GEORGE ADAMS — Sound Suggestions (review)

GEORGE ADAMS — Sound Suggestions album cover Album · 1979 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
snobb
American tenor George Adams is best known from his long-lasting collaboration with pianist Don Pullen (they co-founded and ran successful band for years). Still he has released some albums under own name, many of them are of same great quality.

Jumped on forefront of jazz scene in early 70s playing in Charles Mingus band, Adams debuted as leader with two obscure avant-garde jazz albums on tiny and short-lived Italian Horo label. "Sound Suggestions", his third album as leader, comes as surprise - it's released on respectable German ECM label, and the band is all-stars. Sextet, containing bassist Dave Holland and drummer John DeJohnette among others,plays five members' originals - tightly composed memorable songs stylistically fluctuating between post-bop and European avant-garde jazz.

"Baba', album's opener,its longest track and is written by Anglo-Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and from very first seconds sounds like the melody you know for years. "Imani's Dance", Adams composition, continues "Baba" in natural way almost imperceptibly transfers to more muscular and groovy but still very soulful song. Adams, in ECM fashion, on this album plays less explosively than on many his previously and later works. Still, as for label's standard, album's music is very groovy, warm and ... American sounding. Perfectly recorded and mixed, "Sound Suggestions" are quite different from sterile groove-less and often emotionless ECM sound which has been already formed at the time of album's release.

Side B contains three shorter compositions. German musician Heinz Sauer (band's second tenor) composition "Stay Informed" is freer and more knotty than first two (completing side A), Adams even gets a chance for some harsher solos. Adams' "Got Somethin' Good For You" is up-tempo blues-based song with his own vocals on it.

"A Spire", Kenny Wheeler album's closer is the only ballad here and it radiates light melancholy. A great tasteful collection of beautiful music of miscellaneous origin, accessible but enough progressive for being attractive for listeners who avoid too conservative mainstream jazz. Not really typical ECM-style release (ok, they were more adventurous back in 70s), "Sound Suggestions" stays Adams only album on this label. Reissued on CD in 1994 it is quite accessible to find and can be really recommended as excellent evidence of creative jazz era. This music sounds modern even today.

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js wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Thanks, corrected.
Steve Wyzard wrote:
more than 2 years ago
The late Kenny Wheeler was a trumpeter/flugelhornist, not a drummer.

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