an urgency and relish that’s a joy to hear. There is nothing else like this in the early Golia discography and that makes the disc, along with the quality of the playing, a valuable addition to his catalog.”-Ed Hazell / Point Of Departure
- LabelDark Tree
- UPC3473351000086