DON ELLIS — Live in 3 2/3/4 Time (review)

DON ELLIS — Live in 3 2/3/4 Time album cover

Live album · 1966 · Progressive Big Band

4/5 · 2024-08-22
FunkFreak75

Due to the popular response of Don's performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September of 1966, a record album was quickly prepared for release: 'Live' At Monterey ! This album contained three recordings from September 18th's historic performance with one track ("Concerto for Trumpet" [11:50]) from a live performance that occurred a month later at the Pacific Jazz Festival (10/8/66). The Don Ellis phenomenon was so rabid (with sightings of "Where Is Don Ellis?" bumper stickers rising across the country), and the sales of the first album so encouraging, that Liberty Records was quick to try to assemble a second live recording in order to try to take advantage of the wave of Monterey/Don Ellis buzz. This album, Live in 3 2/3 / 4 Time, was prepared from more recordings from the live performance at Pacific Jazz Festival as well as three songs from a live performance on March 27 of the following year (1967). (The list of songs extracted from this performance at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Los Angeles would grow to number eight with the release of an expanded CD version in 2000.) As usual, the highly-charged, amazingly-synchronized and -harmonized arrangements (only two of which are original Don Ellis compositions--though one song, "Thetis," comes from Don's long-time collaborator and friend, Hank Levy) are a marvel to listen to and, I think you'll find, quite often stir one's core enough to force you to get out of your seat and dance!

Original Liberty/Pacific Records vinyl release in 1967:

A1. "Orientation" (11:20) more fun in 7/8 + 9/8 starting out, of course, with the rhythmatists: congas and percussion, bass, drums, and piano. When the horns start joining in it is with what seems to be an unusually reckless/wild abandon, but they all come together at about 1:45 for an Ira Schulman sax solo with accents coming from multiple banks of horns, high and low. Awesome! And SO danceable! A little lull at 3:50 as the sax finishes up before solo time is given to conga player Chino Valdes for about a minute. Horn swell leads into a cool polymetric multi-sax solo section before another horn swell at 6:05 opens the door for the band leader to take his solo. Oddly enough Don's trumpet may be the worst recorded instrument in the orchestra. Despite this fact his solo keeps climbing the mountain, being assisted by some seriously swelling horns and rhythm section play (which is greeted with some appropriately appreciative audience response at 8:15). The next big swell occurs in the middle of the tenth minute and it is drum-led, which is pretty cool. The big finish features multiple banks of horns going their own way, though not quite as or independently as that wild opening. Awesome! (19/20)

A2. "Angel Eyes" (5:41) a slow, pensive, and plodding "Porgy and Bess"-like old-style R&B crooner with Don's piano- and horn-supported trumpet carrying the melody in place of the human voice as it would have been sung in 1946 when Earl Brent and Matt Dennis first penned it. Nice melodies. (8.875/10)

A3. "Freedom Jazz Dance" (5:54) Eddie Harris' song performed in "seven," featuring pianist Dave Mackay and saxello player Tom Scott. Pretty cool--especially when Mackay goes low onto his keyboard. The "saxello" is a weird sounding sax that sounds like it comes straight from the streets of New Orleans (I think it's a flange-wah effect applied to the channel mic-ing Tom's tenor sax). The percussion and rhythm section are, of course, amazing, adding layer upon layer and volume and power the further the song progresses. Awesome! (9/10)

B1. "Barnum's Revenge" (4:36) one of Don's sax players, Ruben Leon, arranged this 3 2 2 time song from "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?" Very interesting but it does play out more like a whole-band teaching exercise than an audience-targeted crowd pleaser--at least until Don and the drummers and trombonists get their chances to embellish. (8.75/10)

B2. "Upstart" (9:02) this is the song from the album: the one in 3 2/3 / 4 time--the second original composition on the album. The moderately paced foundation has a kind of near-Latin (say, Southern California) feel to it over which Don takes the first solo followed by a bridge of stellar, purposely-staggered horn banking before a clarinet solo by Ira Schulman takes the next spotlight. Following the percussionists and rhythm section members is easy to do and quite fun for the challenge of trying to parse out the odd time signature. Bird-like discordant clarinets pepper the upper end during the next extended bridge while the band and horn banks plod beneath--even getting the end. (17.5/20)

B3. "Thetis" (8:27) composed and arranged by Don's long-time friend and associate, Hank Levy, this one starts out like a slow-moving train before finally taking off and featuring rondo-like layers of multi-instrumental sections circling over and around one another. In the third minute everybody congeals into a single direction of very spicy Caribbean-rhythmed music over which Ruben Leon's soprano sax solos. The next is Don's trumpet and then Dave Mackay's piano. The solos are great--these are very professional performers, but it's as if one cannot help but be drawn to the rhythmatists--which, accordingly, get their own solo time in the seventh minute. (17.5/20)

Total time: 44:00

Track listing for the 2000 CD release:

1. Orientation 2. Angel Eyes (Denni s, Brent / arr. Don Ellis) 3. Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris / arr. Don Ellis) 4. Barnum's Revenge (Ruben Leon / arr. Ruben Leon) 5. Upstart 6. Thetis (Hank Levy / arr. Hank Levy) 7. Bossa Nueva Nova (Hank Levy / arr. Hank Levy) 8. Opus Five (Howlett Smith / arr. Howlett Smith) 9. Seven Up (Howlett Smith / arr. Joe Roccisano) 10. Johnny One-Note (Jaki Byard / arr. Jaki Byard) 11. Freedom Jazz Dance (alternate) (Eddie Harris / arr. Don Ellis)

I am usually loathe to listen to much less review live album recordings but Don Ellis has become quite another matter: his song introductions, quick quirky sense of humor, and educational approach are so darn charming and disarming!

B+/4.5 stars; If you are at all interested in sharing in the experience of those first waves of the truly-groundbreaking Don Ellis Orchestra experience, then I highly recommend finding this album to listen to! Plus, these songs are not available on other albums and are here for your entertainment and amazement.

P.S. If you get the chance to listen to the CD release of this album, do so: the additional five songs from the March 27, 1967 performance at Shelly's Manne-Hole in L.A. are every bit as worthy of hearing as the original six songs on the 1967 vinyl release.