Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Here and How!: Cameron Brown

97

Here and How!: Cameron Brown

By

View read count
Here and How!: Cameron Brown
This month is significant alone in that two veteran jazz bassists, Percy Heath and Cameron Brown, have simultaneously released their long overdue debuts as leaders. From Brown’s first appearance with George Russell (featuring Don Cherry) in 1965, we can now 40 years later enjoy the fruits of the bassist’s first led session. The surviving member of the George Adams/ Don Pullen quartet, one of the great groups in jazz that existed for nearly ten years, Brown has been associated with some legendary voices, one of them being tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman. In his group, the leader invited his old boss Redman, trumpeter/ flugelhorn player Dave Ballou, drummer Leon Parker, and the ever- youthful Sheila Jordan whose instrumental displays as a singer are ideally captured here. (The well received CD release concert last month at Cornelia Street Café featured a similar lineup, with drummer Billy Hart and trombonist Mark Patterson replacing Parker and Redman.)

Recorded by the well-respected engineer David Baker, the live feel is exquisitely captured with studio-like sound quality. Kudos also to Brown and Omnitone for maintaining the level of creativity without a fade to accommodate radio airplay and short attention spans. The two shortest tunes are just under nine minutes, while the others venture well beyond ten minutes starting with Cherry’s “Art Deco” (lyrics which were written by the vocalist at the composer’s request). One of the most versatile of vocalists, Jordan has always had an affinity for bass players and she plays as central an element to Brown’s group concept as any other. The singer’s authentic child-like energy is appropriately suited and genuinely performed on the leader’s original lyrics to “Rylie’s Bounce”, an effervescent bop-inspired original. Don Cherry’s “Remembrance” (aka “My Folks”), from the Complete Communion suite, spotlights her heritage-inspired Native American chanting vocals. She warmly opens a tear-jerking rendition of the jazz standard “For All We Know” that features a memorable somber Redman solo.

Brown has appropriately described his unique approach as bandleader as “The less-is-more-idea.” Hopefully we’ll be hearing his group more than less.

Track Listing

1. Art Deco - 10:53 2. For All We Know - 8:50 3. Rylie's Bounce - 12:22 4. Remembrance - 8:44 5. Medley: What Reason Could I Give?/For Dad... - 10:27 6. Double Arc Jake - 14:18

Personnel

Sheila Jordan - Vocals; Dewey Redman - Tenor Sax; Cameron Brown - Bass; Leon Parker - Drums; Dave Ballou - Trumpet, Flugelhorn.

Album information

Title: Cameron Brown | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: OmniTone

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.