A massive set of work from trumpeter Charles Toll
iver – a 3CD package that contains seminal live work from Toll
iver's Strata East years, plus bonus previously unreleased titles from the concerts! The first half of the collection features work from Toll
iver's seminal Live At Slug's albums – both recorded on the same night in 1970, and done with a free-thinking, spiritually soaring energy that set a whole new tone for live jazz in the 70s! For the records, Toll
iver fronts the classic Music Inc lineup – a group that includes Stanley Cowell on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Hopps on drums. Toll
iver is stunning on trumpet – and he and Cowell handle the majority of the solos with the kind of imagination that characterized this strong point in both of their careers. Slugs titles include the previously unissued "On The Nile", "Ruthie's Heart", and "Repetition" – plus "Drought", "Felicite", "Orientale", and "Spanning". Next up is the equally great Live In Tokyo album – recorded 3 years later with a similar group that includes Cowell on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Clifford Barbaro on drums – and although Toll
iver's trumpet solos are always a treat, the interplay between Houston's bass and Cowell's piano is enough reason to buy the record! The highlight of the album is a great take of Cowell's modal groover "Effi", but the set also contains some masterful compositions by Toll
iver – long versions of "Truth", "Stretch", and "Drought". Previously unissued titles include "Our Second Father", "Impact", and "Earl's World". Complicated, spiritual work – even more so than some of Toll
iver's studio sessions!
(Out of print. Numbered, limited edition of 5000. With original book and slipcase.)