By Alex Henderson

These reissues have two things in common: all are by masters of the alto sax, and all have been reissued on CD for Fantasy's Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series.

Toward the end of his life, Cannonball Adderley's music became more and more influenced by R&B and rock. Jazz critics tend to dismiss the type of soul-jazz and fusion he had taken up, but in fact, late-period Cannon can be quite rewarding. One of his best albums from that period, 1974's Pyramid was recorded the year before his death from a stroke and is comparable to the music Herbie Hancock was offering at the time. Funk rhythms are used extensively, and inspired blowing is the rule -- not only from Cannon, but also, from cornetist Nat Adderley, keyboardist George Duke and guitarist Phil Upchurch. Also on keyboards is Hal Galper, who subsequently "got religion," became a "purist" and dumped his keyboards in the river (literally).

Hank Crawford is the alto's equivalent of Ray Charles (his former employer), Sam Cooke or Al Green -- he has the chops, but like the soul singers he's well aware of, his main goal is to communicate in a straight forward way. Nothing too complex is heard on 1984's Down On The Deuce -- just honest, unpretentious jazz with strong R&B leanings. Crawford's Kudu work of the 1970s tended to suffer from too much production and not enough improvisation, but he got back on track when he joined Milestone in 1982. From Crawford's sentimental "Used To Be Love" to interpretations of Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman" and the Z.Z. Hill hit "Down Home Blues," this album demonstrates that Milestone generally did right by him in the 1980s. Crawford's solid support includes David "Fathead" Newman (tenor sax, flute), Jimmy Ponder (guitar) and Melvin Sparks (guitar).

Although Charlie Parker's influence on Sonny Criss was impossible to overlook, Criss had an appealing sound of his own that was harder than Bird's. It wasn't until 1987 (ten years after Criss committed suicide) that a tape of the 1951 performance heard on Intermission Riff was discovered. And what a performance it is -- recorded at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, this is one of Norman Granz's Jazz At The Philharmonic shows and unites Criss with trombonist Bennie Green, trumpeter Joe Newman, tenorist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, pianist Bobby Tucker, bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Kenny Clarke. The bebopper is at his most exuberant on "Perdido," "How High The Moon" and the title tune, and an unlikely version of "Body And Soul" that approaches it in a bluesy fashion instead of as a sentimental ballad.

Reprinted with the permission of Myrna Daniels and L.A. Jazz Scene, the largest jazz publication in Southern California.