redbeansandrice
Clifford Jordan – Drink Plenty Water
Hatten wir das schon? Ein verlorenes Album von 1974, wahnsinniges Lineup mit Bill Hardman, Charlie Rouse (bcl), Stanley Cowell, Sam Jones, Bill Lee, Billy Higgins und einem Chor… Einordnen würd ich das ganze irgendwo zwischen Jordans Leadbelly Album und den Eddie Gale Blue Notes, eine Spur gefälliger als letztere vielleicht… auch an Moshi musst ich denken .. Offensichtlich muss man sich das anhören, auch wenn es nicht perfekt ist. Hier steht mehr.
Although vocals were a rare feature of his recordings, stretching back to These Are My Roots and through Remembering Me-Me, no previous Clifford Jordan album has foregrounded vocals – and poetry – like Drink Plenty Water. Recorded in 1974 to be released on Strata-East, the album instead got shelved for nearly a half-century before Jordan’s wife Sandy unearthed it. Remastering 16-track recordings from the mid-1970s is a daunting task, as suitable playback machines are getting harder to find, let alone engineers who can maximize the ‘70s vibe like Malcolm Addey. Instead of a steroidal digital sound, Drink Plenty Water has a warm period sound that matches the spirit of the music.
Leading with the rousing “The Highest Mountain,” Jordan immediately strikes a balance between the vocals and a stellar mid-sized band, comprised mostly of Strata-East stalwarts. Bill Hardman, Dick Griffin and Charlie Rouse (on bass clarinet) round out the front line, expertly propelled by Billy Higgins, Stanley Cowell, and either Sam Jones or Bill Lee, who wrote the full-bodied charts. While five of the seven tracks clock in under four minutes, there is plenty of Jordan’s powerful tenor, as well as a welcomed Griffin solo. The songs featuring Jordan’s then 15-year-old daughter Donna Jordan Harris and a trio of female singers are endearingly buoyant, while the two tracks featuring texts performed by David Smyrl radiate with wisdom gained through hard times, particularly the title composition, the telling-it-like-it-is by a lifer to a short-timer.
Drink Plenty Water is heartily recommended. It is a vibrant echo from a now distant time.
–Bill Shoemaker
von hier:
https://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD83/PoD83MoreMoments3.html
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