Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marion Brown: Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited

13

Marion Brown: Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited

By

Sign in to view read count
Marion Brown: Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited
Alto saxophonist Marion Brown was part of the band on John Coltrane's Ascension (Impulse, 1965), though you would not guess it from Why Not (ESP, 1968). Like fellow Ascension alumnus, tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders' contemporaneous Tauhid (Impulse, 1967), Brown's album inhabited an intensely melodic section of the 1960s' New Thing.

As were Sanders' own-name releases from 1967 onwards, Brown's work was deeply lyrical and embraced South Asian, Maghrebi and West African instruments and constructs. As bandleaders, the two players operated at the far end of the New Thing spectrum to the so-called "energy" saxophonists who followed, lamely, in Albert Ayler's wake.

Why Not was recorded in late October 1966, Tauhid just three weeks later. Their points of contact are particularly marked on the opening tracks. Brown's "La Sorella" and Sanders' "Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt" employ similar arrangements and both project uplifting, mellifluous vibes, roughed up around the edges with vocalized tones and broken notes. Both are bedded on quietly insistent grooves. Brown's pianist Stanley Cowell and Sanders' pianist Dave Burrell essay slightly trippy intros before the leaders take things out.

This reissue of Why Not in ezz-thetics' Revisited series is coupled with Porto Novo (Polydor, 1969), which Brown recorded in The Netherlands with Dutch bassist Maarten Van Regeteren Altena and drummer Han Bennink. That album is pretty much as sublime as Why Not and the pairing is testament to ezz-thetics' founder Werner X. Uehlinger's curatorial touch. Another harmonious pairing is Brown's Capricorn Moon To Juba Lee Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2019), which packages all but four minutes of Marion Brown Quartet (ESP, 1966), made with a pianoless quartet including trumpeter Alan Shorter, with side two of the septet album Juba-Lee (Fontana, 1967), made with Shorter, trombonist Grachan Moncur III and tenor saxophonist Bennie Maupin (the pianist is Dave Burrell from the aforementioned Tauhid).

Both Revisited albums have been sensitively remastered. As many of us have learnt to our cost, a remaster may not always be an improvement on the original edition. Rudy Van Gelder's digital-age remasters of his work for Prestige and Blue Note demonstrate the extent to which a gifted engineer can enhance audio quality. Peter Pfister's ezz-thetics remasters are of the same order of efficacy. The Revisited series is solid gold; avant-garde treasures from the 1960s are in safe hands.

Track Listing

La Sorella; Fortunato; Why Not; Homecoming; Similar Limits; Sound Structure; Improvisation; QBIC; Porto Novo.

Personnel

Marion Brown
saxophone, alto
Sirone
bass, acoustic
Maarten Altena
bass, acoustic
Additional Instrumentation

Marion Brown: alto saxophone; Stanley Cowell: piano (1-4); Norris “Sirone” Jones: double bass (1-4); Maarten Van Regteren Altena: double bass (5-9); Rashied Ali: drums (1-4); Han Bennink: drums (5-9).

Album information

Title: Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Ezz-thetics

Comments

Tags


For the Love of 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 create 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.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

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