Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Joe Zawinul: Money In The Pocket

Joe Zawinul: Money In The Pocket

By Chris May
February 4, 2010
Sign in to view read count

Recorded in late 1965, while keyboard player Joe Zawinul was still a member of saxophonist Cannonball Adderley's band, Money In The Pocket is a remarkable album—remarkable in that gives absolutely no hint of the shape shifts that would transform Zawinul's work a few years later. The first of three albums he recorded for Atlantic, it's a conventional mix of mid-1960s hard bop and soul jazz. Trumpeter Miles Davis' revolutionary In A Silent Way (CBS), recorded in early 1969, which featured Zawinul (who also wrote the title track), is on another planet, while Weather Report's eponymous debut (CBS, 1971) is in another galaxy.

"Money In The Pocket" itself, one of three Zawinul originals here, made with tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan and trumpeter Blue Mitchell, is classic Blue Note hard bop in everything but record label. Four other tracks recorded with a three horn frontline—tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams and Mitchell, with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes from the Adderley band—take in bop and soul jazz. Jones' "Some More Of Dat" is a generic dead ringer for contemporaneous Adderley or pianist Horace Silver (Mitchell, Jordan, Henderson and Hayes were all Silver alumni). All these tracks are good, but even by the standards of the time they are pretty ordinary. Zawinul's modal-flavored "Riverbed," though hardly radical, is the disc's most singular composition.

There are, however, two ballad readings of note: Guy Wood's and Robert Mellin's "My One And Only Love" and Rudy Stephenson's "Sharon's Waltz." The first is performed solo by Zawinul, the second with Jones and Hayes. Lyrical and just the right side of rococo, Zawinul's solos are delightful, in the same ballpark as "Come Sunday," the Zawinul feature with the Adderley band heard on the YouTube clip below.

Zawinul's Money In The Pocket, reissued as part of Warner Jazz's Atlantic Masters series, isn't to be confused with the Adderley band's album of the same title, recorded live in 1966 and later released by Capitol.

Track Listing

Money In The Pocket; If; My One And Only Love; Midnight Mood; Some More Of Dat; Sharon's Waltz; Riverbed; Del Sasser.

Personnel

Joe Zawinul

keyboards

Joe Zawinul: piano; Blue Mitchell: trumpet (2, 4, 5, 7); Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone: (2, 4, 5, 7); Clifford Jordan: tenor saxophone (1); Pepper Adams: baritone saxophone (2, 4, 5, 7); Sam Jones: bass (2, 4-8); Bob Cranshaw: bass (1); Louis Hayes: drums (2, 4-8); Roy McCurdy: drums (1).

Album information

Title: Money In The Pocket | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Unknown label

< Previous
Jack DeJohnette, Project/Object, Will...

Next >
February 2010

Comments

About Joe Zawinul

Instrument: Keyboards

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.