Allan Songer Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Harold Land was a GREAT tenor saxaophonist. I was lucky enough to live in LA the last couple of decades and got to hear him live DOZENS of times before he passed a couple of years ago. I always think of Land and Teddy Edwards as the two tough LA tenors who never got their due--both are among the best I ever heard and I'm sure most of you have never heard of them. Land got his big break in 1954 when Teddy Edwards left the Max Roach/Clifford Brown group when they decided to head back to New York after about a year in Los Angeles. Edwards appears only on the very first Brown/Roach LP on GNP records. So Roach grabbed Land and headed east where the group recorded a string of seminal hard bop LPs for Emarcy records. But Land got homesick for California (he grew up in San Diego) and left the group after only a few months and a couple of LPs--he was replaced by SONNY ROLLINS! When Land got back to LA he joined up with the Curtis Counce group. From 1955 thgough 1957 there was NO BETTER WORKING HARD BOP GROUP ANYWHERE! The sound was WAY too hard for what was happening around LA at that time--this is a group that should have been in New York and recording for Blue Note instead of in LA recording for Contemporary! WHAT A BAND! Land on tenor, Jack Sheldon on trumpet, Carl Perkins (my all time favorite piano player), Frank Butler (my all time favorite drummer), and Counce on bass. At this same time Land was able to cut his first LP as a leader and it's a KILLER: Land is joined by fellow Counce group members Perkins (who wrote the now standard "Grooveyard" which makes it's debut on this LP) and Butler with Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Rolk Ericson on trumpet. This is COOKING hard bop and it's an LP that belongs in EVERY jazz colletion. And it's available as an OJC CD right now! Original LPs are rather scarce but when they turn up you can get a really nice one for about $60. A copule of years went by before Land got the opportunity to lead another date--this time for an obscure little LA label called "Hi-Fi Jazz." Luckily Contemporary reissued this one in the late 1960's and it remains in the OJC catalog. The album is called "The Fox" and it's Land's masterpiece. The serpentine INCREDIBLY fast title track is one of those cuts that leaves you with your jaw WIDE open! Again, Land assembled an incredible line-up for this record as he's joined by the all too obsucre Elmo Hope on piano, the LEGENDARY Dupree Bolton on trumpet (who only appeard on TWO records but is still one of the best hard bop trumpets EVER!), Herbie Lewis on bass and Frank Butler again on drums. This record is really the swan-song for west coast hard bop--but what a way to go out! Again, this is an ESSENTIAL recording! Land did head to New York in 1960 and recorded a couple of LPs for Jazzland but soon returned to LA where he disappeared into the studios for most of the 1960's before hooking up with Bobby Hutcherson at the end of the decade. Their quintet recorded a string of brilliant LPs for Blue Note which finally put Land back on the map. Hutcherson was billed as the leader, but he and Land were actually co-leaders: Land recorded a few more solo LPs in the 1970's and early 1980's and then fell away from the national scene again and returned to playing around LA and in the studios. This is when I began checking out his live shows. He was A MONSTER on the tenor and ofter he'd be playing in clubs with only a few dozen fans. Anyway, right before his death he recorded and released one final album: This is vintage Harold Land in a quartet setting with three exceptional side men. It's a great album and a fine way to say good-bye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Allan, You ARE the Jazz Sensei. Thanks for the info. I'll see you at the Four Points Sheraton in May to hear Helen Merrill! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I had been looking for this LP since you (Allan)recommended it back in SSh's jazz thread almost a year ago. Finally, I just received a copy from our buddy Hiroshi and it is, indeed, a great session. Harold Land is an exceptional tenor and Perkins, Vinnegar and Ericson really shine. The drum work, by Frank Butler, is nothing less than spectacular and confirms that his play on "Landslide" was no fluke. You are right about Butler. He may be the best. I also, recently aquired "LeRoy Walks" and that too is a dandy LP. Carl Perkins is great here as well. Recommendations approved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lon Armstrong Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I really like Land. . . . He was my favorite tenorist with Brown and Roach, which is like. . . sacriledge to some Rollins fans. Coming out this year on compact disc from Blue Note is "Now" by Bobby Hutcherson which is one of my favorite of his Blue Notes with Land. . . . ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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