One of my friends, a very fine record dealer named Joe, likes to use the term "record nerd."
It's not meant as an insult. He refers to himself the same way. I am a record nerd. Record nerds love records. They love the covers, the dead wax, the promo stamps, and they really love those white label promos.
But no unipaks!
A unipak is that reverse gatefold cover where the opening for the record is on the inside, so you basically need a second person or a third arm to remove the album safely.
But I digress.
There are good record nerds and bad record nerds.
Good record nerds appreciate good music along with the resale value of a piece of wax. A bad record nerd will focus mainly on the cool factor, the monetary value, the scarcity and just about everything but the music in the grooves. He will dismiss, for example, all the amazing jazz that was released on Atlantic Records in the 60's that isn't Coltrane, Ornette or Mingus. Absolutely wonderful records by Herbie Mann, Yusef Lateef, the MJQ, Roland Kirk and Eddie Harris are deemed unworthy because you can't sell them for more than $5 or $10. These records are what another friend calls "cheap heat."
To quote my friend Tim, another dealer and good record nerd, "Eddie Harris is my favorite $5 artist."
Tim also once said, "Don't sleep on those Eddie Harris records!"
And so, after spinning "The In Sound" by Eddie Harris three times in two days, as well as "Mean Greens," I was inspired to tell you not to sleep on Eddie Harris.
These records were released in 1965 and 1966, respectively. The core group on "The In Sound," and half of "Mean Greens" is legendary. Ron Carter, Cedar Walton, Billy Higgins and Harris, with Ray Codrington on trumpet for a few tracks. "The In Sound" was Harris' first for the label, but all that followed through the 1969 classic with Les McCann, "Swiss Movement" are terrific.
The vibe on these records, really on much of Atlantic's 60's jazz catalogue, is key to making them stand the test of time.
There is a special kind of cool emanating from the grooves of "The In Sound" that makes a swinging version of "The Shadow Of Your Smile" not sound the least bit hokey; a special kind of cool about the version of Mel Torme's "Born To Be Blue" that could place it in a 40's noir film or a 50's Kazan movie, or on a wet and smokey French Quarter street in present day New Orleans; a special cool in the jazz standard, the Harris original "Freedom Jazz Dance," that fuses second line rhythms with gospel and funk that belies the song's age.
"Mean Greens" is just a bit more adventurous with Harris exploding occasionally with a few extra skronks. Even the take of "It Was A Very Good Year" will get you bopping, an action not usually associated with that song.
There is nothing on either "The In Sound" or "Mean Greens" that should scare any ardent non-jazz fan away. These Atlantic Jazz records of the 60s---Herbie Mann, "Fathead" Newman, Roland Kirk--- were built that way, to please not just the "nerd" or jazz aficionado, but the fans of rock and soul, as well. These records ooze soul.
So, the next time you are record shopping and you see both the $5 Eddie Harris and $75 Donald Byrd record on Blue Note, grab that $5 Eddie Harris. There's nothing wrong with that Byrd, if you can afford it. Hell, buy both if you can! Just don't be that guy who thinks that double or triple digit jazz records are cooler, better or worth more musically.
And don't sleep on those Eddie Harris Atlantic records.
10 comments:
I saw a sax player named Robert Stewart (discogs) many times at a small club called Bruno's in San Francisco years ago.
Every time he played Eddie Harris' Freedom Jazz Dance, he mentioned that EH had been his teacher. So I checked at a few of my usual shops and bought a CD from Rhino (1993) that has both The In Sound and Mean Greens.
It's a great disc with good songs and fabulous players. I ended up with much more Eddie Harris in my collection.
As for Robert Stewart, the album linked above is his debut and is mostly excellent. He wisely dropped the vocals after this album.
Eddie Harris was an amazing artist. His Swiss Movement record with Les McCann is a desert island disc for me.
I first discovered Eddie Harris when I lived in SF in the 90s via Charlie Hunter, who was big on the Mean Greens album in particular. Super-deep grooves and great playing. If you want to hear a slightly modernized approach in the same vein, Hunter's 1996 "Shango" record (among his others from the same era) is a hot slice. Thanks Sal!
I second that Charlie Hunter suggestion. Charlie is an old friend and that run of records on Blue Note from 1996-2001 are all fantastic. I've raved about his "Natty Dread" record a number of times on this blog. All great stuff. Thanks, Noam.
I wish I could find some $5 Eddie Harris in Houston. I've never seen those early albums, and a nice copy of Instant Death will run $20. you can find the electric saxophone records cheaper, but sure, electric saxophone. Still, there's some good cuts on them.
And this is exactly why Burning Wood is a necessity!
Listening right now to The In Sound and diggin’ it, thanks to you. I was aware of the artist but not the albums. That is about to change.
I have never tired of Eddie Harris/Les McCann'a Compared to What. Swiss Movements is a classic.
Great post, Sal! I love Eddie Harris. I first discovered him when I bought a copy of "Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway," one of his Columbia records prior to joining Atlantic--for $5! Honestly, not knowing anything about Harris, I bought it for the Tomi Ungerer cover, and because I was curious to hear a jazz treatment of the theme from "From Russia with Love." I wouldn't say it's a great album, but there was something about his playing that immediately grabbed me, that cut through an otherwise fairly routine mid-60s commercial jazz session. I've since bought several of the Atlantic LPs, including from you, I think. (A white label copy of Silver Cycles, if memory serves.) To me Harris is fascinating because he's not always pushing himself but there's almost always a there there. Your post really captures the appeal of those Atlantic records. There's no reason post bop records can't be immediately pleasurable, even fun, without being schlock. Harris proves it repeatedly.
Bruce H.
Listened to and really enjoyed The In Sound. It was everything you said. And his story as recounted on Wikipedia is a trip -- sounds like he did what he wanted and career logic be damned. The first jazz artist to have a gold single. V popular covers of movie music and the like but then veering left to show he could still deliver hard bop. Then excursions into funk and fusion, it seems? Then singing some amusing old r&b? Then an honest to goodness comedy album? Then more be bop? The man would not be pinned down. Thanks for pointing the way into his work.
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