Last Thursday, I was late to meet Amanda Milius and a few other friends on a yacht up in Palm Beach. I was running late, and didn’t want to miss the boat. As I edged out from between cars in the miserable South Florida traffic on I-95, the express lanes opened up. I thought of Elvin Jones Live at the Lighthouse, and cranked it up real loud. The ecstatic, passionate music was the perfect accompaniment.
In 1972, former John Coltrane drummer was signed to Blue Note Records. On the occasion of his 45th birthday, he recorded his gig at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA—and two LPs were subsequently released, complete with “Happy Birthday” dedication.
Jones’ band at that point was pure, molten fire. Steve Grossman and David Liebman were two young, white, Jewish saxophone players who, like their idol, John Coltrane, doubled on soprano and tenor. Their playing at the time was fascinating, as it combined Coltrane’s sheets-of-sound and his early free playing with more conventional rhythmic forms. The result—especially when both are playing simulataniously—is absolutely hypnotic. Jones and bassist Gene Perla made up the rest of the piano-less quartet, and their groove is just massive. It’s the special ingredient that makes the music more accessible.
“Fancy Free” is a modal tune from Donald Byrd, and the title of one of his then-current Blue Note records which found him at the musical height of his long career. (More on Byrd’s unique and brilliant take on fusion in a forthcoming post.) “Save the Children, Save the Children” doesn’t really sound anything like its title; it’s a straight ahead jazz swinger that’s pretty perfect.
Originally published at Late Republic Nonsense.