Bobby Hutcherson, vibes – Head On – Blue Note 17464 ****:
(with Oscar Brashear – trumpet, Flugelhorn; Harold Land – tenor sax, flute; Bobby Hutcherson – vibes, marimba; Todd Cochran – piano; William Henderson – elec. piano; many other players)
This disc is part of the Connoisseur CD series Limited Editions, but is from older masters than most of them. Bobby Hutcherson has had a career of nearly 50 years as an important and often adventurous vibraphone player, and these seven tracks are sourced from a 1971 Los Angeles session, with the last three tracks never having seen the light of day previously.
The material here is more avant than Hutcherson’s usual forays into more of a pop jazz vein. Five of the tracks are original compositions by a San Francisco-based composer, arranger and pianist, Todd Cochran. This was at the time of Third Stream and similar music – a fusion of classical and jazz – of which the Miles Davis/Gil Evans Sketches of Spain is probably the best example. Cochran came from a classical background, and Hutcherson liked to explore the greater richness of larger ensembles.
At The Source is the opening track – a suite in three movements that begins with a sort of shapeless sound world not unlike Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Each movement is like a little tone poem, with Hutcherson’s vibes leading the ensemble. The first of the two originals by Hutcherson is Mtume, a tribute to a percussionist/keyboard player, which has Bobby playing on both vibes and marimba. The first of the added tracks is a 15-minute tone painting, Togo Land, with great solos not only from Hutcherson but also Harold Land and Cochran. Bobby’s own Hey Herold – dedicated to Land – closes out the CD and is even lengthier. It’s an electric jazz fusion epic featuring a mix of the electric piano and electric bass, with commentary by Hutcherson’s vibes.
TrackList:
At the Source, Many Thousands Gone, Mtume, Clockwork of the Spirits, Togo Land, Jonathan, Hey Harold.
– John Henry
