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TEARS OF JOY
(Columbia CG 30927, GQ 30927 (quadraphonic),
© 1971)
TRACK LISTING
Tears of Joy
5/4 Getaway
Bulgarian Bulge (public domain / arr. Don Ellis)
Get It Together (Sam Falzone)
Quiet Longing
Blues in Elf
Loss
How's This For Openers?
Samba Bahada (Hank Levy)
Strawberry Soup
Euphoric Acid (Fred Selden)
| PERSONNEL |
| Don Ellis |
| |
trumpet, flugelhorn, drums |
Saxes & Woodwinds |
| |
Fred Selden
Lonnie Shetter
Sam Falzone
Jon Clarke |
Trumpets |
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Paul Bogosian
Jack Caudill
Bruce MacKay |
French Horn |
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Kenneth Nelson |
Trombones |
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Jim Sawyer
Kenny Sawhill - bass trombone
Doug Bixby - contrabass trombone, tuba |
|
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| Strings |
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Alfredo Ebat - violin
Earle Corry - violin
Ellen Smith - viola
Christine Ermacoff - cello |
Rhythm |
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Milcho Leviev - piano
Dennis Parker - bass
Ralph Humphrey - drums
Ron Dunn - drums
Lee Pastora - conga |
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REVIEW
Don's second double-live LP was apparently good enough to reissue in quadraphonic
stereo, but not on CD. Quadrophonic, schmodrophonic...this is another
great album. Though not the tightest-sounding Ellis album, it's the first
with the string section and the mind-boggling Bulgarian pianist, Milcho
Leviev. All of the music was recorded at Basin Street West in San Francisco.
Simply put, you will never hear music like this anywhere else. I don't
know where to start as far as the charts go...they are all fantastic.
"5/4 Getaway" is one of my favorites, complete with a sax soli
from hell that owes a bit to Charlie Parker. A remake of "Bulgarian
Bulge" is an effective feature for Leviev, though it sounds like
the trombone soloist is having a stroke. "Quiet Longing" is
a piece from Don's science-fiction musical Future:
Tense!. "Strawberry Soup" is an impressive outing that
features the multi-faceted band at their musical best, and "Euphoric
Acid" is a nice & bizarre Fred Selden original. Maybe Don didn't
do drugs, but I'm guessing that Fred might have dabbled. I don't know.
Don and Milcho seem to be the main soloists, but spots are also given
to the saxes and, of course, the drummers. Trombonist Jim Sawyer (who
would later play with Toshiko Akiyoshi) gets in a couple of good angular
solos as well. Where is Glenn Stuart and Jay Graydon?
The "normal" cover on the lower left is actually the European
pressing. Thanks to Hans from The Netherlands for contributing the image.
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