Obscuro: Say What? Five of Jazz's Most Surprising Albums - Page 3

When I listen to gorgeous, latter-day efforts like Whisper Not or The Melody at Night, With You I sometimes chuckle to think that this was the same guy who decades earlier made a failed bid as a third-rate Dylan. At the same time, I also praise Jesus that Jarrett ultimately made the correct musical career choice.

Note: About the only way you could obtain Restoration Ruin nowadays, if you were so inclined, is to purchase it as part of a twofer packaged with The Art Ensemble of Chicago's 1972 live recording Bap-Tizum. Now that's just messed up.

Joe Sample (with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown) - The Three (1975)
This record is perhaps the least surprising one on this list; after all, Sample had toiled away playing acoustic jazz for ten years as a member of the Jazz Crusaders before they became electric and removed the "Jazz" part of their moniker at the turn of the seventies.

But this is still a bit of an anomoly for Joe; the Jazz Crusaders period was years behind him by this time and while that soulful, funky take on Art Blakey's Jazz Crusader was very enjoyable, it wasn't at the serious level that guys like Shelly Manne and Ray Brown were normally associated with.

But when Sample got together to record The Three with these two cats he went more than halfway to their side, even embracing the traditional, hard bop style to where it sounded like that's what he's been playing all along. Recorded the same year that Chain Reaction came out, it revealed a lot of breadth in Sample's playing which has made him such an in-demand session player from the early seventies on.

Sample only hints at his signature gospel-influenced romp on his lone original "Funky Blues", but like much of his Crusaders material, it's a lot of fun. Manne and Brown were giants and Sample was hanging in there with them without breaking a sweat (which is what sets this apart from Sample's 1969 straight ahead solo effort, the largely forgotten Fancy Dance).

The only other acoustic-based record led or co-led by Sample is Old Places, Old Faces, and it also happens to be one of his best as well. You see, Joe, you don't need LA session players, slick production and guest vocalists to make a great record. Just haul Charlie Haden, Paul Motion and a Steinway into a studio and roll the tape. The Three, Part 2 is long overdue.

David Sanborn (Tim Berne) - Diminutive Mysteries (1992)
David Sanborn is often lumped into the "smooth" jazz category like Bob James, but in reality Sanborn's highly recognizable alto sax voice has found a comfortable home in just about every setting imaginable. To call him a smooth jazzer or even a jazzer, period, is putting an artificial limit to the wide range of music he is capable of handling. Furthermore, he never seems to be making a symbolic nod to any genre, he embraces each one completely and genuinely. What I'd give just to check out this guy's record collection.

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