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Charles Tolliver Big Band – Mosaic Select (Music Inc/Impact/previously unreleased)

$44.99 ... CD 3CD (€34.54 || £29.56 || ¥4597) (approx.)

Early and mid 70s big band masterpieces from Charles Tolliver for Strata East – plus a brilliant batch of German recordings from 1979 with Hamburg's great NDR group that was never legitimately issued before now – in an amazing 3CD set from Mosaic! Disc One features the classic Impact – the first album by his legendary group on Strata East – a core quartet that features Tolliver on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Hopps on drums and percussion – all augmented by some larger backings for the session! The core sound is amazing – with free lines that trade back and forth wonderfully, filled with life and a great lyrical sense of energy that Tolliver never had on some of his later sessions. The larger group hardly gets in the way at all – and they're mostly there just to shade in the background, but often drop out during the solos – giving full center stage exposure to Tolliver and Cowell! Tracks include "Ruthie's Heart", "Abscretions", "Household of Saud", and "On the Nile". Disc Two features Impact – an amazingly spiritual effort that really brings together the best strands of sounds running through the underground at the time! The format's a bit similar to Music Inc – with lots of strong lead action from Charles on trumpet, and Stanley Cowell on piano. But this time around, the larger group seems to be more fully integrated into the tunes – there not just to support the soloists, but to rise up with a full, proud sense of majesty that's really amazing. Other players include Cecil McBee and Reggie Workman on basses, Billy Parker and Warren Smith on percussion, Jon Faddis and Jimmy Owens on trumpets, John Gordon and Garnet Brown on trombones, and Charles McPherson, George Coleman, Harold Vick, and Charles Davis on saxes! Titles include great versions of the Tolliver classics "Plight" and "Impact" – plus "Mother Wit", "Lynnsome", and "Grand Max". Disc Three is a hidden gem from Tolliver's career – 1979 radio broadcast sessions with the NDR big band that includes Benny Bailey on trumpet, Herb Geller on alto, Wolfgang Dauner on piano, Lukas Lindholm on bass and Alvin Queen on drums. Here Tolliver plays some of the Strata material with these great European players who really seem to relish the opportunity – with each contributing brilliant solos. Includes "Ruthie's Heart", "Mother's Wit", Grand Max", "Impact" and more. (Limited to 5000 copies.)  © 1996-2013, Dusty Groove, Inc.