Dear All About Jazz Readers,

If you're familiar with All About Jazz, you know that we've dedicated over two decades to supporting jazz as an art form, and more importantly, the creative musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made All About Jazz one of the most culturally important websites of its kind in the world reaching hundreds of thousands of readers every month. However, to expand our offerings and develop new means to foster jazz discovery we need your help.

You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky Google ads PLUS deliver exclusive content and provide access to future articles for a full year! This combination will not only improve your AAJ experience, it will allow us to continue to rigorously build on the great work we first started in 1995. Read on to view our project ideas...

Charles Tolliver: With Love

By JOEL ROBERTS
February 28, 2007
Sign in to view read count

slideshow

Charles Tolliver burst onto the scene in the '60s as a young trumpet player to be reckoned with, appearing on seminal Blue Note albums by the likes of Jackie McLean, Horace Silver and Andrew Hill. He later fronted the adventurous Music Inc. quartet and founded his own label, Strata East, with pianist Stanley Cowell, before more or less dropping off the jazz map.

But the 64-year-old Tolliver is back with a vengeance, and With Love is his first ever release as a leader for the label he contributed so much to four decades ago. And an auspicious debut it is, highlighting Tolliver's energetic trumpet work and innovative big band arrangements.

For the occasion, the Florida-born, New York City-raised Tolliver has assembled a truly all-star big band lineup, featuring a rhythm section with Cowell, a longtime associate, the young gun pianist Robert Glasper, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Victor Lewis—and a high-octane horn section including saxophonists Billy Harper, Craig Handy and Howard Johnson.

The set list is drawn primarily from older Tolliver compositions, but the sound is anything but dated. Pieces like "Mournin' Variations, "Suspicion and especially the hard-driving "Right Now, which McLean used as the title track for his landmark 1965 date, are heard in fresh, vigorously arranged new versions that toe the line between hard bop and the avant-garde. Also noteworthy is a winning arrangement of "Round Midnight that breathes new life into the Monk classic and features some of Tolliver's most impressive solo turns.

Here's hoping we hear more often from this underrated jazz titan and his impressive big band.

Track Listing: Rejoicin

Personnel: Charles Tolliver, David Guy, Chris Albert, Keyon Harrold, David Weiss, James Zollar, trumpets; Joe Fiedler, Clark Gayton, Stafford Hunter, Jason Jackson, trombones; Aaron Johnson, bass trombone, tuba; Todd Bashore, Jimmy Cozier, Craig Handy, Billy Harper, Bil Saxton, Howard Johnson, saxophones; Stanley Cowell, Robert Glasper, piano; Cecil McBee, bass; Victor Lewis, drums.

Title: With Love | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Album Reviews

Music Inc. by Marc Medwin
With Love by AAJ Italy Staff
With Love by Troy Collins
With Love by Joel Roberts
With Love by Jim Santella
With Love by J Hunter
Mosaic Select by George Harris
Mosaic Select: Charles Tolliver by Javier AQ Ortiz

Live Reviews

Charles Tolliver: The Real Deal

Date	Detail	Price
Mar14Thu	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00
Mar14Thu	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00
Mar15Fri	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00
Mar15Fri	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00
Mar16Sat	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00
Mar16Sat	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00
Mar17Sun	CHARLES TOLLIVER PAPER MAN Blue Note New York New York, NY	$20.00

Shop

Start your shopping here and you'll support All About Jazz in the process. Learn how.

Recent
Popular

Album Reviews

Buy Now

Swallows & Swans by Florian Ross
Buy Now

Trio Tapestry by Joe Lovano
Buy Now

East Of The Sun by Michael Kocour
Buy Now

Crosswinds by Christoph Irniger
Buy Now

Imaginary Friends by Ralph Alessi

Jazz In New York City

Events Guide | Venue Guide

Rhythm Kaleidoscope
Frank Macchia
Cacophony
Imaginary Friends
Ralph Alessi
ECM Records
Crosswinds
Christoph Irniger
Intakt Records
Picture in Black and White
Tessa Souter
Noa Records
Trio Tapestry
Joe Lovano
ECM Records

Jazz Story

I love jazz because it's an area of music where I am free to incorporate everything I've experienced in music, including multiple genres and global cultures, and creatively express myself as a composer and improviser
Read more

I love jazz because it's an area of music where I am free to incorporate everything I've experienced in music, including multiple genres and global cultures, and creatively express myself as a composer and improviser. I see jazz as a “big tent” music, and have tried to avoid worrying about what of style of music I play so much as do I express the various styles I've absorbed in a way that is honest and personal. As a guitarist, it means I cover a lot of different sounds, and as a composer it means I draw on a lot of different influences quite freely.
Show less

By Michael Occhipinti
Member since: 2008

Charles Tolliver: With Love

In Pictures

Live Reviews

Album Reviews

Megaphone

Album Reviews

Live Reviews

Swallows & Swans by Florian Ross

Trio Tapestry by Joe Lovano

East Of The Sun by Michael Kocour

Crosswinds by Christoph Irniger

Imaginary Friends by Ralph Alessi