Rahsaan Roland Kirk & Cannonball Adderley Reissued on Joel Dorn's New Imprint HYENA
Returning with HYENA, Joel Dorn, who’s often been deemed (for better or worse) a populist himself, begins the fourth in a series of record labels (Night Records, 32 Records & Label M) that have allowed him to treasure hunt, mining gems from music’s vaults (Atlantic Records, Muse Records & The Left Bank Jazz Society), while also recording a select roster of new artists (Leon Parker, James Blood Ulmer & The Jazz Passengers). Fittingly Dorn comes full circle with HYENA, reissuing the four long out of print albums that started it all on Night Records: The Man Who Cried Fire by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Radio Nights by Cannonball Adderley, Les Is More by Les McCann and A Tale of Two Cities by Eddie Harris.
“These records were meant to be the soundtracks to documentaries that didn’t exist,” states Dorn. “They're audio verity, an aural equivalent of cinema verity.”
Nearly impossible to find, and frequently the subject of discussion on internet jazz boards, the four Night Records’ titles are commonly considered minor classics, capturing the artists in a pure setting without any of the self-consciousness and pressure that accompanies the making of “live” albums. “The beauty here is that none of the artists knew they were recording records during the taping of these shows. This is how the music actually went down,” says Dorn. “It’s a living history of what happened in the clubs on those nights.”
The Man Who Cried Fire makes a case for Rahsaan Roland Kirk as being one of the most broadly inspired artists in the history of jazz. A near master of every instrument he picked up, Kirk blows sweet and lovely on “Slow Blues” and the second interlude of “New Orleans Fantasy,” two rare examples present here of Rahsaan’s clarinet playing. The opening to the latter also catches Kirk joyously erupting on a piece with The Olympia Brass Band at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. “You Did It, You Did It” and “Multi-Horn Variations” find Kirk, in typical fashion, blowing the boundaries off any pre-conceived lines of what jazz should be. However, if there's one defining attribute of this “live” document, it’s the proof positive of how brilliant Kirk could play straight and inside, whether it be the exotica of the manzello on “Bye Bye Blackbird,” his gloriously swinging tenor sax on “Unidentified Tenor Selection” or the gorgeous and soaring flute of “A Visit From The Blues.”
Cannonball Adderley’s Radio Nights was culled from two weeks of performances in 1967 and ’68 at New York City’s old Half Note. The performances were originally broadcast “live” by noted jazz disc jockey Alan Grant. Adderley’s featured here in variations of his legendary group, featuring brother Nat Adderley on trumpet, tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd, pianist Joe Zawinul, bassist Sam Jones, and drummers Roy McCurdy and Louis Hayes. The dynamic of this line-up built upon the inherent communication between its members was like few groups before or after. As the disc’s liner notes acknowledge, Cannonball never went on stage with a set list, preferring to feed off the audience’s energy in deciding what to play. Cannon never played a song the same way twice. “The Little Boy With The Sad Eyes,” and “Unit Seven” showcase the seemingly telepathic swing that Cannon and company could invoke. On “Work Song,” Cannon’s little big band horn arrangements accompany the solo sections, pushing its energy to another level. Once the train got rolling, Adderley’s sextet was driven by the force of its own momentum. One final bonus is a montage to end the record drawn from performances at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco with Nat coming on as a sanctified country preacher and Cannon getting deep into the blues; it doesn’t get any hipper.
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