On This Day: "If Jazz Is Dead..." - Creed Taylor Produced

A while back I received a question from a reader that asked – Listening to the “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” CTI Summer Jazz series and I’m curious who the man is at the beginning who says “If jazz is dead, this is the biggest funeral I have ever seen.”

I had meant to answer it straight away, since I knew it was jazz journalist, musician Leonard Feather, especially since his name appears on the credits, printed top left on the inside left of the gatefold sleeve. This was complicated only by the fact that the credits list two “M.C. ‘s” and include Rick Holmes as well. I knew I’d read a good review of the concert that included that opening…

The CTI All-Stars would bookend The 19th Annual Newport Festival. For the first time in New York City, the Newport Festival had finished just 10-days before this concert, the CTI All-stars had appeared at Madison Square Garden on June 30th just before the Newport Festival started. On July 30th, 1972 they appeared at almost sellout at the Hollywood Bowl

I have two reviews of the concert, the first from two days after the concert, published on August 1st edition of the LA Times, Part IV, Page 13. and the second by Eliot Tiegel in Billboard magazine, August 19th, 1972 edition, Page-12. At the time, Eliot Tiegel was the West Coast editor for Billboard.

Both articles are reproduced here in as close to possible as the original. Spelling and punctuation may have been corrected/changed. No other changes have been made except layout.

‘All-Stars’ Appear in Summer Jazz Festival

If you missed the CTI Summer Jazz Festival Sunday evening at the Hollywood Bowl, you can still catch much of the concert’s highlights on the existing albums of the respective performers.

For the second straight year, the event followed a specific format- Live performances of previously recorded material by a collection of jazz “all-stars” designed to provoke instant crowd empathy, and from the boom mikes in evidence, future albums.

Each featured artist played music from his own CTI album, accompanied by the other all-stars. In many Instances, as with Hubert Laws, Milt Jackson and Esther Phillips, the concert format was eminently successful. In the case of Airto Moreira and Jackie Cain-Roy Kral, the music floated like a cement bathing suit.

CTI /Kudu is an ambitious, independent jazz label that records some of the most well-known jazz figures — Milt Jackson, Hubert Laws, Freddie Hubbard, et al. With the exception of Hubbard, who recorded in the early 60s with Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. all of the CTI artists have been strongly identified with traditionally mainstream jazz. Jackson, for example, has been the featured vibraharpist with the Modern Jazz Quartet for the last 24 years, and was its original leader.

Pop Tunes were greatly in evidence, in many cases the musicians gave fairly straight forward renderings of them. Hubbard, for one, played intelligently on the Stylistics’ “People Make The World Go Round.” On his other selections, “First Light,” he was aided by having four-fifths of the rhythm section that played on his album at the Bowl with him.

Rhythmically, the most satisfying moments came during Joe Farrell’s mini-set, for it was the only opportunity that bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette, both Miles Davis alumni, were able to solo freely. Carter approached his solo as a drummer might — very smooth and percussive, with great finger dexterity and an elegant touch.

— LANCE WILLIAMS

CTI SUMMER
JAZZ CONCERT
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles

“If jazz is dead, this is the biggest funeral I’ve ever seen,” noted host Leonard Feather in opening CTI and Kudu Records concert package Sunday (30) before an almost full Bowl.

The excitement of blues, hard driving big band sounds and the delicacy of the human voice, all gelled together in a four-hour program from the basic 12-man line-up which energized the crowd and extolled the virtues of jazz techniques.

Alto saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. played disciplined, soaring flights on his fast workout for the “Theme From 2001.” Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard played melodically biting and stabbing lines on trumpet and flugelhorn. Flutist Hubert Laws and Bob James on electric piano set up a love affair on “Love Story” with just rhythm backing from George Benson on guitar, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Airto on assorted percussion instruments. Laws set “Love Story” in three movements which showcased his facile style in both soft and hard driving moods.

George Benson’s guitar lifted “California Dreamin’ ” into a light groove and Hank Crawford’s alto sax soulized “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” Crawford’s bluesy expertise, coupled with organist Johnny Hammond’s full throttled attack, generated unabashed sensual music.

Vocalist Esther Phillips was in fine form on a traditional woman’s blues, a strong together compilation of “Goin’ to Chicago,” “The Comeback,” “Cry Me a River” and “Stormy Monday” and a sensitive “God Bless the Child.” She earned the evening’s first standing ovation. Airto provided some off-beat sounds with African instruments blended with his own vocalizings. Jackie and Roy Kral made their first appearance in many years a happy one with two harmonically compelling numbers which gelled nicely with the big band.

Vibist Milt Jackson and tenor-man Stanley Turrentine grooved together on two blues, with Jackson’s beautiful ringing notes in full flight and Turrentine’s rich, bluesy drive a good companion. Arranger/electric pianist Eumir Deodato got the band rocking with an original tune which was intriguingly infectious. Joe Farrell’s soprano sax mixed in free form blowing with controlled melodic invention and gave bassist Ron Carter an opportunity for some healthy fingering and DeJohnette a chance for some flashing pyro techniques. DeJohnette was a master time keeper, exploding with rudiments which added to the overall Latin feeling of many of the charts.

Creed Taylor Produced