An eMusic Guide to New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest
When it comes to programming, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival gets to have its cake and eat it too. The lineup is distinctively reflective of the region's time-honored musical traditions, but because so many styles are bound up in that history — jazz, blues, funk, soul, gospel and rock, not to mention sub-genres like brass bands, zydeco and feathered Mardi Gras Indian hoe-downs — the fest manages to be both redolent of its geography and incredibly diverse.
Throughout the years, the Jazz and Heritage Festival has its perennials — Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Dr. John, the Radiators and a dozen others — as well as its flavor seasonings, like Lupe Fiasco, Robert Plant, James Johnson, Red Baraat and Wilco in 2011.
As the cliché goes, you can't tell the players without a scorecard. What follows is a cheat sheet of sorts — one person's opinion of 35 acts you shouldn't miss this year.
FRIDAY, APRIL 29
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When & Where: 5:30-7 p.m., Gentilly Stage Who They're Like: They began as DIY Americana, a pair of siblings swapping folk tunes with like-minded musicians in Greenville, North Carolina, where bluegrass and Piedmont pickin' music is never far away. They've added the SoCal polish of early Neil Young and Warren Zevon to that rustic root. Why They Matter:: Great songs and a palpable joy in performing go a long way for any band, traits the Avetts share with the rowdier Hold Steady. The songs have a pleasant knack for being both epic and humble, and the group mostly sings them with their hearts out and their smiles on.
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When & Where: 4:30-5:20 p.m., Jazz & Heritage Stage Who They're Like: When Dizzy Gillespie added Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo to his ensemble, it galvanized his bebop trumpet riffs and paved the way for Latin jazz. Los Hombres adds Creole sauce to that Afro-Cuban mix, and the feisty trumpet of Irwin Mayfield, atop the musical beats of Bill Summers, deploy a similar dynamic. Why They Matter: They seem equally comfortable playing dense, tricky, contrapuntal songs and spare, loose-limbed grooves. And their mixture of Afro-Cuban rhythms and assorted Caribbean and Creole styles within the improvised and dynamic context of jazz is more distinctive than one might suppose. Their gigs have become less frequent over the years, so each reunion is something to savor.
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When & Where: 5:35-6:35 p.m., Gospel Tent Who They're Like: A mix of the better mid-20th century traditional gospel quartets (Dixie Hummingbirds, the Swan Silvertones) with the choreography and panache of the Temptations Why They Matter:: Because 75-year-old lead vocalist Joe Ligon can still flush the devil forth and kill him with sweat-soaked testimony. Because the Mighty Clouds the first gospel group on Soul Train, unafraid to filch r&b tropes while keeping their eyes on the divine prize embrace a faith impervious to time while moving and singing in a manner that remains forever young.
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When & Where: 3:25-4:50 p.m., Gentilly Stage Who They're Like: Like the Avett Brothers, in their penchant for refracting gothic sentiment and dynamic mood shifts through a folk prism. By turns pub-rocking and Renaissance Fair-ish, their Anglo-inflected Americana splits the difference between Brinsley Schwartz and Fairport Convention. Why They Matter: Because bands that are both earnest and clever open themselves up to ridicule in this age of irony, as they skirt the fringes of cheap sentiment and claptrap self-pity. But this quartet knows how to alter their textures, and between affecting harmonies and Marcus Mumford's resonant lead-singing, they have the vocal chops to suspend your skepticism.
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When & Where: 5:25-6:55 p.m., Acura Stage Who He's Like: With a magnetic star at the epicenter of a communal vibe, replete with sweet, urgent vocal harmonies and ragged but righteous interplay, Plant and Band of Joy are most reminiscent of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue from the mid '70s. Why He Matters: Stumbling upon a magical second act for his career via his "Raising Sand" Grammy-winner with Alison Krauss has given Plant the freedom to indulge his taste and experiment with his muse. This third act, with vocalist Patty Griffin and an attentive ensemble who appreciates the mixture of Low covers, public domain standards and obscure folk songs as much as Plant himself, is having a blast and it's contagious.
SATURDAY, APRIL 30
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When & Where: 3:05-4:05 p.m., Acura Stage, and Friday, May 6, 5:40-6:40 p.m. (Tribute to Mahalia Jackson), Gospel Tent Who She's Like: It's appropriate that Irma will be paying tribute to the centennial of Mahalia Jackson's birthday during the Fest, because she has the lower-register resonance and the soul-gospel purview to do Mahalia justice. Less of a gruff belter than she was in her early years, her smoother style is more akin to Nancy Wilson now. Why She Matters: The sassy, gruff and tear-jerking regional hits she put together with producer Allen Toussaint in the '60s and '70s earned her the official title of Soul Queen of New Orleans. As her voice and temperament mellowed with age, the crown fits differently but just as well her matriarchal dignity through the disappointments and injustices of life help color the nuance and bring wisdom to the narratives.
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When & Where: 5:30-7 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent Who He's Like: In very different ways, Erroll Garner and Thelonious Monk are the two pianists who come closest to duplicating Jamal's gift for simultaneously relaxing the mind and alerting the intellect. Why He Matters: Jamal has a style that naturally engages your listening (hence the unfair criticism that he plays "cocktail jazz"), then rewards you with a profound artistry generally regarded as the province of more "difficult" musicians. He's full of surprises dynamic in mood and sound volume, variable in block chords and single-note phrasings, by turns austere and wry but not hard to follow. His longtime rhythm section knows him well, and has added a percussionist for extra spice.
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When & Where: 3:00-3:50 p.m., Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage Who They're Like: At heart and soul, the Pine Leaf Boys are revivalists of 2-step and own slight variants of traditional Cajun music, something they share with the Savoy-Michot Cajun Band, and, further back, Belton Richard's Musical Aces. Why They Matter:: This isn't some old-timey schtick the Boys are pulling. They are native to southwestern Louisiana, are fluent in both French and English, have been playing multiple instruments since they were even younger than the kids they are now, and, most importantly, play like they live and breathe the music and the culture, from their obscure cover songs and choice dance hall tunes to the purity of their moxie as they intoxicate dancers with the terse lilt of their accordion and strings while pining for the pines of Arcadia back north.
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When & Where: 4:20-5:30 p.m., Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage Who He's Like: Somewhere between the conservative gold standard of bluegrass titan Bill Monroe and the wooly "dawg" music of David Grisman Why He Matters: Back in the '80s, Skaggs injected the homespun integrity of bluegrass back into the insipid commercialization of Nashville country and shook it back to relevance. With his rich tenor vocals and wide-ranging curiosity, he's never bothered making distinctions between bluegrass, country, gospel and rock, tossing them together for a sweet-pickin', harmonizing olio.
SUNDAY, MAY 1
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When & Where: 3:55-4:45 p.m., Blues Tent, and Sunday, May 8, 5:55-6:55 p.m., Gospel Tent Who He's Like: Screamin' Jay Hawkins, or Little Richard with a trombone Why He Matters: Playing himself on the HBO series "Treme" has further emboldened Andrews' outsized charisma, turning his live show into a rafters-rattling (or, on outdoor gigs, cloud dispersing) extravaganza; a blend of gospel proselytizing, crowd surfing, brass-band wailing and funky soul animation.
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When & Where: 1:40-2:40 p.m., Acura Stage Who They're Like: Their brilliant idea was taking the street music of New Orleans funeral parades inside to the stage, careful not to let more polished horn voicings and a taste for jazz derail the celebratory gusto. The result was the onset of a contemporary brass band subgenre. Why They Matter:: After their initial concept began to grow stale, the DDBB pulled out of their slump with thematic conceits that refreshened their act. "Funeral for a Friend" was indeed a back-to-the-roots brass ceremony for a recently deceased loved one, followed by their reworking of Marvin Gaye's classic "What's Goin' On," framed by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. They remain on the cutting edge of a style they popularized and molded; they're the gold standard for brass bands.
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When & Where: 5-7 p.m., Acura Stage Who He's Like: Most recently, he's become a classic singer-songwriter; in the ballpark if not quite on the level of Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash Why He Matters: There has always been a pugnacious individuality in the way Mellencamp operates; it's his signature vice and virtue. He still smoked (and may continue to) years after suffering a heart attack. He is an accomplished painter, and a steadfast defender (and active example) of the rural life. He refused to record his new, bare-bones album in stereo, opting instead for some of music history's more famous locations. In short, he's an American original, aging with a surprising amount of grace.
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When & Where: 5:30-6:55 p.m., Congo Square Stage Who They're Like: The Roots are a more magnificent Stetsasonic, the only other bona fide band in hip-hop history. Led by ?uestlove on drums, they blend the funky soul of Stax with the professional versatility of the Tonight Show Band. Why They Matter:: A political slant that is passionate, wry and topically informed. An encyclopedic command of musical genres, while retaining the essence of hip-hop. ?uestlove is a monster timekeeper, Black Thought an ace battle rapper and Legend, a better-than-fine r&b singer; somehow, it fits like a glove.
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When & Where: 5:55-7 p.m., Jazz & Heritage Stage Who They're Like: Like Balkan Beat Box, or the Dirty Dozen or Rebirth Brass Band gone Bollywood and bonkers via a sinuous funk throwdown Why They Matter:: The illusion of chaos is a potent elixir that frees inhibitions. The tumult of Red Baraat's so-called "dhol 'n' brass" is not totally chaotic, of course. There is a groove, or grooves, sashaying about, coming from multiple tones and textures soprano saxes, sousaphones, cheerleading chants, hand percussion and martial beats. It's like inviting the circus to your house-warming party.
THURSDAY, MAY 5
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When & Where: 4:10-5:10 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent Who They're Like: Delfeayo's Uptown Orchestra has the snappy swing and crackling blues of Count Basie's bands mixed with the second line rhythms of the Crescent City in a similar but looser manner to Irwin Mayfield's New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Why They Matter:: The most underrated of the Marsalis clan, Delfeayo is enlightening as a trombonist, arranger, producer and composer. Although known for his scholarly mien, he founded the Uptown Orchestra in 2008 to ensure that school students know their jazz history in the flesh, bones and brass of the moment as well as by the book. Esteemed vets like baritone saxophonist and Dirty Dozen Brass Band founder Roger Lewis mix with younger players for gigs that rely more on improvisation than set charts.
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When & Where: 2:05-3:05 p.m., Congo Square Stage Who He's Like: Inspired by Fats Domino drummer Smokey Johnson, "Ziggy" pretty much invented second-line funk timekeeping as the longtime drummer for the Meters, and has beats that have been sampled on dozens of hip-hop tracks Why He Matters: He syncopates with an irresistible flair, is Keith Richards's drummer of choice and set the rhythmic template that separates New Orleans funk from those in Memphis, Detroit or Dayton, Ohio.
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When & Where: 2:40-3:40 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent Who He's Like: Miles Davis is the unmistakable influence, less for Scott's long, sustaining trumpet bleats (others do it more slavishly) than for his desire to thoroughly integrate modern styles like rock and hip hop in a manner that aggravates jazz purists, while having the intuition, vision and touch of arrogance to know exactly what he wants. Why He Matters: From the beginning, Scott's records have successfully sought to be greater than the sum of their individual songs. He's blown against the ravages and insensitivities surrounding Katrina, doesn't shy away from musical or political controversy and seems inclined to take Miles's In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew period of transition to another level.
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When & Where: 1:40-2:55 p.m., Acura Stage Who She's Like: Roseanne Cash, John Hiatt, Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo Why She Matters: Because great songwriters create short stories, and in the taut but evocative way she sketches her characters and sets a scene, Lucinda Williams is akin to Raymond Carver. She also understands that tough and tender are not antonyms but ends of a continuum that even the healthiest among us traverse like a yo-yo.
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When & Where: 5:30-7 p.m., Congo Square Stage Who They're Like: Parker and Ellis are responsible for the punishing, precise horn arrangements featured on the best work by James Brown and Parker went on to work with George Clinton in P-Funk and with Bootsy's Rubber Band. Together, they are a mother lode of funk. Why They Matter:: Neither one of these saxophonists rests on their laurels or relies on their pedigree. Parker's last record was an eye-opening double-disc tribute to Ray Charles, right down to Maceo's spot-on rendition of Brother Ray's vocals. And along with his extensive relationship with vocalist Van Morrison, Ellis helped put together the "Still Black, Still Proud" tour a few years back that had African musicians such as Cheikh Lo and Vieux Farka Toure playing "It's A Man's World" and "Hot Pants." That's a pair of papas with almost-brand-new bags.
FRIDAY, MAY 6
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When & Where: 5:40-7 p.m., Blues Tent Who He's Like: Fashioning his style from a potpourri of soulful blues vocalists, Allman is equally adept at gruff shouting ("Whipping Post") and world-weary crooning ("Midnight Rider"). Why He Matters: Besieged by hepatitis and decades of hard living, his latest record, "Low Country Blues," pays tribute to many of the (mostly obscure) blues artists who have influenced him and presents a concise, weather-beaten snapshot of who and what he is today: A grizzled survivor with a head full of hard-earned wisdom and a transplanted liver that symbolizes the cautionary tales and second chances in his songs.
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When & Where: 2:35-3:35 p.m., Congo Square Stage Who He Sounds Like: Ruffins's idol is Louie Armstrong, and while, like the rest of the planet, he lacks the chops and imagination to match Satchmo's penultimate swagger, he's charismatic enough on trumpet and vocals to make the hoariest pop song and the sharpest jazz arrangement meld into the same party. Why He Matters: Ruffins, who also founded the Rebirth Brass Band, is a crowd-pleaser par excellence, from the barbecue he offers up at gigs (before Katrina, he had his own barbecue joint) to his winning renditions of songs as diverse as Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" to Sly Stone's "If You Want Me To Stay." He has quickly become a perennially hot attraction at the Festival.
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When & Where: 5:35-6:55 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent Who They're Like: Like the incomparable composer and bassist Charles Mingus, of course, whose big band charts have the magnificent sweep of Ellington but with more emphasis on gutbucket blues, picante counterpoint, and gorgeous, chromatic horn voicings. Why They Matter:: Because the genius of Mingus is ratified and given its full measure by the star-studded personnel who make this the best large ensemble in jazz today. Because the top-drawer talent rotates just enough, and Mingus's catalogue is vast enough, that the proceedings never get too predictable. Mingus would approve.
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When & Where: 5:45-7 p.m., Congo Square Stage Who He's Like: Lupe Fiasco belongs with Kanye West, Nas and Jay-Z as artists who appeal to both old-school rap fans and radio-ready pop fans. Like Kanye, he can be glib and giddy; like Nas and Jigga, he can break off a few couplets that will mix the personal, political and cultural in a way that feeds your heart and your head. Why He Matters: Because he's a self-conscious rapper who'd just as soon roller skate as read Malcolm X — a sharp dude, but down-to-earth, too. For all the controversy over the commercialization of Lasers, (which Lupe himself has partially disowned) there are a handful of tracks that rival the best of Food and Liquor and The Cool. And he'll kill with that stuff on the Congo Square Stage.
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When & Where: 3:50-5:05 p.m., Gentilly Stage Who He Sounds Like: Like the latest Nashville cowboy hero riding over the ridgeline. Johnson is an archetype, but hardly a clich. As outlaws go — pot references aside — he seems more Merle Haggard than Willie Nelson, and with the program still a little skewed in his genre conservatism, like George Straight. Bottom line, he's a country singer and occasional songwriter whose integrity allows him to cross over to a non-country audience. Why He Matters: Johnson is as forthright as they come in his artistry, but still can't be pigeonholed. He embraces a good country song but not the double-entendre malarkey — class resentments are a constant subtext not because he wants that emphasized, but because he lives in America, circa 2011. He's a shaggy dude from Alabama who will give you your C&W fix if that's all you're after. But there's more underneath.
SATURDAY, MAY 7
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When & Where: 5:50-7 p.m., Gospel Tent Who's He Like: Actually nobody really sounds like Aaron Neville, an enormous, barrel-chested man with a voice that gracefully flutters like a bird in song and in flight. From the moment his first indelible hit, "Tell It Like It Is," was unleashed on the public nearly 50 years ago, his coo and falsetto haven't changed. Why He Matters: Neville is one of those "he could sing the phone book" vocalists, but this current swing toward gospel spirituals, reinforced at his Festival gig, is consonant with his angelic, ethereal tone, and the sense that he's a tortured soul trying to get it right with his maker by being as emotionally honest and serene as possible. Expect multiple goosebump moments.
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What's the point of being the Last Gang in Town if you can't run a con game and rob old people? The Strokes — street kings of New York City's downtown rock scene since their 2001 platinum debut — have pulled a classic bait-and-switch on multiple levels, teasing the public with a return-to-Is This It single ("Under Cover of Darkness") and then Cars-jacking a guy who's now in his 60s (Ric Ocasek). Some of the weight of expectation borne by the Strokes' five-years-in-the-making fourth album belongs to Sofia Coppola; her soundtrack to Somewhere blazed the Strokes b-side "I'll Try Anything Once" — actually a demo version of 2006's "You Only Live Once" — into cinematic splendor. The song is feral and romantic, uncomfortably close and portraying frontman Julian Casablancas at his most human and very best, turning the act of being bored into existentialist art. There is nothing like it on Angles.
more »But there is "Under Cover of Darkness," a bejangled guitar-hook concession to the old, familiar Strokes sound that is, upon closer inspection, one of the better self-parodies in rock history. At various points during the song, Casablancas sings the following lines: "It's a nightmare." "I just won't be a puppet on a string." "I've been out around this town, everybody's singing the same song for 10 years." At some point, it's not just a reflection of the love/hate relationship the Strokes have with fans and critics — it's cake shoved in your face. Don't you like cake? The choppy riffs and fills that reinvented guitar rock a decade ago makes "Under Cover of Darkness" one of the top five Strokes songs of all-time, but it's also a rare moment of transparency for the famously clandestine Casablancas.
Much of Angles harks back to that other time Casablancas revealed himself: Two years ago, on his solo album Phrazes For The Young, he guiltily admitted of his stepping stones to fame, "I slapped them as I thanked them." Even though the music of Angles was entirely written by the four non-singing Strokes, it has the same new-wave sheen of Casablancas' Phrazes. Opener "Machu Picchu," penned by guitarist Nick Valensi, telegraphs the agenda of retro-futurist pop with an oddly Caribbean-moonbounce feel. Angles doesn't sit still long enough to gel, but its new directions are fascinating, particularly on standout tracks "Two Kinds of Happiness" (in which Casablancas adopts Ocasek's clipped vocal rhythm) and "Taken For A Fool" (which turns on a dime to produce a singalong chorus). "Gratisfaction" takes a rollicking Thin Lizzy approach and lands it with the kind of sticky guitars and backbeat that Sloan claimed as its province. The only real drawback to this new songwriting democracy is that we don't know whom to blame for "You're So Right," a grating Radiohead redux. Scrutiny has been this band's cross to bear for a decade, but the bottom line on Angles is fairly easy to draw: An uneven effort with four or five essential songs, better by half than Casablancas' solo turn, and just left-field enough to be someone's favorite dark-horse Strokes album.
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The albums are coming more slowly for Jesse Winchester as he enters into the home stretch of his impressive and influential songwriting career. This arrives nearly a decade after his previous studio collection, and that one was 11 years in the making. In fact, this is only Winchester's fourth album since 1981. Additionally, a few of these tunes have been hanging around for a while, with the exquisite "I'm Gonna Miss You Girl" already a hit for Michael Martin Murphey and "O What a Thrill" covered by the Mavericks back in 1994. Add three more covers to the dozen-song set and it seems like Winchester has all but retired from the profession. Regardless, this is a low-key gem as the singer calls on Jerry Douglas for assistance, once again, to construct songs that blur the lines between classic American pop, folk, bluegrass, R&B, country, and the singer/songwriter fare Winchester is best known for. These arrangements and tunes recall the work of Arthur Alexander in their easy-flowing melancholy and moving simplicity. The connection to smooth '60s soul is cemented by Winchester's shimmering version of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me," but any of his newly penned songs could have sprung from another era. The predominantly unplugged and stripped-down accompaniment lets Winchester's sympathetic tenor voice lead the way as he winds through the Cajun-styled balladry of "Eulalie" and the classic pop of "Lonely for a While," the latter sounding as if it could have come from the Rudy Vallée songbook but is a new Winchester composition. He brings hometown Memphis grease to the sexually charged yet charming "Wear Me Out," helped immensely by Douglas' slinky lap steel work. The music is beautifully crafted yet never seems overly calculated, as Winchester and his band blend together as if they have been playing this material for years. His output may be far more sporadic than in the '70s, but the sublime quality of his material and his obvious love of recording hasn't suffered for it.
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Look no further than the title to summarize this New Orleans veteran's music on his first studio set in nearly a decade. Bookending the album with the two-part "Shake Your Booty/Funky Thing" ensures that the proceedings start and end with the rump-shaking, horn-propelled R&B that, along with jazz, soul, and blues, makes Walter "Wolfman" Washington's music so much a part of his Crescent City home. He's never been particularly prolific, but after the long span between releases -- partially due to the effects and aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina -- the Wolf sounds electrified and inspired here. The second track, "I'm Back," tells that story against an urgent groove that keeps the party atmosphere while recounting the hurricane's devastation and his attempts to get the city and its people to return to a place that will never be the same. Wolf emits one of his patented howls on "Tweakin'," pushing the bumping rhythm into overdrive as the horns punctuate the choruses. His nimble guitar licks, somewhat similar to those of George Benson, offset the harder edge, bringing sensitivity and subtlety to the upbeat, get-down proceedings. Bluesy ballads "One Day from Being a Fool" and the low-key second line of "Crescent City Starlights" vary the mood while allowing Washington to explore his considerable vocal chops, which range from smooth to gritty. He swings like "Gatemouth" Brown on "Just Like That," a song from bassist Jack Cruz, who co-wrote four others with the guitarist. It's these tunes that make this arguably the finest entry in Washington's catalog. Each boasts hummable melodies and finger-snapping arrangements that play to the artist's strengths without overwhelming them. Wolfman (wearing his producer hat) and saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter (who also arranged the horns so integral to the sound) can take credit for much of this project's success by keeping the vibe taut yet raw enough to let the considerable soul shine through. The album doesn't break new ground, but shows Washington to be on top of his game with an invigorating set that will make you move your body with music that connects on every level. At this stage in his long career, that counts as a resounding success.
SUNDAY, MAY 8
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This double-disc reissue of the pair of mid-'70s albums by the mesmerizingly funky New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tribe is more like a threefer than a twofer. That's because the Wild Magnolias'first, self-titled album, from 1974, is abetted by a half-dozen bonus tracks that groove every bit as hard as the six songs that constitute the original album — and the original album is an all-time classic.
more »The tribe — not Native American but African-American, part of the Mardi Gras tradition of dressing up and battling with music and dance — was the first to hit the studio, and many of the songs are staples of the area, and when lead singers Theodore "Bo" Dollis and Joseph "Monk" Boudreaux dig into the chants of "Two-Way-Pak-E-Way" (also known as the N.O. standard "Hey Pocky a-Way") and "(Somebody Got) Soul, Soul, Soul," it's impossible to get out of their way, or want to. A cappella, this would be stirring stuff, but the real prize is hearing Dollis and Boudreaux and company ride the deep, friendly, unrelenting grooves laid down by keyboardist Willie Tee (his clavinet comping makes "Corey Died on the Battlefield"), guitarist Snooks Eaglin (check his soloing all over "Smoke My Peace Pipe") and drummer Larry Panna. Amazingly, the bonus track "Shoo Fly (Don't Bother Me)" might be the most hellacious groove on the package, taking off from a chant as old as the city itself (well, close enough) and building on itself for nine hypnotic minutes.
They Call Us Wild, the follow-up from 1975, doesn't quite reach the debut's peaks, but though the songs are shorter and less hooky-chanty it still bubbles plenty. When the Magnolias start in on the songs titled "We're Gonna Party" and "New Kinda Groove," they're not kidding — and you should join them.
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The cohesive band feel of The Radiators is emphasized on this well-produced major-label debut. The groups that influenced them (especially Little Feat and the Allman Brothers Band) are obvious -- but how many bands are good enough to suggest such comparisons?
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Sonny Rollins is featured in a variety of performances culled from his personal archives along with soundboard tapings by collector Carl Smith from concerts recorded between 1980 and his historic 50th anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall (which honored his first concert there in 1957). Rollins is in peak form on every selection, while this first compilation in what is likely to be an extensive CD series is a virtual highlight reel from over a quarter-century span of his career. He works his way through the theme of his blistering "Best Wishes" 35 times, never running short of ideas in his variations. The subtle take of "More Than You Know" cools things down a bit, showcasing longtime trombonist Clifton Anderson and guitarist Bobby Broom, followed by Rollins' explosive entrance on his powerful tenor. "Blossom" is a real find, a previously unrecorded original, heard here in a 1980 Swedish concert, an engaging piece with a strong Latin undercurrent. Rollins' revisit to "Tenor Madness" finds him throwing down the challenge to his musicians with his opening salvo, though all of them end up winners in this uptempo blues. The breezy calypso "Nice Lady" is followed by the compelling 2007 trio performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ballad "Some Enchanted Evening" (accompanied solely by bassist Christian McBride and drummer Roy Haynes), one of Rollins' most expressive performances on record. Every Sonny Rollins fan should consider this collection essential.
