Masterful
5
By cscottrun4it
I don't know why I bought this album. ...back in 1983, that is. I was in high school and I was just getting to know jazz, hanging out at a local record store. I knew Jaco Pastorius as the bass player from Weather report. I knew I liked him, and so, I guess I bought the album for that reason, unheard.
Then wow! Now, all most 30 years later, wow! (Over the course of those 30 years, I would buy the album three more times: once after I wore the grooves off the thing; once when I paid almost $50 for it at Evil Clown Records in Chicago 'cause I had to have it on CD, and now, when, finally, the whole thing became available.) At the time in 1983, I had no idea who any of the cats were on this album, but they were to become many of my favorite musicians across the landscape of modern hard bop, straight ahead jazz, and fussion. Don Alias, Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, Toots Thielemans, Jon Faddis, all have brought me many hours of happiness. Again, however, just listing the album's amazing personnel under sells it.
What is truly amazing here is that this album crosses so many lines. There is a big band backing up Pastorius, who is always out front. There is Randy Brecker playing electric trumpet. There is Jon Faddis blowing shout lines over the top of the band and throwing down some amazing solo work along the way. On top of it all, Toots and Othello Molineaux, on steel drums, make this a set not to forget.
I'm not even sure how I would classify the music's genre. It's like nothing I've heard before or since. There are times where the whole thing is a very big, big band arrangement, other times a huge experimental improvisation, and then times where the whole thing feels like a wonderful send up. All I can say for sure is, you gotta check this one out! I keep doing it, almost 30 years later.
