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Joe Chambers: Horace to Max

By Larry Reni Thomas

Drummer/vibraphonist/composer/educator Joe Chambers' Horace to Max is an awesome display of versatility and master musicianship; that's impossible to put away, it gets better with each listen. The distinctive blue-and-black colored cover design is similar to those fine Blue Note records of the 1960s and 1970s. The disc possesses a subtle suggestive theme that can only be described as plain old protest music, showing that times have not really changed; despite being written decades ago, the music's lyrics, meaning and intended ...

Joe Chambers: Horace To Max

By Edward Blanco

In this follow up to the critically-acclaimed The Outlaw (Savant 2006) recording, Joe Chambers tips his hat to colleagues Horace Silver and Max Roach with Horace To Max, paying tribute to mentor Roach and recognizing Silver as one of the most important composers of the post-bop era of jazz. A highly-regarded session drummer of the '60s appearing on many of Blue Note's greatest jazz recordings, Chambers builds on the foundation of The Outlaw--where he was featured prominently on mallet instruments ...

Joe Chambers: Horace to Max

By John Kelman

Though best known for his drum work on key 1960s Blue Note sessions with artists including vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Andrew Hill and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Joe Chambers has gradually built a reputation as an equally distinctive composer and mallet player. Horace to Max is more heavily weighted towards cover material from Shorter, bassist Marcus Miller, pianist Thelonious Monk and trumpeter Kenny Dorham--and, of course, its two titular legends, pianist Horace Silver and drummer Max Roach--but it does maintain an ...

Joe Chambers: The Outlaw

By Jim Santella

Combining hip-hop gestures with straight-ahead trends, Joe Chambers pushes the modern mainstream envelope toward broader acceptance. Logan Richardson's alto saxophone and Chambers' vibraphone share most of the lyrical duties on The Outlaw, where Chambers establishes a comfortable groove and never lets go. At times mesmerizing and at times refreshingly pure, the session relies on a powerful, driving rhythmic influence.

Nicole Richardson adds a lovely vocal to “I Think it's Time to Say Goodbye, which is supported by a ...

Joe Chambers: The Outlaw

By Stephen Latessa

The Outlaw is an adventurous recording which finds veteran drummer Joe Chambers focusing on vibraphone, piano and marimba as much as the drum kit. In the liner notes, Chambers comments, “I'm not interested in playing drums behind anybody now. On this album, I'm trying to reestablish myself as a mallet player. Unfortunately, the album also reveals an interest in synthesizers that lend the music an artificial sheen which comes perilously close to smooth jazz.

The version of the ...

Joe Chambers: The Outlaw

By Michael P. Gladstone

Joe Chambers was one of the best percussionists during the Golden Age of Blue Note Records in the 1950s and '60s. The drummer played on Freddie Hubbard's Breaking Point, Bobby Hutcherson's Components, Wayne Shorter's Schizophrenia, Andrew Hill's Compulsion and McCoy Tyner's Tender Moments. Around the same time, Chambers began playing piano as well. He reached a turning point in 1970, when he was invited to join Max Roach's new all-percussive unit, M'Boom. He was encouraged to play all manner of ...

Joe Chambers on M'Boom

By Russ Musto

Joe Chambers first made his mark on the New York jazz scene playing with Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard in the early '60s. Soon afterwards he was regularly recording on important sessions with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter, Archie Shepp and Chick Corea, often contributing his own compositions to the dates. In the '70s Max Roach recruited him as a founding member of the group M'Boom.

All About Jazz: Let's start with ...

Joe Chambers: Urban Grooves

By Alexander M. Stern

What can one say about the redoubtable Joe Chambers? An adventurous drummer with an eternally questioning spirit, he has certainly played with his share of the greats. Yet Chambers hasn’t received the same accolades as contemporaries like Elvin Jones or Tony Williams. It certainly isn’t for lack of talent or technical ability. The problem, perhaps, has to do with the fact that neither Williams nor Jones is/was as self-effacing as Chambers. Ever the tasteful accompanist, he has a way of ...

Joe Chambers: Mirrors

By Jim Santella

Drummer Joe Chambers, 56, recorded his first Blue Note sessions as a youthful twenty year old, deeply immersed in the New York City jazz scene. While the 1960s were healthy years for the drummer’s professional development, the decade included many distractions for the jazz world. Fusion with rock music and the electronic revolution in equipment introduced many changes and several rifts. The music survived to witness its ‘90s comeback and usher in a generation of young lions. Leaders with whom ...