Music critics and fans use the term “supergroup” to label bands formed by artists already famous in their own right. The word originated to describe rock bands such as Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, the Traveling Wilburys, and the more recent Velvet Revolver.
But you've never heard a supergroup like Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz, whose 1972 performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival has just been released on CD. What a lineup: Blakey (drums), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Al McKibbon (bass), Thelonious Monk (piano), Sonny Stitt (alto and tenor saxophones), Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn), and Kai Winding (trombone). Each artist plays extended solos and obviously encourages one another to perform at their best.
What a thrill to hear Monk play his masterpiece “Round Midnight” accompanied by such jazz veterans. Dizzy Gillespie's “A Night in Tunisia,” performed at warp speed, is a tour de force of complicated solos and hard bop. Terry plays a sublime solo on the lovely “Stardust,” while Eldridge (61 years old at the time) leads the band in a gorgeous — albeit bittersweet — version of the Gerswhins' “The Man I Love.” The supergroup also jams on the Latin “Perdido” and swings on “Blue 'N Boogie.”
A personal favorite, “I Can't Get Started with You” epitomizes the jazz ballad: beautiful chord changes, melancholy tone, and an almost New Orleans-like drawl. The Giants of Jazz handle the classic with aplomb.
While the recording has been remastered and each instrument sounds absolutely clear, one element is missing: the audience. Unlike other music genres, the artist-audience interaction remains a vital part of jazz. While the Monterey audience may have been abnormally quiet, the lack of applause or shouting after various blazing solos detracts somewhat from the performances. Was the audience edited out or deeply buried in the mix to attain perfection in the recording? In fact, the recording is so pristine that listeners may forget that this concert dates from 36 years ago.
Despite this flaw, Art Blakey and the Giants of Jazz Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival exemplifies the “supergroup,” showing a group of incredible jazz artists, many of whom, unfortunately, have passed on. The CD provides an instant history of jazz, a snapshot of a time when jazz giants still played at the peak of their abilities and demonstrated why these classic songs are, indeed, cherished standards.
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