| The George Adams/Don Pullen Quartet was one of the most exciting jazz bands of the 80's -- and one of only a handful of groups over the past 20 years that never succumbed to the "smooth jazz," substanceless fusion, or revivalist movements that dominate so much of what people call jazz today. This was due in large part to Don Pullen, whose rollicking adventures in jazz piano straddled the line between swing and avant-garde (with his trademark style characterized by rolling runs, clusters, and glissandi adorning an inevitable return to a straight ahead core melody), and George Adams whose soul-blues inflected tenor sax playing likewise typically included full-range explorations into squawks and upper register wails. In this sense, the pair, who cut their teeth together in the Mingus band of the 70's, were perfectly suited to one another. Cameron Brown (bass) and Dannie Richmond (drums, and also of Mingus lineage), made up the rhythym section of the band, always providing steady accompaniment. It is a pity that Pullen, Adams, and Richmond are all now no longer with us, and even more of a pity that so many of the quartet recordings (not to mention their solo efforts) are now out of print.
The Live at the Village Vanguard dates (sold separately as Volume 1 and 2) were recorded during their gig at the Vanguard on August 19, 1983 and put out on the Soul Note label. As live concerts, the music is often more freewheeling than their studio sessions and consequently, the energy level is quite high throughout. Unfortunately, the recording quality is less than perfect, with a fairly anemic sound pervading despite the obvious passion of the music and its players. Such is often the price of live dates however, and since these are out of print, but at least still findable, one can hardly complain.
Volume 2 is the more exciting set, that starts with Saturday Night in the Cosmos (11'24"), a Pullen tune that opens with Adams on flute, and soon gets into Pullen's trademark piano improvisation -- hammering away with vamps and trills but all the while dancing around the tune's central melody. Adams returns on tenor at the half-way mark, and gets really fired up before going back to flute (with Brown repeating a strong, steady bass line that matches Pullen's left hand work) and then again back to tenor at the end of the tune. City Gates (17'37") is an Adams tune that starts with Brown's characteristic bass repeating a phrase, then has Adams taking control and going ballistic, following by Pullen doing the same. The energy gets cranked up even further by the third tune, the Pullen written The Great Escape (11'15"), which starts out frenetically and takes off from there with mad tenor and piano solos. Finally, Big Alice (17'50"), a Pullen favorite, has the band playing rhythmically around an upbeat melody, but with each further decontruction of the restated theme, the playing gets more freewheeling with Pullen venturing near Cecil Taylor territory and Adams screeching ferociously before returning to earth by song's end. |
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