Date: November 17, 1961
Release: Rhino #1380
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If I were going to remix the CD release of At The Village Gate, I would add a faint track of a diamond needle hissing along a vinyl groove. There’s something about this recording that smells of cheap grass and whatever else Bleecker Street smelled like in 1961. You just wish you had an old hi-fi stereo system to play it on. Still, I’ve already ripped through three copies of At The Village Gate CD–I can imagine how many LPs I’d need.
This live disc was recorded before jazz clubs were like museums, before musicians were like curators. Listening to it, you feel the crowd at the Village Gate always evident behind the music, a low hum. The talkers in the club who came just to catch a drink on a felicitous night were welcome–their presence pulls you into the room.
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Date: 1968
Release: Atlantic AMCY-1240
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A funky, swirling, heady pair of side-long grooves from one of the most soulful jazzmen to ever record on the Atlantic label. Check out some of the assembled talent on this classic late-60s live date—Roy Ayers, Sonny Sharrock, Miroslav Vitous—whew!!! The chemistry was definitely happening with this super group. Both tracks stretch into a marathon of soul grinding funk, giving each of these energetic soloists room to run and run without anyone dropping the ball. Mann gives ample proof that he really was “The Man” when it came to getting down deep into the groove long before the 70s funk revolution made it the thing to do. Mann infuses each of these tasty tunes with his distinctly soulful sound, giving his compatriots plenty of heavy ideas to play with. Still, it is Sharrock’s mind-expanding guitar on “Philly Dog” that undeniably steals the show, demonstrating without a doubt that Jimi Hendrix actually had some real competition in 1968. Now for the bad news: this disc is only available on import, confirming once again the sad fact that some of the best jazz ever recorded in the States can only be found in Japan.
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Date: 1970
Release: WOUNDED BIRD
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A startlingly original departure from the trademark soul-jazz sound of Herbie Mann, this spacious and atmospheric 1970 recording flows within the vein of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew-era explorations. Throughout the record, Mann’s flute floats in and out over sparse string arrangements, a light and airy gust of psychedelic bliss. The album opens with the exotic Eastern sounds of “In Tangier,” arranged with unmistakable references to the original version recorded by 60s pop-icon Donovan on Hurdy Gurdy Man. Violins, viola and cello are all used to create a feeling of sailing through the celestial ether in a stoned state of mind.
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