Dave Burrell / Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session, Paris 1979

Listeners would be hard-pressed to name another artist besides Dave Burrell who commands such mastery across jazz's entire timeline, from its ragtime origins to its most adventurous avant-garde territories. The pianist, born in 1940, brings equal authenticity to Jelly Roll Morton's classic compositions and completely free improvisation. His discography spans the works of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, while his versatility extends across calypso, reggae, stride piano, blues, bebop and opera.

Burrell made his mark in the revolutionary 1960s New Thing movement alongside Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders and Marion Brown. His legendary collaboration with saxophonist David Murray throughout the 1980s and 1990s remains the stuff of jazz folklore.

Central to Burrell's artistic identity is Windward Passages, an opera he began writing with librettist and wife Monika Larsson in 1978. Throughout his career, he has continually returned to this deeply personal material, first recording it solo in 1979 for Hat Hut Records and later exploring it with various partners.

That same year, Burrell and drummer Sam Woodyard (1925-1988)—who powered Duke Ellington's Orchestra from 1955 to 1966—spent three months at Campagne Premiere in Paris, working through material from the opera. This live recording from their residency has been rumored to exist for decades, held by Horo Records until the label folded and the tapes disappeared. Fortunately, Burrell preserved a cassette copy, which receives excellent remastering here, finally allowing listeners to experience this remarkable musical conversation.

The drowsy blues "On A Saturday Night" opens the set, Burrell's contemplative piano accompanied by Woodyard's whispered brushwork. The music gradually builds steam through boogie-woogie passages that Pete Johnson would have appreciated. "A.M. Rag" showcases Burrell's lightning technique and encyclopedic knowledge of jazz piano, trading in Scott Joplin's syncopations with breathtaking speed and precision.

The duo's approach to Ellington-Strayhorn standards proves revelatory. Their "Lush Life" and "Sophisticated Lady" receive the reverent treatment these masterpieces deserve, while George Gershwin's "Embraceable You" benefits from their deep understanding of the American songbook. Burrell's romantic sensibilities shine throughout, particularly on his original "Sarah's Lament," which weaves Gershwin's harmonic sophistication with stride piano and blues elements.

Windward Passages tells Burrell's own story—much of it lived in Hawaii before relocating to Boston, then New York. He ingeniously merges his island heritage with American musical traditions in pieces like "Punaluu Pete" and "My Dog Has Fleas/Meneghune Messages," blending island rhythms with ragtime and sacred music.

This Paris recording captures Burrell and Woodyard refining the musical elements that would define Burrell's artistic vision for the next five decades. With Woodyard's masterful support, the pianist crystallized the diverse threads that make Windward Passages such a distinctive personal statement. The recovery of this lost session provides invaluable insight into one of jazz's most versatile and underappreciated masters at a crucial creative moment.

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